ace begun by former Margraves, left
off once and again for want of cash; stands there as a sad monument
of several things;--the young family living meanwhile in some solid
comfortable wing, or adjacent edifice, of natural dimensions. They are
so young, as we say, and not too wise. By and by they had a son, and
then a second son; which latter came to manhood, to old age; and made
some noise in the foolish parts of the Newspapers,--winding up
finally at Hammersmith, as we often explain;--and was the last of the
Anspach-Baireuth Margraves. I have heard farther that Frederika did
not want for temper, as the Hohenzollerns seldom do; that her Husband
likewise had his own stock of it, rather scant of wisdom withal; and
that their life was not quite symphonious always,--especially cash being
short. The Dowager Margravine, Margraf's Mother, had governed with great
prudence during her Son's long minority. I think she is now, since the
marriage, gone to reside at her WITTWENSITZ (Dowager-Seat) of Feuchtwang
(twenty miles southwest of us); but may have come up to welcome the
Majesties into these parts. Very beautiful, I hear; still almost young
and charming, though there is a mortal malady upon her, which she knows
of. [Pollnitz, _Memoirs and Letters,_ i. 209 (date, 29th September,
1729;--needs WATCHING before believing).] Here are certain Seckendorfs
too, this is the Feldzeugmeister's native country;--and there are
resources for a Royal Travelling-Party. How long the Royal Party
stayed at Anspach I do not know; nor what they did there,--except that
Crown-Prince Friedrich is said to have privately asked the young
Margraf to lend him a pair of riding-horses, and say nothing of it;
who, suspecting something wrong, was obliged to make protestations and
refuse.
As to the Crown-Prince, there is no doubt but here at last things are
actually coming to a crisis with him. To say truth, it has been the
young man's fixed purpose ever since he entered on this Journey, nay
was ever since that ignominy in the Camp of Radewitz, to run away;--and
indeed all this while he has measures going on with Katte at Berlin of
the now-or-never sort. Rash young creatures, elder of them hardly above
five-and-twenty yet: not good at contriving measures. But what then?
Human nature cannot stand this always; and it is time there were an end
of deliberating. Can we ever have such a chance again?--What I find of
certain concerning Friedrich while at Anspach is, Th
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