nd shaking his head). "'Well, well, well!'

"In this way, for an hour and quarter, with uninterrupted vivacity, the
Dialogue went on. At last the King gave me the sign to go; lifting his
hat very kindly, and saying: 'Adieu, my dear M. Zimmermann; I am very
glad to have seen you.'"

Towards 6 P.M. now, and Friedrich must sign his Despatches; have his
Concert, have his reading; then to supper (as spectator only),--with
Quintus Icilius and old Lord Marischal, to-night, or whom? [Of Icilius,
and a quarrel and estrangement there had lately been, now happily
reconciled, see Nicolai, _Anekdoten,_ vi. 140-142.]

"Herr von Catt accompanied me into the anteroom, and Schmucker followed.
I could not stir from the spot; could not speak, was so charmed and so
touched, that I broke into a stream of tears [being very weak of nerves
at the time!]. Herr von Catt said: 'I am now going back to the King; go
you into the room where I took you up; about eight I will conduct you
home.' I pressed my excellent countryman's hand, I"--"Schmucker said, I
had stood too near his Majesty; I had spoken too frankly, with too much
vivacity; nay, what was unheard of in the world, I had 'gesticulated'
before his Majesty! 'In presence of a King,' said Herr Schmucker, 'one
must stand stiff and not stir.' De Catt came back to us at eight; and,
in Schmucker's presence [let him chew the cud of that!], reported the
following little Dialogue with the King:--

KING. "'What says Zimmermann?'

DE CATT. "'Zimmermann, at the door of your Majesty's room, burst into a
stream of tears.'

KING. "'I love those tender affectionate hearts; I love right well those
brave Swiss people!'

"Next morning the King was heard to say: 'I have found Zimmermann
quite what you described him.'--Catt assured me furthermore, 'Since the
Seven-Years War there had thousands of strangers, persons of rank, come
to Potsdam, wishing to speak with the King, and had not attained that
favor; and of those who had, there could not one individual boast that
his Majesty had talked with him an hour and quarter at once.' [Fourteen
years hence, he dismissed Mirabeau in half an hour; which was itself a
good allowance.]

"Sunday 27th, I left Potsdam, with my kind Meckels, in an enthusiasm
of admiration, astonishment, love and gratitude; wrote to the King from
Berlin, sent him a Tissot's Book (marked on the margins for Majesty's
use), which he acknowledged by some word to Catt: whereupon
I"--In short