history of friedrich ii of prussia v 17-第2章
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and stealthy Menzel gains admittance to that Chamber of the Archives; can steal thither on shoes of felt when occasion serves; and copy what you wish;for a consideration。 Intermittently; since about Easter…Fair; 1753。 Three persons are cognizant of it; Winterfeld; Mahlzahn; Friedrich; three; and no more。 Probably the abstrusest study; and the most intense; going on in the world at that epoch。 'Rotzow; Charakteristik des Siebenjahrigen Krieges (Berlin; 1802); i。 23。'
〃At a very early stage of the Menzel Excerpts it became manifest that certain synchronous Austrian Ditto would prove highly elucidative; that; in fact; it would be indispensable to get hold of these as well。 Which also Winterfeld has managed to do。 A deep… headed man; who has his eyes about him; and is very apt to manage what he undertakes。 One Weingarten Junior; a Secretary in the Austrian Embassy at Berlin (Excellency Peubla's second Secretary); has his acquaintanceships in Berlin Society; and for one thing; as Winterfeld discovers; is 'madly in love' with some Chambermaid or quasi…chambermaid (let us call her Chambermaid); 'Daughter of the Castellan at Charlottenburg。' Winterfeld; through the due channels; applied to this Chambermaid; 'Get me a small secret Copy of such and such Despatches; out of your Weingarten; it will be well for you and him; otherwise perhaps not well!' Chambermaid; hope urging; or perhaps hope and fear; did her best; Weingarten had to yield the required product and products; as required。 By this Weingarten; from some date not long after Menzel's first mysterious Dresden Excerpts; the necessary Austrian glosses; so far as possible to Weingarten on the indications given him; have been regularly had; for the two or three years past。
〃Weingarten first came to be seriously suspected June; 1756 (Weingarten Junior; let us still say; for there was a Senior of unstained fidelity); 'June 15th;' Excellency Peubla pointedly demands him from Friedrich and the Berlin Police: 'Weingarten Junior; my SECOND Secretar; fugitive and traitor; hidden somewhere!' '〃BERLIN; 22d JUNE: Every research making for Mr。 Weingatten;in vain hitherto〃 ( Gentleman's Magazine; xxvi。; i。 e。 for 1756; p。 363)。' Excellency Peubla is answered; 24th June: 'We would so fain catch him; if we could! We have tried at Stendal;not there: tried his Mother…in…law; knows nothing: have forborne laying up his poor Wife and Children; and hope her Imperial Majesty will have pity on that poor creature; who is fallen so miserable。' ' Helden…Geschichte; iii。 713。' So that Excellency Peubla had nothing for it but to compose himself; to honor the unstainable fidelity of Weingarten Senior by a public piece of promotion; which soon ensued; and let the Junior run。 Weingarten Junior; on the first suspicion; had vanished with due promptitude;was not to be unearthed again。 We perceive he has married his Charlottenburg Beauty; and there are helpless babies。 It seems; he lived long years after; in the Altmark; as a Herr von Weiss;'his reflections manifold; but unknown。 'Retzow; i。 37。' What is much notabler; Cogniazzo; the Austrian Veteran; heard Weingarten's MASTER; Graf von Peubla; talk of the 'GRAND MYSTERE;' soon after; and how Friedrich had heard of it; not from Weingarten alone; but from Gross…Furst PETER; Russian Heir…Apparent! 'Cogniazzo; i。 225。'
〃As to Menzel; he did not get away。 Menzel; as we saw; lasted in free activity till 1757; and was then put under lock and key。 Was not hanged; sat prisoner for twenty…seven years after; overgrown with hair; legs and arms chained together; heavy iron bar uniting both ankles; diet bread…and…water;for the rest; healthy; and died; not very miserable it is said; in 1784。 Shocking traitors; Weingarten and he。〃
Yes; a diabolical pair; they; sure enough:and the thing they betrayed against their Masters; was that a celestial thing? Servants of the Devil do fall out; and Servants not of the Devil are fain; sometimes; to raise a quarrel of that kind!
