FREDERICK THE GREAT.
FROM THE PAINTING BY CARLO VANLOO.
THE YOUTH
OF
FREDERICK THE GREAT
BY
ERNEST LAVISSE
PROFESSOR AT THE SORBONNE, PARIS
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH
BY
MARY BUSHNELL COLEMAN
CHICAGO
S. C. GRIGGS AND COMPANY
1892
Copyright, 1891
By MARY BUSHNELL COLEMAN
3$733-b
R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS CO., CHICAGO
THIS TRANSLATION
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY
OF MY FRIEND AND INSPIRER,
MRS. CHAPMAN COLEMAN,
THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSLATOR
OF MUHLBACH'S
HISTORICAL NOVELS OF "FREDERICK THE GREAT."
awToaa
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
Nature, who has prepared certain countries and
constructed birthplaces for nations, did not foresee
Prussia. In fact, there does not exist a geograph-
ical Prussia either as a race or region: Germany is
the daughter of nature, but Prussia was made v by
men.
In 1713, a man began to reign at Berlin, who was
born a military monomaniac. It pleased this sov-
ereign of eighteen hundred thousand poor subjects
to have as strong an army as that of Austria, that
is to say, of an empire of more than twenty million
people. This passion regulated the thoughts, habits,
and life of Frederick AVilliam I. As it was a morbid
and restricted mania, it was sufficient unto itself,
and required no exterior manifestations. The King-
Sergeant loved his army as Harpagon his treasure;
his eyes delighted at the sight of his battalions as
the miser's hands at the fluent contact of the gold
pieces. Harpagon took his gold from the coffer only
to contemplate it; when the regiments of Frederick
William left their garrisons it was for display at
grand reviews; they returned to them immediately.
VI PREFACE.
T}iis king had, it is true, good reasons for not ven-
turing his military capital in enterprises; besides,
he had a religion, the fear of God and the fear of
the devil. The desire of gaining a few " shovelfuls
of sand" caused him to commit sins of cupidity,
but his Christian conscience and his scruples as an
honest man would have recoiled if an 'occasion for
some bold infamy had presented itself.
This king died in 1740. Another succeeded him,
at the same time alike and yet unlike; 1 alike in
methods of governing, in making and saving his
gold pieces, in regulating the increase of his army
by that of his finances, and by his sedulous attention
to details; unlike in ability for decisive action, in
power and genius manifested in action; in con-
tempt for all human and Divine law, and in the
serenity of this contempt.
In 1740, a conjunction was formed of a power,
the Prussian army, of a resolute man to make use
of it, Frederick II. and of an unforeseen event
which opened the way for this power and this man:
this opening was the Austrian succession. It de-
termined the whole destiny of Prussia.
In place of Frederick William I., who created the
power, put a king like Frederick I., an en j oyer of a
royal dignity, that was expended in magnificent
fetes and ostentatious ceremonies: you suppress
Prussia probably; assuredly you prorogue it. Place,
after the King-Sergeant, an honest, mediocre man,
PREFACE. VI]
or, simply, an honest man: Maria Theresa inherits
the paternal succession guaranteed by a number of
clear and authentic treaties, and Prussia does not
rise from third to first in rank. The whole course
of history is changed.
Frederick William I. and Frederick II. collabor-
ated equally in forming the character and physi-
ognomy of Prussia. The f athe r was an a utocr at by
Divine right, a priest as well as a soldier and a
king, a man of order and of prayer. He bent the
bodies and souls of his subjects; he moulded them,
body, and soul, into an attitude, into a uniform.
The son was one of the most liberal-minded m en 1/
that ever existed, a s oldi er also, but. at the same time
a man of letter s ; an autocrat, but a philosopher.
Military and intellectual Prussia the Berlin of
barracks and schools, where the university neigh-
bors the arsenal, where the statue of Humboldt
faces that of Blucher emanated from Frederick
William, the King-Sergeant, and from Frederick the
Great, the King-Philosoph er ; and barracks, univer-
sity, arsenal, statues of philosophers and marshals
sprang up around and in the shadow of the king's
palace.
A singular power, made up of liberty in thought
and discipline in action, where the boldest concep-
tions are given life within line, and remain there.
The principal interest of the history of Frederick's
youth, is that it points out to us the struggle of
Vlll PREFACE.
contrary elements, the fusion of which was to con-
stitute Prussia. From the time that Frederick
reached manhood until the day, when forced into
an unwilling marriage, he became master of his own
household, "far from Jupiter and his thunder,"
the father and son were in continual strife. They
were conscious only of their dissimilarities. Except
in rare moments when they caught a glimpse of the
justice they owed each to the other, they hated and
despised each other. The son desired the death of
his father; the father promised a munificent reward
to the messenger who would bring him news of the
death of his son. Neither knew the value of the
other, nor that they worked, each in his own way,
the one as necessary as the other, to " decide," as
Frederick would say, the uncertainty of the birth
of Prussia.
I have related in detail the history of Frederick's
youth up to the time of his marriage, which eman-
cipated him. 2 I have been induced to do this by
reading preceding works upon this subject, 3 but
principally through the study of valuable docu-
ments, letters and orders of the king, letters of the
prince, official or secret correspondence, memoirs,
authentic accounts by eye witnesses of the chief
events, and official reports of the courts, that were
permitted to relate day by day, and, during the most
trying moments, hour by hour, the incidents of this
strife between father and son.
PREFACE. IX
I have, also, studied from other documents, the
places where the drama was enacted. I imagined I
could see it revived in the Palace of Berlin, at the
Wusterhausen, and at the foot of the rampart at
Custrin.
In the great mass of detail, perhaps I may have
erred in some few instances; but my conscience
tells me that I have searched for the truth, and I
hope I have found it in the essential points, that
is to say, in the character of the two principal per-
sonages, and the motives of their conduct. I have
taken great pleasure in my task. At every turn,
I met with words, phrases, gestures, actions, that
we can hear or see repeated at the present time.
I have observed, in passing, that such an order of
William II., addressed to the officers of his army,
such a speech pronounced by him at Konigsberg,
and which excited so much provocation in Russia,
were mere reminiscences of Frederick William, but
there must be left a part for the reader to do in
the work which was written for him.
In seeing revealed the minds and morals of the
two sovereigns by a hundred anecdotes, sovereigns
who have made the little Kingdom of Prussia such
a great military State, to-day master of Germany
and a prevailing power in Europe, perhaps,
reader, you may wonder if these minds and morals,
of which the effects have developed in concentric
circles, will rule enlarged Prussia, Germany, and
X PREFACE.
Europe for a long period of time. The first circle
formed in the water by a stone that is thrown into
it, has the clearness of a relief; the relief dimin-
ishes as the circles multiply and enlarge; at a little
distance farther on the water retains its natural
tranquillity. In history all power has its limits
more or less contracted; the strongest is often of
the shortest duration, and the most exposed when
it passes beyond the bounds of its primitive sphere
to the reactions which destroy it.
Eenest Lavisse.
CONTENTS.
Preface, v
Bibliography, xiii
CHAPTER I.
CHILDHOOD.
Birth. Grandfather. Accession of the Father, - 1
The Governess; the First Masters; the Preceptor
and the Sub-preceptor, 7
Instruction to the Preceptors, - - - - 20
The Germs of Conflict Between Father and Son, 33
CHAPTER II.
THE FATHER OF FREDERICK THE GREAT.
The Ideas and Modes of Government of Frederick
William, - - 45
The King's Government, 61
The Creation of Prussian Power, - - - - 67
The Inaction of the King of Prussia, - - 75
The Individuality of Frederick William, - - 95
The Pleasures of Frederick William, - - 101
Acts of Violence, Folly and Despotism, - - 113
Frederick William's Religion, .... 120
CHAPTER III.
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN FATHER AND SON.
First Symptoms and Causes of the Conflict, - - 128
The Mother of Frederick, 135
The Eldest Sister, ------- 142
Mother, Daughter and Son, - - - - " 1^6
The Projects of Marriage for Frederick and Wil-
HELMINA, 151
The~King and the Projects of Marriage, - - 158
xi
Xll CONTENTS.
The Prince's Party, 162
The Preceptor's Farewell. Forbidden Pleasures, 170
The Autumn of 1728 at Wusterhausen, - - 177
The Resumption of the Marriage Negotiations, - 186
The Mission of Sir Charles Hotham, - - 199
CHAPTER IV.
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE AND THE PUNISHMENT.
The Flight and the Arrest, 221
The Examination, 236
The Judgment, - - - 260
The Justice of the King, - 272
The Execution of Katte, ------ 277
The Pardon of the Prince, 288
CHAPTER V.
THE SECOND EDUCATION OF THE CROWN PRINCE,
The First Six Months in the Chamber of Adminis-
tration, - 304
The Royal Visit, 314
The New Regime of Life, 318
The Marriage of Wilhelmina, .... 332
The Crown Prince at the Marriage of His Sister, 346
The Last Days at Custrin, 353
CHAPTER VI.
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT.
The Intentions of Austria, - 369
The Declaration of the King, 375
The Double Play of the Crown Prince, - - 382
From the Betrothal to the Marriage, - - - 388
The Anglo-Austrian Intrigue, .... 400
The Marriage, - 406
CHAPTER VII.
Conclusion, 421
Notes, - 427
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
DOCUMENTS CONSULTED.
Political correspondence in the archives of the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of France, documents upon Prussia, years from
1725 to 1733, vols. LXXXIII. to XCVI.
Beitrag zur Lebensgeschichte Friedrichs des Grossen, wel-
cher einen merkivurdigen Brief wechsel ilber den ehemaligen
Aufenthalt des getachten Konigs zu Custrin enthdlt, Berlin,
1788.
Brief e Friedrich des Orossen und seiner erlauchter Bruder
Prinzen August Wilhelm und Heinrich von Preussen aus der
Zeit von 1121 bis 1162 an die Gebruder Friedrieh Wilhelm und
Friedrich Ludivig, Felix von Borcke, Potsdam. 1881. 4
JJrkundenbuch zu der Lebensgeschichte Friedrich Wilhelms
I., second part of vol. II. of Dr. Friedrich Forster's book, Fried-
rich Wilhelms I. Konig v. Preussen, 3 vols., Potsdam, 1734-35.
The third volume of this work comprises the Nachtrdge Zum
ersten Bande, and the Nachtrdge zum zweiten Bande, in which
is found a great number of the documents referred to in this
book.
Works of Frederick the Great, 30 vols., Berlin, 1846-1857,
vols. XVI. to XXVII.
JJrkundenbuch zu der Lebensgeschicte Friedrichs des Gros-
sen, by J. D. E. Preuss, five parts, Berlin, 1832-4. In the sup-
plement to the first part, which is inserted in the second, is
found the Briefweschel Friedrichs des Grossen mit seinem
Vater (1730-1734).
Memoirs of Frederica Sophia Wilhelmina, Margravine of
Baireuth, 3d edition, Paris. 5
XIV BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Vollstdndige Protocolle des Kopenicker Kreigsgerichts
ilber Kronprinz Friedrichs, Lieutenant von Katte, von Kait,
u. s. w., Berlin, 1861.
AUTHORS CONSULTED.
Bratuscheck, Die Erziehung Friedrichs des Grossen, Ber-
lin, 1885.
Due de Broglie, Frederick IT., and Maria Theresa, 2 vols.,
Paris, 1883.
Carlyle, History of Frederick II. of Prussia, 6 vol, London,
1858-65, German translation of Neuberg and Althaus, 6 vol.,
Berlin, 1858-69.
Cramer, Zur Geschichte Friedrich Wilhehns I. und Fried-
richs II., 2d edition, Leipsic, 1833.
Droysen (J. G.), Friedrich Wilhelm, Konig von Preussen,
2 vol., Leipsic, 1869; in the Geschichte der preussisschen Politik,
by the same author.
Fassmann, Leben und Thaten des Allerdurchlauchtigsten
und Grossmdchtigsten Konigs von Preussen Friederici-Wil-
helmi, Hamburg and Breslau, 1735.
Forster (cited above when mentioning the Urkunden-
buch zu der Lebensgeschichte Fr. W. I.)
Fontane, the second part of the Wanderungen durch die
Mark Brandenburg (das Oderland Barnim-Lebus) 4th edition,
Berlin, 1889
Koser, Friedrich der Grosse als Kronprinz, Stuttgart, 1886.
Kramer, Neue Bietrdge zur Geschichte August Herman
Francke's, Halle, 1875.
Pierson, Konig Friedrich Wilhelm I. in Den Denkwur-
digkeiten der Markgrdfin von Baireuth, Halle, 1890.
Preuss, Friedrichs des Grossen Jugend und Thronbesteig-
ung, Berlin, 1840. and Friedrich der Grosse mit seinen Ver-
wantden und Freunden, Berlin, 1836.
Ranke, Zwolf Biicher preussischer Geschichte, 5 vols., 2d
edition, Leipsic, 1878-79, vols. XXV-XXIX of the Sdmmtliche,
Werke.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. XV
Raumer, Prenssen von Jahre 1730 bis 1740, Friederichs II.
Jugendzeit, to the vol. I. of 3d part, Leipsic, 1839, from the Bei-
trdge zur neueren Geschichte, ans dem britischen und franzo-
sischen Reichsarchive.
Waddington (Albert), The Acquisition of the Royal Crown
of Prussia by the Hohenzollerns, Paris, 1888.
Weber (Von) Von berliner Hofe water Konig Friedrich
Wilhelm I. in Aus vier, Jahrhunderten, Mittheilungen aus
dem Haupt-Staats Archive zu Dresden, Neue Folge, 2 vol.
Leipsic, 1861.
THE YOUTH
FREDERICK THE GREAT
CHAPTER I.
CHILDHOOD BIRTH THE GRANDFATHER ACCESSION OF
THE FATHER.
XpREDERICK THE GREAT was born in Berlin,
-J- January 24, 1712, to Frederick William, Crown
Prince of Prussia, and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover,
during the reign of his grandfather, Frederick, the
first Hohenzollern who wore the royal crown. * His
maternal grandfather, George, Elector of Hanover,
was the heir of Queen Anne of England, whom he
succeeded in 1714.
At the time of Frederick's birth, the Houses of
Brandenburg and Hanover were in the enjoyment of
great prosperity ; to the one it had come, by the other
it was with pleasure anticipated. During the eleven
years that he was king, Frederick I. was unwearied in
admiring and celebrating his royal dignity. He arose
very early in the morning that he might have a longer
time to enjoy the pleasure of being king, and officiated
P '^lEDEIilCK THE GREAT.
until evening. There was majesty at the council, at
table, in the smoking-room ; majesty in the presence of
the qeeen. His garments were fastened with buttons
of gold and diamonds, and his perukes came from
Paris. When he traveled from place to place, it was
in great pomp. His journeys by land were long, slow,
magnificent processions of coaches. A boat from Hol-
land or a gondola bore him upon the water. He spoke
of himself and of the queen, his wife, with circumlocu-
tions of etiquette, enveloping in solemnity his name,
as well as his person. He was not a wicked man, on
the contrary, he was a good husband, and a good
father to his family. 6 He kept a mistress, only to
imitate Louis XIV. through a professional point of
honor.
The birth of Frederick was welcomed by him with
more than usual pleasure, as two of his grandsons had
already died at an early age. It was rumored in Ber-
lin that they had been victims of the contingencies
of royalty, neither one being able to bear, on his bap-
tismal day, the noise of the cannons and firecrackers,
the weight of the silk mantle, the diamond insignia
of the Black Eagle, and the golden crown in which
he was arrayed. In reality, the poor little things
died a very ordinary death from teething. So King
Frederick watched with anxiety for the first tooth of
little Fritz. This child appeared to him to be born
to a glorious destiny, because his birth took place in
January, that is to say, in the month of his own
coronation, at Konigsburg, eleven years before. He
desired that the baptism should be celebrated before
CHILDHOOD. 6
the end of the " month of coronation," and that his
grandson should be called Frederick, "the name of
Frederick having always brought good fortune to his
House."
January 31st, the child, crown on head, clothed in
a robe of silver tissue, studded with diamonds, the train
of which was held up by six countesses, was carried
to the chapel of the palace, under a canopy supported
by a princess and two princes. The king, also, under
a canopy which was supported at the corners by four
chamberlains, its silk pendants held by four knights
of the Order of the Black Eagle, awaited him. The
godfathers and godmothers represented were the Em-
peror, Czar Peter, the States-General of Holland, the
Canton of Berne and the Elector of Hanover, the Em-
press Dowager, the Electress and the Electress-mother
of Hanover, the Duchess of Brunswick and the Dow-
ager Duchess of Mecklenburg. The States-General
sent, among other baptismal presents, a gold box, con-
taining a deed of annuity of four thousand florins.
All the bells of the city, three salvos of cannon, as well
as drums and trumpets, announced to the people of
Berlin that the world counted one more Christian. The
cortege in procession re-entered the apartments between
files of Swiss and a body-guard. 7
Fritz showed a desire to live. His grandfather saw
with pleasure how bravely he drew the breast. His
teeth came very quickly, six at the end of six months,
and without causing him the least inconvenience. "One
can see in this," wrote Frederick, "a kind of predes-
tination. May God preserve him to us a long time
yet." 8
4 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
It was the grandfather that God did not preserve
a long time to the grandson. Frederick I. died Feb-
ruary 27, 1713. The child, who had received at
birth the titles of Prince of Prussia and of Orange,
became the Crown Prince.
The new king, Frederick William, had manifested
from childhood a violent aversion for ceremonies and
luxury. One day, when quite a small child, curled,
powdered, clad in a gala costume, he hid himself in
a chimney, whence he was pulled out, black as a
chimney-sweep. He threw a brocaded night-robe into
the fire, soon after it was tried on him. The sight
of the big perukes made him furious. Finding some
courtiers in his father's antechamber, warming them-
selves, with their heads thrown back, so as not to
scorch their beautiful periwigs, which had cost them
200 thalers, he forced them to throw their wigs into the
fire. Another time, they picked up at the foot of the
staircase a maitre cle la cour whom he had kicked to the
bottom. He was extremely parsimonious, and kept
an exact account of his receipts and expenditures, in
a faultless register, on the first page of which he had
written: "Redlining iiber meine Ducaten, Account of
my Ducats." "Miser," exclaimed his mother, "and
at so tender an age ! " But no remonstrance corrected
it. Magnificence gave him nausea, and prodigality )
fits of rage.
After having received the last sigh of his father,
Frederick William left the chamber of death, passed
through the crowd of weeping chamberlains, pages
and people of the Court, and shut himself up in
CHILDHOOD. 5
his own apartments. After deliberating there a
short while, he requested the Grand-Marshal, Von
Printzen, to bring him the " Court Register." He ran
over the list of dignitaries, servitors and pensioners,
seized a pen, and made a great mark from top to
bottom, saying that he would do away with them all,
but wished each one to remain at his post, until after
the funeral ceremonies of his father. Printzen came
out, saying not a word, but he had so troubled a look
upon his face, that one of the courtiers, the best pro-
vided with titles and functions, Lieutenant von Tettau,
Chamberlain, Chief of the Body-guard, Governor of
Spandau, Knight of the Black Eagle, stopped him,
and took the paper out of his hands. He saw the big
mark. "Gentlemen," said he, "the king our good mas-
ter is dead, and the new king sends us all to the devil."
All of the long-peruked crowd were present May 2,
1713, at the obsequies of Frederick I. The son wished
to have his father interred, as he had lived, with great
pomp. The ceremonies lasted more than two months.
The body remained eight days in state, upon a bed of
red velvet, embroidered in pearls, enriched with crowns
and golden eagles ; upon his head was the crown ;
upon his shoulders, the mantle of purple and ermine;
on his chest, the Grand Cordon and Order of the Black
Eagle ; at right and left the scepter and the sword.
The chamber, hung with violet Velvet, was illuminated
with a profusion of wax candles. On March 4, the
body, clothed in cloth of gold, was placed in the
coffin, and carried to the palace chapel, which was
transformed into a Castmm doloris. On the second of
6 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
May, between lines of regiments nearly all the Prus-
sian army was there the funeral cortege proceeded
to the cathedral. Behind Count Dohna, the gen-
eral who held the standard, the new king advanced,
enveloped in a long mantle of mourning, the train of
which was carried by the grand equerry, the entire
Court following. In the church, transformed into a
mausoleum, the wiiite marble statues of the Hohen-
zollern Electors of Brandenburg were placed around
the catafalque, as a guard of honor for the first of their
descendants who had attained to the distinction of roy-
alty. Pictures and inscriptions recalled the principal
virtues of the deceased.
The solemn service ended, Frederick William himself
ordered the salvos. Then he returned to his own apart-
ments. He had given a rare proof of filial piety in
prolonging the ceremonies two months. It was a great
relief to him when he had interred this ceremonial life
with his father, and saw dispersed the grand officials,
the chamberlains, the pages, the twenty-six drum-
mers and trumpeters, who announced all the move-
ments of the king, the musicians of the royal
chapel, and the hundred Swiss 'guards clothed in silk,
velvet and gold. The useless ones, who did not ex-
change the gold key for the pistol, or pumps for the
boots of a cuirassier, went " to the devil." The pearls,
precious stones and diamonds were sold to pay the debts
of the late king, who was always sadly in need. Then
Frederick William commenced to live the life of a well-
to-do civilian, economical to avarice, ordering his house-
hold himself, keeping a strict account with his cook.
CHILDHOOD.
Thus two months had not elapsed before he had levied
two new battalions of grenadiers. 9
jm
OVEKXESS THE FIRST MASTERS THE PRECEPTOR
AND THE SUB-PRECEPTOR.
Frederick William wished his sons and daughters to
be educated, not as princes and princesses, but as chil-
dren of simple folk. He intended that the inheritors
of his crown should be otherwise dealt with, than the
young king Louis XV., whose least gesture and act the
journals related to the world, and whom the Emperor
called "the child of Europe." 10 As unassuming as he
was, however, the King of Prussia could not refuse to
give his son a governess, and at the proper age a pre-
ceptor and a tutor.
He had been educated by a French-woman, Madame
de Montbail, for whom he always had an affection-
ate remembrance, perhaps on account of the many
bad tricks he had played her. So he wished that
Madame de Montbail (she had become Madame de
Rocoulle) should educate his children, and he there-
fore appointed her "governess of the royal prince
and princesses." The royal princesses were, at that
time, in 1714, Sophia Frederica Wilhelmina, two
and a half years older than the prince, and Char-
lotte Albertina, a year and a half younger. Madame
de Rocoulle was to give the children religious instruc-
tion, and teach them to read the Bible. The same
year, while the King of Prussia was at the siege of
Stralsund, he noticed a young cavalier who seemed
pleased to place himself where there was the most dan-
8 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ger. The king had this young officer presented, while
in a trench, by Count Dohna, who was acquainted with
him, for he had confided a part of the education of
his own son to him; Frederick William engaged him
to be, at the end of two years, the informator of
the prince. This young man called himself Jacques
Egide Duhan ; like Madame de Rocoulle, he was
French. Installed in his functions, in 1716, he had
to " explain maps to his pupil, teach him the history
of the last hundred years and no more, then the history
of the Bible, but, above all, calculation." Finally,
when the prince was just attaining his seventh year,
the king appointed his old preceptor, General Count
Fink von Finkenstein, tutor, and Colonel von Kalkstein
sub-tutor. ll
Little did the King of Prussia think that he was
doing a grave thing in confiding the education of his
son to these two groups of persons, whose ideas were
so opposite, the French refugees and the Prussian
" officers.
Said Frederick the Great later, "It is rare that one
takes a tutor from a trench." It is rare, in fact, and
very Prussian. Frederick William had as professional
masters very grave men ; among them, Frederick Kra-
mer, a learned philologist and jurisconsult, who, one
day, becoming offended at a jesting discourse of
Father Bouhours upon this theme: "Is it possible for
a German to have wit?" replied by a dissertation en-
titled: "Vindication of the Germanic name against
certain Gaul detractors of the Germans, Vindicice
nominis Germanici contra, quosdam Germanorum obtrec-
CHILDHOOD. 9
tatores Gallos." The king, who was not a pedant, and
who loved not dissertations, hastened to obtain for the
informator of his son, a cavalier. He did not know
that this cavalier was a man of more learning than
his Kramer.
Jacques Egide Duhan de Jandun 12 was born at Jandun,
in Champagne, the year of the revocation of the Edict
of Nantes. His father, former secretary of Turenne
and former Counselor of State, left France in 1687,
and went to Berlin, where he became secretary of the
Great Elector. He undertook the education of his son
himself, and did not send him to the "Gymnase Fran-
cois," then recently opened. He taught him the lan-
guages, classical literature, history and rhetoric. The
paternal lessons were supplemented by those of La
Croze and De Naude.
Naude left Metz in 1685, the same day that they
closed the last Protestant church in that city. Arriv-
ing in Berlin in 1687, he gained a livelihood by giving
lessons in mathematics ; after that he gave instruc-
tion in mathematics, first, in the College of Joachims-
thal, afterward, in the Academy of Arts. But his
favorite study was theology, upon which he brought
to bear the strength of his mind as a geometrician.
He composed two volumes upon evangelical morals. 13
La Croze had been a monk ill the monastery of St.
Germain-des-Pres. In 1693, tormented by conscientious
scruples, he fled to Bale and made a profession of Pro-
testantism. Berlin attracted French refugees in great
numbers : the nobles were assured of finding a place
in the army or at the court ; the magistrates, in the
10 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
tribunals ; the men of letters, in intellectual offices,
where they had but little to fear from native compe-
tition. La Croze went then to Berlin, where he was
put in charge of the Electoral Library, which became
the Royal Library three years afterward. He was
himself a library, "a regular storehouse," said Fred-
erick later. His memory was prodigious. One day,
before Leibnitz, he recited twelve verses in a dozen
different languages, after having heard them but once.
No question surprised him : he had an answer for
everything. Whenever he was asked for information,
and referred to a book, he gave the edition and page.
In addition to his native language, he spoke fluently,
English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German. He
understood Latin, ancient and modern Greek and Hebrew.
He learned the Slavic, Basque and Oriental languages,
and among them, in order to please Leibnitz, Chinese.
He was not a profound philologist; he had neither
the taste nor the time to penetrate into the genius of
the languages that he studied, because he was of an
inquisitive mind, and learned, simply because he could
not refrain from learning everything he saw. He knew,
in the same way, philosophy and history. All his
learning manifested itself in his conversation; without
cessation, he discoursed, narrated, cited and recited.
He told droll stories in the tone of a psalmodi-st, for
this ungarbed monk still showed the cut of his frock. 14
Duhan de Jandun, the father, La Croze, and Naude,
were indirectly Frederick's masters, since they edu-
cated his master. Moreover, the prince knew La Croze
and Naude, as he had often seen and heard them
CHILDHOOD. 11
when a child. These three men were antoclidacts,
and there is no better culture for minds born thought-
ful and capable of study, than that which they give
to themselves ; for school, with its precise rules and
hieratic customs, does not allow enough play to the
intellect. It is true that all times are not propitious
for the free exercise of personal education. But the
eighteenth century offered such admirable facilities for
the expansion of free effort! In our day, only the
greatest intellects acquire an entire science, master and
classify it in the concourse of knowledge : the others,
in the throng, dwell painfully upon the detail, which
continually increases and multiplies, hiding the science
from them, like the trees that prevent one from see-
ing the forest. Toilsome lives serve out their time in
little corners of the intellectual domain. In the eight-
eenth century this whole domain was exposed to view :
it could be surveyed with ease. Inquiry was univer-
sal and truly philosophical. The men of that time,
to whom an extensive reading gave, together with
great literary, historical, and scientific culture, the il-
lusion of believing that they knew everything that
could be known, lived in a continual intellectual fete
that the world will never see again. -r
The childhood of Frederick was thus confided to
FrencK people. It is true that they were exiles. The
opinions that they brought with them were not those
of the majority of their nation, which had, alas ! wel-
comed with Te Deums the persecution of these her-
etics. Calvinism had marked them with its grave
impress, which had frightened and rebuffed a people
naturally gay.
^vfr
12 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
A gentler influence was exercised over the soul of
Frederick by his governess. She, too, had sacrificed
her country for her religion. Widow of M. de Mont-
bail, and still young, she took her family to a foreign
country, the day after the revocation of the Edict of
Nantes, at a time when an exodus was not without
peril. This courageous woman had also mind. She
spoke her language prettily and knew how to turn a
verse well. It seems that she was not afraid of an
amusing joke, even if it was a little broad. She knew
how to hold a salon, a rare thing in Berlin. 15 It was
at the Court itself, that she found a refuge, near
Sophia Charlotte, wife of Frederick I., who so little
resembled her husband. The gazettes of the time
state that nature lavished upon this princess charms
of both body and mind. Sophia Charlotte was gay
and -artless, and she had a bewitching way of making
game of her solemn husband. The day of his coro-
nation, in all that pomp of pomps, she drew forth her
snuffbox and took a pinch of snuff. And yet she
was serious, and religious, with that charming restless-
ness of a woman philosopher, abhorring the unknown.
Pier religion and her philosophy enlightened each other,
but neither the one nor the other, nor the two united,
pretended to possess the full light. So her curiosity
was never satisfied; unceasingly, she demanded of her
friend Leibnitz the why of whys, that he could not
answer. She loved the arts, as well as philosophy,
and music above all. She had also a taste for poetry. 16
The memory of Sophia Charlotte had that particular
charm of a queen who had made herself beloved.
CHILDHOOD. 13
Her name recalled the brilliancy of the old court, and
its intellectual life. It evoked a past entirely different
from that uncouth, strange present, in which they lived
under the reign of Frederick William I. Madame de
Rocoulle kept fresh in the minds of the children of
Prussia the memory and the sayings of the good queen. 17
Frederick's eldest sister would have liked to be
called Charlotte, and would have desired nothing so
much as to resemble her grandmother. Frederick must
have often heard his governess speak of this lettered,
philosophical, and musical queen.
And, finally, when one seeks to recognize all the
vague w T orld of influences which surround and pene-
trate the soul of a child, one should not neglect this
little fact : during the thirty years that she was in Ger-
many, Madame de Rocoulle had never learned a word
of the language. She remained purely French.
General Fink and Colonel Kalkstein 18 were men of
culture, the latter particularly ; he was to have his part
in the education of Frederick. But the king chose them
both for their virtues as soldiers.
Kalkstein was thirty-six years old when he was ap-
pointed tutor to the prince. He had made his first
venture at arms in the service of Hesse Cassel. Freder-
ick William had known him in the Netherlands, when,
as Heir-apparent of Prussia, he was serving his military
apprenticeship under Prince Eugene.
Kalkstein distinguished himself in the battle of Mal-
plaquet. He joined the Prussian army as volunteer,
during the campaign of Pomerania, in 1714, and the
king had taken him into service in the capacity of
lieutenant-colonel.
14 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
General Fink was sixty years old ; a veteran of the
European wars. Born in Prussia, of a very old family,
which was established in the time of the Teutonic
Order, he was seventeen, when he entered, as volunteer,
the army of the Prince of Orange. He served in the
campaigns of 1676 and 1677 against France, and was
wounded and taken prisoner. In order to regain his
liberty, he accepted the offer of passing into the French
army, and fought against the Spaniards on the Pyrenees
frontier. He then became an officer of some note, and
was known to Louvois. Peace concluded, he obtained
permission to go into Brandenburg and make recruits.
The Great Elector graciously welcomed him: "Your
father," said he, "was my chamberlain, and an honest
man ; he broke his leg on my account. One day, at
Cleves, I desired to enter the castle by passing over a
plank ; he wished to see if it was firm, and he broke
his leg. . . Conduct yourself well, and, if it pleases
you to enter my service, I will take care of you." Fink
returned to France, but soon left it, as did most of his
compatriots, when the war of the Coalition of Augs-
burg broke out. He offered himself to the Great
Elector. As he had been captain in the French army,
he passed to the rank of major in that of Brandenburg.
Until the Peace of Ryswick, he fought in the cam-
paigns on the Rhine, always distinguishing himself.
During the War of the Spanish Succession, he almost
attained renown. At Hochstedt, in August, 1704, it
was he, perhaps, who assured victory to the Coali-
tionists by the disposition that he made of the right
wing of their army. He was then a general, and the
*A
KX^
CHILDHOOD. 15
Crown Prince Frederick William's preceptor. He took
the Crown Prince with him to the Netherlands, and was
one of the heroes of Malplaquet. To recompense him
for his services, the Emperor, upon the proposition of
Prince Eugene, named him Count of the Empire.
Frederick William, on his accession, showed him all the
favor of which he was capable. Fink accompanied his
new master in the Pomeranian campaign.
As preceptor of Prince Frederick, he represented to
this child war considered as the profession of nobles,
war loved for itself, and sought for everywhere, as
the chevaliers of old sought it in the crusades and in
adventure. This profession of arms was not en-
tirely confined to one nation. The royal and imperial
armies and those of the United Provinces were filled
with foreigners. The common soldier is a kind of
workman in military corporations, who makes his tour
of the world, and stops where the trade is flourishing,
that is to say, where war, swooping down and fastening
upon some rich country, is capable of nourishing its
artisans. As soon as the country is impoverished, the
news is spread abroad, and they say that war is "played
out" in Flanders, or on the Rhine, or in Lombardy.
It is then necessary to pay the soldier more. In this
league the nobleman exercises the right of going from
place to place. He has no scruples in changing camp,
provided he does not fight face to face with his prince.
Taken by the French in Flanders, where he fought
against them, he will serve them in the Pyrenees,
against the Spaniards. His prince does not become
angry with him ; on the contrary, he praises him for his
16 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
bravery, and, if the officer takes orders again under him,
he retains the rank he acquired in the opposing camp.
At that time Europe presented a strange picture of in-
ternational advancement for these military noblemen.
These officers were true men of war, who had served
under all the illustrious chiefs, and had observed the
diversity of their temper and genius. Fink had known
the Prince of Orange, Luxembourg, Louvois, Prince Eu-
gene, Marlborough, to name only the most celebrated,
and in the greatest actions of the gigantic struggle
where the fortunes of Ancient France were crushed, he
could say: "I was there, and such a thing happened
to me."
Fink of Finkenstein and Kalkstein had been chosen
from the Pleiades of Prussian warriors. The Court, if
one could so call the persons around Frederick William,
was full of officers, so tightly laced in their short coats
that they were almost ready to suffocate. The cham-
berlains whom the king had retained were four generals.
His dining and smoking apartments were open, through
preference, to the veterans of the battles of the Rhine
and Danube. A very rude, half-barbarous company, to
say the least, uncouth ; eating, drinking, smoking and
talking with him.
The principal personage was Leopold, reigning
Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, as noble as the Emperor and^e^-
King of Prussia, and even of older nobility, for his
ancestor, Albert the Bear, Margrave of Brandenburg,
played his role in the great affairs of Christianity, in
the time of Frederick Barbarossa, when the Hohenzoll-
erns, and Hapsburgs, too, were but mites in the dust of
CHILDHOOD. IT
small dynasties that overran the Empire. Leopold's
family was closely allied to the royal family of Prussia.
From his palace to the Palace of Berlin was but a day's
journey by post. As he was not a person to fall asleep
in his peruke in some little imitative Versailles, he en-
tered the service of Prussia. He also had learned war,
by war. He had made his first venture at arms with
his cousin, William of Orange ; sieges, skirmishes, bat-
tles, he loved passionately. During the War of the
Spanish Succession he was at Blenheim, in the right
wing, under the orders of Prince Eugene. In the midst
of the general confusion of the Austrian cavalry he
remained firm, attacking, recoiling, maneuvering, send-
ing forth volley after volley, until Marlborough, who
was victorious on the left wing, came to his aid. He
was at the Cassano bridge, " during the heaviest fight-
ing I ever saw," said Prince Eugene ; for hours he
remained in the river with his infantry, which was
partly destroyed.
At the attack of the lines of Turin, in 1706, he was
the first to leap into the entrenchment. As the French
remained steadfast at their post, and the combat was
prolonged, Anhalt, dying of hunger and thirst, stepped
to one side for a moment ; he caught sight of a cap-
tain : "Ami wounded?" "No, Your Highness!"
"No? Then have you something to drink?" He
swallowed a glass of brandy, then a piece of bread
that a grenadier gave him, and returned to his post.
He was also at the siege of Stralsund and at Mal-
plaquet.
The Prince of Anhalt was skilled in the science
18 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
of war. It is said that it was he who invented the
marching in step, and the iron ramrod. He constantly
studied tactics, and he carried to great perfection
the drill a la Prussian. He had been the principal
collaborator and inspirer of Frederick William ; he
proposed reforms and tested them ; the king renewed
the experience and decided. When these two men
found it impossible to be together, they corresponded
in short letters like business men. Leopold was, like
the king, an administrator as well as a soldier ; good
economist, he knew that it was through " careful man-
agement" that the soldiers were paid. He increased
more than their gross value the revenues of his little
principality. A peculiar persfbn but yet agreeable,
when it so pleased him, with princely manners, knowing-
how to speak French as well as a native, indeed even
how to converse, but ordinarily disdaining to be
gracious. His religion resembled that of the Reiters
of the fifteenth century. He sung the Psalms to the
tune of the " March of Dessau." On the field during
action, he said, with head bared, a short prayer. He
called Luther's hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our
God," "The March of the Dragoons of Our Lord."
Contemner of forms and established customs, this
prince of the Empire married an apothecary's daughter,
to the great scandal of the country at large. His fame
and ,his victories obtained from the Emperor the recog-
nition of Fraulein Fos as a legitimate princess. The
whole personality of Anhalt was expressive. He was
tall, bony, hairy, and- wore a heavy mustache on his
clear strong lip. He had an open eye, and a pene-
CHILDHOOD. 19
i
trating look like all observing people. His face,
discolored by gunpowder, was framed in a solid jaw.
His physiognomy was full of determination, of resolu-
tion, and seemed to say: "Let come, what will."
It was that of a man of strength, a servitor to the
wishes of a master who employed himself in forging
this strength. 19
/ Fink, Kalkstein, Anhalt, on the one side ; on the other,
/ French refugees : these are Frederick's teachers, these
*^the environments and influences at work upon his
youthful mind. The former are war veterans, the
latter, martyrs to the faith, who sacrificed honors,
fortune, country (and such a country!) to the service
of God. The lives of all were lessons of heroism,
but the officers were, according to the king's idea, his
son's only instructors. Compared with them, the inform-
ator^ Duhan, was a small personage, hardly visible.
The object of the education being to make of him a
chief of state, and a chief of war, the true masters
should be the king's generals. The principal merit
of Duhan was his brave conduct under fire of the
Swedes : philosophy, science, letters, these the King
of Prussia did not take into account at all.
Frederick William did not know that he was going
to put Minerva and Bellona into competition in the
mind of his son. This Spartan did not burn the
smallest grain of incense upon the altar of the goddess
of Athens. Had he seen in Duhan all this vast
world of thought and learning, he would have turned
his head away, instead of having this young man
presented to him in the trench at Stralsund.
20 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Without either the knowledge or the wish, he offered
to his son the double education which accorded best
with his nature and with the genius which slumbered
within him.
INSTRUCTION TO THE PRECEPTORS.
According to custom, Frederick William remitted to
the preceptors an Instruction upon the education of
his son. He utilized the one that had been given to
his own instructor, in 1695, by the king his father;
but there were some corrections made, which were
certainly from his own hand.
Frederick I. used the majestic style of language as
was his custom. 20 He began by thanking God for
His kindness in giving to him an heir "to so many
and such great countries," "to such magnificent coun-
tries." He professed to be overpowered with the
responsibilities imposed upon him, in the education of
a prince, upon whom depended "the salvation and
happiness of so many millions of men." He said in
speaking of himself: "We"; of his wife and son,
"our revered wife the Dilection, our well-beloved
son." Frederick William divested the words of their
flourishes. As his millions of subjects did not amount
to two, he did not enumerate them. As his countries
were not so magnificent, he struck out the epithet,
and said "the countries," "all the countries." He
wrote: "I," "My wife," "My son."
The Instruction for 1695 may be divided into five
parts : Moral and religious training ; intellectual train-
ing ; training in deportment; physical training; pre-
CHILDHOOD. 21
scriptions relative to the prerogatives of the preceptor,
to the supervision that he must exercise over the
prince, to the authority with which the king invested
him. Frederick William retained these divisions but,
in each one of them, he left out or added something.
The chapter on intellectual training was abridged.
Frederick I. had desired that his son should learn
Latin, history with geography and genealogy, French
and mathematics. Upon each subject he deduced his
reasons. He feared, it is true, that the "Dilection of
his son" would dwell too long upon themes and rules,
experience having proved "that the humdrum of gram-
matical exercises disgusted young princes with the
beautiful Latin language"; but the study of this lan-
guage appeared indispensable, because the Golden Bull
decreed it, because Latin was employed in diplomacy
by several powers, and finally because it was a great
aid in an historical or political education. The king
then ordered that his son should learn the rules, "as
much as possible with pleasure and while playing";
that "the ephor," it is thus he named the preceptor
of the Dilection, "should practice an agreeable Latin
history" so that the prince would learn the history and
the language at the same time. The said ephor must
give his lessons in Latin, speak only Latin "in their
walks or drives," and make the prince learn by heart
aphorisms taken from the best authors, "which could
be used on every occasion."
Through this beautiful passage, as well as through
the fine "State of the Court," Frederick William drew
a long mark : " As for the Latin language, my son shall
22 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
not learn it." Reasons he did not give, but as he
foresaw that he might be questioned, he added : "I for-
bid any one whomsoever to make remarks upon this
subject."
The Instruction for 1695 treated wisely of the
stitdium historicum. It recommended giving the most
time and attention to the history of modern times,
particularly to that of Brandenburg and the Houses
allied to the family of Prussia, but to commence also
with an exposition of universal history, from the crea-
tion of the world. It is very complimentary to history,
''that study preferable to all others, for it is both
entertaining and edifying." The Instruction for 1718
cancels these compliments ; it forbids the study of
" ancient history" otherwise than a passing glance
{fiber hin)\ "but the history of our epoch, that is to
say, of the last hundred and fifty years, should be
pointed out in the most exact way, aufdas genaueste . .
especially that of the reigning House" . . . For this
purpose, "the library and archives will be open to the
prince." Frederick William greatly desired that history
should serve as matter for reflection upon the cause of
events, and for discerning "that which had been well
and that which had been badly done." But he meant
it to be, above all, a preparation for the very affairs in
which one day the prince would be occupied. The
pupil would find in previous history contained in the
archives, exact testimonies of a true history. The king,
perhaps, was hoping that his son would show a pref-
erence for the parchments wherein were inscribed the
rights of the House with the largest inheritance.
CHILDHOOD. 23
The article upon mathematics pleased Frederick
William ; the point at issue being, principally, military
mathematics which treat "of fortifications, the form-
ation of a camp and other sciences of war." But on
reading the passage again, he noticed this consideration ;
that a prince "must be instructed, from childhood,
in the calling of a general"; he wrote "in the calling
of an officer and general," thinking it was not exactly
congruous to make a baby, all at once, a general.
However, as the main idea pleased him and it was,
according to his notion, the essential one, he insisted:
"They must inculcate in my son the veritable love for
a soldier's life, impress him with the idea, that noth-
ing in the world is more capable of giving a prince
more glory than the sword ; that he w T ould be a
despicable creature, on this earth, if he did not love
this sword, if he did not seek in it and through it
the only glory, die einzige Gloire."
The Instruction for 1695 prescribed the study of
the French language by exercises and by reading
good French books. Frederick William added it was
necessary "to see that his son should become accus-
tomed to an elegant, concise style, in French as well
as in German." Frederick I. had forgotten to men-
tion German. He had also forgotten political economy
and constitutional law, which Frederick William in-
troduced in the place left vacant by Latin.
The chapter on deportment was shortened, as one
might expect. Frederick William consented that his
son should be taught to converse well, to turn a
gratulatio, or harangue an army, in order to excite it
24 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
to vigorous action, to argue in Councils, to make a
summary of advices, and pass judgment. But he
suppressed here the word "eloquence," for it was
sufficient that his son should learn to express himself
"clearly and purely." He crossed out a solemn dis-
sertation "on the decorum more suitable for a reign-
ing prince than for any other human being," upon
the proper ways of gaining obedience and love of
subjects, and the necessary intermingling "of majesty
and humanity." He simply said: "See that my son
has good morals and befitting deportment, and agree-
able manners, but no pedantry."
There is almost complete accord in regard to physi-
cal culture, requiring careful gradation, so as never to
exceed the child's strength ; the same as regards the
"honest recreations" of the pupil; but Frederick
William did not wish these precautions to go so far
as to enervate the body, for it must be inured to a
hard life. As there was nothing he disliked more
than laziness, he ordered them to imbue the prince^
"with the greatest possible disgust for this vice, one
of the worst of all vices."
He prescribed the most rigorous measures in regard
to the "frequentations" of his son. The preceptors
must never leave him alone ; one of them must always
be with him, even at night. They should choose
with care the prince's table companions. They must
submit to the king the list of persons that they pro-
pose admitting to the presence of his son. Concerning
the dangers which may arise at the age of puberty,
the king said calling things by their names, which
CHILDHOOD. 25
will not bear repetition "Have a care! for I make
you both responsible with your heads."
To him, the religious and moral education was
much the most important. Here he added, "Develop
and form it at the same time."
He did not content himself with a commonplace
phrase upon the necessity of instructing his son in
the fear of God, that being the only restraint capable
of controlling princes, for whom the world has neither
punishment nor reward ; but he commanded that his
son should be educated with a horror of Atheism,
Arianism, Socinianism and Catholicism, these he stur-
dily qualified as absurd. He defined the faith to
which he wished the prince to belong. The Protest-
ant church was troubled with the quarrels of the
Lutherans and Calvinists. The ambition of a few
princes and thinkers like Leibnitz was to reunite the
two sects; Frederick William passionately desired this
reconciliation. The chief obstacle was a grave dog-
matic dissentation; the Lutherans taught that salvation
was accessible to all, that Christ died for all ; the
Calvinists, that God predestined, from the beginning,
a certain number of men to be saved, and others to
be damned. The Lutherans were "Universalists," and
the Calvinists, "Particularists." But there were Uni-
versalists among the Calvinists ; Frederick William was
of the number. He had in this, as in everything else,
simple, practical reasons. He did not care about being
damned in advance. He understood that the Universal-
ist-Calvinists were nearer than the others in consenting
to the wished-for union. And to sum up, the doctrine
26 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
of predestination appeared to him dangerous for the
State, because it suppressed the responsibility of the
subjects. He forbade these teachers to preach to the
soldiers, for fear they might believe themselves pre-
destined to desert the ranks, and desert for that reason.
He wished then that the prince should be educated in the
true Christian religion, of which "the principal dogma
is, that Christ died for all men." "You must not
make him a Particularism" said he ; "he must believe
in universal salvation."
The counsels on morality are also much more prac-
tical in the Instruction for 1718. The king intended
that his son should be warned against certain extrav-
agant vanities, operas, comedies and other worldly
amusements : "Give him a distaste for it ! " He forbade
flattery, under penalty of incurring " his greatest dis-
pleasure." He commanded them to employ "every
means imaginable" to combat with pride and arrogance.
They must "accustom the prince to right management,
economy, modesty, and have a care that he shall become
a good economist, and learn by degrees all that is
necessary in order to become so."
The corrections made by Frederick William in the
Instruction for 1695 rank him among the pedagogues
who desire to make education a direct preparation for
a practical life. The problem was fixed in his mind
thus : Being given a child destined to the profession
of king, over a certain country, Prussia, and at a given
'time in the history of this country, what must the
child be taught? How to be King of Prussia, at
this given time. Perhaps in other countries, the sons
CHILDHOOD. 27
of kings, the Dauphins, the Princes of Wales, the
Infantes, have the time to study discourses upon univer-
sal history, to learn Latin, and to seek aphorisms in
the editions of classics arranged for their use. It may
be the proper thing to have them drilled in fine man-
ners ; to behave with dignity at a small or grand levee
is not a thing so natural that a training is not neces-
sary for it, but, in Prussia, the king rises all alone,
to the drum tap, and retires without ceremony, after
having smoked his pipe. He is not a potentate like
the Kings of England, France, or Spain. Being "a
king in trust," as Frederick William said, he did not
belong to the great in history, and had nothing in
common with the Kings or Emperors of Assyria, Egypt
or Rome. Herodotus, Thucydides, Titus, Livy, Tacitus,
did not know the names of Pomerania, Silesia, Meck-
lenburg, Juliers, Berg, and other countries over which
the "House" had rights. They were ignorant even of
the House itself. Of what use can they be? And
their language ? How employ it in the army or in
"economy?"
A regiment is a regiment, not a legion ; a gun is a
gun, not a pike ; a captain is a captain, not a centurion ;
there is no word for colonel, and neither these Greeks
nor these Romans knew anything about field-marshals.
All this antique form is, then, cumbersome in its use-
less ceremony ; it weighs down and burdens the mind,
as the big peruke the movements of the head it over-
heats and fatigues. A King of Prussia has need of a
free mind and head. The late Frederick I. made a mis-
take in wishing to have his crown prince educated like
28 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the son of a classic king. He had not meditated upon
the fable of the frog who burst himself trying to get
bigger. Hardly seated in his royal chair, than he
showed in every way that he was entirely satisfied with
himself. He did wrong ; he should have descended
from his throne, walked, ridden, and worked in real
life. The honor of being king creates the duty of pos-
sessing a true kingdom, and it is a very weak presump-
tion to believe that the name suffices, and that one has
the right, because one is titled like Louis XIV., to wear
the same peruke as he. Then down with the peruke,
majesty, ceremony, universal history and Latin dis-
course.
The reform of the Instruction for 1695 emanates
from the same source as the Court reform, and leads to
the same end. All that the king judged useless he sup-
; pressed. He prescribed for his son's mind the simple
tenor of work, which should be that of the king, the
Court and all that old monarchy born but yesterday,
and which has its fortune to make.
For these same reasons the king took away all cere-
mony from the life of the pupil. He himself had
been overwhelmed with pedagogical ceremony. 21 In
1695, the day that his preceptor, Count Dohna, was
installed, the Court assembled to listen to a lengthy dis-
course by Fuchs, the Minister of State: "The swad-
dling clothes of an infant born in the purple," said he,
" inspire us always with a secret veneration, but often-
times they cover a cruel Busiris instead of a magnani-
mous Hercules ; a bloody Domitian instead of a humane
and clement Titus." But Fuchs quickly modified this :
CHILDHOOD. 29
" There can only come from the glorious blood of Bran-
denburg and Brunswick a worthy successor of so many
illustrious heroes, whose virtues have dazzled the whole
universe." Then, pointing to the young prince: " These
sparkling eyes, full of fire, this majestic and graceful
bearing, do they not tell us in advance that a body so
well formed must be animated by a mind better still ?
This union of body and mind will combine in this
prince, some day, the valor of a David, the wisdom of a
Solomon, the clemency of an Augustus, the complais-
ance of a Titus, so that he may be in his turn the de-
light of mankind." . . . Frederick William, no
doubt, had yawned during this fete of the inauguration
of his studies. He hated metaphors. This realist had
often spoken of the blue cloth of his soldiers, but never
of the purple.
He had been constrained to submit, from time to
time, when he was a student, to examinations before the
assembled Court, with the king sitting upon his throne.
We have the ritual of one of these ceremonies, which
lasted two days. " The first day," according to the pro-
gram arranged by the ephors, "His Royal Highness
will read from the printed and written German, write
from dictation, solve a few arithmetical problems, read
a French book selected by His Majesty, and relate in
French the moral and the sense of a few fables. He
will translate, from Latin into German, passages from
the Orbis pictus, and from German into Latin, verses
from the Bible. He will show what he knows of
geography, confining himself to the map of Germany.
The second day the prince will recite Latin sentences,
30 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
until His Majesty bids him cease. He will be ques-
tioned upon an abridgment of profane and sacred histo-
ry, upon the history of Brandenburg, and the geography
of Germany in its minutest details ; area of the country,
latitude and longitude, rivers, provinces, principal cities ;
the immediate States of the Empire, with the extent of
their territories ; division of the Empire into circles,
with their governors, etc." The program furthermore
added that it was not necessary to mention the prayers,
passages of Holy Scripture, Psalms and sacred hymns,
as well as much other knowledge that had nourished the
soul and formed the heart of His Royal Highness.
They likewise made no mention of the military exer-
cises, horsemanship, dancing, the harpsichord, the flute,
everyone knowing that in these things His Highness
was very proficient.
These examinations had, doubtless, been insupport-
able to the prince. He acquitted himself well enough, it
seems, since the king rewarded him several times, count-
ing out to him some bright ducats; but it is probable
that the ephors added some of their own, and contrived
to make His Highness shine. They had an eye to their
own fame and interest. At the end of the program, in
post-scriptum, they implored the blessing of God and
the gracious continuation of the confidence of their
Majesties. They give themselves the credit of the sus-
cess attained, in saying that "His Royal Highness, fol-
lowing the ordinary run of minds which promise much
of judgment and solidity, had difficulty in learning."
All this savored strong of the Court comedy. Freder-
ick William replaced this ceremonial by weekly recapit-
CHILDHOOD. 31
ulations. Saturday morning the prince was questioned
upon the work of the week. If he had "profited," he
was at liberty for the afternoon. If not, he had to go
over again, during a study of four hours, that which he
did not know.
The King of Prussia was accustomed to leave nothing
to chance, and had the gift of seeing in everything
the detail in its exact order ; his greatest pleasure was
to draw up regulations. Thus he methodized, minute
by minute, the occupation of his son's days. 22
Sundays the prince must rise at 7 a. m. As soon as
he puts his slippers on he must kneel by his bed and
recite this prayer aloud: "Lord God, Holy Father, I
heartily thank Thee for having mercifully preserved me
through this niglit. In the name of Jesus, my Savior,
make me obedient to Thy Holy Will, and keep me
from committing, either to-day or ever, an action that
will separate me from Thee. Amen." The prayer said,
the prince, quickly, hurriedly (geschwind, hurtig) must
bathe, powder and dress himself. For the prayer and
toilet he must employ an exact quarter of an hour. He
must breakfast in seven minutes. Then the preceptor
and all the domestics shall enter. All must kneel and
recite the Lord's Prayer ; they must listen to a reading
from the Bible and sing a hymn. For this, twenty-
three minutes. The preceptor must read, immediately
after, the Gospel for Sunday, discourse upon it, and
make the prince recite the Catechism. The prince must
then be conducted to the king, with whom he will at-
tend church and dine. The rest of the day is at his
own disposal. At 9:30 p. m. he must bid his father
32 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
good-night, enter his own apartments, undress hastily
(geschioind), and wash his hands. The preceptor shall
read a prayer and sing a hymn ; the prince must be in
bed by 10:30 p. m.
During the week, rise at 6 o'clock. The prince
must not turn over in bed. He shall rise immediately
(sof/leich), kneel and say the little prayer ; then quickly
(geschwind) put on his shoes, and bathe his face and
hands, but without using soap ; he shall dress in his
jacket and have his hair combed, but not powdered.
While they comb his hair, he must drink his tea or
coffee. At 6:30 o'clock the preceptor and domestics
shall enter; reading of the Lord's Prayer and a chapter
in the Bible ; then the singing of a hymn. After-
ward shall follow the lessons, to be continued from seven
until a quarter to eleven. Then the prince must
hurriedly (c/eschwind) bathe his face and hands, using
soap for the hands only. He must be powdered and
put on his coat, then enter the king's presence, there
to remain from eleven until two o'clock. After this,
the lessons must be resumed to be continued until 5
o'clock. The prince may then dispose of his time as
he pleases until the hour for retiring, "provided he
does nothing contrary to the will of God." The
program ends with a last injunction to dress quickly,
and always keep himself clean, "dass er propre und
reinlich werde."
Thus, the king had foreseen everything, ordered
everything, from the manner of washing his hands, to
the form of his belief, disregarding entirely the method
of cultivating the mind. He desired that his son
CHILDHOOD. 33
should be like him in everything, exact, diligent,
prompt, practical, devout, and soldierly. He loved his
boy. He used familiar expressions in speaking of
him: "The rest of the day shall be for Fritz, vor
Fritzen." He wished his son to love him. He, him-
self, as a child, unquestionably had suffered much
from the ceremonious reserve by which he was sepa-
rated from his father, whom he greatly feared. He
forbade them to inspire Fritz with any feeling of fear
in regard to him. Of course, his son must be sub-
missive, but not servile (sklavisch). The most impor-
tant thing was, that the child should have confidence
in his father, and look upon him as his best friend.
In a first correction of the Instruction for 1718, the
king had written, in order to define the kind of affec-
tion he desired, the words "Fraternal love." 23 He con-
sented to have his son stand in awe of his mother, but
not of him : "Make him fear his mother but not me."
And he was convinced that all was for the best, in
the best of possible educations. In all good faith, he
believed that a mind could be maneuvered like a
regiment, and that a soul would yield itself to cultiva-
tion at will, just as an estate is worked for its products.
THE GERMS OF CONFLICT BETWEEN FATHER AND SON.
Those who had known Frederick William as a child,
Mme. de Rocoulle, for instance, must have been sur-
prised to find how slight was the resemblance between
Fritz and his father. When Frederick William came
into the world he was very robust. His grandmother,
the Electress of Hanover, who was in Berlin at the
34 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
time of his birth, admired the strong structure of his
limbs. From the age of four, he was a formidable
youngster. One day, while they were dressing him, he
tore a buckle from his shoe, and put it into his mouth.
When they wished to take it away from him, he swal-
lowed it. His mother uttered cries that would have
"melted rocks"; his father, majestic as he was, came
near losing his senses. The physicians, however, pre-
scribed a purgative and the buckle is on exhibition in a
glass case, at the Hohenzollern Museum, in Berlin.
In growing up, he acquired a taste for malicious pranks,
some of which I have already related. He was ex-
tremely brutal. They had to bring him back from his
grandparents of Hanover, where he had been visiting,
for while there he had unmercifully beaten his cousin,
the future George II. of England. He detested this
cousin all his life. One day, they had to tear him
away by force from the Prince of Courlande, whom
he held by the hair. He did not have one good quality,
nor the least coquetry of a child who desired to please.
He fled from ladies, blushed, when out of respect they
kissed his hands, and, when he had to speak to them,
he never said anything agreeable, to the great despair
of Sophia Charlotte, who had found that "affection
refines the mind and polishes the manners." He was
a coarse little savage. 2i
"Little Fritz," said his sister Wilhelmina, "had a
very weak constitution. His taciturn humor and lack
of animation gave just cause of fear for his life." He
had several diseases during his infancy ; he became
stronger as he grew up, but always looked very delicate,
CHILDHOOD. 35
with an air of sadness about him, thinking a long
while before answering. He was moreover, an amiable
child, earnestly beloved by the household, and, with
the exception of some little temper, had an " angelic
disposition." Wilhelmina tells us that he learned
slowly, but that signified unquestionably that certain
things were distasteful to him, or that he had the dis-
tractions of a youthful mind that regarded other things
through natural preference. Other witnesses eulogized
his good qualities, and the incredible facility he had
of learning everything he wished to learn. He adored
his sister Wilhelmina, his elder by nearly three years,
whose precocity everybody praised, for she had all
the manners of a full-grown young lady ; she was
lively and sensible, and loved her brother. "My only
diversion was to see my brother. No attachment ever
equaled ours." 25 They were both pretty; Pesne has
painted them together : Fritz (who was about five years
old) is in a low-necked velvet dress, with the Grand
Cordon and Star of the Black Eagle ; he wears a hat
with a long plume. His right hand holds a drum-
stick, and is raised with a gesture which signifies :
Forward ! He looks at his sister as though to urge her
to advance. Wilhelmina wears over her dress of a
Marchioness a la Watteau, a velvet mantle with a long
train. She looks you in the face ; one hand gathers
up a loose bunch of flowers in the fold of her mantle ;
the other, resting upon the drum, stays the hand of
Fritz from beating it. She is truly the big sister who
guides the little brother. From both heads fall blonde
curls. Fritz has a firmer chin, but if their clothes were
36 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
exchanged, it would be difficult to tell the boy from
the girl.
There was then in Fritz a delicacy, a fine distinction
of nature, which his father did not foresee, and which
he never saw, perhaps. However, the Crown Prince
only gave at first, cause for contentment to the king.
He played soldier very well. He was barely six years
old when his father organized for him a "company of
Crown Prince Cadets," composed of one hundred and
thirty-one children, selected from several cadet schools.
The effective force was increased little by little ; the
company became the "Crown-Prince-Royal-Battalion of
Cadets." This was a nursery of future heroes for the
wars of the great reign ; they had sowed in it nothing
but the best grain ; squires, sons of squires ; soldiers,
sons of soldiers. These pigmies composed, in minia-
ture, a model troop. They learned the art of renounc-
ing all personal movement, to assimilate themselves
into this toy machine accurately and neatly, and to
make their little maneuvers in perfect unison. Fritz
first drilled in the ranks, commanded by Instructor
Rentzell, a big boy of seventeen. Afterward he himself
commanded. He had the honor of being reviewed
by Czar Peter and by his grandfather, the King of
England, who admired him very much. In 1721 the
king gave him for his birthday present a little arsenal,
installed in one of the rooms of the palace at Berlin.
" Dites que mon berceau f ut environne d' armes "
(Say that my cradle was surrounded by arms),
wrote Frederick later. The father, in fact, had placed
them everywhere.
CHILDHOOD. 37
It seemed that Fritz had made an effort to be agree-
able in everything to his father. We have the letters
that he wrote then: For the first, which was in 1717,
his hand was guided ; he wrote the second all alone, for
which reason he begs the king to keep it as a souvenir.
It is a pretty communication of a little officer. The
prince submits "the list" of his company of cadets.
He returns thanks for a new cadet who has been sent to
him ; he hopes that this recruit will soon grow up and
take a place one day in the famous battalion, in which
Frederick William admitted none but giants. He gives
a report of his company, which had executed the ma-
neuvers so well and "made such good shots that it
was impossible to do better" ; for this success he gave
them a tun of beer. That must have gone straight to
the king's heart. 26 The "dear papa," who was a great
hunter, was to learn also with joy that his son had
killed a hare and shot his first partridge. But the fol-
lowing must have given him more pleasure than all.
In 1720 Fritz composed in French a little piece entitled:
"The Way the Prince of a Great House Should Live." 27
"He must be noble-hearted, belong to the Reformed
religion, fear God in a certain way, not like people who
do it for money, or for the world. He must love his
father and mother ; he must be grateful.
1 ' He must love God with all his heart, for, when one
loves Him, one does everything to please Him.
He must not make long prayers, like the Pharisees, but
(un petit) a little one. He must thank Jesus Christ for
His kindness in crucifying Himself for us, poor sinners.
He must never renounce the Reformed religion, and in his
38 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
illnesses consider that God has sent them to us, to re-
mind us that we are sinners; and we must not think, I am
not sick, I can vanquish God, for it is necessary always to
think, I am a sinner. He must not love a thing too much,
he must be obliging, civil, speak with all men. When one
knows how to do well and does not do so, this is a sin.
He must act as it is in the Ten Commandments, not to
steal, to keep one's self pure, and to think always, all
that I do well comes from God. He must never think
evil ; all evil that comes into the mind comes from the
devil. He must think of the passage of Scripture that
says : ' Be sober, be vigilant ; because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom
he may devour ; whom resist steadfast in the faith.'
" Oct. 4, 1720. Friedrich."
" Note well," said Kalkstein, concerning this compo-
sition, of which he had made a copy from the original,
"that H. R. H. the Crown Prince of Prussia, wrote
this on the morning of the 4th of October, according to
his own impulse and without having communicated this
design to anyone whomsoever, at the age of eight years,
eight months and eleven days." 28 He assures us that he
had "neither added to nor taken out a single letter."
However, he must have at least corrected the orthogra-
phy, for the prince, a long time after this date, spelled
in such a way that it was difficult, at first reading, to
comprehend his meaning. It is evident, besides, that
the child only repeated his lessons of religious in-
struction, and probably word for word. It is a curious
thing, however, that the first writing of Frederick the
Great should have been this : " The Way the Prince of
CHILDHOOD. 39
a Great House Should Live." "May God," said Kalk-
stein, "confirm him in these pious sentiments, that are
truly beyond his age." This also was the cherished wish
of King Frederick William.
Meanwhile, during the daily lessons, in the tete-a-tetes
with Duhan, little by little, without anyone perceiving
it, a work was going on, entirely different from these
exercises of the little soldier and young Christian. The
education of the prince overstepped the limits the king
prescribed. Duhan did not deliberately disobey the in-
structions that he received ; but, in spite of himself, he
amended, retrenched, and added. He corrected the let-
ter by the spirit. The king, as soon as he perceived
this, tried to bring Duhan back to the letter. He had
ordered that Fritz should learn history from the Theatrum
JEuropceiim, a collection of volumes in folio, with maps,
plans, illustrations, where the facts were enumerated
year by year, from 1617. This was a repertory enor-
mous and indigestible. Duhan arranged it so that the.
prince should not lose himself in it. "I purpose," said
he in a note to the king, "to spare His Royal Highness
the trouble of reading this long work, by gathering up
for him the most remarkable events, according to the
exact order of the book." The king wrote on the margin,
"All the events" Duhan added that he would put the
prince " in a way to reason upon the events every time
the king would notify him to do so. However, His
Highness had no need of learning anything by heart,
unless it was the names of the most celebrated persons,
the principal battles, sieges and summaries of the
treaties of peace." In a marginal note the king re-
40 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
plied: " He must learn by heart, for that will form
his memory." 29
Propositions and responses show the conflict of the
two minds ; the king did not care about general consid-
erations ; the philosophy of history was not to his taste.
He desired facts, facts, and facts only. But, if the
preceptor had obeyed the king, the prince would have
had to learn two or three volumes in folio each year.
Duhan certainly did not put him to this torture.
The preceptor ended his note by saying that it would
be well to repeat from time to time an outline of the
history of Brandenburg. "Good," wrote the king;
"but the history of the Greeks and Romans must be
abolished ; they serve no purpose. " Here it was in vain
for the master to desire not to disobey the king ; the
sacrifice of antiquity was beyond his strength. To-day,
we who have lived a century longer, a century sur-
charged with events, ideas and sentiments, more potent
than all, a century which has regenerated the opinions
of man upon himself and upon all matter ; we who feel
clearly that one destiny ends and another begins, that
the present gives birth to the future, have no longer the
leisure to look into the past. Antiquity will keep the
graces of its arts and the charm of its eternal and simple
wisdom some time yet for the initiated, then it will
vanish into oblivion. A hundred years ago it was the
light of the world. All cultivated men fed their intellect
upon it. It was there they found the perfection of form
and thought, the types of virtue and vice, the expressions
of joy and sorrow ; the morale of the " honest man," as
they said, was a reminiscence ; a maxim, a citation.
CHILDHOOD. 41
The envious was called Zoilus ; the ugly, Thersites ; the
triumphant hero, Achilles ; the unsuccessful hero, Hec-
tor. Marathon and Zama were the combats of yesterday;
Pythagoras, Solon, Numa, inimitable models of law-
makers. Classical Mythology was reduced to one of a
thousand human ways of expressing the thoughts and
dreams of men ; not the best, nor yet the most pro-
found. Scholars as well as poets reveled in it, familiar
with all its ideality and its pretty detours.
Not to make his prince acquainted with the Greeks
and Romans was, of course, impossible to Duhan, utterly
impossible. The classics, consequently, often became
the topic of conversation between tutor and pupil. Du-
han's most plausible pretext was, perhaps, the reading of
Telemachus. 30 Frederick William had no objection to
this. When a child, he had read this book with his
mother, who explained it to him. Sophia Charlotte
thought to find in the study of this calm work, so deeply
imprinted with Hellenic serenity, a means of polish-
ing her savage boy. She would walk with her son,
in the park at Charlottenburg, Telemachus in hand ;
read, explain, and question. She even wrote out her
questions and Frederick William's answers. He spoke
like a sage of Sesostris, of Pygmalion, the good Min-
ister Narbas, the bad Minister Metophis, and expressed
his admiration for Telemachus' strength in fleeing from
the beautiful Eucharis. This edifying dialogue between
mother and son prefaced the edition of Fenelon that
Duhan and Frederick read together. Now Telemachus
is a hero, exalted to virtue and glory, according to
the maxims of ancient wisdom. This reading must
42 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
have transported the imagination of Fritz far from
the Spree and Havel, his company of cadets, giant
recruits, and the history of Brandenburg, Brunswick
and Hesse.
It is very difficult to study antiquity without know-
ing the ancient languages. Duhan tried, they say,
to scheme. A royal prince, heir to an electorate, must
read the Golden Bull, which was one of the consti-
tutions of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic
nation. It showed the privileges of the Seignior Elec-
tors ; the places assigned to them in the imperial
cortege ; in the imperial sittings ; in the festive hall,
where the Emperor dined, crown on head; and, upon
this basis of ceremonies, was painted in relief the
anarchy of old Germany. Duhan contrived to have
this venerable document explained to the prince. He
imposed this duty upon an assistant teacher, but as
ill luck would have it, the king entered his son's apart-
ments, during the course of one of the lessons : < ' What
are you doing, there, you rascal ? " he demanded of
the teacher. "Your Majesty," responded the poor
man, "I am explaining to his Highness the Golden
Bull." "Just wait," replied Frederick William, "I
will Golden Bull you," and he raised his cane. Thus
ended the instruction in Latin. Fritz however secretly
learned a few of the elementary principles, which enabled
him later to make some very queer citations, it is
true; for, by the side of: O temporal O mores! and
Dominus vobiscum, which are correct, we find, in his
collection of aphorisms, a Meatus pauperes spiritus,
a Compille intrare, a De gustibus non est disputandus.
CHILDHOOD. 43
which proves, according to Frederick William, that
in order to learn how to reign and conquer, Latin is
not necessary.
Frederick read in translations the masterpieces of
classic antiquity, for he was a great reader. He said
later that, his sister Wilhelmina having made him
i ' ashamed to neglect his talents, he set himself to
reading." He commenced with romances : " I obtained
Pierre de Province (this was a Provencal romance trans-
lated into French). They would not have consented
for me to read it ; I hid the book, and, when my pre-
ceptor, General Fink, and my valet slept, I went into
another room, where I found a lamp in the chimney.
I crouched down, and read." 31 Behold a pretty scene of
a child reader, wherein is revealed one of Frederick's
ruling passions which gave him so much pleasure, and
even whiled away his greatest hours of tribulation.
But in this way the child learned to taste forbidden
fruit. At the hour when he was reading, the order
was to sleep. The king would not have permitted this
infraction of discipline, no matter if the secret read-
ing had been that of the Theatrum PJuropceum.
He w T ould have forbidden many other things besides,
if he had known of them. He did not see expanding
in his son's mind an ideal totally different from the
"practical" that he intended to impose, neither the
growing pleasure of secret disobedience, contradiction
and opposition. One fine day however, all kinds of
vague indications of a manner of living, displeasing
to him, will open up before his eyes. He will ask
himself, "What is going on in this little brain?"
44 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Accordingly as he divines what is "going on," he
will become disturbed, enraged; in the end, he will
rejoice.
Before relating the quarrel between father and son,
we must become well acquainted with the personality
of Frederick William, of which we have just caught
a glimpse. Let us see him in the State, in his family,
and in the familiarity of daily intercourse. In this
wise, we shall begin to discover the cause and character
of a conflict, where the Crown Prince, vanquished by
his father, learned that he was born, not for letters,
but for action and command.
CHAPTER II.
THE FATHER OF FREDERICK THE GREAT THE IDEAS
AND MODES OF GOVERNMENT OF FREDERICK WILLIAM.
XpREDERICK WILLIAM had but few ideas, and
-*- so simple were they that nothing more could
be added; to wit : "A king needs to be strong; in
order to be strong, he must have a good army ; in order
to maintain a good army, he must pay it ; in order to
pay it, he must raise the money." Outside of this he had
a unique and original conception of his functions ; he
considered the King of Prussia an ideal and perpetual
being, of whom he, Frederick William, was but the
servant: "I am," said he, "the General-in-Chief and
the Minister of Finance of the King of Prussia." This
mystic conception of his office had this very practical
result ; viz. : he did not believe himself authorized to
enjoy royalty ; he administered it in his master's behalf.
All his life he worked under the eye of this master,
whom he knew to be redoubtable.
Prussia was not a nation. It was a union of territo-
ries, separated from one another, spreading from the
Rhine to the Vistula, from the Baltic toward the
mountains of Bohemia, having neither the same memo-
rials nor the same customs, united by the result of a few
marriages and the fortuity of a few deaths. It is true
that this union had been in existence and these countries
45
46 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
under a common ruler for a century. The predecessors
of Frederick William had destroyed provincial liberties
in the Rhine countries, as well as in Brandenburg and
Prussia. There remained very little for him to do in
order to establish his sovereignty (the word is his) "like
a rock of bronze, wie einen Hocher von Bronce" But
he ruled over a species of inert matter. His subjects
had no zeal for any public undertaking, of which they
had not even a conception ; that rested in the king aloner**
The future of Prussia was in the mind and will of the m
Sovereign. ^
Frederick William made this mind and this will felt
everywhere. It is always in action, on the scene, to the
front. It is not an institution that operates ; it is a
person in flesh and blood, fashioned in a certain mold,
whose voice we hear and whose hand we feel, a hand
armed with the sword of justice on great occasions, and
a stick on minor ones. This character, so "personnel,"
lives not in the abstract. For him, the ministry, the
administration, the army, are definite individuals, minis-
ters, counselors, officers, that go by such and such
names, and must do such and such things. The royal
domain is composed of estates of such a quality or of
such a defect, situated in such a place, for which the
farmer, Jack or Peter, pays or does not pay his rent.
Without interposition of general ideas, of acquired cus-
toms, of wheel-work that turns for the pleasure of turn-
ing, of means to produce ends ; without restraint of
decorum, of majesty, of velvet, of silk gloves that pre-
vent the hand from touching the pie, Frederick William
attacks the practical and manipulates the concrete.
THE FATHER. 47
His father left him an army of some thirty odd
thousand men. It was a suitable number, rather large
even, for a kingdom that had only two million subjects.
He wished to have at least eighty thousand soldiers.
His father, his grandfather, all his predecessors had
received foreign subsidies ; they had taken money of
all effigies, louis, sterlings, and florins : he, however,
made it a point of honor to pay his expenses, only
n money duly and rightfully gained by him. So it
ecame necessary to improve the kingdom in such
that it would bring forth more each year. To
e "a surplus," as he said again and again, ein
^ machen, everything depends upon that: "Whoever
\y$) disposal of ready cash commands both the
civil and military service, and by augmentation gains
the respect and the admiration of the world."
His whole principle of government, 32 his whole manner
of living is shown in a decree, which should be
placed among the great documents of history, for
it has produced results, or rather, a single result the
power of Prussia. He composed this decree about
the last of December, 1722, after a retreat to a hunt-
ing lodge. For a long time the king was discontented
with the general system of administration. The State
had, at that time, her chief revenues from two different
sources: First, revenues domanial, which comprised
tillable lands belonging to the crown, products of the
forests, mines, salt-works, posts, customs, rights of
transit and stamp-duty ; second, war revenues, of which
the principal ones were the contribution, direct impost
levied upon the low countries, and the excise, indirect
48 FREDERICK THE GREAT;
impost, collected in the cities. The war revenues were
controlled in the provinces by assemblies called War
Commissariats, which reported to the General Com-
missariat of War ; and it reported to the Chamber of
Administration which was controlled by the General
Directory of Finances. These two Administrations
had a hundred occasions of contradicting each other,
and they never allowed a single one to pass. They
were constantly at law ; a press of affairs was sus-
pended, and the king, in the confusion of these chican-
eries, could not find out the exact state of his finances,
by which he wished to regulate the expense of his
army. He resolved to unite these opposing bodies,
and to teach them, in clear terms, their duty.
For several days, he reflected, in his retreat at
Schonebeck : then, taking up a pen, he wrote a first
plan of instruction. He applied himself vigorously,
taking a pride in doing it so well, that no one could
counsel him to add the least thing. He then set
out for Potsdam, where he had one of his secretaries,
Thulemeier, called, and ordered him to make a copy
of his manuscript: " Come to-morrow," said he, "with
some strong paper, and some black cord mixed with
silver. We will have two days work on it." But
the two days did not suffice ; the king dictated, then
had that read to him, corrected it, then had it read
again and corrected. At last the 19th of January,
1723, the members of the General Commissariat of
War and those of the General Directory of Finance
were called to the palace.
Not one of them knew for what purpose. Ilgen, a
(& V^V^-^M THE FATHER. 49
minister, began by reading a royal mandate, in which
they were rebuked for their follies and errors: "The
two assemblies know how to do nothing but oppose each
other, as if the Commissariat General and Chamber of
Administration do not likewise belong to the King of
Prussia. The Commissariat has lawyers paid from my
purse, to plead against the Finance, consequently against
me. The Finance, to defend itself, has lawyers also
paid from my purse. It is time to put an end to this
work of confusion." Consequently, the members of
the two bodies were informed that they were united into
a single body, "the General Superior Directory of Fi-
nance, War and Administration, General-ober-Finanz-
Kriegs-und- Domdnen- Directorium." They were then
led into a hall prepared for them ; Ilgen indicated to
each one his place, and, standing before the portrait
of His Majesty, read the Instruction. After that he
conducted them to the king, who received their oath " to
work, as much as it was humanly possible, in the service
and for the welfare of His Royal Majesty, particularly
in the augmentation and improvement of all kinds of
revenues, and at the same time for the preservation of
the subjects, in the low countries as well as in the cities,
and, per contra, to avoid and foresee all that might
be injurious to his said Majesty and to the Royal House,
to the country and the faithful subjects." 33
Here are the two principles : Increase of revenue, and
preservation of subjects. The king insists upon this in
the Instruction. "Every one knows the formidable con-
sequences of badly taken measures and too heavy taxes,
which enervate the people and render them incapable of
50 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
furnishing integrally to the sovereign the customary
prestations." It is necessary, then, to watch over the
preservation and prosperity of the cities, villages, and
the low countries, and to impose no tax too heavy for
the people to bear. Third principle : The public taxa-
tion shall be equally distributed among all ; the contri-
bution shall be taxed " after the cadastre of which they
shall always keep themselves thoroughly informed."
