er, one Van Duren at the Hague, who
is eager enough to print such an article. Voltaire himself--such his
magnanimous friendship, especially if one have Dutch Lawsuits, or
business of one's own, in those parts--takes charge of correcting;
lodges himself in the 'Old Court' (Prussian Mansion, called VIEILLE
COUR, at the Hague, where 'Luiscius,' figuratively speaking, may 'get
an alms' from us); and therefrom corrects, alters; corresponds with the
Prince and Van Duren, at a great rate. Keeps correcting, altering, till
Van Duren thinks he is spoiling it for sale;--and privately determines
to preserve the original Manuscript, and have an edition of that, with
only such corrections as seem good to Van Duren. A treasonous step
on this mule of a Bookseller's part, thinks Voltaire; but mulishly
persisted in by the man. Endless correspondence, to right and left,
ensues; intolerably wearisome to every reader. And, in fine, there came
out, in Autumn next,"--the Crown-Prince no longer a Crown-Prince by
that time, but shining conspicuous under Higher Title,--"not one
ANTI-MACHIAVEL only, but a couple or a trio of ANTI-MACHIAVELS; as
printed 'at the Hague;' as reprinted 'at London' or elsewhere; the
confused Bibliography of which has now fallen very insignificant. First
there was the Voltaire text, Authorized Edition, 'end of September,
1740;' then came, in few weeks, the Van Duren one; then, probably, a
third, combining the two, the variations given as foot-notes:--in short,
I know not how many editions, translations, printings and reprintings;
all the world being much taken up with such a message from the upper
regions, and eager to read it in any form.

"As to Friedrich himself, who of course says nothing of the
ANTI-MACHIAVEL in public, he privately, to Voltaire, disowns all these
editions; and intends to give a new one of his own, which shall be the
right article; but never did it, having far other work cut out for him
in the months that came. But how zealous the worlds humor was in that
matter, no modern reader can conceive to himself. In the frightful
Compilation called HELDEN-GESCHICHTE, which we sometimes cite, there
are, excerpted from the then 'Bibliotheques' (NOUVELLE BIBLIOTHEQUE
and another; shining Periodicals of the time, now gone quite dead),
two 'reviews' of the ANTI-MACHIAVEL, which fill modern readers with
amazement: such a DOMINE DIMITTAS chanted over such an article!--These
details, in any other than the Biographi