The then world; as we said; was one loud uproar of logic on the right reading and the wrong of those Sibylline Documents: 〃Did your King of Prussia interpret them aright; or even try it? Did not he use them as a cloak for highway robbery; and swallowing of a peaceable Saxony; bad man that he surely is?〃 For Friedrich's demeanor; this time again; when it came to the acting point; was of eminent rapidity; almost a swifter lion…spring than ever; and it brought on him; in the aerial or vocal way; its usual result: huge clamor of rage and logic from uninformed mankind。 Clamorous rage and logic; which has now sunk irresuscitably dead; nothing of it much worth mentioning to modern readers; scarcely even its HIC JACET (in Footnotes; for the benefit of the curious!);and it is; at last; a thing not doubtful to anybody that Friedrich; in that matter did read aright。 So that now the loud uproar is reduced to one small question with us; What did he read in those Menzel Documents? What Fact lying in them was it that Friedrich had to read? Here; smelted down by repeated roastings; is succinct answer;for the ultimate fragment of incombustible here as elsewhere; will go into a nutshell; once the continents of Diplomatist…Gazetteer logic and disorderly stable…litter; threatening to heap themselves over the very stars; have been faithfully burnt away。
Readers heard of a 〃Union of Warsaw;〃 early in 1745; concluded by the Sea…Powers and the Saxon…Polish and Hungarian Majesties: very harmless UNION of Warsaw; public to all the world;but with a certain thrice…secret 〃TREATY of Warsaw〃 (between Polish and Hungarian Majesty themselves two; the Sea…Powers being horror… struck by mention of it) which had followed thereupon; in an eager and wonderful manner。 Thrice…secret Treaty; for Partitioning Friedrich; and settling the respective shares of his skin。 Treaty which; to denote its origin; we called of Warsaw; though it was not finished there (shares of skin so difficult to settle); and 〃Treaty of LEIPZIG; 18th May; 1745;〃 is its ALIAS in Books:of which Treaty; as the Sea…Powers had recoiled horror…struck; there was no whisper farther; to them or to the rest of exoteric mankind;though it has been one of the busiest Entities ever since。 From the Menzel Documents; I know not after what circuitous gropings and searchings; Friedrich first got notice of that Treaty: 'Now printed in OEuvres de Frederic; iv。 40…42。' figure his look on discovering it!
We said it was the remarkablest bit of sheepskin in its Century。 Readers have heard too; That it was proposed to Bruhl; by a grateful Austria; directly on signing the Peace of Dresden: 〃Our Partition…Treaty stands all the same; does it not?〃and in what humor Bruhl answered: 〃Hah? Get Russia to join!〃 Both these facts; That there is a Treaty of Warsaw and that this is the Austrian…Saxon temper and intention towards him and it; Friedrich learned from the Menzel Documents。 And if the reader will possess himself of these two facts; and understand that they are of a germinative; most vital quality; indestructible by the times and the chances; and have been growing and developing themselves; day and night ever since; in a truly wonderful manner;the reader knows in substance what Menzel had to reveal。
Russia was got to join;there are methods of operating on Russia; and kindling a poor fat Czarina into strange suspicions and indignations。 In May; 1746; within six months of the Peace of Dresden; a Treaty of Petersburg; new version of the Warsaw one; was brought to parchment; Czarina and Empress…Queen signing;Bruhl dying to sign; but not daring。 How Russia has been got to join; and more and more vigorously bear a hand; how Bruhl's rabidities of appetite; and terrors of heart; have continued ever since; how Austria and Russia;Bruhl aiding with hysterical alacrity; haunted by terror (and at last mercifully EXCUSED from signing); have; year after year; especially in this last year; 1755; brought the matter nearer and nearer perfection; and the Two Imperial Majesties; with Bruhl to rear; wait only till they are fully ready; and the world gives opportunity; to pick a quarrel with Friedrich; and overwhelm and partition hi