From the excise no one shall be exempt: "We will pay
it, we and our Royal House. All conveyances from ours
to the lowliest peasant shall be taxed ; " for the burdens
of State "must fall equally upon all shoulders."
These are about the only general ideas to be found in
this document. They are worth the trouble of repeti-
tion, for they express a whole philosophy of State. It
was not a fiscal ordinance that Frederick William wrote
in his hunting lodge ; it was a chart, a great chart of a
monarchy, of a particular kind in which the monarch is
coalescent with State, like the God of Spinoza with na-
ture. Understand well that these are not empty formu-
las that Frederick William has written ; they are truths.
He had a horror of vain declarations and principles
"that are lost in wind and blue vapor."
With great conciseness he described the new organi-
zation. The Directory was divided into Departments,
each one of which was presided over by a minister. The
Departments had no special function to perform ; the
monarchical territories were distributed among them ;
the affairs of these territories, of whatever nature they
might be, were referred to them. The king wished that
the counselors should understand all about these affairs.
THE FATHER. 51
" Some will say : ' We are only competent for affairs of
commerce and manufacture, and know nothing of agri-
cultural economy. ' Others will say : ' We comprehend
agricultural economy, and know nothing about the
rest.' . . . To these we respond: 'We have chosen men
intelligent enough to speedily inform themselves upon all
these subjects. They have but to work zealously to
direct their attention to all the affairs, to gain informa-
tion and enlightenment; one will be a school for the
other. A clever, zealous man, who, after God, esteems
nothing more than the favor of his king, whom he serves
through love and honor, not for recompense, and who
has a horror of all intrigue, will soon render himself
skillful enough to serve us in all things. Nevertheless,
we are going to put you to the test. We will take ad-
vantage of this opportunity to send a counselor, compe-
tent in agricultural matters, to establish manufactures
and control the excise ; if he does not administer these
affairs with address it will fare badly with him.' "...
The work of the Directory, the apportionment of
the duties, the methods of decision were regulated
with the greatest care ; the responsibilities were pointed
out in strong terms. The king stated who should be
responsible, according to the case in question, and,
as he called the ministers and counselors by name,
these Instructions had the character of a very curt
menace: "For example, if there is any negligence
in the first Department, Von Herold, Manitius and
Yon Thiele will be held responsible. As 'a word
to the wise is sufficient' there is no reason to believe
that they will act differently."
52 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
The first duty was promptness. All ministers and
counselors, without a written permission from the king,
who arrived an hour late, should forfeit a hundred ducats ;
if they missed an entire sitting they forfeited six months'
salary ; in case of a second offense, they were to be dis-
missed cum infamia, for, "if we pay our counselors,
they must work." The sittings were to convene at 8
o'clock in winter, at 7 in summer, and continue
until the order for the day was exhausted. If the
business was not finished by 2 o'clock, half of the
members should dine, while the other half continued to
work ; those who had dined should return to their places
immediately and the others should replace them at table ;
< 'for it is necessary that our service shall be done
with zeal and fidelity." Every day at 11 o'clock, the
steward must ask the usher of the Directory if the
members were going to dine. "At 2 o'clock, lie shall
serve a good soup, a good dish of fish, a good roast
of beef, mutton or veal, and a quart bottle of good
Rhine wine, to each person. The bill of fare shall
not always be the same. It must be varied, having
a care, that each time there shall be four good dishes
as well prepared as those of His Majesty. For serving
this, there shall be but one lackey, for it is not neces-
sary to have the room filled with lackeys. Each
guest shall immediately receive four plates and a glass ;
he must put the soiled plates in a basket placed near
him." 34
Behold these practical sentiments ! These are real
people in flesh and blood, like the king, who are there
under his surveillance, and who are going to work at
once without any preamble or ceremony.
THE FATHER. 53
Nothing simpler, moreover, than the work prescribed
for them to do : increase the power of the production of
the kingdom, so as to increase the revenues of the king.
The country does not yield all that it can. All the
losses incurred during the Thirty Years' War have
not yet been repaired. The king found, in the old
registers which he consulted, the names of villages that
had entirely disappeared. Since then, war again, and
other scourges had made other depredations. During
the last years of the preceding reign a pestilence had car-
ried off a third of the inhabitants of Prussia, and three-
fourths of the population of Lithuania. These vacan-
cies these Wiiste Stellen, the sight of which made Fred-
erick William ill must be filled. They must build up
the villages of the 17th century and repeople the de-
serted cantons. The peace that the kingdom was then
enjoying insured a superaddition of births ; but this
natural repeopling was slow, and Frederick William was
very impatient. They must, then, make subjects of
foreigners ; his Prussia was the asylum for all who fled
from religious persecution, or who came to seek their
fortunes through labor. He did not content himself
with merely receiving them ; he summoned, cared for
and humored them. To put some one where there never
had been any one before, was to create ; the king thus
applied himself to ameliorate. He did not refuse his
farmers any " repairs" ; if it was necessary to build, he
built ; to make a clearing, he made a clearing ; to drain
a marsh, he did that. This work of increasing the value
of his kingdom, upon which he expended an incredible
amount of energy, he recommended to the Directory, but
54 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
he took the precaution not to be deceived. He could
not bear the idea that a thaler, a pfennig even, should
be stolen from him or misused.
He exacted absolute regularity in the accounts, for
money escaped through the slightest disorder. Neither
did he wish that the farmers to whom a new building
was granted should build it themselves, then retain out
of the rent of the lands the sum expended. "For in-
stance," said he he loved to exemplify and give pre-
cision to his thought by examples "Farmer Lursten,
of Kopenick, owes a rent of 500 thalers. They ask
him why he does not pay it. He answers that his ex-
pense for building counterbalances it, and that the
Chamber of Administration is indebted to him. An-
swers like this arrive from all the countries. This must
be changed ; the farmers must not be occupied in any-
thing but cultivating the soil. They will pay their
quarter's rent without deducting a farthing, for we
will not receive accounts and paper for money. Each
Chamber of Administration shall have a master architect,
who shall have charge of constructions, and a superin-
tendent of the building, who shall pay the workmen.
The master shall watch over the superintendent ; one of
the counselors of the Chamber will keep an eye on both
of these ; the whole Chamber shall look after all three.
If, notwithstanding these precautions, they secretly
blow in the same horn, then they are a lot of rascals."
The founding of the colonies cost very dear ; the
king who "swallowed" this expense, as he said, " spoon-
ful by spoonful," felt the bitterness of it, but he
realized its necessity. So he resolved to continue
THE FATHER. 55
this colonization, but he varied it from year to year.
There was in the arrangement of it something unique
and extraordinary. The king did not like these * < Flic
Flac expenses." He wished to regulate them even
to the minutest detail. He set aside a certain sum,
that must not be exceeded by a farthing, Besides,
he did not approve of making any but good invest-
ments ; the propositions for opening of credits should
be very cautiously dealt with: "Not to build farms
or villages, unless 10 per cent, on the capital employed,
could be realized."
Frederick William put his old and new subjects in
a condition to work : this was his duty. Make the
present subjects do theirs, by working well, that is
to say, in obtaining from the ground all that it can
produce by proper cultivation, without uselessly spend-
ing a farthing. "They have but to take example
from the king" said he: "Upon our little estate of
Schenken, which we cultivate ourselves, and where we
have learned things by experience, not from books."
Thus the population of the kingdom will increase
from day to day ; agricultural implements will be
improved ; new territories will be brought under culti-
vation; the peasant subjects of the King of Prussia
will produce more each year. Then, they will pay
the farm rents and the contributions. The citizens,
as well, must pay their excise, and, in order to do that,
industry must be promoted in the cities, like agricul-
ture in the country. Here again, fill up the Wiiste
Stellen, which are numerous, make and remake, con-
struct and reconstruct. "My cities of Prussia are
56 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
in a bad state": the General Directory must neglect
nothing to remedy this evil. There are not enough
cities in Lithuania : the General Directory must build
some. This must be taken hold of " earnestly and
vigorously, mit Ernst und Vigueur, in such a
way that our desire may be gratified as soon as possi-
ble. They know of what great importance the
establishment of manufactures is to us and to our
country. They must apply themselves with ex-
treme zeal in promoting all kinds of industries, wool,
leather, iron, wood, that do not exist in our country,
and establish as many of them as possible." Foreign
workmen must be imported. - The king indicates to
them where will be found woolen drapers and stock-
ing manufacturers. If they have need of a master-
draper, let them seek one at Gorlitz, at Lissa or in
Holland. They must promise and give him a situation ;
they must marry him to "a girl of our country"; they
must advance the wool to him: "And this is the way
the master-draper will earn his bread, found a family,
and become independent." Nothing easier: "You can-
not make me believe that it will be much trouble to
engage such people and attract them to our country."
The industrial production would then increase like the
agricultural ; but the sale and consumption of the
products should be assured. Here, the rule was very
simple: "Not to buy of foreign countries, or buy as
little as possible ; to sell them as much as possible. As
to the imports of the kingdom, absolute prohibition
or diminution by heavy duties ; as to the exports
a slight tax, which will not prevent exportation. Only
THE FATHER. 57
there are exceptions to this rule. The ideal of the
King of Prussia was that Prussia should be self-sup-
porting, as if she were alone in the world. He estab-
lished between his cities and countries an exchange
of relations and services. He bound together agricul-
ture and commerce, so that they complimented each
other. For example, one of the great agricultural pro-
ducts was wool. The peasants wished to export it ;
but then, it would be necessary for the drapers, who
would not be able to find enough wool in the country,
to buy it outside, and behold the Prussian money going
out of the country. The king then forbade the ex-
portation of wool. The consequence was that all the
wool had to be consumed in the country ; otherwise,
" our provincial Chambers will not fail to say that
our farmers will not be able to dispose of their wool,
that it will no longer be worth anything, and so
forth . . " The king also prescribed to the Cham-
bers of Administration and the Commissariats of War
an exact estimate, on the one hand, of the quantity
and quality of the wool produced in each province ;
on the other, of the manufactories that worked the
wool. "The General Directory," said he, "shall
compare the total of the wool manufactured with the
total of the wool produced. Let us suppose the first
total to be inferior to the second, and that 2,000 pounds
of the wool of first quality and 1,000 of medium quality
will not find buyers. The General Directory shall
establish in a city nine drapers, each of which will
use 300 pounds of good wool, and employ one hundred
operatives in the stocking manufactories, each of which
58 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
will work up at least 10 pounds of medium wool. The
evil is remedied. All this will be profit to the king-
dom, for the Prussian peasant will sell his wool ; Prus-
sia will manufacture cloth and stockings in sufficient
quantities for the consumption of the country and
for exportation." The king was so sure of being in
the right, that to prohibit the exportation of wool,
he ordered as the penalty " strangulation."
Since every one else was attending to his own business,
the king would attend to his also. He admitted no tardi-
ness in the payment of his revenues. For the excise,
which was an indirect impost, there was no difficulty,
but the rural affairs had to await the contributions
and the farm rents. The king spoke clearly on this
subject: "The payment must be made punctually at
a fixed time, without even the smallest deduction,
and we admit of no excuse, from any one whomsoever."
He knew all the tricks of the peasants. They would
not fail to say that the commodities were sold too low.
"Reply to them, that they cannot have only dear
commodities. If it were thus, we would have the
rentals too low. The lease has been calculated on a
mean average, so that a good year will cover the losses
of a bad year. We have not promised our farmers
that they would have none but profitable years. They
have signed the lease without condition, ohne zu
conditionniren. The farm rents have been justly im-
posed so that the proprietor may draw profit from
his lands, and receive the rental, the ready money,
without entering into complicated accounts. Then,
away with all weakness, no ' humanitarianism.' If
THE FATHER. 59
the money is delayed, if it is < tied up' somewhere,
employ means of untying it. If these methods do not
appear as clear as the sun in the sky, send with-
out losing a moment's time to the place where this
default and confusion is rife, and there apply the
remedy."
The General Directory shall exercise its authority over
all the Administration of the monarchy. The Commis-
sariats of War and the Chamber of Administration of
the provinces emanate from it. When there are vacan-
cies the Directory shall fill them again. It shall place
in the Commissariats worthy, diligent men, provided
with a healthy, natural understanding, versed in manu-
facture, excise and all affairs pertaining to the Commis-
sariats ; and in the Chamber of Administration strong,
healthy, vigilant men, who are experienced in farming,
whether as overseers of estates or as practical farmers,
and proficient in bookkeeping. The king desires the
members of the Directory to have the highest attri-
butes. The ministers, after making diligent search,
shall propose the most competent persons, faithful and
honest, whether Lutherans or Calvinists, such as com-
prehend practical economy and are acquainted with com-
merce and manufacture, capable of writing well, that is
to say, of stating a subject properly, having " clear
heads."
Frederick William made of this a kind of portrait of
the Prussian bureaucracy which he created a kind of
noblesse civile, drilled to service, vigorously disciplined,
exact, hardworking, the mainspring of a State where
the subjects who had lost the last vestiges of feudal
60 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
liberty,* obeyed the royal order : Nicht raisonniren,
here, no reasoning. The time will come when this
body will take the form of a caste ; the "clear heads"
will be heard no more ; exactitude will become a mania ;
zeal, pedantry, and all that fine organization will be
nothing but a machine. Then it will be seen that a
nation cannot live in the air of a bureau, that it is dead,
in fact, and the machine turns in a vacuum. But the
danger of the morrow was, the day before, a necessary
state of existence.
The Prussian bureaucracy was the first organ of the
nation of Prussia. The king, after having enumerated
the virtues that he exacted from his functionaries, adds :
" And, above all, they must be our born subjects." He
reserves to himself the right of calling one or two for-
eigners into the Chambers and Commissariats, but they
must be very proficient in order to counteract the defect
of not being born subjects of the king ; for he wishes to
create the idea that a chance visitor is not able to com-
prehend the sentiment of a country. This country will
be no longer a Brandenburg for the Brandenburgers, a
Pomerania for the Pomeranians, or a Prussia for the
Prussians ; it will be, without distinction of territories,
the whole extent of his domination. He orders recruit-
ing the Chambers and Commissariats of one province
with men born in another. For example, if there are
vacancies in Prussia, men must be called from Cleves,
Brandenburg or Pomerania, not from Prussia. And
the same with the other countries ; the king will send
the people of his provinces away from their homes ; he
will remove the barriers of these small countries, so as
THE FATHER. 61
to blend them into the one great country. A peculiar
country, which is neither the product of nature nor of
history, the true definition of it being : The Prussian
country; that is, the service of the King of Prussia.
Between the Directory and the Chambers and Com-
missariats the intercourse shall be regular and frequent.
A report from the provinces will arrive each week. In
order that these reports may be exact and circumstan-
tial, the Presidents of the Chambers must inspect the
estates, villages and farms with the greatest care ; the
Presidents of the Commissariats must visit the cities
under their jurisdiction, and keep themselves informed of
the commerce and the manufactures, the citizens and
the residents, that they may know the cities of their de-
partment "as well as a captain of our army knows his
company, when he understands all of the innate qualities
as well as exterior characteristics of his soldiers." An
abridgement of these reports was transmitted to the
king, who, in this way, knew regularly all that trans-
pired in his kingdom, and whether or not each one was
doing " his duty.'
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KING.
The king, in order to give the Directory "more lus-
tre and authority, in order to show the particular atten-
tion that he proposes to pay constantly and indefatigably
to the affairs appealable to the Directory, and as its ex-
treme importance demands," reserved for himself the
presidency. He was not a man to give an order once, so
as to remain ever after inactive. Every evening the Di-
rectory sent him a proces verbal of the sitting for the
62 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
day, which he read the following morning. He did not
admit of any decision to be taken, involving some inno-
vation, without his approval. This great council had
but little consultative voice. Not one expense for im-
provement was authorized except by the king himself ;
no lease was confirmed until after it had received his
signature. The plan was presented to him with a brief
but clear note, which permitted him "to see the nature
of the thing immediately." The authority that he
gave to the Directory to address questions to him
"every time they may deem it necessary, notably, in all
extraordinary cases," comprised an order to refer every-
thing to him, of whatever import. This is certainly
the way that he wished it to be understood. "The
questions," said he, "must be brief and forcible (in
we?iig JVbrteti and nerveus). . . ." To each one
should be appended the advice of the General Directory.
For example : There is a horse to be sold for a hundred
thalers. "We think that Y. M. will do well to buy it,
but only for eighty thalers ; otherwise Y. M. would
lose for such a reason."
The example proves that the king wished to be in-
structed in the minutest detail. He received questions
by the thousands and thousands, to which he responded
in short marginal notes. We can scarcely understand
why he was not drowned in this inundation of diverse
minatice for the most part unimportant, and how he
was able to give so concisely and very often with
spirit a like number of instructions. It was because
he loved to command. Frederick, his father, delighted
at all times and in all places to display the majesty
THE FATHER. 63
of the King of Prussia ; Frederick William, to make
this majesty felt. "You must each time," said he
to the Directory, "and for each affair, add your ad-
vice with the reasons upon which you establish it,
but we will remain the Seignior and King and will
do as we will. Wir bleiben dock der Ilerr und Konig
und thun teas wir loollen" A few lines farther on,
after having declared that he intended always to know
the truth, that he wished no flattery of any kind, he
repeats the same words, "We are the Seignior and
King, and do as we will."
The mind of a king who thus comprehends and prac-
tices his duties has not a moment of repose. There was
in Frederick William's dominions, as in all the States of
Europe, administrative machinery of different dates,
mixed together, which disappeared after the reorgan-
ization of the Chambers and Commissariats. The con-
flict of privileges that the king suppressed in finance,
continued between the administrative and judicial
authorities. There were also habits formed, resistance
of routine ; no rebellion, but inertia, unwillingness,
and, in all grades of society, from the noble to the peas-
ant, the murmur of a people from whom an effort was
demanded. Frederick William knew well that he was
not fully obeyed except when he was there in propria
persona. He could not be, and was truly, never at rest.
He would have liked to see all the world at work : farm-
ers on their farms, workmen at their trade, counselors in
council. He recommended to the Directory to watch
over the Chambers and Commissariats, to inspect them
and not to rely on their word. He enjoined it to em-
64 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ploy spies. Each of the counselors must have one,
which he must choose from among all kinds of people :
farmers, tradesmen, and peasants. He will obtain, in
this way, false as well as true information ; with good
judgment, he will discern the true from the false. This
espionage will enlighten the Directory, even upon the
minutissima. The king took the trouble to give a model
of these secret reports : "For example, in Prussia, there
have been good winters and hard winters. The com-
modities arrive in the cities. The wood for building is
carted. The building goes on. There are indications
of a good, crop. Commerce, navigation and manufact-
ures begin to prosper. . . . Such or such a village
is burned. The nobility conspire secretly against a
certain impost. A certain regiment buys its provisions
from a foreign country. The Chamber of Administra-
tions will turn over its exact amount of rentals or not.
There may be good reasons or not for the delay. This
must be corrected. There have been twenty houses
built in the city "
Frederick William would never have finished if he
had enumerated all the objects of his curiosity and
anxiety : he shows in the ordinance that he had his
head full of doubt at all times upon the most diverse
matters. The Directory proposes to him an augmenta-
tion of such and such a revenue. But would there not
be an equal or greater loss in such and such another
revenue? Then what they propose to him is not an
amelioration, it is wind : Keine Besserimg, ergo,
Wind. Do not the Chambers of Administration and
the Commissariats of War continue to quarrel among
THE FATHER. 65
themselves on the subject of the distribution of such and
such funds or imposts? "They must find another way
to amuse themselves ; then the poor devils of lawyers
and jurists will become as useless as a fifth wheel to a
coach." Do the farmers fertilize well their lands?
They are capable of impoverishing them. They must
be prevented from selling their straw. Certain officers,
for example, of the hunt are thieves, but still they do
not take advantage of everything that their right of
office permits. The whole thing must be changed.
Are there not too many officers? Could not several
duties be included in one? Let us see then if a certain
number of officials cannot be cut off (retrcmgirt).
Why is beer not as good elsewhere as - at Potsdam?
To have wool, we must have sheep ; now, in Prussia,
there are nearly as many wolves as sheep. Quick,
an order for hunting wolves. How is it that the impost
on salt is less this year than the preceding in the Hal-
berstadt? The number of inhabitants has not dimin-
ished. They have eaten as much salt as last year.
There is some fraud, some leakage. You must then
give warning to the principal manufacturer of salt to
manage otherwise than the way he has been doing up
to this time. Perhaps also the subjects buy their salt
in Hanover or Poland. All of these importers of salt
must be hung, etc., etc.
Let us admit an impossible thing, that all the world,
without exception, does its duty. Country and town
are well populated ; the former furnishing food and ma-
terial for industry, the latter working up this material
in such a manner that not a particle of it is lost. Prus-
66 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
sia is fed, clothed, supplied with implements, armed.
Not only is she sufficient unto herself, but "she pro-
duces a surplus ein Plus" which is sold to foreign
countries. Will the king remain inactive ? He cannot,
for the least accident will put this machine out of order,
every movement of which is calculated with mathemat-
ical accuracy. For example, the budget of receipts and
expenses is made out for each provincial fund. One
foresees that such a regiment will consume, per head, so
much, including man and beast, and that the excise will
deduct beforehand such a sum for this consumption ;
but war breaks out, or perhaps the regiment is called to
Potsdam or elsewhere to maneuver or to go into camp.
The receipt of the excise becomes less ; the peasant no
longer sells his provisions : "When my army leaves the
country, the excise does not bring in more than a third ;
the pretium rerun diminishes ; the domains no longer
pay the rent charge." It is very difficult to avoid
a fire taking place somewhere. Each year houses,
villages, and even towns, are burned. This makes
new "empty places." Nothing more deplorable.
Again, can one not remedy these various evils ?
Move the regiments as little as possible, order
every village to have its engine and firemen, and
have the thatched roofs replaced everywhere "inside of
five years" by tiled roofs. But what is to be done to
prevent bad crops, and pestilence of man and beast ?
Frederick William prayed God "in His mercy " to
spare him these scourges, but God's mercy is uncertain.
It required all the King of Prussia's religion to admit
without blasphemy, the possibility that God might take
THE FATHER. 67
away from him a man or a beast, each one of which was
so precious, and counted for such and such a sum in the
exactitude of his calculations.
Submitting himself 'to the Divine Will, the king
at least meant to have all his subjects obey him. u We
will extend our favor and our protection to all those who
will observe all the points of this order, and use all our
power against those who will not. As for the others,
who insist on returning to the old routine, we will chas-
tise them exemplarily, Russian fashion, exemplarisch
und auf gut jRussisch." 35
THE CREATION OF PRUSSIAN POWER.
The remarkable result of this order, made, as the
king said, "for the strengthening of our crown and
army," was the advancement of the Prussian army.
This is the wonder of this reign, and one of the great
events of history.
If Frederick William had required military service
from all the population of his kingdom he would not
have been able to form out of it that powerful army
that he wished to give to his little Prussia ; but he was
careful not to exhaust the productive forces of his terri-
tories. In the very simple system that he had conceived,
he must, first of all, make money, and afterward increase
his troops in proportion to his new resources, from
which he deducted a portion to constitute a reserve
fund of the monarchy. There must be a helping-hand
extended to industry and agriculture. However, there
was in the reasoning of all his work the creation of
a national army. This difficult problem was made
68 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
still more complex by the incoherence of the military
institutions, where modern customs were grafted upon
the remains of feudalism. In seeking the solution,
Frederick William ended by arriving, after many at-
tempts and much groping about, at a mixed regime,
of which certain parts had an entirely modern spirit. 36
From the Middle Ages proceeded the militia, that is
to say, the troops of occasion, so that military service
was an exceptionally easy occupation. The king,
good trooper that he was, had such a horror of this na-
tional guard that he desired to abolish even its name.
The principal mode of recruiting was through volun-
tary enlistment obtained by crimping. Frederick
William was one of the most extraordinary enlisters of
soldiers ever known in military history.
His mania for tall men is famous. He attempted to
propagate them in his own country ; he commanded
giants to marry giantesses. When he learned that from
one of these unions there was born a child with large
hands and feet, he rejoiced and ordered mother and
child to be sent for immediately ; even in the cold of
midwinter, and when necessary for the mother to make
the trip from Cleves to Berlin. 37 This giant-rearing pro-
ducing but slight results, he sought for them in countries
where they naturally thrived, Sweden, the Ukraine, Ire
land, Lower Hungary, and wherever they could be
found. And this king, so economical otherwise, dis-
pensed his thalers by the millions to satisfy this caprice.
His recruiters respected no laws of peoples, and he had
to undergo more than one diplomatic scene in regard to
their acts of brigandage. He was extremely sensitive to
THE FATHER. 69
incidents of this kind, would fly into a passion and .be
much troubled over it: "They will dishonor me," said
he, for he believed it was to his honor to have only
giants, at least in his first regiment of Potsdam Grena-
diers. Once he came near having a war with Hanover,
who had maltreated his recruiters. The best way of
paying court to him was to furnish him with giants ; his
ministers and his son Frederick went so far as to say
that his fidelity to Austria was explained by the care the
Emperor took to flatter this passion. He, himself said :
"To win the most beautiful girl or woman in the world
would be a matter of indifference to me ; but I have one
weak point, a mania for soldiers, and in gratifying it,
one can lead me wherever one wills. f 38 This "weak [
/ point" cost him so much money, fatigue, and danger,
that this giant mania of the King of Prussia was re-
garded as a maniacal freak in the full sense of the word,
"and one which cannot be solved," said a foreign Min-
ister, "unless by some future anatomy."
This idiosyncrasy ought not to obscure the rest of the
work. Frederick William recruited and enrolled, out-
side of his States, more than forty thousand men, and
from his own people an equal number. It is here that
he hit upon a future idea. For a long time, each regi-
ment had an assigned district for recruiting, where the
crimps of the colonel and captains had alone the right
to exercise their trade, but the regiments encroached
upon each other, and the institution, badly regulated,
produced conflicts and disorder. Frederick William
sketched out through the whole extent of his territory
these military boundaries, which were determined by
70 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the number of arms ; five thousand arms for a reg-
iment of infantry, fifteen hundred for cavalry :
the district was subdivided into cantons, one for
each company. Voluntary enlisting was abolished.
Some classes of persons were exempt from military
service and reserved for trades and husbandry,
which were also, according to Frederick William,
public service ; these exemptions, however, did not
interfere with the principle thus expressed: "All
subjects are born to carry arms, fur die Waff en
geboren, and bound to serve in the regiment, dem
Regiment obligat, in the district where they are born." 39
It made no difference to Frederick William about
arriving little by little and by indirect ways to the ex-
pression of this idea of military duty. Ideas follow
their course, through many obstacles. Besides, they
never spring frpm nullity. There was in Frederick
William, who was a zealous servant of the State, and
prided himself upon being, in his way, a true republican,
ein wahrer JRepublikaner, a predisposition to establish
the idea of the obligation of military service toward
the Civitas. The effects of such a declaration of prin-
ciple must have been considerable. . . . Behold a
people who are given notice that they are born to carry
arms ; every child at the same time that he learns the
name of his village learns that of the regiment "to
which he is bound." This obligation raises up and
ennobles the most humble subjects. The peasant, whose
condition was, in Frederick William's country, that of
a beast of burden, becomes a member of the State, and
of a State where the soldier.'s coat was held in high
THE FATHER. 71
esteem: the king's son, when the paternal displeasure
fell upon him, asked as a favor from "the majesty of
his father," to reinstate him by giving him back his
uniform of the Grenadiers.
Frederick William desired to make the framework
of the Prussian army out of the nobility of Prussia.
Up to his time, numerous foreigners had attained the
highest ranks in Prussia, and Prussian nobles went else-
where to seek their fortunes: he resolved to reserve his
nobles for his service, and his service for his nobles. . .
He not only commenced this great reform, but he recom-
mended it to his successors : "My successor must have
all the nobles of all the provinces employed in the army
and placed among the cadets. This will render him
formidable. ... If you have officers taken from
among the children of your country, you have a true,
permanent army, a body of permanent officers, and
this no other potentate possesses, und Kein Potentat
hatdas." 40 The man who wrote these lines saw the future
of the Prussian army, and ended by establishing the char-
acter of the Prussian State. All commonalty subjects
born to serve, all noble subjects born to command under
the orders of the king ; the social hierarchy transferred
to the State; the nobility utilized and disciplined ; the
vanity of the country squire transformed into the pride
of an officer, all this, which is so much to be commended
and not to be found "in the realms of any potentate,"
proceeded in great part from Frederick William.
The cohesion of the army, enclosed in this royal
frame, was assured, through discipline and careful atten-
tion, of all in the service. For the King of Prussia
72 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
there were no minutice in soldiery. When he sent his
son, in 1734, to the Army of the Rhine, he prescribed
that he should be instructed "fully and carefully in de-
tail, not only of the regular service, but in all detail ;
he shall learn how the soldiers' shoes are made, and
how long a time they can be worn. . . . The
prince shall go thus from the smallest detail concerning
the soldier to the greatest, from the shoe to the can-
non of the heavy artillery. He shall pass immediately
into the regular service, in order to train himself up to
the dispositio?ies generalissimini." 4,1 All the detail to
use an expression that he repeated so many times,
Frederick William regulated, from the length of the
sleeve, and the width of the collar, to the number of
buttons on the boot. He really created the Prussian
uniform, stiff, clean, shining, which once provoked a
smile, but which is now one of the many expressions of
the obedience of thousands of men to a single will,
which foresaw everything.
Frederick William was not contented to command
and watch over his army from a high elevation ; he as-
signed himself a place there, and daily duties. He,
himself, was a colonel to the King of Prussia, the one
who had the honor to command the tall Grenadiers of
Potsdam. Every day he attended the parade and drills.
He submitted to all the regulations. Once, in the
spring, he ordered all the regiments, company by com-
pany, to be bled ; he was bled first, in the open air, and
in weather cold enough to snow. Another time, he was
at Berlin, very ill ; a colonel said by chance before
him, "that to-morrow is the day that all the colonels
THE FATHER. 73
on leave of absence must rejoin their regiments." The
following day, notwithstanding the entreaties of the
physicians, he would set out. He was seen to pass
through the city, his body wrapped up, and his head
covered with a nightcap, over which he had placed a fur
cap. Arriving at the gates, he was lifted into a chaise,
in which they had spread out a mattress. 42
It is at Potsdam that the Prussian drill is carried to
perfection. The new movements, the reforms in the
maneuvers, are tested there before being adopted.
From the whole army delegations of officers are sent to
be instructed, as the Crown Prince said later, at "The
University of Potsdam." It is there that they see how
the infantry, through extreme care given to every de-
tail and untiring patience, is so well-trained "that it
charges with the greatest rapidity, advances in serried
ranks, presents arms well, sees everything as well under
fire as in the most profound silence." To bring the
army to this perfection the king employed grand re-
views and inspections. He was the Inspector General of
the Prussian army. Every year, in the month of May,
he reviewed the garrison of Berlin, that is to say, six
regiments of infantry, a regiment of dragoons and six
squadrons of hussars. Each regiment or each squad-
ron had its day. Each one of the companies was
ranged in four files, between which the king passed.
He examined the men, one by one, addressing a few
words to most of them: "My son, dost thou receive
exactly what is due thee?" Or perhaps: "How dost
thou like our service ? " And he listened courteously
to complaints, particularly when he found things in
74 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
order, and that no one had made a mistake in the fifty-
four movements that comprised the drill. The last day,
after all these special reviews, came the general review.
The king mounted his horse at 2 o'clock in the morn-
ing, and, except for a few moments of repose at the
breakfast hour, he remained in the saddle until evening.
The inspections were repeated in the provinces and thus
ended these great military examinations. The reviews
were frequent and unexpected. By them the king
ascertained what was passing everywhere, "as if I were
present," said he, "als Ich bestandig ware," and the
garrisons were always in the condition of a troop that
had an enemy at hand or were expecting one.
He watched assiduously his corps of officers. In the
reviews and inspections, wherever he met them, they
had to be presented, or he accosted them ; he talked
with them, requiring that they should look at him as he
looked at them, straight in the eyes. He consulted
their conduct list, the Conduiten Z/iste, which kept an
exact account of their virtues and vices, of their
good and bad qualities. He was the censor of their
morals and habits ; he forbade them < to bedeck the
livery of their domestics with gold and silver," and
ordered them always to wear their uniform. He was
very severe upon those who "kept no account of their
purse " and ran into debt. He prohibited the luxuries
of the table: "Of what use is so much ceremony? . . .
A glass of beer ought to be just as acceptable as a glass
of wine." He inquired into their religious sentiments,
for he wished his officers to be just as good Christians
as good soldiers. 43 In a word, he recommended as a model
THE FATHER. 75
the Colonel of the 1st Regiment of the Potsdam Grena-
diers. He centered upon himself all their attention.
He gave such a good tone to this corps of officers and
to all the army, that his successors, even to-day, repeat
his commands word for word.
Let us now consider that the army of the King of
Prussia was augmented from 38,459 men to 44,792 dur-
ing the year of the accession, in 1713 ; to 53,999 in 1719;
to 69,892 in 1729; to 83,486 in 1739. Now, France
had 160,000 soldiers, Austria hardly 100,000; the
French army was divided into numerous garrisons ; the
Austrian army scattered over its vast provinces.
Neither the Austrian nor even the French army was so
well organized, armed, equipped as that of the King of
Prussia ; finally, in Prussia, the service of the few for-
tresses required not more than 10,000 men. Thus 70,-
000 men, at a low estimate, were always ready for the
march, marschbereit, ready for battle, schlagfertig.
THE INACTION OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA.
Here lies the explanation of the future, for Frederick
William did not make use of this power, and that is one
of the incomprehensible things of his history. Twice
he took up arms ; at the beginning of his reign, against
Sweden ; near the end, against France, in the contro-
versy about the Polish Succession. Still, he did not
enter into any engagement without anguish of heart.
It is true that he reigned in a period of peace, and
that the great occasion for testing the metal of his army
did not arise; but all Europe, at that time, was thought
to be every day on the eve of war. They fought in nego-
76 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
tiations, they grouped themselves in leagues and coun-
ter-leagues. Scarcely had the great question of the Span-
ish Succession been settled by the Treaties of Utrecht,
Rastadt and Baden, when Spain, in order to regain her
lost territories, attacked Austria: France, England, Hol-
land and Austria coalesced against the aggressor.
While Europe sought to reconcile Spain and Austria,
in the interest of the latter, Austria, violating her alle-
giance, came to a direct understanding with Spain
against her mediators. Then France and England, up to
that time allied to Austria against Spain, entered into a
league against Spain and Austria. After some hostili-
ties, Europe began to negotiate. This time Spain aban-
doned her ally, Austria, who was obliged to yield to the
will of Europe. At last, when Stanislas Lecszinski
had been driven from Poland by the Russians, France
declared war against Austria, who was the accomplice
of Russia: this Polish affair was terminated by a treaty
which gave to the King of Poland a duchy in France, to
the Duke of Lorraine a duchy in Italy, and to the In-
fante of Spain the Kingdom of Naples. There was
then such a strange chasse-croise of negotiations and in-
trigues that one would think, as Lord Chesterfield said,
"that all Europe was going crazy."
Frederick William, who was often solicited by these
makers of leagues aud counter-leagues, did not know
how to figure gracefully in their quadrilles. To take
into consideration only his great political intrigues, one
sees him, in 1725, adhering to the union concluded at
Hanover, of France and England against Austria; then
hardly a year elapses before he is united with Austria;
THE FATHER. 77
he persists long enough in this alliance; but finally he
treats with France, and always wishes to undo what he
has done, after he has given his word.
Then followed the uprising of Europe. Epigrams
from all sides rained down upon him. "The King of
Prussia," said the English, "is only a wolf in his own
sheepfold;" one after the other, the French ambassadors
residing at his Court "affirmed that he would not make
war." They wrote: "The insatiable desire that he has
for soldiery will make him always keep up a large army;
but his timidity will constantly oppose the execution of
all engagements that he could undertake to put this
army into action. These are two principles upon which
one can rely." "He will be brave enough up to hold-
ing the sword," but will be always restrained from go-
ing farther by "the love which he has for his big men,
that are only for parades, and whom he will never ex-
pose to danger." Then follow reproaches of inconstancy
and changeableness. "He is" (according to his own
servitors), "a prince without plan, without system, who
goes by fits and starts, passing from one extreme to
another." A French Minister, obliged to transmit to his
government these contradictory statements week after
week, wondered "how any faith could be placed in
these dispatches." "The variable moods of the King
of Prussia and his profound dissimulation," wrote the
ambassador to Louis XV., "are infinitely above all that
Your Majesty can imagine." This same official, who
at that time was the most favored by the king, and
charged by him to express the most affectionate senti-
ments toward his country, added: "The faith that I
78 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
owe to my country and king obliges me to repeat that
one can never count upon the King of Prussia in any im-
portant matter." After which he quoted the words of
Peter the Great in regard to Frederick William: "He
likes to fish well enough, but without w T etting his feet." 44
Facts seem to justify these accusations. Scarcely does
Frederick William put his foot in camp before he be
comes restless, and evinces a strong desire to retire.
He hardly enters the league of Hanover with France and
England before he becomes * ' worn out with these en-
gagements." He goes over to the Emperor's side; he re-
grets it, wavers, favors the Minister of France, tries to
extenuate himself in the eyes of his former allies for the
gravity of the new treaty, and cavils with the Emperor
in every way: "My God ! " he cried, " I will not go so
far, Mein Gott ! So weit will ich nicht gehen."
He liked to see all Europe on fire; to have it break
out some place, and spread over the whole continent. In
1727 Spain, allied to Austria, attacks Gibraltar: this
is the beginning of a conflagration. The king exults,
but diplomacy deluges with water the brazier: he be-
comes very much distressed "at the appearances of a set-
tlement," which will prevent him from "fishing in the
troubled waters." When he learns of the signing of
the preliminaries at Paris he humiliates and mortifies
the imperial ambassador, saying that his master "should
have kept him from bragging in that way, and should
have consented to everything, and that he would
always be Charles the Stammerer." He has ever the ap-
pearance of being ready to set out on a war expedition:
'Let us grease our boots," he writes in 1729. "I am
THE FATHER. 79
persuaded that there is no other means to end all this
but to give them a good whipping."
However, if he saw war approaching him, he would
be in mortal terror. At the time that he was allied to
France and England he feared that these two powers
would abandon him, "so that upon my head alone
would fall the wrath of the Emperor and Empire, and
destroy me and my family." Allied to Austria against
France, he feared being burned and pillaged by the
French and Swedes. One moment, to settle divers quar-
rels, he seemed ready to throw himself like mad upon
Hanover, but he learned this country was in a good state
of defense. Then he became uneasy, hesitated, finally
had a fit of anger, and, to calm himself, got on a
"spree" of several days' duration, with the " officers
who participated in his debaucheries." 45 Why would not
Europe at last believe that he loved his soldiers only for
parade? At last, in 1734, when he sent his troops to
join the imperial army on the Rhine, he prescribed that
they were to make but two miles per day, three at the
most ; that they were to rest the fourth day ; never to
break up, never to be inclosed in fortresses, and that
after each campaign they were to go into winter quar-
ters, good winter quarters, of six months' duration.
However, it would be absurd to accuse Frederick Will-
iam of cowardice, for they certainly meant to say cow-
ardice when they wrote timidity. He liked to recall
that he had tested his bravery, under the eye of God, at
Malplaquet, "where he had seen hundreds fall at right
and left." He expressed his true thought when he
added that he "]oved nothing: in the world better than
80 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
war," and that "his feet burned when doing nothing." 46
As to his dissimulation and duplicity, they were infant-
ile in comparison with that of the other Courts of
Europe, particularly Austria.
The explanation of his conduct is a curious chapter of
political psychology.
Frederick William is both Elector in the Empire and
King of Prussia, which is not a country of the Empire.
He belongs to Germany, where he has duties, and he is
a sovereign of Europe, like the King of France and the
King of England. He finds within himself two person-
ages, who will necessarily conflict with each other.
One of his refrains was, that an Emperor was neces-
sary to Germany : ein deutscher Kaiser solle unci milsse
bleiben, and that he himself was a good imperialist, gut
Kaiserlich gesinnt. "All of my blue coats are at the
service of the Emperor," said he. . . . "All of the
German princes must be of the canaille if they do not
profess good sentiments toward the Emperor and Em-
pire ; I would be of the canaille myself if I did not.
We must have an Emperor ; let us then be faithful to
the House of Austria, it is the duty of every honest Ger-
man. . . ." He expressed his fidelity in the strongest
terms: "For his Imperial Majesty, for his House, and
for his interest, I would sacrifice with pleasure, my
blood, my possessions, my country. Before I sever my
connection with the Emperor, he must repulse me with
his foot." 47 But, let us listen to the other side of the
story. If he wished to sustain a German Emperor, it
was on condition that his sovereignty to such an Emperor
should remain intact. He was the onlv one who could
THE FATHER. 81
maintain power and he did not permit the Emperor to
exercise over him the authority of a supreme judge.
The appeals of his subjects carried before His Imperial
Majesty, although they may have been perfectly consti-
tutional and legal, put him beside himself. He wished
to break this latter tie that connected him with the Em-
pire: "Our interest, as well as that of France," said his
ministers, "is that there may not be any Emperor after
this one ; but, if it is necessary to have one, let him be
a weak prince, incapable of having his commands exe-
cuted, and one with no more authority than the Doge of
Venice." 48
These two personages, the German Prince and the King
of Prussia, agreed then to the contract that the first
should never thwart the second, who was a very sensible
man. There was the same play in foreign policy, but
still more complicated, for Frederick William recognized
in the Emperor Charles VI., as in himself, two person-
ages : the Chief of the Holy Empire, and the Head of
the House of Hapsburg, to whom European treaties
gave possessions outside of Germany, in the Netherlands
and in Italy. If the Chief of the Empire were attacked
within the Empire, Frederick William owed him aid and
rescue, and he would fulfill that duty. He did not wish
foreigners to mix in German affairs, nor to touch German
soil. "No Frenchman or Englishman must command
us Germans. I will place pistols and swords in the cra-
dle of my children to aid them in ridding Germany of
foreign nations." Or, again: "If the French attack a
German village, the German prince who would not pour
out his blood to the last drop in defending it, would be a
82 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Kujon" In milder but very firm tones he called to mind
his patriotism on all occasions before the Ministers of
France: "I cannot suffer them to carry the torch into
my Empire. I must, and my conscience obliges me to
do so, employ all my strength to defend the country. . .
As Prince of the Empire, and good patriot, I could not
prevent you Frenchmen from trying, if you wished, to
overthrow Germany. . . . Leave our Holy Empire
in peace, I pray you." "Frenchman," (it was to La
Chetardie he spoke), "do not be astonished to see the
king fall again into the Germanism from which he can
never be withdrawn." One of Frederick William's min-
isters, Grumbkow, then about to allow himself to be
bought over by France, deplored this mania of his
master: "We have to do with a prince who, with much
mind and ability in certain directions, in others, absorbs
himself in ideas of Germanism, whence the devil
cannot withdraw him." This was, in fact, one of this
prince's traits of character : he was a German, a good
German, and it was with all his heart that he cried out
at table : < < Long live the Germany of the German
Nation, Vivat Germania dentscher Nation /" But this
German saw nothing in the affairs of the Emperor out-
side of Germany ; that was why, at the* same time that
he prayed the Frenchman to leave his Holy Empire in
peace, he added : "Run down the Emperor and Imperial-
ists of Italy, if you will ; the devil take me, if I send
a man there." He even advised the conquest of the
Netherlands and Italy: "You will render a service to
His Imperial Majesty, to whom these countries are a
heavy burden." 49
THE FATHER. 83
In virtue of these distinguo^ which were things that
appertained to the Qermany of former times, it hap-
pened that Frederick William could be at one and the
same time, for and against the Emperor. When he be-
came allied to France and England, in 1725, he reserved
to himself the right to furnish to the Emperor the con-
tingent that he owed, in his quality of Elector, at the
same time that he assisted the King of France with the
number of troops fixed by the treaty. It certainly is to
be regretted that this clause had not been put into
action, and that Europe had not witnessed this spectacle
of the King of Prussia fighting the Elector of Bran-
denburg.
Let us suppose the engagement of this combat. To
which one will Frederick William keep his vows ? Ev-
idently to the King of Prussia. If the issue depends
upon him, the Elector of Brandenburg will be beaten
in company with the Emperor, while the King of
Prussia and his allies will come off victorious.
Here is shown the contradiction in which Frederick
William was embroiled all his life. It was not so easy
to distinguish the Emperor from the Empire. To say
nothing of Frederick William waiting, hoping, as every-
body did, for the death of his "very dear friend," the
Emperor Charles VI., and that he was amused and
laughed beforehand at the embarrassment that would
befall the illustrious Archducal House. Charles VI.
dead, Germany would elect the Emperor that she wished,
and the House of Hapsburg would cease to be more sa-
cred than any other in the eyes of the King of Prussia !
But when the latter said to the Minister of France :
84 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
u We will inter the Emperor in great pomp, in pontifi-
calibus. . . We will see a fine charivari ; the mate-
rial will be ample, and there will be enough for each one
to cut himself out a jacket." 50 He ought to have known
that the foreign powers would try to cut into the mate-
rial, and that there would be a great probability of their
attacking at least " a village of Germany." Frederick
William thus forgot more than once his Germanism.
One day, while at parade, as the French Minister, on
horseback near him, congratulated him upon the fine con-
dition of his troops, and upon the "skillful, warlike air
that they had," he replied: "I am charmed that you find
them so good, since they are absolutely at the service of
the King of France. Be so kind as to inform him of
it. . . . When it so pleases France I am ready to beat
the drum." 51 Twice he repeated this expression. Finally
he allowed himself to recall, in the treaty of 1725, "that
France is guarantee for the treaty of Westphalia,"
and that "she interests herself particularly in the Ger-
manic liberty," and it was as a guarantee for this peace,
as protectress of this liberty, that France had maintained
anarchy in Germany in order to assure herself tranquil-
lity, and hold her pre-eminence in Europe.
However, would Frederick William have imitated the
German princes of former times, who were the slaves of
French policy, and the enemies of their own country ?
Not at all. One can affirm that, if the Coalitionists of
Hanover had made war on the Emperor, he would have
left the alliance at the first German village burned. He
treated with the Emperor's enemies; but said : "It was
only to annoy and force him to make propositions to
THE FATHER. 85
me." If the House of Austria had had the wisdom of
paying his blue coats by giving him some of the satis-
faction he desired, Frederick William would have still
remained the faithful ally of Charles VI. The King of
Prussia being contented, the Elector of Brandenburg
would have done his duty. But Austria had no more
regard for him than if he had been "a prince of Zipfel
Zerbst." The King of Prussia being discontented, how-
ever, the Elector of Brandenburg 52 would have been com-
pelled to keep quiet, and Frederick would have sacrificed
everything in order to bring down upon the Emperor a
terrible vengeance.
He surely must have been faithless, since he makes
engagements with the intention of never keeping them.
He prides himself upon having put in his treaty with
the Emperor "more than sixty restrictions and equivoca-
tions to get out of it ; " but it must not be forgotten, if
one wishes to be just toward him, that his duplicity
came, in part, from his being double. 53
As King of Prussia, his policy was entirely simple and
connected: he wished to enlarge Prussia. He had, or
believed he had, rights over the Duchies of Berg and Ju-
liers: he demanded these rights to be recognized. With-
out shame, he sold himself to the highest bidder: "I
will not give myself for pears and apples." He had a
charming way of accepting offers. When France pro-
posed Elbing to him, on condition that he recognized
Stanislas Lecszinski as King of Poland, he wrote on the
margin of the French dispatch: "Finally, I will say,
like the late Queen Anne of Austria : * Cardinal, you are
so persuasive that I am obliged to succumb to your
86 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
wishes.'" If he regretted engagements as soon as he
made them, it was because he believed that, being free,
he would find the occasion for a better scheme. At the
time of the commencement of the War of the Polish
Succession, he confessed his chagrin at being united to
the Emperor: " My position should be to-day, such as
would give me the most realistic advantages." This
was not duplicity ; there was nothing simpler in the
world.
Frederick William had such a guileless heart that he
understood nothing of the affairs of diplomacy. In it,
he brought to play passion and childish caprice. He
had the good fortune to be Elector and King at the same
time : he did not like others to have the same priv-
ileges. It displeased him that the Elector of Saxony
was scheming to be King of Poland, and the Elector
of Hanover King of England. Literally, it made
him jealous to see the Hanoverians " cut such a fine fig-
ure in the world," and he was grieved at their prosper-
ous condition. 5i He knew George II. at the time when
he was but the grandson of an Elector of Hanover ; he
played with him, he even beat him: he could not bear
that this gamin should become so great a prince, and lord
it over him. He called him "my dear brother, the come-
dian," or "my dear brother, the red-cabbage." He used
such abusive language toward him that it will not bear
repetition. As to Augustus of Poland, he never called
him anything but "the clothes-peg." His manner of
venting his ill humor on these princes was strictly in-
fantile. He broke up a service of china with a cane,
because it was Saxony-ware, and came from the King of
THE FATHER. 87
Poland. Sick, and angrily rehearsing again and again
his trials with England, he remembered that he had in
his stable a horse that had been given him by the King
of England ; he ordered this animal to be turned out.
He was advised to give it, instead, to Prince Anhalt,
"the enemy of everything English." He consented, and
thought that he would in this way be well revenged.
At another time, he refused passports for wood destined
for England. 55
One cannot, without placing in it some restrictions, call
a man treacherous who so freely published his senti-
ments. Europe knew what he thought; he cried it out.
Upon each and every thing, he expressed himself with
absolute freedom. At his Imperial Majesty he laughed
"immoderately," and said: "He has not a sou, he is
poor as a painter. This is the .... economy of
the Court of Vienna." In the smoking-room, at table,
he was never without pipe or glass. If he was content
with the Emperor, he drank three consecutive times to
His Majesty, draining it to the last drop. And he tired
the Imperial Minister with these healths, and this before
the French Minister, although he did not drink to the
King of France for an hour and a half, nor honor
poor La Chetardie with the shortest toast. Another
day, he would drink to the King of France, and omit the
health of the Emperor. He gave France more than one
caress, and always took care to treat her circumspectly,
but he hated her, and could not hide it. The first time
he received La Chetardie, as was his custom, he intei-
viewed him upon everything, the French troops,
French game, the wine of Champagne, the marshals, the
88 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
weak points of Magdeburg, Molinism, Jansenism,
Parliament, and then, suddenly beginning to talk
through his nose, "Why," asked he of La Chetardie,
"were the Frenchmen of the olden times so grave and
stately, and to-day, they are nearly all comedians ? " 56
In foreign politics, as in government, the King of
Prussia acted with the easy-going fashion of a free indi-
vidual. He was not a Chief of State who had inter-
course with other States; he was a disagreeable, foul-
mouthed person, who carried on his business with other
persons. One of his ministers has well defined his man-
ner: "To have a correct idea of # his sentiments in re-
gard to England, consider him as an individual who
takes his revenge at the risk of being hung." Frederick
William knew well his own infirmity. One day he
acknowledged it to his son: "Follow the example of
thy father," said he to the Crown Prince, "in finance
and in military affairs ; do better still when thou shalt
be master . . .;" then, giving him a little friendly
slap: "Take care not to imitate him in what is called
ministerial affairs, for he understands nothing about
that." 57 For this reason he did not like to negotiate him-
self. He could not help saying what he thought: "It
is stronger than I," said he. He was so incapable of
diplomatic politeness that he reproached the Ministers
of France and Austria at his Court for not disputing
like "street arabs." One day, in an audience given to
an Envoy Extraordinary from England, he threw upon
the ground a paper that this personage presented to him,
and turned his back. Another day he received the Min-
ister of Holland, whose propositions displeased him ; he
THE FATHER. 89
left the room as if in sudden haste for something. The
Holland Minister waited respectfully, but at the end of
half an hour he descended into the court-yard, where
he learned His Majesty had gone off on horseback.
His conversation disconcerted the diplomats. He led
his interlocutor from Muscovia to Gibraltar, "from Gib-
raltar to the Netherlands, then back finally to Port-Ma-
li on, so as to pass suddenly to Constantinople, and return
to Vienna." He had no fixed ideas except in the care of
his own interests.
He interrupted dissertations by one of his refrains :
"Good for a few shovelfuls of sand," meaning to say
that he "loved to acquire new territories for the ag-
grandizement of his estates." To attain them, he would
never do anything that was necessary ; but, to gratify
him in this respect, the others had to run all the risks,
he alone drawing out the profit. It was thus that his
accredited Ministers, when near him, were the most un-
happy diplomats. Berlin was their purgatory, their
hell. Rottenburg would rather have become a "Carthu-
sian" than remain longer at this Court. The Austrian
Seckendorff, himself, the favorite, the indispensable
companion at table and in the smoking-room, did not
relish it either. Someone met him on the street in Ber-
lin, and, surprised to see him there while the King was at
Potsdam, asked him what he was doing: "Alas!" said
he, "I am like the servants in the Gospel. I remain
when they tell me to remain ; I depart when they tell
me to depart. . . If the Emperor would give me a
province for another year's service, the devil take me if
I would accept." 58
90 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
The king returned the sentiments that the diplomats
expressed toward him. He did not like to see them,
and would oftener send them to his ministers, who
would receive them in conference, four around a
table, and one of them holding a pen. You would
think it was "a tribunal of the Inquisition, where a
secretary reduced ad protocolum, on the instant, the
most insignificant speech." The report was forwarded
to the king, with the counsel, which he accepted or not,
as it pleased him. He distrusted his ministers, and he
had reason; nearly every one of them betrayed him;
some sold themselves to France, and others to Austria.
He did not know just how far they betrayed him ; but,
of their treachery, which exceeded almost the improba-
ble, he did not doubt. One of the most extraordinary
traits of this prince was his absolute indifference to the
infidelity of his agents, in foreign political matters.
He wrote upon the report of one minister: "You
are too fond of guineas;" on the report of another:
"You are too fond of louis'," but he dismissed
neither the one nor the other. It even pleased him that
these "Mazarins," as he said, received from foreign sov-
ereigns, what La Chetardie called "tokens of sentiment
and essential proofs of gratitude." "I am aware," said
he, "that many of my people are bribed by France, and
I know them all. Well and good ! If France wishes
to be so foolish as to give them pensions, they have but
to accept. The money will remain in the country, and
they and their children will spend it. . . . but they
deceive themselves if they think they can lead me by the
nose." One would suppose that he saw in these treach-
THE FATHER. 91
eries but a means of importing hard cash. Besides, he
arranged to have always two parties in his Ministry.
One day he received, very gruffly, the Imperialists, who
asked to have an Anglo-French colleague dismissed.
He would listen to first one party and then the other,
and reserve to himself the decision, which was, in sub-
stance, always this: not to risk anything, nor to act. 59
What were the true reasons for this ? There seem to
have been several. It certainly must have cost the King
of Prussia very much to expose to peril such fine sol-
diers, so well clothed and well equipped, and so
perfect in the drill a la Prussian. We also know that
the least displacing of troops interfered with the compu-
tations of his receivers and the exact proportion of re-
ceipts and expenses ; the surplus that he had to make
each year was endangered, lost perhaps, replaced really
by a deficit. But, on the same conditions that he would
have risked a capital, when he had the hope of drawing
from it a fine interest, Frederick William would have
risked his soldiers, if he had seen a way of gaining a
province. Now, he knew that no one was sincerely dis-
posed to come to his aid, and he would, at the decisive
hour, find himself alone against all. The inheritance
of Juliers and Berg was the principal object of his am-
bition; but France did not care about seeing Prussia at
Dusseldorf; Holland dreaded still more this neighbor,
so powerfully armed ; neither did the King of England,
Elector of Hanover, one who laid claim to grand roles in
Germany, wish the growth of the power of Prussia.
The Emperor had been watching for a long time, with
uneasiness, the progress of the Hohenzollern, and he had
92 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
personal motives for not displeasing the competitors of
the king to the succession to the duchies. Frederick
William had then to do with a very strong opposing
party. When he thought of the dangers he might have
to encounter, he was as if taken with vertigo. Prussia
was not yet solid ; he knew it well. He felt that she
lived and moved in him; he nourished her; he fortified
and animated her with his mind ; his prodigious activ-
ity started the inertia of his incongruous subjects; his
bureaux and his army organized a State and made a
country, but the work was not yet finished. This Fred-
erick William was the first true Prussian of Prussia,
there are millions, to-day, of these Prussians: but he
was the only one of his time, and if, a century after his
epoch, it appeared possible, as Heinrich Heine said,
" that Napoleon could whistle and Prussia would exist
no longer," it would have been sufficient for Frederick
William to take a false step, and Prussia would never
have been born.
Thus he did not dare to act alone, and, at the
same time, he had too much pride to figure as a
nonentity, in a combination. The ways of the great
powers irritated him. France, England, Austria, Hol-
land, held a high head with him, accustomed as they
were to rule the world. He called them the ''quad-
rille dancers," and yet he feared them while he
mocked them. If he entered into treaties it was to
be as equal with equal. He explained himself very
frankly, at the time of the negotiations of the Hano-
verian League. "I will not enter into war," said he,
"for the benefit of the Hollanders, so that they may
THE FATHER. 93
be able to sell at a higher price tea, coffee, cheese
and china ! I wish to know about the pot aux roses
(the secret). ..." This pot aux roses was that
they were going to make war on the Emperor, and
take some provinces away from him; "but to whom
will fall, in the division, the provinces taken from
the Emperor? ... If I make conquests will I
retain them or will it be necessary to give them all
up ? And if I give them up who will pay my war
expenses ? I mean to know all the secrets, as well as
the Very Christian King and the King of Great Brit-
ain, and to regulate with all of them whatever comes
up, as an equal party, not as a subaltern and an in-
ferior. ... If I am going to accede to this
Hanover alliance, I will not enter into it as an errand-
boy." 60 He had very explicit reasons for speaking in
this way ; he remembered the affronts received by his
grandfather, the Great Elector, and his father, Fred-
erick I.; the conquests that they had to surrender,
treaties signed, after they fought in the wars, with-
out even allowing them to consult their own in-
terests.
He did not wish to act alone, and yet was discon-
tented with all other company: what then remained
for him to do ? First to storm against all the other
powers ; and he lent himself . to it with a right good
will. One day, during a dinner, he was speaking, in
a desultory way, of the affairs of the continent, "and
ended the repast by making everybody drink a bum-
per to the approaching confusion of all Europe." 61
This confusion he expected, hoped and prepared for,
94 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
in husbanding all his strength. Already he was " re-
spectable," and saw very well that they held him to
be of some account, and he was proud of it. ''All the
most imposing powers seek me, and emulate each
other in fondling me, as they would a bride.
They will always be obliged to seek a prince who
has a hundred thousand men ready for action and
twenty -five million crowns to sustain them." He had
now gained that point where he had no need of
anyone. Like his father and grandfather, he could
have found subsidy in foreign countries if he had
wished, but it was "a thing he had never done and
would never do." He intended to remain his own
master, and gloried "in following his own impulse,"
that is to say, "his momentary caprice." The repre-
sentatives of the older powers had to take the greatest
precautions with him: "I would rather eat bread and
cheese all my life," said he, "than to suffer them to
impose upon me the law of talking, when I do not
wish to do so." 62
From time to time, he liked to make himself
believe that he would act some day. He spoke of
possible "revolutions" at the death of the Czarina,
or of the King and Queen of Sweden, the King of
Poland or of the Emperor: "All these successions
are disputed," said he, "and even if the King of
England should be missing, the Pretender would find
followers enough to support him, to give perhaps
occasion for some trouble." He survived the most of
these events, which did not turn out as he expected,
or he did not know how to profit by them ; he re-
THE FATHER. 95
served himself perhaps for the "trouble" that would
follow the death of the Emperor. He preferred
however to leave to his son, with an account of the
wrongs done him, the care of action and revenge.
He pronounced more than one prophetic word, among
others this one, as he pointed to the Crown Prince:
"Here is one who will avenge me some day Da
steht einer der mich rachen wird." It seems that he
accepted philosophically the role that would be assigned
to him in Prussian history.
He wrote as early as 1722, in an Instruction for
his successor, these remarkable words: "The Elector
Frederick William has given to our House develop-
ment and prosperity ; my father has acquired royal
dignity ; I have made a State of the army and coun-
try. Upon you, my dear successor, is devolved the
maintenance of what there is and the gaining of
those countries which belong to us through God and
our right."
THE INDIVIDUALITY OF FREDERICK WILLIAM.
Frederick William was constantly occupied with his
affairs. As they were never completed, and never
went together, his mind knew no repose. He was
born restless and turbulent, predisposed to misuse life
and the practicality of life, forcing and aggravating
it out of the natural, making of himself one of the
most tortured beings ever known to history.
He suffered in body as well as mind. His frame
showed strength during the first years of his reign.
His limbs were strong and well proportioned. From
96 . FREDERICK THE GREAT.
out his serious, cold, oval face with its high fore-
head, sparkled a mobile eye that saw everything. It
could become, at will, intensely set on an object that
it wished to scrutinize or on a soul that it wished to
read. The lips seemed always ready to speak, not to
say amiable things, but to interrogate, with an ex-
pression of disdain, as if they were sure that the
speaker was a liar or a knave. Frederick William 63
was a blonde in spite of himself : as a child, he ex-
posed himself to the sun so as to brown his girl
skin. As soon as he commenced to wear the short
perruque a queue, he chose a brown one. He feared
no fatigue, and exhausted himself and those around
him. The horse, the carriage, the cart, the hunt, the
table, the wine, the tobacco, were all too strong for
him. Early in life, he was seized with the gout,
then shaken by apoplexy, and swollen by dropsy.
He grew so large that his waist measured four ells.
The attacks of these maladies became more and more
frequent; he became deaf from the effects "of an in-
flammation of the ears ; " he would suddenly become
drowsy, or again, he would swoon away ; and his face
would be streaked blue and red. It is said that, at
times, the skin under his thighs would become de-
tached and look like a bladder of fresh pork. 64 We
have the detail of one of his maladies: the sufferings he
endured were horrible. He said that a king should
know how to suffer better than any other mortal, but
his stoicism was interrupted by fits of anger, and his
natural endurance gave way to fury. It must never be
forgotten, in judging Frederick William, that he lived
in constant torture.
THE FATHER. 97
It is not true that he was naturally wicked, and that
he did not love even his own family. He assuredly
loved his wife. He was but eighteen years old when he
married, and had, up to the time of his marriage, so
much modesty that he would blush when a lady would
kiss his hand through respect. His disposition showed
itself in his conjugal love. At twenty-five, when
he became king, he already had five children; the queen
bore him nine more. He was to the last a faithful hus-
band. He came forth conqueror from the strong tempta-
tions put upon his virtue, while on a trip to the Court of
Dresden. He wrote : " I have returned, after this trial,
as I departed," One day, while traveling, he took
pleasure in talking to a pretty woman ; General
Grumbkow offered himself as negotiator; the king re-
pulsed him sharply. He did not intend to be untrue to
his Fiekchen, or Fiji, as he called Sophia Dorothea. An-
other time, he met one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting,
on a stairway, caught her by the waist and began cajol-
ing her. He received a slap. "Oh! the wicked little
devil!" he cried. This was all his complaint.
These two anecdotes, which are perhaps not authen-
tic, compose his history as a gallant, and in what a
century!
He esteemed his wife, and gave her a proof of it when
he set out on his campaign for Pomerania. "If anything
of importance happens," writes he to his secret counsel,
"tell my wife and take her advice, Soil an meine Fran
gesagt werden . . ." Frederick William was, per-
haps, the only Hohenzollern that ever gave an order of
this kind, for the principal function of queens in Prus-
98 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
sia is maternity. He asked nothing more than to love
his children. His first Instruction for the education of
the Crown Prince was of a father who wished to be cher-
ished by his son. It would seem that he had the qualities
of a good husband and father. But he meant to
rule in household as well as in state, without ar-
guments, and he intended that his wife and chil-
dren should have no other tastes than his, that they
should bear with his ill-humor, even when it was exe-
crable, and whenever it pleased him to bring it down
upon those around him. The slightest resistance, the
least hesitation irritated him. It was not necessary for
the queen to oppose him long, before he would hurl at
her words like these: "The loss of a woman is not
more than the loss of a hollow tooth, which pains one
while it is being pulled, but which one is delighted to
be rid of the moment after." 65 If the opposition became
worse, if it took the character of a rebellion, the good
husband, the good father, gave himself up to extreme
anger. Then, too, he lived very little with his family;
the drill at Potsdam, the hunt, the trips of inspection, his
solitary rides, separated him from them. He saw them
around him at table, in the general confusion of a large
company, and in the perpetual tumult of his thoughts.
To live a sedative life, and, above all, to hold a court
he had neither the taste nor the time. He passed four
or five hours each day 66 in his cabinet, listening to re-
ports, having the ministers' questions read, writing his
answers, or designing them, for he responded as well by
a rebus, and often in a very clear way; all comprehended
what was meant by a gibbet on the margin of a question.
THE FATHER. 99
He passed, on an average, two hours at his principal re-
ports and all evening in drinking and smoking. Be-
fore dinner, he would go to the parade; afterward take
a walk, or ride in a carriage or on horseback; but upon
the road or in the street, he worked. He talked of his
affairs with those who accompanied him. He had oftener
some object in these promenades; to surprise a sentinel,
to watch over the work of the peasants and workmen,
the buildings particularly, for he had the ambition to
enlarge and embellish Berlin. It was one of his great
pleasures to watch a house going up, and to enter into a
conversation with the architects and builders. On his
way he would stop to receive petitions, to ask people
their names, or question the couriers as to where they
were going ; he would give information to those seeking
a street or a house. Once he entered a lodging where he
heard a great uproar, and forced a couple who were
quarreling to embrace. He was the terror of loungers,
and dispersed with blows of his cane tfiose that lingered
to play at bowls. His subjects dreaded to meet him,
and evaded the meeting at need by flight. It is said
that one day he carried on the following dialogue with
one of these runaways: "Why are you running?"
"Because I am afraid." "You must not be afraid, you
must love me." And, to make the poor devil more
sensible of his duty of loving, he gave him a good
flogging.
Very laborious were his inspections in the provinces.
For these journeys no gilded carriages, nor outriders,
nor lackeys, as in the time of his father, who seemed to
be always posing before some Van der Meulen ; no
100 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ladies, whose gowns feared the dust, who retarded the
departure in the morning, and had to be entertained all
along the route with frivolities. Not even an escort,
except along the frontier of the "anarchy" of Poland.
Four or five post carriages, well equipped, the relay
awaiting them at the hour appointed, were sufficient to
transport the king, generals and counselors that had to
travel with him. They worked while on the journey.
It took two weeks for Frederick I. to go from Berlin to
Konigsburg ; four days was enough for his son ; in three
days Frederick William went from Berlin to Cleves.
His visit was not expected : everywhere he desired to
surprise the colonels, the Chambers of Administra-
tion, the farmers, judges, foresters. All appearance
of a reception was forbidden ; the king dined at an
inn, as well at one as at another, and contented him*
self with a chicken and soup, cabbage with salt
meat, a roast of veal with butter, and cheese for a finish.
He had not a minute to lose; he examined the regiments,
the funds, the accounts, he counted the vacant places in
the fields and in the cities. Between times he exercised
his justice. He discovered the proof of malpractice in
the accounts of the Domain of Lithuania, and ordered
an inquest: the Counselor of the Domains, Von Schla-
buth, found guilty of embezzlement of a sum destined
for the establishment of colonies, was condemned to sev-
eral years' imprisonment. The king did not confirm the
judgment. He reserved his supreme decision for his
next journey through Prussia. On arriving at Konigs-
burg he summoned Schlabuth, reproached him for his
crime, and declared he deserved to be hung. Schlabuth
THE FATHER. 101
exclaimed: "It is not customary to hang noblemen;"
furthermore, he had returned the embezzled funds. "I
do not want your dirty money," cried the king, who gave
the order to take him away. He had a gallows erected
in the night, under the windows of the Chamber of
Administration. There was great excitement in the
city. An unprecedented action this, a condemnation,
without trial, contrary to a judgment ! The family did
everything to save the unfortunate man. The next day
being Sunday, they had twenty-four hours to attempt to
bend the judge. At divine service the preacher took
for the text of his sermon the words: "Blessed are the
merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." The king wept,
but the day following he convoked a meeting of the
Chamber of Administration, and, under the eyes of the
counselors, had their colleague hung.
THE PLEASURES OF FREDERICK WILLIAM.
Frederick William had also his hours of relaxation
and pleasure, and some enjoyment of life. It was not
at the door of philosophy he knocked, nor of science.
He had a horror of all speculation that did not produce
immediate practical application. When a child he had
too often heard, at the court of his mother, who was
the great friend of Leibnitz, about monads, infinitely
great and infinitely small, and pre-established harmony.
He understood nothing of these profound doctrines,
and called bluntly all philosophy a Windmacherei,
wind-making. As the wind did not pay the excises, the
king was ready to prohibit the manufacture of it as use-
less. He readily believed the counselors who repre-
l6& FRftJD>ftRiCK THE GREAT.
sented it to be dangerous. One day he committed a
barbarous act against the most celebrated philosopher
of his day. Wolf, a disciple of Leibnitz, taught the
doctrines of his master at Halle. His rivals of the
University and his adversaries, the bigots, organized a
cabal against him. It is said they represented to the
king that, according to the theories of Wolf, a Potsdam
Grenadier could desert unscrupulously, alleging that
he was, from creation, predisposed to the desertion in
virtue of pre-established harmony. The king considering
"that the letters and lessons of Professor Wolf were
contrary to the religion revealed by the word of God,"
ordered the said professor to leave the city and king-
dom in forty-eight hours, "under penalty of strangu-
lation." Four years after, he interdicted the reading
of Wolf's writings, filled with "atheistical principles,"
under penalty of hard labor for life. It is true that
toward the latter part of his reign he saw his error. To
make reparation, he did all that could be expected of
him ; he wrote to Wolf, offered his excuses, made brill-
iant overtures to him, and, in the most persuasive way, 67
urged him to return, but Wolf was not to be won ; he
put off his entrance into Prussia until the accession of
Frederick II., the King-Philosopher.
Through the advice of Leibnitz, Frederick I. had
founded a "society of scientists." He had given them
a magnificent role: to glorify German Science, to purify
the German Language, to study the History of Germany
and the Church, Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy, Me-
chanics, ways of propagating the faith and preserving
the Kingdom of Prussia from inundations and fire.
THE FATHER. 103
From this repertory several articles must have pleased
Frederick William, notably the last. He did not with-
draw the royal donation from the society. He even
showed them marks of favor when they asked permis-
sion to open an anatomical lecture hall, but, as they
were thanking him, he said: "Work with more zeal
than you have done heretofore. . . Your society
must apply itself to inventions capable of advancing arts
and sciences, but in a way that they may be generally
useful; no wind-manufacturing; none of those lying
dreams in which so many worthy men lose them-
selves."
He expressed his contempt for science in a most pecul-
iar manner. He had in his own service a man by the
name of Gundling, a great savant, a polygraph, whose
very extended knowledge he used in matters of law and
politics. He made him his commensal and the indis-
pensable habitue of his "tabagie." Among other favors
he gave him the entire use of his wine-cellar, knowing
well that the doctor would abuse this privilege. He
made him drunk every day; he enjoyed it, and desired
others to be amused at the poor man's expense, by dirty,
dishonoring jokes. He called him the "Court Jester,"
so as to heap upon him all the dignities he could think of
that were ridiculous. He made him Grand Master of
Ceremonies, Grand Chamberlain, a baron with grotesque
armorial bearings, and President of the Society of
Sciences, President after Leibnitz ! In the same man-
ner he treated Dr. Fassmann and Dr. Bartholdi, Pro-
fessor of Law in the University of Frankf ort-on-the-Oder,
whom he called "Mr. Pandects," and the astronomer
104 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Graben zum Stein, whom he surnamed " Mr. Astralicus."
Graben was also nominated President of the Academy
of Sciences. The king took the trouble to reject the
nomination.
He boasted of Graben's knowledge of antiquities, new
and old coins, physics, mechanics, botany, hydraulics,
pneumatics, statics, and cabal, of his art of knowing
how to examine evil spirits, with the use and abuse
that could be made of it, of the wonderful preadamite
doctrine, history, physics, logic, the combinatory art of
algebra, etc., etc. Graben had, among other duties, the
arrangement of the calendar. He had to be circumspect
in his predictions, to announce the fewest possible bad
days, and the greatest number of good days. He had
the charge of watching over spirits. The incredulity of
men had, of course, passed the bounds of hobgoblins,
ghosts, etc., but there were still dwarfs, wehr-wolves;
they could be found in the lakes, marshes, caverns, and
hollows of old trees: Graben had to work out their
destruction. For each one of these wicked spirits that
he captured, dead or alive, he was to receive a prize of
six thalers. And, lastly, according to an ancient tradi-
tion, the soil of Brandenburg, principally around the old
monasteries, was sown with treasures. Every ten years,
to assure herself that these treasures were undisturbed,
Rome sent Jesuits and other vermin there. Graben
must try to catch these rascals, but the most important
of all was to find the treasures, by the means that were
used then ; the king put at his disposition the books on
magic that he found in the archives, with the speculum
Salomonis. . . "In witness of which we have signed
THE FATHER. 105
this ordinance with our own hand, and appended thereto
our royal seal. . ." 68
Frederick William was not insensible to the charm of
the arts. He was a natural musician, and loved music.
From the "Chapelle" of his father he had kept an
artist whom he had made Master of the "Chapelle des
Haut-bois " of his Grenadier Guard. From time to time,
in the evening, he had them play the choruses and airs
of two of Handel's operas that were his favorites.
Sometimes he would drop off to sleep, or seem to do so,
and the leader would skip a few measures. The king
would always notice it: " You have not played such an
air," he would say, and then sing the first notes; they
had to recommence. He thus heard, hundreds and hun-
dreds of times, the same arias. He did not wish to be
disturbed by an audience : in the long hall where the
musicians were stationed at one end with their music-
stands and candles, he would place himself at the other,
all alone, in the dark. It was evident, then, that he
had a taste for this fine heroic music, but, as he could
not keep from mixing irony with the serious things of
life, and turning everything to coarse comicality, he
.was delighted the day that the Master surprised him
with a pig sextet that he had composed from a story
told in the smoking-room. The king had him repeat the
piece twenty times, while he held his sides and laughed
until the tears streamed down his face.
He was a painter, as well as a musician, during his
leisure moments. When the bad weather or gout con-
fined him to his apartments, as he could not " remain
doing nothing," he painted. Pictures by him, exe-
106 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
cuted during these fits of the gout, bore the signature:
In tormentis pinxit. F. W. He preferred caricature
sketching. He liked droll beasts, bears and monkeys.
It is told that at the principal post of Potsdam was an
old bear who understood the military commands. At
the cry: Heraus! he would go out, raise himself up on
his hind legs, and fall in line with the company; he
recognized, it appears, the voice of the king, who was
very proud of it. The king had at the palace, among
other animals, cubs and monkeys, that he used for low
farces at the " Tobacco Club." These animals were the
principal inspirers of his pencil. He would dress them
up as men, and make them play the human comedy,
like the artists and writers of the Middle Ages.
Through conscientious scruples he mistrusted come-
dies; so he did not have, like his father, a French Com-
edy, nor an Italian Opera; but, one day at Charlotten-
burg, he admired extravagantly a certain Eckenberg,
who held on his extended arm a drummer seated on a
cannon. He immediately accorded him a privilege.
"Whereas, Mr. Eckenberg, celebrated for his extraor-
dinary strength, has given at the Palace of Charlotten-
burg many remarkable proofs of the power with which
God has endowed him, in presence of and for the great
pleasure of His Majesty; seeing that the said party has
requested His Majesty, in all humility, not only to give
him a letter of recommendation, but also permission to
visit his kingdom, provinces and countries, and give an
exhibition of this said strength in all the cities and
towns that he pleased," order was given to the civil and
military authorities to take care of and give him aid.
THE FATHER. 107
Eckenberg, that they commonly called the " Strong
Man," was promoted to the dignity of " Master of the
Pleasures of the King," and " Royal Prussian Court
Comedian." The privilege was conferred to give, "be-
sides these exhibitions of strength and rope-dancing,
theatrical representations with the assistance of his
troop, for the recreation of those who did not have too
much to do. . . , under the condition that he would
represent and play things that were not impious, sinful,
scandalous, dishonest or injurious to Christianity, but,
on the contrary, innocent things which would procure
people honest amusement, honestes Amusement. . ."
Major-General Count Alexander Yon DOnhoff was
given the charge of these comedians, and we have from
this celebrated military man such report, where he lays
before His Majesty: 1st, That, conformably to the gra-
cious decision of His Majesty, stating that the deserter,
John Baptist Mumieux, must be hung, he has "notified
him of the death-sentence;" 2d, that the "Strong Man,"
Eckenberg, dismissed Harlequin and the Dentist, but
that, after the affair had been explained to him, this
sending off of two of his best actors, without the permis-
sion of His Majesty, he had taken them back again, and
had counted out to them their weekly wages. Another
day the king learned that the "Strong Man" and his
wife, while they were both drunk, threw themselves upon
the comedian Walldorf, and without cause, heaped him
with insults, blows and kicks. The General had to
tear him away from the hands of Eckenberg, or he
would have been strangled to death. But the two
drunkards ran upon the stage, insulting and maltreating
108 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the actors. The play had been interrupted ; the people
fled. The General had to conduct the " Strong Man"
and his wife to the post-house, while "they honored
him with curses."
