KING。\"\'HaveItodrivethroughthevillage?\'
ICH。\"\'Itisnotindispensable;butthechangeofhorsesisthere。
IfyourMajestygiveorder,Iwillrideforward,sendthefreshhorsesoutofthevillage,andhavethemstationedtowaitatthefootofthehills。\'
KING。\"\'Oja,doso!Takeoneofmypageswithyou。\'
\"Inowtookmeasuresaboutthenewteamofhorses,butsoarrangedit,thatwhenhisMajestygotuponthehillsIwastheretoo。
Atdismountingfromhiscarriageonthehilltop,hisMajestydemandedaprospectglass;lookedroundthewholeregion,andthensaid:\'Well,intruth,thatisbeyondmyexpectation!Thatisbeautiful!Imustsaythistoyou,allofyouthathaveworkedinthisbusiness,youhavebehavedlikehonorablepeople!\'[TOME]
\'Tellmenow,istheElbefarfromhere?\'
ICH。\"\'YourMajesty,itis2milesoff[10miles]。YonderisWurbenintheAltmark;itliesupontheElbe。\'
KING。\"\'Thatcannotbe!Givemetheglassagain。Ja,ja,itistrue,though。Butwhatothersteepleisthat?\'
ICH。\"\'YourMajesty,thatisHavelberg。\'
KING。\"\'Na,comehere,allofyou!\'(THEREWEREAMTSRATHKLAUSIUS,BAUINSPECTORMENZELIUSANDI。)\'Hearnow,thetractofmoorheretotheleftmustalsobereclaimed;andwhatistotherighttoo,sofarasthemoorextends。Whatkindofwoodisthereonit?\'
ICH。\"\'Alders(ELSEN)andoaks,yourMajesty。\'
KING。\"\'Na!thealdersyoumayrootout;andtheoaksmaycontinuestanding;thepeoplemaysellthese,orusethemotherwise。
Whenoncethegroundisarable,Ireckonupon300familiesforit,and500headofcows,ha?\'Nobodyanswered;atlastIbegan,andsaid:
ICH。\"\'Ja,yourMajesty,perhaps!\'
KING。\"\'Hearnow,youmayanswermewithconfidence。Therewillbemoreorfewerfamilies。Iknowwellenoughonecannot,allatonce,exactlysay。Iwasneverthere,don\'tknowtheground;otherwiseI
couldunderstandequallywithyouhowmanyfamiliescouldbeputuponit。\'
THEBAUINSPECTOR。\"\'YourMajesty,theLUCHisstillsubjecttorightsofcommonfromagreatmanyhands。\'
KING。\"\'Nomatterforthat。Youmustmakeexchanges,givethemanequivalent,accordingaswillanswerbestinthecase。Iwantnothingfromanybodyexceptatitsvalue。\'[TOAMTSRATHKLAUSIUS]
\'Na,hearnow,youcanwritetomyKammer[BOARD,BoardofWorksthatdoesNOTsitidle!],whatitisthatIwantreclaimedtotheplough;themoneyforitIwillgive。\'[TOME]\'Andyou,yougotoBerlin,andexplaintomyGeheimerRathMichaelis,bywordofmouth,whatitisIwantreclaimed。\'
\"HisMajestynowsteptintohiscarriageagain[wasGortzsittingallthewhile,stillinsilence?Orhadheperhapsgotoutatthebottomofthehill,andsatdowntoacontemplativepipeoftobacco,thesmokeofwhich,heartcheeringtoGortz,wasalwaysdisagreeabletoFriedrich?Nobodyknows!]anddrovedownthehill;
therethehorseswerechanged。Andnow,ashisMajesty\'sorderwasthatIshould\'attendhimtotheStollenhills,\'Iwentuptothecarriage,andasked:
ICH。\"\'DoesyourMajestycommandthatIshouldyetaccompanyfarther\'[\"BEFEHLEN,command,\"inthepluralispolite,\"yourMajesty,thatIyetfarthershallWITH\"]?
