describe the whole Battle, and knew the scene of it extremely well.
Once I got into a carriage, took my old genius with me, who showed
me all over the ground, and described everything so distinctly, I
was much contented with him. As we were coming back, I thought:
Come, let me have a little fun with the old blade;--so I asked him:
'Father, don't you know, then, why the two Sovereigns came to
quarrel with one another?'--'O ja, your Royal HighnessES [from this
point we have Platt-Deutsch, PRUSSIAN dialect, for the old man's
speech; barely intelligible, as Scotch is to an ingenious
Englishman], DAT WILL ICK SE WOHL SEGGEN, I can easily tell you
that. When our Chorforste [Kurfursts, Great Elector] was young, he
studied in Utrecht; and there the King of Sweden happened to be
too. And now the two young lords picked some quarrel, got to
pulling caps [fell into one another's hair], AND DIT IS NU DE PICKE
DAVON, and this now was the upshot of it.'--His Majesty spoke this
in Platt-Deutsch, as here given;--but grew at table so weary that
he (they) fell asleep." So far Backhof;--and now again Fromme by
way of finish:--

"Of his Majesty's journey I can give no farther description.
For though his Majesty spoke and asked many things else; it would
be difficult to bring them all to paper." And so ends the DAY WITH
FRIEDRICH THE GREAT; very flat, but I dare say very TRUE:--
a Daguerrotype of one of his Days.





End of Project Gutenberg Appendix to History of Friedrich II of Prussia