Thus the Court Theater was not particularly condu-
cive to the improvement of morals. 69 Their favorite
plays were Italian farces, ' < full of agreeable intrigues,
and highly burlesque," as the playbills stated. They
employed both men and dummies; the king preferred
the dummies; in reality, he liked only the marionettes;
sometimes he would distrust them. Once he was pres-
ent at a play, and noticed some shocking words that
were uttered by one of these puppets. He gave an or-
der to Roloff, Counselor of the Consistory, to go to the
theater and tell them what he thought of this play.
The minister of the gospel recoiled from this office, in-
voking to his aid the duties and dignity of his calling.
The king admitted these reasons, but he related his em-
barrassment to one of his confidential men, Eversmann,
Chamberlain-janitor of the palace, and he was acquainted
with a deacon who would undertake the function of
censor. The deacon received orders to go to the play
that evening, and place himself in view of the king.
He was to listen attentively, and as soon as a passage
offended him he was to draw out his tablet and make a
note of it. The king, who was looking at him, noticed
the impropriety of the speech, arose abruptly, and left
the playhouse. That very evening he ordered the come-
dians to leave the city in twenty-four hours, forbidding
them to ever return.
So it was, even the marionettes had their faults, and
THE FATHER. 109
the pleasures of the theater their disappointments. They
tried to make the king believe that the hunt itself was not
innocent, and that the soul of a Christian was in peril
there; but here their trouble was lost; he always con-
tinued to be a passionate hunter. In Prussia, he made
raids on the bear and wild ox. In Brandenburg and
Pomerania, he hunted the deer, wild boar, pheasant,
heron, hare and quail. He threw into this diversion
wild enthusiasm; firing in one day six hundred shots to
bring down a hundred quail. The wild-boar chase was
a great massacre. But his real pleasure was to force
the deer. Parks of several thousand square miles
were kept for this "hunt at force." The king would
follow at a trot or gallop, for four, five or six hours, the
dogs that tormented these animals. In the chase alone,
he loved luxury. The keeping up of these parks cost
him a considerable sum. His pack was chosen with
great care, and better lodged than many of his subjects.
The huntsmen had a well-fed look in their livery. He
despised court ceremony, but it was strictly observed in
the forest. When the deer was brought to cover, the
Grand Master "gave him the death blow," detached the
antlers and presented them to the king on a silver plat-
ter. The view-halloo was sounded. As a sign of victory,
the king and all his suite put a twig in their hats. Upon
a car covered with branches the animal was taken in
procession to the castle. According to the ancient cus-
toms, the dogs then received their booty, "their right of
the hunt," that is to say, the quarry.
Things did not pass more solemnly before the Em-
peror, when he deigned to come in at the death, but I
110 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
think that his Imperial Majesty did not give himself
so much trouble for the hunt, nor did he so sharply
taste of its pleasures. On winter days Frederick William
rose at five o'clock, rode two or three leagues in an
open carriage, and commenced the hunt at break of day.
In the most disagreeable weather he would take a cold
breakfast in the open air. His companions thought to
warm themselves by drink. The king, rough and crusty
as he was, enjoyed this play of primitive life.
He was a great hunter and a great gourmand. Fred-
erick William ate enormously. At table, as everywhere
else, he wished the substantial and the solid. No
puffed-up things where there was "wind." Even in the
soup he must have a good piece of veal, or a chicken,
or a fish, to sharpen the appetite. As a good German,
he was fond of liver and pork in all its forms. He
often went to the kitchen to watch the head cook and
teach him economy, to beat him if he wasted the but-
ter, or if he stole in his accounts, but also to give him
a few instructions. He put the finishing touches to his
education when he dined out, or rather, at an inn,
" The King of Portugal." One day, when he had eaten
some good mutton tripe with cabbage, he returned with
the recipe. He had a grateful stomach. He enjoyed
a good soup at the house of Ilgen, one of his minis-
ters: he wrote a note of thanks, and sent one of his
cooks to learn from one of Ilgen's how to make a good
bouillon, and to instruct his cook in return how to pre-
pare fish. He assured this minister of his particular
favor. " You can," said he, "make use of me when-
ever you please." As just at that time there was a
THE FATHER. Ill
quarrel in the royal household, and Ilgen was on the
queen's side, this dinner had the effect of reconciling, for
awhile, the king and his wife. Again Frederick Will-
iam was very kind and genial. A good dinner gave
him nearly as much pleasure as a grand recruit. The
Foreign Ministers knew this, and entertained him as
well as they possibly could. Among other arguments
against his colleague and Austrian rival, La Chetardie
employed truffles with oil ; for the king did not disdain,
after the heavier dishes, to indulge in certain delicacies
such as truffles and oysters, provided there was a boun-
tiful supply of them. He ate his hundred oysters.
Only these good things were costly; they did not appear
on the royal table except on grand occasions. The
king, to reconcile his ideas of economy with his petty
weaknesses, loved to make a good meal at the expense
of others. He drank as he ate, without restraint, and
paid even more attention to his cellar than to his cuisine.
He did not like champagne, where there was "wind"
and foam, but delighted in the strong wines of the
Rhine and Hungary, that he ordered himself, with a
thorough knowledge of the good vineyards and their
good years. The dining never ended without some of
the party being warmed up considerably. The king
obliged his guests to drink excessively; it was one of
the ways of making love to him, that of taking a little
too much wine. 70
At nightfall the king would hold one of his "evening
revels." In a bare hall, around a long, wooden table,
were ranged seats of wood. He took his place at the
upper end. The habitues and invited guests had their
112 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
places marked : before them were a pitcher of beer, a
glass, and a clay pipe in a wooden case. Upon the table
were baskets filled with coarse tobacco, and some peat
which burned in glass receptacles. Everybody had
to drink and smoke, or appear to do so. Those
to whom the tobacco was sickening had to hold
in their hand an empty pipe, and puff at it now
and then. After an hour or two they placed on
the table bread, butter and cheese; upon the side-tables
there was ham and cold veal. When the king had a
distinguished visitor he would regale the company with
a salad and fish; he would serve the fish and make the
salad. On these evenings they drank Hungarian wine,
and the conversation was prolonged far into the night.
The king smoked incessantly. During one sitting of
the " Tobacco Club," when the king was entertaining
His Majesty, King Stanislas Lecszinski, the two royal
majesties smoked more than thirty pipes.
At table, as well as in his smoking apartments, the
company was a strange one: generals, ministers, officers,
foreign envoys, found themselves with buffoons and
court- jesters. When they were at Wusterhausen, the
schoolmaster would often come and smoke his pipe there
in the evening ; the king held him in great esteem, be-
cause he had never been able to persuade the children of
the village to cry with him: "Our master is an ass!"
The conversation would overstep all bounds. Even
when they would have a "discourse," or a report, or
perhaps a reading from the journals, the king, a man
who made constant use of the interrogation point,
would interrupt by questions, and the discussion would
THE FATHER. 113
begin. In the autumn of 1727 he had at his court a
young Pietist pastor by the name of Francke. While
at table, the points at issue were none but the most edi-
fying, salvation, sin, hell, purgatory, apparitions. The
minister of the gospel had no time to eat, so harassed
was he by the king's questions. He expressed himself
with unction, for he had " breathed to God" a prayer,
begging Him to guide his tongue; but Gundling was
among the guests, and he arrived drunk. He made
"astonishing gestures, arose from table and went fall-
ing among the pages, returned, howled, and then went
off again." The pastor prayed the Lord to be merciful,
and prevent such like scandals ! 71 However, the presence
of the queen and princesses imposed a certain restric-
tion. At the " tabagie" they were men among men.
The vulgar farces and brutality had their full sway,
with a mixture of scriptural sayings and guardroom
curses. The king gave free scope to his humor, sus-
taining his rights upon the duchies, telling of his mor-
tifications and his hopes, storming against the " qua-
drille dancers," or perhaps talking of maneuvers or tac-
tics, then returning to stories of the hunt or war, recol-
lections of campaigns in the Netherlands and
Pomerania. These subjects came up again and again,
for Frederick William pertinaciously repeated.
ACTS OF VIOLENCE, FOLLY AND DESPOTISM.
At the hunt, at table, in his smoking apartments, and
with the queen during their days of harmony or recon-
ciliation, Frederick William passed the happiest hours
of his life. These hours by no means formed the
114 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
greater part of his passionate existence. The violent
rages to which he would give vent showed only an
abnormal state of his rude, coarse nature. No slave-
trader, I imagine, distributed more blows with the stick
than did this king. Not to mention his family trage-
dies, there was not a class of his subjects, the officers
, excepted, that did not feel the touch of the royal cane.
He beat his domestics right and left. They relate
the story at Berlin " that he had cabinets furnished with
large sticks, placed at certain distances one from the
other, to be more convenient, according to where he
happened to be, so as to apply blows to those who ap-
proached him and did not gratify his fancy." He gave
a blow for an answer that did n?ot content him, whether
it was really bad, or so good that he could not reply to
it. He met the brewer of Potsdam in the street: "Why
do you sell your beer so dear?" said the king. "Because
I am governed by the price of barley. If your Majesty
will give me the permission to procure it at Stralsund,
where it is cheaper, I will be able to lower my prices."
Nothing more just; so the king, after having come to
terms with the "Swede" brewer, gave him twenty blows
with his cane. He struck him, by way of justice, to ex-
ecute the sentence that he had pronounced himself in
petto. A Jesuit, saying that he was converted to Protest-
antism, but who nevertheless remained a Jesuit, being
suspected of political intrigue, was arrested ; his
papers were burned, however, and no proof could
be found on him : the king had an interview with
this man in the wood, "and took the trouble to give
him a volley of blows with his stick." One day a
THE FATHER. 115
sentence being rendered by a jury, was interrupted
by his blows given on the shoulders and in the
faces of the magistrates, who fled, gnashing their
teeth, and he followed them even to the stairway. It is
true, he did not beat his ministers, but many a time he
had the desire to do it. Once, while dining, before
twenty-five guests, among whom there were some of his
ministers, he asked the Envoy of France: "If I beat
one of my ministers will you send the information to
France?" "I hope," answered Rottenberg, "that
your Majesty will not put my discretion to such a test." 72
All the foreign residents, Frederick William's own
ministers and the queen attributed these proceedings to
a mental derangement, and expected any moment "to
see the poor prince's head turned." In truth, traces of
mania were not lacking in the series of anecdotes of
this reign. To have a live fish scaled and oblige his
guests to eat it in that condition ; to threaten his physi-
cians "with imprisonment of the faculty" if they did
not relieve him within a given time of some pimples
on his tongue; to beat a doctor because he did not cure
one of his little girls quick enough of smallpox; to
take a walk through the city with his suite at ten
o'clock at night, by the light of torches, crying and
making them cry with the rest of the canaille so
vociferously that Sauveterre, "if he had not seen
them with his own eyes, would have thought that
they were animals being driven to market;" to
ride out alone continually, and to fire at a miller who
passed by him, these are truly fits of mania. The
king, too, had the^o.-fits periodically. "Spring is a
116 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
bad season for him," wrote Rottenburg. " He rides
out alone, as usual, when divine inspiration or rest-
lessness for a change of place torments him. He fell,
Thile going at a gallop. His horse gave him a kick
in the head. He was saved by a forester." He often
had moods of melancholy; for hours he would remain
mute, "with great tears falling from his eyes." He
had nocturnal terrors, and would leap suddenly from
his bed, and go to awaken the queen, telling her
"that he had thoughts and dreams so frightful
that he could not sleep ; that he did not know
where to go; that it seemed that they followed him
everywhere, and that they would kill him, accompany-
ing these words with gestures and cries that showed
plainly he was not himself."
His spells of rage, when he would foam at the mouth,
ended in fits of stupidity. He heard a preacher,
in regard to a fire which had destroyed a portion of
Berlin, hold forth upon the destruction of Jerusalem;
he asked himself: "Is not the conflagration that has
taken place in my capital a sign of the destruction
of my people." Upon leaving church he fell into a
revery, then came the "black melancholy." In these
moments he would maltreat pitilessly those who ap-
proached him. After this, from lassitude, he would
fall back in his arm-chair, where he remained seated,
with his elbows on the table, for two hours at a time,
his eyes set, staring at each one who entered or left
the room, without saying a word. 73
For his wickedness and suffering Frederick William
was, in part, responsible. He w 5^the headsman of his
THE FATHER. 117
body; in his furious spells were recognized the effects
of alcohol, but, as I have said, he was of a restless na-
ture. He had in him, at birth, the disposition to tor-
ment and render himself unhappy. The care of his
affairs, the passion to do his work to the best of his
ability, the sentiment of responsibilitv>toward God and
"the King of Prussia" troubled him, and partially ex-
plains his excesses. Everybody noticed that, when
affairs of state were going along smoothly, the king
would also be better, and his temper would quiet down.
He had his rages, from indigestion caused by oysters
and cabbage. He had them on account of a certain
regiment badly maneuvered, or because such a receiver
had stolen, or that the "quadrille-dancers" had treated
him like an errand-boy.
Such a man could not be loved. The only sentiments
that he inspired were dread and horror, mixed with
some pity. The days that his subjects lived, in his
reign, were dark. He was, in the full sense of the
word, a despot. "I will chastise you exemplarily,
Russian fashion," said he. Russian fashion! In fact,
he did resemble, in more than one trait, with less gen-
ius, be it understood, his neighbor, Czar Peter, whom
he strongly admired. Between these two men the prin-
cipal difference was marked by longitude. Frederick
William reigned at the extremity of the old, historic
European region; but he was included within this
reign, while th> country of Peter, according to the ge-
ography and politics of the time, was Asia. The King
of Prussia was*a part of Europe and the Holy Empire :
his subjects had the right of men; he was more civilized,
118 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
more of a Christian, than the great barbarian; a Czar
Peter, attenuated by race and surroundings. His orgies
never reached indecency. The queen had a hard life
with him, but he never raised his hand to her. It was
not the ax the royal hand wielded, but the stick; if,
however, he submitted this Empire to a better and
higher civilization, it was not without rebellion. In
reality, he admitted no law that interfered with his
supreme right : he was an autocrat.
He had a horror of lawyers, " poor devils of jurists,"
and he held magistrates in contempt. One day he was
requested to give employment to a young man. He
wrote: "If he has intelligence and a good head, put
him in the Chamber of Administration. If he is an
imbecile, make a magistrate of him." There is in this
sentiment, strange for a king to have, the rancor of a
contestor who has lost many suits, for the judges often
put the wrong on the agents of his domains. There is
also in it a disdain for an obscure science, and old, un-
decipherable parchments. But it seems to me well that
Frederick William did not admit the interposition be-
tween himself and subjects of a body of judges, nor
the ways of justice. His incapability of disentangling
an abstraction made him incarnate himself as justice.
He was the judge in flesh and bones; he distributed
justice personally, like the kings of primitive mon-
archies, like St. Louis on the steps of the Sainte Cha-
pelle, or at the foot of the oak at Vincennes, but not
with a spirit of mercy or charity. If he corrected the
judgments, it was to increase the punishment. He
THE FATHER. 119
pronounced motu proprio imprisonment at Spandau and
the penalty of death.
Thus, no one felt safe from his will, his caprices, his
fits of rage. In these crises, when "out of respect to
his crown, they could not compare him to a maniac
with a razor in his hand," everybody trembled, and
committed their souls to God. Even the Foreign Min-
isters were afraid. Once, during, it is true, one
of the greatest storms of passion that the king ever
had, the French Minister begged his government to
make provision for his safety: "without which I will
have a sorry time of it." 74 Did not the king take it into
his head at one time, upon hearing the news that some
of his recruiters were arrested in Saxony and condemned
to death, to send word to his minister resident there,
that if one of these men were touched he would
be hung ? Judge by this the terror of his subjects.
And so they longed for the moment when they should
be rid of him. Even his officers, whom he held under
such terrible discipline, and whom he ruined by oblig-
ing them to make recruits throughout Europe, detested
him heartily. Forty of his big Grenadiers, exasperated
by hard drills and bad treatment, laid a plot to set fire
to the four corners of Potsdam, to roast him there and
bury him in the ruins. The civil population were sub-
jected to the sight of the corporals executing their
order to recruit immediately forty supernumeraries for
each company, "by arresting by main force in the
streets and houses, wherever they could be found, even
children of six years, whom the officers forced the fam-
ilies to ransom. "
120 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Thus there is no house where there are no murmurs.
"The people are greatly discontented. They hope
and believe that this distress cannot endure always.
There are all the appearances," wrote Rottenburg,
"of a revolution. Everything is preparing for it."
The king bitterly felt his unpopularity; he knew his
death was desired, even near him, in his family, a thing
which fairly enraged him. In one of his attacks a doc-
tor made the remark "that it was not necessary for him
to go every day to the parade." He answered "that
they would believe him dead if he did not go." He
would have preferred really to be sick, provided that
they believed him well, rather than be cured by giving
the public the pleasure that he supposed his illness
would give them. 75
FREDERICK WILLIAM'S RELIGION.
From the public hatred, from his pain, sorrow and
passion, Frederick William sought refuge in God. His
faith was sincere, warm, expressive; it had great bursts of
enthusiasm, but it was simple as well as practical. He
wished no erudition, and became irritated with the dis-
putes of the theologians. He mistreated the professors
and preachers who resisted his desire to reconcile the
Lutherans and Calvinists. "The difference between
our two evangelical religions is but a quarrel between
priests," he said. "From the outside the difference is
great, but when one looks into it well, one can see that
the faith is the same upon all points, upon salvation,
and upon communion. Only, among the preachers,
some make the sauce more bitter than others. May
THE FATHER. 121
God pardon all priests ! For they, who stir up < school-
rats' * to put at variance the true word of God,
will have to render an account before His tribunal.
The true pastors, those that say they must be toler-
ant toward one another and apply themselves only to
augmenting the glory of Christ, w T ill be saved. For it
will not be said (on judgment day): Art thou a Lu-
theran or art thou a Reformer (Calvinist)? It will be
said : Hast thou observed my commandments, or hast
thou been a good Dlsputator f It will be said : To the
fire or to the devil with the contentious ones; but, to
those who have observed my commandments, come with
me into my kingdom. May God be merciful to all !
May all his evangelical children observe his command-
ments. As to those who cause disunion, may God send
them to the devil."
As much as the theological disputes, he hated vain
eloquence, " oratorical expressions, artistic, allegorical,
and flowery words . . . useless repetitions, diffuse
explications of texts. . . ." Through an official
order he forbade the use of rhetoric " by all preachers
under the age of forty," those who were older than that
being incapable of changing their habits. He prohib-
ited their preaching more than an hour, under penalty
of a fine of two thalers. An hour was enough "for
a short and edifying explanation of the text, to find
conclusions, and conclusions, too, that would touch
the hearts of the congregation and convince them."
The duty of the pastor was, "to awaken clear ideas in
the understanding, and to incline the will to do right,
122 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
not to show his art and erudition." It was to teach
"active Christianity, thatiges Christenthum"
Frederick William meant by active Christianity, that
which would be of service in practical life, such as he
understood it. That which he called drawing conclu-
sions from a text was, for example, to excite his
Grenadiers to heroism, after their having heard the
story of David killing Goliath, or of Benjamin, who,
with a stick, felled an Egyptian armed cap-d-pie. Of
the two Testaments, the old most properly applied
to the king's service. Thus, his God was the God
of Israel, the God of armies, who, in his anger, pun-
ished for revenge. Frederick William must have been
as sensible to the poetry of the Bible as he was to
the music of Handel, and was moved by the singing
of certain psalms; but his ear was deaf to the words of
the gospel and to the mystic parables. If he had ever
meditated upon the evangelical invitation to pious in-
ertia and to the holy repose upon the bosom of the Sav-
iour, he could not have repressed an interior protestation.
The texts which speak of the birds of the air, nour-
ished by the divine hand, and of the lilies clothed in
splendor, though they spin not, appeared to him to have
a dangerous application. If his eyes happened to fall
upon the verses telling of Jesus' visit to Lazarus, he
quickly turned the page, but not so quickly as not to give
the right to Martha instead of Mary, for, had he been in
the Saviour's place, he would have beaten Mary. And
then, besides, he confessed he was powerless to compre-
hend the charity of Christ.
"You need not teach me," said he to Pastor Francke,
THE FATHER. 123
"that if one gives me a blow on one cheek I must pre-
sent the other, too." "The words of Christ are there,"
answered the pastor, "and cannot be changed."
Francke explained, then, that the Saviour did not
absolutely command you to turn the other cheek, and
that He desired only to prevent individual vindica-
tion. "Yes," replied the king, "we are in a ter-
rible position; if we wish to let everything pass, we
are taken for idlers and cowards; if we wish to
avenge ourselves we run the risk of losing our souls
or the souls of others. The question is, what to do?"
" I know well what I would do," said Francke. And
the king added: "So do I. Thou wouldst say to one
who attacked thee: My dear friend, I am pained to see
you sin in this way. May God pardon you!". "Ex-
actly," said Francke, "and what I could do, others
could do." "Not I," retorted the king, "that does not
apply to me ! " 77
It was not, then, the merciful God that Frederick
William invoked in his short prayers or consulted in
the long close intercourse. One day he reproached
Ilgen in such a violent manner, accusing him of
partiality in regard to England, that the unhappy
man began to cry, and finally fainted, which termi-
nated the controversy. The king declared "that he
was going to take a horseback ride, so that he could
pray to God." He wandered about the fields alone for
over four hours. " On his return he poured forth all
the horrible invectives imaginable against England,
saying that he would have full revenge." Rotten-
burg, who recited the scene to Ilgen, ended with these
124 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
words: "Time and modesty prevent me from repeat-
ing the infamous and obscene language used in this
discourse."
The Christian whom God inspired with such anger
could not find much comfort in his faith. So it was,
even in his religion, Frederick William was restless,
unsteady. He knew well that his duty was "to spread
abroad the honor of God and the royalty of Jesus
Christ." He wished his subjects to feel the word of
God in their hearts as he did in his heart. But he was
not contented with himself. "I am a wicked man,"
said he to Fran eke. " If I am good one day, I return
to my wickedness the next." He feared for the salva-
tion of his soul, and he was afraid of hell, afraid of the
devil. "Ah! yes, the way to heaven is very hard,
Ja, es ist schwer in Himmel zu kommen/" Difficult
above all for a king, who was responsible not only for
his own sins, but for those he allowed to be omitted or
committed by others. This was the reason that, during
his hours of melancholia, he spoke of abdicating: "I
do not see any other way for my salvation, and I should
like so much to be saved !" 78 He saw himself, then, re-
tired to his palace at Wusterhausen, with ten thousand
crowns a year. He shared with his wife and daughters
the care of the housekeeping: "I will pray to God,
and will have a care to the economy of the country."
He seemed born, in fact, for this life of a country
gentleman. He would have cultivated his ground mar-
velously well ; he would have improved it each year,
cleared the woods, drained the marshes, established a
brewery or distillery, constructed new buildings, and
THE FATHER. 125
made sure of the sale of his products. He would have
kept all hands under strict discipline, meddling with ev-
erything, even to the laundry, kitchen and pantry. He
would have been upon all backs at the same time, crying
out, scolding, and giving blows. He would have been
the most ardent hunter among the Junker of Branden-
burg. He would have been at the head of the largest
eaters and strongest drinkers, at a carousal or intem-
perate repast, a la Pantagruel. In the evening he would
have smoked his pipe with his people and neighbors,
discussed at length upon the subjects of sowing grain,
fertilizing the ground, upon the hunt, comparing the
merits of wine and beer, and arguing upon grace and
original sin. He would have prayed to God with his
family and domestics, and then alone, asking him in all
simplicity to spare his harvests from hail, and reserve
it for the fields of others. He would have sung the
psalms in church and at home, and found in the Bible
applications of active Christianity for his intendants and
domestics. He would have economized with his ten
thousand crowns, and added to this economy the annual
surplus of his farm, for each year he would have pro-
duced ein plus. He would have at last slept in the
arms of the Saviour, leaving to his heir the finest estate
in the country, and a nice pile of gold in order to make
it still more valuable, to buy such and such a domain
that he desired, or to gain a lawsuit that he had always
wished to engage in against such and such a one, with-
out daring to do so, because he invariably mistrusted
judges and justice, and the fear of losing it had calmed
his passion for gain.
126 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Upon the throne, Frederick William was this
gentleman farmer. He governed his kingdom like a
proprietor his estate. Instead of acres, there were
thousands and thousands of squares that he cleared
or drained. Instead of barns and stables, he built
cities. King, instead of an ordinary individual, the ob-
jects of his activity were on a larger scale, as well as
his good qualities and his defects, his good and bad
passions, his joys and sorrows. But he it is who was
always on the scene of action, and with all his indi-
viduality, his strange personality. His strong, clear
intellect, whenever it was applied to things that he
knew, and over which he had direct authority, was
capable of seeing all the details, each one separately, but
also in its place in the whole. He was fond of the real,
the visible, the tangible; a contemner of everything
luxurious and ideal. Always occupied in regulations,
he was fully satisfied in the contemplation of a model
regiment, where everything was in its place, battalions,
companies, sections, men, and upon each man each piece
of uniform and arms; where the motion of the individ-
ual was but a portion of the whole movement; where all
the attention was fixed on the number of steps desired.
Like a regiment, the king maneuvered agriculture,
industry, and religion ; but he was troubled by the
slightest resistance to classification and placing in the
ranks. He did not know how to find the true mode of
relationship to exterior powers. At the least hitch he
would lose patience, mourn over it, and suffer. Then
he would divert himself by the grotesque, by carica-
ture, and by a certain taste for drollery which reached
THE FATHER. 127
the fantastic, or he would solace himself through anger,
or by orgies, or perhaps, at last, make his prayers to
God, lay his griefs before his Maker. In these few
moments he was sincere, honest and frank, having
neither the power over himself to dissimulate, nor the
time to arrange his lies. His cj)irtempt Jx>r jjeremony,
his distaste for vain ..show, --were, his princely virtues; he
went straight to the fact, the real. His application and
activity were of such intensity that they penetrated the
men and the countries over which they were exercised,
and created a force that was marked with his impress.
The Prussia of bureaus and barracks, devoted to the
God of armies, stubbornly at work, proud of herself
even to boastfulness, disciplined even to servitude, is
truly the one that Frederick William reared in sorrow
and affliction.
CHAPTER III.
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN FATHER AND SON FIRST SYMP-
TOMS AND CAUSES OF CONFLICT.
In the month of March, 1724, Frederick William
and his son honored with their presence a fete given
by General von Grumbkow, one of the principal minis-
ters of the Court of Prussia. The king suddenly said,
pointing to the Crown Prince: "I should like to know
what is passing in this little head. I know his ideas
are not the same as my own, class er nicht so denkt wie
ich ; there are people who give him other sentiments
than mine, and excite him to blame everything ; they
are rascals." He repeated the word, and, addressing
his son, said: "Fritz, listen to what I am going to
say to thee. Keep always a good, large army; thou
canst not have a better friend, and, without this friend,
thou wilt not be able to sustain thyself. Our neigh-
bors desire nothing better than to make us turn a
somersault. I know # their intentrions; thou wilt learn
to know them. Believe me, do not trust in vanity;
attach thyself to the real, halte dich an das Reelle.
Have thou a good army and money. In these consist
the glory and the security of a prince." Saying this,
he gave Fritz some little taps on the cheek, which
became harder and harder, and finally resembled blows. 79
At the time of this first open disagreement between
FATHER AND SON. 129
_j[athex-an d aon, tho Cr owir Prinre~ivas-4w-elTe years~o-Ldr
The misunderstanding was already complete and well
known. The foreign ministers informed their courts,
and in their dispatches commented upon the king's
words. The prince's nature could not support the tax
upon his strength that his father imposed. Frederick
William tired and harassed him so much that the child
had an old lo ok, as though he had been through many
campaigns ^ and walked with his back cur ved. The
king wished to_accustom_him to _hard ships: every mark
of weakness orjigli eaten e ss enraged j iim. He had a ter-
rible scene with his son for wearing gloves at the
hunt on a bitter cold day. Another time he designated
a horse that Fritz should ride; the equerry ventured to
remark that the animal was hard-mouthed ; the king
pushed him off and ordered him to keep quiet; but, on
leaving Potsdam, a gust of wind blew His Majesty's
hat off, which made the prince's horse run away; he had
the presence of mind to take his feet from the stirrups
and throw himself to the ground. He injured his
knees, hip and neck. The guard of his sword so hurt
his side that he spat blood. On their return the queen
became excited ; she groaned and cried. The king was
exasperated about it; he ordered "his son to appear the*
next day at mount of guard. The wounded prince
was actually there, unable to have his arm in the
sleeve of his jacket.
The prince had a decided taste for elegance and mag-
nificence, and all the luxuries of life. He had but few
means of gratifying this propensity, but he did what
he could. He did not like to eat with a two-pronged
130 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
steel fork, which was in use in the inns throughout
Germany, and resembled a defensive weapon. The
king surprised him one day, eating with a three-pronged
silver fork He beat him. 80
If some fairy had permitted Frederick William to
make three wishes at the birth of his son, he would
have expressed them without a moment's hesitation :
' ' May my son b e a good _e canomist, soldier and-Chris-
tian." But Fritz was not given to economy. The king
wished that the prince should keep an "account of his
ducats," as he formerly did, with an exactitude that
made his mother despair and become alarmed to see
him a "miser at so tender an age," but Fritz left this
commission to others. He did not wish to learn how
"to manage his money." 81 MoreovBi^J be was unse lfish,
liberal an d cha ritable. In a journey that he made while
stopping at MagcTeburg for the first time, he was offered
the customary present that the city owed to the heir-ap-
parent, he refused it. Forced by his father to accept
the gift, he declared he would keep it until his acces-
sion, and then distribute it among the poor inhabitants
oppressed with heavy taxes. In passing through the
city of Stassfurt, they wished to "honor him with two
hundred ducats:" he ordered it to be given to the
poor, and forbade his tutors to breathe a word of this
generosity to the king. 82
F rjtz^jl i d not_JH^ e_ mill tary men. He found them
coarse and ridiculous, and preferred to their company
"men who knew something." He played tricks on
the generals. He dined one day in Westphalia, with
the king, at the Castle of Rosendaal, the estate of Gen-
FATHER AND SON. 131
eral von der Mosel. After dinner they were going on
a hunt. The old general, who drank a little more
than was reasonable in order to honor his guests, tried
to mount the saddle, but the prince had made his stir-
rups too short, and looked on at the scene very much
amused. 83 Now, the king was exceedingly fond of
jokes, but they were only to be played on scholars and
professors.
Would Fritz continue to be a good Christian ? At
the end of his visit to Wusterhausen Professor Francke
was very uneasy on this subject. It was to him alone,
in the midst of the general attention, that Frederick
did not address a word. "One would think," wrote
the poor man in his journal, "that he was angry about
something." At last, Frederick called him on the fifth
day ; but he received his compliments with a bad
grace, and only said a few words to him. Francke
awaited an expression of thanks for the highly edify-
ing tracts that he had sent to the prince: it was the
tutor who thanked him, and with that Frederick left
the room. The next day, at table, the king not being
there, the pastor perceived that the prince, during a
conversation upon apparitions, looked at him with a
mocking air. As he was rising from the table, he
heard him say quite loud: "There goes one who
believes in ghosts." He learned that the evening be-
fore, the Castellan of Wusterhausen, a remarkably
devout man, met the prince, who asked him where he
was taking the light he held in his hand: "Your
Highness, to Professor Francke," he responded.
"Then," said the prince, "it is a pharisee going to
132 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
a pharisee, for he is one as well as you." The
troubled pastor made a resolve to pray to God for
the heir-apparent. And truly, Fritz had certainly great
need to be prayed for. 84 H e ha d "a natural tenden cy
toward all sciences ," but h ene glected sa cred science.
He was to receive confirmation in April, 1727 ; he
was confirmed then, but to be prepared for this cere-
mony the pastor had to give him double the amount
of lessons. His tutors had to acknowledge to the king
that he had neglected religious instruction for six
months. 85
Neither economist, soldier, nor devotee, th is son
must have troubled the very inmost depths of the soul
of the father whom we know. It would have been a
miracle, if Frederick William had not allowed himself
to give vent to his terrible temper against him. He
commenced by little taps which soon resembled blows ;
then the real blows followed. He struck Fritz be-
cause of the gloves he wore at the hunt ; he struck
him for the three-pronged fork. As he was very
prompt to act, and carried everything to extremes, he
immediately gave up all hope in regard to his son.
The child to whom he tendered a kind of fraternal
affection, true respect, and absolute confidence, the
little Frederick, Fritzen, appeared to him to be a
rebel, and a very dangerous one. The French Minis-
ter, giving notice of "the alienation of the king and
prince," feared "that it might go far." 86 Already, the
king was comparing the elder revolting son to the
younger one, William. He showed toward him all
the tenderness of which he was capable. At table, he
FATHER AND SON. * . X#
made him say grace, and stood with his head bowed
and hands joined, behind the chair of the little fellow.
If he was suffering, he would go to see him and
cover him with kisses ; he would stop when he met the
child, raise him in his arms and kiss him for some
minutes at a time. He would say: "I will not
wager much on such and such of my children, but
(pointing to little William) I have confidence in this
one ; he has a good character ; I will guarantee that
he will be an honest man." 87 It is permissible to be-
lieve that even at that date, three years before the
tragic crisis, Frederick William could not keep from
thinking that the Kingd oj%u~of Pr ussia wou44-4ae_ well
placeclin ^the hands of thi s_vjmngerson, who promised
to b e an honest man. As to the eldest, he could no
longer bear the sight of him. Then the family life
became intolerable : a kind of terror hung over the
royal house ; the queen cried every day. The prince's
face was painful to see; everybody noticed the " black
melancholy " in his great eyes. He confessed it to
his friends, and letters from him express distaste of
life. He made excuses to a sick friend, Lieutenant
von Borcke, for not trying to divert him: "I have
rather need of some diversion myself to rid me of
this melancholia " ; he begged him not to die, saying :
' 'Death is a thing I fear the most for my friends,
but the least for myself." 88
At the C ourt and throughout t he kingdom, public
opinion pvprpsspd itsjRJf__g, gainst t hftTcrng., jFor the in-
terestmg_jdctim. It truly seemed that the prince had
committed no other crime than that of failing to re-
^ FREDERICK THE GREAT.
semble his father. We cannot blame him for pre-
ferring a silver fork to one of steel ; for wearing
gloves when it was freezing cold ; for being liberal ;
or even for mocking an old drunken general and a
pastor who believed in ghosts ; nor for the excellent
taste he evinced, "of being interested in the sciences
and liking to talk with those who knew something."
This prosaic father who wished to Imry a child of
twelve years in practicalities, to whom he denied the
right of admiring or loving anything outside of mili-
tary life and economy, this brutal man who railed
and struck about him with little or no reason for it,
had the appearance of being a cruel maniac, an abom-
inable tyrant. But, to be just, and to give to each
the exact responsibility due him in the approaching
denouement, conclusions must not be so quickly
drawn.
First of all, look around the father and son, study
Frederick's surroundings as he grew to manhood, the
influences at work, then scrutinize his actions, ques-
tion his intentions, discover, as soon as it presents
itself, his youthful individuality, which is not so
simple as that of his father. "There are some," said
the king, "who give him other sentiments besides my
own." Who are these people ?
We already know that, without meaning to do so,
^rederick ^s_ masters inspired him wit h ideas and mod es
of t hought entirel y cont rary _to those of the kin g.
The nature of the child lent itself freely to their in-
fluence ; and in receiving it, he followed an instinct.
Of his own will, he added to *the permitted reading,
FATHER AND SON.
137
the forbidden reading. His mind thus accustomed
itself to living in a different world from that he saw
around him. There was no personage in Telemachus
to whom Frederick William could be compared, neither
was there any one in the romances of chivalry. All
the drinkers, smokers, and sword-dragging men of
Berlin and Potsdam were particularly coarse after the
ancient sages, and adventurous, gallant, chevaliers.
But Frederick had not received his education from
tutors only; it now remains to place near the masters,
in their quality of educators and inspirers of the
Crown Prince, two persons whom he lo ved and wh o_
were tenderly devoted to him, the queen and the oldest
prince^s^J^iJiielmina^
THE MOTHER OF FREDERICK.
Queen Sophia Dorothea was an imposing person.
She was large and strong ; her form which had been
* 'one of the handsomest in the world" had rapidly
grown stout, and the arm-chairs^ had to be enlarged
for her. She had a noble and majestic carriage. Her
face was not beautiful. Her features were strongly
marked, and not one of them was perfect. She knew
how to be affable, agreeable, unaffected, but her whole
physiognomy showed her pride in being queen and
born of the TTnnag nf TTflpnyaj- She had the germs
of intellectual qualities: "a brilliant mind, which
seemed however to possess more solidity than it did
in reality," a taste for the arts and sciences to which
her attention was not "too assiduously given." Her
ruling passion was ambition. 89
~>* FREDERICK THE GREAT.
She would have liked to figure in every way as
a great queen, first of all, to be well dressed, as
at the time, when a young girl, she shone in the
luxurious and elegant Court of Hanover, that prided
itself upon being extremely polished. Her trous-
seau had been ordered from the best establish-
ment in Paris. The Duchess of Orleans had
superintended the making, and Louis XIV., who
condescended to look at these pretty things, ex-
pressed the hope that there would be many princes in
Germany able to enrich in this way the merchants of
his capital. No doubt, the queen would have been
greatly pleased to order her gowns from Paris. It
would have pleased her still more to be royally lodged,
with graceful bibelots around her, like those the elegant
world of the eighteenth century loved. She had such
a pretty house built in the suburbs of Berlin, on the
Spree, with a gallery filled with exquisite porcelains
and rooms decorated with mirrors, that it was called
Monbijou; but this place was contracted, and the queen
passed but a small part of her life in this Trianon.
As she was "accustomed to the world," she would
have wished to preside at a court, where ceremonials
would have marked her royal dignity, at balls where
hundreds of couples would have inclined before her; at
the card-table, where she would have played, with much
gold, the queen's game. She would have given concerts
of fine music, and held a circle of literati, with whom
she would have conversed in French, the only lan-
guage suitable for such a company. 90
Unhappily, what the queen loved, the king detested,
FATHER AND SON. 137
and Sophia Dorothea had, as they said, a very sad
lot. Her husband had a horror of the French fashions,
and went so far as to make the condemned, "those that
were the greatest criminals," wear the gallooned hats
and the bags for the hair, so that he might give Ber-
lin people a distaste for imitating the French Minister,
who decked himself out in all this beautiful finery.
He himself set the example of simplicity. After hav-
ing first assumed the costume of a good citizen, he
afterward wore that of a colonel, and never changed it.
He took the greatest care of his clothes ; as soon as he
returned to his cabinet he would put on sleeves and an
apron. He made the queen many a rich present, but
he wished that his wife should be simply dressed, as be-
came a German woman. He knew very well that he
could not live as a private individual, and that he
must do honor to the King of Prussia; so he bought
vessels of gold and silver, candlesticks of silver and
crystal, silver tables and arm-chairs. He was very
proud of this furniture, that he ordered himself, and
which cost him a good, round sum, thinking besides,
no doubt, that it was not all lost, the metal was there,
in case of need. But these beautiful things were only
for state occasions; he liked neither palaces nor luxu-
rious furniture. Of all his residences, those he pre-
ferred the most were his hunting lodges. For his own
personal use he had chairs and arm-chairs of wood.
He was not a giver of feasts; the ball that he liked the
best was, I think, that of the fete of the Anniversary of
Malplaquet. After the dinner, during which the hunt-
ing horns and hautbois were heard, and the healths
138 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
were accompanied with salvos of cannon, the queen and
princesses would retire. Then the men would dance
among themselves. The king would take by the hand
an officer, making his choice from one of the survivors
of Malplaquet, Pannewitz, for instance, who had re-
ceived a fine gash on the head that warm day; 91 but the
cold, ceremonious court ball he could not endure. He
did not like the queen to hold a court every evening,
and Sophia Dorothea was never at ease except during his
absences, which were, fortunately, frequent enough.
Yet, with this terrible man, she was always dreading a
surprise. One evening the king arrived from a jour-
ney through Prussia, as usual, without being expected.
There was a ball at Monbijou : in a rage, he left for
Potsdam, without seeing his wife or children.
The visits of princes provided that Czar Peter
was not the guest, for he stayed at Monbijou, and
made it "the desolation of Jerusalem" gave Sophia
Dorothea a few happy days. The latter part of May,
1728, she passed a very pleasant week, during the
visit of the King of Poland to Berlin. When Augus-
tus II. paid his respects to her, she received him at
the door of her third ante-chamber. He extended his
hand and together they went into her audience cham-
ber, where the princesses were presented. "An affable,
polished air, accompanied these ceremonies." As he
could not remain standing, for he was worn out with
his debaucheries, "the queen offered immediately to
seat him, a thing to which he would not consent at
first, but finally he placed himself on a stool, the
queen taking another opposite him." As the princesses
FATHER AND SON. 139
remained standing, the king made " many excuses to
them for his impoliteness." He said "something agree-
able to each one," and when he arose, he would not
suffer the queen to reconduct him. The next Sunday,
there was a solemn presentation in the grand apart-
ments of the castle. The queen advanced from one
side of the gallery, with her daughters, the princesses
of the blood, and her Court, while the two kings
came from the other. All the ladies of the city
splendidly apparelled were standing in file. By the
side of the king and the three hundred persons of his
suite, the nobles of Poland and Saxony clothed lav-
ishly, magnificently, Frederick William and the Prus-
sians made a poor show, "with their coats so short
they could not even have served as a fig leaf for
our first parents, and so tight that they could not
move. Their hair was powdered but not cuiled, and
twisted in the back with a ribbon." Notwithstanding
all this, the ceremony of presentation was brilliant.
Since the late king, there never had been "such an
array at the castle." For several days the fetes con-
tinued : there were not only innumerable parades, and
reviews, but also dinners " at a round table," or at a
table of an odd shape, arranged in such a manner
that the guests represented letters or objects. Every
evening the queen held court and they danced. Dur-
ing these days of pleasure the Queen of Prussia felt
that she really reigned. 92
These were times of rare good fortune; to entertain
a guest who knew how to give his hand to a lady, to
make excuses for being seated in her presence, and to
140 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
find something agreeable to say without any trouble.
After the departure of the visitor and his suite they
returned to their life of mere existence, and even had
to pay for the expense of the visit. Four days before
the King of Poland took leave the King of Prussia had
given the order "to economize as much as possible;"
he reduced the daily expenses from ninety-three thalers
to seventy or seventy-two, when he was at Wuster-
hausen, and the queen at Berlin; to fifty-five when
their Majesties were together. He interdicted ship-
ments from Hamburg, whence came the delicacies of
the table, and charged them not to fail in serving him
only with "good beef, good fat chickens, an<J other
like things." 93
This economy was great torture to the queen. To
gain the least point from her husband on this subject
was a thing not to be considered. It was useless to
speak to him of the liberalities and largesses of other
princes, of the luxurious Court of England, for example;
he was a poor king, and would say: "We others, we
kings in trust, must not stretch the cover longer than it
is." The queen had then to be content with eighty
thousand thalers a year, from which she had to deduct
the expense of clothes and linen for the family, which
was a large one. She was always short of money. It
often happened that she expressed her sympathy in
good works, by good words, and often excused herself,
as she did with Francke, "for not having her change
with her." She would run into debt, and did not know
how to get out of it. Thus she would speak with a
sigh of envy of other happier women, to whom nothing
FATHER AND SON. 141
was lacking: "When you have a contented spirit,"
she said, "and everything is bright around you, your
ideas are very different from those you have when you
are always under oppression." 94
It was absolutely necessary for her to bend to all the
habits of her husband. She submitted to the conver-
sations at dinner, the eternal repetition of affairs, the
coarse jokes, and the spectacle of the daily drinking.
Oftener than she liked she was present at the reviews:
admiration for the military was, for her, obligatory.
At Wusterhausen she was disturbed by the confusion
of the chase. There was no stated hour for dinner;
the cook had to have it ready to serve in twenty min-
utes after the king had given the order to put it on the
table. This might be at nine, twelve or three o'clock.
So as not to be surprised, the queen ordered one of her
domestics to be always on the watch, and give notice
of the king's movements. She knew his order as soon
as he gave it. Then her heavy, corpulent body would
bestir itself : she would move about quickly and dress
in great haste. 95
She suffered from her husband's angry moods; he
would abuse her when there was some trouble in his
state affairs, or when he imagined he had cause for
jealousy, making terrible scenes, then, suddenly, would
reinstate himself with effusions of tenderness in abrupt
interviews. The queen would scold him, and predict
that he would "begin again soon," .a thing he never
failed to do.
Sophia Dorothea would have liked to play her role
in politics. When she presided at table, in the absence
142 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
of the king, Europe was the subject of conversation.
The queen had resolved to satisfy "the pride and
haughtiness of the House of Hanover" through the
marriage of her children. We will see presently the
history of her projects of marriage, which were the
source of Sophia Dorothea's greatest sorrow. It will
suffice to remark here that this pretension to be a
woman of state, added to the rest, was but a new cause
for conflicts with the king. Thus this honest household,
which gave to the corrupted Courts of Germany and
Europe such a fine example, did not agree upon any-
thing. The queen had been all her life, or nearly so,
discontented. As she had no solidity of character, no
constancy, unless it was her fixed passion ambition;
and, to sum up, as she was not clever in making friends
and in meriting sympathy and devotion, she was like an
isolated being at the Court of Prussia; she detested it,
and saw only enemies there. At an early hour she be-
gan looking toward the future, to the time when "the
king would be missing," and she would enjoy the pleas-
ure of living as she pleased, of being queen.
While waiting, she took charge of her children, pre-
tended that they belonged to her alone, and, young as
they were, inspired them with her rare affections and
her numerous antipathies.
THE ELDEST SISTER.
Wilhelmina, her eldest daughter, is made known to
us through her own "Memoirs." This historical docu-
ment is distrusted, and not without cause. The writer
has taken a flagrant delight in making erroneous state-
FATHER AND SON. 143
ments, which were very far from being all involuntary.
Discontented with her lot, that of the rank of a wife of
a petty prince, (she thought four different times that she
was to marry a king,) but half-way happy in her do-
mestic relations, tormented by the nostalgia of the
greatness nearly possessed, philosopher in spite of her-
self, she took revenge in more than one way for her dis-
appointments, through malicious means; without count-
ing what she did in imitative literature, while attempt-
ing to govern her writing by that of Mile, de Mont-
pensier,* she lost the power of expressing real truth.
But we must not take away from the Memoirs of the
Margravine all their historical value. Upon many
points her testimony has been confirmed by others.
She had a remarkable faculty of seeing persons and
things, and painting what she saw. Her natural malig-
nity added to the truth while she observed, added still
more while she wrote, "so that it is prudent," says
Carlyle, "to take from the whole twenty-five per cent,
if you wish to have the exact statement; " but the ques-
tion is here, only to interrogate Wilhelmina about her-
self: she reveals her personality in her "Memoirs"
with more truthfulness than she imagined. 96
She was very precocious. !$Jie could barely remember
her grandfather, but she could recall amusing him with
her mimicry, the good prince passing whole days in
this amusement. She was vain of this infantine vivacity,
that attracted the notice of everybody. She certainly
possessed, as she said, a great facility for learning, and
a wonderful memory. She was the pupil of La Croze
and many other masters to whom she did honor. She
144 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
spoke English, Italian and the French language better
than Frederick ever did, in whom, at least in his
youthful writings, is observed a foreign accent. She
was extremely refined, "a refined mouth," as Frederick
said later. At eight years old she knew well how to
take notice of things around her. The description she
gave of the visit of Czar Peter to Berlin in 1718, must
have been the exact account of her impressions. 97 She
saw the Czar arrive, extend his hand to the king, and
say: "I am very glad to see you, Frederick, my
brother;" the queen repulsed this great barbarian when
he wished to embrace her; the Czarina kissed the hand
of the queen, and presented to her the four hundred
so-called ladies of her suite, maidservants, cooks,
washerwomen, nearly every one of whom carried a
child, richly dressed, upon her arm. She gave a faithful
description of the Czarina " short, thick and very
swarthy," without an air nor a grace: "Her dress had
been bought second-hand ; and it was old-style, trimmed
lavishly with silver, and it was very dirty. The front
of her bodice was loaded with precious stones. She
had a dozen Orders, and as many portraits of saints,
and relics attached to the whole length of the edge of
her coat, in such a way tha,t when she walked one would
imagine that one heard a mule. . ." This style of ex-
pression, and this way of telling it, Wilhelmina found
later, when she became a writer, but the little girl had
certainly seen the old clothes, the dirt, the Orders, and
recognized also the jingling bells of a mule.
She was extremely coquettish, always wishing to
please, on all occasions seeking to make conquests. She
FATHER AND SON. 145
won at once the Czar's admiration. She had learned
the lesson well that had been taught her, to speak of
his fleet and his victories in such a tone that the great
man said to the Czarina that he would willingly give up
one of his provinces for a child like that. She amused
him very much by struggling against his rude kisses:
< 'You will dishonor me!" she cried.
Wilhelmina was not to be trusted. She charmed her
grandfather, George I., and his English suite, by her fine
manners and by speaking their language to them. She
astonished the Polish guests, whose names she studied
to pronounce smoothly. She made an impression upon
Pastor Francke, and asked this worthy man to send her
as a souvenir some pious books. But in her "Me-
moirs " she made fun of all her visitors, even her grand-
father, King George, and she called the pastor "that
dog of a Francke ! "
She excelled in mimicry and contortion, and prac-
ticed to perfection the art of fainting. She would fall
back in her chair, saying, "I am dying," and counter-
feit death so well for an hour that they would send for
a physician. She took good care to recover her senses
before his arrival, and get to bed, where she had hid-
den beforehand some pieces of heated turpentine: "her
burning red hands," she said, "made every one believe
that she had a high fever and hot flushes." She had so
much control over herself that even at table, when
there was a question of her marriage and of her per-
sonal interests, at the time of the most vehement quar-
rels of the family, she appeared as tranquil as if they
were talking of the Grand Turk. 98
146 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
In spite of herself, however, she allowed her pride
of birth to be seen, and she was very haughty, with
her philosophical airs. We must acknowledge that
Wilhelmina painted by herself is a little personage
who has some grave defects, as well as small ones.
MOTHER, DAUGHTER, AND SON.
Let us now return to Frederick. Up to the age of
seven he lived with his mother and sister. His big
sister made him study with her, and together they
played and chatted. Even after Fritz had been placed
under the authority of tutors, he saw the queen and
Wilhelmina oftener than the king. The queen boasted
of the education of her son as though it were her per-
sonal work. She loved him dearly: Fritz is perhaps
the only being that she ever loved. She suffered from
the bad treatment which the child received ; she tried to
defend him, and put herself between him and the king.
As to the reciprocal affection of brother and sister,
during the years of their youth it was warm and sin-
cere. " Never," said Wilhelmina, "did tenderness equal
ours."
The mother and sister influenced Frederick in not
loving his father. A child like Fritz read his mother's
sentiments in her face, whether she spoke or not. And
the queen talked a great deal ; oftener, to make com-
plaints. It was not only Wilhelmina, but also the For-
eign Ministers, who attested that her conversation was a
continual lamentation. Is it true that she made a chief
confidante of her daughter; that she imagined, in her
"mortal agony," that she could find "consolation" in
FATHER AND SON. 147
this child ; that she first tried her discretion so as to
finally confide her sorrows to her; that she named over all
her enemies to this daughter, and they comprised "three-
fourths of Berlin ; " that she initiated her in all the
cabals of the court ; that she accustomed her to hatred
and dissimulation ; that she gave her matter to con-
template "through much reflection and sad things;"
and that in the end she placed herself in such a light
that this young girl wondered if she were not deceiv-
ing her, and if she were really her mother? For my
part, I believe that if there are such grave exaggerations
in these pages of the Memoirs against the queen, there
is some truth at the bottom of it.
At any rate, the children saw clearly that, on all sub-
jects, their mother "thought otherwise" than the king.
They perceived that when the master was absent the
mistress gave another tone to the house. They had,
through the queen, a totally different idea of life from
the one that they led; where they would have been better
clothed and lodged, where they could have eaten more
delicate nourishment with silver forks, and would have
been treated as king's children. The haughtiness al-
ready visible -in Wilhelmina, and which we soon dis-
cover in Fritz, is "the pride of the House of Hanover,"
that was inherited from their mother.
It was evident that the queen obliged her children,
in choosing between father and mother, to take her.
Wilhelmina relates a curious scene. She had just
passed through a series of illnesses, dysentery, jaun-
dice and purple fever, and came near losing her life;
the king and queen had even given her, through much
148 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
shedding of tears, their benediction. The king, happy
at her convalescence, gave her permission to ask a
favor ; she begged to put aside her child's dress : the
wish was instantly granted, and a few days afterward,
madame, the little royal princess, tried on her first
gown with a train. "I posed before my mirror, and
I did not think I looked indifferent in my new gar-
ment. I studied all my gestures and carriage, so as to
have the air of a grand personage. In a word, I was
well content with my little form. I descended trium-
phantly to the queen's apartments. Alas! As soon
as the queen perceived me from afar, she cried : 'Ah !
Mon Dleu, how she is gotten up ! Really, this is a
pretty figure ! She is as much like a midget as two
drops of water ' ! " Wilhelmina's vanity w r as greatly
offended by this, but the queen soon instructed her in
the moral of this little incident: "she told me that she
had given me the order to attach myself only to her,
and that, if ever I addressed myself to the king again
for anything whatsover, she promised to pour out her
wrath upon me." " The scene is certainly true. Perhaps
it would be best to deduct from the proposed proceed-
ings of the queen twenty-five per cent, but we shall pres-
ently see Sophia Dorothea conducting herself as though
these children belonged solely to her.
Let us bring before us now, in this court, the inti-
macy of the brother and sister. As we have said, their
faces were alike; their inclinations also. They had the
same tastes and the same repugnances. They were
pretty, delicate, and malicious. Wilhelmina acted the
big sister, the important one; she gave advice, for ex-
FATHER AND SON. 149
ample, in the suggestion of the forbidden readings.
They sought each other as often as possible, so as to
talk incessantly. Of what did they converse, if not of
the king, the queen, of what they saw and heard? The
little brother was the tale-bearer, and the big sister had
no secrets from him. The Memoirs of Wilhelmina
give us the subjects of their conversations; they were
not good. First came the improper stories about the do-
mestics; of the brutal Eversmann, the Chamberlain-jani-
tor of the Castle of Berlin, and the chamber-maids, that
made it their business to spy. Then came the wicked
doings of Letti; this demoiselle of the princess' suite,
a spy also, who beat her young mistress and " regaled
herself every evening," and prevented Wilhelmina from
sleeping "by snoring like a trooper," and who received
respect from the w T hole court, through her scheming
nature; from the queen's ladies-in-waiting, Sonsfeld,
whom she called a silly fool, Kamken, whom she called
a big cow, to the queen herself, whom she mentioned, in
speaking of her to her daughter, as a great simpleton.
A fine lady-companion, that the janitor, whom she had
abused for neglecting his sweeping, denounced as re-
ceiving men!
The brother and sister attacked the highest circles,
the favorites of the king, particularly Prince Anhalt
and Grumbkow, whom the queen considered her great
enemies. "Anhalt," said the Margravine, in her Me-
moirs, "has an unbounded ambition which would make
him commit any crime to attain his object. Grumbkow's
fine bearing hides a knavish, selfish, treacherous heart.
His whole character is nothing but a tissue of vices. . .
150 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
He gave a proof of his valor at Malplaquet, where he
remained in a ditch during the whole action. He dis-
tinguished himself at Stralsund, and put his leg out of
place at the beginning of the campaign, and this pre-
vented his going to the trench . . . but, with these ex-
ceptions, he was a brave general." 10 Certainly the two
children had told each other these stories, untrue ones,
too they were, of Malplaquet and Stralsund. They
heard it said, also, that Anhalt and Grumbkow induced
their father to have his drinking parties.
Wilhelmina goes so far as to say that they tried to
kill her father and brother. The crime was to have
been perpetrated in a wooden barrack, where a comedy
was to be played. The queen, warned of the plot, did
not reveal it to the king, for, in this strange family,
they made mysteries of things that were the most im-
portant to disclose. She only arranged to prevent her
husband and son from going to the comedy. She dis-
tributed the roles: Wilhelmina was to amuse the king,
to make him forget the hour; if he remembered it,
Fritz was to cry, to scream. The scene w T as well acted.
The king forgot the hour, but as soon as he remem-
bered it, he arose and took his son's hand. Fritz
struggled and uttered terrible cries. The king wanted
to take him by force. Wilhelmina threw herself at
his feet, and, clasping them, watered them with her
tears. Explanations had to be made to the astonished
and furious king. The contemplated crime was a myth;
but the queen believed in it, and so did Wilhelmina
when she wrote her Memoirs. 101 It was thus that she
and Fritz were persuaded that Anhalt and Grumbkow,
FATHER AND SON. 151
the two frequenters of the palace and most intimate
companions of the king, were his would-be assassins.
These two youthful minds began to take in knowl-
edge at too early an age! to see nothing in life but
the ugly side. They practiced defiance and scorn. Their
mutual love was strengthened by the hatred with which
others inspired them. Everybody remarked their inti-
macy; they formed a league apart. Francke saw it:
4 'by the side of his little brother*; and sisters, who
have sincere, innocent, open faces, the Crown Prince is
silent, exhibiting a melancholy temperament; so also is
his eldest sister." 102 At table they looked at each other,
without speaking a word, no doubt saying in this ex-
change of glances: " What a world ! One day we will
change all this." And the father felt the disapproval
of his son, the resistance of the silent lip and the
evasive eye.
Already the division of responsibility in the coming
drama announces itself. The king's part is large, for
there is no excuse for his brutality, and it is one of the
causes of the unhappiness in the family, but only one
of the causes. We will perceive others with which we
will become more familiar, when we know the extra-
ordinary history of the projects of marriage for Fred-
erick and Wilhelmina.
THE PROJECTS OF MARRIAGE FOR FREDERICK AND WIL-
HELMINA. 103
For a long time the families of Hanover, England
and Prussia were pledged to perpetuate their small gen-
ealogy by new alliances. It was therefore agreed that
152 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Wilhelmina should marry her cousin-german, the Duke
of Gloucester, son of the Prince of Wales and grandson
of King George L, and that Frederick should marry the
Princess Amelia, sister of the Duke of Gloucester. The
two mothers, the Queen of Prussia and the Princess of
Wales, considered these marriage schemes in their cor-
respondence; the children even exchanged letters and
little presents. It was one of the articles of Sophia Do-
rothea's creed that her daughter should be a queen; she
educated her "to wear a crown," as she often said.
She consoled herself for the narrowness of her life by
thinking that she would one day be the mother of the
Queen of Great Britain and of the King of Prussia,
and then she would figure in the world.
In 1725, when the King of Prussia entered into an
alliance with Hanover,- the moment seemed propitious
to consecrate by a formal engagement the official prom-
ises that they had exchanged. The King of Prussia,
on departing from Herrenhausen, where he had met his
father-in-law, King George, left the queen there to take
charge of the negotiations for the double nuptials. This
family affair seemed very easy to regulate, but King
George, for various reasons, of which the best was that
he could not conclude so important an act without a
Parliamentary consultation, contented himself with
affectionate assurances and verbal promises; he refused
the written ones demanded by the King of Prussia.
This first delay, at the beginning of the official over-
tures, was foreboding. The year after, Frederick
William changed politics, and united himself to the
Emperor by a treaty. The marriage proposals were
FATHER AND SON. 153
not abandoned on account of this, but the political dis-
agreement rendered the completion of it more difficult.
George I. dying in 1727, the difficulties increased, by
reason of the sentiments that the new king, George II.
and his brother-in-law of Prussia professed for each
other. At the end of the year the affair was considered
annulled.
Nothing more simple than this affair, but it soon
became very complicated through political interests and
unprecedented intrigues. An alliance of a family like
this one could not fail to be an event in European poli-
tics. It made Prussia enter one of the two systems
which divided the continent; it placed her on the side
of France and England against the Emperor. The
Emperor tried to prevent it; the royal family and the
Court of Prussia became, in this way, one of diplo-
macy's fields of battle.
The Emperor was represented near the king by an
agent of great ability, whose name we have already met
more than once, General Count Seckendorff. Frederick
William held him in high esteem and warm friendship,
during the Netherland campaigns, in 1709, and those in
Pomerania, in 1715. He was glad of the visits that the
Count often made him, and happy to see him estab-
lished at the Court of Prussia, an event which took
place in 1726. Seckendorff was not charged with the
official representation of the Court of Vienna at Berlin.
It was under the title of friend of the King of Prussia,
who considered him as one of his officers, and desired
to have him always in his company. Seckendorff lent
himself with good grace to all the king's wishes, and bent
154 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
himself to all his customs. He was the principal fur-
nisher of big men to His Majesty. He ate and drank
with him to such an extent that at times he was obliged
to retire from the court in order to take medicine. He
was an assiduous member of the college die tabac ("to-
bacco college"). Being a great conversationalist, he
could reply to the king on all subjects that pleased him:
upon war, for he was a good soldier, "as brave as his
sword ; " upon religion, for, although in the service of
Austria, he was a devout Protestant. He knew his
Bible, and was capable of holding a discussion upon
matters theological and casuistic with a savant like
Professor Francke. He had, besides, the air of a per-
fect man, "the appearance and the idle talk of a
farmer; which latter accomplishment would have been
despised, without the Blue Cordon of Poland and the
uniform coat of the big Grenadiers." But the good
farmer was a very crafty personage. He studied his
King of Prussia, and knew him as well as anyone. 104
He learned the art of letting the storms, so frequent at
this court, pass away, without disturbing himself about
the thunder, of calming the distrust, always on the alert,
of the sovereign, and amusing an impatience which
wished to be served " in twenty-four hours." He would
remain with the king, when he was engaged in some ne-
gotiation, from ten o'clock in the morning until mid-
night "so as not to lose an opportunity to insinuate
something useful." He surrounded him with intrigues
and treacheries. Nearly every one at the Court of Prus-
sia was for sale, or had already been sold. He informed
himself of the price, arranged a rate of prices for these
FATHER AND SON. 155
consciences, and gave his government notice of the
highest sums paid by England and France, so that the
Emperor, in offering more, could become the last and
best bidder. 105
Seckendorff made General Count Grumbkow his prin-
cipal ally. Grumbkow was with the king continually,
as he had "charge of all the details of war." He
made himself indispensable to his master by his rare
qualities. He was well up in matters of all kinds,
military, diplomatic, economic, always ready to make
concessions, and inexhaustible in expediency. He ex-
celled in negotiating, because he had "an affable dis-
position, politeness, a knowledge of the ways of the
world, and much wit, and spoke pertinently on every
subject," with an open, gay, distinguished physiogno-
my. He had entire possession of his "Jupiter," as he
called the king, despising at heart the grossness of his
person, sometimes having nausea from it, but submit-
ting gracefully; very clever at calming "Jupiter," or
making him boil over with anger. Taking all into
consideration, he was one of the most dishonest men
that had ever been in a European cabinet, "without
principle, without faith," sold to the Court of Vienna,
while waiting for France to buy him, making them pay
a big price, at the same time clever enough to merit
his annual pension and valuable presents for services
rendered. He gave Seckendorff the secretissima of fam-
ily and State, gave him notice of all their proceedings,
at the opportune moment, and, as Seckendorff said, he
had a way of presenting things to His Majesty so as
"to render them savory to him um ihm die Sache
schmeck/ufft zu machen." m
156 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
To have Grumbkow, that was much, for he was the
" king's favorite," and possessed Frederick William's
confidence, but Seckendorff would have liked to assure
himself of all those who were continually in the mas-
ter's presence. He dared not offer ducats to the mili-
tary, who were incorruptible; but, as the officers of His
Majesty's regiment were badly paid, and loved to drink,
Seckendorff, when he was at Potsdam, invited them to
dine with him once a week. These gentlemen emptied
forty or fifty bottles of wine, each one of which cost one
florin forty kreutzers, and "this seemed good to them."
For the generals and colonels, he begged his court to
procure giants for him so that he could make a present
of them to Frederick William; for it was a claim to
the king's favor, for the chief of a regiment to present
him with tall recruits at the inspection reviews. Be-
sides, no one was neglected by the king. In the smok-
ing apartment, the professor and court fool, Gundling,
discoursed upon public law, and, each time he treated,
"of an imperial matter," and flattered the king's pro-
pensity, in contesting or lowering the imperial rights;
"he insinuated false principles in his master." Quickly,
"a chain of gold of some hundred florins, to which a
medal was attached," was presented to this Gundling;
the doorkeeper, Eversmann, another confidant of the
king, who, unfortunately, said Wilhelmina "had none
but dishonest ones," became a pensioner of His Impe-
rial Majesty.
By these means, the honest farmer had a good hold on
the King of Prussia. He must never be allowed to es-
cape from our hands, ecus den Handen gehen lassen. In
FATHER AND SON. 157
truth, he did not relax his hold an instant. He watched
his every movement, noted his every speech, redoubled
attention in proportion as the wine loosened the king's
tongue, da mehr Wein ham dazu, and the next day this
companion-in-arms, this co-religionist, this sincere friend
of Frederick William, would send his report to the
Emperor and Prince Eugene, that is, if so much drink-
ing did not give him too bad a headache: "As His
Majesty," he wrote one day to Prince Eugene, "has
supped with me, and we have been very gay up to mid-
night, and have all drunk to some excess, ein wenig
excessive, I am not in a fit condition to write at length
to-day."
A short time after his installation in Prussia, Seck-
endorff, among other questions, addressed the following
to the Vienna Cabinet: "Can you expend something
to prevent the projected marriage of a Prussian princess
and the Duke of Gloucester, and how much? Wie viel
angewendet werden darff Supposing that another mar-
riage could be arranged for the Royal Princess of Prus-
sia, would you promise a considerable recompense ?
einen ansehnlichen Recompens to the one who could man-
age this affair well?" 107 This is rightly called, putting
the question. Now, the Court of Vienna wished, at
any price, as we have said before, to sever this alliance.
Seckendorff went immediately to work. The Courts of
England and France, although they had their pension-
ers in Prussia, did not use as powerful means of ac-
tion as Austria, nor put forward as much zeal in
carrying out the projected plans of marriage as the
Court of Vienna in thwarting them; the Austrian then
had the best of his adversaries.
158 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
THE KING AND THE PROJECTS OF MARRIAGE.
Now let us follow, in the labyrinth of these intrigues,
the king, the queen, and their children. The king ar-
dently desired the marriages. Those of his ministers
who were devoted to France said again and again that
< 'the only way to gain this alliance was to induce the
King of England to agree to the double marriage." As
soon as Frederick William learned that France had in-
terested herself in it at London, he returned thanks, and
" tears came to his eyes." One day the Envoy of France,
while walking with him in the garden of Wusterhausen,
spoke of the possibility of obtaining from King George
a written promise. The king was in a furious rage with
England; his abusive epithets were inexhaustible, and he
pressed his companion's arm when he wished to interrupt
him. At the words, however, "written promise," he
suddenly became calm, and stopped: " Repeat," said he,
" repeat, "and, in order to understand it better, he raised
his wig. At the accession of his brother-in-law, George
II., he sent a negotiator to London, and asked France
to work toward "re-arranging these marriages." Only,
he did the opposite from what he should do, to attain
the desired object. He left the Hanover alliance to go
over to the Emperor's side. He committed strange ec-
centricities, which gave England cause to complain of
his "queer conduct." He did not fail to put all the
wrong on others. When he received from England,
in November, 1727, the response that he should have
foreseen; that you must not "begin a romance at
the end," and that, before speaking of marriage, other
affairs must be regulated, he called his brother-in-law
FATHER AND SON. 159
publicly "a small genius of the poorest kind." He
invited the English resident to dine, and had read, at
table, a mocking account of the Coronation of the
Queen of England. The resident pretended that he
did not understand German; the king translated it into
French, and handed him the paper: " Here," he said,
" behold your Queen of England, whom Polichinelle
leads by the hand in the marionettes, and makes her
drink whisky. What do you say to that?" 108
His conduct was, as usual, complicated by very simple
influences. He felt sure that these alliances were for
the Royal Family of Prussia royal so short a time
honorable, and even glorious. England was so great
since she had vanquished Louis XIV ! Of all the pow-
ers that had fought "the good fight" of reform, it was
the most important; and then it was so rich ! A prince
of Wales, a Royal Princess of England, these were very
desirable parties for a son and daughter of "a guardian
king ; " but this guardian was proud. He had a high
idea of his House, and faith in the future that he pre-
pared for it. He thought that even if the throne of
England was the most illustrious in the world, the
Hanoverians were not worth any more than he. This
brother-in-law, George II., whose "haughtiness he could
not digest," he had known, (as has been stated,) at the
time when this great seignior was but the grandson of a
Duke of Hanover, recently promoted to the Electorate.
His Wilhelmina was also a desirable parti: "The woman
was well worth the man." So, for these reasons, he
did not wish to hasten. He knew that the French Min-
ister was working for these marriages, but he was never
160 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the first to broach the subject to him. He had "a
kind of timidity . . . a shame, and a repugnance
toward making the advances." 109
He had still other reasons for being circumspect; not-
withstanding that he and the King of England declared
turn by turn that the marriages must be simply treated
as family matters, both knew well enough that politics
could not be excluded from the question. And so we find
Frederick William a prey to the troubles that torment
him as soon as the subject of an engagement is consid-
ered. It was useless for Grumbkow and Seckendorff to
represent to him, while he was vainly waiting for the
declaration of the King of England, that this monarch
deceived, mocked, only endeavored to "dishonor" and
separate him from the Emperor, in order to finally
"ruin him out and out." And then again, Frederick
William was not a man to sacrifice any of the interests
of his House in order to marry his daughter. On the
contrary, he wished to gain something. He employed
his customary reasoning : "What will you offer me?"
He wished to have the succession of Berg guaranteed ;
when the Emperor promised him that, he acted haugh-
tily toward the other party. " He was punishing the
King of England for his tardiness," said he to the
French Minister; he would force him to ask his daugh-
ter's hand with urgent entreaties and without condition:
"Her wedding dowry would be too much, since it
would make me lose Berg," he said. At last this sin-
gular father, with a daughter to marry, gives expres-
sion to his real thought: "I will give her but a few
precious stones, some vessels and some silver." To be
FATHER AND SON. 161
brief, he placed Wilhelmina at auction, and pretended,
after having been assured of the finest advantages, to
establish her without dot, or something very much to
that effect. He acts like a cunning peasant, who seeks
a fine city gentleman for his daughter, but is afraid of
being obliged to , pay for his satisfaction in bags of
crown-pieces.
The ill success of his petty scheme threw him into a
state of despair. He had the air of a person who did
not hold these marriages of much account. If the
King of England is so hard to please, we "will find
another husband" for Wilhelmina: "All things consid-
ered, I am indifferent as to whether or not she will be
called queen. This title will add nothing to the lustre
and power of my House." Then, as one must always
look for the most unexpected actions in him, he con-
fided to the Minister of France the means he will em-
ploy "to preserve, the chastity of the princess." The
minister dared not repeat his words in an official letter:
he sent them in a note. In my turn, I dare not repeat
them. 110
This indifference of the King of Prussia was entirely
an affectation. He suffered from England's scorn.
Tears would come to his eyes when he saw his
daughter. "After this she will be considered no bet-
ter than a prostitute," 111 he said.
This affair henceforth is the base of all the king's
bad humor. Naturally, he placed all the burden of it
upon his family. He flew into a rage at the queen, whom
he inflicted with the humiliation of a public broil of
two weeks' duration. He refused to receive her, or even
1G2 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
to read the letters she sent from Berlin to Potsdam,
where he was staying. When he returned to Berlin he
did not wish to see her, dined without the queen, and
this "coldness did not cease until the last few moments
of his stay there." These quarters of an hour recon-
ciliations led only to truces. The misunderstandings
recommenced, during which he would barricade the
doors of his apartments. Scenes would occur, when he
would menace the queen with having her banished to
Spandau, and propose husbands for her daughter, that to
name alone, would throw her into violent spells of an-
ger. He divided equally his reproaches among his two
eldest children and his wife: "When thou and thy
English family come to need my doctor," said he to the
queen one day, as she was trying to prevent him from
sending his physician to the sick Czarina, "I will not
lend him to thee." 112 He never raised his hand against
her, but he began to mistreat his son in other ways than
words. The resentment of his mortifications, added to
to the cause of discontent that Frederick gave him,
explains these spells of rage that seized the King of
Prussia.
THE PARTY OF THE CRCfWN PRINCE.
I do not w T ish the reader to think that I have the
intention of excusing Frederick William's conduct. I
am trying only to find the exact state of his mind at
the time he began to practice his brutalities. In these
same troubled waters, we must now follow the queen
and her two elder children. All three were ardently
engaged in the projects of marriage. They assuredly
FATHER AND SON. 163
had the right to desire them, and defend themselves
against the Court of Vienna, against Grumbkow and
Seckendorff, and of hating and displeasing these per-
sonages, whom Wilhelmina accused of having been
"both at the same game in their youth," whence
they made their fortune. The two allies incessantly
besieged the king, and circumvented him; one can un-
derstand, then, the reason of the queen's placing herself
with the opposite faction, and showering her favors
upon Du Bourgay, the English Minister, and Rotten-
burg, the French Minister, but it was dangerous ground ;
the aifair being political, care had to be taken not to
usurp the rights of Royal Majesty and glide into treason.
Now the queen, at the same time that she begged, sup-
plicated and intrigued at London, placed herself on a ba-
sis of intimacy with Rottenburg. Not only did she relate
to him a part of her trials, and saw in the kindness of
the King of France alone a resource for her safety, but
she consulted him as to her conduct toward Grumbkow;
she kept him posted about everything that happened.
She arranged with him to prevent an Imperialist from en-
tering into the Ministry, and suggested means for carry-
ing on " a secret correspondence." The queen showed
him the letters that she was sending to England, and
gave them to him to deliver, "as a means of security."
When he was leaving the court, she charged him with
a mission for the King of England, who was at Han-
over. To be brief, she made use of a foreign political
agent, to practice a policy contrary to that of her hus-
band. 113
Sophia Dorothea did not stop there. She accustomed
164 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
herself to the idea that the king would not live a long
time, and made it her duty to think of the future. She
treated with Rottenburg upon this delicate subject.
One day she explained to him " the measures that
seemed good for her to take, should the king die a
lunatic." The French Minister responded that this was
a "useless and dangerous conversation," and that an
indiscretion would expose Her Majesty to most severe
treatment, but, at the sama time, he gave his advice :
"The most reasonable conduct, for the present, is to
inspire the Crown Prince with good sentiments, and
have him show to everyone as much kindness, as his
father does harshness, and, above all, to dissimulate
with friends of the Imperial party, for fear that they
may suggest to the king, with some appearance of
reason, that there is a party forming against him for
the Crown Prince." 114
The word was pronounced ; the party of the Crown
Prince. Rottenburg knew then that the Crown Prince
was ready to enter into his views, and even to antici-
pate them. Frederick actually sought Rottenburg. A
month before this interview with the queen, this minis-
ter wrote as follows to his court: " The Crown Prince
overwhelms me with attentions, and, without any ad-
vances on my side, he told me, some days ago, that
he knew how well I had taken the part of his grand-
father, and that he wished me to render an exact ac-
count of all the king, his father, said. " This first over-
ture, so to the point, appears to have surprised the
diplomat. He knew well that General Fink, who was
a relative, gave serviceable "insinuations" to the
FATHER AND SON. 165
prince, but he held himself aloof: " I took care not to
divulge my opinions in any way," said he, "notwith-
standing this young prince's premature and dissimulat-
ing ways." 115 Let us note, ' in passing, that this
youthful politician was but fourteen years old.
Frederick did not allow himself to be rebuffed. He
insisted; every day he asked Rottenburg "if he had no
consoling news to give him for the queen." Just at this
time the prince was solicited by the Imperialists, but
he was not won over by them, and kept Rottenburg
informed of all the propositions made to him from that
side. Then the minister commenced to take part in
the game. He also thought that the King of Prussia
had not long to live. So he decided to respond to the
advances of the prince, to assure himself of all the
persons surrounding him, and to commence to form a
party. "The king," said he, "is universally hated by
all classes in his kingdom. In order to disarm the
father, it will be necessary to form a party for the
Crown Prince, and to attach to his side a number of
officers. . . I believe that this scheme would suc-
ceed. At any rate, this would be rearing the young
prince in views favorable to France." Frederick be-
came more and more marked in his attentions; he would
take him by the hand, and beg him to continue his care
for the good cause; he was not then in a condition to
show his gratitude, but it was profoundly engraven
upon his heart. What gave the most confidence to Rot-
tenburg was, "that the prince bitterly hated the king,
his father." 116
Thus a kind of counter plot was organized. The con-
166 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
spirators were very prudent. Frederick having offered
his portrait to Rottenburg, the latter suggested to him
" the strictest reserve." "I pretend never to speak to
the prince," said the minister, "but I have several
sure, faithful ways of making known to him what I
desire and of receiving his messages." He put Freder-
ick "in close intercourse" with Cnyphausen, one of
the ministers pensioned by France. He soon believed
himself sure of the Crown Prince, "not only for the
hope of the future, but even to make use of him now,
in order to flatter our friends and intimidate our ene-
mies." In fact, Frederick compromised himself more
and more. This led to great imprudence, and here is
the gravest one, testified by Rottenburg: "I had a very
interesting conversation with the Crown Prince. The
next day he wrote me a letter. I believed it my duty
not to answer it, and I exhorted him to have patience.
