登陆注册
4699200000408

第408章

And so, with masonic grip, they made their adieus for the present;and the Crown-Prince and Wartensleben were back at their posts, ready for the road along with his Majesty.

His Majesty came on Sunday; goes on Wednesday, home now at a stretch; and, we hope, has had a good time of it here, these three days. Daughter Charlotte and her Serene Husband, well with their subjects, well with one another, are doing well; have already two little Children; a Boy the elder, of whom we have heard:

Boy's name is Karl, age now three; sprightly, reckoned very clever, by the fond parents;--who has many things to do in the world, by and by; to attack the French Revolution, and be blown to pieces by it on the Field of Jena, for final thing! That is the fate of little Karl, who frolics about here, so sunshiny and ingenuous at present.

Karl's Grandmother, the Serene Dowager Duchess, Friedrich's own Mother-in-law, his Majesty and Friedrich would also of course see here. Fine Younger Sons of hers are coming forward; the reigning Duke beautifully careful about the furtherance of these Cadets of the House. Here is Prince Ferdinand, for instance; just getting ready for the Grand Tour; goes in a month hence: [Mauvillon (FILS, son of him whom we cite otherwise), Geschichte Ferdinands Herzogs von Braunschweig-Luneburg (Leipzig, 1794), i. 17-25.] a fine eupeptic loyal young fellow; who, in a twenty years more, will be Chatham's Generalissimo, and fight the French to some purpose. A Brother of his, the next elder, is now fighting the Turks for his Kaiser; does not like it at all, under such Seckendorfs and War-Ministries as there are. Then, elder still, eldest of all the Cadets, there is Anton Ulrich, over at Petersburg for some years past, with outlooks high enough: To wed the Mecklenburg Princess there (Daughter of the unutterable Duke), and be as good as Czar of all the Russias one day. Little to his profit, poor soul!--These, historically ascertainable, are the aspects of the Brunswick Court during those three days of Royal Visit, in Fair-time; and may serve to date the Masonic Transaction for us, which the Crown-Prince has just accomplished over at Korn's.

As for the Transaction itself, there is intrinsically no harm in this initiation, we will hope: but it behooves to be kept well hidden from Papa. Papa's good opinion of the Prince has sensibly risen, in the course of this Journey, "so rational, serious, not dangling about among the women as formerly;"--and what a shock would this of Korn's Hotel be, should Papa hear of it! Poor Papa, from officious tale-bearers he hears many things: is in distress about Voltaire, about Heterodoxies;--and summoned the Crown-Prince, by express, from Reinsberg, on one occasion lately, over to Potsdam, "to take the Communion" there, by way of case-hardening against Voltaire and Heterodoxies! Think of it, human readers!--We will add the following stray particulars, more or less illustrative of the Masonic Transaction; and so end that trifling affair.

The Captain Wartensleben, fellow-recipient of the mysteries at Brunswick, is youngest son, by a second marriage, of old Feldmarschall Wartensleben, now deceased; and is consequently Uncle, Half-Uncle, of poor Lieutenant Katte, though some years younger than Katte would now have been. Tender memories hang by Wartensleben, in a silent way! He is Captain in the Potsdam Giants; somewhat an intimate, and not undeservedly so, of the Crown-Prince;--succeeds Wolden as Hofmarschall at Reinsberg, not many months after this; Wolden having died of an apoplectic stroke. Of Bielfeld comes a Book, slightly citable; from no other of the Brethren, or their Feat at Kern's, comes (we may say) anything whatever. The Crown-Prince prosecuted his Masonry, at Reinsberg or elsewhere, occasionally, for a year or two; but was never ardent in it; and very soon after his Accession, left off altogether: "Child's-play and IGNIS FATUUSmainly!" A Royal Lodge was established at Berlin, of which the new King consented to be patron; but he never once entered the place; and only his Portrait (a welcomely good one, still to be found there) presided over the mysteries in that Establishment.

Harmless "fire," but too "fatuous;" mere flame-circles cut in the air, for infants, we know how!--With Lippe-Buckeburg there ensued some Correspondence, high enough on his Serenity's side; but it soon languished on the Prince's side; and in private Poetry, within a two years of this Brunswick scene, we find Lippe used proverbially for a type-specimen of Fools. ["Taciturne, Caton, avec mes bons parents, Aussi fou que la Lippe met les jeunes gens." OEuvres, xi. 80 ( Discours sur la Faussete, written 1740).] A windy fantastic individual;--overwhelmed in finance-difficulties too!

