[History of Friedrich II. of Prussia Vol. XXI. (of XXI.) by Thomas Carlyle]@TWC D-Link bookHistory of Friedrich II. of Prussia Vol. XXI. (of XXI.) CHAPTER III 10/67
Her Mamma, whom we have seen, a little fat bullet given to devotion, was four years younger than Papa.
Mamma died "11th December, 1756," Germany all blazing out in War again; she had been a Widow eleven years. Marie-Antoine was wedded to Friedrich Christian, Saxon Kurprinz, "20th June, 1747;" her age 23, his 25:--Chronology itself is something, if one will attend to it, in the absence of all else! The young pair were Cousins, their Mothers being Sisters; Polish Majesty one's Uncle, age now 51,--who was very fond of us, poor indolent soul, and glad of our company on an afternoon, "being always in his dressing-gown by 2 o'clock." Concerning which the tongue of Court scandal was not entirely idle,--Hanbury chronicling, as we once noticed.
All which I believe to be mere lying wind.
The young Princess was beautiful; extremely clever, graceful and lively, we can still see for ourselves: no wonder poor Polish Majesty, always in his dressing-gown by 2, was charmed to have her company,--the rather as I hope she permitted him a little smoking withal. Her husband was crook-backed; and, except those slight, always perfectly polite little passages, in Schmettau's Siege (1759), in the Hubertsburg Treaty affair, in the dinner at Moritzburg, I never heard much history of him.
He became Elector 5th October, 1763; but enjoyed the dignity little more than two months.
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