el I have on MAHOMET is happily only ridiculous."...
Adieu, M. le Marquis.

3. TO THE CARDINAL DE FLEURY. "Monseigneur,... to give your Eminency, as
I am bound, some account of my journey to Aix-la-Chapelle." Friedrich's
guest there; let us hear, let us look.

"I could not get away from Brussels till the 2d of this month. On the
road, I met a courier from the King of Prussia, coming to reiterate his
Master's orders on me. The King had me lodged near his own Apartment;
and he passed, for two consecutive days, four hours at a time in my
room, with all that goodness and familiarity which forms, as you know,
part of his character, and which does not lower the King's dignity,
because one is duly careful not to abuse it [be careful!]. I had
abundant time to speak, with a great deal of freedom, on what your
Eminency had prescribed to me; and the King spoke to me with an equal
frankness.

"First, he asked me, If it was true that the French Nation was
so angered against him; if the King was, and if you were? I
answered,"--mildly reprobatory, yet conciliative, "Hm, no, nothing
permanent, nothing to speak of." "He then deigned to speak to me, at
large, of the reasons which had induced him to be so hasty with the
Peace." "Extremely remarkable reasons;" "dare not trust them to this
Paper" (Broglio-Belleisle discrepancies, we guess, distracted
Broglio procedures);--they have no concern with that Pallandt-Letter
Story,--"they do not turn on the pretended Secret Negotiations at the
Court of Vienna [which are not pretended at all, as I among others
well know], in regard to which your Eminency has condescended to
clear yourself [by denying the truth, poor Eminency; there was no help
otherwise]. All I dare state is, that it seems to me easy to lead back
the mind of this Sovereign, whom the situation of his Territories, his
interest, and his taste would appear to mark as the natural ally of
France."

"He said farther [what may be relied on as true by his Eminency Fleury,
and my readers here], That he passionately wished to see Bohemia in
the Emperor's hands [small chance for it, as things now go!]; that he
renounced, with the best faith in the world, all claim whatever on Berg
and Julich; and that, in spite of the advantageous proposals which Lord
Stair was making him, he thought only of keeping Silesia. That he knew
well enough the House of Austria would, one day, wish to recover that
fine Province, but that he trusted he could keep