Thee as a good Christian. And have God always before your eyes;--and
don't believe that damnable PARTICULAR tenet [Predestination]; and be
obedient and faithful: so shall it, here in Time and there in Eternity,
go well with thee;--and whoever wishes that from the heart, let him say
Amen.

"Your true Father to the death,

"FRIEDRICH WILHELM.

"When the Duke of Lorraine comes, I will have thee come. I think
thy Bride will be here then. Adieu; God be with you." [_ OEuvres de
Frederic,_ xxvii, part 3d, p. 55.]

This important Missive reached Custrin, by estafette, that same
midnight, 4th-5th February; when Wolden, "Hofmarschall of the Prince's
Court" (titular Goldstick there, but with abundance of real functions
laid on him), had the honor to awaken the Crown-Prince into the joy of
reading. Crown-Prince instantly despatched, by another estafette, the
requisite responses to Papa and Mamma,--of which Wolden does not know
the contents at all, not he, the obsequious Goldstick;--but doubtless
they mean "Yes," Crown-Prince appearing so overjoyed at this splendid
evidence of Papa's love, as the Goldstick could perceive. [Wolden's
LETTER to Friedrich Wilhelm, "5th February, 1732:" in Preuss, ii. part
2d (or URKUNDENOUCH), p. 206. Mamma's answer to the message brought
her by this return estafette, a mere formal VERY-WELL, written from the
fingers outward, exists (_OEuvres,_ xxvi. 65); the rest have happily
vanished.]

What the Prince's actual amount of joy was, we shall learn better
from the following three successive utterances of his, confidentially
despatched to Grumkow in the intermediate days, before Berlin or this
"Duke of Lorraine" (whom our readers and the Crown-Prince are to wait
upon), with actual sight of Papa and the Intended, came in course.
Grumkow's Letters to the Crown-Prince in this important interval are not
extant, nor if they were could we stand them: from the Prince's Answers
it will be sufficiently apparent what the tenor of them was. Utterance
first is about a week after that of the estafette at midnight:--

TO GENERAL FELDMARSCHALL VON GRUMKOW, AT POTSDAM (from the
Crown-Prince).

"CUSTRIN, 11th February, 1732.

"MY DEAR GENERAL AND FRIEND,--I was charmed to learn by your Letter
that my affairs are on so good a footing [Papa so well satisfied with
my professions of obedience]; and you may depend on it I am docile to
follow your advice. I will lend myself to whatever is possible for me;
and provi