and a great number of letters written to him by seve-
ral Berlin ladies, in which the monarch was not spared.
Those of madame de Blaspil were especially violent
against the king, whom she styled a tyrant and " a
horrible cribli-fax." Grumkow, who was appointed to
examine these papers, availed himself of this oppor-.
tunity to ruin this lady : he had entrusted her with
part of his projects, in hopes of bringing her over to
his party, and obtaining the king's will. Madame de
Blaspil, who had seen through his designs, had amused
him with false promises, in order to wrest from him
his secrets. As she had not sufficient evidence against
him, and Kamken's misfortune being still recent, she
dared not to venture upon a discovery to the king
until she was provided with convincing proofs.
Grumkow having put into the king's hands the letters
which she had written to Trosqui, and prepossessed
him very much against her, his majesty sent for her,
and after having addressed her in very harsh terms,
he shewed her these fatal letters. Madame de Blaspil,
not dismayed on seeing her own hand-writing, and
knowing the contents to be true, took that opportu-
nity to reproach the king with his faults ; adding that,
notwithstanding what she had written against him,



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 27

she was more attached to his majesty than any one
else was ; being the only one who had the boldness
to speak to him with frankness and sincerity. Her
energetic and ingenuous speech made a strong impres-
sion upon the king. After some consideration he re-
plied : " I forgive you, and thank you for your manner
of behaving. You have convinced me that you are
my real friend, by speaking the truth to me. Let us
both forget the past, and be friends." Whereupon he
took her by the hand, and leading her to the queen,
he said : " This is an honest woman, for whom I feel
much esteem."

Madame de Blaspil, notwithstanding, was by no
means at ease : she was acquainted with all the cir-
cumstances of the wicked design which Grumkow
and the prince of Anhalt were plotting against the
sovereign and my brother ; she saw it on the point of
being carried into effect, and knew not what to resolve,
as there was evidently equal danger in speaking or
continuing silent. But it is time to unveil this horri-
ble mystery : the views of the two companions of
iniquity were directed to place the margrave of Schwedt
on the throne, and to usurp the government.

Both the king and the prince- royal were daily im-
proving in health ; and this circumstance dissipated
all the flattering hopes which Anhalt and Grumkow
had conceived of their approaching demise. They
resolved to remove this bar to their measures : the
business was delicate ; nothing less than the royal
lives were at stake ; and the conspirators only waited
for a favourable opportunity to execute their infamous
design ; and such an opportunity soon presented it-
self, agreeably to their wishes. There had been for
some time a company of rope-dancers at Berlin, who
performed German plays on a pretty stage erected in
the New market ; the king was highly entertained
with them, and never omitted to attend their per-
formances. This spot was selected by the conspirators,
for the scene of their detestable tragedy. They wished



28 MEMOIRS OF THE

my brother to be also present, that they might at once
immolate the two victims to their abominable ambi-
tion. The palace and the stage were to be set on fire
at the same moment, to avert all suspicion from them ;
and the king and my brother were to be strangled
during the confusion which the conflagration would
inevitably cause, as it was only a wooden barrack,
with very narrow entrances, and always excessively
crowded, which must have facilitated the attempt.
Their party was so strong, that they were sure to usurp
the regency during the absence of the margrave of
Schwedt, who was still in Italy ; particularly as the
army was subservient to the prince of Anhalt, by whom
it was commanded, and who possessed the affections
of the soldiers. It is probable that Manteufel, ab-
horring this dreadful conspiracy, discovered it to
madame de Blaspil, and mentioned to her the day on
which it was to take place. I remember perfectly
well ******

Grumkow urged the king to take my brother to the
play, under the pretence that he ought to dissipate his
gloom, and enliven him by cheerful diversions. This
was on a Wednesday : the Friday following was fixed
upon for the execution of their plan. The king, having
nothing to oppose to such arguments, assented. Ma-
dame de Blaspil, who was present and knew their de-
sign, shuddered with horror. Unable to remain any
longer silent, she intimidated the queen, without ac-
quainting her with what was in agitation, and advised
her to prevent, at any rate, my brother's attending
the king. The queen, knowing my brother's timid
disposition, inspired him with such a dread of the
theatre, that he cried whenever it was mentioned. Fri-
day at length arrived ; and the queen, after having
lavished many endearments upon me, ordered me to
amuse the king, so as to make him forget the play ;
adding, that if I could not otherwise succeed, and that
the king still persisted in wishing to take my brother
with him, I was to bemoan, weep, and use every effort