As all this is a question upon which one may not treat
to-day, I Avill defer it for a verbal account." 117
Unfortunately, we know nothing of this verbal account.
The departure of Rottenburg, who had obtained per-
mission to withdraw from the court, and was soon to be
sent into Spain, interrupted these revelations; but the
matter is not lacking in conjecture. At this time, Rot-
tenburg prophesied an approaching revolution, and
announced that everything "was preparing for it." He
repeated this prediction in nearly every one of his letters,
and wrote forcibly of the discontentment of all classes,
the military, the civilians, and the clergy. As for the
"clergy, they murmur more than any of them." There
was no longer a question of the king's death; it was of
FATHER AND SON. 167
an act of violence. What act? A revolution, properly
speaking, coming from the street or the army, as it hap-
pened in our century, was not probable. I dare not go
into the extent of my thought, but it seems to me,
that Rottenburg had the idea that in this strange court,
against this prince who governed Russian fashion, a
revolution would find its complicity in high places. He
believed and said that anything might happen. " The
mind of man can hardly divine how all this will end."
He undoubtedly foresaw, at least, a confinement of
the king, after being declared insane. However, it is
permissible to suppose, that between this foreign min-
ister and this prince, "who so bitterly hated his
father," there were strange understandings in these in-
terviews which could not be confided to paper.
But let us suppose nothing: we have proofs which
are sufficient. The young prince was truly ' premature. "
Rottenburg could not help admiring how perfectly he
played his role. To the Imperialists who tried to draw
him over to their side, and who promised to procure
"concessions" from his father, he answered, like a
model son, "that he hoped, in observing good conduct,
that the king would have some consideration for him,
and that if he failed in his duties, he was not worthy
of interest from any one." Even with his friends, who
knew well the state of affairs, he used veiled expres-
sions. He spoke, not of his party, but "the party of
his grandfather," King George. If he thanked Rot-
tenburg, it was for the care that he took "for the pre-
servation of the estates of the king, my father." He
found this a pleasing tone, this diplomatic lying, as it
168 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
is called, knowing well that he deceived no one. How
far, then, did his secret thoughts go? Was he already
desiring the death of his father? At all events, he en-
tertained, inwardly, the idea of this death. He did not
see in what form the future would present itself, but he
discounted and burdened it w T ith the hypothesis of this
gratitude, "that he regretted not being able to show
then." The impatience that Rottenburg calmed by his
exhortations was that of wishing to reign. 118
Already Frederick was turning a smiling face (the
king will reproach him soon for it) to all those his
father mistreated. This unselfishness, this liberality,
this charity that Seckendorif attributed 119 to him, the
future showed was not in his nature. When he distrib-
uted to the poor of Strassfurt the city's present, caution-
ing his tutors not to breathe a word of it to the king ;
when he promised to return, on his accession, to the
poor of Magdeburg the money that the king forced him
to accept; all this generosity was very suspicious. "The
prince," said Rottenburg, "must show as much kind-
ness as the king, his father, harshness." Frederick fol-
lowed this advice: he worked to form " the party of the
Crown Prince." Like his mother, he was engaged in for-
eign intercourse. He was not yet writing letters to Lon-
don or to Versailles, but he commended himself to the
good auspices of France. At Versailles they regarded
him as a child of the House, and wished to contribute
to his education: "The main point," wrote they to Rot-
tenburg, "is to instruct this young prince in the true
principle that whatever part princes take, it is only
firmness in their engagements that can give them consid-
FATHER AND SON. 169
eration and procure them strong advantages." Admira-
ble counsel, and well placed ! The King of France him-
self was interested. He wrote to Rottenburg : "What
you have remarked in the Crown Prince seems to give
great hope for his right spirit and discernment. Profit
by the relations you have with those who surround him,
present to him my acquiescence in his sentiments and
the assurances of my interest in his welfare." 120
Frederick William could not ignore all these intrigues;
the queen was a bad conspirator, and even the prince
did not know how to hide his schemes. The adverse
coterie, besides, watched the queen's maneuvers. 121
One day she appealed to the king, and informed him
of the existence of anonymous letters. Grumbkow held
three, in which it was stated in plain terms "that the
queen was untrue to her husband, and that there was
talk of doing away with him, shutting him up, and
placing the Crown Prince on the throne." The king
showed these letters to the queen, and she had some
difficulty in clearing herself. He sent them imme-
diately to his cabinet, and the affair went no farther ;
but he conceived, it was said, "a great fear of these
letters, particularly of those that referred to the Crown
Prince." He had the barbarous idea of making his son
drunk, so as to find out if they talked state affairs to
him; the prince held his own well, said only what was
desired, and did not compromise anyone. If Frederick
William did not know all that was going on, he still
had his suspicions, but let us admit that he suspected
nothing : the conclusion from the history of these weak
conspiracies is that the Crown Prince, not to offend
170 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
his future greatness, roundly deserved a box on the
ears now and then.
FAREWELL TO THE PRECEPTOR FORBIDDEN PLEASURES.
In the year 1727, when the conflict between father and
son had become bitter, the Crown Prince was entering
a new period of his existence. In April of that year
he had received confirmation; his studies, as a pupil,
had been officially ended, and the tutor had retired.
4 'My dear Duhan," 122 wrote Frederick, "I promise
that when I have my own money at hand, I will give
you annually twenty-four hundred crowns, and that I
will love you more than ever, if that be possible."
One would wish this note to be not only of another
orthography, but that the crowns should figure at the
end as a delicate allusion. But Duhan was a small per-
sonage, "a worthy man," as Wilhelmina said, and Fred-
erick did not trouble himself to be careful about the
style. He, however, always retained for his master a
sincere affection and gratitude.
The king permitted the other two preceptors to re-
main near the prince, and replaced Duhan by Major
Senning, who was charged with the prince's military
education. He must have taken pleasure in dismissing
Duhan, and have rejoiced in the arrival of the hour for
Frederick's practical education, if he had not already
reached that point, where no joy could come from a
child that he held in such aversion. The king never
tried to lead his son back by gentleness and persua-
sion, through calm, open-hearted explanations. He
watched him secretly, had his actions spied by domes-
FATHER AND SON. 171
tics, and even by friends. In December, 1727, he
called Lieutenant Borcke and three other officers before
him to say, in presence of the prince, that "he was at
a perilous age, and subject to bad inclinations;" he
had chosen these four men to guard over his conduct,
"and he rendered them responsible, with their heads,
for the least excess or irregularity from which they did
not turn the prince" or give notice of it to the king. 123
One of them must always accompany Frederick. It is
impossible to imagine a more awkward or humiliating
proceeding.
Through this excess of surveillance, the king incited
his son to hide from him all that he could of his
life. The prince covered up his good as well as bad
actions. He began by collecting secretly a library of
more than three thousand volumes. The catalogue com-
prised the great English and French periodicals (fifty-
two volumes of the Journal cles Savants)\ an English
Encyclopedia: bibliographies; manuals; ana; dictionaries
and grammars of the French, Italian and Spanish lan-
guages; a dictionary of French rhymes; treatises on
poetry, style and conversation; the great writers of an-
tiquity in their Italian and English translations, but
particularly in the French; the great French writers,
from the time of Rabelais; all that had been published
of Voltaire's works, the great Italian writers ; all the
universal histories of any value, abridged Greek histo-
ries, many books on Roman history, history of all the
countries of Europe, particularly that of France; only
a few books, French or translated into French, on the
history of Germany, and a single little abridged history
172 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
in French, of Brandenburg ; a great quantity of Me-
moirs in French; maps historical, geographical, ethno-
graphical; stories of travels, most of them in France;
books upon the fine arts and music, majority French;
books of political literature, Machiavelli, The Utopia
of Sir Thomas More, The Republic of Bodin, The Eter-
nal Peace of the Abbe of Saint-Pierre; books on mili-
tary literature; histories on religion and on Christian
Churches, political and apologetic books, all the writ-
ings of Madame Guyon; histories of philosophy and
treatises on the morals of pagans and Christians; the
works of Descartes, Bayle, and Locke. 124
As precocious as Frederick was, he would not have
been able, at the age of fifteen, to plan such a library.
He was advised by Duhan, who made the purchases,
and in this way aided him to follow his intellectual ed-
ucation. The prince made, in his own handwriting, the
first catalogue of his library, in 1727. He copied titles
of books that treated of all classes of human knowl-
edge. He was prepared to comprehend everything;
before his youthful mind was displayed a horizon so
vast that Germany occupied a very small place there,
and Brandenburg was hardly visible. These works upon
mathematics and physics, Descartes, Bayle, Locke, Vol-
taire, a dictionary of French rhymes, were in truth
Frederick the Great's library. He had hidden this
treasure in a rented house near the castle; the books
were enclosed in closets, and Duhan kept the keys.
Undoubtedly, he would hurry there every quarter of an
hour he could steal from his duties and burdens which
filled up his days. He must have read here and there,
FATHER AND SON. 173
haphazard, (through bribery,) in great haste, with a
restless greediness. If he had been surprised by his
father, what a scene ! The king detested books to such
an extent that he suppressed the fund for the Royal Li-
brary, and gave to a general an income of one thousand
thalers out of the fund to be expended in the purchase
of books, which was exactly one thousand thalers.
In this way was perpetuated the resistance of a young
mind thirsting for intellectual pleasure, from the tyran-
ny of Frederick William; but the prince was going
to give his father sorrow of another kind. In the be-
ginning of the year 1728 the king prepared to depart
for Dresden, where his visit was expected. At first, he
decided that his son should not follow him. Frederick,
who had such a great desire to see other countries, other
customs, and, no doubt, also to figure as a prince in a
foreign place, was so chagrined on learning that he was
not to be of the party that his sister, Wilhelmina,
feared he would fall sick. She had, as we know, a mind
full of resources. She schemed so as to make Suhm,
the Minister of Saxony, ask King Augustus to urgently
request a visit from the prince. The King of Poland
insisted to such a point that the King of Prussia called
his son to Dresden. He wished even that the young
man should make his appearance well-dressed, and or-
dered him to have made * < a coat with gold trimmings,
and six uniforms for his suite." 125 Now we behold both
of them at the most brilliant court in Germany; this
was a new occasion for the exchange of their antipathies.
Fritz found himself perfectly at ease in this grand at-
mosphere and this magnificence, which contrasted so
174 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
strongly with the sorry mien of the Court of Berlin.
He was treated as a Crown Prince; another comparison.
He knew how to please, to charm, "to make himself
beloved by these people of Saxony. . . His tastes
seemed to blend more readily with their manner of liv-
ing than those of the king, his father." Frederick
William did what he could to be agreeable, but he had
some mishaps, among others he burst his trousers at a
ball, where "the vivacity of the dance made him lose
the power of reflection." As he had brought with him
only one pair of trousers of ceremony, he had to send
for another, by special courier to Berlin. He saw that
his son presented a better appearance to the world than
he did. He refused him occasions to come forward,
and forced him, for example, to decline an invitation
to dine with the French Minister. But he could not
shut him up entirely. Frederick went to dine with the
Minister of State, Manteufel, who had a fine, cultivated
mind. He philosophized there at his ease ; two days
after, writing to his sister, he signed his name: Freder-
ick the Philosopher. Music was highly honored at the
Dresden Court; the prince heard an opera there, for the
first time, and, no doubt, with great delight. To be
brief, the prince enjoyed everything so much that the
king took revenge by mortifying him. 126
Necessarily, on returning to Berlin, the prince be-
came more melancholy than ever. He could be seen
growing thinner and thinner; he fell sick of a kind of
slow fever, and was threatened with consumption or
some pulmonary trouble, said the physician, love-
sick, wrote Wilhelmina, for "he had acquired a
FATHER AND SON. 175
taste for debauchery, at Dresden, and the restraint
in which he was kept prevented his excesses in this
direction." The king believed him in danger, and
"the voice of nature" made itself heard, and he
grieved about him. "When children are in good
health," he wrote to Prince Anhalt, " one does not know
that one loves them." He listened with patience to the
queen, who reproached him with the illness of his son,
and declared to him "that she could bear very well the
sorrows that would fall upon her alone, but that for
her son, she would not permit them to abuse his strength
in his condition." He even had remorse for past vigor-
ous measures, which he tried to make the prince forget
by kind attention. This was one of the rare short
moments, when the father was himself.
One regrets to think that, even in those days of
reconciliation, everybody was not sincere. At least
Wilhelmina relates that her mother, brother, and the
physician, "who was disposed to be on their side," ex-
aggerated the illness, so as to procure the prince some
repose. She did not believe that it was the return of
paternal tenderness that cured her brother. The King
of Poland came in the month of May to return the visit
paid to him six months before. Frederick did not ap-
pear immediately at the fetes. He had decided for
his philosophy did not go so far as to despise prece-
dency not to sit "at the table of ceremony at Berlin,
for he did not wish to cede his place to the Electoral-
prince of Saxony, a thing his father would not fail to
exact from him;" but he took good care not to lose th
opportunity of seeing again the Dresden guests; he went
to the court.
176 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
The journey of the king through the province of
Prussia was another happy event, in the year 1728.
He did not take Frederick with him. The prince had
a relapse, and pretended that his malady was worse
than it really was, to evade the ennui of the paternal
companionship. The king, before leaving, regulated
by an instruction to Kalkstein the regime of the prince
during his absence. He ordered that Frederick should
receive every morning a two-hours' lesson upon mili-
tary tactics, given by Major Senning ; that he should
dine exactly at noon. Kalkstein, Senning and the
Maitre de Cuisine Holwedel should dine with him, but
he had the privilege of inviting six others. Thirty
minutes after meals, fencing for an hour; then, until
four o'clock, lessons from Senning. The prince, " after
four o'clock, might divert himself in any way he liked,
provided he did nothing contrary to the commandment
of God and His Majesty. He could follow the various
pleasures of the hunt, but Colonel Kalkstein must be
always with him." He was allowed to dine and sup
out, but never to sleep away from his own apartments.
After the retreat was sounded, he must retire immedi-
ately. It is always the same tone of command, the
same strict method of ruling everything. 127 To do
nothing contrary to the commands of His Majesty!
But, even this was a recreation for Frederick.
There was at the court, during the absence of the
king, a perfect furore of music. The King of Poland
sent, upon the queen's request, "the most clever of his
virtuosos, such as the famous Weiss, whose playing up-
on the lute has never been excelled ; Bufardin, renowned
FATHER AND SON. 177
for his fine execution upon the German flute, and Quantz,
master of the same instrument, a great composer, whose
taste and exquisite art found means of training his flute
to be equal to the sweetest voice. " 128 The queen then
gave concerts that must have been listened to by the
prince with ecstatic delight. He passionately loved
music, and played on the harpsichord, violin and flute;
the latter, however, was his favorite instrument. He,
perhaps, had chosen the flute from the ideas he received
from Telemachus, where Fenelon describes the pupil of
Minerva charming with the sounds of this instrument
his new-born loves. To play the flute and read were
Frederick's real pleasures. He took but little advan-
tage of the permission given to hunt, " to run down an
animal ; " the chase, the favorite pastime of his father,
was for him but a violent, stupid exercise. He went
only when ordered to do so, and, every opportunity he
could find, would steal behind a tree and draw out his
flute. He unquestionably expressed upon this pastoral
instrument, better than through the verses he is soon
going to write the vague, poetic sentiment that cher-
ished his youthful fancy.
The taste that he and his sister alike had for music
gave to their friendship a charming grace. They played
duets : Wilhelmina called her lute Principe, and Fritz
called his flute Princip>essa.
THE AUTUMN OF 1728 AT WUSTERHAUSEN,
"We are infinitely entertained. We pass tranquil
days . . ." said Wilhelmina, speaking of the absence
of her father: but their father returned, and they had
178 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
to fall "from paradise into purgatory." The sojourn
at Wusterhausen, in the autumn of 1728, with these
violent scenes, was a mortal agony. Frederick tried to
evade it; he wished, as a matter of course, to travel,
to see other countries, and satisfy his lively curiosity;
but it was principally because he wanted to go away.
He did not dare ask his father's permission himself.
Kalkstein slipped this request into a conversation he
had with the king, who responded with a sharp refusal;
he had to remain ; never had Wusterhausen appeared
more horrible to Frederick and Wilhelmina.
The princess has drawn, with enraged maliciousness,
the caricature of this place of abode, so dear to Fred-
erick William, " that enchanted castle . . . which
consisted only of a mass of lodgings, whose beauty was
heightened by an antique tower that contained a spiral
wooden staircase. The main building was surrounded
by a terrace, around which a ditch was built, whose
black, sluggish water resembled that of the Styx, and
spread abroad a frightful odor, enough to produce suf-
focation. Three bridges, placed on three different sides
of the house, communicated with the court, garden,
and a windmill opposite. This court was formed on two
sides by two wings, where the gentlemen of the king's
suite were lodged. It was enclosed by a palisade, at
the entrance of which were fastened two white eagles,
two black eagles, and two bears, in form of sentinels,
and, by the way, very wicked animals they were, at-
tacking everybody." 129
The house, it is true, had no pretensions to being a
palace, and that is the reason it pleased Frederick Wil-
FATHER AND SON. 179
liam. It was the mansion, of a country squire: the
tower recalled its feudal origin. The spiral wooden
staircase is there, and the plan of the interior has not
been changed : on the ground-floor, some rooms of mod-
est grandeur served as dining-hall and bed-chambers for
the king and queen. On the first floor the tabagie or
"smoking-room" occupied the best and largest place:
the rest was divided up into very small apartments. The
deep-recessed, narrow windows but imperfectly lighted
this house, which must have been very dark during the
days of autumn and winter. The landscape was ex-
ceedingly plain: it was a desert. A scanty woodland
stretched out over the flat expanse and bordered the
sandy avenues, where the pedestrian heard not. even the
sound of his own footsteps; it was a place of silence.
But this Koenigs- Wusterhausen is expressive. It is a
revelation of Frederick William, and the simplicity of
his life, enframed in dry prose. Alas ! I have seen there
in a mirage the beauties of the Trianon, and the majes-
tic Palace of Versailles, the Babylonian flights of stairs
that lead to the high terrace, the long, solemn line of
the Chateau and the great windows of the Triumphal
Hall, where the fifth successor of Frederick William in-
augurated, twenty years ago, the German Empire.
Wilhelmina and Fritz suffered at Wusterhausen from
the mediocrity of their quarters and the narrowness of
their apartments, or, "to better explain, the garret,"
where their Royal Highnesses were unworthily lodged.
But, above all, they suffered from perpetual contact
with the king. In this small space they lived upon
each other.
180 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Frederick tried to lighten his existence through read-
ing and correspondence. He often wrote to Lieutenant
Borcke.
His friendship increased for this officer. He ex-
pressed his sentiments in terms of peculiar tenderness:
"No one loves and esteems you as much as I do. . . .
Give me the half of this regard in reciprocal friend-
ship." He made excuses for tiring him with his sorrows
and his importunate affection. When Borcke was sick
the prince threatened the whole race of physicians with
his anger if they did not cure his "dear Bork;" he
predicted what would happen to them by a reminis-
cence of Moliere, "from this will come dropsy which
will make them fall into a consuming fever, this will
engender pulmonary trouble that will finally kill them."
He reiterates the fear of importuning his friend: "My
tiresome affection will escape from me and lay bare to
you these sentiments of a heart that you entirely pos-
sess, which cannot be appeased except by knowing that
you are fully convinced of the true love with which it
worships you."
He was certain enough of this friend, whom the king,
however, had charged to watch over him, that he might
learn his secrets in this way. "The king," writes
Frederick to him, "continues to be in a bad humor;
he scolds everybody, and is not content with the world
nor himself. . . . He is still terribly angry with
me. ..." The prince complained of the life he led.
He was weary of the chase : < ' To-morrow there will
be a hunt at force, and the day after, and Sunday and
Monday." He was tired of the tabagie, where his only
FATHER AND SON. 181
pleasure was "to open the nuts, a pleasure worthy of the
place we occupy." He wearied of the buffoonery of
the king's jesters and the conversation of the guests:
4 'We have here a most foolish assemblage of a varied
and badly-chosen company, for neither the dispositions,
ages nor inclinations of those who compose it are con-
genial, so that there is no continued discourse." He is
worn out with these days, and wishes he had not lived
them. "I arose at five o'clock this morning, and it is
now midnight. I am so tired out with what I see that
I wish I could efface it from my memory as completely
as if it had never been there."
At times he would appear resigned: "One learns
after a long while to become free from care. I am in
that condition at the present hour, and, in spite of all
that may happen to me, I play the flute, read, and love
my friends always more than myself," but neither the
reading, the music, nor the friendship could have the
power, notwithstanding his desire for it, to give him
patience and put him in a good humor again: "We
undergo, every day, horrible scenes; I am so tired of
it that I should prefer begging my bread to living
longer in the position in which I am placed." He had
a queer manner of speaking of a danger that the king
had passed through: " A thumb's width more, and the
king would have been drowned with all the baggage." 13
The critical points on the subject of the marriages,
to which we must return, had recommenced; the king
did not cease to lose his temper. Frederick saw "that
there was no possible hope for a reconciliation " be-
tween his father and himself, and wished only for a
182 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
"suspension of invectives." He made an attempt to
obtain this twice; not daring to speak to the king, he
wrote. He excused himself, first of all, for not seek-
ing his dear father for fear that he would receive a
worse welcome than usual, and that the petition he
was going to make would irritate him. He begged him
then by letter to be more gracious. He assured the
king that in his conscience, most carefully examined,
he found nothing with which to reproach himself. If
he had done, without knowing or desiring it, anything
that would offend his papa, he very humbly implored
his pardon. He hoped that his dear papa would re-
nounce this cruel hatred (grausamen Hass) that he
showed in his manner and action. He could not resign
himself, after always believing that he had a gracious
father, to the idea that the contrary could be true.
He had, then, the hope and ' confidence that his dear
papa would reflect upon all this and become again
gracious to him; in any case he assured him that, even
in disgrace, he was, with a very humble and filial re-
spect for his dear papa, his most obedient son and
servitor. This language, so humble with servile cir-
cumlocutions, exasperated the king, who in turn took
up his pen and, as he was glad to have the opportunity
to say what he had on his mind, poured out all his griefs:
"He has," wrote the king, using the disdainful form
of the third person, "a willful, wicked head; he does
\ not love his father. A son who loves his father does
the will of that father, not only in his presence, but
even when he is not there to see him. He knows
well that I cannot bear an effeminate boy, who has
FATHER AND SON. 183
not a single manly inspiration, who does not know
how to mount a horse, nor shoot, who is decidedly
untidy about his person, does not cut his hair and
has it curled like a fool's. And with all this a grand
air of a proud seignior, speaking to no one, or to
such or such a personage, and is neither affable nor
popular. He makes grimaces as if he were a fool.
He never does my will except by force. He does
nothing through filial love. He has no other pleasure
than to follow his own inclination. This is my an-
swer." 131
This was the correspondence between father and son,
under the roof of Wusterhauseu, from one room to
the other. About six weeks passed. The days became
darker and darker; the scenes became more frequent;
then the priuce tried heroic means. It was again at
Wusterhausen; they celebrated the feast of St. Hubert
that the king loved to commemorate in a gay manner,
Frederick was seated opposite his father and mother,
by the side of Suhm, Minister of Saxony. Contrary to
his custom he began to drink excessively. " I am sure
I will be sick to-morrow," said he to Suhm. Very
soon the wine began to take effect; he complained to
his neighbor of his slavish life. He begged him to
procure through the intervention of the King of Poland,
his permission to travel. He spoke so loud that he
could be heard on the other side of the table. The ^
queen became uneasy and made a sign to Suhm
to calm him, but the prince talked on and, pointing
to the king, he repeated, " However I love him!"
<*What did he say?" asked the king of Suhm. The
184 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
minister answered that the prince was drunk and not re-
sponsible for what he said. "Bah! " replied the king,
"He is only pretending, but what did he say?" "The
prince said that although the king forced him to drink
too much he loved him." " He is only pretending,"
said the king again. Suhm gave his word of honor
that the prince was really drunk. "I have just pinched
him," he said, "and he did not feel it." For
a moment Fritz remained quiet, but soon began
again. The queen retired; Suhm advised the prince
to go to bed; the prince answered that he would not
leave until he had kissed his father's hand. The king,
who enjoyed the scene, extended his hand, laughing;
the prince demanded the other; he covered them with
kisses and drew his father to him. The whole as-
sembly burst into applause. Then Fritz made the
tour of the table, threw himself on his knees before
his father, embraced him affectionately and talked in-
cessantly. He declared that he loved him with all
his heart, that he had been maligned by people who
were interested in creating this family disturbance,
that he would love and serve the king all his life,
"Good, good!" said the king, "Just so; he is a man
of honor." All were saddened by this scene, and tears
came into their eyes. Finally the prince was led away. 132
In the evening at the tabagie they noticed that the
king was very gay. Fritz to begin drinking, to get
drunk! This was a novelty. Is the boy beginning to
acquire "manly traits?" But the father could scarce-
ly believe in such a rapid transformation. They per-
suaded him that the prince was playing a comedy, a
thing that was possible, and even probable.
FATHER AND SON. 185
The forced witnesses to this family life could no
longer support the spectacle The preceptors, Fink-
enstein and Kalkstein, insisted upon being dismissed.
It was granted them in Mar-li, 1729. The king at-
tached two new officers to his son's suite: Colonel von
Rochow and Lieutenant von keyserlingk. 133 The first
he chose for his serious character, the second because
he was more "alert." In an insi ruction to Rochow
he stated that the prince loved but. the- pleasures
and occupations of an idler. The Colonel must there-
fore represent to him "that all effeminate, lascivious
pursuits were very unbecoming to a man; they were
good only for dandies and fops, but a dandy was <^i
empty-headed, silly dressed-up doll. . . . The
prince in his walk, laugh and language was airV.
He did not hold himself erect on horseback. Now,
anyone who hangs his head between his shoulders and
who is unsteady in his carriage, is but an old rag.
Rochow must pull off his nightcap and give him more
energy. The prince was too pretentious; he must be
taught to be polite and obliging to everybody; he
must be inspired with a sincere, good disposition,
be led to question people, both high and low, for
that is the way to learn everything and become clev-
er." Finally the king ordered that his son should con-
tinue his accustomed regime of prayers and readings of
the Holy Gospel, and that he should obey in the future
voluntarily of his own free will not with a sour face,
for obeying with a sour face was not obeying. To
be brief, Rochow must employ every means possible
to make the prince a brave boy, an honest man, an
186 FREDERICK. THE GREAT.
officer. If lie did not suppled it would be a great mis-
fortune. 134
It was a great misfortune, for Rochow did not suc-
ceed any better than hiH predecessors.
THE RESUMPTION OF VHE MARRIAGE NEGOTIATIONS.
At the time of the two attempts of Frederick to
have a reconciliation with his father, the intrigues in
regard to thedouble marriage had begun their course
again, and w^re soon complicated in a .broil with
Hanover. 135 Ten Hanoverians having been carried off
and iiKJofporated into the service of Prussia, the Prus-
sian recruiters were arrested in Hanover. In the mean-
while, the Prussian peasants had cut and carried off the
I, a from a prairie on the frontier, the possession of
which was contested by Hanover and Brandenburg ;
the Hanoverian peasants went after this hay and took
it back to their barns. This was as grave a matter as
the Rabelaisian quarrel of the cake-bakers of Lerne,
bat Frederick William lost patience at the least op-
position that came from his brother-in-law of England ;
his sensitiveness about the rights of his recruiters was
extreme ; and then too, Europe was in one of her
crises from whence a general conflict could ensue.
From Vienna, where they believed everything was in
readiness for war, they stirred up " the Prussian fire
so as to cook their eggs." 136 The king furious, and as
usual irresolute, was in a continual storm. His fits of
gout came on at the same time.
Upon this basis of calamities, this anger and suffer-
ing, was founded the matrimonial comedy.
FATHER AND SON. 187
It was, as Wilhelmina said, always " the same song."
The king desired to have from England a categorical
response. As soon as he arrived at Wusterhausen, in
the autumn of 1828, he declared to the queen that it
was time, "to ring the bell in regard to Wilhelmina,
and find out what the English intended to do, for he
was not going to be their dupe any longer." So,
"you write immediately for them to send you posi-
tive word as to what hold I have on them in this
matter, because I will take other measures." The
queen wrote in the most pathetic manner, to her sister-
in-law, the Queen of England. She only received
from her vague answers. She was assured, in October,
of the certainty of the desire to conclude the alli-
ance and to restore harmony to the two Courts ;
but, in December, they announced to her, that if they
finally resolved upon the marriage of Wilhelmina, it
would be "only on condition that the prince, her
brother, would be married at the same time." Now
the King of Prussia wished to establish his daughter,
but would not enter into any negotiations in regard
to his son.
He found the prince too young, and did not care
about having a daughter-in-law princess who was a
grande dame accustomed to the luxuries of an opulent
Court. He feared to emancipate his son, and still
more to give him a pleasure. He turned then a deaf
ear to these propositions, and as the queen, "one night
when they were both awake, profited by this moment
to ask him for an agreeable answer to the propositions
coming from London, he rudely repulsed her and
188 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
commenced to abuse her and the English, in terms
that would make modesty blush. He added, that the
English acted for her alone, and not for him, and that
her son whom she loved so dearly, was nothing but a
knave who wished to escape through marriage, but
he knew well enough how to hold him." 137 It must be
admitted that he judged rightly of the disposition of
both his son and England who really seemed to act
only through sympathy for the Queen of Prussia.
During the whole year of 1729, the negotiations
made slow progress, the condition of general politics
preventing any connected measures being taken. The
two parties remained in their respective positions : the
Court of London stood firm for the double alliance,
the King of Prussia demanding a declaration for
Wilhelmina alone, threatening to marry her, whether
or no, if he did not receive satisfaction. He had a
list of aspirants ready, whose names he flung at the
queen on all occasions. She tried to gain time and.
was always "waiting for answers from England," which
arrived, but she dared not show them. Seckendorff
and Grumbkow circumvented the king more and more.
They pushed their treason so far as to corrupt Reich-
enbach, Prussia's own Minister at the Court of London;
they made him work against these marriages, and
guided him through information given about the
scandalous proceedings at the Prussian Court.
The Queen, Frederick and Wilhelmina, continued
their secret policy. We no longer know so much
about their actions since the departure of Rottenburg
from Berlin; Sauveterre, who took his place, was a
FATHER AND SON. 189
minor personage, not so well known in court circles,
less enterprising, and even timid. He, however, kept
up his relations with the ministers friendly to France,
particularly with Cnyphausen, who gave him authentic
information. He was in regular confidential inter-
course with the English Minister, who was the queen's
greatest resource. 138 The dispatches of the two minis-
ters show, that the prince and queen intrigued at Lon-
don, as well as Seckendorff and Grumbkow, without
the king's knowledge.
The Queen related to Du Bourgay the conversations
with her husband, showed him the letters that she wrote,
and charged him with expediting the news to his gov-
ernment ; she even proposed to dictate these dispatches.
Cnyphausen and Du Bourgay rightly declined to offici-
ate in this way. Then "she took out her handkerchief
and began to cry." "Must I be always unhappy," said
she, ' < and will they never have compassion upon me in
England?" She also invoked the compassion of France ;
she requested Sauveterre to solicit the good offices of
his court with England * ' in the sorrowful situation in
which she was placed." She could not say more,
through the precautions she was obliged to take, but
the only way she saw of saving herself was by the aid
of the Court of France.
France responded: "Assure the queen that we feel
sensitively her situation ; we will carry out all the plans
that seem desirable to her." They ordered Sauveterre,
"to learn from the queen herself, so as to regulate
the proceedings better, the progress of the means she
continued to employ to vanquish the obstacles that she
190 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
encountered in trying to obtain the object of her de-
sires." The queen hastened to show her gratitude.
She was " very sensible to this friendship shown her,
upon which she had always relied. It was a great com-
fort in her trouble to be assured of it. . . She
would never relax her friendship for France and would
rear the prince with the sentiment of gratitude that he
must certainly show some day." Sophia Dorothea
believed herself far superior to the diplomacy of her
husband, and all others. As if the whole world must
agree to satisfy " the ambition of her daughter, who
was early instilled with the hope of marrying the
Prince of Wales," she said, that she was tired of see-
ing Wilhelmina the mark for such and such an un-
worthy parti, and concluded with this menace: "If
you do not make them leave me in peace I will turn all
Europe upside down." This haughtiness, this obsti-
nacy, and the awkward mistakes she committed, the
art in which she excelled, of badly placing her confi-
dences, drove her accomplices and allies to despair.
Du Bourgay and Sauveterre accused her of spoiling
everything. "She repulsed the m persons that were
attached to her" and " precipitated " their plans too
much ;" she is," said Cnyphausen, "unhappy through
her own fault." 139
On the list of the king's aspirants was the Margrave
of Schwedt, a Brandenburg prince, a branch of the
family of the Great Elector. This projected alliance
greatly horrified the queen and her daughter, and lit-
tle pleased the family of the young Margrave: his
mother, to whom the king "paid a visit in order to
FATHER AND SON. 191
make the offer of marriage," returned thanks for the
great honor, but made excuses on account of the pain
it would give to the queen and the royal princess,
"who had been reared with the idea of wearing a
crown." Afterwards, she had explanations with the
queen, telling her that she infinitely dreaded this fine
marriage for her son: "The king will not give more
than thirty thousand crowns for dot. He will treat his
son-in-law as a vassal and a subject. He will have him
watched, to spy over his conduct toward his wife.
And what will happen, when the Crown Prince comes to
the throne? He will be my son's enemy; it will be much
better for him to wait ; he can easily find a dot of two
hundred thousand crowns." The king addressed himself
also to Prince Anhalt, uncle of the Margrave; Anhalt
politely refused. It was fear of Frederick's resentment
that caused this reserve in Schwedt's family. The
Crown Prince confirms it in the following expressions.
He wrote to Prince Anhalt, "through the means of a
faithful friend," to say that if he prevented the mar-
riage, he could count "upon his gratitude to him and
his family, which he would consider as his own."
Frederick had a secret correspondence with the
English Court; he received letters from the Prince of
Wales by safe means. He found a way to conciliate
the opposing inclinations of the two courts. England
wished the double marriage, the King of Prussia the
single one. If England would be contented, for the
nonce, with the union of Wilhelmina and the Prince of
Wales, the prince would give his word, and he reiter-
ated it in writing, that "on his honor, he would never
192 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
marry any one but the Princess Amelia;" he promised
this without the knowledge and against the will of his
father. He also thought that the politics of his father
did not affect him. 140 In the month of August, 1729, at
the time when war with Hanover was so imminent that
forty thousand Prussians were mobilized, the prince, who
was in the ranks of the army, ready for the march,
" passed his assurances of friendship secretly to England
and the Prince of Wales, saying that he was confident
of the justice that they always rendered to his senti-
ments, notwithstanding the then present crisis." 141
The king did not know of all this definitely. A man,
a king, could he imagine it possible to be duped to this
extent? One of his ministers, Cnyphausen, betrayed
his secrets to France and England; another, Grumb-
kow, sold them to Austria, and employed against his
master his own envoy that he sent to London. The
queen and the Crown Prince negotiated against him.
It was, perhaps, the strangest cross-purpose intriguing
ever known. Frederick William, though, divined a
part of the truth: "I know, you little rascal, all that
you are doing to withdraw yourself from my rule, but
it is in vain for you to think that you will succeed,"
said he to his son. He added: "I am going to keep
thee in leading strings and mortify thee a little while
longer." And the Court of Prussia became a Hades,
where everybody endured the torments of the damned.
The queen was always in faints, tears, or anger. At
one period, when she was pressed hard by the king for
the answers from England, she "resolved to fall sick."
She "began by complaining in the morning, and to
FATHER AND SON. 193
make it more effective, she pretended to faint." Several
days she kept up these simulations; then she became
really ill, and as she was expecting to be confined, her
peril was great. The king, who was at Potsdam, be-
lieved at first it was only a little game. At last, sum-
moned by special courier, he returned. As soon as he
saw her, .his suspicions vanished; he cried, sobbed,
made excuses for the sorrow he had caused her, and
left her in peace for a few days; but these calm mo-
ments were rare, and the quarrels recommenced.
The king incessantly reproached the queen with the
conduct of his two elder children. He expressed his
anger one day by way of a cruel reminiscence. Ad-
dressing himself to Wilhelmina and the Crown Prince,
he said: "You should curse your mother; it is she who
has been the cause of your being badly governed. I
had a preceptor who was an honest man. I will al-
ways remember a story that he related to me in my
youth. < There was a man at Carthage who was con-
demned to death, for several crimes that he had com-
mitted. As they were conducting him to his punish-
ment he asked to be allowed to speak with his mother.
They ordered her to approach. He drew quite near, as
if he were going to speak low to her, and tore off her
ear with his teeth. "I treat you thus," said he to his
mother, "that you may serve as an example to all par-
ents who have not reared their children in the practice
of virtue."' Now, you can apply this to yourselves." 142
The queen inspired pity in everybody. It was said
that she could not reach the end of her confinement.
"The child that she carries," wrote Sauveterre, "is one
194 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
of sorrow." The Court of France already mourned for
her: "We shall earnestly regret the Queen of Prussia;
she will be an irreparable loss to her family." 143 In even
more compassionate accents, the court, the city, the for-
eigners, sympathized with the Crown Prince upon his
fate, for the queen was not beloved; but Frederick per-
sisted in all the customs odious to his father. He said
that his uniform was "his shroud," and the word, re-
peated by some spy, entered like a poisoned arrow
into the heart of the king, who revenged himself upon
a dressing-gown of gold brocade, which he found his
son wearing, by throwing it in the fire with a great
burst of anger. Frederick, at last, according to his
sister's Memoirs, accustomed himself to a' bad life. One
of the king's pages, named Keith, was the instrument
through which he carried on his debauchery. This
young man had found a way of insinuating himself
into the prince's good graces, and was passionately be-
loved and made a most intimate confidant. Freder-
ick had "familiarities" with him that Wilhelmina
judged improper: he excused himself, saying "that
the page served him as a spy, and rendered him great
services." The king, to whom this Keith appeared sus-
picious, sent him as an officer to a regiment that was
quartered in Cleves. As friends, accomplices and confi-
dants were necessary to Frederick, Keith was replaced
by Lieutenant Katte, "whose look had something
foreboding in it." 144 We will soon hear again of Lieu-
tenant Keith and Lieutenant Katte.
In order to pay for his forbidden pleasures, and also
for his books and music, Frederick made debts. The
FATHER AND SON. 195
father was informed of this through the claims of a
creditor, to whom he owed seven thousand thalers. He
did not become angry, as one would suppose ; he spoke
like a rich miser: " It is not money that I lack," and he
offered to pay " with pleasure, if his son would change
his conduct and become an honest man." But the rev-
elation of the creditor had undoubtedly affected him.
He published an edict against loans to minors, stating
that whoever loaned money to minors of the royal fam-
ily would be condemned to hard labor, and even to
death, according to circumstances. The act committed
by Frederick was, in his eyes, a real crime, added to all
those for which he had already been reproached. 145
It was a crime, and one not the least grave, to practice
French witticism, to make "bons mots" and assume a
mocking air. Frederick and Wilhelmina made fun of
their father in their tete-a-tetes, that still continued.
Wilhelmina became very ill about the first part of the
year 1729. Her mother, who understood these feigned
illnesses, supposed, in the beginning of it, that this
was a little comedy. She forced her to arise, and
then led her to the king, who saw that she was very
much changed, and thinking, to cure her, compelled
her to drink a goblet of strong old Rhine wine. This
made her delirious. It was treated, at the outset, as
a high fever, until smallpox was developed. She was
then shut up, like a prisoner of State, badly cared for
by a chambermaid, and deserted by all except her
brother. The prince, who had had the smallpox, made
her two secret visits a day. They charmed their con-
versations with slander.
196 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Wilhelmina acknowledged that they made use, above
all, of satire, and "that the neighbor was not spared."
They had read together the Roman Comique of Scar-
ron, and they applied it to their enemies of the "Impe-
rial clique." They called Grumbkow La Rancune
(Rancor), Seckendorff, La Rapiniere (Pilferer), and the
Prince of Schwedt, Saldagne. The queen had for first-
lady-in-waiting a very worthy woman, named Mad-
ame de Kamken : "Although we esteemed this lady
highly," said Wilhelmina, "we could not help seeing her
ridiculous side and amusing ourselves with her. As
she was very corpulent, and her figure resembled Madame
Bouvillon, we gave her that name. We often indulged
in this fun in her presence, which made her curious to
know who this Madame Bouvillon was of whom we
talked so much. My brother made her believe that she
was the principal lady-in-waiting of the Queen of Spain.
After our return to Berlin, one day, during a court draw-
ing-room, the Spanish Court was spoken of, and she gave
the information that all the Camerera Mayors were from
the family of Bouvillon. They laughed at her out-
right, and, for my part, I thought I would suffocate."
This gayety, French fashion, these witty farces, these
"conundrums," were odious to the king, who had a dif-
ferent kind of humor, and liked only that raillery that
he practiced himself. He must have suspected that he
had his share in these quibbles. His children, among
themselves, called him by a name that they also found
in the Roman: "We named the king, Ragotin." 146
Wilhelmina related both the comical and tragical
scenes. Once, the king, on returning from the hunt,
FATHER AND SON. 197
came near surprising them in the queen's apartments,
where they had been forbidden to go. Fritz rushed to
an adjacent toilet-room, and the princess crept under
the queen's bed, which was very low. They remained
in their hiding-places the whole time that the king was
resting in an arm-chair, where, from fatigue, he had
fallen asleep. Another time he threw plates at the
heads of his children. The dinner finished, as Wilhel-
mina was passing by him, he aimed a hard blow at
her with his crutch, which she managed to evade. He
was then having one of his spells of gout, and had
himself rolled about in an arm-chair. Sometimes he
would follow Wilhelmina "in this chariot," but those
who were pushing the chair gave her time to get out of
the way. 147 However, he had not yet actually struck
his daughter. He had struck only Frederick, but he
struck him more and more frequent. Upon this point
the testimony of Wilhelmina is authoritatively con-
firmed by others. For some time the king had beaten
his son, but his brutalities were more odious as his
child grew to be a young man, and had the conscious-
ness and pride of his dignity as Crown Prince. In De-
cember, 1729, the king went to the greatest extremes of
violence. As the prince was entering his room one
day, the king beat him with a cane, caught him by the
throat and hair, threw him down, and forced him to
kiss his feet and beg his pardon. These atrocious
scenes were continually recurring. The king spread
before the eyes of officers, generals, his household,
everybody, the humiliation of his son, and he defied
and insulted him in his misery: "Any other officer,"
198 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
said he, "who is displeased with the king's aspect to-
ward him can receive his dismissal, but thou, the prince,
art obliged to remain." He went so far as to forbid his
son all hoj3e of a better fate. He announced to him
that he intended becoming more and more severe each
day: " You know," added he, " that I keep my word." 148
In this way he provoked and forced Frederick to put
into execution a scheme that had been in his head for
a long time. "I have some reason to believe," wrote
Rottenburg, in July, 1728, "that he meditates flight, al-
though I have seen him form the project before. It is
also uncertain as to whether he intends going to France
or England." They feared to see him arrive in France.
"In whatever place the prince sees fit to retire, byre-
turn of courier, there will undoubtedly be a very em-
barrassing state of affairs. " 149 But the prince did not care
about the embarrassment in which he placed others, nor
of the certain peril to which this flight would expose his
mother and sister. Whatever may have been his faults,
he could no longer support the ignominy of his existence.
At each fresh scene he must have had a wish to end it
all. The idea became a fixed one the latter part of the
year of 1729. The king, who had suspicions of it,
recommended Colonel Rochow to redouble his surveil-
lance.
Frederick was, in reality, watching for his opportu-
nity, and he had confided his plans to his sister. One
evening Wilhelmina, (after having bidden him good-
night in the queen's apartments, and retired to her
room,) was making preparations to go to bed, when
she saw a young man enter, dressed magnificently in
FATHER AND SON. 199
the French fashion. She uttered a loud cry, and hid
herself behind a screen. Her governess ran to her res-
cue, and soon brought out Frederick, who laughed
heartily, and, in the gayest humor possible, announced
that he was going away soon, never to return. When
she recovered from her first emotion, Wilhelmina re-
monstrated with him at the impossibility of this step
and its frightful consequences. She threw herself at his
feet, cried, and forced him to give his word that he
would not undertake it. He gave his word, but it was
from the lips only. 150 He was in haste to depart, to
breathe at last free air in a foreign country. But a
singular incident is going to lead, for awhile, the minds
of this strange family in another direction.
THE MISSION OF SIR CHARLES HOTHAM.
In the month of December, 1729, the King of Prus-
sia once more exacted that the queen should obtain a
definite answer from England. Sophia Dorothea wrote
then an official letter to her sister-in-law, Queen Caro-
line, "to make known to her that if the Court of Eng-
land still thought of the marriage of the Prince of
Wales with the eldest Princess of Prussia, it was time
to conclude this alliance, but without any condition ;
there were other desirable parties for this princess who
would not be neglected, except for this negotiation." 151
The answers were not more satisfactory than usual.
Then the king showed a resolution to end it.
From Potsdam, where he was at the time, he began
an official correspondence with the queen. He first ex-
pedited a summons, then sent an ambassador of State,
200 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Grumbkow, to her. This minister argued at length
with the queen; following the example of the devil
when he wished to tempt our Saviour, he pretended to
deduce his reasons from the Holy Scriptures, quoting
passages the most applicable to the subject in question.
He represented to her that fathers had more right over
their children than mothers, and that, when the parents
could not agree, the children should preferably obey
the father; that the father was always in a position to
employ force, and, finally, the queen would commit a
wrong, on her side, if she did not accede to this method
of reasoning. This princess refuted the last argument
by the opposing example of Bethuel, who answered the
proposition of marriage made to him by Abraham's
servant for Isaac: u We will call the damsel, and in-
quire at her mouth." 152 After this she argued, in order
to repulse the propositions of sons-in-law which he made
to her.
Grumbkow letting escape a kind of menace, when he
said, "they would see how it would all end," she
could restrain herself no longer, and, addressing him
"in her character of Queen of Prussia, treating him as
her servitor, she said that it was unpardonable for him
to speak thus to her, that the Lord would punish him
for it, and she gave him her malediction." As Grumb-
kow tried to retract his words, and to advise her to,
at least, use some diplomacy in her reply to the king :
"Go," she responded; "I know your expediency and
your cowardice. You are nothing but a knave." 153 For
this day the queen was relieved, but this was a mere
passing gratification. The king insisted, urged,
FATHER AND SON. 201
stormed. Sophia Dorothea thought that all was lost,
when, in March of the year 1730, the undecided state of
the differences between Prussia and England came at
last to a definite settlement, the two crowns accepting
arbitration.
The royal family of England wished to give the
Queen of Prussia a proof of its good will and compas-
sion. An Envoy Extraordinary was announced, who
carried the response to the letter of the preceding De-
cember. The king, in spite of his pretensions to the
contrary, was, nevertheless, very much flattered at the
attentions they showed him. In reality, he was still
eager for this marriage of his daughter with the Prince
of Wales, provided that it did not complicate embar-
rassing conditions for him. He would have given the
other aspirants their dismissal long ago, if he had re-
ceived from London some positive assurance. London
appeared finally to decide, and even to give some lustre
to her penitence by sending a minister of high standing.
Sir Charles Hotham, the expected envoy, was of a no-
bility that dated back to the Conqueror, a brother-in-law
of Lord Chesterfield, and, in order to please Frederick
William, Colonel of the Mounted Grenadiers of His
Britannic Majesty. The King of Prussia, with the
promptness that he usually gave to his moods, changed
his humor from one day to the next. He invited Du
Bourgay, the Minister of England, to the tabagie,
drank to King George, and omitted the health of the
Emperor. The household was at peace once more.
The queen became better and better, 4 < and had some
hope of safe deliverance."
202 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Sir Charles Hotham arrived on the second of April.
The fourth, he was invited to dine at Charlottenburg
with the king , the queen, who was about to be confined,
was at Berlin, with her children. The king, before
dining, had an interview with Sir Charles Hotham, and,
without any preamble, declared himself " charmed that
his daughter should be found agreeable to the King of
England, who could also dispose of his son whenever it
so pleased him, and that she (Wilhelmina) would con-
tribute none the less to his satisfaction through the sen-
timents for him with which she had been reared."
The dinner was very gay. They spoke of the second
daughter of the king, who was about to be married to
the Margrave of Anspach. Suddenly the king cried out:
' ' Girls must be married ! To the health of Wilhel-
mina and the Prince of Wales ! " There was great sur-
prise, for no one knew that affairs had gone so far.
Grumbkow, seated near the Chevalier, who was at the
king's right, leaned toward his master and said : " Are
you to be congratulated, Sire?" " Yes," replied the
king ; and everybody arose and went to salute him, as
was the custom in this court, by embracing his knees
or kissing the hem of His Majesty's coat. Hotham was
astonished at the toast, the tumult, and, more than all,
at the king's speech afterward. He said that "his daugh-
ter was ugly and pock-marked, but, with these exceptions,
an honest girl, who would be true, and would satisfy
her husband, although, generally speaking, his idea was
that all women were capable of loving ; and, if they
had only desired to have her three years before, they
would have found her more beautiful." They drank
FATHER AND SON. 203
excessively at this dinner. 154 They made coarse jokes on
the exchange of the German ducat and English half-
guinea. They ended with dancing ; even the servants
cut capers. As a good father, the king thought of
Wilhelmina's joy. He would like to have it noised
abroad that all was over between them, so as to agreea-
bly surprise his daughter. "Be so good as to remain
quiet," said he to Sir Charles Hotham, "until I go to the
city. I should like to go before you and ask my daugh-
ter's consent."
The chevalier demanded nothing better than to re-
main quiet, for he "was not accustomed to this vivaci-
ty." He could not believe his ears nor his eyes, and
was exceedingly embarrassed, for his mission was to
negotiate for the double marriage. It is true, the Court
of England, "in consideration of the delicate condition
of the Queen of Prussia," permitted him to agree to the
one marriage immediately, but with the understanding
that there should be a promise made between the Crown
Prince of Prussia and the Princess Amelia. This latter
clause in the mission, Sir Charles was to gently insin-
uate, not on his immediate arrival, but in his own
time and choosing his own hour. He did not foresee
this abrupt toast at the dinner. And now, where to
find the means, since it had begun, of slipping in a re-
striction, of stopping this knee-embracing procession
toward His Majesty, of throwing cold water upon this
sarabande? The chevalier would have been even more
restless, had he heard Grumbkow at dinner, after the
first question: "Must we congratulate you, Sire?" And,
in an undertone: "And offer congratulations for both
marriages, Sire?" And the king's response: "No." 155
204 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
The next clay Sir Charles Hotham was called to a con-
ference of ministers, who asked him at once if he had
full power to regulate the dot and the contract. Decid-
edly, he found that they were going quickly to work.
He began by stating that he must, first of all, touch on
the conversation exchanged between His Majesty and
himself in written words, and transmit it to his court.
At the same time, he would write for his king's permis-
sion to treat directly upon the subject.
This was enough to give the adverse faction, which
had been at first unarmed, new courage. It had dreaded
beforehand this mission extraordinary, and tried hard to
prevent its effects. Grumbkow had written to Reichen-
bach, in order to dictate to him the tone and matter of
his correspondence. Reichenbach must not fail to give
notice at London, the report that the King of Prussia
was working to gain some profit from England, through
the ministers at Berlin and through other "secret
means." This " secret means" referred to the queen's
faction, the queen herself and her children. To the
end that his accomplice should appear well-informed,
Grumbkow gave him information about "things in
Berlin." "The king," he said, "will take you for a
sorcerer, and double the good opinion he has of you."
Among other pieces of news, he related this: "The
mother of the Crown Prince is always pretending to be
very sick, but if affairs were adjusted that is to say,
the marriage concluded, you would see her on her feet
again." He promised Reichenbach, in order to reassure
him against the dangers of the game, that the king
would never abandon him. The king, it is true, might
FATHER AND SON. 205
die, and the Crown Prince would not fail to avenge
himself on his enemies, but this event was foreseen:
"If the Crown Prince comes to the throne, you will
be provided for at Vienna," said he to Reichenbach.
Grumbkow had also arranged for his own retreat
to Vienna. Should danger threaten, the "Imperial
clique" at the Court of Berlin could defile into
Austria.
Reichenbach followed Grumbkow's instruction to the
letter. He made known, one day, to the King of Prus-
sia the dissolute conduct of the Prince of Wales, to
whom Wilhelmina was destined ; this prince ruined his
health in debauchery with actresses and chorus girls of
the opera. Another time he touched the most sensitive
spot, in writing that the Court of England sought only
to make of Prussia a dependent province, and that,
"the marriage accomplished, there would be at Berlin
a party that would tie the king's hands." 156
These dispatches had been exchanged before the ar-
rival of Sir Charles Hotham at Berlin. They did not
prevent the king from receiving the envoy well, but they
certainly troubled him. As early as the next day after
the famous dinner he forbade his ministers to treat of
the double marriage; "I do not wish to hear of the
double marriage; besides, there is no question of it in my
wife's letter." As soon as he knew that Sir Charles Ho-
tham was using means for delay he began to be restless,
realizing that his joy had been premature; and he
interdicted the public discussion of this marriage, that
he himself had been so prompt to publish. But the
news was soon spread abroad. The same evening of
206 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the dinner at Charlottenburg it had been carried to the
Palace of Berlin to the queen and princess: "I was
quietly occupied in my room at a piece of work," wrote
Wilhelmina, " while listening to a reading, when one of
the queen's ladies-in-waiting, followed by numerous do-
mestics, interrupted me, and, all of them throwing
themselves on their knees, cried in my ears that they
had come to salute the Princess of Wales. I truly
thought that they had lost their senses. Then all
talked at once, cried, laughed, jumped up and down,
and surrounded me. Then came my sisters, who em-
braced me, and offered their congratulations." Wilhel-
mina went to the queen, who, in her joy, called her
"My dear Princess of Wales," and gave Sonsfeld
the title of "First lady-in- waiting to my lady." If we
are to believe Wilhelmina, she remained cold and pass-
ive in the midst of this enthusiasm. She was so little
moved by the congratulations that she continued her
work, saying: "Is it only that?" It would have been
feigning sentiments that she did not possess if she had
appeared to ignore the happiness so ardently desired,
but her joy was mixed with some uneasiness. This was
not the first time that her mother had called her "the
Princess of Wales," and the disillusion did not fail to
appear. Before actually rejoicing, there must be at
least, some declaration from the king. Nothing came
of it the next day. The day after, the king was in Ber-
lin, and "no mention was made of what had come to
pass." 157
However, Frederick William, notwithstanding he
wrote on the request for an interview sent by Sir
FATHER AND SON, 207
Charles Hotham: "This does not mean the double mar-
riage?" consented to treat with him in a tete-a-tete;
Hotham prepared his discourse, and the manner of intro-
ducing in it the double marriage. He even addressed
the following graceful compliment. He knew that there
were three kingdoms in Great Britain that awaited her
with great impatience, but he could assure the king that
the Prince of Wales' eagerness surpassed all the rest. 158
At the outset all went well. In a first interview with
the king, at Potsdam, the English Envoy inserted this
speech, upon which he had meditated. He began by
recalling the disposition of the King of England in the
argument upon the subject of recruiters, and the step
he had taken at that time "to send a minister to treat
about an affair that touched His Majesty so closely."
Then he asked if the king did not feel inclined "to
give some return for this." He delicately insinuated
that upon the question of "return" he was not in-
structed to speak. It was only "through a flow of
affection and sincere attachment to his king that made
him speak in this manner." The king understood im-
mediately what he intended to insinuate, and did not
get angry; on the contrary, he smiled, and said: "I
know well enough what you mean to say. I will ma-
turely consider it. Provide yourself with full power to
act, and open the question at once; I will give you my
opinion, and we can negotiate." He gave Sir Charles
Hotham permission to come to Potsdam the days of the
hunt, and other days when he had orders from London.
He was in a fine humor; when they spoke to him of the
Emperor and Seckendorff he laughed immoderately. In
208 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
a second intercourse with Sir Charles Hotham, he made
the tour of Europe, he was still mocking the Emperor,
and gave away all his confidences, among which was
found " things that could not be expressed except by
circumlocutions." Lastly, he charged the Envoy to
notify the King of England that he did not cherish any
anger against him, that he had forgotten everything,
that it was his desire to be on good terms with England,
and that he had taken the sacrament with this feeling. 159
What was now passing in the king's mind ? That
which always passed through it whenever any matter
presented itself. He wished to see if he could not
draw out of it "a few shovelfuls of sand." England
asked for his son; she was very desirous that the Crown
Prince of Prussia should marry one of her princesses.
So be it ! But then she must pay for this pleasure, and
a good price. "If they wish the double marriage, and
will separate me from the Emperor, let them propose
something instead of Juliers and Berg." 160 And, again,
he said : "I hate my son, and he hates me. It will be
a good idea to separate us. They can name him Gov-
ernor of Hanover with his princess." This last was a
happy thought. His son, Governor of Hanover, neither
he nor his wife would be near the king, and the keep-
ing of the young couple would cost him nothing. The
Court of London, informed of this latter intention of
the king, acceded to it at once. It was agreed that the
Crown Prince of Prussia and his wife should be in-
stalled as the Governors of Hanover; the Princess
Amelia would have no other dot than this governorship,
but England did not exact a dot for Wilhelmina. This
FATHER AND SON. 209
" without dot" must have charmed the king, who did
not know that England exacted at the same time from
the Crown Prince the promise to repay her some day for
the expenses she would incur for him in Hanover.
Provided with his new instructions, Sir Charles Ho-
tham solicited an audience, which was granted to him
on the fourth of May. " He formally demanded of the
king the hand of the eldest royal princess for the Prince
of Wales, and he added that His Britannic Majesty, as
well as the English nation, desiring to unite more
closely with the Royal Prussian family, destined one
of their daughters for the Crown Prince, and the offer
was made to name this princess Governor of Han-
over." The king appeared delighted ; he answered
very amiably that he would deliberate with his ministers
upon the new proposition made to him. He deliberated
in fact with his ministers and with himself and eight
days elapsed before the result was made known. Eight
days in hesitation, in battling with the pros and cons.
The cons, being the perpetual difficulty of taking a reso-
lution : must one unite with England and France at this
moment, when they are perhaps on the verge of war with
the Emperor? This English Princess, that they wish to
marry to my son, will be Queen of Prussia some day;
< 'she will never habituate herself to the simplicity and
economy necessary in Prussia; she will spend money ex-
travagantly; on her account, the army and State will have
to be diminished, and the House and State will be going
backward like a crab." 161 Another objection was always
and eternally, the joy of the Crown Prince: "I hate
my son," said he. But everybody else did not hate his
son. Hotham, who saw him at the king's table, wrote
210 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
that he appeared crestfallen, but it moved all to see
him in this state, for he is charming; only good is
spoken of him: "If I am not deceived, he will one
day cut a very important figure." 162 This important fig-
ure the king dreaded. The cons, evidently, were
stronger than the pros.
Grumbkow and Seckendorff did not abandon each
other. Seckendorff invited the king to dine, and paid
him long visits. The correspondence between Grumb-
kow and Reichenbach was at fever-heat. Reichenbach,
on learning of the reception of Sir Charles Hotham, and
the story of the dinner at Charlottenburg, was "thunder-
struck." The English were overjoyed, and he was
obliged to receive their congratulations on the subject
of this cursed marriage. The King and Queen of
England showed their contempt for him. The "big
coxcomb, " (grand petit maitre) as he called the Prince of
Wales, did not deign to look at him, no matter how low
he saluted. Nevertheless, he did not lose courage. His
letters were full of arguments which Grumbkow knew
well how to make useful. Sometimes he would insinuate
that the Hanoverians were not so solid for the throne of
England, the king was hated more and more each day,
and the Prince of Wales less beloved by the public,
since he affected the mannerisms of his father. Again,
he would dress up the Prince of Wales in a fine garb
by relating the accounts of his love affairs. The
Princess Amelia he made out to be an ambitious, proud,
whimsical, mocking woman. "With the Prince of
Wales,*" said he, "the Crown Princess of Prussia will
have need of all the wisdom of Solomon. As to Ame-
FATHER AND SON. 211
lia, she will certainly displease the king." And finally,
he put the most perfidious weapons in the hands of
Grumbkow when he revealed the secret engagement
of Frederick to marry no one but the Princess Amelia :
"For which reason," added he, "the Queen of Eng-
land is willing for the single marriage, as she is sure of
the future. . . . Everybody says that His Majesty
of Prussia is led by the nose."
This confidence was worth its weight in gold; Grumb-
kow knew how to use it with scholarly perfidy. He
took care not to say that he received this news from
Reichenbach, whom Sir Charles Hotham was then accus-
ing of secret maneuvers. In relating it to the king, he
assured him that it came from one of his spies, a friend
of Cnyphausen. In this way he refined his lies, making
the king believe that it was through Cnyphausen that he
was deceived. This was a master-stroke. The king,
when learning of hrs son's correspondence with Eng-
land, became furious. Grumbkow joyfully wrote word
of it to Reichenbach. He did not fail to paint up Wil-
helmina for him for the favor he received in regard to
the qualities of Amelia. "The king," said he, "wishes
to get rid of Wilhelmina, because she is ugly, thin,
blotched and pimpled." In reality, knowing his mas-
ter, and confiding in the power of his intrigues, he had
no uneasiness: "As long as the Commander of Pots-
dam (the king) lives, the Crown Prince will not marry
an English woman. " 163
Grumbkow was certainly present with the king dur-
ing the week of deliberation, while, upon the point of
deciding, he was struggling with his doubts. At last,
212 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
after meditating upon his decision, which he had
changed two or three times during the forty-eight hours,
Frederick William made known, orally, his answer to
Sir Charles Hotham, for, the English having written
nothing, he would write nothing. He was ready to con-
clude the marriage of his daughter to the Prince of
Wales, but he renounced, for his son, the Hanoverian
combination; besides, he did not desire to marry him
until the conflict between England and the Emperor was
amicably arranged, and he reserved to himself the right
of fixing the date of the marriage. He ended with de-
manding the guarantee of the succession to the Duchies
of Berg and Juliers. He could not actually believe that
these propositions would be accepted. Hotham, in
transmitting them to his court, declared them shameful ;
he considered that all was over; this was also the opinion
of the French Minister: " The propositions from Lon-
don have been rejected, those of Berlin will not be ac-
cepted." Seckendorff already had the inside track. 1U
The Crown Prince restlessly followed this negotiation,
wherein his and his sister's destiny were so concerned.
As soon as he heard that success was doubtful, he wrote
to Sir Charles Hotham, begging him to be his interpreter
to the Court of England ; to supplicate the Court for him,
to accept the propositions of his father, no matter what
they might be. He again pledged himself to marry no
one but the Princess Amelia: he would die rather than
fail in this promise. "It was then useless," said he, < <to
insist upon the double marriage." The most important
thing of all, was not to break the present negotiation:
for, if that was done, his father would not fail to force
FATHER AND SON. 213
his sister and himself to contract other marriages. Sev-
eral days after this Frederick wrote Sir Charles Hotham
a second letter, more urgent, more beseeching, than the
first. He knew that the king had been informed of his
secret communications with the Court of England, and
he was "expecting terrible things." Already he had been
treated " in an unprecedented manner." The king had
fully determined not to consent to the double marriage.
The prince gave the reasons, at the same time regret-
ting that he should have to say things that "ought to
be hidden from the whole world." "To speak frankly,
the true reason that the king does not agree to this mar-
riage, is that he wishes to always keep me in a lowly
position, and to enrage me whenever it suits his fancy."
The prince did not desire to expose the princess to
sharing such an existence. He thought, then, that it
would be better to conclude only the marriage of his
sister, and not to ask the king for further assurances in
regard to the other: "In any case, his word would be
worth nothing ; let it suffice that I reiterate the promises
that I have already made to the king, my uncle. I am
a person of my word." 165
Such letters moved y perhaps, the hearts of the King
and Queen of England, but the English government was
not accustomed to act upon motives of sentiment.
Response came that the relations of England with the
Emperor and the rights of succession to the Duchies of
Berg and Juliers had nothing to do with the mar-
riages, which ought to be concluded without politics;
and the London Cabinet still held to the double mar-
214 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
It was not at Berlin that Sir Charles Hotham com-
municated the reply of his Court to the King of Prussia.
He had followed Frederick William into Saxony,
whither the king had repaired, to be present at the
fetes of the King of Poland, celebrated at Muhlberg.
There, in the midst of the spectacle of an army of thirty
thousand men, parading in new uniforms, and feigning,
in the smoke of powder, to take the passages of the
river, feigning, also, combats and assaults; in the crowd
of princes and petty princes, diplomats, and the curious
from all parts of Germany; in the great splendor of
Pantagruelian repasts, a secret drama was being enacted
between the King of Prussia, the Crown Prince and the
English Ambassador. Sir Charles Hotham remitted to
the King of Prussia a written document containing the
answer of his court. Through means of writing the
king signified his response. Both sides refused any
concession. It was then evident that the negotiation
was going to be broken. Of these parleyings, neither
the king nor his son said a word, but both were thinking
of the same thing, and became more and more exasper-
ated with each other. The prince felt more sensitively
than ever the shame of his slavery, during these days;
when honors due his birth, were tendered him by
assembled Europe.
Each successive fete was more wonderful than the
preceding. The last day, King Augustus gave a dinner
to his army. Thirty thousand men ate and drank at
two lines of tables; at the extremity of each was a
trophy, composed of the head of an ox, the skin cover-
ing as a drapery the roasted quarters of the animal.
FATHER AND SON. 215
Between these two files rode their Majesties of Prussia
and Poland, and their two sons, who were saluted by
hurrahs, and caps thrown in the air. Then the two
kings and the two princes took their seats at a table in
full view of all this great festivity. At their Majes-
ties' dessert appeared the marvel of the day. A tent,
guarded by cadets, dropped its canvas, and a cake was
seen, fourteen ells long and six wide, which had re-
quired six hundred eggs, three tons of milk, a ton of
butter, etc., etc. At a given signal from the master
architect of his Polish Majesty, a carpenter, armed with
a gigantic knife, the handle of which rested on his
shoulder, made an incision in the sides of this monster.
The distribution of the cake by the king to the tables
of the princes and the guests ended the feast. Then the
colonels and officers of each regiment, preceded by their
bands of music, swords bared, filed before their Majes-
ties and the two Highnesses. Each group stopped be-
fore the table ; to each the king drank a health,
emptying a glass of wine, and this, too, after drinking
so many others. The officers also emptied glasses, and
threw them in the air. Sixty pieces of heavy ar-
tillery accompanied the toasts. 166
This was a strange, colossal fantasy, a royal debauch
of merriment. The Crown Prince of Prussia presented
a sad appearance there. These spectacles were strong
contrasts to his misery. Many glances were turned to-
ward him, which he attracted by his charming person-
ality. He must have thought that all the princes,
ambassadors and officers knew of his sad history, and
the ignominious life he led. Never had the -king
216 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
shown such ferocious anger at him as in the camp at
Muhlberg. He beat him unmercifully one day, threw
him on the ground, and dragged him by the hair.
Frederick had to appear at parade all in disorder. The
king added to these blows the most cruel, abusive lan-
guage; " If I had been treated in this way by my father,
I would have killed myself, but thou thou submittest
to everything ! " Finally, he went so far as to summon
him to renounce the throne. Now, Frederick meant to
be king ; he was even in haste to become so. Since
the waiting was impossible to him near his father, he
resolved to pass it outside of the kingdom. We shall
soon see that he wished to fly from Muhlberg, and that
he charged with a confidential mission Captain Guy
Dickens, whom Sir Charles Hotham was sending to
London with the reply of the King of Prussia to the
response from England. 167
On leaving Muhlberg to return to Berlin, where the
king and the prince arrived July 2nd, Sir Charles Ho-
tham received, through Guy Dickens, new instructions.
This messenger had pleaded the cause of Wilhelmina
and the Crown Prince in England. He had made Eng-
land consider this alternative: either retard the two
marriages until they could be celebrated at the same
time, or conclude the marriage of the Prince of Wales
and Wilhelmina, and obtain a promise of the other
from the King of Prussia. The Court of London
made this concession, and Sir Charles Hotham found
himself more at ease in taking up again the negotia-
tions. On the 9th of July he had a conference with
the king, which lasted four hours. At the last accounts
FATHER AND SON. 217
the king declared that he held it to his honor to
marry his daughter to the Prince of Wales. As
for his son, when the time came, he would prefer
an English princess to any other, and the marriage
would not be delayed longer than ten years. In
speaking thus, was he sincere? He probably thought
that before ten years should elapse much water would
pass under the bridges of the Spree. In Eng-
land they were not disposed to wait so long. They
thought "that a promise of the King of Prussia and
an egg-puff were one and the same thing, and that, to
prick this prince with generosity, was like pricking an
old, jaded post-horse already hardened to the spur." 168
The new negotiation would probably not have succeeded
any better than the preceding ones, but it was vio-
lently interrupted.
On the evening of the 9th of July, at the tabagie,
Grumbkow drew from the king a recital of the conversa-
tion with Hotham. He remarked to his master that in
proposing the first condition of the alternative, that is
to say, the delay of the marriage of Wilhelmina, Eng-
land wished to see "if, in the concourse of general
affairs, they would have need of him, or, in the event
of his becoming useless, they would beg to be excused."
The king was always ready to accept insinuations of
this kind. His defiance had no need of being awak-
ened : it never slept. He must have been in a good
frame of mind when he received Sir Charles Hotham
the next day.
This was a farewell audience. The Envoy Extraor-
dinary was on the eve of departing, and was to present
218 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
to the king Guy Dickens, who was the appointed Min-
ister of England to Berlin. He resolved to terminate
his mission with a master-stroke. For some time the
English Minister had known of the secret correspond-
ence between Grumbkow and Reichenbach, as he had the
seals broken and the letters read in a postoffice. He had
already revealed it to the king through allusions, but
this prince let the matter drop; the minister had even
passed over to Frederick William copies of these letters,
of which he never heard again. Grumbkow, of course,
denied the authenticity of the correspondence; but he
wrote to Reichenbach that he earnestly hoped that all
his letters had been burned, like the ones that he had
received from his accomplice. Hotham, deciding to
expose him, asked from England an original letter of
Grumbkow's, and Guy Dickens brought it with him :
this is the one about which we are to speak. The docu-
ment was conclusive, since it proved the existence of
anterior correspondence. Hotham placed it in his
pocket before going to the king. He was received,
together with Guy Dickens, at noon on the 10th of
July. After the presentation of the new Minister and
the delivery of his credentials, they talked of indiffer-
ent things for a quarter of an hour. Hotham, judging
the king to be in a good humor, said: "As General
Grumbkow has denied being the author of the letters
that I have presented to Your Majesty, I have the
order from the king, my master, to give into the hands
of Your Majesty one of the original letters of the Gen-
eral." He held out the letter; the king took it, cast
his eyes over it, recognized Grumbkow's handwriting,
FATHER AND SON. 219
and angrily said : "Gentlemen, I have had enough of
this." He turned his back, threw the letter on the
floor, and left the room, closing the door behind him
with great violence. Sir Charles Hotham, astounded,
picked up the letter, and retired. 169
On his immediate return to his lodging, he wrote to
the king to say that, with the deepest regret, after
what had passed during the audience, he was reduced to
making known to His Majesty the necessity of sending
a courier to London to notify his court of the surpris-
ing circumstance. He begged His Majesty to give the
necessary orders to deliver the post-horses to the said
courier and himself. Two hours after, Minister Borcke
was with Hotham. He expressed his grief at the
unforeseen incident, begged him to be calm and pa-
tient, promising to arrange things. Hotham replied
that, after the insult offered to the king, his master, he
could no longer receive any communication from His
Prussian Majesty. Had he alone been in question, the
adjustment could be quickly settled, but, as he had
only acted in conformity to his master's orders, it
was for His Britannic Majesty to decide what satisfac-
tion he should claim for the injury received.
The king repented of the wanton insult that escaped
him. It appears that he naively said: "It was an
attack of the spleen. I was in a bad humor, and when
it takes hold of me, nature must find some relief."
He probably added: "If this had been a letter from
the King of England, they might naturally have be-
come angry; but only a letter from a rascal like
Grumbkow, what could be said ? Am I not the mas-
220 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ter, to do what I will ? The English are very quick to
anger. " 17
< 'To be the master," and, "to do what I will,"
means: I know better than you that Grumbkow is a
knave; the original letter would have taught me nothing
if I had read it; but I have a right to have ministers
that please me. And, suppose it is agreeable to me to
be deceived? He is sure that Sir Charles Hotham
made a departure from diplomatic conventionality, in
attacking, as he had done, a minister of the Crown of
Prussia, but the question referred to a family affair
to this marriage, that treason thwarted. Sir Charles
believed that he could unmask the traitor. At any
rate, the king, if he was trying to show the incongruity
of the step, certainly took a very strange way to do so.
He felt it acutely: he had realized it as soon as he had
closed the door: it was for this reason that he imme-
diately sent Borcke to the English diplomat. When
his Minister returned, without having obtained any
concession, he commanded him to make another effort;
Borcke expressed again by letter regrets at what had
happened, and, in behalf of the king, invited Sir
Charles Hotham to dine next day. Always the same
answer: impossible to reappear at the court.
The next day new schemes were laid on all sides to
detain Sir Charles. It was useless. He departed July
12th, leaving the Queen, the Crown Prince and Wilhel-
mina disconsolate.
On learning of the departure of the chevalier, Fred-
erick thought that it would not be long ere he saw him
again in England.
CHAPTER IV.
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE THE FLIGHT AND ARKEST.
For some time, three or four years, perhaps, Freder-
ick had been contemplating flight. He dreamed of
fleeing on horseback or by post, to the noise of whip
and horses' hoofs; to leave behind him leagues, and Ger-
man leagues at that, to arrive on the French frontier, to
sojourn awhile in the country which was the fatherland
of his mind, and then to go and take refuge with his
English relatives. It was not his betrothed who at-
tracted him; he did not know her, and was not a love-
dreamer. If the Princess Amelia came to his thoughts
sometimes, it was to add a romantic color to his
schemes, for there was romance, although in a very
juvenile state, in the prince's projects. But it was for
liberty that he thirsted, liberty to go and come, to get
up and go to bed, to re'ad, write, and think, to play the
flute, to live, in fact, according to his nature.
He appears to have had his first positive conference
with Keith, during the winter of 1729; but, the put-
ting into execution of his designs is reduced to the
order for a carriage given at Leipsic by a lieutenant
named Von Spaen. Katte afterward received Freder-
ick's confidence. 171
Katte had qualities calculated to please the prince.
He loved mathematics, mechanics and music; he knew
222 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
how to draw and paint; he was a great reader, played
on the flute, and wrote French well ; he loved to talk
and discourse. Of his century, of that century in
which Frederick William was a stranger and a ghost,
he had free morals, " sentimentality," a lack of re-
ligion; and with that he was a little paradoxical.
A fatalist and an ambitious person, he believed he was
called to a high destiny. He was the son of a general,
grandson of a marshal, and friend of the Crown Prince;
this friendship would open to him the future. He had
for the prince that sentiment of tender respect, and
affection at the" same time mystic and interested, that
the heirs to the crown inspire in those that they design
to be their chosen servitors. He enjoyed the Crown
Prince's graciousness, the charm of his mind and per-
son. Frederick's misfortunes moved him; he was also
touched at the unhappy fate of Wilhelmina; he had
copied the portrait of the princess, of whom he would
have been, if she had permitted it, the very humble
servitor and knight. To the Crown Prince he could
refuse nothing, not even the peril of his life.
In the camp of Muhlberg Frederick addressed the
first precise requisitions to the friendship of Lieu-
tenant Katte. During the entire stay there he nego-
tiated in regard to his flight, in his secret conversations
with him and Guy Dickens. Katte was, from the first,
frightened at the project. The prince urged it, and
wished to leave immediately; he asked Count Hoym,
Minister of the Elector of Saxony, one day, for some
post-horses for two young officers who wished to make,
incognito, a journey to Leipsic. The ruse was artless,
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 223
for everybody had a presentiment of the Crown
Prince's schemes. Hoym knew well enough what sig-
nified this incognito, and refused the relays. Katte
himself begged him to make it difficult; although he
acceded to the prince's wishes, since he procured a map
of the route between Leipsic and Frankfort-on-the-
Main, at a postoffice. These proceedings did not pass
unnoticed. Colonel Rochow, the guardian of the
prince, the daily witness of his sufferings and anger,
had his suspicions, that he made known to the lieuten-
ant, who denied all bad intentions. Frederick decided
to delay the execution of his plans, but to hold himself
in readiness.
He forthwith announced, in a private interview with
Guy Dickens in his tent, that he would escape during
a trip his father intended to make soon to Anspach,
and through Western Germany; he would go to France,
pass six or eight weeks in Paris, and from there go on
to England. He did not admit that he was going
to Paris, for the pleasure of going to see the city,
and meet Gresset or Voltaire: "I prefer to go into
France first," said he to Guy Dickens, ''and remain
there awhile. If I should go immediately to London,
the king would think that my mother knew of my plan,
and treat her cruelly." He added, with all the confi-
dence of a young conspirator, "that everything was in
readiness," and prayed the Court of London to do what
was necessary in France, "that he might find there aid
and protection." 172 Katte, who was aware of this inter-
course, offered to go to Anspach, there to await him at
the gates of the city with horses, or to dress himself as
224 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
a postillion, and serve the prince in that way (which was
pure folly), until the propitious hour arrived.
However, the camp of Saxony had broken up. The
Court returned to Berlin, and awaited the coming of
Guy Dickens, who had left, as we remember, for Eng-
land, and who had brought back on the 9th of July, at
the same time with the new propositions of his court
on the subject of the marriages, an answer to the confi-
dences of Frederick.
