cedures in Baiern are in their full
flagrancy: Friedrich intends trying once more, Whether, in such crisis,
there be absolutely no "Union of German Princes" possible; nor even of
any two or three of them, in the "Swabian and Franconian Circles," which
he always thought the likeliest?

The Journey took effect, Tuesday, 10th September [Rodenbeck, i. 93.]
(not the day before, as Friedrich had been projecting); went by Halle,
straight upon Baireuth; and ended there on Thursday. As usual, Prince
August Wilhelm, and Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, were of it; Voltaire
failed not to accompany. What the complexion of it was, especially what
Friedrich had meant by it, and how ill he succeeded, will perhaps be
most directly visible through the following compressed Excerpts from
Voltaire's long LETTER to Secretary Amelot on the subject,--if readers
will be diligent with them. Friedrich, after four days, ran across to
Anspach on important business; came back with mere failure, and was
provokingly quite silent on it; stayed at Baireuth some three days more;
thence home by Gotha (still on "Union" business, still mere failure),
by Leipzig, and arrived at Potsdam, September 25th;--leaving Voltaire
in Wilhelmina's charmed circle (of which unhappily there is not a word
said), for about a week more. Voltaire, directly on getting back to
Berlin, "resumes the thread of his journal" to Secretary Amelot; that
is, writes him another long Letter:--

VOLTAIRE (from Berlin, 3d October, 1743) TO SECRETARY AMELOT.

"... The King of Prussia told me at Baireuth, on the 13th or 14th of
last month, He was glad our King had sent the Kaiser money;"--useful
that, at any rate; Noailles's 6,000 pounds would not go far. "That he
thought M. le Marechal de Noailles's explanation [of a certain small
rumor, to the disadvantage of Noailles in reference to the Kaiser] was
satisfactory: 'but,' added he, 'it results from all your secret motions
that you are begging Peace from everybody, and there may have been
something in this rumor, after all.'

"He then told me he was going over to Anspach, to see what could be done
for the Common Cause [Kaiser's and Ours]; that he expected to meet the
Bishop of Wurzburg there; and would try to stir the Frankish and Swabian
Circles into some kind of Union. And, at setting off [from Baireuth,
September 16th, on this errand], he promised his Brother-in-law the
Margraf, He would return with great schemes afoot, and even with great