, we hear nothing; of Queen Sophie and the others, nothing:
anxious, all of them, no doubt, about the event at Potsdam, and
otherwise silent to us. His Majesty's illness comes and goes; now
hope, and again almost none. Margraf of Schwedt and his young Bride, we
already know, were married in November; and Lieutenant Chasot (two days
old in Berlin) told us, there was Dinner by the Crown-Prince to all the
Royal Family on that occasion;--poor Majesty out at Potsdam languishing
in the background, meanwhile.

His Carnival the Crown-Prince passes naturally at Berlin. We find he
takes a good deal to the French Ambassador, one Marquis de la Chetardie;
a showy restless character, of fame in the Gazettes of that time; who
did much intriguing at Petersburg some years hence, first in a signally
triumphant way, and then in a signally untriumphant; and is not now
worth any knowledge but a transient accidental one. Chetardie came
hither about Stanislaus and his affairs; tried hard, but in vain, to
tempt Friedrich Wilhelm into interference;--is naturally anxious to
captivate the Crown-Prince, in present circumstances.

Friedrich Wilhelm lay at Potsdam, between death and life, for almost
four months to come; the Newspapers speculating much on his situation;
political people extremely anxious what would become of him,--or in
fact, when he would die; for that was considered the likely issue.
Fassmann gives dolorous clippings from the _Leyden Gazette,_ all in a
blubber of tears, according to the then fashion, but full of impertinent
curiosity withal. And from the Seckendorf private Papers there are
Extracts of a still more inquisitive and notable character: Seckendorf
and the Kaiser having an intense interest in this painful occurrence.

Seckendorf is not now himself at Berlin; but running much about, on
other errands; can only see Friedrich Wilhelm, if at all, in a passing
way. And even this will soon cease;--and in fact, to us it is by far
the most excellent result of this French-Austrian War, that it carries
Seckendorf clear away; who now quits Berlin and the Diplomatic line, and
obligingly goes out of our sight henceforth. The old Ordnance-Master,
as an Imperial General of rank, is needed now for War-Service, if he has
any skill that way. In those late months, he was duly in attendance at
Philipsburg and the Rhine-Campaign, in a subaltern torpid capacity, like
Brunswick-Bevern and the others; ready for work, had there been any:
but ne