His Britannic Majesty gave to His Highness the
strongest assurances of his compassion and sincere de-
sire to rescue him from this state, but he believed that
the situation of the affairs of Europe, in this critical
moment, were not in a suitable condition for the execu-
tion of His Highness' design. He advised him to de-
fer it a little while, to await at least the results of the
new negotiations in which Sir Charles Hotham was then
engaged. Besides, the time had passed when they could
gain information as to the welcome reserved for the
prince " if he retired to that country. . . ." This
answer was written in a kind of official instruction; it
was evident the Court of England treated Frederick as
a sovereign ; her Envoy was given as much authority to
negotiate with the son as with the father. Guy Dick-
ens was also commissioned to offer a bribe to the prince.
It was proposed to pay his debts, but on condition that
he would give the promise not to attempt flight.
The same evening of his arrival in Berlin Guy Dick-
ens received the visit of Katte, who led him under the
portals of the palace, where the prince came to join
them. The Envoy fulfilled his mission: Frederick ac-
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 225
cepted the offer to pay his debts, and even, as he had a
remarkable presence of mind, asked for 15,000 thalers,
although he owed but 7,000, and did not commit him-
self into promising that he would renounce his project;
he only gave his word not to fly from Potsdam if his
father left him there.
During this night interview Katte kept watch. All
this was very romantic, but of a childlike imprudence.
Two or three days after, the king departed for Pots-
dam. The prince learned that, after much hesitation,
his father had decided to take him w T ith him on the
journey. The 14th of July, the day before the depart-
ure, he w T rote to Katte at Potsdam. Katte went to him
in the evening, without permission, of course, and it
was necessary to beg the officer who was on guard at
the gate not to signal his passing through. He found
the prince in the park.
They talked for two hours. Frederick repeated all
his reasons for flight ; he had just been maltreated
there, and so rudely that he ended with fearing for his
life. Katte demurred somewhat, but promised to fol-
low him. Only, he could not leave immediately; he
had to await the permission that he had solicited to
go recruiting. He advised the prince to put off his
flight until the end of the journey: the king had to
enter his Estates through Wesel ; from there it would
be easy to reach Holland. The two accomplices thus
established their project upon an hypothesis, since it
was uncertain that Katte could obtain the requested
leave of absence. They had arranged nothing definite-
ly when they separated .at midnight. They had agreed
226 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
to correspond, this was a new imprudence, through
the medium of one of Katte' s cousins, Mittmeister Katte,
who was on a tour of recruiting at Erlangen, within
easy distance of Anspach.
The next day, 15th of July, the prince, before setting
out, wrote to Katte, to confirm his resolution of flying
at the beginning of the journey. He arranged to meet
him at Cannstatt, without even knowing if the lieuten-
ant could be there at the same time as he. The page
who took charge of this letter also gave Katte some
things that the prince did not wish to leave behind
him, among which was the musicalia. Katte had al-
ready in his possession Frederick's jewels and the in-
signia of the Order of the White Eagle of Poland, the
diamonds of which had been sold and replaced by
false stones. The prince had confided to him the money
for the journey, amounting to about 3,000 thalers.
On the morning of this 15th of July the king took
leave of the queen very tenderly. He expressed his regret
at the "foolish way" he had acted toward Sir Charles
Hotham, and his desire for the double marriage, with
this ugly restriction: "But my son shows too much
anxiety to get married ; while he does that, I will make
him wait. I mean that he shall have no other will but
mine." He even acknowledged that he had been "the
dupe" of Seckendorff. "You are commencing to talk
more reasonably," said the queen; "but just as soon as
you see the bell-tower on Count Seckendorff's estate,
where you are going first, you will think differently,
and on your return from your journey you will become
more enraged than ever at your family and at me, and
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 227
make us suffer, as usual." The king replied: "No, I
promise you ! I love you too much, my dear wife. Em-
brace me." 173 Neither one nor the other had any idea
what that return would be. Nevertheless, the prince's
projects were suspected. It was said that he was going
to take this opportunity "to shake the dust from his
feet." The king gave the order that Colonel Rochow,
General Buddenbrock and Colonel Waldow should not
leave the carriage of his son. He, no doubt, took him
on this journey so as to watch him more closely.
The first night was passed at Meuselwitz, Count
Seckendorff's estate, where the king remained the two
following days. The 18th he continued his route, tak-
ing the Count with him. The 21st he arrived at his
son-in-law's, the Margrave of Anspach, where he so-
journed about a week, "to regulate the economy" of
the young household. The 23d, at midnight, a letter
from Katte was brought to the prince by the cousin,
the Rittmeister. Bad news: they had refused the lieu-
tenant permission to travel. The prince burned the
letter, and his response was for Kafte to remain quiet
until he received fresh orders. Now he wished to
assure himself of another accomplice, and put the propo-
sition to the Rittmeister, but he refused, and went so far
as to warn Rochow, (but without revealing anything to
him) not to lose sight of his " High Subordinate" for an
instant. To whom could he apply? Among the king's
pages was a younger brother of Keith's, the friend
who was at Wesel. The prince confided in him, slipped
notes into his hand, and carried on the following in-
tercourse secretly: "Can horses be found anywhere?"
228 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
"In some places they are to be found ; in others not."
" Are you obliged to always stay near the king's car-
riage? Can you manage to be half a league behind or
in front?" "I must always remain near at hand, for
the king, when he descends, asks after all those that
belong to his retinue." "Order horses for me."
"Where does His Highness wish to go ? " "Where do
you think 1 will go? " " I do not know." " If I once
go away I will never return."
Believing himself to be sure of a companion, Freder-
ick wrote to Katte, the 29th of July, that he was mis-
treated for having dropped hrs knife. He commanded
him to go to the Hague and look for a Count Alberville,
the fictitious name under which he wished to hide
his identity. In this letter another was enclosed, which
Katte must leave so that it could be read. The prince
therein deduced his reasons for his flight; he was too
badly treated, and could support this existence no
longer; the sojourn at Wusterhausen, said he, will be
still worse than the preceding years. It was at this
house of ennui, sermons and terror that the prince had
been disgusted with life. He swore that he would
never go there again. At the same moment he wrote
to Keith to leave Wesel and go to Holland.
From Anspach the king took the route to Wurtem-
berg. The Ducal Court awaited him at Ludwigsburg.
On arriving Frederick prepared for flight, as if for a
love venture, enveloping himself in a red mantle, which
he had had made some days before; he had ordered Keith
to buy a blue one. On the morning of the fourth of
August, as he was leaving Ludwigsburg, he put on his
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 229
fine, new mantle; "this," said Rochow to him, "is a
garment that will not please the king." He replied
that he wore the mantle on account of the cold (which
did not explain the color), and then he took it off. The
hour appointed by him was close at hand. This same
day, at Heilbronn, the cortege of carriages left the val-
ley of the Neckar and took the direction of Mannheim,
where the Elector Palatine awaited the King of Prussia.
The prince, who had maps, and informed himself, as if
through curiosity, of the halting-places, thought that
they would stay over night at Sinsheim, and from there
he resolved to fly. But, by chance, the king wished to
stop at Steinsfurth, where it was agreed to pass the
night in some barns: the prince was lodged opposite the
king. "We are not so far from Mannheim," said the
king, on retiring. "On leaving here at five o'clock in
the morning, we will have ample time to reach it."
The prince, who had given his orders to Keith, thought
that it would be a long time until that hour.
At half-past two o'clock he dressed himself. His
valet de chambre, Gummersbach, Rochow's man of con-
fidence, was astonished. "I wish only to get up," said
the prince. "What's that to you?" He put on his
red mantle. Gummersbach made some observations :
"I wish to put it on," replied the prince, who added,
"that he was going to the king," and went out, not-
withstanding that the valet said: "the king is not to
be awakened until the departure at five o'clock." He
stationed himself before the barn; however, Gummers-
bach sent a chasseur to call the colonel. Rochow, who
retired dressed, came instantly; he found the prince
230 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
waiting near his carriage: " Good morning, Your High-
ness," said he. The prince returned his greeting, left
the carriage, and re-entered the barn. Rochow walked
up and down before the door with Gummersbach. At
three o'clock Keith, who was late, arrived with horses.
" You see," said Gummersbach to the colonel, "what
it means by these horses being here. I will guard the
prince." Rochow went toward Keith, wished him good
morning, and asked him what he intended to do with
the horses. "They are the pages' horses," said Keith.
"Go to the devil with your horses," cried the colonel.
Buddenbrock and Waldow, also notified, came out to
join Rochow. Seckendorff, who always slept with one
eye open, appeared in the street. The prince had
started out again, and the dawning day lighted up his
red mantle: " Excellency," said Rochow to the Austrian,
"how do you like the prince's attire?" The prince
took off his mantle, and, in despair, went to his father's
resting-place. The king had not yet risen. "Your
carriage," said the king, "is heavier than mine. You
go on before; otherwise you will arrive late." The
prince left the room while his father was dressing, and
went to drink his tea, lingering as long as he could,
doing it so well that the king, who thought him already
en route, left him behind. When he arrived at
Heidelberg he was astonished not to find the prince
there. "Where is my son? He must have gone very
fast. They could not, however, have been foolish
enough to enter Mannheim before my arrival." At eight
o'clock the king was at Mannheim; still no prince. The
king became uneasy; he imagined that Frederick had
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 231
succeeded in escaping. To calm him, the Elector Pala-
tine sent his equerry along the route to Heidelberg. At
last the tardy prince and his attendants arrived at half-
past ten. 174
It was evident that Frederick could not escape, but
the resolution that he had taken to risk all rather than
abandon this beautiful dream, made him blind. Again
he gave the command to Keith to order horses, but the
page had had a good scare that morning, in receiving
the ironical salute of Rochow. He knew the king, and
felt his head totter on his shoulders. The 6th of
August, which was Sunday, after divine service, Keith
threw himself at his master's feet and acknowledged
the whole plot.
The king controlled the tempest rising within him,
and resolved to dissimulate until he arrived in his city
of Wesel, but he called Rochow near a window, and
said: " Fritz wishes to desert; I am astonished that
nothing of it has been told me. You, Rochow, will
be responsible with your head, if you do not see that he
reaches Wesel, dead or alive. I have not the time to say
any more now. And, as it happens that I cannot find
means at present to speak alone with Buddenbrock and
Waldow, you must tell them in my name, and order them
to be responsible to me." Rochow, who had the gener-
osity not to disclose the adventure of the day before, was
contented to answer: "He cannot escape us; he could
not have escaped us. I have taken precautions. The
prince has a faithful valet, in whom we may trust."
Upon which they seated themselves at table. The king,
who knew so little how to restrain himself, and who
232 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
loved to give vent to his anger, must have endured the
torments of hell. The sight of the French intendant, the
commander and officers of Landau, who came to Mann-
heim, disturbed him. He thought that they had come
in advance of the prince to form his escort. That even-
ing, at Darmstadt, where they remained over night, he
could not keep from saying to his son: "I am sur-
prised to see you here. I thought you were already in
Paris." Frederick responded boldly by a lie: "If I
had wished it, I could have certainly been in France."
Once more, ignorant that he had been betrayed, he
passed a note to Keith: "The plot has taken an unfav-
orable turn. Arrange for our leaving."
They arrived at Frankfort on the 8th of August, in
the morning, whence they were to descend the Main.
The king visited all the places of interest in two
hours, without the companionship of the prince; he had
him conducted directly to the boat which was going
to transport the Royal party to Bonn. Frederick Will-
iam burned with impatience to return home, but he
had promised a visit to the Elector of Cologne, who
was expecting him. He reached Bonn on the 10th.
Before putting up there he ordered the officers of the
prince to watch him well, and bring him back to the
boat, dead or alive. Frederick heard these commands
and other hard words spoken by his father without a
frown. But, in his heart, he began to be troubled,
feeling himself already a prisoner. In his way, he was
shrewd. He guessed that all was discovered, and that
Seckendorff was posted. He determined then to draw
this enemy over to his cause, making him think he was
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 233
worthy of his confidence, and interesting the generosity
of a man who was so powerful, near his father: "I
had," said Frederick to Seckendorff, "the firm intention
of running away. A prince eighteen years old can no
longer bear being treated in this way by the king,
and beaten as I have been in the Saxony camp. In
spite of all surveillance (he repeated and completed
his lie), I could have fled, had I not been restrained by
my love for the queen and my sister. I do not renounce
my resolution. If the king does not cease to strike
me, I will put it into execution, no matter at what cost.
The peril of my life does not disturb me. Only I should
regret that some officers, having knowledge of the
thing, would be exposed to danger, when they have not
committed a fault, but have simply allowed themselves
to be inveigled into it by me. If the king promises
pardon for them, I will admit all frankly. If not, they
can cut off my head before I betray anybody." Then,
pushing his confidence a little further, he added that
the queen knew nothing of his projects, but he was
troubled about Katte; he hoped, though, that he would
save himself after having destroyed their secret cor-
respondence. He terminated his discourse by request-
ing Seckendorff to have a talk with the king: "You
cannot show me greater friendship; I will be grateful
to you all my life for drawing me out of this di-
lemma." 175
Seckendorff had to listen with an air of respectful
compassion, at the same time hiding his pleasure at
the sight of so proud a youth reduced to asking a favor
of him, knowing how reluctantly he gave this forced
234 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
confidence. The next day, at Mors, he spoke to the
king in generous terms of the prince's repentance. The
king replied that he would prefer pardon to justice, if
his son would make his avowals in an open-hearted man-
ner, a thing he very much doubted ; but, at Geldern,
he learned that Lieutenant Keith had left Wesel. For
several days he was aware that Katte had sent a mes-
sage to Frederick during the journey. He saw the cor-
relation of the two facts in the attempt at flight. In
haste to put the prince in a place of safe keeping, he
sent him on before to Wesel.
The king himself arrived there at half-past eight in
the evening. He immediately ordered the prince to
come to the Commandatur, and subjected him to a
series of questions. The prince avowed that he wished
to go into France, and added the story that he had
given a rendezvous at Strasburg to Katte and Keith.
It is said that the king, displeased with his answers,
became so furious that General Von de Mosel threw
himself between father and son, offering his chest to
the first one of them that would draw his sword. But
Frederick William, I think, was depressed and over-
whelmed, as well as irritated. It is not impossible that
he thought at the moment that these acts of violence to-
ward his son would be counted against him in this
trial in which he engaged before the eyes of all Eu-
rope. The official act of questioning, on the 12th of
August, said that the prince was summoned "in the
most solemn way, to honor as he should God and his
seignior and father, and to confess, according to his duty
and conscience, all the circumstances of his projected
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 235
desertion." Before delivering his son over to justice,
Frederick William had to speak in this judge-like man-
ner, and abide by it. The prince then assumed the
position to which he was going to adhere, mixing false-
hood and truth with extraordinary coolness; he was
proud, and insolent even, but always cunning, and
never pushing anything to extreme. It is quite proba-
ble that he may have answered his father by reproach-
ing him for his acts of violence and his irritating
speeches, saying "that he should blame only himself
for what had happened." 176
Afterward Frederick was taken to a room apart, and
guarded by sentinels with fixed bayonets. The next
day he was examined by Colonel Derschau, upon the
questions prepared by the king. He answered by a
story. "He wished," he said, "to go incognito to Lan-
dau, Strasburg and Paris, to take service, enter Italy,
distinguish himself by brilliant action, and obtain in
this way His Majesty's pardon;" but, at the same time,
the king, who sent an order to follow Keith, learned
that he had gone, not to Strasburg, but to the Hague.
The prince was declared guilty of falsehood. The king
had him notified of this through Derschau, and
became more and more troubled ; he went even so far
as to think that there was a conspiracy against his life.
The prince was either informed of or guessed these ter-
rible suspicions.
"My dear father," wrote he, "I take the liberty
of writing to my dear father, to ask him to recall
my arrest, giving assurance that all that I have
or have had told to my dear father is true. As to
236 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the suspicions held against me, time will show that
they are groundless, and I affirm that I have not had the
bad intention that they accuse me of having. I implore
my dear father's pardon, and I remain, for life, his most
respectful, most submissive, and very devoted son." 177
For answer, the king gave the prince into the hands
of General Buddenbrock, with the order to conduct
him across Germany, to the Fortress of Spandau.
The escort should evade the territories of Hesse and
Hanover, suspicious countries, where the prince might
perhaps find accomplices. In case of surprise or at-
tempt at abduction, "Buddenbrock must arrange it so
that the others will receive him dead."
The prince was taken away from Wesel in great
secrecy. Until they reached Halle they were on the
march day and night, never halting except in the open
country, in a place "where they could see all around
them, and where there were no bushes and hedges;"
they ate in the carriage. The king, the same day, set
forth again. A proof (it seems to me, at least) of his
hesitation, of his disturbed mind, of his anguish, a re-
coil before the fact to which he gave, in petto, mon-
strous proportions, is that he did not go directly to
Berlin. He traveled a week, and did not arrive until
the 26th of August at the Royal Palace.
THE EXAMINATION.
Terror reigned in Berlin when they heard the news
from Wesel. The king, the same day of the arrest,
wrote a letter to the queen, and another to Madame de
Kamken :
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 237
"My dear Madame de Kamken, 178 I have the misfortune
to state (leider das Ungluck ) that my son has desired to desert
with the page, Keith. I have had him arrested. I have writ-
ten to my wife. She may grieve for a few days. It is for you
to see that she does not fall sick.
" I am your devoted friend,
"Fr. William."
The letter to the queen was lost; the one that Wilhel-
mina put in her Memoirs is certainly false. Frederick
William, at the moment he took precautions to lighten
the blow that he gave his wife, would not have writ-
ten to her if he had resolved upon the death of his
son. It is likely, as the Ministers of England and
France said, that, after having related the facts and
the examination of the prince, and the manner in which
he conducted himself, he announced to the queen the
arrest and the order he had given to take Fritz to a for-
tress. 179 We have not the right to think that no human
sentiment was mingled with the king's anger. There
was in the note to Madame de Kamken a strange demon-
stration of sentiment, but yet it was sentiment.
Again, the king sent an order from Wesel. It was
to arrest Katte. He had remained quietly in Berlin,
thinking that the prince had renounced his project,
since he, the indispensable companion, could not join
him. He went to pass the day of the 18th of August
in the country, through permission of Field-marshal
Natzmer, chief of the regiment of Gensd' amies. He was
arrested the following morning. 180
The queen and Wilhelmina passed terrible days await-
ing the return. Uneasy as to the fate of the prince,
the remembrance, too, of, their intrigues, must have
238 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
made them tremble for themselves. 181 The scene of the
arrival was overpowering: "We both ran to kiss
his hand," said Wilhelmina, "but scarcely did he
see us than anger and rage took possession of him.
He became black in the face, his eyes flashed with
fury, and he foamed at the mouth. 'Infamous wretch,'
said he to me, 'dost thou dare to come before me?
Go and keep company with thy rascally brother.'"
And he struck her so hard that the princess fell to the
floor; he wished to trample her under foot; the queen,
her brothers and sisters, and the ladies of the court
surrounded him. He then let her alone; but, while
the queen wrung her hands and ran wildly about,
and the brothers and sisters, the youngest being only four
years old, cried on their knees, he hurled invectives at
his daughter. 182 At that moment Katte crossed the
courtyard, between four soldiers. As he raised his
head he perceived Wilhelmina, whom they had seated in
a chair in the embrasure of the window: he saluted her.
The king did not have the hope of catching Katte;
when he gave the order for his arrest, he believed
he had fled, like Keith, whom, in order to get back
again, he did almost the impossible. He sent a colonel
in pursuit, who discovered Keith at the Hague. He
directed Meinertshagen, his Minister in that city, to
obtain permission to arrest the deserter. The Grand
Pensionary of Holland refused at first, then, when the
Minister laid the affair before him, authorized the ar-
rest, provided it was not made in the quarters of Lord
Chesterfield, the Ambassador of England. It was there
that Keith had taken refuge: Meinertshagen found only
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 239
his spurs at the hotel Drei Schnellen. The 18th of
August, Keith embarked right under the eyes of the
Minister at Scheveningen, where he had been conducted
in a carriage of the Embassy. At London even, the
king wished to have him arrested, and he gave the
order to Degenfeld, promising him a good recompense,
eine gute Iieco?npens, if he would do all in his power
to discover him, and he sent the description of the
fugitive: " medium height, straight, thin, brown, a little
pallid, and squint-eyed." But Keith remained out of
Frederick William's reach. 183 Katte was, then, the only
witness, the only known accomplice : the king let all
his anger fall on him. He himself subjected him, the
27th of August, to the first examination. Four others
followed, up to the 9th of September.
Katte, who did not show the least emotion the day of
his arrest, kept his composure. He confessed the pro-
ject formed in the Saxony camp, the conversations with
the prince, and the negotiations with Guy Dickens, and
the" interviews before the departure on the journey. He
added, in his defense, the advice he had given the
prince to renounce the scheme; he made the remark
that, as he had the money in his hands, His Highness
could not fly, insinuating that he would have retained
him at the last moment. These avowals did not suffice
Frederick William, who sought proofs of more crimi-
nal intentions. He wished to put Katte to the torture,
but relinquished this idea upon the lively opposition of
Grumbkow to this barbarity. Finally, on the 20th of Sep-
tember, in a last examination, to the question: "Does
he acknowledge, then, that if he had been able, he
240 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
would have escaped?" Katte answered: "If the
prince had gone I would have followed him, but I al-
ways thought he would never go." No doubt, he
spoke the truth. It is probable that he learned with
pleasure that permission to travel had been refused
him. He believed that the prince would return, and
that they would take up again their life of secret friend-
ship and confidence, which would aid them to await the
accession. But he had admitted that he would have
followed the prince, had it been necessary. The same
day, his valet made a deposition to the fact that about
two days before the arrest, at his master's order, he had
covered with paper the silver galloon of a gray coat
made for the prince.
Upon this avowal and this declaration, the examina-
tion concluded, concerning Katte, that, up to the last
moment, he would have deserted.
The examination, at the same time, continued against
the principal accused. The king had decided that his
son should be conducted, not to Spandau, but to Ciis-
trin. He ordered that he be examined before arriving
at this fortress, at Mittenwalde, by a committee com-
posed of Generals Grumbkow and Glasenapp, Colonel
von Sydow, and the auditors Mylius and Gerbett. To
believe the report then circulated, he was very inso-
lent. He refused to give up his sword himself to
Grumbkow, saying he could go and take it from the
table in the adjoining room. He amused himself by
giving his deposition with such rapidity that Grumb-
kow's pen could not follow him. To the question :
"Why did you wish to run away?" he answered: " You
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 241
ought to know better than any one, and be more capa-
ble of giving the reasons to your master." To an ob-
jection that Grumbkow raised to one of his answers, he
said: " You are here only to write, so write." 184 This is
all mere invention, for Grumbkow did not conduct the
examination, but it is certain that the prince appeared
very gay and inclined to joke, lustig unci frolich, and
that he desired to have the air of directing the debates.
He had it written in the minutes that he had said ev-
erything without reticence and without awaiting the
questions. In fact, he had asked several times of the
committee: "Is that all? Do you wish to know still
more?" He did not condescend to implore either par-
don or clemency for himself, but he interceded for
Katte, saying that the unfortunate man had been in-
duced to do it through him.
Two days after this the prince was registered at Ciis-
trin. General von Lepell, Governor of the place, had
received orders from the king; "Guard him well, for
he is very tricky, and will invent a hundred ways to
escape." This was a prison in reality, with all its
horrors. Kept in secrecy and in absolute solitude, the
prince became very weary. He tried one of his "hun-
dred inventions," and asked permission to commune.
He really did not have the slightest desire to do so, and
only wished some distraction, and at the same time to
flatter his father. The king responded : "It is not yet
time; the court-martial must be concluded, first of all ;
after that it will be time." These words had, perhaps,
a terrible hidden meaning. The king then added that
the prisoner should have neither pen nor ink ; the
242 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
prince should never leave his room : a lackey should
take him his dinner and supper; the dinner should cost
but six grosehens, and the supper but four. His flute
should be taken away from him, and it was forbidden
to procure him another. 185
Now the committee prepared a second examination,
and General Mylius, the principal auditor, arranged a
list of questions. To this procedure of the jurists the
king supplemented, in his fashion, five questions not
within the bounds of the law. Mylius hesitated to in-
troduce them ; he wished to be exonerated from all
ulterior responsibility by an order from the king. "I
have dictated these articles myself to my secretary,"
wrote the king. "I command you to execute my in-
structions on my responsibility." The chief examination
took place on the 16th of September. The prince had
finished with the one hundred and seventy-eight first
questions which bore upon the subject of his projected
flight, upon the negotiations relative to the marriage,
and upon the events of the last few years. Then came
the king's questions.
Q. What does he deserve, and what punishment does
he expect? A. I submit myself to the mercy and will
of the king.
Q. What does a man deserve when he has broken
his faith and plotted desertion ? A I do not think I
have failed in honor.
Q. Does he deserve to become a king ? A. I can-
not be my own judge.
Q. Does he wish his life to be spared or not ? A.
I submit myself to the mercy and will of the king.
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 243
Q. As he has rendered himself unfit to succeed to
the throne by breaking his faith, will he, to preserve
his life, abdicate his succession and renounce it in such
manner that it will be confirmed throughout the whole
Roman Empire? A. I do not cling much to life, but
His Royal Majesty will not use such rigorous means
against me.
Formidable questions these, which show the state of
mind and the intentions of the supreme judge, the king.
And wonderful answers, after the fatigue of the other
examination from an accused of eighteen years, to be
admired for the precision of the words, which say ex-
actly what is meant to be expressed, and in that digni-
fied, and even proud manner that knows no compromise.
The prince had cleverly glided into the first part of the
examination, expressions of regret, and a plea of the
extenuating circumstance of his youth. At the end,
troubled, perhaps, by the subsequent questions, and not
wishing to leave the impression upon the committee that
"I do not cling to life," he made a declaration which he
asked to be inserted in the formulary. "He acknowl-
edged that, all in all, upon every point, he had been
in the wrong ; that which gave him the most sorrow
was the trouble he gave His Majesty; that he submit-
ted in everything to the mercy and will of the king :
that His Majesty could do with him what seemed best
to him; that he asked pardon."
In receiving the protocol the king tore off the addi-
tion to it, where pardon was asked. He made the
prison life harder, so as to avenge himself upon his
son's coolness and cleverness. He sent to the Governor
244 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
General an instruction "in regard to the way the pris-
oner, Prince Frederick, should be guarded so that he
could not escape from the prison," notifying the said
/General, even in the title of the document, that his
head would be responsible for the execution of these
orders: "The door (of the room) where Prince Freder-
ick is held a prisoner must be well-closed day and
night, with two heavy locks across it; the keys must be
in the keeping of General Lepell. Every morning at
eight o'clock it must be opened, and two officers shall
enter to see if everything is right; a stoker of the post
shall bring to the arrested, dem Arrestanten, a glass
and a basin of water to make himself clean, and take
the soiled things from the room ; the whole must not
take more than a few minutes; then the officers are to
go out and close the door firmly. At noon they shall
bring him something to eat, and, immediately after,
close the door. In the evening at six o'clock they shall
open the door again, and take him something to eat.
The soiled plates and dishes (of the dinner) shall then
be removed, and, immediately after, close all again se-
curely. In the morning, when bringing the water, the
soiled plates and dishes of the evening before shall be
taken away. Thus, three times a day the door shall be
opened, and every time, it shall not remain open longer
than four minutes, and two captains shall be present at
the opening and closing. As regards the sentinels, have
as many as are necessary, for you will be held responsi-
ble. The captains who open and close the doors must
not, under penalty of great disgrace, speak to the pris-
oner. If he asks them anything, "What is taking
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 245
place here or there, or if there is any news," they are
not to answer a word ; this is my strict order, and they
must conform to it as their heads will be responsible." 186
The jailors (the king had added a colonel to General
Lepell) reflected upon the king's orders, and found that
he had not foreseen everything: " The very gracious
order of Your Majesty has arrived, but, in virtue of the
said order, as no one can remain more than four minutes
near the royal prisoner, and cannot be present while he
eats, we ask, in all submission: 1st, Must we leave him
a knife and fork, and for how long a time; 2d, How
many wax candles a day must be given him?" The
king answered: "Neither knife nor fork. Have his
victuals cut up beforehand." He forgot to speak of the
wax candles, but, some days later, receiving the ac-
counts of "His Royal Highness' subsistence," which
amounted for four weeks, comprising the washing,
lodging and feeding of the lackey, in the town, and the
locks put on the door thirty-two thalers, three gros-
chens and three pfennigs, he approved and settled these
accounts, but ordered for the future that the wax light
should be replaced by tallow candles. 187
This redoubled vigilance gave the prince some un-
easiness. "It seems to me," said he one day to the two
captains of service, " that lam more severely guarded
than ever." He wished to see faces, to talk and hear
others talk. The little scheme about the communion
not having succeeded, he asked to be heard again by
the committee. The king, after having hesitated some
days, sent them to Ciistrin, but he instructed Grumb-
kow to say very disagreeable things to the prince: "If
246 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
this knave asks news of me, my wife and my children,
say that no one thinks of him any longer, that my wife
never wishes to hear of him again, that Wilhelmina
is shut up in Berlin, and will soon be sent to the
country. . . ."
The examining magistrates soon saw that the prince
had nothing to say to them. As he begun by recall-
ing that, according to the first examination, the
choice had been given him between renunciation of the
crown and death or imprisonment for life, they re-
marked to him that, of imprisonment for life there had
been no mention. " Then," he replied, "all my reflec-
tions are useless. A long imprisonment was appearing
to me intolerable. If I must lose my life, I beg they
will give me to understand it in suitable time. As to
renunciation, if I thought to recover through that
means the good graces of the king, I would submit to
his will. I can also assure you that the king may do with
me what he will, and as he will ; I will love him none
the less. Respect and love for him will always remain
in my heart." Evidently, he wished to be reassured.
The committee gave him probably good report, for he
saw himself suddenly out of danger, and confided to
them two wishes that he had: "I take the liberty to
beg His Majesty to allow me to put on my uniform
again, and permit me to read good and useful books."
Then Grumbkow, after having given this message to
the king, must say: "If the queen has also turned her
grace from me, I pray the king to influence my mother
to give me back again her grace and love."
The prisoner in this way gave himself the pleasure
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 247
of a conversation; on the same occasion he found means
to flatter his father in his most sensitive point, in ask-
ing again for that uniform that, but a short while since,
he called "my shroud." He hoped to touch him
through the promise of a submission, which would go
even so far as to renounce the throne. He knew, too,
that the king reproached him for loving only the
queen; to implore his father to reconcile his mother and
himself was a very clever "invention."
The king's reply was: "I do not wish so bad an
officer in my army, much less in my regiment."
What was Frederick William's inward feeling? He
was a prey to sinister thoughts, and committed atro-
cious acts. The examination revealed a little love in-
trigue that Frederick had with Elizabeth Ritter,
daughter of a Cantor of Potsdam. One evening,
while strolling through the streets with Lieutenant
Ingersleben, the prince attracted this young girl from
the house. He had visited her several times, during
the absence of her father. They had played duets to-
gether upon the harpsichord and flute; he had given
her some ducats and a blue dress. The king, as soon
as he learned this story, sent a midwife and a surgeon
to Elizabeth. They found her innocent. Nevertheless,
he gave the two following orders: " His Royal Majesty
commands Klinte, Judge of the Court, to whip to-mor-
row the daughter of the Cantor, who is here under ar-
rest, and to transport her immediately to the hemp fac-
tory of the prison of Spandau. She must be whipped
before the city hall, after that, before her father's house,
then at all the corners of the city." "To the Gov-
248 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ernor of Spandau. His Majesty orders, through the
present letter, that the Governor of Spandau shall re-
ceive for life into the hemp factory of the prison the
daughter of the Cantor of Potsdam, who is about to be
sent there." 188 The foreign ministers who reported news
like this to their courts wondered how it could be cred-
ited.
Everything that touched Frederick, closely or re-
motely, was visited by the king's wrath. One of the
examinations of Katte revealed the existence of the
secret library, so dear to the prince that he had given
orders to have it transported, after his flight, to Eng-
land. The king had the librarian called before him; a
poor devil of a beadle, whom he questioned for an hour
and a half, asking, among other things, if there were
books in this library on atheism, and how much the
prince paid by the week. When the man said "twenty
sols," the king had a moment of satisfaction : "At any
rate, that is not too much," said he. Then the king
was conducted to the house that contained the fifteen
closets, opened a few of the volumes, ordered the
crowned F to be effaced from the covers of the books,
and for them all to be packed in boxes. They were
shipped immediately to Hamburg, to the Prussian resi-
dent there, with the order to sell the books "for as
good a price as possible," without disclosing whence
they came. The resident made a catalogue wherein
he inscribed the books in the disorder that he found
them, and among them even the catalogue that Fred-
erick himself had made. Like the books, the masters
were also dispatched. Duhan was exiled to Memel
with the beadle librarian. 189
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 249
At the same time the prince's servants were dismissed;
his carriages and horses were sold. The regiment of
which he was colonel for three years was given to his
brother William. It might have been said that the
succession to the title of Crown Prince was open.
All those who approached the king really feared that
it might be so. Ginckel, the Minister from Holland,
who was in great favor with the king, observed him
during this crisis. One day, in the beginning of Sep-
tember, he was at the parade near the king, whom he
saw for the first time since the event. The king
spoke, at first, of indifferent things, then there sud-
denly came a furious light in his eyes: "You know
what is going on," and, in a torrent of oaths and
curses, he named the accomplices of the prince, France,
England, Sir Charles Hotham and Guy Dickens. He
invited Ginckel to return that evening, so that he could
tell him more. The things that the Hollander heard
that night at the tabagie he dared not repeat. He could
not believe it possible that a human mind could form
designs as impious and execrable as those that were con-
fided to him: "If the King of Prussia persists in these
sentiments (it is to be hoped that God will not permit
it), we will see the most dreadful, bloody scenes that
have ever happened since the creation of the world."
That night Ginckel could not sleep, haunted by the
vision of the king uttering the most awful threats
to his family with a wild look and foaming at the
mouth. 190 Frederick William thought at that time that
there was a great plot organized against him to take
his son away, and that even Frederick wished to kill or
poison him.
250 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
His anger increased more and more daring the whole
month of September. He passed horrible nights, tor-
mented by apparitions. But, in proportion as the ex-
amination proved the exaggeration of his suspicions, in
spite of himself, he appeared to become a little calmer;
however, even this exasperated him. The latter part
of October, in one of the sittings at his tabagie, he ac-
companied the name of his son with the grossest insults.
Ginckel tried to intercede: "The prince," said he,
"has merely committed a youthful indiscretion, he is,
nevertheless, the son and the blood of Your Majesty."
" As for the blood," replied the king . . . but he
was so furious that he could not speak. He pointed
with his finger to his arm, as much as to say, "this
blood must be drawn out of him." 191
Frederick William never thought he had reason to
reproach himself. "May God spare all honest people,"
wrote he to Prince Anhalt, " unnatural children ! It is
a great sorrow. However, I have before God and the
world a pure conscience. Admonitions, chastisements,
kindness, pardon, I have tried all ; nothing has suc-
ceeded." As to the pardon and kindness of which he
speaks, we know of no other proofs but some few returns
to tenderness that interrupted the rain of abuses and
blows. In the examination to which "he submitted
his conscience, he was partial to himself. He repre-
sented to this conscience his labor, his trouble, his hard
life, and compared it to that of this reader of books,
this flute-player. He thought of his army, his treasure
amassed crown by crown, and for whom ? For this
dandy, who preferred a " roqiielaure" to the uniform
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 251
of the Grenadiers, and ran into debt to pay for books,
music and women. The future that he was preparing
for his Prussia, and that he saw from afar, as did
Moses the promised land, without hope of entering it,
this future that he pointed out and prescribed, when
still a young king, for his successors, he saw vanish
before the idleness of this rhymster and philosopher.
Then, before God, he believed himself justified to
use this harshness. He did not render into account, in
the narrowness of his mind and the fanaticism of his
autocratic will, the fact that a person could be other-
wise formed than he, and that his son had the right
not to resemble him trait for trait, and that to com-
mand his army after him, to use his treasure, continue
his Prussia, it was necessary to possess qualities that
he did not have. His son's qualities he began to see
in part, but they ended in irritating him, through
the effect of a sentiment that he would not admit to
himself. He was astonished that this M knave" could
defend himself with so much assurance and cleverness.
He was enraged to think that this "rascal," this. good-
for-nothing, could have, as he said, more wit than any
one else. Pie was jealous, and his jealousy increased
his hatred and disfigured it. His successor was to him
a "dreaded rival." If he allowed his prisoner to es-
cape from his hands, God knows what he would not
be capable of venturing, with his friends inside the
kingdom and those outside, with France and Eng-
land. To the grievance of the occult relations with
the foreigners, the king attached himself with obsti-
nacy; he enlarged upon it, so as to complicate with
252 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
treason the projected flight of the prince. He cer-
tainly sought for capital accusations. 192
The foreign ministers reported that Seckendorff and
Grumbkow stirred up the king's anger. They said
that Grumbkow, master of the situation, wished to dis-
embarrass himself of the prince, whose vengeance he
feared. Grumbkow and Seckendorff, in fact, triumphed ;
their adversaries were conquered. Cnyphausen had
been sent away, and replaced by Grumbkow' s son-in-
law. The king lavished his declarations of esteem
upon the two accomplices. All those who surrounded
him, said he, appeared suspects to him, except Grumb-
kow, 193 who alone remained faithful. At last the mar-
riage negotiations seemed to be buried. The king
wished no longer that his family should unite with
that of England, neither at that time nor ever. By
his order one of his ministers was sent to Guy Dickens,
and made him this little speech: "Sir, I have been
required to say to you, on behalf of the king, my mas-
ter, that the plans of marriage, either single or double,
must no longer be contemplated. You can make of
this declaration what use you may deem proper." Guy
Dickens, after having referred the matter to his court,
brought to His Majesty's minister this reply : "Sir, I
come on behalf of the king, my master, to deliver the
answer to the declaration that you have presented in
regard to the double marriage. His Majesty com-
mands me to say that it was the King of Prussia him-
self who first gave thought to these marriages, to which
His Majesty gave ear, on his side, through the friend-
ship that he had for the family of the queen, his sister,
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 253
and through his attachment to the Protestant religion ;
that if the King of Prussia had since changed his senti-
ments in regard to this subject, it was a question of entire
indifference to His Majesty. He only wished, that,
from the beginning, the King of Prussia had thought
this way, for, in that case, no explanations would have
been necessary between them. With this declaration,
Sir, you can do as you judge proper." 194
It is true that the Queen of Prussia, instead of con-
tenting herself with tears, continued to agitate the
question and intrigue with England. She begged Guy
Dickens, on the receipt of the news of the arrest of the
prince, to send to his court, without losing a moment's
time, a report of her lamentable situation. "She wished
the King of England to know that all her hope, all
her confidence, reposed in him. She was convinced
that he would not abandon her in this trouble." 195
At the time even when Frederick William denounced
the consideration of the marriages in the manner of a
declaration of war, the queen was still petitioning
the Court of London to address to the king a solemn
demand for the hand of Wilhelmina. "This is,"
she said, "the only means of appeasing our mad-
man." 196 But, what mattered it to Grumbkow and Seck-
endorff ? They had every reason to believe that the
odious intrigue that they carried out through the order
from Vienna, had succeeded. Content with their success
and the humiliation of their enemies, was there any-
thing else they wanted? Did they work for the de-
struction of the prince and seek means to lead him to
the scaffold ? Of course, if they had received news of
254 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the death of Frederick in prison, the sadness that they
would have shown, the tears that they would have
shed, would not have deceived anyone. But these ras-
cals were not sanguinary. They had not the audacity
to commit a real crime. They were, besides, well
enough informed to comprehend that it was not so
easy to find a means of death in this affair. They
foresaw that Frederick would survive this danger, into
which they had helped to lead him. Already, they
thought of the morrow; they went so far as to prepare
a role for themselves as peacemakers and instruments
of pardon. Grumbkow congratulated himself that he
had not been on the trip when the prince was ar-
rested. Seckendorff, too, pretended to use his efforts
toward calming the king and refuting, one by one, his
arguments. At all events, he did not wish to have
the air of triumphing over his enemies. One day the
king, after the dismissal of Cnyphausen, said to him :
"Well! I have made a clean sweep!" He 'was con-
tent to reply with a few words, "muttered in his husky
voice." Twice, during the crisis, he returned to his
estates, as a disinterested, inoffensive man. 197
No one advised the king to pronounce the penalty
of death upon his son. The idea certainly emanated
from his own brain, and pertinaciously stayed there.
Don Carlos, of Spain, and Alexis, of Russia, no doubt,
passed through his unsteady mind during the nocturnal
apparitions, but his conscience, after all, was worth
more than those of Philip of Spain and Czar Peter.
And, besides, he was obliged more than they, to take
the opinion of the world into consideration. He pre-
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 255
occupied his mind with what Europe would say, in
what she had already said. One of his complaints
against Frederick and his party was, "that they did
all they possibly could to represent him to the world
as a tyrant." 198
Throughout Europe "there was spread the report of
the King of Prussia's cruelty." The States-General,
Sweden and Saxony, wrote letters of intercession for
the Crown Prince. The King of Sweden pleaded with
Frederick William that, while placing himself between
his duties as a king and his duties as a father, to lis-
ten to his paternal heart. "Your family, your peo-
ple, the Protestants, all Europe, await this decision of
your natural kindness, and implore you to make it."
From London, Degenfeld (who replaced Reichenbach,
recalled), wrote "that the court was astounded;" that
"all the good Protestants of the nation were sad-
dened and grievously troubled ; all awaited that senti-
ment of His Majesty, which would give free scope to
his paternal tenderness . . . and which would
be merciful to the prince and pardon him, for the con-
solation of the Protestant religion." 199
The king, it is true, received these supplications
with a very bad grace. The Swedish Minister, who
received the letter from his king the latter part of
August, dared not then put it into the hands of Fred-
erick William. It did not reach its destination until
a month after. The king wrote on the margin a single
word: " Reponatur" meaning, classify it.
Ginckel, bolder and in better standing at Court, ac-
quitted himself of his commission from the "High
256 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Powers." "Yes," responded the king, "I know that
the whole world wishes to pass me off as a brutal
man, and that the prisoner would like to circulate it
abroad throughout Europe." He feigned to be insen-
sible to all these rumors, as well as to all these peti-
tions, and through his ministers made it known that he
permitted no one, "whoever he may be, to meddle
with his domestic affairs." Nevertheless, he was troub-
led. He thought to make a public declaration, and
prepared a manifesto to the Powers. 200 Finally he said
he was not free enough to decide alone this domestic
affair. He was not only king; he was Elector of
Brandenburg. Frederick was not only heir to the
royal crown of Prussia; he was heir to the Electorate
of the Empire. The Imperial Court, it is true, did
not press him to act. It was not until the latter part
of October that they suggested to the king, that if
agreeable to him they would intercede between father
and son, as they could not, and Frederick William
was well aware of it, show indifference to the fate "of
such an eminent member of the Empire."
All these exterior considerations, added to the scru-
ples of his conscience, admonished Frederick William
against these extreme resolutions. Besides, his real
intentions must not be judged by these actions; the vio-
lent soothe themselves with violent words. I would
not dare to say that he did not wish at times, that
his son might die in prison, but he was incapable of
having him poisoned or strangled there. It now re-
mained to have the proceeding against him by means
of justice. But before what tribunal? The title of
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 257
member of the empire would follow the accused and
complicate the trial. And, besides, could the king
hope that a Prussian tribunal would condemn the Crown
Prince of Prussia to death? It seems to me, after the
first burst of anger, that he saw the impossibility of
a capital condemnation and an execution.
The idea to which he held the longest was to de-
prive his son of the crown. He treated him as if he
were disinherited. He gave Frederick's regiment to
William. He called his oldest son no longer the Kron-
prinz, but "Frederick, the son of the King of Prus-
sia," or, "Prince Frederick." m But why, then, did he
not accept the proposition that Frederick had made to
the committee the second time that he had been heard
by them, to renounce his rights? Why was he only
contented to reply that he did not wish to have him
again as an officer in his army? No doubt because he
did not believe in the sincerity of the prince, and be-
cause he dreaded the troubles that would overturn the
State after his death. He felt sure that Frederick
would not abdicate his title of heir-apparent without
mental reservation, and that the younger brother, Will-
iam, would have to deal with a powerful opponent.
And in addition to this, such an act would be void
without the solemn confirmation that it would be nec-
essary to demand from the Empire. This was a very
slow proceeding to follow. It would be submitting,
before the eyes of all Europe, this family history to
the judgment of princes and emperors. Who knows
what would come to pass? The malevolently inclined
were not lacking among the princes, and Frederick
258 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
William knew well that he would be the one to be
judged.
In truth there was but one solution death. This
was impossible. What was to be done? For it seemed
something must be done.
From the first day Frederick William had qualified
his son's act as desertion. Frederick, the colonel,
wished to desert: he was then subject to examination by
court-martial. The king was speaking of a court-
martial, when the prince asked for communion at Ciis-
trin. The 21st of September he formally ordered the
arraignment of the deserter. A month later he formed
the court-martial under the presidency of Lieutenant-
General von Schulenberg, and at the same time referred
to him the accomplices of the prince: Keith, who re-
ally deserted ; Katte, who premeditated desertion, and
had partly put it into execution; Lieutenant von Spaen,
who ordered the carriage at Leipsic in December, 1729;
Lieutenant von Ingersleben, who knew of Frederick's
plan (for he accompanied Katte on the night visit at
Potsdam, the evening before the departure of the king),
and besides this he favored the love affair of the prince
with the daughter of the Cantor. The court com-
posed of three major-generals, three colonels, three lieu-
tenant-colonels, three majors and three captains, had
its sitting the 25th of October, at Kopenick. Each
group had one voice and the president one.
What judgment did the king expect of this council
concerning his son? He had seen, little by little, in
the course of the examination, the accusation weaken
and melt in his hands. There had never been discov-
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 259
ered either the written promise given by Frederick
to marry the Princess Amelia, or the intrigues of Rot-
tenburg. The foreign relations were reduced to his ask-
ing England for shelter, which had been refused; the
king himself was obliged to agree to that: "It is cer-
tain," wrote he to Prince Anhalt, "that England knew
all, but that she tried to dissuade him from the de-
sertion." The prince had declared that he wished to
retire to France, and Katte had advised him to stop
in Alsace, at Count Rottenburg's home, but of a po-
litical intrigue with France, of a complicity with her,
there was no trace. 202
There remained the simple desertion, but the accused
did not acknowledge this crime. He wished to run
away, because he was badly treated; he was a son who
wished to fly from the mistreatment he received from
his father that was all. "This little knave," said the
king, "has invincible cleverness and hard-headedness
in defending himself, and is continually opposed to
saying that he wished to desert." The king ended by
fearing that he would find nothing convicting at all
in this "trial of sorcerers." He even went so far
sometimes as to treat the affair as an " escapade,"
then, the moment after, swore only by < < the gibbet
and wheel." He could not resign himself to let them
say that all this harshness was excited over a "youth-
ful prank." He promised Degenfeld to show him
procf of a projected scheme, well and duly considered,
that had been agitating for over a year. He watched
the drawing up of the excerpts from the facts of the
examination, prepared by the auditor, General Mylius,
260 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
which he had the design to publish (but which he did
not publish, however).
The same day that he called the court-martial he
had them read this mandate. He ordered the effacing
of the title of "Highness " everywhere it was given to
the prince. He complained of the minutes, and com-
manded Mylius "seriously" to bear stronger on the
idea that "His Majesty has not without cause done
what he has done . . , otherwise, for ten who would
give the right to the king, there would be ten who
would give the right to the prince." He wished that
this document should not be simply an extract, but a
very particular manifesto, "so that the people will
not believe that the king has refused bread to his
son, and that the prince has been constrained by neces-
sity to do what he has done, while the king has had his
motives to leave nothing to the disposition of the prince
outside of his actual needs." If I am not deceived, he
discloses by these words a sort of uneasiness of being
condemned by the public; he was nearly resigned to
content himself with proving that he had good reasons
for being severe.
Those who observed Frederick William closely dur-
ing these last days came to the conclusion that he had
arrived at that point where he himself no longer knew
what he wanted. It appears to me clearly that he gave
no more thought to a capital condemnation, or even to
Frederick's renunciation of the paternal crown. 203
THE JUDGMENT.
For two days, the 25th and 26th of October, the
court-martial heard the reading of the actions of the
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 261
examination. The 27th, the captains, majors, lieu-
tenant-colonels, colonels and major-generals deliberated
separately on their vote.
The judges were unanimous concerning Keith. He
had shamelessly left the service, deserted; he must be
called three times by beat of drum. If he does not
appear his sword must be broken, and his effigy hung
on the gibbet.
In regard to Lieutenant Ingersleben, the captains
held against him nothing but the accusation of hav-
ing made some commissions to the daughter of the
Cantor of Potsdam, a thing he knew to be disagree-
able to His Majesty; they stipulated for him, two
months' imprisonment added to that which he had already
endured. The majors, in the same cause, provided
that the said lieutenant could have dispensed with the
evening promenades with the prince, and still more
with carrying presents to the girl, stipulated for six
months' imprisonment, but, considering the long con-
finement he had undergone, begged His Majesty, in
all submission, to consider w T ell, in his gracious kind-
ness, the penalty he had already suffered, and lighten
his punishment. The lieutenant-colonels saw, besides
his relation to the girl, the fact that, through the order
of the prince, the lieutenant had notified Katte to come
to Potsdam, and had sheltered him at his own house on
the eve of the departure for Anspach; they agreed to
six months' imprisonment, without extenuation. The
colonels came to the same conclusion, adding that, if
the accused had really informed Katte at Potsdam,
through the order of the prince, he had known noth-
262 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ing of the projected "?*etirade" (retreat). The gen-
erals counted only the participation in the gallant ad-
venture, they remarked that the accused had never
arranged the meetings; that he had only kept the
prince company; and, all in all, carried some presents
to the young girl. They voted three months' impris-
onment in a fortress.
Concerning Lieutenant Spaen, the captains agreed
that the accused had ordered a carriage for the prince
at Leipsic, in the month of November, 1729; that dur-
ing the journey from Anspach he had read, at Berlin,
a letter written by the prince to Katte, and thus knew
the plan; that, without taking part in the affair, he
had not revealed it, as w T as his duty; accordingly he
should be cashiered and receive two years' imprison-
ment. The majors, for the same reasons, agreed to
cashiering him and six years' imprisonment. The lieu-
tenant-colonels agreed that, as there was enough proof
to presume that the lieutenant would have followed
the fugitives, to his being cashiered and subject to
arrest in a fortress until he should receive His Maj-
esty's pardon. The colonels, who did not prejudge
the intentions of the accused, cashiered him and sub-
jected him to three years in the fortress. The gen-
erals cashiered him and gave him two years impris-
onment.
Concerning Lieutenant Katte, the captains agreed,
that the first proposition of flight had been made to
the said lieutenant by the prince, who afterwards con-
versed with him often upon the subject and by different
ways, but that the prince would not have gone so far
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 263
in his project if Katte had not supported him in it,
if he had not made different propositions to him, pro-
cured the post-route, suggested, as a place of sojourn,
the estates of Count Rottenburg, offered to dress ag a
postilion, so as to be able the more readily to fly with
him, and ordered, finally, a gray coat with silver gal-
loon; in consideration that Katte himself acknowledged
that he would have followed the prince if he had left
the country; that instead of revealing the design to
Colonel Rochow, as was his duty, he had deceived the
said colonel through his assurances; in consideration
that his said excuse, " that he would have tried to turn
the prince from his project," was void, since he was
still ready at the last moment to go; but also, taking
into account that he did not carry into execution these
projected plans, he therefore could not be punished in
the customary way for the accomplished act; and, to
sum up, it was not to be presumed that the projects
concerted between him and the prince would ever have
been accomplished conformably to the duties of their
solemn oath, condemn Katte to imprisonment in a
fortress for life.
The majors articled and numbered the principal ac-
cusations, and omitted no detail, neither the nego-
tiation of money for the "echapacle" nor the full
purse of louis d'or in readiness for the desertion they
pronounced this word, evaded by the captains nor the
deposit at the house of the accused of the pretiosa, and
some letters of the prince, nor the library that he had
ordered to be sent to Hamburg. They added the com-
plaints omitted by the captains, to-wit: The relations
264 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
with the foreign ministers, the intrigues with Hotham
and Guy Dickens, the knowledge of the letters written
to the King of England, and this complaint, above all,
that the accused ought not to bring up in his defence the
bad treatment that the Crown Prince received from his
father, for it was unbecoming an officer and a vassal to
interfere in affairs between father and son, king and
successor. Consequently, they declared, that although
the desertion was not effectually carried out, it resulted
clearly, from facts enumerated, that Katte merited
death by the sword.
The lieutenant-colonels, in consideration that this
man dieser Mensch should have done everything to
prevent the thoughtless projects conceived by this
young seignor; in consideration that, if the act had
been accomplished, he would have been the cause of
great sorrow to His Majesty, and that other bad results
would have been the consequence, concluded: That
Katte ought to lose his life by the sword, to serve as an
example; but, in consequence of his not executing com-
pletely his wicked design, and seeing that from the
declaration made by the Crown Prince that, if the ac-
cused is condemned to death, His Highness will never
have an easy conscience the remainder of his life,
they beg His Majesty, in his mercy, to lighten the
punishment.
The colonels decided on death, but prayed His Maj-
esty to reflect well, in his goodness and mercy, that
this enterprise, although fully meditated, had had no
result whatever; that there was much " youthfulness "
displayed in it all, and that the accused showed great
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 265
and sincere repentance. They begged His Majesty
then to commute the penalty of death to that of im-
prisonment for life.
The generals, after having twice recalled the fact
that Katte, by his testimony and by that of the Crown
Prince, surrounded with difficulties the projected flight,
concluded that, after having duly reflected and weighed
the matter well that Katte deserved imprisonment for
life.
Concerning the prince, the captains declared, first,
that although they were in the position of judging
him as an officer, they could not regard as a real ab-
sence absentirung a plan of flight not realized; the
prince seemed to them to be punished enough by de-
priving him of his rank as colonel, and by the rigor-
ous imprisonment at Ciistrin. Then, considering that
the principal point of the accusation rested upon the
disobedience to the paternal will, they withdrew their
decision. As this is a matter which concerns father
and son alone, as the Crown Prince humiliates himself
before His Majesty, and submits in all things to his
will; as he asks for nothing but his pardon, and prom-
ises to do everything His Majesty exacts and com-
mands, they cannot, in their functions as vassals and
subjects, pronounce sentence upon the son and family
of their king.
The majors, after having accused Katte (without
whose agreement and complicity the design would have
remained a mere matter of discourse), made for the
prince the distinction, of which they refused to give
Katte the benefit, between the intention and the act;
266 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
they also concluded that the affair rested between
father and son; they recalled the submission and the
promises of the prince, and declared themselves incom-
petent to judge; it is for the paternal power and royal
authority to punish; the judgment of a court of justice
would be usurping this power and authority; neither
officer, vassal nor subject has the right to judge the
son of the king. Such a judgment would not be
valid.
The lieutenant-colonels enumerated at great length
the complaints against the prince, but they partly ex-
onerated him by blaming the very wicked men who
had given him their counsel; they recalled his re-
pentance, his promises, the rigor of his arrest, and, in
consideration that they could find neither laws, edicts
nor customs applicable to the circumstance, declared
that they could do nothing, under their oath, duty and
conscience, but to place the prince under the very high
and paternal care of His Majesty.
The colonels, after having protested that they had
weighed this delicate 'subject conformably to the sol-
emn oath that they had taken to His Majesty and all
his House, felt themselves obliged, according to their
knowledge and conscience, as faithful and devoted vas-
sals, as responsible judges not only before the world,
but before the severe tribunal of God, to express in all
obedience, submission and humility, that they felt
much too small and weak to pass judgment upon the
person of His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.
They considered that the projected retreat Retirade -
was an affair of Sti*te and family, between a great king
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 267
and his son; that it was an act relating to paternal
power, in which no court-martial or laical power could
have the audacity to meddle. They concluded with
the repentance, the submission, the promises of the
prince, who threw himself at the feet of His Majesty,
his great and just king, who was also the most gracious
and merciful of kings.
The generals, after careful examination of the acts,
concluded, not only of themselves, but through the
avowals and submission of His Highness, that the prince
had offended His Majesty; but they also saw that he
implored in all humility the pardon of the king, his
father. In their character of officers and faithful,
obedient vassals, in virtue of this innate duty of the oath
under which they were bound to the king and all his
Royal House, and to which they would cling until
death, they concluded, in their restricted knowledge,
and after conscientious examination, that an officer and
vassal failed in the fulfillment of his duties if he thought
himself authorized to pronounce, on such a matter, a
legal sentence.
It now remained to have the votum of the president.
In comparing the vota the general found, in that which
concerned Keith, unanimity upon the penalty of death;
in that which concerned the prince, unanimity upon the
incompetency of the council; in that which concerned
Ingersleben, one voice for two months' imprisonment
besides that to which he had already been subjected,
one for six months' imprisonment, with deduction of the
time already spent there, two for six full months' im-
prisonment, one for three months'; concerning Spaen,
268 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
unanimity for cashiering, two voices for imprisonment
for two years, one for six years, one for indefinite im-
prisonment, one for imprisonment for two years; con-
cerning Katte, two voices for imprisonment for life,
three for death.
The president-general concluded in pronouncing the
penalty of death upon Keith, and incompetency con-
cerning the judgment of the prince; for Ingersleben, he
joined his vote with those who proposed imprisonment for
six months, with the deduction of that to which he
had already submitted; for Spaen, he voted cashiering
and imprisonment for three years.
The life of Katte was in his hands: he could save
it if he voted for imprisonment for life. This part of
his votum was as lengthy as all the other articles put
together. He therein expounds that, if Katte had given
bad advice to the prince and promised several different
times his aid in the flight, the plan was never actually
accomplished; that there was never either place or day
fixed, and for this reason there is lacking the conditions
for the execution of a certain and infallible project.
In consideration that his good sense could not prevent
him from thinking that, even for the greatest crimes
there was a difference between the perpetration and
the preparation, according to his knowledge and con-
science, and the solemn oath to which he was bound,
he could not conclude for the penalty of death, and
joined those who were for life imprisonment.
Consequently the judgment was rendered, through
which the court-martial, upon a resume of the vota,
remitted the Crown Prince to the very high and pa-
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 269
ternal grace of His Majesty, condemned Katte to per-
petual fortress imprisonment; Keith to execution in
effigy, after the customary citations; Spaen to the an-
nulment of his office and three years of the fortress;
Ingersleben to six months of fortress, with deduction
of imprisonment to which he had already submitted.
This judgment was rendered by brave as well as
shrewd people. Upon them weighed the terror spread
throughout the court and army, the hidden desire of
the king, the feeling that, in judging the son and his
accomplices they were judging the father also, that is to
say, their master, and this before the kingdom, before
Germany, Europe. To absolve the son was to condemn
the father; but to condemn the son, what injustice! It
was too evident that the son had good reasons for flight.
The accused, whom the judges had before them, was
not a Colonel Frederick guilty of attempted desertion;
he was a son, beaten, outraged and dishonored by his
father. This son was a prince, a Royal Prince, the
Kronprinz of Prussia. To distinguish between the
two positions of Crown Prince and colonel was impos-
sible. The first, which included the second, was be-
yond the judgment of a court-martial.
In our days, in the limited and disputed monarchies,
the person of the prince remains privileged. Even in our
Republic (France) the inheritors to the rights of a broken
crown, whose diamonds have been sold at auction, are
placed above the common law, and submitted, as if they
were exceptional beings, to exceptional laws. There is,
for them, when they fall under the ban of these laws,
a particular regime of prison life, and a lodging in the
270 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
tower of the old Palace of Saint Louis. Why should
the Prussians, a century and a half ago, subjects of a
budding royalty, which was the cause of the ex-
istence of the Fatherland, or rather was itself the
Fatherland why, I repeat, should they not feel them-
selves too small, too "weak," too "powerless," as the
judges at Kopenick said, to judge the inheritor of their
crown? And so it was necessary that the court-martial
should send the son to his father: which was done, but
with all kinds of precautions.
The judges weighed their words, one by one. They
accorded, without caviling at a detail, the wrong of the
premeditation, and the preparatory acts for flight, but
they sought and found, in order to designate the act not
criminal, words which diminished, attenuated, and
finally did away with it altogether: Retirade, JEchapade,
Absentirung . They placed, above all, the wrong of
disobedience to the father and king, so as to send him
back to the father and king, as the only competent
judge. Of this judgment, even, they pre-judged ad-
roitly, delicately, forcing the pardon through the ex-
pression of submission and repentance of the culprit.
In the drawing up of the judgment they gave to the
prince his honors, the title of Highness that the king
had crossed off, the name of Crown Prince, of which
he had been divested. They made the king under-
stand that their innate duty of fidelity was addressed
not only to one, but to all his House. They excused
themselves in meaning implied, although unexpressed,
by doing only what they supposed to be his will, on
their devotion, profound respect, and religious fidelity,
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 271
#
and then retired, after a salute as officers to their
chief, after an obeisance as vassals before the king,
their sovereign.
As for the principal accomplice, Katte, all the
world believed him lost in advance. " He will not,"
wrote the French minister, " be spared the loss of his
head." " He will have much trouble," said Grumbkow,
"in getting out of this affair." Without doubt, this
opinion had its influence upon the judges, and perhaps
they wished, without acknowledging it, to do, in some
points, the will of the king. Besides, Katte was very
guilty. He was really an officer who wished to desert.
Through obedience to the future master, he revolted
against the then present master. It is certain that he
"strengthened" the prince in his design, when a refusal
to be his accomplice would have ended in the abandon-
ment of the project, and certain also that his ambition
assisted his chivalrous devotion to the prince. In strict
justice, he was liable to the penalty of death; but what
injustice is strict justice! The extenuating circum-
stances were numerous in the trial: this, primarily, that
the prince, the principal one accused, was not con-
demned; then the execution had not followed the inten-
tion; lastly, the "amount of youthf ulness " in it all. Two
votes accorded to Katte the benefit of extenuating cir-
cumstances; two others pronounced the penalty of
death, adding a petition to the king to accord this bene-
fit to the condemned; one alone, that of the majors,
voted for death without a reticent phrase.
Lieutenant-Gen eral Schulenburg, an honest and very
religious man (who was seventy years old, and conse-
272 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
quently neither feared nor hoped for anything more
from man), put in the urn the vote of Minerva. Thanks
to him, the judges of Kopenick gave good judgment.
THE JUSTICE OF THE KING.
On receipt of the judgment, the king wrote the fol-
lowing note, in which there are two illegible words:
Votum Megiis (sic).
< 'They must judge according to the law, and not
beat about the bush, and as Katte has well . . . , the
court-martial will have to convene again and . . . judge
otherwise . . ." 204
Several days after, commenting on this order, he ac-
cused the judges of vile intentions. "I thought that
I had found men of honor, who would not forget their
duty, who would not adore the Rising Sun, and would
consult alone their conscience and the honor of their
king." He called the judgment an " infidelity com-
mitted against him," the 'cause of which was that these
people were already " looking toward the future."
These people he knew better now, and he promised
himself that he would not lose an occasion "to anni-
hilate those who upheld his children against him." So
he felt himself condemned by this leniency: "They
wished to have this project of the prince and his courti-
ers pass off as a childish prank, which would not de-
serve such a punishment." 205
The note of the king was sent to the president gen-
eral who wrote on the back: The Fifth Book of Moses
(Deuteronomy), Chapter XVI., verses 8 to 12; Second
Book of Samuel, Chapter XVIII., verses 10 to 12; Sec-
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 273
ond Book of Chronicles, Chapter XIX., verses 5, 6
and 7.
The Holy Scriptures say in the passages cited from
Samuel:
" 10. And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and
said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak. 11.
And Joab said unto the man that told him, and behold,
thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him
there to the ground? and I would have given thee
ten shekels of silver, and a girdle. 12. And the man
said unto Joab, though I should receive a thousand
shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put
forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hear-
ing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, say-
ing, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom."
The Holy Scriptures say, in the passage cited from
Chronicles:
"5. And he set judges in the land throughout all
the fenced cities of Judah, city by city. 6. And
said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye
judge not for man, but for the Lord, w T ho is with
you in the judgment. 7. Wherefore now let the
fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it;
for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor
respect of persons, nor taking of gifts."
In the citation from Deuteronomy the Scripture
says:
"8. Six days shalt thou eat unleavened bread: and
on the seventh shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord
thy God: thou shalt do no work therein. 9. Seven
weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number
274 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to
put the sickle to the corn. 10. And thou shalt keep
the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God, with a
tribute of free-will offering of thine hand, which thou
shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the
Lord thy God hath blessed thee: 11. And thou shalt
rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son,
and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-
servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and
the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that
are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God
hath chosen to place his name there."
Thus the Scripture forbids, in the Book of Samuel,
" laying hands on the king's son;" it orders in Chron-
icles "to judge not for man." It wishes that he who
has put "the sickle to the corn," in shutting his son
up in the prison of Ciistrin seven weeks before, "shall
keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord his God, and re-
joice in the presence of the Lord, he, and his son, and
his daughter." The judges, who had founded thus
their judgment upon God and the Holy Scriptures, could
not modify it for the note of a king. The court-martial
met again for the second time, the 31st of October
and maintained the vote that its president expressed in
these terms: "After having again matured and reflected
well, as to whether the sentence pronounced could remain
intact, I find myself convinced, on my conscience, that I
have voted according to my best knowledge and con-
science, and according to the solemn oath under which
I am bound, and it must remain unchanged. To change
it would be against my conscience, and is not in my
power." 206
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 275
Then the king judged in his turn. He declared him-
self satisfied with the judgments concerning Lieuten-
ants Spaen and Ingersleben, he even pardoned the
latter, in consideration of the long arrest to which he
had already been subjected. "Concerning Lieutenant
Katte and his crime, and the sentence passed on him by
the court-martial, His Majesty, it is true,- is not accus-
tomed to increase the judgments of the court-martials;
ordinarily they are made lighter than otherwise, but
this Katte is not only an officer in the service of my
army; he is one of my Body Guard. And if, in
the whole army, all my officers must be faithful to
me, the greater reason for having that kind of officers
in regiments such as this one, which is privileged to be
immediately attached to the very high person of His
Royal Majesty and his royal House . . . So, as this
Katte has plotted desertion with "To-morrow's Sun,"
and as he has intrigued with Foreign Ministers and
Envoys . . . His Majesty does not know what bad
reasons have prevented the court-martial from condemn-
ing him to death. According to this way of acting, His
Majesty can no longer trust either in his officers or ser-
vitors that are on oath and duty at present; for things
which happen once in the world can often come to pass
afterward, and there are those who would do the same
thing, taking example from that which happened to
Katte, if he found himself getting out of the difficulty
so easily and so well; they would believe that the same
thing would happen to them. His Majesty also went
to school in his youth, learned there the Latin maxim:
Fiat jits titia et pereat mundus. He intends then, that
276 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
by the law, Katte although conformably to it he merits,
on account of the crime committed of leze-majesty, to be
tortured with hot tongs and hung must be deprived
of life, out of consideration for his family, by means
of the sword. In announcing the sentence of Katte,
the council should say it is done with great sorrow by
His Majesty, but that it is better that he should die,
than that justice should have no place m the world." 207
A terrible letter, since it gives death; awful in its
tone so serious, solemn and unconstrained. But this
judge, must in his turn, be judged. In law, he had rea-
son. Katte wished to desert. He conspired with the
Foreign Ministers; he had committed an act of high
treason; but ought not the king to have searched his
own heart, and sought to find his responsibility, and
acknowledge, finally, that he himself had been culpable
towards the prince, and that his son, on the other side,
had been the instigator of Katte's crime? In equity,
before God, he owed a reparation of his wrongs to-
wards his son, and of the wrongs of his son towards
Katte, and this reparation was clemency; but just that
which was the true extenuating circumstance in Katte's
favor, namely, that the initiative came from the prince,
aggravated the crime in the eyes of the king.
It is no longer the impartial judge that speaks of
the schemes plotted with the " Rising Sun;" it is
Frederick William, with his passions, uneasiness and
jealousy. He represents to himself what will come to
pass at the "Rising" of this "Sun:" The doors of
the fortress will open for Katte, and King Frederick,
second of the name, and Katte, his favorite, will mock
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 277
him when he will be resting in his tomb. In the
meanwhile, the world will think that "this project of
the prince and his courtiers is nothing but a childish
prank." If the trial ends with the sentence of the
court-martial, it is the king who will lose. The rea-
sons of public discipline and military honor that he
gives in his considerations are grave and just; he says
them sincerely, but he deceives himself if he thinks
he has no others more secret than these others that
stir the very depths of a conscience and determine it.
He wished to avenge and justify himself at one and
the same time; for this, was necessary, not the pen
but the sword.
THE EXECUTION OF KATTE.
On November 2, Katte was led before the court-
martial. Kept in rigorous secrecy, watched over as a
prey, he had wavered during those long weeks between
fear and hope.
When the judges read their sentence and that of the
king, he accepted with a good grace: "I resign myself,"
said he, "to the will of Providence and the king. I
have committed no bad action, and if I die, it is in a good
cause." He tried, however, to save his life. He wrote
to his grandfather, Field Marshal von Alvensleben, to
beg him to intercede with the king. He hoped no
longer for the influence of his father. General Katte,
had, in fact, after his son's arrest, addressed a suppli-
ant letter to the king, but obtained no other response
than this: "Your son is of the canaille; mine also;
we can do nothing for either one of them." The old
278 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Field Marshal would perhaps have a better answer.
Katte begged him to see that the following supplication,
all burning with a vivid passion to live, should reach
the king: "The error of my youth, my weakness, my
foolishness, my mind, that thought not of the evil, my
heart filled with love and pity, the vain illusion of my
youth, which hid not bad designs, asks, in all humility,
pardon, mercy, compassion, pity, clemency." He recom-
mended himself to God, King and Master of masters,
who makes mercy pass 'the bands of the law, and through
His kindness leads those who strayed away to the right
path again. He quoted the examples of noted peni-
tents: " Saul," said he, " did not disobey so far, nor did
David have so great a thirst for evil that they did not
have, at least, sincerity in their conversion."
A most touching letter, notwithstanding its affected
style: "A dying tree is even spared when there is hope
of saving it. Why not my tree, which already shows
fresh buds of new submission and fidelity, why cannot
it find pardon from Your Majesty? Why must it fall,
while yet in blossom?"
In transmitting this despairing appeal to the king,
Alvensleben joined thereto his supplications. He hoped
that his most gracious seignior "would barken to the
prayers and tears of a very old man." He would bear
all pain for his grandson. He only asked for " the life
of the unfortunate one, so that he might ponder well
over his faults, repent earnestly, and so save his soul."
"The All-powerful God will bounteously restore," said
he, "to Your Royal Majesty that which you will give
in your great mercy to an old man bowed down with
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 279
grief." He recalled the sacrifice of his life so often
offered to the Empire, the fidelity with which he had
served His Royal Majesty, and the dangers the father of
the unfortunate one had encountered so frequently in the
service of the said Majesty, and of his Royal House.
" I hold in all submission the confidence that Your
Royal Majesty, since these few drops- of blood can no
longer serve you, will deign to return our son to us,
for our prayer and tears, and that you will not wish
my gray hairs to be borne to the tomb with such a
sorrow." 208
The king replied that he was pained to the heart on
account of the misfortune that had come to Lieutenant
Katte, since he was so near and dear to the field mar-
shal. But he recalled the considerations of the con-
demnation pronounced by him. "I am not in a con-
dition to pardon him," said he. He forbade a renew-
ing of the intercession: "In this affair no one can
meddle, unless I give the order." All the grace he
could give he had already given. "This man much
deserved being torn with red-hot tongs. However, in
consideration of the General Field Marshal and Lieu-
tenant-General Katte, I have mitigated the penalty, in
ordering that, for the example and warning of others,
he must have his head cut off. I am your most affec-
tionate king." 209
The 3d of November, Frederick William informed
General Lepell that Katte was to be taken to Ciistrin
to be beheaded. The execution should take place under
the windows of the prince. " If this place is not large
enough, another must be chosen, where the prince can
280 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
see it well." 210 The same day Major Schack, of the Body
Guard, presented himself with an escort of thirty men
before the prison; 2n he entered Katte's cell. "I have the
order from His Majesty," said he to Katte, "to be
present at your execution. Twice I have refused, but
I must obey. God knows what it will cost me ! May
Heaven grant that the king's heart may be changed,
and that at the last moment I may have the joy to an-
nounce to you your pardon." "You are most kind,"
said Katte; "lam content with my fate. I die for a
seignior that I love, and I have the consolation of giv-
ing him by my death the greatest proof of my de-
votion."
In the carriage which took him away was seated Com-
mander Schack, a sub-officer, and the Reverend Muller,
Chaplain of the regiment of the Body Guard. As soon
as the cortege had left the city the Chaplain commenced
to intone Psalms, among which was this one: " Far
from my thoughts, vain world, begone;" and when
they arrived at the place where they were to spend the
night, Katte expressed a desire to write to his father;
they left him alone, but when the major-general re-
entered he found him walking to and fro. "It is too
hard a task," said he. " I am so troubled that I cannot
make a beginning." He wrote it, however, and it was
a sincere, beautiful letter.
He stirred up his very inmost thoughts. He re-
called the trouble his father had taken to give him an
education, in the hope that his old age would be com-
forted with the success of his son. He too had thought
to promote himself in the world. "How I believed in
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 281
my good fortune, my happiness; how I was filled with
the certainty of vanity ! Vain hope ! Of what empti-
ness are the thoughts of men composed ! How sadly
the scene of my life ends ! How different my present
state to that which I imagined in my dreams ! I must,
instead of following the road to honor and glory,
take that which leads to shame and a criminal's
death!" But this road God had chosen for him: the
ways of God are not those of the world, and the
ways of men are not those of God! " Cursed ambi-
tion, which glides into the heart from early child-
hood," destroys you by separating you from God for-
ever. "Understand well, my father, and truly believe
that it is God who disposes of me, God, without
whose will nothing can happen, not even the fall of a
sparrow to the ground . . . The harder, the more bit-
ter the form of death, the more agreeable and sweet the
hope of salvation ! What is the shame and dishonor of
this death, in comparison to the great future? Console
yourself, my father ! God has given you other sons,
to whom He will accord, perhaps, more happiness in
this world, and who will give to you, my father, the
joy for which you have vainly hoped from me, and this, I
sincerely desire, will come to pass. I thank you with
a filial respect for the true paternal love you have
shown toward me from my infancy to this day. May
the All-powerful God render to you a hundred-fold this
love that you have given me! May He spare you to
a ripe old age! May He nourish you in happiness, and
quench your thirst with the grace of His Holy Spirit ! " 212
He added a few words for his father's wife, whom he
282 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
had loved as if she had been his own mother, and for his
brothers and sisters, excusing himself for not expressing
his whole thought at length. "I am at the portals of
death! I must think of entering with a pure heart and
sanctified soul. I have no time to lose!" He wished
however to make a copy of his letter, written on a loose
sheet of paper, but, the pastor having told him that his
time was too precious, he had to be content with request-
ing the Major to make a cleaner copy. He ate and
drank, and then commenced a spiritual conversation
with the pastor. His piety exalting him, he made him-
self believe that he was going to the scaffold with joy,
and that, if it had been permitted him to choose
between life and death, he would have taken death, for
never again would he be so well prepared. At ten
o'clock, after being prayed for, he went to bed and slept
profoundly.
The next day, along the route, he denied ever having
been an atheist. Of course, he had oftentimes sus-
tained the thesis of atheism, but it was to make his bril-
liancy admired; for he had remarked, in the bright con-
versations of society, this appeared to be a charm. They
stopped over night once more en route; for this journey
towards death, which could have been ended in one day,
was made by order, with desperate slowness. In the
evening, Katte was calm, and drank his coffee, his favorite
beverage, with pleasure.
Towards noon, on the 5th of November, they were in
sight of Custrin. As the escort arrived at the bridge of
the Oder, the rain which had been falling incessantly,
stopped ; a ray of sunshine appeared. " That is a good
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE 283
sign," said he, "here begins the sunshine of grace for
me." Did he speak only of the divine grace? But
Colonel Reichmann was already there to receive the pris-
oner, at the door of the fortress. He took him by the
hand and led him to a room above the entrance gate;
two beds had been prepared there, one for Katte, the
other for the pastor. Schack learned then from the Col-
onel that the execution was to be the following day at
7 o'clock, and that he must lead the condemned, escorted
by his thirty troopers, into a circle of one hundred and
fifty men taken from the garrison. He immediately
went to Katte and said with a trembling heart : " Your
end is perhaps nearer than you think." Without flinch-
ing, Katte said: "When?" And, upon the Major's
answer: " So much the better; the sooner it is ended
the more contented will I be."
Charitable souls were employed in making this last
journey more comfortable. General Lepell sent him a
repast with some beer and wine. The President of the
Chamber of Domains, Munchow, sent him a second
meal, with some Hungarian wine. Katte did honor to
both repasts. The Reverend Miiller sent for his col-
league, the Chaplain of the garrison of Custrin, whose
assistance he implored. The religious conversations be-
gan again. Night came on. At eight o'clock, Schack
and other officers entered the room, and they prayed and
sang with the pastors and Katte. An hour after, upon
the request of the two ministers, who wished to remain
alone with the condemned, they retired.
