lly! No difficulty: wait for him at Frankfurt, as he
passes home; demand them of him there." And has (directly on those
new "firings through port-holes" at Leipzig) bidden Fredersdorf take
measures accordingly. ["Friedrich to Wilhelmina, 12th April, 1753"
(--OEuvres,--xxvii. iii. 227).]

Fredersdorf did so; early in April and onward had his Official Person
waiting at Frankfurt (one Freytag, our Prussian Resident there,
very celebrated ever since), vigilant in the extreme for Voltaire's
arrival,--and who did not miss that event. Voltaire, arriving at last
(May 31st), did, with Freytag's hand laid gently on his sleeve, at once
give up what of the articles he had about him;--the OEUVRE, unluckily,
not one of them; and agreed to be under mild arrest ("PAROLE D'HONNEUR;
in the LION-D'OR Hotel here!") till said OEUVRE should come up. Under
Fredersdorf's guidance, all this, and what follows; King Friedrich,
after the general Order given, had nothing more to do with it, and was
gone upon his Reviews.

In the course of two weeks or more the OEUVRE DE POESIE did come.
Voltaire was impatient to go. And he might perhaps have at once gone,
had Freytag been clearly instructed, so as to know the essential from
the unessential here. But he was not;--poor subaltern Freytag had to
say, on Voltaire's urgencies: "I will at once report to Berlin; if the
answer be (as we hope), 'All right,' you are that moment at liberty!"
This was a thing unexpected, astonishing to Voltaire; a thing demanding
patience, silence: in three days more, with silence, as turns out, it
would have been all beautifully over,--but he was not strong in those
qualities!

Voltaire's arrest hitherto had been merely on his word of honor, "I
promise, on my honor, not to go beyond the Garden of this Inn." But he
now, without warning anybody, privately revoked said word of honor; and
Collini and he, next morning, whisked shiftily into a hackney-coach,
and were on the edge of being clear off. To Freytag's terror and horror;
who, however, caught them in time: and was rigorous enough now, and loud
enough;--street-mob gathering round the transaction; Voltaire very loud,
and Freytag too,--the matter taking fire here; and scenes occurring,
which Voltaire has painted in a highly flagrant manner!

On the third day, Answer from Berlin had come, as expected; answer (as
to the old score): "All right; let him go!" But to punctual Freytag's
mind, here is now a new considerable item of