e
can be in having your household arrangements tumbled into disorder every
new Year, by a new-contrived scale of expenses for you, I never could
ascertain!"--

Friedrich is not the man to awaken Parliamentary sleeping-dogs well
settled by his Ancestors. Once or twice, out of Preussen, in Friedrich
Wilhelm's time, there was heard some whimper, which sounded like the
beginning of a bark. But Friedrich Wilhelm was on the alert for it: Are
you coming in with your NIE POZWALAM (your LIBERUM VETO), then? None of
your Polish vagaries here. "TOUT LE PAYS SERA RUINE (the whole Country
will be ruined)," say you? (Such had been the poor Marshal or Provincial
SPEAKER'S Remonstrance on one occasion): "I don't believe a word of
that. But I do believe the Government by JUNKERS [Country Squires]
and NIE POZWALAM will be ruined,"--as it is fully meant to be! "I am
establishing the King's Sovereignty like a rock of bronze (ICH STABILIRE
DIE SOUVERAINETAT WIE EINEN ROCHER VON BRONZE)," some extremely strong
kind of rock! [Forster, b. iii. (_Urkundenbuch,_ i. 50); Preuss, iv.
420 n. "NIE POZWALAM" (the formula of LIBERUM VETO) signifies "I Don't
Permit!"] This was one of Friedrich Wilhelm's marginalia in response
to such a thing; and the mutinous whimper died out again. Parliamentary
Assemblages are sometimes Collective Wisdoms, but by no means always
so. In Magdeburg we remember what trouble Friedrich Wilhelm had with his
unreasonable Ritters. Ritters there, in their assembled capacity, had
the Reich behind them, and could not be dealt with like Preussen: but
Friedrich Wilhelm, by wise slow methods, managed Magdeburg too, and
reduced it to silence, or to words necessary for despatch of business.

In each Province, a Permanent Committee--chosen, I suppose, by King
and Knights assenting; chosen I know not how, but admitted to be wisely
chosen--represents the once Parliament or STANDE; and has its potency
for doing good service in regard to all Provincial matters, from roads
and bridges upwards, and is impotent to do the least harm. Roads and
bridges, Church matters, repartition of the Land-dues, Army matters,--in
fact they are an effective non-haranguing Parliament, to the King's
Deputy in every such Province; well calculated to illuminate and forward
his subaltern AMTmen and him. Nay, we observe it is oftenest in the way
of gifts and solacements that the King articulately communicates with
these Committees or their Ritterschafts. Projects