It was perhaps on this last night that Katte wrote a
few words to the prince. He said that he was leaving
284 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the world without blaming him in the least for the cause
of his death, and without having any ill-feelings toward
him; that God had led him through this rugged path so
as to awaken and excite his true repentance; that the
main reason of his unhappiness was his ambition, and
his contempt for God. He prayed the prince not to
bear any anger toward the king since his death was only
an act of God's justice; to submit to the Royal Majesty
of his father who was his seignior and king. He im-
plored him through Christ's wounds, to be obedient to
His Majesty, and to remember the divine promises of the
fourth Commandment. He hoped that his misfortune
would teach the prince the emptiness of designs to which
God has not consented, for the prince had desired to
heap Katte with benefits and grandeur, and behold to
what end all these fine projects had led! May the prince
ponder these things well, and give his heart to God. 213
Among these counsels and exhortations to piety tow-
ards the king and towards God, Katte glided his personal
justification; he called the prince to witness that he had
once implored him to submit to the Majesty of his father,
citing the example of Absalom to him, and that he had
given him some stirring example of it in the encamp-
ment in Saxony, and again in his nocturnal visit to Pots-
dam. Why these lines for his defence under which lie
reproaches aimed at the prince? It seems to me, with-
out acknowledging it to himself, the unfortunate man
had still some hope left. A counter-order would per-
chance arrive. Or perhaps this testament would pass
under the notice of the king, and the king would be
touched in meeting, among these effusions of piety, this
discreet protestation.
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 285
The hours passed. At 11 o'clock, Schack, who could
not sleep, entered the room again. More troubled than
Katte, he had need of strengthening himself with the
courage of the accused. Until one o'clock he prayed
and sung with him. He thought he saw from the color
of the prisoner's face that flesh and blood were struggling
with will. At the pastor's request, Katte retired about
three o'clock, and went to sleep. He was awakened two
hours after by the changing of sentinels.
At the same hour, Colonel Reichmann and a captain
entered the prince's chamber and awakened him. Fred-
erick was ignorant of the judgment of the court-mar-
tial, the sentence of the king, and that his friend had
passed the night near him. We do not know exactly
how he endured his prison life. It was said at Berlin,
that he was sick, "that he threatened ruin," and that the
designs of Grumbkow and Seckendorff, agreed to by the
king, were going to be accomplished. Grumbkow, on
the contrary, pretended that the prince was very gay and
in good health; that, if he remained in bed, it was to
evade the trouble of dressing himself; that he was still
impertinent : when they told him his expenses were to be
reduced to eight groschens, he replied that as long as he
had to starve, he would rather be atCiistrin than at Pots-
dam. 214 It is probable that between these contradictory
statements Grumbkow's has the most truth in it. Fred-
erick did not think he was threatened with death, and he
could not refrain from his usual custom of indulging in
dangerous pleasantry. He suffered principally from
ennui, but his friends lightened this trouble ; in spite of
the king's interdict, they passed books to him, and Fred-
286 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
erick found delightful even the books read in a prison
by the light of a candle. He also had pen and paper at
his disposal and means of communicating with outside
parties, for on November 1st he addressed the following
letter to his sister :
My Dear Sister :
They are going to make me out a heretic, after the court-
martial is finished that is at present pending ; for it only needs,
to pass for a heretic, not to be of the same opinion as the mas-
ter. You can judge then, without much trouble, of the nice
way they will treat me. The anathemas, pronounced against
me will disturb me very little, provided that I know my gentle
sister inscribes herself my champion. What a pleasure to me
to know that neither bolts nor bars prevent me from show-
ing my true friendship for you. Yes, my dear sister, there
still remain some honest people in this half corrupted century,
to give me means of proving my love for you. Yes, my dear
sister, provided I know that you are happy, the prison will
become to me an abode of happiness and contentment. Chi ha
tempo ha vita! Let us console ourselves with that. From
the bottom of my heart, I wish that we need have no in-
terpreter to talk with each other, and that we could go over
again those happy days when your principe and my prinei-
pessa kissed each other, or, to speak in plainer terms, when I
shall have the pleasure of conversing with you myself
nothing can diminish my friendship for you. Adieu,
The Prisoner. 215
Chi ha tempo ha vita. This was the secret of Fred-
erick's patience. He had, in fact, kept his imperti-
nence, his rather affected way of jesting, his smile,
French fashion, but with a little stiffer lip. Now those
were terribly serious things, that they told him, the
night he was awakened by the colonel and captain.
< < Lord Jesus," cried he, " rather take my life!" For
two hours, he groaned, cried, twisted his hands. He
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 287
sent to ask for Katte's pardon. He begged for a delay
in the execution; an estafette could be quickly sent to
Wusterhausen, to take there, in exchange for Katte's
pardon, his renunciation of the crown, his consent to
perpetual imprisonment for himself, and even the offer
of his own life, if the king must have it. But the
faces of those surrounding him said, that he prayed and
cried in vain.
In the meanwhile Katte had received communion.
To Schack, who had returned to him, he had told his
last wishes; he left his clothing to the orderly of the
major, who had assisted him, during the last night, had
made his coffee and was ready to serve him on the scaf-
fold ; his bible, to a corporal who had earnestly sung
the hymn with him: "Far from my thoughts, vain
world, begone, etc." At seven o'clock the escort of
body guards were ready. "Is it the hour?" said the
prisoner. "Yes."
The door opened. Katte placed himself in the midst
of the troopers, between the two pastors who were
praying. He walked in an easy manner, with his hat
under his arm, and was very calm. Outside the gate of
the fortress, which faced the town, they turned around
the building in order to go into a long court, which was
between the main lodgings and the rampart washed by
the Oder. Frederick was confined in one of the rooms
overlooking the water. By order of the king the two
officers conducted him to the window. As soon as he
perceived Katte, who raised his eyes, he kissed his hand
to him: "My dear Katte," cried he (in French), "I
humbly ask your pardon." Katte bowed low and re-
288 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
plied (in the same language), "that there was no reason
why the prince should do so." 216 When he arrived at the
circle formed by the garrison, he heard his sentence
read without emotion. He called near him the officers
of the body guard, and bade them, as well as the whole
assembly, farew r ell. He devoutly received the benedic-
tion of the pastors, took off his perruque which he
handed to Schack's orderly, and put on his head a white
cap; he began to take off his coat and open his shirt
wide at the neck, tranquilly doing this like a man who
bravely "prepares himself for a serious event." Then
he knelt upon the heap of sand which had been placed
there. "Lord Jesus," he cried. The orderly wished
to put the bandage over his eyes; he pushed it aside
with his hand, and began again: "Lord Jesus!"
The stroke of the sword interrupted his prayer.
The Crown Prince fainted at the last look of the
victim.
THE PARDON OF THE PRINCE.
From the place of execution Pastor Muller went di-
rectly to the prince, whom he believed to be dying. Mul-
ler tried to speak with him, but finding him so weak
and terror-stricken, he left him. Frederick went back
again to his window; his glance w r as continually directed
towards the heap of sand, where the body of Katte had
been left with a black cloth thrown over it. It was not
until two o'clock that two burghers brought a hearse, in
which they placed the remains, and took it to the
Officer's Cemetery. The prince watched them do it.
Muller then returned to the prince, and their conversa-
THE ATTEMrT AT ESCAPE. 289
tion lasted until five o'clock. At seven he was recalled
by Frederick. 217
The king had prescribed his task to M tiller in the letter
he had received on the 3d of November: U I do not
know you, but I have heard very good things of you,
and that you are a pious and an upright pastor and
servant of God. As you go to Ctistrin on the occasion
of the execution of Lieutenant Katte, I command you to
go, directly after the execution, to the chamber of the
Crown Prince, to reason with him, and represent to him
that those who abandon God, God abandons ; and if God
abandons and withdraws His benediction from man, he
no longer does good but evil.
"Let him judge himself conscientiously ; ask pardon of
God with all his heart, for the grave sin that he has
committed, and for having led some men astray, one of
whom had to pay for it by forfeiting his life. If you
find the prince amenable, you must have him fall on his
knees with you, and also the officers who are with him,
and ask pardon of God with contrite heart. But you
must act in a good and prudent manner, for his head is
full of stratagems, and you must have a care, so that all
this will be with true repentance and a penitent heart.
You must also represent to him, in the right way, into
what an error he has plunged, in believing that such a
one is predestined in this fashion, another in that, so
that those who are predestined to evil can only do evil,
while those who are predestined to good can only do
good, and that nothing can be changed.
"As I hope that his present circumstances, and the
execution, all fresh in his mind, will have touched and
290 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
softened his heart, I make it an affair of conscience with
you to do all that is humanly possible, to represent well
to the Crown Prince all the passages of Holy Scripture,
upon Pardon, to convince and show him clearly your
meaning, and as he is ingenious, answer each one of his
objections plainly, but pertinently and fully. You
must lead him to this discourse in the right way, with-
out his perceiving it. If you find that the Crown Prince
is content with your conversation, and that he welcomes
your good doctrines, that they go to his heart, you must
remain at Ciistrin and go to the prince every day and
penetrate his conscience with your words in such a way
that he will see his faults and be converted at heart to
God. If you do not find him accessible you must leave,
and write me ; and, if I go to Berlin you must go there
to speak with me. But if you find him repentant you
must write me and remain with the prince."
We must compare this letter with the order given
on the same day to General Lepell on the subject of
the execution. When he had written these two docu-
ments the king had made up his mind. Not only had
he decided to let his son live, but he thought no
longer about disinheriting him. He gave back to him
the title of Crown Prince that he had evaded giving
him before. After so much hesitation he had chosen
the punishment that he was going to inflict on the
rebel : he condemned Frederick to the agitation of
viewing a terrible spectacle. He composed the whole
drama himself and foresaw everything to the minutest
detail.
In the order to the General, he regulated the execution,
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 291
the place where it was to be consummated, the position
of the body guard, who were to remain on foot (so as
not to hide the condemned, who must be seen from the
windows) ; he described the way that Katte should be
introduced into the circle by the escort, the moment that
his sentence was to be read ; he named the magistrate
who was to do the reading. "As soon as the death
sentence is read, tbe pastor must say a prayer, and the
executioner cut off the head." He said how the body
should be exposed, and up to what hour, and to what
cemetery the corpse should be taken by some burghers
of a respectable standing, hilbsche BiXrger" He des-
ignated the officers who were to go to the prince before
the execution, < 'to command him in my name to look at
it with them," and who, immediately after, must go to
seek the pastor of the body guard: "And he must speak,
reason and pray with the prince." In the letters to the
pastor, the king gives him the subject for his words and
arguments, and even the tone of his prayers.
Upon the terror of the execution still "right fresh,"
he wishes him to pour the word of God and an exhorta-
tion to repentance. If his son is capable of being
touched, he undoubtedly will be so at that moment. To
the reasons which had decided the king to condemn the
unfortunate Katte, must be added the hope of moving
Frederick to the very depths of his soul. The king rep-
resented to himself the theatrical effect of the pastor
entering the cell before the executioner had hardly time
to wipe his sword. 218
Muller obeyed to the letter, the king's orders. On
this day of the first interview, he gave Frederick Katte's
292 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
last wishes, so as to keep his emotion alive, to " break"
and " wring" his heart. The prince in the midst of
tears and sobs, acknowledged that all his unhappy
friend had written was true. He protested with vehe-
mence that, as for himself, from the beginning, he had
truly repented at heart. He added, alluding to his
repeated pleas for pardon and mercy, that the king could
not have known it, since he had this execution take
place under the eyes of his son, who had repented of his
sins and was and still continued to be submissive to his
whole will.
The prisoner had a bad night. He had not eaten
throughout the day and was very weak. The three per-
sons who remained near his bedside, heard his delirium.
On awakening he said: "The king imagines he has
taken Katte away from me, but he is always before my
eyes." He received the physician to whom he declared
that he was very well ; he asked him, however, to pre-
scribe a powder which he had been in the habit of tak-
ing; he began then to reconcile himself with life. To
the pastor he showed a more earnest repentance than the
evening before. His sin, said he, appeared to him still
greater. He regretted his effrontery during the exami-
nation before the court-martial. If, at the beginning,
someone had only talked sensibly with him, without
hard threats, his thoughts would not have gone to the
extreme that he regretted now. He thanked God and
his father for the humility inflicted upon him, and sub-
mitted himself to the paternal and royal will of His
Majesty.
The prince and pastor then took up again the conver-
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 293
sation on things divine. Frederick, whom Muller
had, as early as the evening before, reproached with
his heresy as a Particularism began again himself with
the discourse upon grace and fatality. He exposed his
doctrine, and provoked his interlocutor to contradict
him. Muller quoted these words from St. Peter: "Not
willing that any should perish but that all should come
to repentance." The prince was surprised : " He had
never seen," said he, "this passage of Scripture, which
appeared to prove in fact that the intention of God is to
save even the most wicked of men." Muller invoked,
besides, the testimonies of St. Paul, no less conclusive.
The prince tried to defend himself by comparisons :
" Does not the arrangement of the wheels of a watch de-
termine the movement of these wheels? " " Certainly,"
answered the pastor, "but these wheels have no will to
resist." " Is not the power of fire over wood necessarily
of one kind, and has it not a unique effect? " "Yes, but,
if part of the wood is dipped in water, the power of the
fire has no longer a unique effect." Muller took immed-
iately the offensive: "Two men have fallen into the
castle moat; to each one is thrown a rope. They are
told that if they but catch hold of it, they will be saved.
One of them does not care to take hold of the rope; if
he is not saved, it is through his own fault."
While the pastor and he discussed in puerile terms
the primordial and obscure question of our free-
dom, the prince managed his retreat. He knew that the
king would never pardon his persistence in heresy. He
was not yet fully assured about his fate. From time to
time, he wxnt to the window, and looked at the heap of
294: FREDERICK THE GREAT.
sand, that was still there, and he begged the Governor
to have it removed. At last, he confessed his error.
"There is no fatality," said he, "and I, alone, am the
cause of Katte's death and my own unhappiness." Mul-
ler assured him that he w^as on the right road, in ac-
knowledging and feeling the greatness of his fault; he
had but to allow himself now to be conducted, through
God's aid, to true repentance. Then the prince replied :
" With all my heart, if there is yet grace for me, and if
I have account to render to none but God." The pastor
continued to speak only of God "He has made you
feel His anger, to force you to cry for His mercy! " But
Frederick knew very well, that with God he could ar-
range matters always: " I believe that," he said, "but
I fear I will never, in my life, obtain the king's mercy."
It is from the king that he wished to obtain pardon
for his sins. Every time that Miiller spoke of God's
pardon, Frederick responded with the king's pardon.
He feared that the pastor was hiding from him a fearful
secret; he hesitated to put the exact question that arose
to his lips. He turned his phrases about, and sought to
make the pastor understand his anxiety. At last, as
Miiller was obstinately continuing his theological dis-
courses, he risked saying : " Must I not conclude from
your visit, that you wish to prepare me for death also? "
Miiller finally understood him; he denied it, and took
much trouble to get this idea out of the prince's mind :
"It all depends upon Your Highness as to whether you
wish to remain .here or not, and for how long." Fred-
erick, reassured a little, began to pray. When he be-
came calmer, he asked the pastor to remain still nearer,
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 295
to sleep at the Castle, if possible, so that he could see
him as often as he liked, and converse with him
for his edification. Mtiller obtained permission to stay
at the fortress, in an apartment above that of the prince,
who had only to knock on the floor to have him come
down.
The worthy man believed in the sincerity of Fred-
erick's repentance and conversion. He affirmed, before
God, to the king, that he had not been able to discover
in the prince the slightest trace of falsehood. At the
same time he implored the king " to let a little of his
royal mercy shine on the prince," for he was afraid His
Highness, * < through fear and an expectation of things
that might happen, and through the effect of persistent
and growing sadness, would fall into a dangerous
malady of the mind." The fourth day he received and
read with joy the response.
The king commanded him to stay on at Custrin, and
to adjure the prince to search himself well, and to con-
fess all the sins he had committed against God, the king,
himself and his honor, for, "to borrow money when
one cannot pay it, to wish to desert, this does not come
from an honest man, but from hell the children of the
devil and not from the children of God."
"You have assured me, on your conscience, and be-
fore your Maker," added he, "that the prince, at Cus-
trin, has been converted to God; that many times he has
asked pardon of his king, seignior, and father, for all
he has done, and that he has regretted bitterly not
having submitted to the good wishes and will of his
father. If now you find the prince disposed to promise
296 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
this firmly before God ; if it is true that his heart has
suffered for his sins; if it is his real intention to do
better in the way that I direct, you can signify to him
in my name that, verily, I cannot give him entire pardon,
but that, through a mercy that he does not deserve, I
will release him from the fortress and again appoint
some people to watch over his conduct.
"The town will be his prison. He cannot leave it.
I will give him occupation from morning until evening
in the chamber of war and domains and the govern-
ment. He will work in economics, receive the ac-
counts, read the acts, and take notes. But, before this
happens, I will make him take an oath to act in all
obedience, conformably to my will, and to do every-
ting befitting and belonging to a faithful servitor, sub-
ject, and son. But if he revolts or flies into a passion
again, he will lose the succession to the crown and to
the electorate, and even, according to circumstances,
his life. I notify you to represent to the
prince, in my name, that I know him well. Does he
think that I do not know him? He ought to be con-
vinced that I know his wicked heart well.
"If this heart is not bent or changed, if it still re-
mains the same, if he has the intention of abjuring this
oath, he will content himself with muttering it, and he
will not express it in a loud voice. Tell him in my name
that I advise him, as a faithful friend, to swear in a loud
and clear manner, and to feel himself obliged to hold to
his oath, word for word. Here, we mean nothing to be
in mental reserve. We understand nothing except what
is written. If he wishes to violate or break this oath,
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 297
he will have no excuse. Let him ponder it well. Let
him constrain and change his bad heart through Divine
assistance, for it is a question of grave importance.
" May the Most High God give him His benediction!
And, as often through some marvelous means, some
miraculous channels, through bitter pathways, He leads
men to Christ's kingdom, may He bring back to His
communion this wayward son! May He prostrate this
impious heart! May He soften and change it, and tear
him from Satan's clutches! May God, the all-powerful
Father, grant this, through the mediation of the suffer-
ings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . Amen! "
This time it was pardon, enveloped in a strong sermon.
As soon as he received the letter, Muller went to the
prince's chamber. He found him reading the Bible and
plunged in deep meditation. Frederick undoubtedly did
not see by Mtiller's expression, that he had anything
new to communicate; othewise, he would not have begun
the discourse with the pastor upon the claims of our
Saviour and the debt which His death caused us to con-
tract with Him. Muller let him say it ; he even took
occasion in this effusion of piety, to press him to confirm
his promises of amendment by an oath that he would
withdraw all his suspicions and ill-will from the king.
The prince did not see where he was leading him, nor
how the king could give him pardon for an oath. The
pastor finally began to explain, and spoke, this time, in
the king's name, as he had received the order: "Is it
possible," cried the prince, whose eyes filled with tears.
Muller drew the letter from his pocket and gave it to the
prince. Frederick read it, and saw that he was saved.
298 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
He began by expressing his gratitude to his father;
then he said that he knew very well what was meant by
an oath, that there must be no mental reserve, on the
contrary, it must be taken in the sense and spirit of the
one who had ordered it. Of course, he would take it in
a loud and intelligible voice. To prove that he accepted
the proposition seriously, and wished earnestly to pledge
himself, he expressed the hope that the king would order
nothing in the formula not " paternal and acceptable" to
himself; he begged His Majesty to communicate to him,
in advance, the said formula, "so that he would pre-
cipitate nothing, and could prepare himself conscientious-
ly, with sufficient reflection, to pronounce well and observe
closely all the points of the oath." The good Muller
transmitted this petition to the king, commending it to
him.
Nothing now remained but to regulate the last formal-
ities of setting the Crown Prince at liberty. The king
concerted with Grumbkow and Seckendorff. Secken-
dorff assumed the hurried air of a rescuer. To complete
the success of his intrigue, he wished to give out the im-
pression that the prince owed his salvation entirely to
the intercession of the Emperor. It came not from that
source at all. Frederick William had certainly taken
this stand of himself. The representations coming from
foreign countries would not have sufficed to determine
him. When he learned from his minister at London the
severe censure in England of his execution of Katte, he
replied: "If there had been a hundred instead of one
Katte like that, I would have cut the heads off them all.
. , As long as God allows me to live, I will sustain
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 299
myself as a despotic Seignior, als Ilerr despotique sou-
teniren wiirde. . . . The English ought to know that I
will never tolerate a co-regent by my side." The Em-
peror even would have had a hard time of it, if he had
attempted to play this role. However, he did not pre-
tend to do it, and his intervention was discreet. There
had been sent by Seckendorff to his Court, as early as the
2d of December, the model of a letter to be written in
behalf of the Emperor in favor of the prince, but he did
not wish to precipitate things. He had had the satis-
faction of being supplicated by his vanquished enemy
the queen, who said to him, "That the Emperor alone
could save her son ; " he had responded that it "was im-
possible to meddle in the affairs of the royal house
while the king did not authorize it,' 'His Majesty having
no need of foreign aid "to procure his domestic peace."
When he received the Imperial letter, he wrote to
Vienna that he would keep it until the moment he was
sure that the king wished to proclaim pardon. He
awaited, in fact, the permission of the king to remit to
him the autograph missive of his sovereign. It is true
that the king declared soon afterward that his son owed
his pardon to the Emperor. "For the pardon of the
Crown Prince," wrote he to his minister at Vienna, "we
have, above all, considered the intercession in his favor
of His Imperial Roman Majesty." But he wrote also to
his minister at St. Petersburg : "For the pardon of the
Crown Prince we have considered, above all, the inter-
cession in his favor of His Imperial Russian Majesty."
Frederick the Great saved by the father of Maria The-
resa, would be a history worthy to relegate to legendary
300 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
lore ; but it suited the King of Prussia, who was very
much irritated then against France and England, to recall
his imperialistic fervor, to make his son believe that he
owed to Austria his liberty and the preservation of his
rights to the Crown. 219
He then requested Seckendorff to regulate himself, the
conditions of the pardon of the prince and his release.
It was Seckendorff who proposed to the king to exact the
solemn oath from the prince, and put him in semi-liberty
in the town of Custrin, obliging him to work in the
chamber of domains or administration. m He had asked
besides to be sent to Custrin with the commissioners
designated to receive the oath. He thought that nothing
would serve better to make the prince know "that the
Emperor, in true friendship for His Royal Majesty, had
interceded for him:" he wished to read him the imperial
letter, and make him understand that, through regard
for His Imperial Majesty, the king "preferred pardon
to justice." But Frederick William would not permit a
stranger to say the last word in so important an affair.
It was Grumbkow whom he sent, with five other gene-
rals, to Custrin, where they arrived on the 15th of
November.
The day following, Grumbkow had a long conversa-
tion with the prince. What passed, we do not know.
Grumbkow was the man to do just the necessary thing;
to laugh or cry with the prince, to console or advise him,
to make him wrong on certain points and right on others.
He did not fail to explain his own conduct, how
and why he had done what he did, how much it had cost
him to thwart the projects of His Highness. He certainly
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 301
promised him his future aid and devotion. The prince
was a man to understand everything, even the most
subtle suggestions. They had need of each other, and
their consciences were tractable to the movements of
their interests ; they came to an understanding. To show
his gratitude to this new ally, the prince made him a
present, with tears and sobs, of the last will or testament
of Katte, which will, it seems to me, he ought to have
kept until the day of his death.
The 17th of November, the prince took, unquestion-
ably in a loud and intelligible voice, the oath "to obey
strictly the orders of the king, to do in all things that
which devolved upon and befitted a faithful servitor,
subject and son." He assented, in advance, should he
fall again into his old errors, to the loss of his hereditary
rights. He was then given his liberty, with the town
for his prison. The Governor General returned his
sword, but without the sword-hanger or sabretash of an
officer ; for the king's pardon did not go so far as to re-
instate his son in the army. The post-guards could not
come out and present arms as he passed ; the military
were forbidden to salute him. Frederick, sensitive to
these marks of indignity, addressed to his father imme-
diately a petition to give him back his soldier's garb.
The king answered that a deserter lost the right to wear
uniform, and added: "It is not necessary that all
men have the same calling ; some should work as sol-
diers ; and others must apply themselves to learning and
such like things."
Then he had him listen to these serious and true royal
words. " It is necessary now," said he, "that the prince
302 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
learn, by taking part in affairs, that no State can exist
without economy and a good constitution. The welfare
of a country exacts that the prince himself should be a
good economist and administrator; otherwise the country
remains at the disposition of favorites and prime min-
isters, who profit by it and put everything to confusion.
. . . The Crown Prince ought to see, by examples that
are not wanting, that most of the princes pay no atten-
tion to the economy of the household, and that, while
they have the finest countries in the world, they do not
know how to make use of them, but, on the contrary,
run into debt and ruin themselves." 221
Thus ended the prison life of the Crown Prince of
Prussia. In the strife between the father and the son
both were greatly at fault ; the father, for refusing his
son the right to live according to his nature, and smoth-
ering in this young soul, by his odious brutality, all dis-
position to filial piety ; the son, in deceiving his father,
in intriguing against him, in not loving him, in provok-
ing him to anger by the whole course of his life. Both
suffered : the father was tortured by uneasiness, uncer-
tainty, indecision and anger ; the son, by the sight of
Katte's blood, and by the fear of dying ; but neither one
nor the other had the right to be pitied. Their suffer-
ings are not the kind that move the heart. They both
kept, each in his own way, a superhuman coolness, the
father in arranging the drama, the son in playing the
role as he did. Of course, the young man cried, and
cried and twisted his hands, and asked the Lord Jesus to
let him die, but the following day he ordered a powder
from his physician ; he discussed with perfect freedom,
THE ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE. 303
as if he took a real interest in it, the question of know-
ing if Christ died for all men or only for the elect.
Into his theology and metaphysics, he adroitly glided
questions as to his own fate, interrogating the
pastor, and insinuating his repentance, in words the
most liable to strike the king favorably, knowing well
that they would be repeated. He did not hesitate to
sign the compact of reconciliation that Grumbkow
offered him, and as token of his friendship he gave to this
Grumbkow (one of the authors of the catastrophe), the
last lines written by the victim. We soon hear that His
Royal Highness is "as merry as a lark." Later Frederick
will accuse Katte of having been maladroit. This young
man was ready for the hazards and perils of the life of a
prince ; he was ready for great state affairs.
In a letter, wherein he gave an account to Prince An-
halt of the manner in which he had "regulated the bad
affair of Ciistrin," Frederick William said, speaking of
his son: "If he becomes an honest man, it will be a
happy thing for him, but I doubt it strongly." 222
CHAPTER V.
THE SECOND EDUCATION OF THE CROWN PRINCE. THE
FIRST SIX MONTHS IN THE CHAMBER OF ADMINISTRA-
TION.
On the 19th of November, 1730, the Crown Prince of
Prussia left his prison. The next day, he was intro-
duced into the Chamber of War and Administration at
Ciistrin. His function and work had been regulated by
the king in an order addressed to Munchow, the presi-
dent, and to Hille, director of the chamber. He had
the position of auditor, and had to sit at a small table
1 'lower down," and sign the papers not on the same line
with the councillors but "lower down." The king
wished to keep him in modesty and humility, as beseem-
ing a penitent not yet absolved. But this little table, on
emerging from a prison, was equal to a seat in paradise.
The prince tasted the joy of being sure of living, and
the sweetness of his semi-liberty. He took part in the
deliberations of the chamber, and entertained himself
with it. An officer of the navigation around Ciistrin,
believing himself to be the victim of an injustice, was
advised to address his cause to the prince. This was the
new auditor's first business affair. He began by saying,
that as he was conducting himself very well, he hoped
that the chamber would give him a small department.
6 'All those of terra firma " being already distributed, he
laid claim to those of the sea. "Now the Oder," said
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 305
he, "empties into the Baltic Sea; the cause of the officer
of navigation was then in his department." Upon which
the President, von Munchow begun to laugh, and Direc-
tor Hille was delighted to see that "His Highness was
as gay as a lark. " 223
Frederick knew well that after all, he was and would
still remain the Heir-apparent of Prussia. It did not
escape him that his " superiors " knew it also. Presi-
dent Munchow was a brave man, who had proved in the
prison of Custrin, his good sentiments, in a time when
he risked his head by so doing. Director Hille, who
considered himself the prince's tutor in economy and
morals, took up his role seriously, but Frederick
admired in him an extended learning and a profound
knowledge of French literature, and he took kindly to
him for having " sensibility " and intellect. He received
strict lessons from Hille, but they were well given, and
the young man pardoned everything for esprit; when
they made him laugh at his own expense, he was dis-
armed, because he had laughed. After all, with this
president, and this director, existence was bearable in
the chamber of administration. At his dwelling,
Frederick lived with his Marshal of the Court, Von
Wolden, and two young nobles attached to the cham-
ber, Von Natzmer and Von Rohwedell. The Marshal
had the best intentions in the world. By order of the
king, he addressed to him frequent reports but they were
written in a way to mollify, more and more, the father's
frame of mind in regard to his son. He hoped that the
prince, "my subordinate," as he said, would give satis-
faction by his good conduct and would not make him
306 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
tell falsehoods. 224 As for the two young nobles they could
not be such terrible guardians. More even than Miin-
chow and Hille, they thought of the future. Frederick
entertained them with his hopes and plans ; with them,
without precaution, he assumed his position as Heir-ap-
parent.
However, the gaiety of the lark did not continue.
The secret of the prince's good humor was, that he
hoped the regime in which they had placed him would
not last a long time. A month had hardly passed by,
ere Hille communicated his fears to Grumbkow; we
must keep up the prince's hope, "if only in a very small
way; otherwise, I do not know what will happen." But
the king from afar, made him feel that he was not yet
pardoned; that he still distrusted him.
He read in one of Wolden's reports, that his son per-
sisted in his doctrines of predestination. Quickly, he
expedites a courier to Ciistrin, with a letter, which
makes poor Wolden regret his imprudence. "The
scoundrel must give up his false predestination. If he
wants to go to the devil, let him go! I have nothing
with which to reproach myself ! However, you
must all three, never relax a moment reproaching him
with his error, taking your arguments from the Holy
Scripture. . . . You finally will learn in time to
know this saint better and better. You will see that
there is nothing good in him, but his tongue. Oh!
As to the tongue, there is no fault to find with it."
Then pouring out, as was his custom, all his bad humor,
he taunted his son with his appearance and manners.
The rascal is never shaved; when this knave walks it is in
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 307
cadence, making a coupe or perhaps a step of passe-pied,
or a contre-temps. He walks on the tips of his toes. He
stoops over when he walks. . . . He never looks an
honest man in the face. " 225 The succeeding letters became
more and more furious. The king wanted to know who
had preached this satanic doctrine to his son. He estab-
lished at Berlin a tribunal of inquisition, before which
he made all those appear whom he suspected. The
prince, summoned to deliver the names, sent a list of
books wherein he had found reasons for his faith. "The
books have neither feet nor wings," replied the king.
"Some one brought them. Who? Who?" As the
prince did not wish to betray anyone, the king, who had
learned that he was sick, trusted he would die without
daring to hope: "He is predestined; so be it. If there
is anything good in him, he will die ; but there is no
danger of his dying. Ill weeds grow apace."
On the receipt of these letters, the household of Cus-
trin was thrown into consternation. "I am at my wits
end," wrote Hille: "Since submission up to the small-
est detail is no use, I might just as well do the contrary
and perish with honor," said the prince. However, he
thought better of it. Hille convinced him that the thesis
upon which predestination was established, was in a mere
play of words. After all, concluded Frederick, "it is
not worth martyrdom." He wrote then to his father
that he renounced his doctrine, and was persuaded that
he had been deceived by philosophical and political argu-
ments, happy besides to abjure it, since it was displeas-
ing to him. 226
To evade the return of storms like these, Wolden,
308 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Mlinchow and Hille, had recourse to the protection of
Grumbkow, whose influence was stronger than ever.
The clever man wished while serving the king, to
manage the prince. He sent instructions and advice.
Custrin asked even for the model of the letter that the
prince must write for the New Year. " I recommend
our little company to the protection of Your Excel-
lency," said Wolden to him. Grumbkow acceded to the
difficult task, and the " little company" returned once
more to its tranquil life.
Too tranquil, alas! the prince did not know how to
occupy himself. The sittings lasted only a few hours
in the morning; after dinner for two hours he had to
copy documents, but even though he did this regular
work, the days would still be long. Wolden asked that
the prince might be permitted to study some works on
finance and administration. "Why not give him at
once, flute and violin," replied the king? "No, he must
have no books unless, they be the Bible, Psalm Book and
the < True Christianity ' of Arnd. Books teach noth-
ing. What is now necessary, is practice. It is the
reading of a lot of useless books that has led the
prince to do evil. Let him study in the registers of the
chambers, the old papers of the time of the Elector
Frederick William, and the acts of the Margrave John
of Custrin."
It is probable that Frederick did not look at these old
papers. What was he to do then? He talked with the
"three gentlemen." The king had permitted this
amusement ; he had even regulated it. The conversa-
tion should turn upon the word of God, the constitution
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 309
of the country, manufactures, police, accounts, farm-
rent, procedure. If the prince takes it into his head to
speak of peace, war, or other political questions these
gentlemen must hush him up. They certainly did not
obey this command. The prince often talked politics
with Natzmer, who was very glad to give him a* reply,
for he thought himself born for great affairs; but sub-
jects were soon worn out, and the four interlocutors,
finding nothing to say, remained silent.
It was forbidden to change the prince's company. He
must never dine out, never. He must always dine with
the " three gentlemen," without extending an invitation
to anyone else. No music, no dancing: " He is not at
Custrin to amuse himself, um sick zu divertiren." They
lived in this way, these four personages of our history,
in a small plain house and with strict economy. The
king forbade oysters, salt-water-fish, capons of Ham-
burg and other delicacies. The allowance for the
first month was 147 thalers and 8 groschens, out of
which were to be paid three lackeys (22 thalers), the
cook (7 thalers, 8 groschens), the rent (6 thalers, 8
groschens), food (60 thalers), light and wood (20 thalers),
shoes (20 thalers). The remainder was to cover inci-
dental expenses. The prince had to keep his own ac-
counts ; he did not fail in this, for the king examined
them closely. In the accounts of the second month,
Frederick made excuses for having paid too much for
the butter: "there was a distemper, from which came
the scarcity of butter, daher entstandene Raritet der
Enter" He refrained from complaining of the paternal
parsimony. The least demand, and the most simple and
310 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
natural care of his person became crimes. He wished,
summer coming on, to have some suitable clothing. The
king refused : "This is neither a Brandenburg nor a
Prussian fashion ; it comes from the French." Behold
the state to which this prince is now reduced who was
< 'well disposed toward magnificence."
He was bored, the others were bored. Custrin
yawned in her confidential letters. Hille gave notice of
the constant diminution of the prince's good humor. He
said: "His Highness is beginning to tire of this."
" The rest of us in the convent will die, if this kind of
life continues " added Wolden, to whom his physician
had just prescribed helleboriim-nigrum. 221
They were like a party of ship-wrecked people, thrown
by the tempest on a desert island and without resources;
they lived upon themselves, but no longer satisfied with
doing that, the eye was continually fixed upon the silent
horizon. Frederick and three noblemen were enclosed in
a little town of narrow streets, its people poor and
plain, with provincial, pedantic functionaries, and a
mechanical military code. They could see, from the
height of the ramparts, the Oder and the Wartha flow-
ing by, and the extension of the plain, but the postern
did not allow them to pass. The king forbade
them to go farther. He only enlarged his son's prison;
he kept him closed up, with his youth, his impatience,
his dreams, within those walls at whose base streamed
Katte's blood.
However, those Custrin days, so long and so empty,
counted in the life of Frederick. Will or nill he learned
about affairs, in the daily sittings of the chamber. He
/
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 311
saw there, detail after detail, all the economy of the roy-
alty of Prussia: rentals, contributions, excise, mills,
foundries, manufactures, customs, those elements of the
financial power which produced the military power.
Hille taught him finance and commerce. He had the tal-
ent of making himself interesting, in enlarging upon the
subjects he treated. One day, after a lesson upon com-
merce, he traced rapidly the commercial history of
Brandenburg. He told how the city of Frankfort-on-the-
Oder had been the centre of trade, in the Middle Ages,
when she received through Venice and Augsburg the
merchandise of the Levant, and bonded it, so as to dis-
tribute it, in the Marche, in Poland, Prussia, Pomerania,
and Mecklenburg. After the discovery of the route
around the Cape of Good Hope, the products of the Le-
vant came by way of the North Sea and the Baltic.
Frankfort lost then "her country back of her," the
whole side of the Baltic, but gained Silesia and Bohe-
mia, which no longer received anything from Italy.
Unfortunately, the commerce of Frankfort has been for
a long time trammeled by the Swedes, the masters of
Pomerania, that is to say of the mouths of the Oder.
At present, Pomerania belongs to the king of Prussia,
but the main branch of the Oder runs through the domin-
ions of Austria, which possesses Silesia, and King Freder-
ick William in lowering the customs duties on the Sile-
sian frontier to please the Emperor, permits the mer-
chants of this country to compete with his own subjects.
"There is no hope for a good commerce in Brandenburg,"
concluded Hille, "until the Silesians are forced from their
immediate commercial intercourse. How can that be
312 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
done? It is a point that higher and cleverer heads than
ours must decide." 228
In pronouncing this conclusion, Hille thought to him-
self: a word to the wise is sufficient. And the future
conqueror of Silesia was a good listener. It is not pos-
sible that Frederick, in hearing this lesson, could fail to
comprehend the great law which was involved in the
development of the Prussian monarchy. Brandenburg,
the heart of this monarchy, was a poor level country,
between mountain and sea, separated from both, inter-
sected by parallel streams, which were roads of in-
vasion, of which they held neither the starting point nor
the end. Open from east to west, as well as from north
to south, swept by all gales coming from Germanic Po-
land, it would have' perished like Poland, if it had not baf-
fled by the strength of its laws, its own weakness and the
defects of its own constitution; if it had not been "planted
firmly on its feet," in the justice hall of Brandenburg;
if it had not finally gone up and down its rivers, con-
quering mountain and sea. "Frederick," said Hille,
"knows perfectly Aristotle's poetry, but he is ignorant
as to whether his ancestors gained Magdeburg at cards
or some other way." His new master taught him the
use of conquests, and that they were, for Prussia, the
only means of life.
I imagine, however, at this date, during the first
months of his sojourn at Ciistrin, he did not take a real
interest in economy. He was a docile auditor, because
he had a wish to rise from this " little seat," to leave the
city, to close his account book of household expenses and
go away. In order to do this he must flatter the paternal
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 313
mania. He gave himself the air of being a good econo-
mist. Wolden affirmed that at the end of four months
the prince knew " all that could be learned of economy
by theory." He defied President MUnchow to make " a
better Amchlag than our illustrious auscultatory but
the marshal of the court was as anxious as his pupil to
"leave the galleys." Hille declared that the prince had
composed, all alone, a statement sent to the king " on
the subject of the improvement of flax-husbandry," but
Hille made the most of his pupil's attainments, and he
certainly aided Frederick " to do his task," as the school
boys say, if he did not do it entirely. The king was not
deceived. "You very much astonish me," wrote he;
"do you imagine that I am going to believe that the
prince is the author of such matter! I know well
enough what is in him. Besides, this does not please me
at all for him to begin to form projects. I have told you
that I want him instructed solidly. I do not wish to
hear of empty formulas. One has no need of a master
to manufacture wind." 230
"What is in him," is that the prince learns and com-
prehends quickly, but wishes to make believe that his
apprenticeship is finished. The Ciistrin people seek
every pretext to give themselves air. When the princess
Wilhelmina is at last betrothed, Wolden asks that the
prince may be invited to witness the marriage of his
sister. " Refused," wrote the king on the margin ; "a
man under arrest should be kept close." Besides, he
knew well, said he to Grumbkow, that the prince was
as happy as a king to be over there without his father.
He wished him to lead a quiet, retired life. " If I had
314 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
done what he has done, I would be ashamed to live, and
I would not allow myself to be seen by any one. He
must obey my will, get out of his head those French and
English mannerisms, and only think like a Prussian, be
faithful to his seignior and father, have a German heart,
get out of his mind that damnable idea of a petit-maitre
French fashion, call on the grace of God earnestly, have
God always before his eyes, and then God will arrange
things for his welfare, both in this world and the next."
Again Wolden laments "not seeing the end of this
drudgery." He hoped that the king would have his son
at the grand review in the spring, but the time arrived
and Frederick was not called. He redoubled his entrea-
ties to Grumbkow, who thought that the next journey of
the king through Prussia would be a good opportunity
to ask for an interview. On this advice Wolden im-
plored for the prince the favor of going to "kiss the
hem of the king's garment." The king answered :
" Must remain at Custrin. I will know the moment this
wicked heart will be corrected for good, without hypoc-
risy." At last one day, Wolden received an order from
the king to announce to "his subordinate" an approach-
ing paternal visit; he added, "As soon as I look him
straight in the eyes, I can tell whether he has improved
or not. " 231
THE ROYAL VISIT.
Frederick William had chosen for the date of meeting
again, his own birth-day, August 15th. 232 On arriving at
Custrin, he went immediately to the Governor's house,
whence he sent for his son. The prince threw him-
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 315
self at the king's feet, who commanded him to rise, and
then addressed a discourse to him.
It was a very strange one. First, reproaches upon
the " impious project" ; a solemn tone : " I have tried
everything in the world, both kindness and harshness, to
make you a man of honor " ; in a more familiar tone :
" When a young man commits foolish acts, makes love
to women, etc., he may be pardoned for these youthful
faults." Then, with anger : "But to do with premed-
itation, such impious things, this is unpardonable!"
And with threats : "Listen my boy, even if thou wert
sixty or seventy years old, thou couldst not order me. I
have, up to the present moment, sustained myself against
the world, and I know how to bring thee to reason!"
An interlude of comedy : the miserly father reproaches
the prodigal son for having run into debt, when he knew
so well that he could not pay, and for not having ac-
knowledged the bills of his usurers. But the king ap-
pears again : " You have never had confidence in me;
I who am doing everything for the aggrandizement of
the House, the army and finance, and who am work-
ing for you ; for this will be for you, all this, if you
show yourself worthy of it! "
In the meanwhile what was Frederick doing? Did he
look his father straight in the eyes, as he wished him to
do? Suddenly, the father reproached him, for all his
efforts to gain his friendship vain efforts. At these
words Frederick burst into tears and fell on his knees.
The king possessed with the thoughts of the "impious
project," pressed the culprit on : " Let us see ... so
it was to England that you wished to go." On receiv-
316 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ing the answer in the affirmative, he said these terrible
words: "Well now! listen to what would have been
the sequel to this. Your mother would have fallen into
the greatest trouble ; for I should have suspected her of
being your accomplice. I would have placed your sister
for the remainder of her life, where she could never again
see the sun or moon. I would have entered Hanover
with my army, and burned and sacked the country, and
had it been necessary would have sacrificed my life, my
country and my people. Behold what would have been
the result of your wicked conduct. To-day, I should
like to employ you in both military and civil commis-
sions. But how dare I, after such an action, present
you to my officers and servitors? You have but one
way of raising yourself up again ; that is, by repairing
your fault, at the price of your blood."
For the third time Frederick fell on his knees. Then,
the father, always with this fixed idea: "Didst thou
corrupt Katte or Katte thou? " " I tempted him." "Ah!
At last! I am pleased to know that you have told the
truth once!" Here, a moment of relaxation, and this
irony : " How do you like Custrin? Have you still as
much aversion for Wusterhausen, and your ' shroud ' as
you called it? I know why my society does not please
you. It is true, I know nothing about French manners;
1 do not know how to make bons mots, nor have I the
manners of a petit-maitre ... I am a German prince!
Such as I am, will I live and die." And then he began
again with his old grievances. Every time he dis-
tinguished a person, Fritz slighted him, looked con-
temptuously on the favored one. An officer was arrested,
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 317
Fritz sympathized with him. A fine some body in truth
was this Fritz! A great person! It was really worth one's
while to make so much ado over him! To-day, no one
throughout Prussia^ nor at Berlin was occupied about
him. It was not known whether he was in the world or
not. If such or such a one, coming from Ciistrin, had not
related that they had seen him play at foot-ball with
his hair dressed in the French fashion (in a bag), people
would not know whether he was living or dead.
Then came the question of religion. The king preach-
ing against predestination, points out to his son "the
horrible consequences of that doctrine which makes God
the author of sin, and denies that Christ died for all
men." But the prince hastens to declare his adhesion "to
the Christian and orthodox doctrine of His Majesty."
Paternally, gently, his father adjures him to distrust
these unholy beliefs. If he meets any one who excites
him against his duties, against God, the king and his
country, he must fall upon his knees and pray earnestly
to his Maker to deliver him, through the intervention of
His Holy Spirit, from these bad thoughts and lead him to
mend his ways. "And if you put your whole heart in
it, Jesus, who wishes all men to be saved, will grant your
prayer." At last, the king pronounced pardon: "I
forgive you all that has passed with the hope of your
better future conduct." Frederick, at these words, burst
into tears again, and kissed his father's feet.
The king went into another room. Frederick followed
him. They were speaking of His Majesty's birth-day.
The prince dared not present his best wishes, but fell
on his knees. The king raised him in his arms. The
318 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
terrible visit ended, the king went out and re-entered
his carriage. Before the assembled crowd, Fritz kissed
his father's feet again ; before the crowd, the father em-
braced his son.
THE NEW REGIME OF LIFE.
A few days after, Frederick William, "in order that
his son should feel a little of paternal and royal pardon,"
prescribed for him a new regime of life. Three times a
week, in the morning, the prince was to go to the cham-
ber of war and administration, where his seat was no
longer low but high, by the side of the President; but
he was to sit on the left of the king's place, which was
empty. The remainder of the time was at his disposal.
He could leave the town, on condition that he notified
the Governor each time, to visit the domains of which
a list was given. The present thing to do, was to
learn by practice, what he already knew by theory, of
economy. Some member of the chamber would always
accompany him, to explain the cultivation of a domain;
how to work it, fertilize it, and sow the seed ; how to
brew, and all the details of a brewery, from the prepara-
tion of the malt to the casking of the beer. Above all
things, they must reason with him, make him understand
why such or such a thing is done in such or such a way,
and if there is room for it to be done in a different and
better way; show him how farmers are able to pay their
farm rent and make money out of it besides. Wolden
must always be with him on these little trips. He must
have a care that the prince puts questions about these
things "himself," about everything he sees, and in-
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 319
forms " himself well upon every detail." These expe-
ditions, be it understood, are no pretext for pleasure
parties. The employe of the domain, who receives
the prince, will lay covers for live only, at eight
groschens per person. 233
Besides this, the king desired Wolden "to give him a
pleasure from time to time," such as an excursion on the
river, hunting and other things permissible, but he must
teach the prince to use his own hands and load his gun
"himself." The prince could have the right to invite two
guests at each repast, and dine out twice a week, but no
woman must be invited. One of the "three" must al-
ways accompany him, sleep by his side, and prevent him
from speaking to anyone alone, above all to any girl or
woman. French books, German " laical " books, music,
the play or the dance were interdicted, as before, for
Wolden must teach his subordinate "solid things." Of
course, the prince must thank God fervently for having
changed, through His mercy, his bad heart, and for hav-
ing led him back to Jesus Christ. Continue to invoke
His powerful aid, and for this purpose they must have
morning and evening prayer with hymns, and a chapter
in the Bible read with befitting thankfulness and de-
votion. 234
The King of Prussia was severe even in his pardons;
the exiles of Custrin had hoped for better things, but
were resigned. They had taken a step towards liberty.
It was much for the king to pronounce the word of par-
don, which never fell readily from his lips. "I have be-
lieved, up to this time," said the prince to Hille, "that
my father had not the least sentiment of love for me.
320 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
I am now convinced that he is . . . . finally to
sever this reconciliation which is to be for all time, the
devil himself will have to interfere . . ." 235 To keep
the devil from meddling, Grumbkow, continued his good
offices. Pie also wrote his little instructions for the Cus-
trin people.
The clever man knew wonderfully well "the slippery
dangerous ground," where he had maneuvered for so long
a time without falling. He recommended, first of all, re-
ligion, "that source upon which depends all happiness
in life and interior tranquillity." Towards the king, he
advised " an even, natural and respectful conduct." The
prince must always give to the king the title of Majesty. In
his conversations with his father, he must answer ques-
tions precisely, never vary, give his advice when asked;
he will have need, if he foresees that this advice does not
conform to the paternal ideas, of always using this ex-
pression : "If Your Majesty orders me to do so, and if
I must say what I think, it is such or such a thing, but
I can nevertheless be very much deceived in the matter
and my little experience can easily err." Particularly,
no spirit of raillery, nor expressions of jest, even
though it refer to the lowest domestic. Neither must
there be a reserved, gloomy, austere air. The king de-
tests raillery, but likes a pleasant manner.
In all that the prince does in the king's presence, he
must always affect to take pleasure in it, whether he
does or not. "It is very important that the prince
should appear to take more pleasure in the society of the
generals and officers of the king than in all others: a
gracious smile or look to one of the civil rank will be
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 321
enough." Avoid those who have the misfortune to dis-
please the king ; do not show them too much compas-
sion, do not imitate the conduct of those spoken in Sec-
ond Samuel, 15th chapter, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 verses. Take
care not to show outwardly a preference for the queen,
"for the suspicions that have been aroused on this account
have been the cause of much sorrow to the illustrious
mother and well-beloved son. The incomparable Crown
Princess has the right, in a thousand ways to the affec-
tion, confidence and friendship of her brother, but in the
beginning, it must be limited." And finally much pru-
dence must be shown in intercourse with foreign min-
isters, preferring those whose interests are the same as
the king's, and whom His Majesty favors. As for af-
fairs, whether they be military, political or domestic,
do not mix with them on any account, either directly or
indirectly; do not show the least curiosity. If His
Royal Highness is anxious to know anything, let him
address himself to those people in whom he can trust,
who have the king's confidence, as well as some justice
and honor.
For the rest, Grumbkow trusts, in order to supply all
that is lacking in his counsels, in the sagacity and dis-
crimination of His Highness. He gives a last advice.
When the prince comes to Berlin, let him request the
king to assemble in an apartment, the ministers and
generals. Then let him declare to them, in a little dis-
course, his repentance for having displeased his father,
and his desire to wipe out this fault with his blood, when
an opportunity offers, wherein the glory and the arms of
the king are interested ; the oath at Custrin might be
322 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
supposed to be forced; he wished to renew and confirm
it. It could be terminated by raising two fingers and
saying: "I, Frederick of Prussia, swear to the all-
powerful God, that I will remain faithful to my king,
seignior and father unto death. If I tell the truth, may
God through Jesus Christ, aid me. Amen."
In drawing to a close, Grumbkow praised the disin-
terestedness of the prince's friends. He asked no othor
favor of the prince than to believe him to be his and the
king's faithful servitor, and not to give ear to the ugly
reports which had been circulated about him. "Now the
only thing left for me to do," said the honest man, " is
to put my trust in God. In te, Domine\ speravi, non
confundar in ceternum."
Frederick was, in fact, endowed with " enough intel-
ligence and discernment " to take pleasure in reading
these suggestions of his father's courtier, who aspired
to become his, also. He hated Grumbkow. He counted
well on becoming the master upon confounding, in
time, this man who flattered himself that he would not
be confounded in eternity. But he resolved to be agree-
able to his "dear general," as well as to all others
whose bad offices he dreaded.
He was admirably docile, and appeared contented
with the permitted pleasures, but he added to them. It
is impossible that his " superiors " could have refused
him "laical" books. 237 Frederick could not keep from
reading; he, above all others, who when but a child,
arose in the night to devour romances by the light of a
lamp hidden in a chimney. We do not know much
about his intellectual history during the Ciistrin days ;
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 323
his daily companions were very careful to keep it out of
their reports. A few confidential messages in the letters
from Hille to Grumbkow, and from Grumbkow to Seck-
endorff, give us the information, however, that he con-
tinued to eat forbidden fruit. He was always " Freder-
ick the Philosopher." His obstinacy in the doctrine of
predestination, and his dangerous backsliding all came
from philosophy: this dogma interested him because it
enveloped the great philosophical question that occupied
his whole life, that of human freedom. He discussed
it with Hille as he had done with Miiller in the prison,
as he will do later with Voltaire. It was one of the
noble pleasures of this young man to reason, discourse
and argue upon these profound questions. He already
thought that he was a "moralist." Science solicited
also his intelligence; he was curious about the great
problems and the answers that philosophy then sought to
give to them. "I have become," said he, "philosoph-
ical and mechanical." 238 Again, he said: " I am a musi-
cian." But above all, he believed himself to be a "great
poet." He knew verbatim the "Art of Poetry," of Ar-
istotle; that is to say, the admirable treatise on the
ways of finding, through the mind, the elegant expres-
sions in language of the human passions. Odes, satires,
epigrams, idyls, epics, tragedies, he knew the rules
of all, by the translation of Aristotle, and certainly by
Boileau also, for whom he confessed later his admira-
tion. But he was not contented to merely admire these
masters : he tried to imitate them and applied himself
so well to the work that "he bit his nails to the quick."
Hille could not refuse to listen to his poetry. He makes
324 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
game of the young poetic aspirant by reminding him of
the scene of the sonnet in the "Misanthrope." "Ah!
those beautiful verses of Moliere," cried the prince. But
he was not discouraged, and he continued to compose
verses, like the following, for example, which he ad-
dressed to Grumbkow:
CONSEIL A MOY-MfiME.
sur l'air: Badiner.
Parmi les tristes circonstances
Souffrez avec patience,
Jamais n' allez outre cela.
Raissonnez, mais restez-en la.
Ne donnez point dans la tristesse,
Fuyez surtout la paresse;
En bon train alors vous voila\
Raisonnez, mais restez-en la.
Faites bien des chansonettes,
Car ce seront pour vous des fetes,
Badinez avec tout cela.
Raisonnez, mais restez-en la.
La chambre et les commissaires
Qui font le metier des corsaires,
Vous pourrez avec tout ceux-l&
Raisonnez, mais restez-en la.
Ne faites a personne de querelle,
Restez I vos amis fidelle,
Et pour le reste, Ion, Ian, la
Raisonnez, mais, restez-en la.
Donnez tout le respect au Maitre,
Gardez-vous toujours des traitre
Et faites tout pour ce but-la
Raisonnez, mais restez-en la.
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 325
Ennuyez-vous bien pour complaire
Et faites toutes vos affaires
Et soyez content, Ion, Ian, la
Raissonnez, mais restez-en la.
Reconnaissez bien les services
D'un Ministre les bons offices,
Aimez-le toujours pour cela,
Raisonnez, mais restez-en la.
ADVICE TO MYSELF.
sung to the aie : Badiner.
In all the sad circumstances of life, suffer with patience ; never over-step
this bound. Reflect, but go no farther.
Yield not to sorrow, fly above all things from laziness ; behold yourself
then in excellent spirits. Reflect, but go no farther.
Compose snatches of song, for this will afford you pleasure ; have some
sport with it. Reflect, but go no farther.
The Administration and the Commissariats carry on the trade of Cor-
sairs ; upon all this you may be able to reflect, but go no farther.
Do not quarrel with anyone ; remain true to your friends, and as for the
rest, la, la, la. Reflect, but go no farther.
Give due respect to the Master. Always be on your guard against trait-
ors and do everything with this object in view. Reflect, but go no farther.
Incommode yourself to please others and attend to your own affairs,
and be contented, la, la, la. Reflect, but go no farther.
Be very grateful for favors given, and for the good services of a Minis-
ter. Love him always for them. Reflect, but go no farther.
Hille, whose opinion the prince asked upon this selec-
tion, responded that these verses were "good for a
prince, but would not be worth much had they been
composed by a private individual." This is true, but
the young man who, in the midst of enmci, can divert
himself with a song to the air of " Badiner" will be
the man who, in reverses and on the eve of calamities,
will seek consolation in the delights of philosophy and
poetry.
326 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Frederick had the opportunity at Custrin of trying a
few love verses. A few days after his father's visit he
dined, for the first time, at Tamsel, a short distance
from the town, at the home of Colonel von Wreech.
The place was very pretty; a slight outline of hills
sheltered one side of it; then opened the endless
plain, watered by the Wartha, a sluggish stream,
which joined the Oder, likewise a slow stream, a
short distance farther on; a real Holland landscape
both in sky and water. The house was also beau-
tiful. It had been built by Field-Marshal von Schon-
ing, a Brandenburg hero of the days of the Great
Elector, who made himself illustrious by fighting
the infidels under the walls of Ofen. He had left a
legend. The peasants of Tamsel relate that he set out
to fight the Turks at the head of a forest of pines; when
he arrived before Ofen, he changed his trees into giant
soldiers, who took the assaulted place. Schoning was
for that time and that country a great lord. It was a
real castle that he had built, with high windows facing
the park, where trees covered the incline of a knoll. He
had had the apartments panelled and ornamented in
relief by Greek workmen whom he brought back with
him from his oriental campaign. The stair-case and the
ancestral hall inlaid with wood, which still exist, gave a
grand air to the building. This was something to
please Frederick, coming from the plain little house at
Custrin, for he loved elegance and rich surroundings.
But the pearl of the place was, the granddaughter of the
legendary field-marshal, Madame von Wreech. 240
She was very much younger than her husband. A
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 327
blonde, with "a lily and rose complexion," she was
graceful and intelligent, and something of a coquette.
The joy, the pride, at receiving a Crown Prince, who
had had such a terrible adventure and was yet so young,
made her still more amiable. To be brief, her twenty-
three years quickly harmonized with Frederick's eighteen
years. After a few days, the prince obtained permission
to say: "My cousin," instead of: "Madame." He
wrote, at first, in prose, but he met on the banks of the
Oder the muse Urania, who reproached him for not
praising the one he loved in verse. You must, said she
to him, be very heartless and very German. He began
then to rhyme, alas!
Permettez moi, Madame, en vous offrant ces lignes,
Que je vous fasse part de cette verite,
Depuis que je vous vois, j'ai ete agite,
Vous etes un objet qui en etes bien digne!
These verses are the worst that the muse dictated to the
prince, but the others are not much better. The young
poet was not master of his style; he was not sure of his
language. His mythology, his Apollo and Muses, are
lost in Brandenburg, like the Greek temples, the Italian
porticos, and the statues after the antique, that one sees
in the parks surrounding the German chateaux, and
which seem to be cold, and exiled from the south, under
these northern clouds. If any real sentimentality is in
it, I cannot see it.
To Frederick's first poetic declaration, the lady re-
sponds in the same manner, but with a pretty little ma-
licious intent :
C'est toute ma maison qui y a concouru ....
(It is all my household that has aspired, etc.)
328 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
All the household that means the Colonel himself.
Nothing proves that she ever had a secret from Von
Wreech; the reports spread at Custrin and Berlin, when
she became enceinte, seem mere calumny. She took
pleasure in this badinage; she was flattered by it, noth-
ing more. Did the prince ask for more? There is in
this maker of love sonnets of eighteen years a little too
much of the literati. Even his writings in prose are of
a young man of letters, who foresees the publisher.
Nevertheless, he had for the cousin some pretty senti-
mentality ; he admired her beauty, majestic carriage,
manners, her whole style, which outshone even prin-
cesses. He loved her because she was graceful and had in-
telligence; he had respect for this young wife, and if he had
committed any "imprudence" in her presence, he begged
humbly to be forgiven. In short, he passed happy days
at Tamsel, and it gave him some pleasant impressions,
the only ones of the kind that he ever tasted in his life.
It was a fete for him to return to the "Island of Calyp-
so," as Wolden called the park surrounded by the
Wartha. When he left Custrin, he sent his picture to
the "cousin," with a letter, wherein he expressed the
desire that she would deign to look from time to time on
his image, and think : " He is a good enough boy, but
he tires me, for he loves me too much, and often angers
me with his inconvenient affection." There is a grace
and a little air of melancholy in this farewell. Tamsel
is an oasis in the life of a prematurely dead heart. 2il
Frederick composed prose, too, and very prosaic it
was, particularly that addressed to the king. He gave
an account of his visits to the Domains. Economy is
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 329
the principal subject of the correspondence, upon which
he enlarges many details, that happen there by chance,
but he chose them with an exquisite art, so as to com-
pose the physiognomy of a son after the father's own
heart.
Three days after the visit to Ciistrin, he thanked the
king for the favors that had been given him; he confessed
his faults again; he acknowledged himself more culpable
than his father supposed him to be, and revealed at last
the secret engagement he had made with the Queen
of England to marry none but an English princess.
Then he earnestly requested to return to the army, not
"out of flattery," but from his very heart: "Do what-
ever you wish with me in the world; I will be con-
tent with everything ; I shall be delighted if I can
only become a soldier once more." If he served and
wished to serve his father, "it was through love and
not duty." 242 He applied himself to economy and to
"household accounts." He had visited the Domain
of Wollup, whence formerly, the king only drew
1,600 thalers and which then brought in 2,200, an
excellent revenue. However, it is possible to make
a "number of improvements," and to obtain, by dry-
ing up the marshes, an increased value of 1,000
thalers, for it is good wheat ground. 243 At Carzig, the
soil is not so good as at Wollup; there is much sand
and in some places lime. A forest on this domain has
been burned. This is to be cleared ; if they waited
for the wood to grow again, they would have to wait
thirty years for the revenue. The intendant thinks it
would be better to establish a metairie (small farm)
330 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
there: the prince is of this opinion; he estimates that
the operation would bring in a revenue of some hundreds
of thalers. He visited the sheep fold and stable which
were in a very good condition. 244 At Lebus the crops
were sown ; the weather was fine for tilling the soil.
The prince had seen a big fellow destined for one of the
king's regiments, and while looking at him, his heart
bled. The king had sent him a pious book; he thanked
him for it and recognized, in all submission, the good and
holy intentions of his father. 245 He had made the plan,
statement and contract for the farm of Carzig; they
could only grow rye and barley there, but the fields
which they could work would yield ten per cent. At
Himmelstadt, the out-houses were in a very bad state;
the brewery was falling in ruins. An abandoned church
near by could be transformed into one at very little ex-
pense. The barns should be moved nearer ; they are
three hundred steps away ; it is too far and impossible
to watch over the cattle. The prince was to return
to Wollup to gain some instruction from the intendant,
who was very knowing in these things, and make
some "solid improvements." 246 In the meantime, he speaks
of the hunt, where he regrets being still awkward, for
he missed some ducks and a stag.
Even the Marionettes, that he detested, interested
him. He is too perfect. The father reading these let-
ters could not believe his eyes; he did not wish to be-
lieve them. He answered in a friendly tone, addressing
him in the old familiar way as " My dear son." He con-
gratulated him upon learning economy by theory and
practice. He discussed the propositions with the prince,
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 331
recommending him, " to observe minutely everything
himself, to get at the bottom of things, to go into detail,
in das Detail gehen;" but in the Fritz of Ciistrin, he al-
ways saw the Fritz of other times. " You tell me that
you wish to become a soldier again. I think this does
not come from your heart. You only wish to flatter
me." He had done everything, said he, to inspire his
son with a love for military life, but he had not succeed-
ed. Whoever loves a military life must love manly
pleasures, not the occupations of women, not to take
care of oneself, not to be afraid of heat and cold, hun-
ger and thirst. And Fritz, on all occasions, took good
care of himself, preferring to service and fatigue, a
French book, bons mots, a comedy, or his flute. He had
neglected his company of cadets, which was so fine, and
was such a good one. "Ah! if I send to Paris for a
flute-master, a dozen fifers, a troupe of comedians, a
grand orchestra, two dozen dancing masters, a dozen
petits-maitres, or if I were to build a fine theatre, this
would please thee more than the Grenadiers; for they
are of the canaille, in thy eyes, while a petit-maitre, a
little Frenchman, a bon mot, a little musician, a little
comedian (ein petit-maitre, ein franzoschen, ein bon
mot, ein musiqueschen), behold all these are noble and
royal and worthy of a prince (das scheinet was nobler es,
das ist was konigliches das ist digne d' un prince). Dost
thou know thyself well? These were thy true sentiments
up to the time of thy installation at Ciistrin. What thy
inclinations may be at present, I know not, but I will
find out by thy conduct." To become a soldier again,
so be it! But thou must first become a good economist.
332 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
A soldier who does not know how to take care of his
money, who makes debts, is a worthless one. Charles
XII. was a brave soldier, but a bad administrator. When
he had money, he wasted it. He let his army starve to
death, and was not able to establish himself again, after
he had been vanquished. Occupy thyself with thy
household accounts; learn the art of buying bargains;
save something each time; do not spend thy money in
little snuff-boxes and cases. . . ," 247
It is easily seen, however, that the king only desired
to be convinced little by little. The letters, in which
Fritz, the flute-player, the Fritz of snuff-boxes, cases
and bons mots, the little French Fritz, talked about
farms, breweries and sheep-cotes; these letters were
written to please him. He guessed that the young man
had but repeated the lessons that were given him. It
certainly was not Fritz who had discovered "a number
of improvements" possible on the Wollup domain; it
was the intendant. And, in addition to this, the king
must have recognized the work of Hille, but his son had
listened, since he repeated it; he had understood it; the
fine mannered Fritz had entered the stables and his deli-
cate nostrils had inhaled the odor of the manure. The
proof that the king had been insensibly won over, and
that he was disposed to make his ordeal lighter and to
shorten it, is that he permitted the prince to return to
Berlin, the latter part of November, 1731, to witness
his sister's marriage.
THE MARRIAGE OF WILHELMINA.
At last the King of Prussia was going to have his eld-
est daughter married.
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 333
After the terrible scenes of the month of April, 1730,
Wilhelmina had been a prisoner in her own apartments
at the castle, in Berlin.
The king had decided to settle the fate of his daugh-
ter, so that she would be no longer a cause of embar-
rassment, trouble and anger to him, but he did not
yet know to which aspirant he would give her. For
a long time, he had thought of marrying her, in case
he had to renounce the English marriage, either to
the Margrave of Schwedt or to the Duke of Weis-
senfels. The Duke was a prince of the Empire ; we
already know that the Margrave was of the House of
Brandenburg, and a branch issue of the second marriage
of the Great Elector. In the interval, Frederick Will-
iam talked of sending his daughter "to the country,"
and of making her Coadjutrix of Herford. Then it
became known that he had fixed his choice on the
Hereditary Prince of Baireuth, of the Franconian
branch of the Hohenzollerns. Then again, it was said
that he had not renounced the English marriage for
Wilhelmina. It is certain that the queen continued
to negotiate with London, and clung to this hope.
It is probable that the king himself, in the tumultu-
ous depths of his thoughts, agitated this project together
with the others, and that he would have been con-
tented if King George, by a definite and decisive
step, had asked Wilhelmina's hand for the Prince of
Wales; but he had placed the negotiation in such a
light that England, who had never even shown any
generosity in all the matrimonial negotiation, would
not give him the pleasure of an amende honorable.
334" FREDERICK THE GREAT.
She (England) would have been quite willing to ar-
range tlrj double marriage of Wilhelmina with the
Prince of Wales, and Frederick with the Princess
Amelia, because that would have implied a concession
on the part of the King of Prussia. But for the sin-
gle marriage she refused to make the advances ardently
solicited by the queen.
Wilhelmina relates 248 with a great elaboration of
detail, the history of the days, weeks and months that
she suffered in awaiting her misfortune, as she termed
this marriage, which she held to be a misalliance.
One day the king made known to her through the con-
cierge, Eversmann, that she must be resigned, as she was
positively going to become the Duchess of Weissenfels.
The concierge had begun by declaring to her that he had
always loved her, having carried her about in his arms
many times when she was a child, and " everybody's fa-
vorite." He then told her what was going on at Potsdam,
where the king made the queen suffer a thousand mar-
tyrdoms and she had grown to be very thin. Wilhel-
mina responded haughtily to him, but the next day, on
awaking, she found Eversmann near her bed. He re-
lated another scene which took place the evening before
at Potsdam, and the order that he had received to make
some purchases for the nuptials, and the horrible threats
that the king made to all those who would raise opposi-
tion to the marriage, particularly to Mademoiselle von
Sonsfeld, whom he was going to have whipped publicly on
all the squares of the city. 249 Turning toward this lady-
in-waiting, Eversmann sympathized with her for being
condemned to such infamous punishment, at the same
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 335
time saying that it would give him pleasure to see the
appetizing spectacle of the whiteness of her back re-
lieved by the blood coursing down it.
While this "vile domestic" acquitted himself of the
king's messages, the wife of a valet de chambre brought
Wilhelmina word from the queen. She entreated her
daughter to consent to nothing: "A prison," said she,
" is better than a bad marriage." Mile, von Sonsfeld,
whom the king's threat did not move, earnestly advised
the princess to obey the queen. Wilhelmina, not know-
ing how "to rid herself of her torments," closed her
door and began to play on the harpsichord. A fright-
ened lackey entered, announcing that four gentlemen
were there, who had come to speak with her from the
king. " Who are they ? " she inquired. In his fright
the servant did not recognize the faces. Mile, von Sons-
feld came before the gentlemen: it was an embassy of
State, conducted by Grumbkow. Introduced into the
apartments of the princess, they requested the lady-in-
waiting to retire, and closed the door carefully. Wilhel-
mina " was in a terrible state of fear, at sight of these
proceedings."
Grumbkow stated that the negotiations relative to the
marriage were broken. He recalled the unhappiness that
the obstinacy of the Court of England and the intrigues
of the queen had brought to the House. He announced
other misfortunes that would befall the queen, the prin-
cess and the Crown Prince, who was leading a miserable
life at Custrin. The family peace was depending upon
Wilhelmina's resolution. It is true that she had been
reared with ideas of grandeur and flattered herself with
336 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the prospect of wearing a crown, but great princesses
were born to be sacrificed for the good of the State.
Besides, grandeur after all did not constitute happiness.
The best thing to do then was to submit to the decrees
of Providence. If the princess obeyed, the king would
give her double the amount he gave his other children
and, immediately after the nuptials, would accord entire
freedom to her brother. If she was head-strong, the
order that Grumbkow carried, and which he then showed
to her, was to conduct the princess to the fortress of
Memel immediately, and Mile, von Sonsfeld and the
other domestics were to be treated with severity.
In the course of the harangue, the Minister had named
the designed husband. It was no longer the " gross
Weissenfels;" it was the Hereditary Prince of Baireuth.
"He is of the House of Brandenburg," said Grumbkow,
"and will inherit, after his father's death, a fine estate.
As you do not know him, Madame, you can have no
aversion to him. " Wilhelmina responded with her custo-
mary cleverness that all she had heard was right and sen-
sible, and that she found no objections to it. "She did
not know," she added, "how she had merited the
disfavor of the kingr He had disregarded her feel-
ings in the matter. Why had he never spoken to her
himself of her marriage? He had only addressed him-
self to the queen, and made use of the services of
that Eversmann to transmit his orders to her, to whom
she had not deigned to reply, not judging it proper to
communicate with him through a low domestic." Now,
as she learned that the tranquillity of her family depended
upon her decision, she determined to submit to the will
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 337
of the king. She only asked for the permission to ob-
tain the queen's consent. But the four gentlemen ob-
jected. " You exact the impossible," said Grumbkow.
"Everything is at stake," added another, tearfully.
Wilhelmina walked to and fro seeking an expedient.
Three of the gentlemen retired to the embrasure of a
window; the fourth, Thulemeier, who was on the queen's
side and that of France and England, took this opportu-
nity to approach the princess; he advised her to assent to
all they exacted, promising that the marriage should not
take place. He charged himself with making the queen
understand that the announcement of the marriage with
the prince of Baireuth was the only means of drawing
from England a favorable declaration. Thus the eter-
nal intriguing comes up again at this tragic moment.
Three men bring the king's order ; a fourth, the advice
to feign obedience. Wilhelmina grasped the subterfuge;
she approached Grumbkow, declared that she was ready
to sacrifice herself for her family, and, under his dicta-
tion, wrote a letter to the king. When she was alone
she fell into an arm-chair, where Mile. Sonsfeld and the
M company" found her in tears. Everybody in dismay
began to cry with her. 250
At the same time that she wrote to her father, Wilhel-
mina wrote to the queen. She asked pardon for the
fault she had committed in obeying the king ; but she
was only too glad to become the instrument of the hap-
piness of her dear mother and brother. She soon re-
ceived responses to her letters: the king said that he was
pleased to find her so submissive to his will, that God
would bless her and never abandon her; as for himself
338 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
he would take care of her all her life, and prove to her, on
all occasions, that he was her faithful father. The re-
sponse of the queen was that she would no longer recog-
nize her as her daughter ; that she would never pardon
her for having sacrificed herself to the coterie of her per-
secutors and swore eternal hatred.
Wilhelmina soon learned through Eversniann that the
king and queen were to return to Berlin. When she
found herself in the presence of the king, she was sur-
prised to see such a furious look on his face. But to the
question: "Will you obey me?" she answered by
throwing herself at her father's feet and swearing to be
submissive. The whole physiognomy of the terrible man
changed ; he raised her up, embraced her, and gave her
a piece of stuff with which to adorn herself, and sent her
to the queen, who overwhelmed her with abuses. Sophia
Dorothea was not resigned to the loss of her aspirations.
She made herself believe that the king was playing a
comedy, to constrain King George to say the decisive
word ; and as the king-, the days following, spoke no
longer of the marriage, as no one besides had had any
news of the prince of Baireuth who was thought to be
in Paris, she assumed a most charming humor. With
the best grace possible, she did the honors of the castle
to a numerous company of princes whom her husband
had invited to a grand review of twenty thousand men
to be given the 24th of May. But the day before, the
king, after having requested her not to fail in going to
the review with her daughter, commanded her to enter-
tain the "princedom" that evening and have them sup
with her. Then he retired at seven o'clock. "Prince-
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 339
dom " played at faro until the hour for supper. Just
as the company was about to be seated at table, a post-
chaise crossed the court-yard and stopped at tHe grand
staircase. Princes alone had this prerogative ; but no
prince was expected. The queen, surprised, inquired
who it was ; she learned that it was the prince of
Baireuth.
44 The head of the Medusa never produced more terror
than this news caused to this princess." You can imag-
ine how the supper progressed. When the guests had
retired, Wilhelmina begged the queen to release her from
going to the review the following day, but the king had
ordered it, and therefore it must be done. The princess
passed a sleepless night, watched by Mile, von Sonsfeld.
She arose at four o'clock in the morning, " and put on
three coiffes to hide her trouble," and presented herself
in this guise to the queen, whom she accompanied to the
review.
They passed at the head of the troops; then the colonel,
who was conducting the queen, having placed the carriage
near a battery, said to Her Majesty that he had orders
to present to her the prince of Baireuth ; this was imme-
diately done. With a proud air, the queen received her
future son-in-law and, after a few uninteresting questions,
made him a sign to retire. Wilhelmina, disturbed by
the heat and her emotion, left the queen's carriage to
go and hide herself in that of the ladies-in-waiting.
After the dinner which followed the review, the king,
in an abrupt manner, seized the hand of the Margrave
and conducted him to his daughter. During the repast
he asked for a large covered goblet, and drank the health
340 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
of the Margrave, addressing himself to Wilhelmina, who
was forced to drink a responding toast. The trouble,
anguish and despair of the princess drew tears from the
witnesses of this scene. 251
The 31st of May the king led the Margrave to the
queen's apartments, and presented him to her as her fu-
ture son-in-law and left them in tete-a-tete. Sophia Do-
rothea, who had given a good welcome to Baireuth, in
the king's presence, then said "sharp things" to him.
But the prince did not lose his self-possession, and, ill
the evening, as the queen was withdrawing, he paid her
a very pretty compliment. He was not unaware, said he,
that she had destined her daughter to wear a crown,
and that the rupture with the two Courts of England and
France had given him the honor of being chosen by the
king. He was the happiest of mortals, for daring to
aspire to a princess for whom he felt all the respect and
sentiment due her, but these same sentiments made him
cherish her too much, to plunge her in unhappiness,
through a marriage that was perhaps distasteful to her.
He begged that the queen would express herself freely
on the subject. Upon her answer would depend all the
happiness or unhappiness of his life, for if it was not fa-
vorable he would sever all his engagements with the
kin:, however unfortunate it would be for him. The
queen was silenced, but she doubted the sincerity of the
prince, and responded that she could only obey the or-
ders of the king. "He made a very clever little
speech," she said to one of her ladies, "but he did not
catch me."
The betrothal was celebrated June 1st. That morn-
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 341
ing, the king, while embracing Wilhelmina impetuously
gave her the betrothal ring in which was set a large
brilliant. He added a present of a service of gold, say-
ing that it was a mere bagatelle, since he intended to give
her more valuable presents if " she did the thing with a
good grace." In the evening the court and the princely
guests awaited the king in the state apartments. The
king appeared with the prince. He was agitated to such
an extent that instead of having the betrothal in the
grand hall where all were assembled, he immediately ap-
proached his daughter, and holding her fiance by the
hand, made him exchange rings with her. The queen
was so changed that everybody noticed it. The princess
was pale; her hands and knees trembled, and had she not
been supported by her mother and another princess, she
would have fallen. 252 She inclined before her father, to
kiss his hand; the king raised her up and held her a long
time in his arms; they mingled their tears together, for
he also cried. He was in tears the whole evening, and
just as the nuptial ball commenced, he advanced and em-
braced Mile, von Sonsfeld, whom he had threatened a
short while since to have publicly whipped.
