thed, whom he called "big clown" in a Letter we
read, he is at this date in open quarrel,--"BROUILLE A TOUTE OUTRANCE
with the mad Son-in-law, who is the wildest wild-beast of all this
Camp." [Ibid.]

Wilhelmina's Husband had come, in the beginning of August; but was not
so happy as he expected. Considerably cut out by the Ill Heinrich. Here
is a small adventure they had; mentioned by Friedrich, and copiously
recorded by Wilhelmina: adventure on some River,--which we could guess,
if it were worth guessing, to have been the Neckar, not the Rhine.
French had a fortified post on the farther side of this River;
Crown-Prince, Ill Margraf, and Wilhelmina's Husband were quietly looking
about them, riding up the other side: Wilhelmina's Husband decided to
take a pencil-drawing of the French post, and paused for that object.
Drawing was proceeding unmolested, when his foolish Baireuth Hussar,
having an excellent rifle (ARQUEBUSE RAYEE) with him, took it into his
head to have a shot at the French sentries at long range. His shot
hit nothing; but it awakened the French animosity, as was natural; the
French began diligently firing; and might easily have done mischief.
My Husband, volleying out some rebuke upon the blockhead of a Hussar,
finished his drawing, in spite of the French bullets; then rode up to
the Crown-Prince and Ill Margraf, who had got their share of what was
going, and were in no good-humor with him. Ill Margraf rounded things
into the Crown-Prince's ear, in an unmannerly way, with glances at
my Husband;--who understood it well enough; and promptly coerced such
ill-bred procedures, intimating, in a polite impressive way, that they
would be dangerous if persisted in. Which reduced the Ill Margraf to a
spiteful but silent condition. No other harm was done at that time; the
French bullets all went awry, or "even fell short, being sucked in by
the river," thinks Wilhelmina. [Wilhelmina, ii. 208, 209; _OEuvres de
Frederic,_ xxvii. part 1st, p. 19.]

A more important feature of the Crown-Prince's life in these latter
weeks is the news he gets of his father. Friedrich Wilhelm, after
quitting the Electoral Yacht, did his reviewing at Wesel, at Bielefeld,
all his reviewing in those Rhine and Weser Countries; then turned aside
to pay a promised visit to Ginkel the Berlin Dutch Ambassador, who has
a fine House in those parts; and there his Majesty has fallen seriously
ill. Obliged to pause at Ginkel's, and then at his own Sch