KING。\"\'No,myson;ride,inGod\'sname,home。\'
\"TheHerrAmtsrath[Klausius]thenaccompaniedhisMajestytoRathenow,wherehe[THEY:HisMajestyisplural]lodgedinthePosthouse。AtRathenow,duringdinner,hisMajestywasuncommonlycheerful:hedinedwithHerrLieutenantColonelvonBackhofoftheCarabineers,andtheHerrLieutenantColonelvonBackhofhimselfhasrelatedthathisMajestysaid:
\"\'MygoodVonBackhof(MEINLIEBERVONBACKHOF):ifHe[you]havenotforalongtimebeenintheFehrbellinneighborhood,gothere。\'\"Fehrbellin,thePrussianBANNOCKBURN;wheretheGreatElectorcutthehithertoinvincibleSwedesINTWO,amongtheDAMS
andintricatemooryquagmires,withavastlyinferiorforce,nearlyallofcavalry(ledbyoneDERFLINGER,whoinhisapprenticetimehadbeenaTAILOR);beatoneendofthemalltorags,thengallopedoffandbeattheotherintoditto;quitetakingtheconceitoutoftheSwedes,oratleastclearingPrussiaofthemforeverandaday:
afeatmuchadmiredbyFriedrich:\"\'Gothere,\'hesays。
\'Thatregionisuncommonlyimproved[asIsawtoday]!Ihavenotforalongtimehadsuchapleasantdrive。IdecidedonthisjourneybecauseIhadnoREVIEWonhand;andithasgivenmesuchpleasurethatIshallcertainlyhaveanotherbyandby。\'
\"\'Tellmenow:howdidyougetoninthelastWar[KARTOFFELKRIEG,nofighting,onlyascrambleforproviantand\"potatoes\"]?
Mostlikelyill!YouinSaxonytoocouldmakenothingout。
Thereasonwas,wehadnotmentofightagainst,butcannons!
Imighthavedoneathingortwo;butIshouldhavesacrificedmorethanthehalfofmyArmy,andshedinnocenthumanblood。InthatcaseIshouldhavedeservedtobetakentotheGuardhousedoor,andtohavegotasixscorethere(EINENOFFFENTLICHENPRODUKT)!
Warsarebecomingfrightfultocarryon。\'
\"\'ThiswassurelytouchingtohearfromthemouthofagreatMonarch,\'saidHerrLieutenantColonelvonBackhoftome,andtearscameintothatoldsoldier\'seyes。\"AfterwardshisMajestyhadsaid:
\"OftheBattleofFehrbellinIknoweverything,almostasifI
myselfhadbeenthere!WhileIwasCrownPrince,andlayinRuppin,therewasanoldtownsman,themanwaseventhenveryold:hecoulddescribethewholeBattle,andknewthesceneofitextremelywell。
OnceIgotintoacarriage,tookmyoldgeniuswithme,whoshowedmeallovertheground,anddescribedeverythingsodistinctly,I
wasmuchcontentedwithhim。Aswewerecomingback,Ithought:
Come,letmehavealittlefunwiththeoldblade;soIaskedhim:
\'Father,don\'tyouknow,then,whythetwoSovereignscametoquarrelwithoneanother?\'\'Oja,yourRoyalHighnessES[fromthispointwehavePlattDeutsch,PRUSSIANdialect,fortheoldman\'sspeech;barelyintelligible,asScotchistoaningeniousEnglishman],DATWILLICKSEWOHLSEGGEN,Icaneasilytellyouthat。WhenourChorforste[Kurfursts,GreatElector]wasyoung,hestudiedinUtrecht;andtheretheKingofSwedenhappenedtobetoo。Andnowthetwoyounglordspickedsomequarrel,gottopullingcaps[fellintooneanother\'shair],ANDDITISNUDEPICKE
DAVON,andthisnowwastheupshotofit。\'HisMajestyspokethisinPlattDeutsch,asheregiven;butgrewattablesowearythathe(they)fellasleep。\"SofarBackhof;andnowagainFrommebywayoffinish:
\"OfhisMajesty\'sjourneyIcangivenofartherdescription。
ForthoughhisMajestyspokeandaskedmanythingselse;itwouldbedifficulttobringthemalltopaper。\"AndsoendstheDAYWITH
FRIEDRICHTHEGREAT;veryflat,butIdaresayveryTRUE:
aDaguerrotypeofoneofhisDays。