He, as well as all the guests, was sad during the
lugubrious repast that followed the ball. " Never,"
said the English minister, "was supper more melan-
choly. All eyes were fixed upon the queen and princess;
silence and the tears that coursed down the cheeks of
those present, showed the sympathy that scene of injus-
tice awakened in their hearts." 253
From this injustice, the author suffered as well as the
victim. For six years the marriage affair had tormented
342 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the king. He had managed very badly indeed, but oth-
ers had also been at fault. England had never attacked
the question with sincere good will; the Queen of Prus-
sia, the Crown Prince, and the Princess Wilhelmina had
intrigued until it had amounted to treason. And so the
king determined to put an end to the affair, but he was
troubled by the resistance and the tears of his daughter
and wife. He felt acutely that in forcing his daughter
he was committing a mean act. To distract himself from
this trouble, he had recourse to the ways already famil-
iar to him, of dining out and having one of his orgies,
which ended in insomnia and night-mare. 254 He dreaded
these scenes of reproach and lamentation so much that
he evaded tete-a-tetes with the queen and Wilhelmina.
Several times we see him communicate with them by let-
ter or messenger. During the days preceding the be-
trothal, he betrayed, on every occasion, his embarrass-
ment and something of a secret shame. He did not
forewarn the queen of the arrival of the prince of
Baireuth, whom he had presented to her by a colonel.
At the dinner after the review, when he introduced the
suitor to Wilhelmina, and in the betrothal ceremony, his
inward disturbance was revealed by his gruff, abrupt
manner. And then he overwhelmed his daughter with
caresses and presents ; he covered her with his tears.
Wilhelmina saw clearly " that he was reluctantly giving
her in marriage."
It seems that there was a fatality hanging over the
heads of this family, condemning all the members to
make one another suffer.
These sad betrothal ceremonies gave no repose to
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 343
the princess. The queen, who still hoped to break the
marriage, forbade her daughter to show any politeness to
the Prince of Baireuth, or even to speak a word to him.
She sought every opportunity "to taunt" her son-in-
law, praising the grand qualities of her daughter, and
the great extent of knowledge that she would give him.
"Do you know," said she, "anything about history, ge-
ography, Italian, English, and music?" "I trust I
know my catechism and the credo" answered the prince,
laughing. The king, on his side, made the prince's life
hard, whose polished, reserved manners he did not like;
he essayed to inebriate him every day, "so as to form
and strengthen his character."
The suitor's situation in such a family was a singular
one. As the marriage was not to be celebrated until
November, he asked the king for a regiment ; it was
given him. Before leaving he had an explanation with
Wilhelmina. He repeated to her what he had said to
the queen, that he would not have dared himself to as-
pire to her hand ; the king had first made the proposi-
tion to him, but he was ready, if she wished it, to sever
the engagement, and make himself unhappy for the rest
of his existence. He said, with tears in his eyes, the
first words of love that Wilhelmina had ever heard. "I
was not accustomed to such jargon," she said. But she
found a pleasure in it that the arrival of the queen in-
terrupted. Her mother did not lose sight of her an in-
stant. The same evening of this interview, as Wilhel-
mina and the prince were breaking together a bon-bon
with some device on it, she arose from the table and
led the princess away. She was ashamed of her "for not
having more modesty."
34:4 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Sophia Dorothea was always expecting good news
from England. One day she thought she had received
it. It was at Wusterhausen, where the Prince of Baireuth
had just come to join the royal family. The queen shut
herself up with her daughter. "To-day," said she,
" your atrocious marriage will be broken, and I think
your silly prince will depart to-morrow," but she again
was deceived. Nevertheless, she was not discouraged.
She retained her daughter near her, as much as she could,
watching her, and, from reports, accused her of co-
quetting with her fiance on the sly ; but days and
weeks passed. The marriage was fixed for the 20th
of November. Wilhelmina relates that on the even-
ing of the 19th, after a day, which she had spent over-
whelming her daughter with unaccustomed caresses, the
queen took her aside: " You are going to be sacrificed
to-morrow," she said ; but added, that she was expecting
a courier, who would give the king entire satisfaction,
only she did not know exactly when he would arrive.
As she could find no expedient for delaying the celebra-
tion of the ceremony, she had an idea, which would ease
her mind: "Promise me," said she to her daughter,
" to have no familiarity with the prince and to live with
him as brother and sister, as this will be the only way
to dissolve your marriage, which will not be valid unless
this comes to pass." 255
The 20th of November, at four o'clock, the princess
appeared for the sacrifice. The queen wished to pre-
side at the toilet, but she was not clever in the vo-
cations of a maid. She disarranged the coiffure, of
which fashion decreed twenty-four curls of hair, as
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 345
thick as the arm, surmounted by the crown. Under
this burden, clothed in a robe of silver cloth trimmed
with Spanish gold point, the train of which, twelve
yards in length, was carried by four ladies, the bride
advanced toward the great hall, where the King of Prus-
sia had amassed all his luxury: portraits with solid
silver frames, silver lustres worth 50,000 crowns, silver
tables, and an orchestra stand of the same metal. In-
stead of ordinary wax-tapers which were unworthy a
place in this great salon, on this eventful day, large
wax-lights spread their smoke abroad, blackening the
faces, and dropping their grease upon the heads and
clothes of those present.
The benediction was attended by salvoes of artillery.
Then they were seated at table, around which were
ranged thirty-four princes. After supper they danced a
torch dance according to the etiquette of the German
Court. The Marshals of the House carrying their batons
of office began the march ; the generals followed, each
one holding a lighted taper. The newly wedded pair
walked gravely around the room twice. The bride took
each one of the princes in turn by the hand and walked
around with them ; the bridegroom did the same with
the princesses. The fete was over. The Margravine
was first conducted into a gala chamber, where her sis-
ters undressed her, the queen having considered her
daughter unworthy of the honor of her assistance,
which etiquette gave to her ; then she went to her
own apartment, where her father made her recite aloud
the Pater and the Credo. At supper, the king had
the satisfaction of giving the husband, "just a little
too much wine. " 256
346 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
THE CROWN PRINCE AT THE MARRIAGE OF HIS SISTER.
A few days preceding her marriage, Wilhelmina
claimed the execution of the promise given her, to par-
don her brother. At Ciistrin, the permission to leave
was looked for impatiently; at last it arrived, but only for
the third day of the nuptials. Neither the queen nor
the princess was notified of Frederick's arrival. The
king suddenly presented him to the queen, saying these
words: " Here, Madame, is Fritz, who has returned."
There was a ball in the grand apartment, where six hun-
dred couples were dancing. The bride was leading a
quadrille in the royal picture gallery. " I loved to
dance," said she, "and was taking advantage of this op-
portunity." Grumbkow interrupted her in the midst of a
minuet: "Madame, you seem to be bitten by a tarantula.
Do you not see those strangers who have just arrived ? "
She stopped suddenly and, looking all around her, saw
only a young man dressed in gray, " who was unknown
to her." "Go and embrace the Crown Prince," said
Grumbkow, " he is before you." "Oh! Heavens! my
brother! " cried she. But still she was looking for him;
Grumbkow conducted her to the stranger. When she
recognized him, (though not without some trouble, for he
had fattened and his face was not so handsome as it was
before,) she threw herself on his neck, laughing, crying,
and talking in a desultory way. Then she fell at the
king's feet, thanked him and begged him to give back
his friendship to Fritz, whom she held by the hand.
Again she embraced her brother, adding the most tender
words of affection. The assembly was in tears, but
Fritz only responded by monosyllables. His sister pre-
' THE SECOND EDUCATION. 347
sented his brother-in-law to him; he did not say a word.
" He had a proud air and looked down upon everybody."
At the end of the evening festivities she reproached him
a little for his changed manner. He responded that he
was still the same, but that he had his own reasons for
acting in this way.
The next morning Frederick had a long conversation
with his sister. He told her of his misfortunes; she re-
lated hers, and gave him to understand that she was sac-
rificing herself for him. He thanked her, with caresses,
but they did not come from his heart. Then he led her
into a conversation on different subjects, to break up
these confidences, and went to see her apartments. He
met his brother-in-law who had discreetly withdrawn from
the princess' chamber, when Frederick had entered.
He looked at him " from head to foot and, after having
proffered a few cold polite phrases, retired." It was
only at the end of this visit, at the moment of fare-
well, that the emotion of the young wife moved
Frederick. "The leave-taking was more affectionate
than the first interview."
" I no longer recognize this dear brother, who has
cost me so many tears, and for whom I have sacrificed
myself," wrote the Margravine. She did not see clearly
either her own heart or Frederick's. She, however, al-
lows us to see her heart, without knowing it, in her
Memoirs. It is a poor heart, not naturally tender, and
is hardened by the cruelties of life. She had ardent-
ly desired the marriage with the Prince of Wales,
because she had heard every day since her infancy,
that she was destined to wear a crown. She was,
348 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
although she was careful about saying it, proud, am-
bitious, and haughty, and felt herself capable of play-
ing a grand role in the world. She had wit and pru-
dence, and keen perceptions; she was mistress of her-
self, and calm in dissimulation. She certainly would
have comprehended State affairs. The resemblance to
her brother was still strong; she had Frederick's high
forehead, large clear hard eye, thin drawn lip, and
even his bend of the head. She admitted, the day of
her marriage, that the arrangement of her hair made
her look like a little boy. She was not feminine, ex-
cept through a certain sad charm, through her tears
and her crying and fainting spells.
To be Queen of Great Britain, to be seated on the
throne that the Protestants thought to be the first in
Europe, what a dream, particularly if her mother
had told the truth, "that the husband destined for
her was but an ordinary man and easy to manage;"
for, then, the queen would be the true king. Sev-
eral times, she had thought of attaining this desire ;
but the repeated deceptions, the knowledge that she
had of the character of the king and queen, the vio-
lent acts of the one and the unskillfulness of the other,
the melancholy in which she lived, had brought
her at an early hour, to look for no good for herself.
Existence had strengthened in her mind the belief in
fatalism; she abandoned herself to it. During those
days that the will of the king had been declared to her,
she seemed to be resigned to the marriage with the
Prince of Baireuth. She no doubt had spells of resist-
ance and revolt. When she heard that the English
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 349
were murmuring against their king, that they still de-
sired to see her established in England, and that the Prince
of Wales could not resign himself to the idea of losing
her, her pride rejoiced, but her hope did not return. She
wished to make herself believe that she had no in-
clination for the Prince of Wales, and that it would be
perfectly absurd if she did, as she did not know him.
She accustomed herself little by little to the marriage
with the Prince of Baireuth. The day she received the
first compliment from her Jiance by a low bow without
words, she remarked that he was tall and well-formed,
and that he had a noble mien, and in default of beauty,
his physiognomy was open and pleasing. Besides, he
was of a great House, since he was of the Brandenburg
blood; Wilhelmina had heard it said that the court of
Baireuth was magnificent and greatly surpassed in rich-
ness that of Berlin. These fine reports flattered her;
she sought and found reasons for resigning herself to
the inevitable.
One can follow, in the Memoirs, her progress in the
art of deceiving herself. In her writings, she lived
again, one by one, those days of the year 1731, where-
in her fate was being decided. It must have been ex-
actly at the moment that her resolution had been taken,
that she put in it a little digression upon the Baireuth
family, and the description of the hereditary prince. A
pretty picture of a man, who, although he had some few
defects, a little too much levity, for example, " and such
a thickness of speech that he expressed himself with dif-
ficulty," yet, had many good qualities, "the power
of maintaining an extreme gaiety, a quick conception,
350 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
penetrating mind, kindness, generosity, far-seeing po-
liteness and an even temper, all the virtues, in fact, with-
out a single vice." To be brief, the perfect suitor for a
prudent marriage. But underneath this, the sentiments
that she tried to hide from herself re-appeared at the
same time. She felt sharply her fall, and measured it
by the diminution of respect shown her: " I was every
one's idol, while I had hope of a brilliant future ; they
courted me so as to have a share some day in my good
fortune. They turned their backs as soon as their hopes
vanished." Then with her customary bitterness of expres-
sion: "I was," 257 said she, " the target of this Court."
She rendered to them disdain for disdain, and van-
quished at last, " tired of being the toy of fortune," she
came to a decision. She married so as to put an end to
it all and go away.
The Margravine is so sincere on these points, that she
leaves to a second consideration, the sacrifice of her life
for the peace of the family, for the happiness of her
mother and the liberty of her brother. This devotion,
in her heart as well as in her Memoirs, was of a second
consideration. She may have ended in believing that
her love for her brother was the principal reason for her
conduct, but it came, in reality, from those subtle re-
sources of self-pride, which find noble motives in actions,
that are first resolved upon without noble intentions.
No doubt Wilhelmina believed she was telling the truth
when she explained to her brother "the obligations he
owed to her." She imagined she had the right to com-
plain of this "dear brother, who had cost her so many
tears and for whom she was sacrificing herself." But
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 351
her brother knew the real state of things, the sad, ugly,
reality; hence, this embarrassment in the interview.
When Frederick heard at Custrin the first news of the
approaching marriage of his sister, it was in May,
he was " in perfect anguish." "Behold," said he, "my
sister is to be married to some beggar, and made un-
happy for the rest of her life." This was the first
emotion, a revolt of pride, at the same time, sorrow
through fraternal friendship, for these two sentiments
blended: "He had a deep regard for this worthy
princess," wrote Hille, "and would like to see her
upon the most brilliant throne of Europe." But, after
"hours of reflection, he became a little more recon-
ciled." He felt that his sister was in redoubtable
hands that would not once relax their hold. From him,
all resistance was useless and dangerous. He did not
care about provoking a new conflict. " In the rigid and
tiresome state " in which he was held, he had accus-
tomed himself not to complain. Each day "increased
the desire to leave." So he also gave himself reasons
for being resigned. "The glory of the king," as he
said, "exacted that the House of Brandenburg should
not humiliate itself longer before the House of Han-
over." "He stormed against the haughty pride of
England." He ended at last in eulogizing his future
brother-in-law. 25S
In this state of mind, he reached Berlin. He arrived
in the midst of the assembly as the festivities were about
drawing to a close, invited at the last moment, a
stranger in a gray coat. Since he had left this Court,
he had passed days in which he had come face to face
352 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
with death. And this Court was dancing. His sister
was enjoying it to the fullest extent ; she had not
seen him enter; the minuet must be interrupted; Grumb-
kow had to point out her brother, whom she did not rec-
ognize ; Grumbkow put her in his arms. Upon these
seven hundred couples, upon all this vast assemblage en-
joying itself, as if he were not himself, not the Crown
Prince, still a prisoner in semi-liberty, and detained in
the routine of a provincial chamber and the degrada-
tion of a civilian's dress, Frederick looked with
the disdainful, contemptuous, threatening glance of a
royal heir. The next day when he found himself in
presence of his brother-in-law, he forgot the fine praise
he had given this personage ; he eyed this contemptible
fellow from head to foot ; he did not pardon his imper-
tinence in having accepted the hand of the Crown Prin-
cess of Prussia. Neither did he pardon the sister for
having given this hand. Did she speak of sacri-
fice? The true sacrifice would have been to allow her-
self to be conducted to Memel, to endure everything, to
save the future. Of the future, Frederick thought in-
cessantly, to console himself for the present. He cast
his glance into it and that look went far. I am certain,
for my part, that in his calculations he had summed up
the utility of a sister, as Queen of England.
He and Wilhelmina understood each other no longer.
The time was already long past, of their youthful
sports, when they posed together under a sunshade held
by a negro, before the Court painter ; when the little
brother listened to the lessons of La Croze in the apart-
ments of his big sister ; and even that time, which
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 353
seemed so recent, when these two beings shielded each
other in their intimacy, by means of their affection, their
music, and their malicious talks, from the miseries of
life ; they drew together in the storm. Now in this
tete-a-tete they were no longer the same. " His caress-
es," said the Margravine, " did not come from the heart,"
but in Frederick's heart there were no longer any
caresses. With him also the hardships of his fate
had produced callousness. The fatality of life was
weighing upon both of them. It pushed them to
egotism and separated them, casting both brother and
sister to their destiny, one here, the other, there.
THE LAST DAYS AT CUSTRIN.
Frederick, during his stay at Berlin, had made rapid
progress in the reconciliation with his father. The
king gave him permission to be present November 29th,
at a grand parade. An immense crowd, that assembled
to see him, showed great demonstrations of joy, for the
presence of the Crown Prince at a review was the best
proof that the king wished to pardon him. Three days
after, the generals, at whose head was Prince Anhalt,
presented a request for reinstating the prince in his po-
sition in the army. The king promised them to soon
give him a regiment, which was in garrison at Ruppin,
and gave permission for him to w^ear the blue coat, the
rest of his visit. Frederick was "colonel elect" when
he set out again for Ciistrin on the 4th of December. 259
There he put on his civilian's coat, and took up his
work again in the chamber, inspecting domains and
corresponding with the king. It was always the same
354 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
tone. First, gratitude to his father for having permit-
ted him to wear the officer's coat for a few days; an effu-
sion of protestations of fidelity, respect, love, submis-
sion, gratefulness. As stubborn as he was in resistance,
so constant would he be in well doing. After our Lord
God, he knew no other seignior than his most gracious
father. If there still remained in him a single false
vein, if he was not completely devoted to his father,
may that father do his will. 260 In the next letter he sent
"a plan for the commerce of Silesia," where he exposed
the ways of disturbing the commerce of this prov-
ince, to the profit of that of the kingdom. Then he re-
lated a visit to Marienwalde, where he drew up a new
lease with a net revenue (ein plus) of 640 thalers. He
proved an error of surveying and made them recom-
mence the operation. He noticed that the peasants ev-
ery day furnished corvee services with one horse, which
was ruin to them. Would it not be better to ask this
service but three times a week and have two horses?
Every one would gain by it, the peasants would have
freedom every other day, and the intendant of the do-
main, who did not have need of daily service, would
like the corvee better with two horses. Another day he
sent some sample glasses from the glass works that he had
established at Marienwalde. He proposed a way to
draw a larger profit from these glass works. 261
Through all this, flow compliments and humble lan-
guage of submission. Frederick announces that he will
go to devotion " to-day and to-morrow." He asks of
his " very gracious father the permission to solicit from
him a favor;" which is to be so kind as to send the new
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 355
regulations for the infantry. He could only give to his
father his heart and his life, but his father had them al-
ready; the only thing left for him to do was to redouble
his earnest prayer to God, so that He would accord to
the king the celestial benediction, without which we can
do nothing. Three times he refers to the regulation
which he intended to study "bravely." He courts his
father with delicate attentions. As he had been in-
formed that an animal had been slaughtered at Wallup,
he sent for a piece which would make a fat roast, and ex-
pedites it to his gracious father whom he knows is fond
of it. As for himself, he regulates his household ac-
counts as well as he can. The king asked him if his
cook was a "good manager," or if he wasted the
wine and the butter. In all submission, the prince
confesses that in the beginning, he managed his house-
hold affairs badly; he went over his accounts every
evening with the cook, but he was cruelly (cjrausam)
deceived, without knowing how or where. Then he
allowed so much per day, and as the cook agreed to
these terms, he never saw anything wrong after that;
but this half-way kind of domestic never kept any-
thing in order, and let everybody meddle with his
affairs. The essential thing after all is, that the
prince economizes with his provincial allowance for
each month. Now in January, he saved in his house-
hold 20 thalers and more. He accustoms himself to
drinking beer; beer is good. It is true that he has
taken some champagne, but it was through order of his
physician, and not through preference; he will not
drink any more. 262
356 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Of all this, the king believed what he wished to be-
lieve; but he had not been discontented with the
prince during his visit to Berlin. He remarked
with pleasure that his son's letters were more pre-
cise and penetrated more into detail. After the
proposition relative to the service of corvees, he is
surprised and delighted, sehr content: "If you have
found this yourself without aid," wrote he, "you are al-
ready far advanced in economy." And he promised
him a horse, " a fine horse." Very soon he had an ex-
traordinary fit of generosity: " I have three horses for
thee. . . . Always have God before thine eyes;
only be obedient. Learn to keep thy household ac-
counts well, to manage thy money in the right way, to
spend nothing until thou hast duly reflected whether it
is not possible to buy the article cheaper. Apply thy-
self so that I can be prouder and prouder of thee. Then
thy position will improve through the grace of God,
and I will establish thee well." In post-scriptum, he
promised him a service of silver. 263
It seems then that all was for the best, and that the
father and son understood each other marvelously well
on all points. But, at this time, when the King of Prus-
sia ceases to abuse Frederick in his letters, and begins
again to say thee, mixing thou and you together, as in the
reconciliations v of lovers, he prepares a trial for him, in
every way resembling the one that Wilhelmina had just
undergone ; he wishes to marry him according to his
own inclination. His demonstrations of affection re-
semble those of the knight who strokes his horse's head
so that the animal will open his mouth for the bit.
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 357
Before arriving at this new crisis in the life of the
Crown Prince, we must pause a moment, in order to
seek the point of development to which he has advanced
since his sojourn of one year and a half at Ciistrin.
His sister had not recognized him. He was, in fact,
much changed. A portrait, which seems to have been
taken in his eighteenth year, before the prison life,
gives him a long face, or rather, to better describe it, an
attenuated face, a distrustful look, half sad, uneasy, an
indefinable expression of melancholia and vice. At Ciis-
trin, he gained strength ; his shoulders broadened and
his face became fuller : " You will see," said Hille to
Grumbkow, before the visit to Berlin, " Your Excellen-
cy, that he is changed. He has a firm, easy carriage. I
find that he no longer has that marquis-like air that
he had before." A visitor remarked that he had "grown,
and looked as though he was in good health and spirits."
This was the effect he produced on everybody when he
was at Berlin. The king, who was not easy to please,
noticed that he still walked in a careless fashion, but he
had to acknowledge that the boy held himself firmer on
his feet. A thing that must have given the king great
pleasure was, that Frederick, in growing stouter, began
to resemble him. Several times Hille was surprised to
remark in the two physiognomies a family likeness.
Naturally it was, when the prince was in a bad humor
that this similarity was more noticeable. "It is sur-
prising how much he resembles, at certain times, Jupi-
ter armed with his thunder." 264
Several of the prince's traits of character made those
around him, who observed them, uneasy; first his im-
358 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
moderate taste "for the brilliant, what the French call
esprit." "The prince," said Hille, "prides himself ex-
tremely upon having this brilliancy. The best way of
gaining his friendship will be to praise him, and not by
procuring recruits about ten feet high. He is ca-
pable of being deceived in his councillors later, on ac-
count of this failing. Plain good sense does not please
him, even added to all knowledge, solidity and
virtue. ... A sentiment, seasoned with a bon
mot* with some point to it, will call him from the
bare, solid facts. He hardly knows German. He finds
that the men who haunt Potsdam are not filled with the
ideas that form a man of esprit and polish, through
the reading of French books. Whence comes his predi-
lection for this nation ? He believes the French are
what they paint themselves in their books. The ones
that he sees do not undeceive him, for he thinks them
a little spoiled by contact with the Germans.
Through prejudice in their favor he finds merits in them
of which they themselves are ignorant." 265
Like the French, Frederick piqued himself upon "a scru-
pulous politeness," even in regard to people who were not
his "equals," but his politeness is that of a grand seignior.
He knows his rank and shows it. After a very familiar
conversation, some officers are presented to him; he re-
ceives them in a kingly manner. He suffers " at being
reduced to the level of the civilians of a little town, as
much by the intercourse with them as by his occupa-
tion." He has pride, the haughtiness of a Crown
Prince and a nobleman, and cannot conceal his disgust for
the men of the people. He is delighted at the death of
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 359
a certain Thiele, whom he detests as much as he does
his brother, the colonel, because they are not of noble
birth; they occupy too high positions. One day Hille,
questioned by him as to what was going on in the cham-
ber, answered that they were examining the accounts of
the Landrath of Selchow. The prince uttered an excla-
mation, finding it very extraordinary that a nobleman
should be obliged to give an account to civilians. Hille,
who was of the people himself, found this impertinence
a little too much. He replied, that " effectually, every-
thing was reversed in this world, and that one could
better account for it, when one considered that princes,
who did not have common sense, and only amused them-
selves with bagatelles, had command nevertheless of
very sensible people. That ended it. If it made him
angry, I have had the pleasure of telling him a truth that
he will not always hear." It is quite evident that the
prince is a mocker ; he acknowledges that what pleases
him the most is to observe others ridiculed. 266
His morals are very light. By his proposals he scan-
dalized Schulenburg, the President of the Council
of War, whom he went to visit in the autumn of 1731.
The old man had undertaken to read him a lecture. He
passed in review all the duties of this life. Upon filial
obedience which, " according to all human and divine
law," said Schulenburg, " ought to be blind," Frederick
made many objections, giving thus a singular com-
mentary upon his letters to his father, so full of pro-
testations of absolute submission. "I fear nothing,"
said he, " so much as to be again near the king."
However, he showed usually very good sentiments in
360 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
regard to the king. Hille, to whom these sentiments
had at first appeared very doubtful, ended by believ-
ing them. "He is sure," he wrote, "that those who
suspect the prince of not loving his father and his
House deceive themselves." Yes, it is certain that
he loved his House. As to his father, it is probable
that he was grateful for his leniency in his disobedi-
ence, and that he may have even begun to render the
justice due to the organizer of the Prussian power;
but did he love him ? When he learned that his sis-
ter of Baireuth was enceinte, he wrote to the king to
congratulate him, and expressed the hope "that his
very gracious father would see the children of his
children, in contentment and health." 267 I am afraid
that Frederick, who told many lies in his life,
only repeated in this case, one of his greatest false-
hoods.
Upon the subject of marriage, Frederick's ideas
shocked all the Gastrin colony and the good Schulen-
burg. As he had reasons to fear a marriage not ac-
cording to his tastes, he tranquilly declared: "If the
king wishes me absolutely to marry, I will obey ; after
which, I will settle my wife somewhere and live at my
ease." Schulenburg objected that, first of all, such con-
duct was "against the law of God, since He says ex-
pressly that adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of
heaven, and, secondly, against honesty, since one must
always hold to one's engagements." "But," replied the
prince, " I will give my wife the same liberty." New
exclamations from Schulenburg. The prince responded
to them " as a young man." He repeated that he was
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 361
young and wished to profit by life. "Take care," re-
plied the mentor, "do not give yourself up to women; the
king, notified of it, would give you much sorrow; you
would ruin your health; without counting the many
heartaches which accompany this sort of pleasure."
"Bah!" Frederick began again, "when you were young,
you were not any better; and even now who knows what
passed on your last visit to Vienna?"
Schulenburg was always leading to subjects pertaining
to God. The prince did not express himself on the
topic of religion. He contented himself with saying
that God is good and will pardon our peccadilloes, but
he was in reality becoming irreligious, he who spoke to
his father of his devotions. When Hille expressed the wish
that God would give to the prince " a little more piety,"
he employed a euphemism.
The way of living imposed upon him, and to which
he resigned himself in his letters to his father, was never-
theless very distasteful. He ate little but was < fond of
side dishes and high-living." It is not true that he be-
came accustomed to beer, nor that he drank champagne
but to obey the physician's orders. However, he drank
very little; the wine he preferred for daily use was Bur-
gundy, with water in it. He continued not to like the
chase, however much he may have appeared to take
pleasure in it. One day as Hille asked him how he
would arrange his life, if he were master, he said: " Do
not say anything about it, but I assure you that reading is
one of my greatest pleasures. I like music, but I am
fonder of dancing. I hate the chase, but delight in
horseback riding. If I were master I would do all this
362 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
whenever I chose; but I would employ a good part of
my time in my affairs. . . . And then, I would
see that my table was properly and delicately served, al-
though without profusion. I would have good musi-
cians, but only a few, and never music during repasts,
for it sets me to dreaming and keeps me from eating. I
would dine alone and in public, but I would invite my
friends to sup with me and treat them well." For his
dress, he would always wear a uniform, " but with very
magnificent surtouts." In telling these projects of the
day when he would be master, he " entered into a kind
of ecstasy." 268
While awaiting the hour, Frederick continued to
carry on his mock economy, and his business as inspector
of domains. When he set out for Berlin in the month
of October, 1731, he sent to Madame von Wreech a
proposed plan that he " really made himself" of
his entrance into the city. < * I will be preceded by a
drove of pigs that will be made to squeal loud.
After them will come a troop of sheep and lambs.
These will be followed by oxen from Podolia, which
will immediately precede me. . . Mounted upon
a great ass, whose harness will be as simple as pos-
sible, instead of pistols, I will have two sacks filled with
different kinds of seed ; instead of a saddle
and blanket, I will have a sack of flour, upon which my
noble form will be seated, holding instead of a whip, a
switch in my hand, having in place of a cap, a straw
hat on my head. . . . Around me will be peasants
armed with scythes ; behind, will follow the noblemen ;
upon a car heaped with manure, the heroic figure of
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 363
Natzmer; on the top of a hay wagon, the frightful face
of the terrible Rohwedel. The procession will end
with Herr von Wolden, who will have the kindness to
pass away his time upon the top of a load of wheat and
barley." 269
Frederick can never be trusted when he rails in this
manner. He went beyond and did worse than the French
fashion. It is in vain for him to deny it; he knew
economy. He had studied the soil, cultivation, animals
and peasants. He knew how a farmer " converted ev-
erything into money," and what it cost a laborer, as his
father said, to save a thaler. He had said to Hille,
that, when he should be occupied in his own affairs, he
would not attend personally to the State: "I will
confide this part to you and others," but he was as capa-
ble of making an examination of State affairs as his
father. One sees already that he will not be prodigal.
Hille remarks, and this is of importance, "for that
which pertains to generosity, he has need of habitual
practice." It was not in vain that his father forced him
to learn the price of butter; Frederick will never sell it
under price.
The things which interested him the most in economy
were the State affairs, intermingled with politics. His
"plan for the commerce of Silesia" must have been
made with the collaboration of Hille, who laid the
matter before him, but he was extremely interested
in it. "I am at present up to my ears in my com-
merce of Silesia," wrote he to Grumbkow. The work
occupied him to such an extent that, when they asked
him if he desired mustard with his beef, he was about
364 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
to reply: "Let us see the new list of customs."
"When he is occupied with a thing," he added, "he is
over head and ears in it. " 27 Now this is the true way
to do everything. In order to compose a memorandum,
he found, on looking at the map, that his father pos-
sessed "nearly the whole coast of the Baltic from
Memel to the Peene," 271 and that Silesia, whence
came all the commercial trouble of the kingdom.
He certainly made on the subject of this province,
and that of Poland, which interrupted, by the mouth
of the Vistula, the Prussian line, dangerous reflec-
tions for the Austrian and Polish neighbors.
He could not keep from talking, what is rightly called
politics. One evening he had a conversation with Natzmer
which was prolonged far into the night, and which
never came to an end, sleep overtaking the two young
men while they were "selling their merchandise." The
prince wished to conclude it and give a resume of his
" system " in a letter to Natzmer.
Here it is in a few words; for the present, peace; for a
King of Prussia, whose countries traverse Europe di-
agonally, "and have not a great enough connection, all
enclosed as they are by neighbors, can be attacked from
more than one side."
In order to protect himself from all his neighbors, he
would have to place the whole army on the defensive,
and there would be nothing left for the oifensive. But
it must not remain in this state. This would be " a
very bad policy and come from a person devoid of all
invention and imagination. When one does not go for-
ward, one goes backward." The question is, to procure
more and more the aggrandizement of the House.
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 365
" The most important thing is ' to draw the Prussian
countries more together, to connect the severed portions,
which belong naturally to the portions we possess, such
as Polish Prussia.' . . . These countries being ac-
quired, not only will it make an entirely free passage
from Pomerania to the kingdom of Prussia, but the
reins can be drawn on the Poles, and it will place us in
a state to dictate laws to them." But, " let us go far-
ther. Here is Citerior-Pomerania. It is only sepa-
rated from us by the Peene, and would make a very
pretty effect combined with our territories. One would
gain more revenue, but the word revenue belongs to
financiers and commissioners." The true profit in the
acquisition would be to place the House above all insults
which might come from the Swedes, to give more lib-
erty to the main body of the army, which would other-
wise have to defend the Peene, to enlarge the country
more, and to open in this way, " the road to a conquest,
which, you might say, offers itself to us; that is, the
country of Mecklenburg." Advancing from country to
country, from conquest to conquest .... like
Alexander .... he moves on toward the Rhine.
To the Prussian countries of Cleves and Mark, he wishes
to add so as they may not be so ' ' lonely and compan-
ionless," Berg and Juliers. Once united, these prov-
inces can sustain a garrison of 30,000 men. They will
then be in a state of defense, instead of which, as it
stands, the single country of Cleves, is incapable of de-
fending itself, and belongs to the king only as long as
the French have the discretion to let him keep it. Over
these territories, Brandenburg has some rights, but the
366 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
prince does not plead them; < ' he reasons only in pure
politics," and can not stop before each word to make a
" digression." He simply wishes to prove that there is
"political necessity " to acquire these provinces. He
hoped that all he said would be found reasonable,
"for when things are in the state that I have just laid be-
fore you, the King of Prussia will cut a fine figure with
the great of the earth, and play one of the grand roles. . . .
I wish this House of Prussia, to rise up entirely out of
the dust in which she is now lying dormant. 272 . . ."
If King Frederick William had read this manifesto,
he would have been reassured about Prussia's future. It
was this future entire that the Crown Prince foresaw
and examined. His theory of the " political necessity"
of certain conquests, with posterior allegation and sub-
sidiary " reasons of right," he first, and others follow-
ing, applied. He speaks to perfection in that very
unique Prussian manner, where bitter irony, which
cuts, alternates with humanitarian and religious phrase-
ology, and the indelicacy of power with the mysticism of
a priestly devotion; for this philosopher, speaks like a
preacher. Upon the same leaf of paper, the space of a
few lines from the proposition of the conquest of
Swedish Pomerania to "enlarge" Prussian Pomerania,
and that of Juliers and Berg, to keep company with Cleves
and Mark, which are "so lonely," he protests that his
House "has no other enemy to fear but celestial anger."
If he wishes Prussia "to rise from the dust," it is " to
spread the Protestant religion, to be the shelter for the
afflicted, the support of widows and orphans, the suste-
nance of the poor and the judge of the unjust." He
THE SECOND EDUCATION. 367
would rather see her abused, "if injustice, lack of relig-
ion, favoritism or vice should prevail over virtue from
which may God preserve her always. . . ."
One can almost imagine this to be a Bismarck or a
William I. who speaks.
Frederick was eighteen years old when he wrote this
letter, which throws a strong light upon his character.
His genius has not yet matured. Contrasts and contradic-
tions, which astonish and worry those who observe them,
are found in him. Some judge him wrongfully. Schu-
lenburg, imagines " that passions rule him entirely and
pleasure holds a larger place in his heart than anything
else;" Schulenburg only saw him for a short time; the
prince was mocking him. Wolden was a great admirer
of his "subordinate." He found in him "all the requi-
site qualities of a grand seignior." He saw all the profit
the prince had gained by his sojourn at Custrin: "In
addition to adversity, which has formed his heart and
mind, the prince begins to have a just idea of the good
of many things which he never knew before." And, "he
is capable of everything, with the penetration that he
has," but he is not yet matured, and Wolden twice ut-
ters the wish "that God may accord the king some
years more of life. Otherwise we would see very sad
calamities befall the poor country, by a sudden change."
Hille knew better than anyone the value of his pupil.
He divined that Frederick would be one of the greatest
princes of the House of Brandenburg, but he found, like
Wolden, that he lacked something. They had reason to
have some uneasiness: the true Frederick was not yet
disentangled from the contradictions of his own nature,
368 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
and the opposing influences which were at work within
him. They also had reason to hope; they saw the
young eagle of Prussia leaving the egg. They were
not the only ones who saw him. Prince Eugene, to
whom the letter to Natzmer had been communicated,
observed that "the ideas of this young lord went far,"
and that he would one day become "very redoubtable to
his neighbors." The old servitor of Hapsburg had a
presentiment of the young eagle's talon.
CHAPTER. VI.
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT. THE INTEN-
TIONS OF AUSTRIA.
We have made several allusions, in the preceding
pages, to the marriage of the Crown Prince. We
must now take up again the history of this new trial
imposed on Frederick by his father. This chapter of
Frederick's youth completes our knowledge of him, and
points out to us curious traits of political morals; great
forces put into action in order to obtain poor, contemp-
tible, low results; great personages solemnly committing
foolish acts, for the history of Frederick's marriage is
that of an attempt made by Austria to take posses-
sion of the Crown Prince of Prussia, and make him
her dependent.
The policy of the Court of Vienna was difficult, at
this stage of the eighteenth century. The Emperor
Charles VI. seemed to be the most powerful monarch of
Christendom. The regulation of the Spanish succes-
sion and the Peace of Passarowitz had added to the old
hereditary provinces and to the kingdoms of Hungary
and Bohemia, on one side, Milan, Naples, and Sardinia
soon exchanged for Sicily; on the other side, Banat,
North Servia with Belgrade, and Little Wallachia up to
the Aluta. The imperial dignity was ornamented, be-
sides, with the brilliancy which it had acquired by pre-
370 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
serving this mosaic of kingdoms and principalities; it
gave the Emperor some authority over the Germanic
corps. But the House of Austria had many enemies:
first, her two traditional adversaries, France and Turkey,
then the Bourbons of Spain, who coveted the two Sici-
lies. Against a coalition always possible of these three
powers, Austria could not depend upon the support of
England and Holland; these countries were hostile to
her not only through religious antipathies, which were
not yet extinct, but since Austria possessed the Belgian
provinces and claimed her part of the ocean commerce,
the two maritime powers united to refuse it to her. The
kingdom of the Hapsburgs, which, extended from Ostend
to Belgrade and from Breslau to Palermo, was in a dan-
gerous position.
It was incoherent both in its ensemble and in its divis-
ions. The kingdom of Hungary, for example, was not
a single country. Her annexes, Croatia, Slavonia, and
Transylvania, were nothing less than Hungarian. The
old hereditary countries were of a mixed race. Even in the
groups of homogeneous races, there were some differ-
ences, between the Tyrol and Breisgau, between Naples
and Milan. It is true that the nationalities had not yet
been awakened. They lived an obscure life, very differ-
ent the one from the other, by race and tongue, geograph-
ical position, traditions, sentiments and interests; but
provided they were not disturbed in their local customs,
they did not think of revolting. Every one of these
fragments recognized the sovereignty of the Hapsburgs.
The Emperor conformed to the exigencies of his condi-
tion. He did not pretend to submit to the same regime
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 371
all these diverse beings. He was not one sovereign ; be
was a collection of sovereigns, a congress in one person,
but this multiplicity rendered activity difficult; there was
in the eighteenth century an Hapsburgian inertia. Aus-
tria held together only on condition that she made as
few moves as possible. Now a great crisis menaced her.
Charles VI. lost in December, 1716, the son who was
born to him in the month of April of the same year, after
eight years of married life. Since then, he had had two
daughters given him, Maria Theresa, in 1717, and Maria
Anne in 1718. No prayer or pilgrimage, had obtained
from heaven the gift of an heir. Thenceforward, the
disunion of the empire of the Hapsburgs was foreseen and
expected; the Austrian succession entered into the calcu-
lations of politics, as did the succession of Spain in the
preceding century. The whole policy of Charles VI.
had for its object the procuration integrally to Maria
Theresa, of the paternal inheritance. The Pragmatic
JSajK^wn^which regulated this great affair, was preSeTITSd
0113II occasions, to the powers of Ku jope. It was cov-
ered with signatures, which were just so many falsehoods.
Even in this cold Europe of the eighteenth century,
which did not know the passions of the souls of nations,
everybody felt that the Hapsburg chaos had no cause for
existing, and that for Austria, political expression was
not necessary.
The principal care of the ministers of state of Vienna
ought to be to assure themselves against all German
enemies, and even to find allies in Germany, by paying
them the price necessary. The designed ally was the King
of Prussia.
372 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Now as Austria had but a hundred and some odd
thousand men to defend Belgrade against the Turk, Milan
against the King of Sardinia, Naples against the King
of Spain, Brussels against the King of France, the
King of Prussia could fall any day upon Silesia with a
large army, since it was open on all sides and badly pro-
tected. The ally that must be paid well, was this king.
Austria knew what she had to dread from Prussia,
but her pride of position as an old power, and an in-
capacity which we find even to-day of making at
the right moment the sacrifices necessary, restrained
her. She thought that it would be sufficient to court
the King of Prussia with words upheld with vague
promises, to surround him, to have him watched, to
provoke and pay the treachery of his ministers, am-
bassadors, fools and domestics. To hold this maniac
in check, all that was necessary, was the presence of
Seckendorff at the "Tobacco College," a few thousand
florins distributed each year, and about twenty giant
recruits sent at the opportune moment.
The success of this policy was qualified to deceive
the court of Vienna. The tumultuous King of Prus-
sia was continually pulling, but never breaking, the
cord that Vienna held out to him, relaxing or tight-
ening his grasp, whenever it suited him. Austria
knew, as well as and better perhaps than the rest of
Europe, the changeableness of Frederick William's mind.
She was, on the whole, contented with him and, in all
sincerity, wished him a long life.
Unfortunately, the King of Prussia compromised his
health by his way of living. Seckendorff and Prince
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 373
Eugene, the one near, the other at a distance, watched
him with solicitude. The greatest pleasure of this
prince was to know that the king was well: " I am de-
lighted," wrote he to Seckendorff, " that you have found
the king in such good health. 1 hope that it will last;
I earnestly wish it with my whole heart. If he would
only habituate himself little by little to temperance, ab-
stain from smoking and drinking so much ! " 273 Secken-
dorff made a respectful representation of it, on behalf
of both Prince Eugene and himself: " You smoke too
much, Sire ! " And the king would smoke several pipes
less, to please Prince Eugene. But he would fall again
into his passions; hardly a year passed that he did not
risk his life. And then, he seemed to approach so near
to madness that he might any moment reach it ; there
was no dependence to be placed in him; in order to be
assured of the future, they must assure themselves of
the Crown Prince.
It was a first step towards it to have broken the mar-
riage alliance with England. They must now render the
rupture permanent by marrying the prince, and choosing
the future Queen of Prussia from the dependents of Aus-
tria. Hardly had Frederick left his prison when Prince
Eugene engaged Seckendorff to prepare the way for
Frederick's marriage with a niece of the Empress, the
Princess Elizabeth of Brunswick-Bevern. Seckendorff,
as early as the month of December, 1730, 274 required the
aid of Grumbkow, and the prince, some days later, was
questioned upon his intentions in regard to marriage.
His first declarations were not encouraging. He said to
Hille that he would not marry young; a spying wife
who, each year, would become "older and uglier," would
374 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
soon be intolerable to him. He would marry then at
forty, a princess of fifteen, who would be in the bloom
of beauty. 275 Several months later, in April, 1731, a
queer idea came to Frederick.
At midnight, he sent for Hille, who arose and went
to him, and under his dictation, wrote out a scheme, des-
tined for Grumbkow. The prince began by complain-
ing of the useless efforts that he had made to regain the
king's favor. As he feared that his father would sus-
pect him of having secret views in regard to his mar-
riage, he declared that, if he had had any, he there re-
nounced them willingly. He was ready to abide by the
king's intentions, if his majesty had any, as he had
heard, towards the House of Austria. He would volun-
tarily marry the Arch-Duchess Maria Theresa, provided
they did not require him to change his religion, " which
he protested before God that he would never desire to
do, for no human consideration of whatever nature and
importance it might be." Foreseeing that Europe would
be alarmed at seeing the hereditary States of Austria and
the House of Prussia united, he proposed to renounce
the latter, in favor of his brother William, provided
they would assign him something wherewith to live be-
fitting his rank during the life of the Emperor.
On reading this strange message, Grumbkow was
struck with amazement (fell from the clouds). He im-
mediately sent it back to Ciistrin, begging Hille to burn
it as soon as possible. The king, said he, will be in a
fine state of anger, if he has an inkling of this fancy.
His majesty not only has never thought of such a mar-
riage, but he would have any one hung that would sug-
gest the idea to him. The honest Grumbkow, before
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 375
sending this document back, of which he so strongly
feared the revelation, made a copy that he communicated
to Seckendorff. He in his turn transmitted it to Prince
Eugene. The two Austrians almost split their heads
trying to find out the explanation of this mystery.
These marriage reports having been circulated by news
mongers, they thought that the prince wished to know
exactly how he stood, and that he had thus given a new
proof of his "falsity." It is more than likely, however,
that Frederick had thought of this means for discovering
the king's projects. At the same time, he seized the op-
portunity of showing his docility, and affirming his defi-
nite renunciation of " secret and disagreeable views,"
evidently with the hope of moving the king at last, and
leaving the "drudgery" a little sooner.
The effect of this fancy proved to be entirely contrary
to what he expected. Prince Eugene had found the
project astounding, wunderlich. He compared it to the
letter written to Natzmer, upon the politics of Prussia,
and concluded from these signs that, if the prince was
not yet very reflective, he was not lacking "either in
reason or vivacity." He returned then to the idea of
the marriage that he had had in mind, possessed with
the thought that the only way of correcting the false
"principles" of Frederick was to make him accept the
Princess of Bevern: "There was no hope outside of the
Bevern marriage." 276
THE DECLARATION OF THE KING.
No sooner said than done. Eight days after Prince
Eugene had sent his orders to Seckendorff, the King of
Prussia wrote Wolden to prepare Frederick for marriage.
376 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
It was one of those strange letters, wherein was mingled
a medley of household accounts, the question of wood
for fuel, reproaches for his son's treason, raillery at his
mannerisms, his ways of a petit-maitre, and the invoca-
tion of the grace of God. " Besides," said he at the
close, and as if in post-scriptum, "my son , if
I deem it proper, must marry and not with a princess of
the House of England; I will give him his choice among
a few. You can tell him this, and I am your very af-
fectionate king."
"Good God!" cried Hille, "how unlucky will it be,
when they attempt to force the inclination of the prince,
who is not so easily disposed to making a choice without
having seen and bagged his game!" However, the prince
felt that resistance would be impossible. Wolden as-
serted that he had accepted the thing "with entire resig-
nation to Providence and blind submission to the order of
his majesty." The good Marshal wished to make himself
believe that, tired of his mode of life, and ardently de-
siring an end to his domestic troubles, the young man
would just adapt himself to circumstances, when it was
a question of marrying, provided that they gave him a
little liberty, and that the wife who was destined for
him would be pleasing, and that he would have some-
thing with which to maintain his little Court. But will
these conditions be granted ? Wolden is melancholy.
"All this is not very rejoicing," he said. Like Hille, he
felt that fresh storms were brewing. 277
The king took note of the submission of his son: "Let
him continue," wrote he, "it will bring him fine profit."
As he had promised the prince to allow him to choose
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 377
from among a few parties, he commissioned Grumbkow,
the middle of June, 1731, to take to Custrin a list of
princesses. There were but three names: Saxe-
Gotha, Eisenach, Bevern. Grumbkow, who knew
the play, presented the forced card. Frederick made
a pretense of taking it; he decided for Bevern; but
on two conditions: first, that the princess was ' 'neither
stupid nor disgusting;" second, that the king would
give him enough for a maintenance. Besides, he af-
fected at this moment "to be above all worldly affairs. It
was then that he was boasting to Grumbkow of having be-
come a great poet. He added that he "would be neither
a general nor warrior, not wishing to mingle himself
in any of the details of his affairs: to render his peo-
ple happy, he would choose good ministers and
allow them to do it." Seckendorff delivered to Prince
Eugene this happy prognostic. 278
Frederick always hoped that some incident would
arise to disarrange the king's projects. He was not
at all resigned. The marriage topic was often renewed
in his conversations at Custrin. In advance, he began
to hate the Princess of Bevern. "She is silly and
ugly," said he to Hille. "But, even supposing this
is true, could you not love her and live with her?"
"Assuredly not, I will settle her somewhere as soon
as I am master. I ought to be pardoned for getting
out of the affair as well as I can." It is the same
speech that he repeated some days after to Schulen-
burg, adding to it a wicked word. As Schulenburg
wished to make him fear that the king might take
the part of his abandoned daughter-in-law: " I will
378 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
arrange everything in such good order, that she will
not dare to complain." 279
However, Frederick, like his sister Wilhelmina, saw
day succeeding day, and nothing come to pass which
could give him the least hope. After he had the sorrow
of being present at the marriage of his sister, he felt that
his time was now approaching. He fought against it.
No doubt, one of his reasons for his repugnance to the
Princess of Bevern was, that her House was not illustri-
ous enough; she was, in his eyes, a beggar, like Baireuth.
He would much prefer not marrying at all, said he to
Grumbkow; but if they were absolutely determined to
marry him, why could he not espouse, instead of a niece,
one of the daughters of the Empress? He would be con-
tented with the second; provided she had 4 <a dot of some
duchies." Another time, he talked of marrying Anne of
Mecklenburg, grand-daughter of Ivan, on condition that
she would renounce the throne of Russia, and bring him
a dot of two or three million of roubles. But all these
were expedients, and ways of talking for the sake of
talking. At the end of a letter in which he treats of a
marriage with a daughter of the Empress, he puts a
jwst-scrijitum : "No, I will never take a wife, even
were it from the hands of Madam, the Princess of Bai-
reuth." He became more and more exasperated against
the Bevern princess, saying that he knew very well that
she was ugly, heavy as a log, and half dumb. He re-
peated that, if they forced him to marry her, he would
banish her as soon as he was master. 280
At this time, Prince Eugene, seeing that the sojourn
at Custrin was soon coming to an end, resolved to make
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 379
fast the bonds of the intrigue with which he had enveloped
the King of Prussia and his son. The latter part of Janu-
ary, 1732, he sent instructions to Seckendorff, which re-
sembled the plan of a campaign. Seckendorff must move
secretly, hide from all others except Grumbkow the part
that he took in the work of this marriage, to have the
appearance of not interfering at all, to give the queen no
excuse for denouncing the Emperor to the Court of
England, with whom it would be necessary to deal cau-
tiously; for it had not yet renounced the marriage of
Frederick with an English princess. However, things
must be quickly done; arrange "as soon as possible,"
the first interview between the Crown Prince and the
Princess of Bevern, and then "without the loss of a
moment's time, proceed to the marriage." It was of the
highest importance to gain the confidence of the prince,
but it must be done without the king's knowledge, who
might take offense at this step. For this, he had better
concert with Grumbkow. He was not to lose an oppor-
tunity of saying and repeating to the prince that his
imperial majesty had for him and for his House a par-
ticular predilection. But no doubt words alone would
not be sufficient: the best way of being agreeable to the
prince would be to aid him, in his need of money. His
imperial majesty put then at the disposition of Secken-
dorff a sum of from 2,000 to 2,500 ducats, that he must
extend to the prince, at several different times, with
the greatest prudence, with "the strictest secrecy;"
for no one must be in his confidence, except the
prince and Grumbkow. 281
At the receipt of these orders from Field-Marshal
380 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Prince Eugene, General Seckendorff, who had skillfully
led the first operations of the siege, made ready for the
assault.
It was precisely at this date, in the beginning of the
year 1732, that the letters of the king to his son became
more amiable; he gave him a horse, and announced he
was going to send him a service of silver, knives, forks,
spoons, dishes, candelabrums, ' < enough to laden an
ass." 282 As the prince was sick, his father was very much
interested in his recovery. In the meanwhile, he talked
of a good establishment, gutes JEtablissement and
promised that he would soon give him reasons to be very
contented. These repeated letters, these unaccustomed
tones, these largesses, must have put the prince " in ag-
ony." He was also, at that time, troubled with the
idea of a journey that he had to make to Berlin, to offer
salutations to the Duke of Lorraine, who was expected.
First, he had fear that this prince, the affianced of Maria
Theresa, would have but a mean opinion of this miser-
able Court, just returning from those of France and
England. He dreaded it much more on account of meet-
ing his father again. "Far from Jupiter," he said, "far
from the thunder." He went so far as to feel a tardy
affection for Ciistrin, even to wish "to remain here
longer, living in perfect peace." On the 4th of Febru-
ary, 1732, at midnight, he was awakened by a courier,
who brought him a letter from the king. This letter,
at this unusual hour, could only announce grave news.
It began with a formula which the king never employed:
"My dear son Fritz; " ordinarily he only said: "My
dear Son." " Fritz " was a burst of tenderness, added
to all the preceding indulgences:
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 381
Potsdam, February 4th, 1732.
My Dear Son Fritz:
I am very much rejoiced that you have no longer need of
medicine. You must take good care of yourself yet for some
days, on account of the intense cold, for I and all here are indis-
posed from rheumatism. So watch yourself well. You know,
my dear son, that when my children are obedient I love them
tenderly. When you were at Berlin, I pardoned you with all
my heart, and, since that time I have thought of nothing but
your welfare and to establish you well, not only in the army,
but with a suitable daughter-in-law, and have you married while
I am still living. You can rest assured that I have had the
princesses of the country examined by others, as well as pos-
sible, through reports of their conduct and education. . . Now,
the Princess of Bevern, the eldest, has been found good and
modestly reared, such as all women should be. You must tell
me your sentiment immediately. I have bought the house at
Katsch, which will be for the Field-Marshal Governor ; I will
rebuild (for you) the house of the Governor and furnish it. I
will give you enough to carry on the expenses of your house-
hold and, in the month of April, I will send you to the army.
The princess is not beautiful, but she is not ugly. You must not
speak of this to any one, but write to your mother and tell her
that I have written, and if you have a son, I will let you travel.
The nuptial ceremony will not take place before next winter.
In the meantime, I will seek occasions sometimes to show you
honor, and I will thus learn to know you. She is a being who
fears God, and that is everything. She will demean herself as
well with thee as with her parents-in-law. May God bless this
union! May He bless you and your successors! May He keep
thee a good Christian, and have thou God always before thine
eyes, and do not believe in the damnable faith of a Particular-
ism and be obedient and faithful, then all will go well for thee
in time and eternity. And the one who desires this with all his
heart says: Amen. Thy faithful father unto death,
"F. W."
" If the Duke of Lorraine comes, I will send for thee. I be-
lieve that thy betrothed will come here. Adieu. God be with
you." 283
382 * FREDERICK THE GREAT.
THE DOUBLE PLAY OF THE CROWN PRINCE.
In reading this masterpiece of endearment, this propo-
sition of marriage, followed by the information that the
house would soon be ready for the newly married couple,
this portrait of the princess, in two morsels, separated,
so as to better swallow them, by the promise of a jour-
ney, after the birth of the first-born; finally, in the Post-
Scriptum, the word betrothed, with the announcement
that the young girl will perhaps come, and he also may
be called, Frederick comprehended that everything was
arranged, decided, settled. He wrote then to his
father, " in all submission," that he would not "fail to
obey his orders ;" he wrote to his mother, as the king
had commanded ; but he sent at the same time a very
short note to Grumbkow, in which he called the princess
"a vile creature." The note finished, he again took
up the pen: " P. S. I am sorry for the poor soul, for
with all this, there will be one more unhappy princess in
the world."
He began a vigorous correspondence. The king hav-
ing announced that the marriage would not be before
winter: " We have time multiim" wrote he to Grumb-
kow. Two days later he repeated his promises of sub-
mission to the minister, but he called the princess the
corpus delicti; he requested that they would at least give
her a second education, and charged Grumbkow "to
work this affair." He did not wish to have a stupid
woman, who would enrage him by her silly remarks, and
whom he would be ashamed to bring forward; he would
like better for her to be a . . . . He hated hero-
ines of romance; he also feared a too virtuous person,
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 383
and, rather than a devotee, with a hypocritical smile and
a half-dozen bigots at her heels, he would prefer the great-
est .... of Berlin. Let them teach the prin-
cess verbatim "EEcole des Maris" (School for Hus-
bands); and "UFcole desFemmes" (School for Wives).
This will be better than Vrai Christianisme (True Chris-
tianity) of the late John Arnd. If she can still dance
on one foot, teach her music, and to become rather too
bold than too virtuous. But if she is stupid, let her go
to the devil. The prince assured Grumbkow that he
would much prefer to marry Mademoiselle Jette, with-
out ancestors or advantages. Now Mademoiselle Jette,
Avas Grumbkow' s own daughter, and he, on comparing
this passage with the preceding, did not relish much this
impertinence of grand seignior to vassal. 284
Grumbkow tried to calm the prince. He represented
to him that the Princess Elizabeth was a peaceful, mod-
est person, and that wives of this kind are the ones that
give the least cause of disturbance to their husbands,
whether they be great lords or simple folk. "My
very dear general" responds Frederick, " I will believe
you on every other subject outside of woman, al-
though I know that you perhaps have known some-
thing of them in past time. ... I firmly persist
in my sentiment, and one would have to be a great
philosopher to prove to me that a coquettish woman
has not many advantages over a zealot." Grumbkow
was not discouraged. He pictured Frederick's be-
trothed to him, avoiding, designedly, a flattering por-
trait, so as to give Frederick the agreeable surprise
of finding her better than he imagined her to be. He
384 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
reported the conversations of the king, full of prom-
ises; the king will give his son time "to know the
person in question;" before deciding, he will give him
back his confidence, and treat him, not as his son,
but as a friend; he will give him a separate household;
for, "I comprehend," said his majesty "that we must
not always be together, and that it will be something
new for us, when we meet again , " briefly, he will
do everything in reason and kindness, and, if he is
content with the conduct of his highness, he will
give him occasions to travel and know the world. 285
The king was ignorant of the correspondence of the
prince with his minister, and held him to the first
declaration of obedience. As soon as he saw the be-
trothed, he was "infatuated;" he wrote to his son in
praise of the young girl and guaranteed that she
would please him ; in consequence of which, he an-
nounced that he would proclaim the marriage as soon
as the prince arrived in Potsdam. Frederick answered
that he was charmed with the picture his father sketched
of the princess, but even if she had been otherwise, he
would submit to the paternal will. The king, on receipt
of this letter, was touched. He showed it to the Prince
of Bevern, father of Elizabeth, and to Grumbkow.
"Here," said he to the latter personage, " read. . . .
What think you?" "Well, Sire," responded Grumb-
kow, "what do you say to this obedient son ? What
more can you wish ? " Frederick William replied with
tears in his eyes: "It is the happiest day of my life."
Then the king repaired to the adjacent chamber with the
Prince of Bevern, to embrace him at his ease. Grumb-
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 385
kow came to the conclusion, at this moment, that the
prince was at last resigned. Everybody was in a good
humor at Potsdam; the queen herself was gracious to-
wards Bevern. After dinner she had the coffee served
in her Holland house in the park. Grumbkow reassured,
found the betrothed very nice indeed and did not scru-
ple to confess it to the prince: "I must acknowledge
she has changed greatly to her own advantage, and
that the more one sees her, and the more one be-
comes accustomed to her, the prettier one finds
her .... and if she gains more flesh, and her
form becomes rounder (and there are already signs of it)
she will be very seductive." 286
Two days after he had related to Frederick the joy of
the king and the satisfaction of all the family, Grumb-
kow received in his turn a letter from the prince in
which he named his fiancee "the abominable object of
his desires," and declared flatly that he would never
marry her. Neither hope of peace, his rights, nor for-
tune would make him change his mind. "It is only
exchanging one unhappiness for another." He wished
to marry for himself, not for the king. His father
should reflect, as a good Christian "if it is well doing to
force people to obtain divorce, and to cause all the sins
that a badly assorted marriage makes one commit."
Frederick urged Grumbkow to come to his aid: "If
there are honest men in the world, they ought to think
of saving me from the most perilous step that I have
ever taken in my life." If he were abandoned, he would
take counsel from himself alone: " I have been unhappy
all my life, and I believe it is my destiny to remain so.
386 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Let come what will. I have nothing with which to re-
proach myself, I have suffered enough for a crime of in-
discretion, and I will not engage myself to extend my
affliction indefinitely, I have still some resources, and
the snap of a pistol can deliver me from my trouble and
life. I believe that the good Lord will not condemn me
for it, and will have pity upon me instead, and in ex-
change for this life, give me salvation." 287
Grumbkow was struck with amazement once more
(again he fell from the clouds) ; he felt the danger of
his double play: "How is it?" wrote he to the
prince, "that while your royal highness agrees with
the king in everything, you are in despair, and wish me
to turn the course of affairs, a thing which would
cost me my head ? No, my lord, blood is thicker than
water. ... I am not obliged to ruin myself and
poor family, for love of your highness who is not
my master, and whom I see rushing to his own des-
truction. I fear God too much to attach myself to a
prince who wishes to kill himself without any reason
whatever. . . . My lord, you may have all the
intelligence possible, but you do not reason like a
good man and a Christian, and, beyond that, there is
no salvation." He tried to- excite his compassion for
the queen, and to frighten him in regard to his own
fate. "I will never forget what the king said to me
at Wusterhausen, when your royal highness was at
the fortress of Custrin, and I desired to take your
part: 'No, Grumbkow, think well on what I am
going to say: May God will that I may be deceived,
but my son will not die a natural death; may God
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 387
will that he die not by the hand of the executioner.'"
Grumbkow brought his epistle to a close by * < declar-
ing that he withdrew entirely from the prince's af-
fairs; he bestowed " his blessing" on him, and quoted
the words of Solomon: " a prudent man foreseeth the
evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on and
are punished." At the same time, he wrote to Wolden,
that he left it to his care, " to clear up the trouble"
and took his very humble farewell of the society "not hav-
ing enough spirit to have his head cut off with a good
grace." He excused the marshal from answering him,
and requested that he (the marshal) would dispose his
royal highness to forget him entirely. 288
These letters arrived at Custrin, just as Frederick,
who had been notified from Potsdam, was making ready
to depart. Grumbkow expected a renewal of "the old
scenes." He expressed his anxiety to Seckendorff; the
prince is not master of his passions ; they will betray
him; the seven wise men of Greece would not be
capable of appeasing father and son. But Grumbkow,
who thought he knew his Crown Prince so well,
was deceived ; everything passed off in the best
possible manner. Frederick arrived at Potsdam the
26th of February. Two days after, the king officially
asked of the Beverns the hand of their daughter.
The king gave to his son, a beautiful watch set with dia-
monds, enclosed in a handsome jewel-case, to present to
the princess. He also ordered taken from the royal
treasury, a wedding ring, valued at 24,000 thalers one
of his own father's jewels, which he had kept for the be-
trothal ceremony. The Crown Prince appeared at his
388 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ease. He said to Grumbkow, it is true, that he could
never love the princess, but that he had no aversion to
her, that she had a good heart and he wished her no
harm. With Seckendorff, he was gracious and " open-
hearted." He showed that he was perfect master of him-
self. Even in a letter to his sister, two days before the
betrothal, he did not tell his thoughts except in veiled
words: "The person is neither ugly nor beautiful, not
lacking intellect, but very badly educated, timid, and
lacking much in the ways of good-breeding. You
can judge by this as to whether I find her agreeable or
not."
March 10th, 1732, the ceremony of betrothal was sol-
emnized. As they exchanged betrothal rings, the eyes
of the prince were suffused with tears. He received the
customary congratulations, then moved back several
steps, and began talking with a young lady of the Court,
without again glancing at his fiancee.
FROM THE BETROTHAL TO THE MARRIAGE.
Prince Eugene came forth conqueror in the first en-
gagement, but the battle was not yet won. With a
fiance like Frederick, promises were not yet marriage.
Seckendorff, while maneuvering like a docile and
clever lieutenant, feared that they had made a bad busi-
ness of it. He was convinced that, if the king died be-
fore the nuptial ceremony, the Crown Prince would
regain his liberty. Then suppose the marriage accom-
plished, the prince would only resign himself to it in or-
der to have the license to lead afterward a dissolute life.
4 'And he will blame the Emperor, and altogether the
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 389
consequences will be bad." He disapproved the pre-
cipitation with which they had carried on the affair.
Why did they not allow the red spots on the prin-
cess' face (she had just recovered from an attack of
small-pox) time to disappear? In this manner, the
crafty minister took every precaution to appear inno-
cent of the intrigue of which he was the main leader.
He even pretended to place obstacles in the way:
"Neither the king, nor anyone will be able to accuse me
of being urgent in this affair, either directly or indi-
rectly. The king has recently spoken of it to me. I
advised him not to be in such great haste." He did not
fail, to make known to Frederick, through Grumbkow
the good service he had thus rendered him. 290
Prince Eugene, however, was full of confidence. He
gave new instructions: to obtain from the king the
promise that he would thereafter treat his son better, and
tell the prince that he owed to Seckendorff and Grumb-
kow this happy change in the paternal humor; to form
the Court of the newly wedded pair, "of faithful ad-
herents," on whose sincerity one could absolutely de-
pend, and who would give to the prince "only honor-
able principles, conforming to the imperial interests,
who would be attached to Grumbkow and Secken-
dorff." The Princess Elizabeth, on her side, will
know how to gain, little by little, the love of her hus-
band, particularly if she will assume "a more open man-
ner," "a gayer humor." The mind of the prince is still
flexible ; the bad impressions which have been given
him by the evil-disposed will disappear. In the mean-
time, they must afford him every pleasure, through
390 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
money and other means. " With these light, uncertain
dispositions, it is necessary to enter into their passions,
so as to make yourself agreeable to them, and then you
can manage them usefully afterwards." All this seemed
very easy to Prince Eugene. He already saw the Crown
Prince penetrated " with ideas capable of strengthening
the friendship of the two royal and imperial Courts," and
imbued with sentiments of respect and love for his im-
perial majesty and the august archducal house. He
concluded that affairs would end much better than could
be imagined from the beginning ; but the marriage must
be hastened, every means possible must be used, auf
alle thunliche Weise, for the health of the king and his
manner of living was always cause of much anxiety; and
then general affairs might take another turn It is there-
fore very desirable to obtain from the king a fixed date,
but there must be no appearance of haste, nor of a wish
to urge him. 291 Prince Eugene left it to the skillfulness
of Seckendorff and Grumbkow, whom he never separated
from one another: he always said, " Grumbkow and
you."
Seckendorff obeyed to the letter. He took much
trouble to form the future Court of the prince. He
thought to give him for Marshal, Count Schulenburg,
and this candidate was discussed at length by Grumb-
kow, Prince Eugene and himself. From Vienna, Eu-
gene sent objections; Seckendorff and Grumbkow re-
sponded from Berlin. They ended by agreeing that the
old general was the honest man that was needed, and a
good Imperialist, gut kaiserlich gesinnt; but Schulen-
burg declined the office. Wolden remained then in his
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 391
rank of Marshal near Frederick. As he was insignifi-
cant, Seckendorff and Grumbkow were reconciled to
him. They succeeded in sending Natzmer away, the
political confidant of the prince, his accomplice in for-
bidden pleasures, notably his "love affair;" but their
greatest success was the appointment of Madame von
Katsch to the dignity of First Court Lady to the be-
trothed princess. Seckendorff "placed his greatest
hope" in this lady, because she was clever, full of
goodwill, and capable of exercising "a healthy influ-
ence" over the prince. As she would receive from
Bevern and from the king but the sum of 100 thalers,
he proposed to Prince Eugene, or, as he said, " to the
enlightened sense of his most princely highness," to
give to the First Lady of the Court a pension from 1,000
to 1,200 florins, by means of which she would be able to
live, ' * and would be entirely won over to the imperial
interest."
Seckendorff also counted upon Madame von Katsch to
form the manners of the Princess Elizabeth, and he pro-
posed to aid her in this to the best of his ability. He
was glad that the Beverns had to leave the Court in about
twenty days after the betrothal ceremony, to return to
Wolfenbuttel. The princess could then commence her
new education. The prince complained that she danced
"like a goose." Seckendorff sent to Dresden for a re-
nowned master, to teach her to dance like a human be-
ing. He trusted that the betrothed would improve in
her appearance. " She really has as fine features as any
one may wish to see. She is well formed. Her facial
beauty will soon return; the last spots that the small-pox
392 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
left are going away, and her bust will develop with her
years."
Unluckily, Frederick became very restless. "His
principal defect," wrote Seckendorff "is dissimulation and
falsity. One can not trust him except with the greatest
precaution. His most ardent passion is sensuousness.
They say that the strength, of his body is not suffi-
cient to sustain him in his evil desires, and that he
seeks in "gallantries" a vain glory, rather than the
gratification of a vicious passion. He does not lack
intelligence, but there is but little solidity in him.
He is more preoccupied in forming a bon mot than
telling facts." Seckendorff thought, as did Prince
Eugene, that the best way of winning his highness was by
giving him money ; but they must go to work with
great prudence. In the palace, valets de chambre,
lackeys, and pages, had their orders to give a faith-
ful report to the king of all they saw and learned,
"under penalty of losing life, honor, and reputation."
If they saw a supply of money, this extraordinary
event would not fail to put them on the alert.
And the prince was also very capable of expending
this imperial subsidy on his mistresses instead of pay-
ing his debts. There were many difficulties in the
way: Seckendorff overcame them to the best of his
ability. He had an understanding about everything
with Grumbkow; he always said: "Grumbkow and I,"
or "I and Grumbkow." They hoped at last that to-
gether that they would be able to efface "the bad
impressions which had been given to the prince about
honest people;" and "to lead him, through God's
aid, into better paths." 292
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 393
There remained but one thing now to satisfy Prince
Eugene, and that was to obtain a date for the mar-
riage, but, in spite of all attempts, the king was in
no hurry. It may be that he hesitated, as usual,
before the accomplishment of an act which bound
him to Austria, or perhaps he did not know
what he wanted. The date was fixed several times
and postponed: fifteen months elapsed between the be-
trothal and marriage, filled with events.
The two accomplices passed through great apprehen-
sion. The marriage of the Crown Prince was always
considered in Europe a political affair of the most su-
preme importance, and England disputed with Austria
for the future King of Prussia. Degeiifeld, who had noti-
fied the Court of London of the betrothal ceremonies of
Frederick and the Princess Elizabeth, wrote that the
English nation was "terribly piqued." He had under-
taken to play the opposing part against Seckendorff and
Grumbkow; he put on an air of great importance, and,
on returning to Berlin, entered into favor with the king.
He soon hazarded propositions: the Prince of Wales
could marry one of the daughters of the King of Prus-
sia, and Frederick, the Princess Amelia. Grumbkow be-
comes uneasy, although the queen speaks to him of the
Bevern marriage as if it were already accomplished, and
promises to take the best care possible of her daughter-
in-law. She even affects sympathy for Elizabeth: "She
has not the ways of the world yet, but has a very good
presence and the rest will come ; " however, Grumbkow
knew well that the queen hoped for "the amendment ;"
he had no confidence in her, and he had reason. 293
394 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
In reality, the queen detested her future daughter-in-
law, and continued to wish for the English marriage
In the intimacy of her little Court, she freely ex-
pressed herself about the Beverns; her children knowing
that it would please her, imitated the princess. In the
month of August, 1732, Wilhelmina being at Berlin,
Frederick obtained permission to visit her there. As
the king was absent, the tongues were given full sway
At table, the queen, speaking of the bride elect, said
to Wilhelmina: " Your brother is in despair at having
to marry her, and he is right. She is a stupid animal;
to everything that is said to her she answers with a
4 yes' or 'no,' accompanied by a silly laugh, which
makes one sick." Upon which, the Princess Charlotte, a
lovely girl, whose heavenly blue eyes were half hidden by
blonde curls, interrupted the conversation to say: "Oh!
your majesty does not yet know all her accomplish-
ments. I was present one morning, at her toilet. I
thought I should suffocate. She smelled like carrion.
I noticed she had a very bad form. Her skirt was
padded on one side and one of her hips was higher
than the other. . . ." This was said before the do-
mestics, and made the Crown Prince "change color." m
If Seckendorff and Grumbkow had only been sure of
the king! But he himself kept them uneasy. "God
knows whether we have not as much at stake as our ad-
versary," wrote Grumbkow on the subject of the English
propositions. He saw his master pass through all the
emotions, "fear, despair, rage, impatience;" sometimes
crying out the health of the Emperor at table: Floreat
Augustissimus ; and then again being very much flat-
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 395
tered by the advances of England and multiplying the se-
cret interviews with Degenfeld. Grumbkow w T as furious,
for he held this Degenfeld to be but a mean politician,
and was humiliated to think that men like Seckendorff
and himself were vanquished like the Philistines of the
olden times " by the jaw-bone of an ass." The king, of
course, spoke of the contracted marriage, as if it had al-
ready come to pass. At the news that Madame von
Wreech was enceinte and that the Crown Prince was ac-
cused of it: "This gives me pleasure," he said ; "he
will give that many more to the Princess of Bevern,"
but he did not hasten to conclude the ceremony. "He is
very capable," said Grumbkow, "of consulting no one but
himself, and doing the contrary of that which one ad-
vises him to do." Nor was Seckendorff at heart feeling
more reassured. He saw the king, on receiving the let-
ters of congratulation from the Emperor on the betrothal
of the Crown Prince, "kiss them devoutly." "Grumb-
kow and I," wrote he to Prince Eugene, "will neglect no
opportunity to push forward the marriage secretly unter
der Handzu poussiren;" but he knew very well that his
majesty would not be led by the nose, and, after all
would only do whatever came into his head. 295
However, Seckendorff and Grumbkow tried to see
which one could best circumvent the Crown Prince. A
correspondence was established among these three per-
sonages (who hated and had a contempt for one another),
full of spirit, reciprocity, goed will, and cordiality.
Seckendorff began the placing of the Augustissimus
ducats soon after the betrothal.
"A true, zealous, servant of your royal highness,"
396 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
wrote he to the prince, "has so much at heart the restora-
tion of harmony in the royal family, that he cannot help
warning your royal highness that all care must be
taken to preserve it, and, for fear that during the sojourn
at Custrin, a few debts could not be prevented, it will be
absolutely necessary to liquidate them, before it comes
to the knowledge of the king, who would believe, if
he knew it, that the money had been misused. A
beginning will be made by extending to your royal
highness 500 ducats, to be used toward paying the
debts. But, as it will create surprise if they are all
paid at once, the prince will have the prudence to pay
but a part every month, and make his most intimate
friends believe that this payment comes from the
money that he saves from what the king gives him
for his monthly allowance, and from the revenues of
his regiment."
Seckendorff explains after this the way to proceed
about it. The bearer of the letter is a trustworthy
man, a faithful servant of Grumbkow, and will not
awaken suspicion, for they are in the habit of seeing
him bring books to the prince. His highness must tell
him to go for the answer ; the man will return, place a
package upon the table and go away. His highness will
have the kindness to " break " the present note and
give a few torn pieces to the bearer of the ducats.
Frederick was delighted with this aid which was a
godsend to him. " The book that you have obligingly
sent me," wrote he to Seckendorff, "is charming, I
send you in this envelope the song you have requested,"
that is to say the fragments of the broken letter.
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 397
He assured his dear general that although he could
say "but few words" he was none the less with much
consideration of affection and esteem, his most perfect
friend and servitor.
On sending the "second relay," Seckendorff said to
the prince that if his highness approved of the manner in
which it was extended to him, he could always be served
in this way. The prince approved, and fhe exchange of
letters and songs continued. Seckendorff made an
advance of 2,000 florins to the prince in order to pay
for the great recruits that came from Austria. The
prince,* who knew this sum would never be reclaimed,
presented his thanks. His letters became more and
more "gracious and amiable." He acted "with his
dear general" as with a true friend. After he had eaten
up the 1,300 ducats that his father had given him to
pay for new recruits, he sent his creditor to Seckendorff.
He paid and even passed the limits that Prince Eugene
had suggested; he asked for instructions from Vienna,
but he was of the opinion that it was best to do the
thing on a large scale. When the prince is married,
said he, the king will not give him more than 12,000
thalers a year, with which it will be simply impossible
for him to live. The 2,500 ducats of imperial pension
will not be a sufficient supplement. If they do not wish
to abandon the Crown Prince, they must give him a
pension of at least 6,000 ducats, taking the precaution
to declare to him, that beyond this sum, he need
expect nothing from his imperial majesty. If they
prefer to lend instead of giving, "the prince will have
no scruples in making a written agreement, but they
398 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
would have more glory and it would be better for the
future for them to exact nothing." 296
Seckendorff would perhaps have ended in believing
that it would be possible to win Frederick, had he
not known of the letters the prince wrote to Grumb-
kow. Frederick, with the assurances that his position
gave him as the heir of a sick king, poured out his con-
fidences into the ear of the other ' ' dear general. " < < They
wish to force me to fall in love," wrote he to Grumbkow
on receipt of a letter, wherein the king reproached him
for not writing oftener to his Dulcinea; "but, unluckily
not being of the nature of an ass, I very much fear that
they will not succeed." He acknowledged that he did
hot write often to the princess, but it was " because he
lacked subject matter and was many times at a loss to
fill up his page." He recalled to mind that they had
"proposed this marriage to him nolens volem, and that
liberty was the price of it." Then he becomes angry ;
he suspects that the paucity of his correspondence
as a lover has been denounced to the king, by his future
mother-in-law whom he calls "that coarse tripe-wo-
man, the duchess," and whose "proud fontange" * he
wishes that God will strike. He repeats the declarations
already made upon the conduct he is going to maintain
after marriage. He is going to marry like a "gallant
man," that is to say, to allow Madame to act as it seems
good to her, and on his side to do as he pleases, and
"long live liberty." He hopes that the king will not
meddle with his affairs after the nuptials, or else the
*A fontange was a knot of ribbon worn on the top of the head-dress in
the seventeenth century. It was so-called from the name of the first
wearer, the Duchesse de Fontanges. Translator.
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 399
princess will suffer for it. "Marriage renders me of
age, and as soon as I have reached that point, I am
sovereign in my own house, and the king has nothing
to do with it; for, no woman ought to be in the gov-
ernment of anything. ... A man who allows
himself to be ruled by women is the greatest coward in
the world." Finally, he confesses all his sentiments in
regard to women, "as he thinks before God." He
"loves the sex, but with a fleeting love, only the
desire for pleasure, and, after that, contempt." He is
"not of the metal of which good husbands are
made." He is enraged at becoming one at all, but he
makes a virtue of a necessity. For the tenth time he
threatens: "I will keep my word, I will marry, but
after it is done, then good bye to Madame, and the right
path."
However, he decided to write to his betrothed, and
also to the Prince of Bevern, his future father-in-law.
