as for making a
jest of the matter; but the King took a very serious tone; and commanded
him to tell the King of Poland in his name, 'That he begged him very
much not to expose him again to accidents of that nature, unless he
wished to have him quit Dresden at once.' Herr von Grumkow did his
message. The King of Poland laughed heartily at it; went straight to
Friedrich Wilhelm, and excused himself. The King of Prussia, however,
kept his grim look; so that August ceased joking, and turned the
dialogue on some other subject." [Pollnitz, ii. 256.]

This is Pollnitz's testimony, gathered from the whispers of the Tabagie,
or rumors in the Court-circles, and may be taken as indisputable in the
main. Wilhelmina, deriving from similar sources, and equally uncertain
in details, paints more artistically; nor has she forgotten the sequel
for her Brother, which at present is the essential circumstance:--

"One evening, when the rites of Bacchus had been well attended to, the
King of Poland led the King [my Father], strolling about, by degrees,
into a room very richly ornamented, all the furniture and arrangements
of which were in a quite exquisite taste. The King, charmed with what he
saw, paused to contemplate the beauties of it a little; when, all on
a sudden, a curtain rose, and displayed to him one of the most
extraordinary sights. It was a girl in the condition of our First
Parents, carelessly lying on a bed. This creature was more beautiful
than they paint Venus and the Graces; she presented to view a form of
ivory whiter than snow, and more gracefully shaped than the Venus
de' Medici at Florence. The cabinet which contained this treasure was
lighted by so many wax-candles that their brilliancy dazzled you, and
gave a new splendor to the beauties of the goddess.

"The Authors of this fine comedy did not doubt but the object would make
an impression on the King's heart; but it was quite otherwise. No
sooner had he cast his eyes on the beauty than he whirled round with
indignation; and seeing my Brother behind him, he pushed him roughly out
of the room, and immediately quitted it himself; very angry at the scene
they had been giving him, He spoke of it, that same evening, to Grumkow,
in very strong terms; and declared with emphasis that if the like
frolics were tried on him again, he would at once quit Dresden.

"With my Brother it was otherwise. In spite of the King's care, he had
got a full view of that Cabinet Venus; and