Stanza of Rousseau's
[Repeats a stanza]. Who could express that in German with such melody?'
And so on; branching through a great many provinces; King's knowledge
of all Literature, new and ancient, 'perfectly astonishing to me;' and
I myself, the swift-speaking Gottsched, rather copious than otherwise.
Catastrophe, and summary of the whole, was: Gottsched undertook to
translate the Rousseau Stanza into German of moderate softness; and
by the aid of water did so, that very night; [Copied duly in
_Helden-Geschichte,_ iv. 726.] sent it next day, and had 'within an
hour' a gracious Royal Answer in verse; calling one, incidentally,
'Saxon Swan, CYGNE SAXON,' though one is such a Goose! 'Majesty to march
at 7 to-morrow morning,' said a Postscript,--no Interviewing more, at
present.

"About ten days after [not to let this thing interrupt us again],
Friedrich, on his return to Leipzig, had another Interview with
Gottsched; of only one hour, this time;--but with many topics: Reading
of some Gottsched Ode (ODE, very tedious, frothy, watery, of THANKS to
Majesty for such goodness to the Saxon Swan; reading, too, of 'some of
Madam Gottsched's Pieces'). Majesty confessed afterwards, Every hour
from the very first had lowered his opinion of the Saxon Swan, till at
length Goosehood became too apparent. Friedrich sent him a gold snuffbox
by and by, but had no farther dialoguing.

"A saying of Excellency Mitchell's to Gottsched--for Gottsched, on that
second Leipzig opportunity, went swashing about among the King's Suite
as well--is still remembered. They were talking of Shakspeare: 'Genial,
if you will,' said Gottsched, 'but the Laws of Aristotle; Five Acts,
unities strict!'--'Aristotle? What is to hinder a man from making
his Tragedy in Ten acts, if it suit him better?' 'Impossible, your
Excellency!'--'Pooh,' said his Excellency; 'suppose Aristotle, and
general Fashion too, had ordered that the clothes of every man were to
be cut from five ells of cloth: how would the Herr Professor like [with
these huge limbs of his] if he found there were no breeches for him, on
Aristotle's account?' Adieu to Gottsched; most voluminous of men;--who
wrote a Grammar of the German Language, which, they say, did good.
I remember always his poor Wife with some pathos; who was a fine,
graceful, loyal creature, of ten times his intelligence; and did no
end of writing and translating and compiling (Addison's CATO, Addison's
SPECTATOR, thousands of thing