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 29

to detain him. To impress it more strongly upon my
mind, she told me that my life and my brother's were
at stake. I acted my part so well, that it was half
past six before the king was aware of it ; when, rising
all at once, and walking towards the door, leading his
son by the hand, the latter began to struggle, and
utter piercing cries. The king, surprised, attempted
to comfort him by gentle means ; but seeing that his
efforts were unavailing, and that the poor boy would
not follow him, he was going to strike him. The
queen opposed it : but the king, taking the boy in
his arms, strove to carry him away by main force. I
then threw myself at his feet, which I embraced and
bedewed with my tears. The queen placed herself
against the door, intreating the king to stay that day
in the palace. The monarch, astonished at this strange
behaviour, demanded an explanation.

The queen knew not what to reply : but the king,
naturally suspicious, conjectured that there was some
conspiracy against him. Trosqui's trial was not yet
over : he supposed the apprehensions of the queen to
proceed from that quarter. Having earnestly entreated
her to inform him of the ground of her fears, she con-
tented herself with replying, that his life and my bro-
ther's were at stake ; without naming madame de
Blaspil. This lady being with the queen in the even-
ing, thought that, after the scene which had taken
place, she could no longer remain silent. She there-
fore discovered the whole plot to her majesty, and con-
jured her to procure her the next day a secret audience
from the king. This the queen easily obtained.

Madame de Blaspil having informed the monarch of
all the particulars with which she was acquainted, the
king asked whether she would, in the presence of
Grumkow, substantiate what she had asserted : and
as her answer was in the affirmative, the minister was
immediately sent for. He had taken his precautions
before hand, and had no cause to be afraid. The at-
torney-general Katch, a man of obscure origin, was



D 2



30 MEMOIRS OF THE

indebted to him for his fortune. Full worthy of Grum-
kow's protection, and the lively image of the " unjust
judge" of the gospel, he was feared and abhorred by
all honest people. Grumkow, besides, had a great
number of his creatures in the courts of justice and
offices of administration. He therefore appeared
boldly before the king; who communicated to him
the evidence of madame de Blaspil. Grumkow pro-
tested that he was innocent; exclaiming that it was
impossible to be a faithful minister, without being ex-
posed to persecutions ; and that it was sufficiently
apparent, from madame de Blaspil's letters to Trosqui,
that this lady only sought to carry on an intrigue,
and to set the court at variance. He cast himself at
the feet of the monarch, entreated him to have the
matter rigorously and impartially enquired into, and
offered authentic proofs of the falsehood of the accu-
sations.

The king then sent for Katch, as Grumkow had
foreseen. In spite of his intrigues, he was tottering
on the brink of ruin ; but Katch saved him. He had
an astonishing talent for perplexing the culprits who
had the misfortune to have him for their judge : they
were disconcerted by his captious and artful interro-
gatories. Madame "de Blaspil fell a victim to his arti-
fices : she could not bring any proofs of her accusa-
tions, which were accordingly treated as calumnies.
Katch, seeing the king in a violent passion, proposed
to put her to the rack. A vestige of regard for her
sex and rank spared her this ignominy : the king con-
tented himself with sending her that very evening to
Spandau, whither Trosqui was conducted some days
after. Madame de Blaspil supported her change of
fortune with heroical firmness. She was at first treated
with severity and harshness : she continued three days
shut up in a damp room with a grated window, without
either bed or furniture ; receiving only what was ab-
.solutely necessary for the support of life.

