year. And still rarer, have
readers noted what a power of holding his peace this young man has?
Fruit of his sufferings, of the hard life he has had. Most important
power; under which all other useful ones will more and more ripen for
him. This Prince already knows his own mind, on a good many points;
privately, amid the world's vague clamor jargoning round him to no
purpose, he is capable of having HIS mind made up into definite Yes and
No,--so as will surprise us one day.

Friedrich Wilhelm, we perceive, [His Letter, 24th October, 1735. (Ib. p.
99).] was in a high degree content with this performance of the Prussian
Mission: a very great comfort to his sick mind, in those months
and afterwards. Here are talents, here are qualities,--visibly the
Friedrich-Wilhelm stuff throughout, but cast in an infinitely improved
type:--what a blessing we did not cut off that young Head, at the
Kaiser's dictation, in former years!--

At Konigsberg, as we learn in a dim indirect manner, the Crown-Prince
sees King Stanislaus twice or thrice,--not formally, lest there
be political offence taken, but incidentally at the houses of
third-parties;--and is much pleased with the old gentleman; who is of
cultivated good-natured ways, and has surely many curious things, from
Charles XII. downwards, to tell a young man. [Came 8th October, went
21st (_OEuvres de Frederic,_ xxvii. part 3d, p. 98).] Stanislaus has
abundance of useless refugee Polish Magnates about him, with their
useless crowds of servants, and no money in pocket; Konigsberg all on
flutter, with their draperies and them, "like a little Warsaw:" so that
Stanislaus's big French pension, moderate Prussian monthly allowance,
and all resources, are inadequate; and, in fact, in the end, these
Magnates had to vanish, many of them, without settling their accounts in
Konigsberg. [_History of Stanislaus. _] For the present they wait here,
Stanislaus and they, till Fleury and the Kaiser, shaking the urn of doom
in abstruse treaty after battle, decide what is to become of them.

Friedrich returned to Dantzig: saw that famous City, and late scene of
War; tracing with lively interest the footsteps of Munnich and his Siege
operations,--some of which are much blamed by judges, and by this young
Soldier among the rest. There is a pretty Letter of his from
Dantzig, turning mainly on those points. Letter written to his young
Brother-in-law, Karl of Brunswick, who is now become Duke there;
Grandfa