Lippe continued writing; but "only Secretaries now answered him" from Berlin. A son of his, son and successor, something of a Quixote too, but notable in Artillery-practice and otherwise, will turn up at a future stage.

同类推荐
  • 马关议和中日谈话录

    马关议和中日谈话录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 白云集

    白云集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 淡新凤三县简明总括图册

    淡新凤三县简明总括图册

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 白话古文观止

    白话古文观止

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 金华赤松山志

    金华赤松山志

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 琼心醉

    琼心醉

    仗剑一笑醉红尘,这纷繁尘世,只你一人心足矣。帝姬琼函,娇艳如花,妩媚不可方物。身为皇后独女,深得皇上宠爱。公主未必是草包美人,驸马切莫自以为是,缘份才是王道。
  • 最后的吻别

    最后的吻别

    秦朵是在周六的图书馆遇上揄扬的,这么多年过去了,他竟然一直没有改变这个习惯,在每个周六的下午去图书馆坐上半天的时间,不仅仅是看书,更多的时候是透过靠窗的位置,朝对面的琴房张望。
  • 明心宝鉴

    明心宝鉴

    《明心宝鉴》大约成书于元末明初,辑录者为范立本。《明心宝鉴》是一部汇集了儒释道思想精华,荟萃了明代之前中国圣贤有关修身养性、安身立命、言行交友等方方面面处世哲学的人生教科书。全书分为继善、天理、顺命、孝行、正己、安分、存心、戒性、劝学、训子、省心、立教、治政、治家、安义、遵礼、存信、言语、交友、妇行共二十篇,六百余段短小精悍的名言警句。在明代,本书是比《菜根谭》更流行的劝善书、启蒙书,曾多次重刊、重印,万历皇帝还命人重辑修订一遍,是当时最流行的通俗读物之一。
  • 青楼梦

    青楼梦

    小说叙述苏州书生金挹香,认定妓女多情,便到青楼寻觅知己。他先后认识许多妓女,并与之结交,在虎丘集二十四名妓女办“闹红会”。蜂蝶使给他托梦,告他妻姓钮,有四妾……
  • 江湖天很晴2

    江湖天很晴2

    养猪专业少女朱灰灰和白衣大侠枫雪色俩人跋山涉水,一路上斗智斗勇,可越调查谜团越大——黑衣人的幕后势力是谁?“绝色”小王爷流玥又与朱灰灰有着怎样的渊源?武功深不可测神秘凶残的“夜”是谁?亦正亦邪的鱼小妖到底是不是朱灰灰的极品母亲?……
  • 宋代文章学

    宋代文章学

    本书分为上下两篇,上篇“宋代文章学纵论”,从“范畴、体性、审美、传统、体裁、文体”等角度,专门探讨了宋代文章著作(尤其是“散文”)的性质、功能、构造等;下篇则针对具体的几部宋代文章著作进行案例式的探讨。作者希望通过认真研究中国古代特别是宋代的文章学的基本文献,为建立宋代文章学的理论体系做一点贡献。
  • 泉州千佛新著诸祖师颂

    泉州千佛新著诸祖师颂

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 无极天魔道

    无极天魔道

    魔尊转世,一朝醒还,天魔珠出,逆天承传,天魔九变,泣神惊天,魔刀九转,神魔惧颤,布局天下,幕后谋算,一路高歌,血染宇寰,顺我者昌,逆我者亡,纵横任我,万古魔皇!七龙珠看过没?没错,天魔九变就是九种变身形态,牛逼带闪电,不服就干,一路横扫诸天宇宙,成就最强天魔,统御诸天!什么?魔尊身份不够劲爆?其实我只想说主角还有更牛的身份,没有最强,只有更强,嘿嘿!
  • 邪影龙帝

    邪影龙帝

    神说,要有光,于是就有了光;神说,光为昼,暗为夜。于是就有了一天;神说:我要照著我的形像,按著我的样式造人,于是就有了人类;神还要说,结果龙皓晨插嘴了:好东西都让你造了,我弄什么,于是就有了……
  • 石话实说

    石话实说

    “告诉您最想知道的石家庄一百个故事”,一直是我们的愿望,随着大型系列文化节目《石话实说》的播出和结集出版,今天终于如愿以偿了。三十万年前,石家庄人的先祖就在太行山下、滹沱河畔点燃文明火种,直到今天,演进为拥有千万人口的繁华都市。这条波澜壮阔、星光璀璨的历史长河属于中国,属于世界。全景记述这亘古的传奇是石家庄广播电视台应当具有的文化自觉与文化担当。