The latter took the prince's compliment seriously and
thanked him. "The duke sends his thanks," wrote
Frederick to Grumbkow, "as if I were a man very
much fascinated with the graces of his daughter; he adds
a panegyric on the high esteem which I have already
shown her and pays me compliments like a tavern-keeper.
All that I have just said has had so much of an effect upon
me, that, desiring his supreme happiness, I would wish
most earnestly that the Emperor of Morocco would fall
in love with this princess through the reputation of her
charms, carry her off and marry her. To be Empress of
Morocco is worth twice as much as to be a Crown Prin-
cess of Prussia. You can judge after this whether I am
400 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
a Christian or not, or whether I do not wish all the good
in the world to happen to those who have caused me sor-
row. ... I can not comprehend how one can be
so good. . . ." 297
Seckendorff began again to doubt when he read these
letters. He was in great haste to complete the contract.
The king fixed for the date of the marriage January
15th, 1733: "God will that we may be there!" wrote
he to Prince Eugene. 298 The intrigue of the reconcilia-
tion with England still disturbed him. He has not yet
suspected, but he is soon going to find out that Vienna
entered into this intrigue and worked to break the Bev-
ern marriage.
THE ANGLO-AUSTRIAN INTRIGUE.
The Emperor had been reconciled with the maritime
Powers, since the year 1731. 299 He had obtained from
them one of those treaties for the guarantee of the Prag-
matic Sanction, for which the Secretary of State, Bar-
tenstein, knew so well how to negotiate, and in which
nothing was lacking and nothing was valid. He wished
to be on good terms with his new friends, having need of
their support against the house of Bourbon, whose
designs on Italy were not disguised. He was, besides,
preoccupied in the Polish succession, the opening of
which was expected and led, as everyone knows, to great
trouble in Europe. Now England requested of the
Emperor, among other gratifications, to aid her in mar-
rying the Prince of Wales to a Prussian Princess. It
was very difficult for the Court of Vienna to undo the
work that had been so laborious ; however, Prince Eugene
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 401
had begun by prescribing redoubled caution to Secken-
dorff ; lie gave him to understand more and more clearly
the necessity of managing England.
In the month of April, 1732, the King of Prussia had
an ardent desire to see the Emperor, who was going on
a trip to Carlsbad. Prince Eugene, notified by Secken-
dorff, was very much embarrassed. "This visit," he
responded, "will be greatly commented upon both in Eng-
land and elsewhere. Try to thwart his plan, doing it
in the most secret way, without having the least appear-
ance of doing so. If you do not find the means, make
no opposition; declare to the king, on the contrary, that
it will be very agreeable to his imperial majesty, (who
considers him the most precious of his friends,) to
embrace him." But the king was determined: " I will
certainly go and see the Emperor," said he; "it is neces-
sary for me to know him personally ; nothing can pre-
vent me." Prince Eugene had to yield: "Assure his
majesty," wrote he, at last to Seckendorff, "that his
imperial majesty will feel a great pleasure in becoming
personally acquainted with him. As for me, nothing in
the world could have happened more agreeably than this
so much desired opportunity, of expressing, by word of
mouth, my most submissive devotion to his royal
majesty." The interview actually took place the latter
part of July, in a castle of Bohemia. The Emperor
arranged matters so that it would be as insignificant as
possible. 300
The Court of Vienna was soon obliged to give a posi-
tive proof of her good will to England, who persisted
in desiring at least a Prussian Princess for the Prince of
402 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Wales. She consented to enter into a very complicated
plot.
Before the betrothal of the Crown Prince with Eliza-
beth of Bevern, a marriage had been arranged between
Charles, a brother of this Princess, heir-apparent of Bev-
ern, and the Princess Charlotte, sister of Frederick.
Austria and England decided that Charles of Bevern
should renounce the hand of Charlotte, and receive, in
exchange, that of the Princess Anne of England, while
Charlotte of Prussia should marry the Prince of Wales.
Prince Eugene made known the combination to Seeken-
dorff. The latter who, every day, for several years, had
been employed in exciting the bad feelings of the King
of Prussia against England, was dismayed by this com-
munication: " Of all the very high commissions with
which his imperial majesty has charged me, I have
never yet found any as difficult as the one his highness
has transmitted to me on the subject of changing the
marriages." He immediately sought Grumbkow and
told him of the astounding news.
Grumbkow had been out of temper, for several weeks.
The return to the offensive by England, the renewing
of the projects that he had regarded as definitely buried,
and the important air of Degenfeld troubled him.
He pretended that he wished to go away. "The good
God," said he, "will surely point out to me a
haven where I can retire from this drudgery." Tie
still interested himself a little in affairs, "but it
was to close the mouths of others," rather than
to serve his master. He was worn out with the
father and the son: "I do not believe there are
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 403
two other people in the world equal to them." He
bluntly told Seckendorff " that he was disgusted with
his majesty." " The king, dined here with me like a
wolf, supped the same way, drank to excess and went off
at midnight." Grumbkow was in this state of mind,
when Seckendorff apprised him of the order from Vienna
to sustain the English propositions. This "capped the
climax." To ask Frederick William to work for the
reconciliation of the Emperor and England, was treating
him like a knave indeed. The king, said Grumbkow,
"is not such a fool as they think. He will quickly see
at what they are aiming." Then God knows what he
will do! He is liable to break off .all the marriagec,
that of the Crown Prince with Bevern, as well as that of
Charlotte. Grumbkow would not meddle with the
affair; he "withdraws his hand from the table." He
even has honest scruples : "I am not one of these men who
blow hot and cold with the same breath; I would
rather die than advise my master to do a thing contrary
to his honor." Besides he wishes to keep "the little
that remains for his poor family." He was so angry
that he forgot, at the close of his letter, where he
declared his proud propositions of a loyal servitor, that
he had expressed, at the beginning, his true sentiments:
"I am disgusted with this Court," he had said, but added:
"I am not with yours." And he asked for the reward of
his good services. Modest as he was, he was not ambitious
for great promises: "the least gift (douceur) that you will
accord to me on your part will give me more pleasure
than all the most far reaching hopes." 301
Seckendorff was of Grumbkow's opinion about this
404 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
strange, sudden change of his Court, but he was obliged
to execute the orders he had received. His colleague ad-
vised him to present the thing, in a jesting way, and not
to insist, if the master became angry. One day as he
seemed to be favorably inclined towards him, Secken-
dorff risked an insinuation, but the king was first " dis-
turbed," then "confounded." Seckendorff represented
that this proposition proved the sincere desire of the
English to become reconciled with him, and that no one
would lose in the combination. "The Princess Charlotte
would become Princess of Wales, heiress to a crown and
Charles of Bevern would marry the eldest of the prin-
cesses of England." "But," replied the king, "what
would my dear Empress say to this, to whom the mar-
riage will give so much pleasure? And Bevern? And
Charles? What would they think at such a change of
things?" He, however, desired a few days for reflection.
As usual, he could not keep from seeking to draw some
advantage from this new condition of affairs, but reflec-
tion only exasperated him the more. He imagined that
England wished to compromise and "prostitute" him.
He believed it to be a new intrigue of the prince, who,
happily, was not within reach, and of the queen, whom he
treated with the greatest harshness. It was she no doubt
and his son who were leading this masquerade to catch
"Amelia " again. " Very well," said he, "since they are
so changeable, the Crown Prince shall not marry at all.
I have yet three sons. I would rather see the destruc-
tion of my whole house. Then at least it will per-
ish without censure of having changed the next day from
what it desired the night before."
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 405
Never, and it is not a small thing to say, had he been
seen in such a rage. He waited to be cured of the gout
to fly to Potsdam, there to take refuge, where he never
more wished to see anybody. All business was sus-
pended. 302
Upon these contradictions, Bevern, the father, whom
the Court of Vienna had not deigned to take into her
confidence, did not know what was going to become of
his children, and wrote to the king to say, that he was
paying no attention to what the malevolent dared to cir-
culate in the world: " With divine assistance," said he,
"we will see, in the month of June, my dear Elizabeth
in the arms of the Crown Prince, and my eldest born,
my dear Charles, will enjoy the fascinations of the ami-
able Princess Charlotte." The king sent a tender
response. He assured him that he had "acted in the
whole affair with the sincerity of an honest man," and
that he (the king) would persist in it and was even anx-
ious to hasten the nuptials. He wrote, in jwst-scriptum
himself: "I have the gout, but I am true to you and
yours even unto death. It must be quickly ended.
This is my modest opinion." 303
At last, to rid himself of importunities he made a
great scene in the Tabagie: "No," cried he, looking fix-
edly at Grumbkow, "I can bear it no longer! To wish
me to do a cowardly act! I! I! No! Never! Cursed in-
trigues! The devil take them! To wish to make me out a
scoundrel ! " And he said that if he was sick, this was the
cause of it, that it was eating his very heart out and it
would finally kill him. Grumbkow was congratulating
himself upon not being compromised in this venture.
406 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
He was triumphing over the ill success of the Anglo-
Austrian intrigue, and over the king, his master, who,
after having desired to put him aside, now had recourse
to him. "I know absolutely nothing about it," said he
to the king, "but I can not comprehend your uneasi-
ness, your majesty!" He kept a "regular and even
temper" during this storm, and began -again: "Why is
your majesty so agitated? I do not understand what
you mean, but your majesty is the master. You have
honest men around you. . . ." " Yes, yes," replied
the king, and little by little he allowed himself to be
calmed by Grumbkow. So this minister was again in
favor, but he feared or pretended to fear that the king
would never pardon Seckendorff, of whom he had
spoken insinuatingly in his burst of anger. Seckendorff
repaired as well as he could the awkward mistake imposed
upon him. He threaded his way carefully through an
interview that his friend contrived to give him with the
king. By degrees Frederick William restored him again
to his good favor; he actually accepted an invitation to
dinner. "At table, I hope that we shall make our peace,"
wrote Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, who was a little
ashamed that "the mine missed fire," and recommended
his agent to do everything to re-establish his and Grumb-
kow' s reputation at Court. 30 *
Affairs took up again their course towards the mar-
riages of Charles of Bevern with Charlotte of Prussia,
and the Crown Prince with Elizabeth of Bevern.
THE MARRIAGE.
The Crown Prince had some inkling of these intrigues
and of these tempests. He certainly hoped to gain by
THE MARKIAGE OF FREDERICK. 407
them but he remained quiet. His correspondence con-
tinued with the two dear generals, as if nothing unusual
was passing. He had not enough expressions of grati-
tude for Seckendorff, and his imperial majesty, who
showed him so much kindness. They had at Vienna the
happy idea of giving a pension to poor Duhan, who was
still in disgrace and poverty. "It is an action," wrote
the Crown Prince, "worthy of the magnanimity and
generosity of the Emperor." He professed his faith as
a good imperialist: "I will make it a rule to show on
all occasions, and as much as my duty will permit, the
attachment and the high veneration that I have for the
Emperor personally, and this more through report of
his eminent qualities, than through regard for his exalted
position." 305 He asked nothing better than to contract
new debts, as he would be sure to pay them. "But,
sir," added he, "there still remains another party to
succor; my dear sister of Baireuth, whose very sad con-
dition, cuts me to the heart. For the love of God, let
there be some way of ameliorating her lot through the
king! She has had very advantageous promises given
her in his own hand-writing, but it has gone no further."
" Through the king," was a delicate manner of express-
ing it: Seckendorff understood this new appeal to the
Emperor's purse. The prince himself put in good con-
dition by these kind proceedings, led to this benevolent
physician those who were suffering with the same mal-
ady, that is to say, lack of money. 306
Of course he claimed for himself the most care, being
the principal invalid. The king sent him to Brunswick,
to his betrothed, without offering " to make good" his
408 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
expenses. "I admit," wrote he to Seckendorif, " that I
am very much embarrassed, finding myself short of
cash. Here I acknowledge frankly, my dear friend, that
you could draw me out of the difficulty, by lending me
a certain sum." A short time after this another demand.
The prince had quite caught the tone of an accomplished
borrower. To be sure he could address himself to others:
"But I would much rather trust in you, knowing you to
be one of my best friends, than to any other." How-
ever, he would repay, as soon as he was able to do so,
when he was married, but he nevertheless would always
be under great obligations to his very dear friend.
Seckendorif responded in the tone of a skillful creditor.
He called his packages of money a little aid, an allow-
ance, a compensation. He had pretty schemes for sending
it. The money will be sent to a maitre de poste in a
box of Spanish tobacco, addressed to the initials S. A.
R.* The prince is requested not to be disturbed about
the repayment: "There need be no haste, for the lender
only asks a recognition proportionate to the interests
of the house." He never answered by a refusal, he
had the appearance always of anticipating the requests.
The king becomes restless. Grumbkow thinks him
in imminent danger of becoming insane, so incapable is
he of supporting a trouble. Does he not speak of abdi-
cating and retiring to Verona, because they give him
some disturbance in regard to recruiting ? Neither is
Seckendorif satisfied with Frederick William's health.
He seemed to be very well in the spring of 1733, and
had a good color, but his hearing does not return, his
* "Son Altesse Royale." French for His Royal Highness. Translator.
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 409
leg is swollen, he has bad nights, his blood is excited ;
to be brief, his majesty could be taken off in twenty-
four hours; it is absolutely necessary to gain the prince.
At the same time that he confided his uneasiness to
Prince Eugene, he addressed to Frederick a recapitula-
tion of the imperial favors, but in a very discreet way.
He promised him others; they will do more for Duhan,
whose condition is already improved. They will "do
everything in the world for the consolation of the wor-
thy Crown Princess," they will see if they cannot find
near the Empress a few thousand florins for her. They
will do other things if it is necessary: "Happy are
those who have the good fortune to be esteemed by your
royal highness. They will never be neglected by the
imperial Court, because everyone knows that your royal
highness only likes those people who have merit."
Briefly, the prince can count upon the Emperor's assist-
ance until the good God will change for the better his
royal highness' position," which means, when the
king dies. Then, they are convinced that the prince will
be, like his father, a friend to the Emperor. "The union
and perfect good understanding between the houses of
Austria and Brandenburg have procured, for more than
ten years, such reciprocal advantages, that his imperial
majesty will see with pleasure, your royal highness con-
tinuing in these salutary principles for the public good."
Seckendorff, by dint of repeating the anthem, ended
in believing it. He found the prince charming, truly
grateful for what had been done for himself and sister,
really very cordial, treuherzig. He hoped not only that
Frederick would acknowledge "the price and utility
410 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
of the very high imperial grace," but that the Princess
of Baireuth would also act in the same sensible manner
as her brother. Naturally Wilhelmina showed her grat-
itude also ; flatterer, that she was, she promised that the
Crown Prince, two years after his marriage, would have
'just as much love for his wife, as he then had aversion
for his betrothed. Seckendorff still had some doubts, 307
but he allowed himself to be persuaded. Were it only
through egotism, through a refusal to confess to himself
that all his trouble at this Court had been useless, he had
to believe in definite success.
Nevertheless the Crown Prince continued to indicate
to Grumbkow alarming inclinations. At the hour of
departure for a visit to his betrothed, he laments: "I do
not feel great impatience for the trip to Brunswick,
knowing already in advance what my mute will tell me.
It is, however, her best quality, and I agree with you
that a silly fool of a wife is a blessing from heaven. In
short, I will play in the Brunswick comedy so that there
will be nothing lacking." In the meantime, he was
studying compliments for this visit by going to the wild-
boar hunt, for "between Westphalians and swine (the
Westphalian being born and reared among swine), there
was no difference." Then followed facetious remarks
upon the presents that the poor girl sent to him,
Brunswick sausages and a porcelain snuff-box: "My
princess has sent me a porcelain snuff-box, which, on
opening the package I found broken, and I do not know
whether it is to mark the fragility of her. . . , of her
virtue, or of the whole human body. I have taken it
for a very bad sign, for a broken snuff-box, according to
the occult philosophy of Agrippa, signifies illicit love." 308
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 411
Notwithstanding, Frederick was resigned. He strug-
gled no longer, and the day fixed for the marriage would
have arrived without any obstructions in the way, if the
Anglo-Austrian intrigue had not interfered once more.
England did not let go her hold. She must have Fred-
erick now for one of her princesses. When the marriage
day of the prince was fixed and published, she exacted
a new effort from the Court of Vienna. Now the King
of Poland died February 1, 1733; Louis XV. declared
that he would defend with all his power the freedom of
the elections in Poland, and would consider a violation
of this liberty as an attempt at the peace of Europe.
Austria, who was under treaty with Russia, to prevent
the election of Stanislas Lecszinski, felt the approach of
war. She had need of pleasing the London Cabinet;
Prince Eugene ordered a new step to be taken by Seck-
endorff with the king. This time Austria and England
left Charlotte to the Prince of Bevern, but offered to
the Crown Prince the hand of Amelia of England.
The order reached Seckendorff on the morning of
the 11th of June, at Salzdalum in Hanover, where the
ceremony was to take place. The two families had been
together since the day before. Seckendorff, on reading
the letter of Prince Eugene, was seized with terror. He
was obliged to obey, and that immediately, but what
was going to pass between the king and himself? He
hurried to Grumbkow, and read him the dispatch, and
asked a way to acquit himself of it. Grumbkow pointed
out to him the dangers of this irrational proceeding,
but he preached to a convert. Seckendorff told him so
and claimed his aid. The old accomplice refused for
412 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
general political reasons and individual interest. He did
not understand how Austria could employ herself in
placing an Englishwoman upon the throne of Prussia;
but after all it did not concern him: that which did
regard and touch him, was the necessity where, in order
to triumph over the politics against which he had
always fought, he would have to humiliate himself
before the faction of the other ministers, and expose
his poor family to ruin and his neck to the knife.
All that he could promise, to show his absolute devo-
tion to his imperial majesty, was not to compromise
the proposition, if the king asked his advice.
Seckendorff had to venture alone. He said to the
king that he was charged by the Emperor, with an im-
portant communication, but not a disagreeable one.
The king who was still in bed gave permission for him
to enter. Seckendorff approached the bed, and with a
smile upon his lips, told the king that he had received,
by courier, a few moments since, the order to open
propositions to him uj)on a very grave subject; he, how-
ever, dared not acquit himself of his commission, if his
majesty would not promise him to listen with patience,
and not become angry. The promise given he laid the
affair before him. The king controlled himself and
responded: "If I did not know, if I was not sure of
your being an honest man, I should think I was dream-
ing. If you had spoken in this way, three months ago,
I do not know what I might have done through affection
for his imperial majesty; although it is contrary to his
interest and mine that my eldest son should marry an
English princess; but now! I am here with the queen! All
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 413
Europe knows that the marriage will take place to-mor-
row. You see, this is the English artifice again, to
make me pose before the world, as a man without honor
or faith."
As, after all, the king still remained calm, Secken-
dorff, (no doubt very much astonished,) took up the
thread of conversation again, and held it for some time,
submerging in a flood of words the strange proposition.
He acknowledged that he really was not of the opinion
of his imperial majesty, that the two kings of England
and Prussia should be closely united, but the welfare of
Europe, and, particularly, the Germanic country, exacted
this union, to which his imperial majesty sacrificed the
advantage of his own house. The king continued to
listen ; Seckendorff said that he had upon his person a
letter from Prince Eugene to his majesty, and a copy
of this letter. According to his instructions, he should
read to his majesty, with his permission, this copy;
if the king thought that he could not accept the orig-
inal, Seckendorff would not deliver it. The king,
after having heard the reading, said that he had no
scruples in accepting and answering it. Seckendorff
then gave him the original, and began his discourse
again. He represented that the animosity between
England and Prussia w r ould be greatly increased, after
the king had repulsed this polite proposition. It is
true, said he, that all the preparations are made for the
marriage to-morrow, but he suggested a way not to
lose everything and conciliate .all parties. Instead of
the Crown Prince and the Princess of Bevern, they
could marry Charles of Bevern and Charlotte ; then,
414 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
later, they could celebrate the nuptials of the Prince
of Wales with the Princess of Bevern, and the Crown
Prince with the Princess Amelia.
Frederick William let this effrontery pass, perhaps
because while listening he was seeking once more a
means of fishing in this troubled water. He opened
the letter from Prince Eugene, and then returned it
to Seckendorff, with the order to give it to Grumbkow
and tell him the import of the response, that no ad-
vantage in the world would induce him to decide to
stain his honor and forfeit his word. Nevertheless, he
asked nothing better than to be on friendly terms
with England. To please the Emperor, he would give
to the Prince of Wales one of his daughters. He
would even take an English princess for his second
son, if England would elect him Prince of Courland so
that he would be in a position to take care of his wife.
Upon which, he took farewell of Seckendorff, telling him
that he had executed the orders he had received like a
man of honor.
Seckendorff repaired to the ministers, who wrote out
the response. When they brought it back to the king,
he gave full vent to his anger. Again he accused the
queen and Crown Prince of complicity in the intrigue,
and he sent Grumbkow to them to demand an explana-
tion of it. The Crown Prince swore that he was inno-
cent. He added that he could not comprehend at all
the conduct of the Court of Vienna; as for him, and
he requested Grumbkow to tell the king, that death
alone would prevent him from keeping his word to the
Princess of Bevern. 309
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 415
Upon this assurance, the day ended tranquilly. That
evening, there was, at the Court, a pastoral play; the
Crown Prince played the role of a peasant-lover; Apollo,
who unexpectedly arrived, gave him the prize. The next
day, June 12th, the marriage was celebrated. At noon,
the young husband wrote to his sister: "My dear sister,
the ceremony has just been performed, and God be praised
that it is all over." 310
There was "one more unhappy princess in the world."
Elizabeth of Bevern did not merit this destiny. The
testimonies of her contemporaries are all favorably
inclined toward her; even the much-to-be dreaded sister-
in-law, the Margravine of Baireuth is not very severe on
her: "The Crown Princess," said she, " is tall; her form
is not slender: she brings her body forward in such a
way that it gives her a very bad carriage. Her com-
plexion is of a glaring whiteness, and this fair skin is
relieved by a high color. Her eyes are of a pale
blue, not promising much intellect. Her mouth is
small. All her features are small, without being beau-
tiful, and the whole expression of her face is so
petite, so infantile, that one would think that her head
belonged to a child of twelve years. She has ash-colored
hair which curls naturally, but all her beauty is spoiled
by her black, uneven teeth. She does not know how to
deport herself, nor has she the slightest idea of how to
turn an expression, having much difficulty in making her-
self understood; one is obliged to guess at what she
intends to say, which is most embarrassing." 3U
This portrait is completed by a few traits given in a
letter to Grumbkow from his daughter. It states that
416 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
the betrothed princess was very timid in public, and
before her mother: " When she is with her mother, she
does not open her mouth, and blushes every time they
speak to her, which shows that she is guarded very rig-
idly; and she has no liberty whatsoever, not even to
receive ladies in her chamber. ... As for me,
I had the honor of speaking with her at an assembly,
where she was alone and at her ease; I can assure you
papa, that she does not lack either spirit or judgment and
that she argues upon everything in a very pretty manner,
and is pleasing and appears to have a very good disposi-
tion. She is exceedingly fond of diversion. ... I
can not say she has much style, she is too loose in her car-
riage. ... If she had some one to tell her this, it
would change her very much. . . ." The princess
liked Berlin, and hoped to return soon and " wished"
for the day of her marriage. 312
A sad picture of a poor girl, neither ugly, nor stupid,
who was reared by severe parents; child-like, deli-
cate, pretty, and timid, and only asking to be re-assured,
caressed, loved; and she was worthy of being loved,
but life to her was going to be a long melancholy one r
borne with the resignation of a saint and the dignity of
a heroine.
In the history which we have just related, one person,
alone is interesting: it is this unhappy bride.
The trio, Prince Eugene, Seckendorff, Grumbkow,
were villainously ugly. The gravity of Eugene and Seck-
endorff gave to their hypocrisy a comical solemnity.
Grumbkow was at least in good spirits; he half confessed
his cynic philosophy and frankly refused to endanger
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 417
his head and the welfare of his poor family; but, like
the two others, he spoke the language of "Tartuffe."
God is the common resource of the three personages;
when a thread of the intrigue threatens to break, Secken-
dorff recommends it to God. All three boast of their
Christianity, and they always have at their tongues end
the word "honesty." Eugene and Seckendorff agree that
if they attain their end, they owe it, "to the honesty of
Grumbkow alone, Grumbkow' } s Ehrlichkeit" They owe,
but they pay. Grumbkow received the little "douceur"
that he hoped would be given him, 40,000 ducats,
besides his annual pension of a thousand. " If any man
in the world merits a favor, it is he" said Seckendorff,
in the plan of the budget he proposed to Prince Eugene.
In this budget, Grumbkow figures in singular com-
pany. Before him come the Crown Prince, and the
Margravine of Baireuth specially recommended, for if
any one is capable of instilling in her brother good
"principles" it is this princess. After which, come the
porter Eversmann, the confidential man of the king, who
receives from Austria an income of 100 ducats, and
Reichenbach, former minister of the King of Prussia to
London. "With Reichenbach, his imperial majesty has
reason to be very contented," said Prince Eugene "because
he has worked to maintain and increase the misunder-
standing between the two Courts of Berlin and London. "
These consciences were sold cheap. Reichenbach began
by a salary of 600 thalers in 1731; he had 900, in 1733.
It is true, that, if he is obliged on account of his zeal in
the service of the Emperor, to leave that of the King of
Prussia, he has promise of finding a good welcome in
418 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
Austria and a position of privy councillor; but Prince
Eugene wishes that Reichenbach will not retire from
Prussia until reduced to the last extremity, until that
friendship which exists between the Emperor and the
king assures him of advancement in Prussia. 313
This is the very acme of perfidy.
Prince Eugene, Seckendorff and Grumbkow com-
plained of the " dissimulation" of the prince, of his
" falsity." The most piquant thing is that they judged
this deceitfulness by the favors that they showered upon
Frederick. " He must be a hypocrite," said Secken-
dorff, "to write to Grumbkow in such obliging terms."
But the Crown Prince, who knew them well, paid them
back in their own coin. He knew the wickedness of his
enemies, and at the same time, their folly, for, if it was
odious to dispose, unceremoniously of these couples of
young people that they married and remarried, and to
practice, in Christian Europe, a trading of princes and
princesses, it was ridiculous to give themselves the
trouble of these lies and all this stratagem, to assure them-
selves of the person of the Crown Prince. Grumbkow
and Seckendorff watched the progress of the develop-
ment of the betrothed's form, Seckendorff procured a
dancing master for her, old Prince Eugene wished that
she 1 had a more artless manner, etwas freieren Humor,
so that she would attract and retain " in the very high
imperial interest," the one who was going to be Freder-
ick the Great. What nonsense!
As to the King of Prussia, he maliciously married his
son. He wished to get rid of him as he did Wil-
helmina, but if it was his right as father and king to
THE MARRIAGE OF FREDERICK. 419
interdict any marriage that would injure the interests of
the crown, this forced marriage was an odious act of
paternal tyranny.
The Crown Prince is very much to be pitied, since he
espouses through force, a woman that he does not love;
but who would pity him? Neither the intrigue of which
he is the victim, nor the impossibility of striving against
a brutal omnipotence, excuses the absolute submission
expressed to the king by him, and at the same hour, his
request to Grumbkow to resist for him. Not once,
either by speech or letter, or by the most timid insinua-
tion, did he allow the king to see his true sentiments.
The cause was certainly worth the trouble. It did not
concern him alone; it also concerned a woman; but the
prince thought he must first marry, and then he would see
afterward. In the sequel, he also counted upon aveng-
ing himself on the Emperor, but, in the meantime, he
takes the Austrian gold and asks for more; he is meek
in his letters to Seckendorff ; he humbly expresses his
gratitude toward the Prince of Savoy, and his admira-
tion for the grand qualities of the Emperor.
He talked much, while this crisis of the marriage was
pending, and his words have been preserved; we have
many letters that he wrote. Not one of the lamenta-
tions he utters comes from the heart. He rails, he
ridicules wonderfully well; I would rather see him shed
tears. The day of his betrothal a tear did come to his
eye. I should rather wish it to have been from sorrow,
but I can not believe it. If one could only consider that
his mockery of love, his obscenities upon marriage,
so painful to hear from the lips of so young a
420 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
man, were only the ways of turning a phrase, imi-
tations of France or Italy, reminiscences of theatrical
erudition! But, apart from the style and the borrowed
French manner of treating serious things, there yet
remains an alarming something, which emanates
only from him. One must not handle the French
raillery except with precaution. In the dramas of
Moliere, to which Frederick refers his betrothed, there
is upon the subject of love and marriage, a seriousness,
even tears; this, it seems to me, he did not see.
CHAPTER VII.
CONCLUSION.
The 27th of June, 1733, the Crown Prince and the
princess were solemnly married at Berlin. Before the
Kopenick gate, were assembled for the annual review four
regiments of cavalry, eleven regiments of infantry, and
the corps of Hussars. The princess who was in an open
carriage with the queen, was a spectator of the various
exercises; the king, who was riding on horseback near
the carriage, explained them to her. All the army defiled
before the royal party and then the cortege, composed
of sixty carriages w x ith six horses attached to each,
entered the city.
A few weeks afterward, the Crown Prince set out for
Neu-Ruppin, (a little town situated ten miles from Ber-
lin, where he was established in April, 1733, two months
before his marriage,) and there took command of the
regiment of infantry that his father had given him. In
the spring of the following year, his father presented him
with the estate of Rheinsberg, situated near the Meck-
lenburg frontier. The prince immediately ordered the
work of repairing the castle, which was in ruins, and the
gardens, which had been abandoned for a long time. He
prepared the residence where he was to wait, "until God,"
as Seckendorft said, "would change his condition."
He will be very happy at Rheinsberg; he was so
already at Neu-Ruppin. For the first time, he felt that he
421
422 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
was at home, far from "Jupiter," and he had a taste, in
virtue of the adage; Procul a Jove, procul a falmltie, of
the feeling of perfect security. He arranged his way of
living very much as he liked, and this life appeared good
to him. He called Neu-Ruppin the "dear garrison."
Frederick is entering upon a new period of life; we
will soon follow him I hope; but the reader no doubt is
of the opinion that we have already learned much about
the personality of the Crown Prince.
This young man is handsome, refined, and delicate;
the excessive fatigues, heavy wines, coarse nourishment,
and the uncouth vulgarisms that his father loved, were
repugnant to him. His taste was directed only toward the
pleasures of the intellect; his inquiring turn of mind is
interested in everything. Some say to-day that he was
an "intellectualist."
The religious beliefs make no impression upon his
soul. At twelve years of age, he writes his "Manner of
Living of the Prince of a Great House," which is entirely
evangelical; at fifteen, he signs himself "Frederick
The Philosopher." God and religion are soon to be for
him but obliging terms of royal phraseology.
He has no kind of morality. At fourteen, he, fore-
seeing the death or confinement of his father, plots with
the foreign ministers, to whom he makes such confidences
that they dare not trust them to writing. He is in
friendly intercourse and intimacy with governments that
the king considers his enemies. The abominable treat-
ment that he received does not excuse his conduct; his
conduct on the contrary partly explains his father's cru-
elty.
CONCLUSION. 423
He has no generosity. The word generosity is not
once pronounced, not even by those witnesses of his life,
who judge him with the greatest benevolence. He loves
his mother and sister, but they think and intrigue with
him. He loves his friends, and goes so far as to speak
of them in a peculiar tone of ardent tenderness, but
friendship is not merited until a return of sacrifices is
made for the joys which spring from it. Would Fred-
erick have shown the same devotion to his friends, if
they had claimed it ? When he saw Katte pass by him,
on his way to the scaffold, he offered, in order to save
him, to relinquish his crown, and even to die; but sev-
eral weeks after the tragedy, sure of living and released
from his prison, he is "as gay as a lark."
He appears to have felt for a moment a sentiment
which resembled love, but his heart was not entirely
given up to it; it is the head of a scholar, of a young
man of letters which furnishes the rhetoric and the poetry
of his declarations to Madame von Wreech. He feels no
pleasure in the company of women; he does not love
them. He only wishes pleasure, "enjoyment," and after
that, he "despises" them. The ideal wife that he
described nearly resembles a public character. Love with
this young man is but a vice; or perhaps merely a pre-
tention to vice. A close observer of his actions states
that he was very temperate. Frederick's manner of
talking and thinking on this subject of love then, is a
result or an indication of his moral deformity.
Frederick grew up in the midst of strange surround-
ings, in a tumult of villainous passions, in the company
of ministers and valets sold to others besides their mas-
424 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
ter, in an atmosphere of gossip, of spying, and intriguing
in the uncleanliness of a Court where perhaps the only
honest man was the king. He never felt out of place.
With the most crafty, he played a finer role, he was
more deceitful than any of them. In the crisis of his
marriage he alternates between refined lying and the
audacity of giving expression to everything. Assuredly
the tyranny of his father and the detestable example of
his unhealthy environments were calculated to corrupt
him, but nature had predestined him to be a master in
the art of duping men.
He dissimulates so well that he hides from all the
world a certain Frederick within him, that his father
longed for and would have adored. He calls his uniform
a shroud; when his father constrains him to learn his
calling of prince in the Chamber of Domains at Custrin,
he affects in his letters such an extraordinary amount of
zeal, by means of such extravagant expressions, that the
king can not help suspecting his hypocrisy. He would
have been confirmed in this sentiment, if he had known
in what a disdainful tone the prince was speaking of
economy and treated of
"La chambre et les commissaires
Qui font le metier des corsaires."
The truth, which is shown later, is that the prince
is an excellent colonel, and manages his regiment as well
as any of them; that the lessons of Major Senning upon
military art were given to a mind the most capable of
loving, comprehending, practicing and surpassing them;
that " the young auscultatory of the Chamber of Cus-
trin has quickly comprehended all "economy." He is
CONCLUSION. 425
sure to possess the art of reigning, and dreams already
of the means of applying it to the detriment of others.
He sees the whole future of politics and war, his whole
reign and the whole destiny of Prussia.
He drew a large profit from the cruelty and despotism
of his father. Half by nature and half by boastfulness
he glided into a dilletantism; for a prince, heir to
such a State, he loved his books, his flute and his
dressing gown too much. He dressed and arranged
his hair petit maitre style, did not carry himself well,
drifted along, was unconstrained. Undoubtedly the
soldier and the man of State which, in him awaited the
hour, would have met, had chance not willed, that
Frederick, nearly upon the morrow of his accession,
had to put into motion his innate and acquired pow-
ers. It did not find him in complete readiness. His
first victory was a singular adventure; he fled from
the battle field of Molwitz, so quickly and so far
that he only learned the next morning of the victory
carried off by his infantry, which his father had drilled
and which did not know how to fly. From his own
avowal, he is instructed in the school of his own faults.
Would he have been surprised, by the flying hour of
opportunity, if he had not employed his youth in
reading poetry and playing duets with his sister Wil-
helmina?
The resemblance to his father, that he concealed
and denied, appears when he becomes master. Fred-
erick William is represented in Frederick II., but
Frederick II. has the genius, which was lacking in
the father, and we have perceived the first rapid,
426 FREDERICK THE GREAT.
short flashes of it. He has intelligence and a taste
for letters and the problems of philosophy. The
" Muses" charm and console him, and make him think
and speak of life like an ancient sage ; they contribute
to the strength of his mind. We have found in this
young man a combination of epicurean and stoic which
will again be discovered in the king, and this together
with his genius, his virtues as a prince, his defects and
vices, his contempt for all law, the cynicism of his
perfidy, the sensibility of a humanitarian and yet the
inhumanity indispensable to leaders of men, all coming
from the head, not the heart, will unite to form
The Great Frederick.
end.
NOTES.
1. Due de Broglie, Frederic II. et Marie The'rese, vol. I., pp.
30 and 43.
2. I propose to publish a history of Frederick, from his mar-
riage to his accession. This second period of his life is
very different from the first: Frederick, nearly free,
intermingles politics with the study of philosophy and
literature. He seizes upon ideas and plans. It is
the awakening of the reign.
3. Among these works, the most remarkable is that of Herr
Reinhold Koser, Friedrich der Grosse als Kronprinz.
4. This brochure is not to be obtained. I herewith express
my thanks to Her Excellency, Mme. von Borcke, who
kindly sent me a copy.
5. I mention this edition as it is the easiest to procure. I
have said, in the course of this book, how far and with
what precaution these Memoirs can be used. I intend
to resume this subject in a critical dissertation.
6. Albert Waddington, The Acquisition of the Crown of
Prussia by the Hohenzollerns, pp. 272 et seq.
7. Preuss, Friedrichs des Qrossen Jugend und Thronbe-
steigung, pp. 4 and 5.
8. Letters of Frederick I. of January 30, 1712, in the Miscel-
laneen zur Geschichte Konig Friedrichs des Grossen, p.
435 and of February 8, and May 31, 1712, in Preuss,
Friedrich der Grosse, mit seinen Verwandten und
Freunden, p. 380.
9. See Fassmann, Leben und Thaten des Allerdurchlauch-
tigsten und Grossmdchtigsien Konigs von Preussen
Friedrici Wilhelmi, the funeral ceremonies of Fred-
erick I., pp. 42 et seq, and Forster loc. cit., pp. 71 et seq.
10. Koser, Friedrich der Grosse als Kronprinz, vol. I., p. 2.
11. Koser, op. cit., pp. 2-5; Bratuscheck Die Erziehung Fried-
richs des Grossen, pp. 20 et seq.
12. Upon Duhan, see the academical eulogy that Frederick
made to him, Works of Frederick the Great, vol. VII.,
pp. 8 et seq.
13. Upon Naude, see Formey, Eulogy on the Academicians of
Berlin, vol. I., pp- 270 et seq.
427
428 NOTES.
14. Upon La Croze, see Formey, op. cit., II., pp.63 et seq., and
the letter of Frederick to Voltaire, Works of Frederick
the Great, vol. XXI., p. 327.
15. See, vol. XVI., of the Works of Frederick the Great, the
correspondence of Frederick with " dear, good Mamma"
Rocoulle, and the following note in verse, written by
Mme. de Rocoulle, after the accession of Frederick, (she
was then 82 years old):
Sur Fair: Mariez-moi.
Gaudias est un bon soldat,
Mais il hait le ceUibat.
II vient vous prier
De le lui accorder.
II voudrait se marier
Pour vous faire un grenadier.
16. Waddington, pp. 283 et seq.
17. Bratuscheck, p. 2.
18. See, upon Fink and Kalkstein, Friedrich Cramer, Zur
Geschichte Friedrich Wilhelms und Friedrichs II.,
pp. 39 et seq. I have only at hand the 2d edition of this
work (Leipsic 1833).
19. See, upon Anhalt, the article in the Allgemeine deutsche
Biographie, and Carlyle, History of Frederick the sec-
ond, called Frederick the Great, book IV., chap. ii.
20. The Instruction of Frederick I. (1695) is in Forster pp. 77
et seq. ; the Instruction of Frederick William (August
1718), in Cramer, pp. 3 et seq. Upon the comparison of
the two documents. Forster, pp. 354 et seq.
21. Forster, chapter already quoted, Friedrich Wilhelm I.
als Kronprinz.
22. The regulation which follows is posterior to the Instruc-
tion. I quote it here, because it ends in giving an idea
of the way in which Frederick William wished his son
reared. It is published in Cramer, pp. 20 et seq. under
the title: Das Reglement, wei mein dltester Sohn Fried-
rich seine Studien zu Wusterhausen halten Soil. The
date given by Cramer (October 4, 1720) is corrected by
Koser, pp. 6 and 7, and the Appendix, p. 223.
23. Ranke, Zwolf Biieher preussischer Geschichte, vol XXVII.,
of the Sdmmtliche Werke, p. 80.
24. Forster, chap, quoted, Friedrich Wilhelm I., als Kron-
prinz.
25. Memoirs of the Margravine of Baireuth, 3d edition (1888),
pp. 6, 7, and 17.
NOTES. 429
26. Ranke, loc. cit., p. 82 and note 1. Letters of Frederick to
his father, July 27, 1717 ; February 25, October 7, 14, 21,
1719; June 11, October 8 and 31, 1720; July 12, and
A ugust 25, 1721, in the Works of Frederick the Great,
vol. XXVII., 3d part, pp. 3 et seq.
27. Cramer, pp. 25 and 26 ; the quotation at the end is in Ger-
man.
28. This note, in French, is in Cramer, following The way the
Prince of a Great House Should Live.
29. The note of Duhan and the marginal responses of the
King are in French. Cramer, pp. 51-3.
30. Bratuscheck, p. 27, and note 46, p. 113.
31. Tagebuch Heinrichs de Catt (Publicationen aus den K.
preussischen Archiven), p. 404.
32. The reign of Frederick William I. still awaits an historian.
Professor Schmoller has treated of the most important
part of the administration of this prince (cities, com-
merce, industry, finance, the army and colonization), in
some very profound matter from which several excerpts
have been published, notably the Preussische Jahr-
bucher, the Zeitschrift fur preussische Geschichte und
Landeskunde, the Deutsche Rundschau, the Jahrbuch
fur Gesetzgebung. Verwalting und Volkswirthschaft
im deutschen Reiche. See, upon all these works, an
article signed R. K. (Reinhold Koser), in the Historische
Zeitschrift, vol. LVII, p. 488.
33. The instruction is in Forster, vol. II, pp. 173 et seq. See
Ranke, pp. 168 et seq.
34. These prescriptions upon the dinner are in a Cabinet
order, Forster, II., 255.
35. The quotations in this part of the chapter, with the ex-
ception of those borrowed from Ranke, are taken from
the ordinance.
36. Upon the army during the reign of Frederick William,
see Schmoller's article (Die Entstehung des preussischen
Heeres (1640-1740), in the Deustche Rundchau (XII,
1877).
37. He consented to wait until March; he wrote then at the
bottom of the order to send the woman and child:
"Hurry; now it is good weather." Forster, II, p. 300.
38. Conversation at table reported by La Che'tardie, French
Minister at Berlin, Archives of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of France, Prussia, December, 24, 1735. I will
henceforth indicate the documents borrowed from these
Archives thus: F. A., and the date of the day and year.
430 NOTES.
The volumes of the diplomatic correspondence of the
Archives of Foreign Affairs (France) bear the date of
the year on the back. When the documents are taken
from a Supplement, mention will be made of it.
39. Analysis of the Cantonreglement of 1733, in Forster,
vol. II., p. 309.
40. Ranke, p. 159.
41. The Instruction for the Crown Prince, on his repairing to
the army, is given in Forster, I., pp. 397 et seq.
42. Sauveterre, Charge 'd Affaires of France. F. A. Prussia,
March 25, 1732.
43. Royal Order to the Chiefs of the Regiments, February 10,
1738 Forster, II., 315.
44. Dispatches from Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Feb. 19, April
31, May 14, Aug. 13, Oct. 15, 1726; Jan. 18, June 1, 1727;
from Sauveterre, March 21, 1730; from La Chetardie,
Jan. 4, 1734; Nov. 29, 1735.
45. Dispatches from Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Feb. 19, 1726;
April 15 and 19, June 3 and 10, 1727; from Sauveterre,
Jan. 8, 1730; from La Chetardie, June 12, 1734.
46. Dispatch from La Chetardie, F. A., Prussia, June 12, 1734.
47. Declarations of this kind are very frequent in the conver-
sations of Frederick William. See the correspondence
of Seckendorff with the Court of Vienna, Forster, vol.
II., second part.
48. Conversation of the Prussian Ministers with Rottenburg,
F. A., Prussia, March 8, 1726.
49. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Feb. 18, 1727; La Chetardie,
Aug. 29, Sept. 3, Oct. 15, 1733; Jan. 29, 1735.
50. Conversation of Frederick William with Rottenburg, F.
A., Prussia, Oct. 20, 1725.
51. Idem, ibidem.
52. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, March 11, 1727; La Chetardie,
Feb. 3, 1733.
53. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Jan. 15, and April 15, 1727; La
Chetardie, Dec. 21, 1733; Sept. 14, 1735.
54. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Dec. 27, 1729.
55. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Feb. 19, and June 21, 1726;
Sauveterre, Aug. 28, 1731.
56. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, April 7, 23 and 29, 1726; Aug.
28, 1731; La Chetardie, Aug. 23, 1732; March 31, 1733.
57. Conversation reported by the King to La Chetardie, F.
A., Prussia, Dec. 21, 1733.
NOTES. 431
58. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, June 28, 1726: Sauveterre,
Aug. 26, 1727.
59. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, March 26, 1726; Sauveterre,
May 27, 1730; La Chetardie, April 27, 1734, etc., etc.
60. F. A., Prussia, Supplement, vol. LXXVL, p. 101.
61. La Chetardie, F. A., Prussia, Aug. 23, 1732.
62. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, March 29, Sept. 27, Oct. 8,
1726; May 30, 1727; Feb. 3, 1733.
63. The original, often copied, of a portrait of Frederick
William by Weidemann, is at the Palace of Berlin.
The noble and solemn attitude given to the King is cer-
tainly false. In the Museum of the Palace of Monbijou,
in one of the cases in the Gallery of Busts, is the mort-
uary mask in wax of Frederick William. This mask
bears the imprint of illness; the features are drawn, the
nose thin; the face enframed by a ring of fat, has the
cheeks sunken in. Inconstancy and sharp gruffness are
delineated in the lower part of the face.
64. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Jan. 26 and March 1, 1732;
June 1, 1734.
65. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, March 13, 1728.
66. Upon the kind of life led by Frederick William there are
numerous anecdotes, but they are, for the most part,
imaginary: a personage as extraordinary as he, lent a
ready charm to the fantasy of the collectors of ana.
Legend has not dealt kindly with Frederick William. A
critical history of the legends in regard to him has yet to
be written. I have taken from Fassmann (work cited)
and Forster, art. 1st, chapters iii., iv. and vi., the proved
facts and most probable anecdotes.
67. The order of the expulsion of Wolf, and the letters to
recall him, are in Forster, II., pp. 353 et seq.
68. Forster, pp. 288 et seq.
69. The documents quoted upon the theatre in the time of
Frederick William I. are in Forster, vol. I., chap. vi.
70. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Nov. 12, 1729; La Chetardie,
May 5, 1733. There was often question of the King's
dinners in the correspondence of Seckendorfr* and Prince
Eugene.
71. Kramer, Neue Beitrdge zur Geschichte A. H. Franclces,
p. 170.
72. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Aug. 10, 1726.
73. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Dec. 28, 1726; March 25, 1727;
Sauveterre, April 3, 1728; March 1, August 23, 1729;
Jan. 13 and 20, 1731; Feb. 9, 1732.
432 NOTES.
74. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, August 18, 1730.
75. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, April 22, 1726; June 21, 1727;
Sauveterre, March 25, 1732.
76. Forster, vol. II., pp. 339, 340, 342, 343.
77. Kramer, Neue Beitrdge, pp. 178-9.
78. Kramer, pp. 174 and 184. This journal of the sojourn of
Francke at Wusterhausen, written by him, is an authen-
tic document of great interest. For the projects of
retreat, see Memoirs of the Margravine, p. 83. Several
times there is question of these projects in the corre-
spondence of the French Ministers.
79. Report of Suhm, Minister of Saxony, in Von Weber, Aus
vier Jahrhunderten (Neue Folge), vol. I., p. 104.
80. Report of Seckendorff, Forster, II., 2d part, p. 43, and dis-
patches from Rottenburg, F. A. Prussia, March 26,
December 28, 1726; April 26, 1727.
81. Koser, p. 25, and the corresponding note of the Appendix,
225, where mention is also made of the first debts of
Frederick.
82. Report quoted above, p. 136 n. 1., from Seckendorff.
83. Koser, p. 8.
84. Kramer, Neue Beitrdge, pp. 102-3.
85. Report of the tutors, Cramer, Zur Geschichte, p. 32.
86. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, March 26, 1726. .
87. Kramer, Neue Beitrdge, pp. 166, 177, 182, 185.
88. See, Brief e Friedrich des Grossen und seiner erlauchten
Bruder . . . an die GebriXder F. W. und F. L. F. von
Borcke. These letters are written in French.
89. The description that the Margravine gives of her mother
(p. 15) is exact enough. See Koser, pp. 11-13.
90. Francke remarks that when the Queen presides at table,
in the absence of the King, she speaks "oftener in
French."
91. Forster, I., p. 350.
92. Memoirs of the Margravine, p. 95 et seq.
93. Order of the King, Forster, I., p. 225.
94. Words of the Queen to Grumbkow, Forster. III., p. 111.
The Queen spoke also of Monbijou " and that she was
very much in debt."
95. Forster, I., p. 348.
NOTES. 433
96. It is very legitimate to question the Margravine, at least
in regard to herself. Upon a criticism of the Memoirs,
see Ranke, Zur Kritik Preussischer Memoiren, vol.
XXIV., of his Sdmmtliche WerJce ; Droysen, Geschichte
der Preussischen Politik (IV., 4); Pierson, Konig Fried-
rich Wilhelm I., von Preussen, in den Denkwiirdigkeiten
der Markgrdfin Wilhelmine von Baireuth.
97. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 33 et seq.
98. Seckendorff, in a report to Prince Eugene, Forster, III.,
339, confesses his admiration for this behaviour.
99. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 45 et seq.
100. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 2 and 3.
101. Memoirs of the Margravine, p. 28.
102. Kramer, Neue Beitrdge, p. 165.
103. Upon the marriages, see the correspondence of Secken-
dorff with Prince Eugene, in Forster, vol II., 2d part
(Urkundenbuch), and vol. III., from p. 75; extracts from
reports of the Ministers of Prussia at London, in
Raumer, Beitrdge zur Neueren Geschichte III., pp. 493
etseq. I referred principally to the unpublished corre-
spondence of the French Ministers at Berlin, F. A., Prus-
sia, years 1725 to 1732. See Koser, pp. 14, et seq ; Ranke,
pp. 91 et seq.
104. La Chetardie, who had never seen "so many excellencies
in such a small place," draws the portraits of the Min-
isters of Prussia; among them he counts Seckendorff,
F. A., Prussia, Oct. 11, 1732.
105. The whole correspondence of Seckendorff is filled with
these unscrupulous negotiations. See Koser, p. 15.
106. Upon Grumbkow, see the dispatch of La Chetardie, Oct.
11, 1732, quoted above.
107. Forster II., Urkundenbuch, p. 138.
108. Dispatches from Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, April 1, 2,
1725; October 8,1726; July 15,1727; from Sauveterre,
Nov. 9, 10, and Dec. 27, 1727. The dispatch wherein Rot-
tenburg relates his conversation with the King in the
garden at Wusterhausen (Oct. 8, 1726) is very curious.
The King confesses to Seckendorff himself the desire
he had for the marriages: "It is true I have been
a good Hanoverian on account of the marriage ..."
Forster, III., 339.
109. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Oct 3, 1725 ; Feb. 2, 1726.
110. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, April 19, May 24, 1726 ; Sauve-
terre, Oct. 8, 1727.
434 NOTES.
111. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, May 29, 1726 : Sauveterre, Oct.
8, 1727.
112. Upon the family scenes, Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Oct.
20, 30, 1725; Feb. 21, April 19, June 21, Aug. 12, 1726.
113. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, June 21, and Oct. 19, 1726:
Mar. 8. and June 21, 1727.
114. Idem, July 16, 1726.
115. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, May 25, 1726.
116. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Nov. 12 and 26, 1726.
117. Idem, Dec. 3. 1726; June 1, and July 12, 1727.
118. Rottenburg, F. A., Prussia, Nov. 12, and Dec. 5, 1726.
119. Seep. 136.
120. Seckendorff is posted about everything, as all of his cor-
respondence proves. See, for example, a very interesting
dispatch to Prince Eugene, of Jan. 22, 1727, Forster,
III., 333 et seq.
121. F. A., Prussia, Aug. 1, Dec. 26, 1726.
122. Bratuscheck, op. cit., p. 34.
123. Brief e Fr. des Gr. an F. W. und F. L. F. von Borcke
p. 10.
124. Bratuscheck, op. cit., pp. 39 et seq. and the notes.
125. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Jan. 17, 1728.
126. Sauveterre, F A., Prussia, Feb. 3, 1728 ; and Bratuscheck,
pp. 34-5.
127. Koser, in the Appendix, 225.
128. Memoirs of the Margravine, p. 101.
129. Memoirs of the Margravine.
130. Brief e Fr. des. Gr., pp. 12 et seq.
This, as well as all of Frederick's writing in this book, is
in bad French. Voltaire said (I quote from Edward
Everett), that "there was not a sentence which you
would not know to be the language of a foreigner."
And this referred, of course, to a still later period.
Translator.
131. Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XXVII., 3d part, pp. 9
and 10.
132. Report of Suhm, Droysen, IV., pp. 398-401.
133. Later, we find Keyserlingk among Frederick's most in-
timate friends. This young officer had a brilliant
mind ; after his studies at the University of Konigsburg
he had traveled. The King, in placing near the Prince,
as he said, this " alert " young man, certainly wanted to
give his son pleasure.
NOTES. 435
134. Koser, pp. 24-5.
135. For documents relative to the marriage, see p. 159, note 1.
136. Koser, pp. 31-32.
137. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Feb. 7, 1729 ; a long dispatch
wherein is a complete resume of the resumption of the
marriage negotiations.
138. At the same time of the dispatches from Sauveterre fol-
low those of the Ministers of England, Raumer, Neue
Beitrdge, loc. cit. The Queen is the principal source of
information. She tells everything, even the most pri-
vate scenes.
139. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Dec. 17 and 20, 1729; Jan. 14,
Mar. 4 and 19. Apr. 8, 1730. The menace, " to turn all
Europe upside down," is in a letter addressed to "a
person in the city, of which Sauveterre gives a copy.
140. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia Aug. 13 and 30, 1729. Jan. 3
and 15, Feb. 4 and 28, Aug. 13, 1730. Memoirs of the
Margravine, years 1729 and 1730, notably pp. 140, 141, 150.
141. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Feb. 7, 1729.
142. Memoirs of the Margravine, p. 123.
143. F. A., Prussia, 1730.
144. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 110, 133, 134.
145. Koser, pp. 25, 26.
146. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 129, 130.
147. Memoirs of the Margravine, p. 132. All these scenes are
most likely to have occurred. See also pp. 151 and 152.
148. Sauveterre, F. A.. Prussia, June 25, Dec. 6, 1729 ; Feb. 15,
1730. Koser, pp. 29 and 30.
149. F. A., Prussia, July 8 and 15, 1728.
150. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 156, 157.
151. Koser, in the Appendix, pp. 226, 227.
152. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 138, 139.
153. Memoirs of the Margravine, and Sauveterre, F. A., Prus-
sia, Jan, 25, and Feb. 7, 1730.
154. This strange scene was related by Hotham to Sauveterre
(F. A., Prussia, April 8,) who was kept informed by
Hotham, Du Bourgay and Cnyphausen of all that hap-
pened during Hotham's stay. See the English dis-
patches in Raumer, Neue Beitrdge, loc. cit., and Carlyle,
book VII.
155. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, April 8, 1730.
436 NOTES.
156. Dispatches of Grumbkow and Reichenbach, in Carlyle,
book VII., 2.
157. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 165, 166.
158. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, April 8, 1730.
159. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, April 22.
160. Dispatch from Hotham, April 5. Raumer, loc. cit.
161. Droysen, op. cit., IV., III., p. 89.
162. Hotham, April 25, 1730, Raumer, loc. cit.
163. Correspondence of the month of April, 1730, Carlyle, loc.
cit.
164. Correspondence of the month of May, ibid., and Sauve-
terre, F. A., Prussia, May 26, 1730.
165. Letter communicated by Hotham to his Court, Carlyle,
loc. cit.
166. Upon these fetes, see Carlyle, VII., 3.
167. Koser, pp. 37, 38.
168. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, July 11, 1730.
169. See the documents of the affair, in Carlyle, VII., 4.
170. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, July 15, 1730.
171. All the facts of this Chapter are studied with a remarkable
exactitude and perfect precision, by Koser in Chapter II
of the book cited. A complete bibliography of the docu-
ments is given by him in the Appendix, pp. 236-242.
These documents are in part unedited: the Archives of
the Royal House contain seven vols, in-fol. of the Acts
of the trial of Frederick and his accomplices, which
Koser has studied. Among the published documents,
the most important are the Informatio ex actis, a short
resume of the acts, given by Preuss, FriedricWs des
Grossen Jugend pp. 87-93, and above all the Vollstdndige
Protokolle des Kbpenicker Kriegsgerichts fiber Kron-
prinz Friedrich, Lieutenant von Katte von Kait u. s. w.,
published by Danneil. The recitals of this trial estab-
lish with certitude the sequel of facts. I refer once for
all to Koser's chapter, in the Informatio and Protokolle.
I will indicate, in their respective places, the other docu-
ments used.
172. Dispatches from Hotham and Guy Dickens, June 16 and
18, 1730. Raumer, pp. 516, 517.
173. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, July 18, 1730.
174. See statement dictated by the King to Mylius, in the
Appendix to the book by Koser (pp. 261, 264).
NOTES. 437
175. Report of Seckendorff to the Emperor, August 14, 1730,
Forster, III, pp. 1 et seq. This report must be consulted
for the whole history of the attempt at escape.
176. Guy Dickens, August 19,Raumer, pp. 518, 519: Sauveterre,
F. A.. Prussia, August 21, 1830.
177. August 19, 1730, Works of Frederick the Great, XXVII,
3rd part, p. 10.
178. Koser, p. 49.
179. Guy Dickens, August 19, in Raumer, pp. 518, 519; Sauve-
terre, F. A., Prussia, August 10, 1730.
180. There is a legendary story about the arrest of Katte.
Those who were ordered to arrest him, gave him notice
and retarded the execution of the Royal Order, so as to
give him time to leave. Katte remained for various
reasons, that Theodor Fontane, to quote him only, gives
in the Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg,
vol. II (4th edit), pp. 307, 308. Koser dispels this legend
(Appendix, p. 232), but I cannot explain to myself that
Katte could have been able to destroy papers at the time
of his arrest, bei der Arrestirung, as the Kopenick trial
stated.
181. The Margravine relates (pp. 192 et seq.) that a casket,
filled with letters written by the Queen, Crown Prince
and herself, was mysteriously brought, before Katte's
arrest, to the house of Countess Fink, who remitted
it to the Queen; and that these letters were destroyed
by the Queen and herself, and replaced by others.
Although the details are uncertain the fact is authentic;
it came to the knowledge of Seckendorff.
182. The scene was undoubtedly a most violent one. Guy
Dickens, Sept. 3, 5, 1730; Raumer, p. 525, and Sauveterre,
F. A., Prussia,Sept. 7, 1730.
183. Preuss, Urkundenbuch zu der Lebensgeschichte Friedrichs
des Grossen, II, pp. 156-7.
184. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Sept. 11, 1730. See Koser, Ap-
pendix, p. 233.
185. Sept. 7 and 8, 1730, Preuss. Urkundenbuch, loc. cit pp.
150, 151.
186. Sept. 19, 1730, Urkundenbuch, vol. II, p. 153.
187. Sept. 20, 22; Oct. 5, 1730. Preuss, Urkundenbuch, vol.
II, pp. 154 and 159.
188. Sept. 6, 1730, Preuss, Urkundenbuch, vol. II, p. 150.
189. Order to the Resident at Hamburg, Sept. 27, 1730, ibid., p.
156. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Sept. 11, 17, 1730.
Bratuschek, pp. 53, 54.
438 NOTES.
190. Guy Dickens, Sept. 7, Raumer, pp. 527-30.
191. Dispatch of the Minister of Sweden at Berlin, communi-
cated from Stockholm to Versailles, F. A., Prussia, Oct.
25, 1730. See also Guy Dickens, Sept. 30, Raumer, p.
541.
192. Guy Dickens, Oct. 3, 17, 21: Raumer, pp. 542-4; Sauveterre,
F. A., Prussia, Oct. 25, 1730.
193. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Sept. 7, 1730.
194. Communicated by Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Sept. 26, 1730.
195. Guy Dickens, August 19, Raumer, p. 521.
196. Guy Dickens, Sept. 25, 1730, Raumer, p. 541.
197. The reports of Guy Dickens and Sauveterre, in Sept. and
Oct. 1730, are full of details upon the attitude of Grumb-
kow and Seckendorff.
198. Guy Dickens, Sept. 16, 1730, Raumer, loe. cit, pp. 522-4,
reports a curious conversation of Seckendorff upon King
Frederick William's state of mind.
199. Letter of the King of Sweden, August 25, 1730, in Raumer,
pp. 536, 537. Letters of Degenfeld, Sept. 19, 29; Preuss,
Urkundenbuch, vol. II., pp. 156-7 and 160.
200. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Sept. 27, Oct. 3, 1730.
201. Preuss, Urkundenbuch, vol. 11, p. 150.
202. The Court of France never encouraged Frederick's flight.
Sauveterre writes, it is true (F. A., Prussia, July 18, 1730),
that at the time of the departure upon the journey to
Anspach, a "friend" announced to him the intention of
the Crown Prince to fly and resort to France. He
answered that " we (France) would be pleased to see and
take care of him and that he would be well received."
He referred to a dispatch from his Court: "You have
remarked the same thing to me, in one of your letters."
But he made a mistake. The dispatch of which he
speaks, F. A., Prussia, Feb. 26, 1730, was written in re-
sponse to the communication made by Sauveterre, ibid.,
Feb. 15, of a projected trip of the Crown Prince, made
with the consent of the king. It states therein: "They"
(France) "would have liked to see him." It would have
been a very happy thing, had he visited this country
earlier. We report the response made to Rottenburg,
when he spoke of the projected flight of Frederick. See
also F. A., Prussia, Sept. 7, 1730, the dispatch from
Versailles: "Whatever may be the affair in connection
with the Prince of Prussia, we have assuredly taken no
part."
NOTES. 439
203. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Sept. 23, Oct. 3, 9, 1730; Guy
Dickens, Sept. 30, in Raumer, pp. 511-13; the King to
Degenfeld, Oct. 14, in Preuss, Urkundenbuch, vol. II.,
page 160; Koser, pp. 59 and 60.
204. Protokolle des Kopenicker Gerichts p. 34.
205. Words of the King, spoken at table, ilber offentlicher
Tafel, reported by Seckendorff, Nov. 11, 1730. Forster,
III, p. 15.
206. Protokolle p. 35.
207. Protokolle pp. 35, 36.
208. Fontane, Wanderungen, II., pp. 316-17.
209. Nov. 3, 1730. Fdrster III, p. 14.
210. Koser, in the Appendix, pp. 236-37.
211. There exists a report upon the last days and execution of
Katte, addressed by Major Schack to Lieutenant-general
Katte, the greater part of which is in Fontane, loc. cit.,
pp. 317 et seq. I analyse this report here.
212. Fontane, loc. cit., pp. 318, 320.
213. This sort of testament destined for the prince is inserted
in a report of Pastor Miiller to the King, Beitrag zur
Lebensgeschichte Friedrichs des Grossen, welcher einen
merkwurdigen Brief wechsel ilber den ehemaligen Auf-
enthalt des gedachten Konigs zu CiXstrin enthdlt.
214. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Sept. 27, and Oct. 21, 1730.
215. Works of Frederick the Great, XXVII, 1, p. 3.
216. The contemporaneous documents do not report in the
same way the words of Katte to the Prince. Guy Dick-
ens (Raumer, p. 546), and Sauveterre, who, during those
days, was evidently inspired by his colleague of England,
gives this dialogue: "My dear Katte, I earnestly beg
your pardon for having brought you to this misfortune."
"There is no reason why Your Highness should do so.
Monseigneur il vCy a pas de quoi." See in Koser, Ap-
pendix, pp. 237-41, the bibliography of the execution of
Katte. Katte and Frederick spoke in French.
217. The whole narration of the communications of the Prince
with Miiller are founded upon the curious documents
contained in the brochure already cited (p. 297, No. 1).
This brochure contains, besides the letter of the King
which is about to be quoted here, five letters of Miiller
to the King (Nov. 6, 7, 8, 10, 14,) and three letters of the
King to Miiller (Nov. 8, 12, 17).
440 NOTES.
218. The father of Katte, in a heart-breaking letter to one of
his relatives, gives, among his reasons for consolation,
the following: "Is it not consoling that the execution
had to take place at Custrin, for the world to under-
stand, why my son had to be sacrificed, warum er ein
Sacrifice ; " Fontane, loc. cit., p. 238.
219. Reports of Seckendorff, Oct. 9, 28, 31, in Forster III, pp. 9,
10 and 12. Letter of the King to the Emperor in
Preuss, Urkundenbuch, vol. II, p. 169, to his ministers at
Vienna and St. Petersburg, in the Appendix of Koser,
pp. 241-2.
220. The "project" for the pardon of the Prince by Seckendorff
is in Preuss, Urkundenbuch, loc. cit., pp. 164-6.
221. Letter of the King of Nov. 21, 1730, analysed in Koser, pp.
71. 72.
222. Wo er ein honet home wird daran ich sehr zweifle ist es
vor ihn ein Gluck. Letter of Nov. 16, 1730, Zeitschrift
fur preussische Geschichte und Landeskunde IX., p.
594.
223. Hille to Grumbkow, Dec. 19, 1730, Koser, p. 242. The cor-
respondence of Hille, Wolden and Grumbkow is in
French. Frederick always wrote in French, except to
his father.
224. Koser, p. 74.
225. The King to Wolden, Nov. 29, Koser, pp. 76-77. The words
in italics in the King's letter are in French.
226. For this correspondence, see Koser, pp. 77-78.
227. See, for this coFrespondence, Koser, pp. 79-82, and Forster,
III, pp. 40 et seq., ten reports of Hille and Wolden to
Grumbkow.
228. Memorandum of Hille, Dec. 1730, Koser, pp. 93-4 and Ap-
pendix, p. 247.
229. Wolden to Grumbkow, April 28, 1731, Forster III, 41-2.
230. The memorandum of the Prince is of January, 1731; the
letter of the King, February 2, Koser, p. 79.
231. For this correspondence, Koser, pp. 83-4. The last letter
of the King is dated August 5.
232. This whole scene is related in a protocol written the next
day, by Grumbkow for Seckendorff, Forster III., p. 50.
Grumbkow was present at the interview.
2,33. Instruction for Wolden, Aug. 21, 1731, Forster I., pp. 386,
et seq.
234. Id., ibid.
NOTES. 44:1
235. Hille to Grumbkow, Aug. 20, 21, 1731, Forster, III., pp.
58-9.
236. Grumbkow's Instruction for the Crown Prince of Prussia,
Forster, III., pp. 54 et seq. This document is in French.
237. The King in an order, Nov. 1730, had given permission for
the Berlin and Hamburg journals, and, in a general way,
the Intelligenzbldtter, Koser, Appendix, p. 244.
238. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, June 19, 1731, Forster, III.,
p. 75.
339. Koser, Appendix, pp. 265, 266.
240. Fontane. Wanderungen, Vol. II., pp. 347 et seq.
241. Correspondence of Frederick with Madame von Wreech,
Works of Frederick the Great, Vol. XVI., pp. 9 et seq.;
Koser, Appendix, pp. 245-6; Fontane ; pp. 369 et seq.
242. The Prince to the King, Aug. 18, 21, 1731. Works of Fr.
the Great, Vol. XXVII., III., pp. 15-18.
243. Sept. 1, 1731, ibid., pp. 21-2.
244. Sept. 8, 1731, ibid., p. 23.
245. Sept. 22, 1731, ibid., pp. 26, 27.
246. Sept. 29, Oct. 6, 1731, ibid., pp. 28-30.
247. This letter of Aug. 28, 1731, is probably the first which was
written after the visit of the King to Ctistrin; it follows
up the sermon of Aug. 15; Works of Frederick the
Great, loc. cit., pp. 18, 20.
248. This part of the Memoirs of the Margravine (year 1730)
is very much contested by Droysen {loc. cit.) and Pier-
son, Konig Friedrich Wilhelm in den Denkwiirdigkeiten
der Markgrdfln Wilhelmina von Baireuth. Of course
there are to be found in it many exaggerations and a few
inventions, but there still remains considerable truth.
I have taken from it the facts which appear probable to
me and have stated the numerous and important places,
where the testimony of Wilhelmina has been confirmed
by others. For the marriage negotiations, see the dis-
patches of Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, Dec. 2, 12, 30, 1730;
Jan. 13, 16, March 17, May 15, 19, June 2, 4, 17, 23, July
31, Oct. 13, Nov. 10 and 20, 1731.
249. Guy Dickens relates, in a dispatch May 19, 1731, " that the
King threatened to shut Sonsfeld up in a Magdalen
Asylum, if she did not make Wilhelmina obey him,"
Raumer, p. 559.
250. Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, May 19, 1731, speaks of this
scene, after which, he says, that the Princess remained
three days without food or drink.
442 NOTES.
251. Guy Dickens, June 2, 3, 1731, Raumer, pp. 559-61. Guy
Dickens relates, in the same dispatch, the scene at the
review. For the scene at dinner, he invokes the testi-
mony of those present.
252. Guy Dickens, ibid.
253. Guy Dickens, ibid.
254. See pp. 121-2 of this volume.
255. I give this detail because I believe it to be true, strange as
it may be. The Queen was capable of such aberrations.
(See p. 266, her proceedings after the arrest of her son).
Wilhelmina manifestly invents in this part of her Me-
moirs, the story of the couriers arriving from England
and intercepted or retarded by Grumbkow. But the
dispatchespf Sauveterre, F. A., Prussia, May 19, June 21,
Oct. 13, 1731, prove that the Queen continued to nego-
tiate at London. In the dispatch of Oct. 13, Sauveterre
writes that Guy Dickens thinks the negotiation relative
to the marriage could easily be renewed. After the
marriage, he speaks (Dec. 18, 1731) of the steps taken,
three weeks before the nuptials, to gain the Prince of
Wales. "As a final result, however, the negotiations
were broken because the King of England persisted in
the double marriage." The Queen continued to intrigue
and hope to the very last moment.
256. See, in the Memoirs of the Margravine, the whole year of
1731. In the preceding pages, and those which follow, I
have sometimes employed the expressions used in the
Memoirs.
257. See, for this psychology of the Margravine given by her-
self, pp. 262, 266, 267, 268, 269, 281, 282.
258. Letters from Hille to Grumbkow, May 19, 26, June 5, 1731;
in Forster, III., pp. 44-5, 48-9.
259. Dispatches of Guy Dickens, Aug. and Nov., 1731, in Rau-
mer, pp. 561-3.
260. Dec. 8, 1731, Works of Frederick the Great, Vol. XXVII,
III., pp. 33-4.
261. Dec. 18 and 22, 1731; Jan. 22 and 29, 1732. Ibid., pp. 35,
39, 49, 50, 51-2. See, besides, all his correspondence.
262. See note 261.
263. Dec. 25, 1731, and Jan. 17, 1732, ibid., pp. 41, 45.
264. Hille to Grumbkow, Apr. 28 and June 5, 1731, Forster, pp.
40-1, 49.
265. Koser, Appendix, pp. 266-67.
NOTES. 443
66. Hille to Grumbkow, Apr. 28, 1731, Forster, pp. 40-1. See,
besides Hille's letters, three reports of Schulenburg,
Forster, III, pp. 65 et seq.
267. Jan. 19, 1732, Works of Frederick the Great, XXVII, III,
pp. 47-8.
268. Hille to Grumbkow, Sept. 30, 1731, Forster, III, p. 63.
See, in reports of Schulenburg cited above, notably pp.
55, 65, 69 and 72.
269. Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XVI, pp. 15-17.
270. Koser, p. 95.
271. Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XXVII, III, pp. 36-39.
Plan wegen des Commercii nach Schlesien.
272. Letter of the Crown Prince to Natzmer, Feb., 1731. Works
of Frederick the Great, vol. XVI, pp. 3-6.
273. Prince Eugene to Seckendorff, Forster, III., p. 99.
274. Prince Eugene to Seckendorff, Dec. 12, 1730; ibid , p. 16.
275. Hille to Grumbkow, Dec. 18, 1730, Koser, p. 98.
276. Frederick's project in the letter of Hille to Grumbkow,
April 11, 1731; letter of Grumbkow to Hille, April 14,
1731; letter of Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, April 17,
and response of Prince Eugene, May 12, 1731; Forster,
III., pp. 21-24, 26-28.
277. Letters of the King to Wolden, May 25, 1731; from Hille
to Grumbkow, May 26; from Wolden to Grumbkow,
June 2, 1731; Forster, III., pp. 45-8.
278. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, June 19, 1731, after he had
received from Grumbkow a report of the visit he had
made to Ciistrin, Forster, III., p. 75.
279. Hille to Grumbkow, Sept. 30, 1731, Forster, HI., p. 62, and
narration of Schulenburg cited above.
280. Two letters of the Prince to Grumbkow in the beginning
of January, 1732, Koser, p. 99.
281. Prince Eugene to Seckendorff, Jan. 29, 1732, Forster, III.,
pp. 76-7.
282. Seep. 373.
283. Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XXVII., III., pp. 53-4.
284. The letters written by Frederick to the King and Queen
(after the letter of the King of Feb. 4, 1732) are lost. We
have the Queen's answer to her son. She congratulates
him with doubtful sincerity, upon his submission to his
father, which " in this instance is glorious." Works of
Frederick the Great, vol. XXVI., p. 65. Letters of the
Prince to Grumbkow, Jan. 9, 1732, in Koser, p. 100, and
of Feb. 11, 1732, Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XVI.,
pp. 36-39. '
444 NOTES.
285. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, Feb. 1732 (Relation
ilber den Briefwechsel des Kron-prinzen mit Grumb-
kow), Forster, III, pp. 157-160. Grumbkow to the
Crown Prince, Feb. 20, 1731. Works of Frederick the
Great, vol. XVI, pp. 43-4.
286. Letter quoted above from Grumbkow, Feb. 20, 1732.
287. Feb. 19, 1732, Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XVI. pp.
41-2.
288. Feb. 22, 1732, Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XVI,
pp. 43-8.
289. Grumbkow to Seckendorff, Feb. 23, 1732, Koser, p. 108;
Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, March 14, Forster, III,
83; the Prince to the Margravine, March 6, 24, Works
of Frederick the Great, pp. 4-5.
290. Seckendorf to Prince Eugene, Feb. 23, 1732, Forster, III,
78-83.
291. Prince Eugene to Seckendorff, March 9, 15, 23, 26, April
16, 30, Forster, III, 84, 86. 90, 98, 105.
292. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, March 29, April 1, 5, 8, 28,
1732, Forster, III, pp. 91, 93, 94, 96, 105.
293. Grumbkow to Seckendorff, May 17, Aug. 17, 1732, Forster,
III, 108, 110
294. Memoirs of the Margravine, pp. 375-6
295. Grumbkow to Seckendorff, May 17, Aug. 20, Oct. 4 and 7,
1732, Forster, III, 108, 111, 115, 116; Seckendorff to
Prince Eugene, Apr. 5, 8, 28, 1732, Forster, III, 94, 96, 105.
296. Seckendorff to the Prince, April 6, 1732, and response
(not dated) of the Prince, Works of Frederick the Great,
vol. XVI, pp. 27-8; Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, April
28 and Sept. 18, 1732, Forster, III, 105, 113.
297. The Prince to Grumbkow, Sept. 4 and 29, 1732, Works of
Frederick the Great, vol. XVI., pp. 56-8, 64.
298. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, Sept. 18, 1732, Forster, III.,
112.
299. Koser, pp. 168 et seq.
300. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, April 8, 1732; Prince
Eugene to Seckendorff, April 16, 30, 1732; Forster, III.,
pp. 96, 98, 105.
301. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, Nov. 4, 1732 ; Grumbkow
to Seckendorff, Nov. 4, and report of Grumbkow, Nov.
8-24, Forster, III., pp. 116, 128.
302. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, Nov. 26, 1732, Forster, III.,
p. 118.
NOTES. 445
303. Letter of the Prince of Bevern to the King, Nov. 22, 1732,
in French, quoted in a letter from Seckendorff to
Prince Eugene, of Nov. 30, 1732, and the King's answer
to the Prince of Bevern, in French, attached to a letter
from Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, Dec. 17, 1732, Forster,
III., pp. 120, 140-1.
304. An account of the tabagie of the 6th of Dec. 1732, by
Grumbkow ; Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, Dec. 6, 9,
13, 16, 20, 22, 27, 1732, and Prince Eugene to Seckendorff,
Dec. 6 and 17, 1732, Forster, pp. 135, 137, 138, 139, 141^,
142, 144, 145.
305. The Prince, who found this expression very good, repeated
it to Grumbkow, Dec. 14, 1732. {Works of Frederick
the Great, vol. XVI., p. 74.)
306. The Prince to Seckendorff, Dec. 26, 1732, Works of Fred-
erick the Great, vol. XVI, pp. 30-1. See the letter of the
Crown Prince to Grumbkow, of Oct. 19, 1732. "If I
knew how to make gold, I would communicate my
science, first of all, to my poor sister of Baireuth I
wish with all my heart that her father-in-law would step
off. He would be easily enough consoled, I think, if he
had the assurance that they distilled whisky in heaven."
Ibid., pp. 67-8.
307. Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, Feb. 28, and April 11, 1733,
Forster, III., 146, 148; Seckendorff to the Crown Prince,
April 1733, Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XVI., p.
33.
308. The Prince to Grumbkow, Jan. 25 and 27, 1733, Works of
Frederick the Great, vol. XVI, pp. 77, 79.
309. Report of Seckendorff to Prince Eugene, June 13, 1733,
Forster pp. 148-155.
310. The Prince to the Margravine, June 12, 1733, "at twelve
o'clock," Works of Frederick the Great, vol. XXVII,
(1st part), p. 9.
311. Memoirs of the Margravine, p. 401.
312. Letter in French to Grumbkow, Forster, III, pp. 175-6.
313. Secret accounts of Seckendorff; letter of the same to^
Prince Eugene, Oct. 4, 1733; letter of Prince Eugene
upon Reichenbach, July 4, 1731, Forster, III, pp. 231-34.
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