Although the queen \vas pregn?,nt, the king did not



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 31

spare her ; and communicated to her, in a A r ery harsh
manner, the misfortune of her favourite. Her ma-
jesty was so grieved at it, that fears were entertained
of a miscarriage. Independently of her friendship for
madame de Blaspil, she felt greatly alarmed at the re-
collection that the king's will was yet in the hands of
that lady. Her uneasiness was relieved by a fortunate
incident. Field-marshal de Natzmar, a man of great
merit and acknowledged probity, was ordered to put a
seal upon madame de Blaspil's papers. The queen
employed Boshart her chaplain to acquaint the marshal
with her uneasiness, and to intreat him to let her have
the king's will. The chaplain forcibly represented the
danger to which the queen would be exposed, if that
deed were found, and acquitted himself so well of his
commission, that he prevailed with the marshal to
comply with the request of her majesty : which com-
pliance frustrated Grumkovv's designs. Nothing sus-
picious was discovered among madame de Blaspil's
papers, and all farther proceedings were stopped.

I have been informed of the details which I have
just written, by the queen my mother : they \\ ere
known to very few persons : the queen had carefully
kept them secret ; and my brother, since his accession
to the throne, caused all the writings relating to the
trial to be committed to the flames. Madame de Blas-
pil was set at liberty at the end of twelve months, and
her confinement changed into banishment to the
duchy of Cleves. The king, who saw her some years
after, behaved with great kindness to her, and forgave
her for the past : and after the death of my father,
the king my brother, with a view to gratify the queen
my mother, appointed her governess to my two
younger sisters ; and she holds that situation at pre-
sent. (1744.)

The patience of the monarch was at length exhausted
by this rapid succession of intrigues at Berlin. His
understanding was too acute not to discern that prince
Anhalt and Grumkow could not be perfectly innocent.



32 MEMOIRS OF THE

He therefore sought to put an end at once to all their
petty intrigues, and resolved to dispose of the margrave
of Schwedt in marriage. The close alliance which he
had contracted with Russia, made him turn his eyes
to that quarter. M. de Martenfeld, his envoy at Pe-
tersburg, was ordered to demand the duchess of Cour-
land (afterwards empress) in marriage for that prince.
The czar shewed himself very willing to accede to the
wishes of the Prussian monarch. The margrave of
Schwedt was therefore recalled from Italy, where he
happened to be at that time. As soon as he was ar-
rived at Berlin, the king proposed this alliance to him :
he represented how advantageous it would be, and
how well calculated to satisfy his ambition ; but this
prince, who still hoped to marry me, peremptorily re-
fused to comply with the king's wishes. As he was
eighteen years old, and of age, the monarch could not
force him to obey ; and the business was dropped.

I forgot to mention, in the preceding year, the ar-
rival of the czar Peter the Great at Berlin. The anec-
dote is curious enough to deserve a place in these me-
moirs. The czar, who was uncommonly fond of tra-
velling, was coming from Holland : he had been
obliged to stop in the duchy of Cleves, where the
czarina had miscarried. As he disliked magnificence
and society, he requested the king to lodge him in a
summer-house which the queen had in one of the
suburbs of Berlin. Her majesty was extremely sorry
for this : she had erected a very pretty building, which
she had decorated in a style of great splendour. The
porcelain-gallery was superb, and all the rooms were
adorned with beautiful glasses. As this charming re-
treat was really a jewel, it was called Mon-Bijou. A
very pretty garden on the banks of the river height-
ened its beauty.

In order to prevent the mischief which the Russian
gentlemen had done in other places where they had
lodged, the queen ordered the principal furniture,
and whatever was most brittle, to be removed. The



MARGRAVINE OF BARF.1TII.

czar, his spouse, and their court, arrived some days
after by water at Mon-Bijou. The king and the queen
received them on their landing ; and the king handed
the czarina from the boat. The czar was no sooner
landed, than he held out his hand to the king, and
said : " I am glad to see you, brother Frederick." He
afterwards approached the queen with the intention to
salute her ; hut she pushed him back. The czarina
first kissed the queen's hands several times ; and af-
terwards introduced to her the duke and duchess of
Mecklenburgh, who had accompanied them, and four
hundred pretended ladies of their suite. These were
mostly German servant girls, who officiated as maids
of honour, waiting-maids, cooks, and washer- women.
Almost every one of these creatures carried in her
arms a richly dressed infant : and when they were
asked whether these children were their own, they
answered, prostrating themselves in the Russian
fashion : " the czar has done me the honour to make
me the mother of this child." The queen would not
speak to these creatures; and the czarina, to be re-
venged, treated the princesses of the blood with much
haughtiness ; and it was with very great difficulty that
the king prevailed with the queen to notice the Russian
ladies. I saw the whole, of this court, the next day,
when the czar and czarina came to visit the queen.
Her majesty received them in the state-rooms of the
palace, and went to meet them in the hall of the
guards. The queen gave her hand to the czarina,
placing her at her right, and conducted her into the
audience hall.

