Potsdam.
On the days when there is no public court at Sans-Souci, we generally
dine with Lord Marechal, who is always happy to see the D—— of H——, and
is of great service to all British subjects while they remain here or at
Berlin. Exclusive of other reasons he may have for esteeming the Duke,
his Lordship evidently displays a kind of partiality for his Grace, as
the first man in point of rank belonging to his country. This appears
in a thousand instances; for with very liberal sentiments, and a most
benevolent heart, this venerable nobleman still retains a few Caledonian
prejudices.
He asked one day of the D——, If he reckoned himself a Scotchman? Most
certainly I do, replied his Grace. By so doing you lie under a mistake,
said my Lord; for I can assure you, and I am convinced the best lawyers
in England will do the same, that you have a much juster claim to all the
privileges belonging to your English title of B——n, though some of them,
I fear, are still disputed.
It is to be hoped, said the D——, that the House of Peers will not always
refuse to do my family justice; on a thorough examination of the case,
I still flatter myself they will grant me those privileges, which have
been, for no valid reasons, refused my ancestors. But in the mean time,
why will your Lordship, more cruel than the Peers, deny my birth-right as
a Scotchman?
Because your birth gives you no such right, replied the Earl; for you
in reality are but a North Briton:—unless your Grace can prove that you
were born before the Union. But, continued he, with an air of triumph,
I am a real Scotchman:—adding a little after, with a sigh, and in a
plaintive accent—and almost the only one in the world—All the Scots of my
acquaintance are now dead.
The good old Earl is infinitely fond of talking of his country, and of
the days of former years. When I make any enquiry about the King of
Prussia, or concerning Spain or Italy, in which countries he resided so
long, he answers with a kind of complaisant brevity, and immediately
turns the discourse back to Scotland, to which his heart seems
wonderfully attached.
In the time of dinner, one of his servants, a stout highlander, generally
entertains the company by playing on the bagpipe. I have observed, that
these North Britons (to abide by Lord Marechal’s distinction) who are
the most zealous for the interest and honour of their country, and who
value themselves on being born north of the Tweed, are particularly, if
not exclusively, fond of this instrument. You will, at least, allow that
your gallant friend, Lord E——n, is no exception to this observation;
and perhaps you will admit, that it requires a considerable degree of
patriotism, or _amor Caledoniæ_ to have a great relish for the melody of
a bagpipe.
I called on Lord Marechal one afternoon, just as the King had left him;
for the monarch, without any form or previous notice, sometimes walks
through the garden, and pays a short visit to his old friend, to whom he
has an unalterable attachment, both from personal regard, and on account
of the high estimation in which he holds the memory of his brother
Marechal Keith.
Another day I was with the Earl, when the Princesses of Prussia and
Hesse, with Prince Frederic of Brunswic, all entered and demanded coffee,
which my Lord immediately ordered, with the addition of a couple of
melons; telling the Princesses, he knew they would not stay long enough
with a man of eighty, to give time for preparing a better repast.—Thus
favoured by the monarch and the Princes, you will not doubt that the old
Earl’s friendship is cultivated by the rest of the court.
The Hereditary Prince of Prussia lives in a small house in the town of
Potsdam. His appointments do not admit of that degree of magnificence,
which might be expected in the Heir of the crown;—but he displays a
spirit of hospitality far more obliging than magnificence; and doubly
meritorious, considering the very moderate revenue allowed him. We
generally sup there two or three times a week.
This Prince is not often of the King’s parties, nor is it imagined
that he enjoys a great share of his uncle’s favour. In what degree he
possesses the talents of a general is not known, as he was too young to
have any command during the late war. But he certainly has a very just
understanding, which has been improved by study. He has taken some pains
to acquire the English language, to which he was induced by an admiration
of several English authors, whose works he had read in French and
German. He is now able to read English prose with tolerable facility, and
has been of late studying Shakespear, having actually read two or three
of his plays.
I took the liberty to observe, that as Shakespear’s genius had traced
every labyrinth, and penetrated into every recess of the human heart,
his sentiments could not fail to please his Royal Highness; but, as his
language was uncommonly bold and figurative, and full of allusions to
national customs, and the manners of our island two centuries ago, the
English themselves, who had not made a particular study of his works, did
not always comprehend their full energy. I added, that to transfuse the
soul of Shakespear into a translation, was impossible; and to taste all
his beauties in the original, required such a knowledge of the English
manners and language as few foreigners, even after a long residence in
the capital, could attain.
The Prince said, he was aware of all this; yet he was determined to
struggle hard for some acquaintance with an author so much admired by
the English nation; that though he should never be able to taste all his
excellencies, he was convinced he should understand enough to recompence
him for his trouble; that he had already studied some detached parts,
which he thought superior to any thing he had ever met with in the works
of any other Poet. His Royal Highness attends to military business with
as much assiduity as most officers of the same rank in the army; for in
the Prussian service, no degree of eminence in the article of birth can
excuse a remission in the duties of that profession. He is much esteemed
by the army, and considered as an exceeding good officer. To the
frankness of a soldier he joins the integrity of a German, and is beloved
by the public in general, on account of his good-nature, affability, and
humane turn of mind.