Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1895-06-27
SOME RACY MEMOIRS
BERLlN's COURT ONE HUNDRED
YEARS AGO
AS VIEWED BY M. MIRABEAU
Frederick the Great and His Successor,
Frederick William II.-l'ossip and
scandals-The reat-Graadfather Of
the Present Emperor Submitted 10
a Searching Reyis@

-
The world has an attentive ear ever
open to tie scan,lalous chronicles Of
coarts and to Z gossip AMI anecd ote
about the famous men and women in
the past or the present. Messses.
Nichols & Co, of London, seem, there
fore, at the first blush TO have done a
good stroke Of business in republish-
ing in two handsome volumes the
famous suppressed book by MiTabeau
entitled Secret History of the Court If
Berlin, especially in view Of the al.
formative title they have prefixed 70 it,
The Character of the King Of Prussia;
His Ministers, Mistreases, Generals,
Courters, Fayariits and the Royal
Family of Prussia, with numerous
anecdotes Of the potentates of Europe,
especially Of the late Frederick II.
Mirabeau was sArewd observer, a
keen judge Of human nature, a writer
of remarkable hrilliancy. In 1856 he
was sent ON secret mission to the
court of Berlin. Frederick the Great
was at that time on his last legs. II
was Mirabeau's duty to watch over
the court during the period OF his dis
solution, TO take note of the forces
that would he brought into play TO i'm
fiuence his successor, ANONYMOUSLY
known as Frederick Inc Fat, and to
watch for opportunity of increasing the
French influence over the latter prince,
This mission resulted in i series of
letters from the count to NJ. de Ca
Tonne. These letters deal no less com
prehensively than iIciSiyely with the
eventful period of Prussian history in
tervening between July >, 1TS6, and
January 10, 1877.
BY a singular accident, the singular
ity of which the enemies of Mirabeau
hints of collusion, sixty-six Of these
letters fell in 1889, into the hands Of
one Malassio. an Alencon printer. He
surreptitiouSly published them and
succeeded In disposing of some 10000
copies before the court of parliament.
alarmed at its scandaloEs nature, or
dered that the book should be TORN
and burned by the public eXecutioner
at the foot of the grand staircase in
the Palais de Justice Everybody who
had bought a copy was ordered to send
it to the eXecutioner. Nevertheless a
few copies survived the flames. The
present work is a somewhat care,essky
executed translation made from one of
these survivors.
From the outset Mirabeau was beset
with gloomy sulmises as to what
would be the condition of Prussia
after the death of the great Frederick
That monarch had himself small faith
in his nephew, who afterward sue
ceeded Frederick William H., and VINO
was the greatle1 eat-grandfatne OF the
present German emperor. He spoke
of him, says Mirabeau, lin outrageous
terms" NIiiubeau does not deny the
appositeness Of this characterization.
THE successor" he says, seems 70
have every symptom of the most N
durable weakness most corrupt
among the persons by whom he Il sur
rounded daily increase in power" He
tells the story of how the prince rad
written % Boden to inquire what the
people OF Paris thought Of him.
THAT you viii be feeble, ignorant
and governed" was the substance Of
Boden's not very courtly reply.
The prince stamped his foot on the
ground when he read this, and ex-
claimed "By c.! have suffered by
myself and | viii reign by myself"
Here is fun length portrait, drawn
by Mirabean. after the prince had e.
come king;
"You may take II for granted that
there are three principal shades in the
character of the klng-deceit, which
he believes to be art, irascible vanity,
whenever the least remonstrance is
made to him. and the accumulation Of
money, which is not so much ayarice
in him as the passion Of possessing.
The first OF these vices mas rendered
nlll SUSPICIOUS, lOI Ht W nv bSNSAN - ~
system continually imagincs he is de
ceived. The second induces him 70
prefer people Of middllng or inferior
abilities, and the latter contributes to
make him lead an obscure and solitary
lfe. by which the two former are
strengthened. Violent in private, inn
penetiable in public, little animated by
the love Of fame in reality, and MAX
ing this love to consist chiefly in lead
ing the world to suppose he Is not GOV
erned; rarely troubling himself with
foreign politics; soldier from neces-
sity, and not from inclination; disposed
to favor the mystics, not from conyic-
ton. but because he believes he shall,
hv their aid, examine the consciences
and penetrate the hearts Of men-sueh
Il the outline Of the man.
"The revenues are upward Of twenty
seven millions of crowns, including the
...... ~, nl,n,1t ana hundred AMI