The king and the czar followed. As soon as the
latter saw me he knew me again, having seen me five
years before. He took me up in his arms, and rubbed
the very skin off my face with his rude kisses. I
boxed his ears, and struggled as much as I could,
saying that I would not allow any such familiarities,
and that he was dishonouring me. He laughed very
much at this idea, and amused himself a long time at



34 MEMOIRS OF THE

my expense. I had previously been instructed what
to say : and I spoke to him of his fleet and his con-
quests, which delighted him so much, that he several
times told the czarina that, if he could have a child
like me, he would willingly give up one of his pro-
vinces : the czarina also tenderly caressed me. She
and the queen placed themselves under the canopy,
each in an arm-chair : I was hy the side of the queen,
and the princesses of the blood opposite to her ma-
jesty.

The czarina was short and stout, very tawny, and
her figure was altogether destitute of gracefulness. Its
appearance sufficiently betrayed her low origin. To
have judged by her attire, one would have taken her
for a German stage-actress. Her robe had been pur-
chased of an old-clothes broker : it was made in the
antique fashion, and heavily laden with silver and
grease. The front of her stays was adorned with
jewels, singularly placed : they represented a double
eagle, badly set, the wings of which were of small
stones. She wore a dozen orders and as many por-
traits of saints and relics, fastened to the facing of her
gown: so that when she walked, the jumbling of
all these orders and portraits one against the other,
made a tinkling noise like a mule in harness.

The czar, on the contrary, was very tall and pretty
well made : his face was handsome, but his counte-
nance had something savage about it, which inspired
fear. He was dressed as a navy-officer, and wore a
plain coat. The czarina, who spoke very bad Ger-
man, and did not well understand what was spoken to
her by the queen, beckoned to her fool, and con-
versed with her in Russian. This poor creature was
a princess Galitzin, who had been necessitated to fulfil
that office in order to save her life : having been im-
plicated in a conspiracy against the czar, she had
twice undergone the punishment of the knout. I do
not know what she said to the czarina, but the latter
every now and then laughed aloud.



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 35

At length we sat down to table ; where the czar
placed himself near the queen, It is well known that
this prince had heen poisoned in his youth : a very
subtile venom had attacked his nerves, whence he was
frequently subject to certain involuntary convulsions.
He was seized with a fit whilst at table : he made
many contortions ; and as he was violently gesticulat-
ing with a knife in his hand near the queen, the latter
was afraid, and wanted several times to rise from her
seat. The czar begged her to be easy, protesting that
he should not do her any harm ; and at the same time
seized her hand, which he squeezed so violently that
the queen screamed for mercy, which made him laugh
heartily ; and he observed that the bones of her ma-
jesty were more delicate than those of his Catherine.
Everything was prepared for a ball after supper : but
he ran away as soon as he rose from table, and went
back alone and on foot to Mon-Bijou.

The next day everything worth seeing at Berlin was
shewn to him ; and among the rest, the cabinet of
irredals and antique statues. There was among the
latter, as I have been told, one that represented a
heathen divinity in a very indecent attitude : it was
with the ancient Romans an ornament of their nuptial
chambers. It was considered as a very great rarity,
and passed for one of the finest that was ever found.
The czar admired it much, and ordered the czarina to
kiss it. She wished to excuse herself; but he grew
angry, and sai(J to her, in broken German, kopf ab ;
which signifies : " I shall have your head cut off, if
you do not obey." The czarina was so alarmed at
this, that she submitted to whatever he required. He,
without ceremony, asked for this statue and several
others, which the king could not refuse. He did the
same with a cabinet lined with amber: it was unique
in its kind, and had cost immense sums to Frederick I :
and this too had the misfortune to be taken to Peters-
burgh, to the great regret of every one.

