The Project Gutenberg EBook of History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol.
VI. (of XXI.), by Thomas Carlyle

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Title: History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. VI. (of XXI.)
Frederick The Great--Double-Marriage Project, And
Crown-Prince, Going Adrift Under The Storm-Winds--1727-1730

Author: Thomas Carlyle

Posting Date: June 13, 2008 [EBook #2106]
Release Date: March 2000

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF FRIEDRICH II. ***

Produced by D.R. Thompson

HISTORY OF FRIEDRICH II. OF PRUSSIA

FREDERICK THE GREAT

By Thomas Carlyle

VOLUME VI.

BOOK VI.--DOUBLE-MARRIAGE PROJECT, AND CROWN-PRINCE, GOING ADRIFT
UNDER THE STORM-WINDS.--1727-1730.

Chapter I. -- FIFTH CRISIS IN THE KAISER'S SPECTRE-HUNT.

The Crown-Prince's young Life being, by perverse chance, involved and
as it were absorbed in that foolish question of his English Marriage,
we have nothing for it but to continue our sad function; and go on
painfully fishing out, and reducing to an authentic form, what traces of
him there are, from that disastrous beggarly element,--till once he get
free of it, either dead or alive. The WINDS (partly by Art-Magic) rise
to the hurricane pitch, upon this Marriage Project and him; and as for
the sea, or general tide of European Politics--But let the reader look
with his own eyes.

In the spring of 1727, War, as anticipated, breaks out; Spaniards
actually begin battering at Gibraltar; Kaiser's Ambassador at London is
angrily ordered to begone. Causes of war were many:

1. Duke de Ripperda--tumbled out now, that illustrious diplomatic
bulldog, at Madrid--sought asylum in the English Ambassador's house; and
no respect was had to such asylum: that is one cause.

2. Then, you English, what is the meaning of these war-fleets in the
West Indies; in the Mediterranean, on the very coast of Spain? We demand
that you at once take them home again:--which cannot be complied with.

3. But above all things, we demand Gibraltar of you:--which can
still less be complied with. Termagant Elizabeth has set her heart on
Gibraltar: that, in such opportunity as this unexpected c