第7章

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。