off it. A humane
ingenuous Princess; little negligences in toilet or the like, if such
occur, even these set her off, so ingenuous are they. Speaks little;
but always to the purpose, in a simple, cheerful and wise way. Dances
beautifully; heart (her soubrette assures me) is heavenly;--and 'perhaps
no Princess living has a finer set of diamonds.'"

Of the Crown-Princess there is some pleasant shadow traced as on cobweb,
to this effect. But of the Crown-Prince there is no forming the
least conception from what he says:--this is mere cobweb with Nothing
elaborately painted on it. Nor do the portraits of the others attract
by their verisimilitude. Here is Colonel Keyserling, for instance; the
witty Courlander, famous enough in the Friedrich circle; who went on
embassy to Cirey, and much else: he "whirls in with uproar (FRACAS)
like Boreas in the Ballet;" fowling-piece on shoulder, and in his
"dressing-gown" withal, which is still stranger; snatches off Bielfeld,
unknown till that moment, to sit by him while dressing; and there, with
much capering, pirouetting, and indeed almost ground-and-lofty
tumbling, for accompaniment, "talks of Horses, Mathematics, Painting,
Architecture, Literature, and the Art of War," while he dresses. This
gentleman was once Colonel in Friedrich Wilhelm's Army; is now fairly
turned of forty, and has been in troubles: we hope he is not LIKE in the
Bielfeld Portrait;--otherwise, how happy that we never had the honor of
knowing him! Indeed, the Crown-Prince's Household generally, as Bielfeld
paints it in flourishes of panegyric, is but unattractive; barren to
the modern on-looker; partly the Painter's blame, we doubt not. He gives
details about their mode of dining, taking coffee, doing concert;--and
describes once an incidental drinking-bout got up aforethought by the
Prince; which is probably in good part fiction, though not ill done.
These fantastic sketchings, rigorously winnowed into the credible and
actual, leave no great residue in that kind; but what little they do
leave is of favorable and pleasant nature.

Bielfeld made a visit privately to Potsdam, too: saw the Giants drill;
made acquaintance with important Captains of theirs (all in ASTERISKS)
at Potsdam; with whom he dined, not in a too credible manner, and even
danced. Among the asterisks, we easily pick out Captain Wartensleben
(of the Korn's-Hotel operation), and Winterfeld, a still more important
Captain, whom we saw dining on cold