Eight o'clock: so that Wilhelmina is obliged at once to get upon the road again,--poor Princess, after such a day and night.
Her description of the Interview is very good:--"My Brother overwhelmed me with caresses; but found me in so pitiable a state, he could not restrain his tears. I was not able to stand on my limbs; and felt like to faint every moment, so weak was I. He told me the King was much angered at the Margraf [my Father-in-Law] for not letting his Son make the Campaign,"--concerning which point, said Son, my Husband, being Heir-Apparent, there had been much arguing in Court and Country, here at Baireuth, and endless anxiety on my poor part, lest he should get killed in the Wars. "I told him all the Margraf's reasons;and added, that surely they were good, in respect of my dear Husband. 'Well,' said he, 'let him quit soldiering, then, and give back his regiment to the King. But for the rest, quiet yourself as to the fears you may have about him if he do go; for I know, by certain information, that there will be no blood spilt.'--'They are at the Siege of Philipsburg, however.'--'Yes,' said my Brother, 'but there will not be a battle risked to hinder it.'
"The Hereditary Prince," my Husband, "came in while we were talking so; and earnestly entreated my Brother to get him away from Baireuth. They went to a window, and talked a long time together. In the end, my Brother told me he would write a very obliging Letter to the Margraf, and give him such reasons in favor of the Campaign, that he doubted not it would turn the scale.
'We will stay together,' said he, addressing the Hereditary Prince; 'and I shall be charmed to have my dear Brother always beside me.' He wrote the Letter; gave it to Baron Stein [Chamberlain or Goldstick of ours], to deliver to the Margraf.
He promised to obtain the King's express leave to stop at Baireuth on his return;--after which he went away. It was the last time Isaw him on the old footing with me: he has much changed since then!--We returned to Baireuth; where I was so ill that, for three days, they did not think I should get over it." [Wilhelmina, ii. 200-202.]
Crown-Prince dashes off, southwestward, through cross country, into the Nurnberg Road again; gets to Nurnberg that same Saturday night; and there, among other Letters, writes the following;which will wind up this little Incident for us, still in a human manner:--3. TO PRINCESS WILHELMINA AT BAIREUTH.
"NURNBERG, 3d July, 1734.
"MY DEAREST (TRES-CHERE) SISTER,--It would be impossible to quit this place without signifying, dearest Sister, my lively gratitude for all the marks of favor you showed me in the WEIHERHAUS [House on the Lake, to-day]. The highest of all that it was possible to do, was that of procuring me the satisfaction of paying my court to you. I beg millions of pardons for so putting you about, dearest Sister; but I could not help it; for you know my sad circumstances well enough. In my great joy, I forgot to give you the Enclosed. I entreat you, write me often news of your health!
Question the Doctors; and"--and in certain contingencies, the Crown-Prince "would recommend goat's-milk" for his poor Sister.
Had already, what was noted of him in after life, a tendency to give medical advice, in cases interesting to him?--"Adieu, my incomparable and dear Sister. I am always the same to you, and will remain so till my death.
"FRIEDRICH."
[ OEuvres de Frederic, xxvii. part lst, p. 57.]
Generals with their wheel mended, Margraves, Prince and now the Camp Equipage too, are all at Nurnberg; and start on the morrow;hardly a hundred miles now to be done,--but on slower terms, owing to the Equipage. Heilbronn, place of arms or central stronghold of the Reich's-Army, they reach on Monday: about Eppingen, next night, if the wind is westerly, one may hear the cannon,--not without interest. It was Wednesday forenoon, 7th July, 1734, on some hill-top coming down from Eppingen side, that the Prince first saw Philipsburg Siege, blotting the Rhine Valley yonder with its fire and counter-fire; and the Tents of Eugene stretching on this side: first view he ever had of the actualities of war.
His account to Papa is so distinct and good, we look through it almost as at first-hand for a moment:--"CAMP AT WIESENTHAL, Wednesday, 7th July, 1734.
"MOST ALL-GRACIOUS FATHER,-- ... We left Nurnberg [nothing said of our Baireuth affair], 4th early, and did not stop till Heilbronn;where, along with the Equipage, I arrived on the 5th. Yesterday Icame with the Equipage to Eppingen [twenty miles, a slow march, giving the fourgons time]; and this morning we came to the Camp at Wiesenthal. I have dined with General Roder [our Prussian Commander]; and, after dinner, rode with Prince Eugene while giving the parole. I handed him my All-gracious Father's Letter, which much rejoiced him. After the parole, I went to see the relieving of our outposts [change of sentries there], and view the French retrenchment.
"We," your Majesty's Contingent, "are throwing up three redoubts:
at one of them today, three musketeers have been miserably shot [GESCHOSSEN, wounded, not quite killed]; two are of Roder's, and one is of Finkenstein's regiment.
"To-morrow I will ride to a village which is on our right wing;Waghausel is the name of it [Busching, v. 1152.] [some five miles off, north of us, near by the Rhine]; there is a steeple there, from which one can see the French Camp; from this point I will ride down, between the two Lines," French and ours, "to see what they are like.
"There are quantities of hurdles and fascines being made;which, as I hear, are to be employed in one of two different plans. The first plan is, To attack the French retrenchment generally; the ditch which is before it, and the morass which lies on our left wing, to be made passable with these fascines.
