his Heir and the Grandees. He has a kinship by affinity to
Friedrich Wilhelm; his Wife (dead long years since), Mother of this
Heir-Apparent, was an Anspach Princess, Aunt to the now Queen Caroline
of England. Poor old fellow, these insignificancies, and that he
descends direct from Philip the Magnanimous of Hessen (Luther's Philip,
who insisted on the supplementary Wife), are all I know of him; and he
is somewhat tragic to me there, turning ivory in this extremely anarchic
world. What the passages between him and Friedrich Wilhelm were, on this
occasion, shall remain conjectural to all creatures. Friedrich Wilhelm
said, this Sunday evening at Darmstadt to his own Prince: "Still here,
then? I thought you would have been in Paris by this time!"--To which
the Prince, with artificial firmness, answered, He could certainly, if
he had wished; [Seckendorf (in Forster, iii.), p. 3.] and being familiar
with reproaches, perhaps hoped it was nothing.

From Darmstadt to Frankfurt-on-Mayn is not quite forty miles, an easy
morning drive; through the old Country called of Katzen-ellenbogen;
CATS-ELBOW, a name ridiculous to hear. [CATTIMELIBOCUM, that is,
CATTUM-MELIBOCUM (CATTI a famed Nation, MELIBOCUS the chief Hill or
Fortress of their Country), is said to be the original;--which has got
changed; like ABALLABA into "Appleby," or GOD ENCOMPASS US into "The
Goat and Compasses," among ourselves.] Berg-Strasse and the Odenwald
(FOREST of the OTTI) are gone; but blue on the northeast yonder, if your
Royal Highness will please to look, may be seen summits of the SPESSART,
a much grander forest,--tall branchy timbers yonder, one day to be masts
of admirals, when floated down as far as Rotterdam, whitherward one
still meets them going. Spessart;--and nearer, well hidden on the right,
is an obscure village called DETTINGEN, not yet become famous in the
Newspapers of an idle world; of an England surely very idle to go
thither seeking quarrels! All which is, naturally, in the highest degree
indifferent to a Crown-Prince so preoccupied.--They reach Frankfurt,
Monday, still in good time.

Behold, at Frankfurt, the Trio of Vigilance, Buddenbrock and Company
(horrible to think of!) signify, "That we have the King's express orders
Not to enter the Town at all with your Royal Highness. We, for our part,
are to go direct into one of the Royal Yachts, which swing at anchor
here, and to wait in the same till his Majesty have done seeing
Frankfurt, a