LETTER LXXVII.

Potsdam.

On the days when there is no public court at Sans-Souci, we generally dine with Lord Marechal, who is always happy to see the D—— of H——, and is of great service to all British subjects while they remain here or at Berlin. Exclusive of other reasons he may have for esteeming the Duke, his Lordship evidently displays a kind of partiality for his Grace, as the first man in point of rank belonging to his country. This appears in a thousand instances; for with very liberal sentiments, and a most benevolent heart, this venerable nobleman still retains a few Caledonian prejudices.

He asked one day of the D——, If he reckoned himself a Scotchman? Most certainly I do, replied his Grace. By so doing you lie under a mistake, said my Lord; for I can assure you, and I am convinced the best lawyers in England will do the same, that you have a much juster claim to all the privileges belonging to your English title of B——n, though some of them, I fear, are still disputed.

It is to be hoped, said the D——, that the House of Peers will not always refuse to do my family justice; on a thorough examination of the case, I still flatter myself they will grant me those privileges, which have been, for no valid reasons, refused my ancestors. But in the mean time, why will your Lordship, more cruel than the Peers, deny my birth-right as a Scotchman?

Because your birth gives you no such right, replied the Earl; for you in reality are but a North Briton:—unless your Grace can prove that you were born before the Union. But, continued he, with an air of triumph, I am a real Scotchman:—adding a little after, with a sigh, and in a plaintive accent—and almost the only one in the world—All the Scots of my acquaintance are now dead.

The good old Earl is infinitely fond of talking of his country, and of the days of former years. When I make any enquiry about the King of Prussia, or concerning Spain or Italy, in which countries he resided so long, he answers with a kind of complaisant brevity, and immediately turns the discourse back to Scotland, to which his heart seems wonderfully attached.

In the time of dinner, one of his servants, a stout highlander, generally entertains the company by playing on the bagpipe. I have observed, that these North Britons (to abide by Lord Marechal’s distinction) who are the most zealous for the interest and honour of their country, and who value themselves on being born north of the Tweed, are particularly, if not exclusively, fond of this instrument. You will, at least, allow that your gallant friend, Lord E——n, is no exception to this observation; and perhaps you will admit, that it requires a considerable degree of patriotism, or amor Caledoniæ to have a great relish for the melody of a bagpipe.

I called on Lord Marechal one afternoon, just as the King had left him; for the monarch, without any form or previous notice, sometimes walks through the garden, and pays a short visit to his old friend, to whom he has an unalterable attachment, both from personal regard, and on account of the high estimation in which he holds the memory of his brother Marechal Keith.

Another day I was with the Earl, when the Princesses of Prussia and Hesse, with Prince Frederic of Brunswic, all entered and demanded coffee, which my Lord immediately ordered, with the addition of a couple of melons; telling the Princesses, he knew they would not stay long enough with a man of eighty, to give time for preparing a better repast.—Thus favoured by the monarch and the Princes, you will not doubt that the old Earl’s friendship is cultivated by the rest of the court.

The Hereditary Prince of Prussia lives in a small house in the town of Potsdam. His appointments do not admit of that degree of magnificence, which might be expected in the Heir of the crown;—but he displays a spirit of hospitality far more obliging than magnificence; and doubly meritorious, considering the very moderate revenue allowed him. We generally sup there two or three times a week.

This Prince is not often of the King’s parties, nor is it imagined that he enjoys a great share of his uncle’s favour. In what degree he possesses the talents of a general is not known, as he was too young to have any command during the late war. But he certainly has a very just understanding, which has been improved by study. He has taken some pains to acquire the English language, to which he was induced by an admiration of several English authors, whose works he had read in French and German. He is now able to read English prose with tolerable facility, and has been of late studying Shakespear, having actually read two or three of his plays.

I took the liberty to observe, that as Shakespear’s genius had traced every labyrinth, and penetrated into every recess of the human heart, his sentiments could not fail to please his Royal Highness; but, as his language was uncommonly bold and figurative, and full of allusions to national customs, and the manners of our island two centuries ago, the English themselves, who had not made a particular study of his works, did not always comprehend their full energy. I added, that to transfuse the soul of Shakespear into a translation, was impossible; and to taste all his beauties in the original, required such a knowledge of the English manners and language as few foreigners, even after a long residence in the capital, could attain.

The Prince said, he was aware of all this; yet he was determined to struggle hard for some acquaintance with an author so much admired by the English nation; that though he should never be able to taste all his excellencies, he was convinced he should understand enough to recompence him for his trouble; that he had already studied some detached parts, which he thought superior to any thing he had ever met with in the works of any other Poet. His Royal Highness attends to military business with as much assiduity as most officers of the same rank in the army; for in the Prussian service, no degree of eminence in the article of birth can excuse a remission in the duties of that profession. He is much esteemed by the army, and considered as an exceeding good officer. To the frankness of a soldier he joins the integrity of a German, and is beloved by the public in general, on account of his good-nature, affability, and humane turn of mind.