Two days afterwards, this court of barbarians at



36 MEMOIRS OF THE

length set out on their journey back. The queen im-
mediately hastened to Mon-Bijou ; and what desola-
tion was there visible ! I never beheld anything like it :
indeed, I think Jerusalem, after its siege and capture,
could not have presented such another scene. This
elegant palace was left by them in so ruinous a state,
that the queen was absolutely obliged to rebuild nearly
the whole of it.

But I must now return to my subject, from which I
have but too long digressed. My brother had entered
his seventh year in the month of January, and the
king thought proper to take him out of the hands of
madame de Roukouie, and to place him under the
tuition of proper governors. Cabals revived on this
occasion. The queen wished to chuse the governors ;
and the two favourites were equally zealous to appoint
their own creatures. Both were successful. The
queen prevailed with the monarch to select general
(afterwards field-marshal) count Finkenstein, a very
honest man, universally esteemed for both his probity
and his military talents, but whose confined genius
rendered him rather incapable of imparting a good
education to a young prince destined for the throne.
He was one of those men who, imagining themselves
to be possessed of a brilliant understanding, pretend
to be great politicians, and, in short, indulge in high-
sounding but inconclusive arguments. He had mar-
ried the sister of madame de Blaspil : his lady, for-
tunately, surpassed him in capacity, and completely
governed him.

Prince Anhalt appointed the sub-governor. His
name was De Kalkstein ; and he was colonel of a regi-
ment of foot. The choice was worthy of its author.
]V1 de Kalkstein is of an intriguing disposition : he
had been educated in a convent of Jesuits, and profited
by their lessons. He aliects much devotion, and even
bigotry : he always speaks of his probity, and has in-
duced many to think him an honest man. His mind
is subtle and insinuating : but, under all this fair out-



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 37

ward appearance, he conceals the blackest soul. By
his daily and sinister reports of the most innocent ac-
tions of his royal pupil, he soured the disposition of
the king, and excited his displeasure against my bro-
ther.

I shall have occasion to introduce him more than
once in these Memoirs. My brother would have
been very badly educated in such hands, had not a
tutor been added to these two mentors. He was a
Frenchman, of the name of Duhen, of really great
merit, possessed of an enlightened understanding and
extensive knowledge. It is to him that my brother is
indebted for his information, and for the good princi-
ples to which he adhered as long as his tutor was
with him, and preserved any ascendancy over his
mind.

Thus closed the year 1718. I pass to the following,
when I was introduced into the world, and at the
same time began to experience its adversities. The
king staid almost the whole of the winter at Berlin ;
he passed his time in going every evening to the as-
semblies that were given in that city. The queen was
shut up the whole day in the room of the monarch,
by his order, without any other company than my
brother and myself. We used to sup with her ma-
jesty; and there was no one besides madame de
Kamken, the lady of her household, and madame de
Roukoule. The queen had brought the former with
her from Hanover; and though she was of distin-
guished merit, she yet was not honoured with her
majesty's confidence. The queen always was plunged
in a dreadful melancholy, and fears were even enter-
tained for her health, particularly as she was in a
state of pregnancy. She was, however, safely deli-
vered of a princess, who was named Sophia-Dorothea.
The sad life which she led occasioned her melancholy.
Since the loss of her favourite, she found herself ab-
solutely forsaken. She attempted to substitute ano-
ther in her place; but, though there were ladies of

"VOL. I. E



38 MEMOIRS OF THE

great merit at her court, she felt no inclination towards
any of them, and, contrary to all policy, she had re-
course to me ; but, before she opened her heart, she
wished to verify certain suspicions which she har-
boured against Miss Letti, upon reports that had been
made to her. One day, when I was caressing her,
the queen began to jest, and asked, whether I wished
to be married? I answered, " that I did not think
of it, and that I was too young." " But, if you were
compelled to do so," said the queen, " whom would
you select the margrave of Schwedt, or the duke of
Gloucester?"

" Although Miss Letti is always telling me," replied
I, " that I am to marry the margrave of Schwedt, I
cannot bear him : he delights in nothing but mischief.
I should prefer the duke of Gloucester." " But of
whom," said the queen, " have you learnt that the
margrave is so wicked ?" "Of my good nurse," was
my answer. The queen then asked me several ques-
tions concerning Miss Letti. She afterwards en-
quired, whether she did not oblige me to tell her
everything that happened in the king's apartments