"Till Seelenhorst, the Amtsrath Sach of Konigshorst had ridden before his Majesty; but here," at the border of my Fehrbellin district, where with one of his forest-men I was in waiting by appointment, "the turn came for me. About 8 o'clock A.M. his Majesty arrived in Seelenhorst; had the Herr General Graf von Gortz in the carriage with him," Gortz, we need n't say, sitting back foremost:--here I, Fromme, with my woodman was respectfully in readiness. "While the horses were changing, his Majesty spoke with some of the Ziethen Hussar-Officers, who were upon grazing service in the adjoining villages [all Friedrich's cavalry went out to GRASS during certain months of the year; and it was a LAND-TAX on every district to keep its quota of army-horses in this manner,--AUF GRASUNG]; and of me his Majesty as yet took no notice. As the DAMME," Dams or Raised Roads through the Peat-bog, "are too narrow hereabouts, I could not, ride beside him," and so went before? or BEHIND, with woodman before? GOTT WEISS! "In Dechau his Majesty got sight of Rittmeister von Ziethen," old Ajax Ziethen's son, "to whom Dechau belongs; and took him into the carriage along with him, till the point where the Dechau boundary is. Here there was again change of horses. Captain von Rathenow, an old favorite of the King's, to whom the property of Karvesee in part belongs, happened to be here with his family; he now went forward to the carriage:--CAPTAIN VON RATHENOW. "'Humblest servant, your Majesty!'
[UNTERTHANIGSTER KNECHT, different from the form of ending letters, but really of the same import].
KING. "'Who are you?'
CAPTAIN. "'I am Captain von Rathenow from Karvesee.'
KING (clapping his hands together). "'Mein Gott, dear Rathenow, are you still alive! ["LEBT ER NOCH, is HE still alive?"--way of speaking to one palpably your inferior, scarcely now in use even to servants; which Friedrich uses ALWAYS in speaking to the highest uncrowned persons: it gives a strange dash of comic emphasis often in his German talk:] I thought you were long since dead. How goes it with you 7 Are you whole and well?"CAPTAIN. "'O ja, your Majesty.'
KING. "'Mein Gott, how fat He has (you are) grown!'
CAPTAIN. "'Ja, your Majesty, I can still eat and drink; only the feet get lazy' [won't go so well, WOLLEN NICHT FORT].
KING. "'Ja! that is so with me too. Are you married?'
CAPTAIN. "'Yea, your Majesty.'
KING. "'Is your wife among the ladies yonder?'
CAPTAIN. "'Yea, your Majesty.'
KING. "'Bring her to me, then!' [TO HER, TAKING OFF HIS HAT]
'I find in your Herr Husband a good old friend.'
FRAU VON RATHENOW. "'Much grace and honor for my husband!'
KING. "'What were YOU by birth?' ["WAS SIND SIE," the respectful word, "FUR EINE GEBORNE?"]
FRAU. "'A Fraulein von Krocher.'
KING. "'Haha! A daughter of General von Krocher's?'
FRAU. "'JA, IHRO MAJESTAT.'
KING. "'Oh, I knew him very well.'--[TO RATHENOW] 'Have you children too, Rathenow?'
CAPTAIN. "'Yes, your Majesty. My sons are in the service,'
soldiering; 'and these are my daughters.'
KING. "'Well, I am glad of that (NUN, DAS FREUT MICH). Fare HEwell. Fare He well.'
"The road now went upon Fehrbellin; and Forster," Forester, "Brand, as woodkeeper for the King in these parts, rode along with us.
When we came upon the patch of Sand-knolls which lie near Fehrbellin, his Majesty cried:--"'Forester, why aren't these sand-knolls sown?'
FORESTER. "'Your Majesty, they don't belong to the Royal Forest;they belong to the farm-ground. In part the people do sow them with all manner of crops. Here, on the right hand, they have sown fir-cones (KIENAPFEL)'.
KING. "'Who sowed them?'
FORESTER. "'The Oberamtmann [Fromme] here.'
THE KING (TO ME). "'Na! Tell my Geheimer-Rath Michaelis that the sand-patches must be sown.'--[TO THE FORESTER] 'But do you know how fir-cones (KIENAPFEL) should be sown?'
FORESTER. "'O ja, your Majesty.'
KING. "'Na! [a frequent interjection of Friedrich's and his Father's], how are they sown, then? From east to west, or from north to south?' ["VAN MORGEN GEGEN ABEND, ODER VAN ABEND GEGENMORGEN?" so in ORIG. (p. 22);--but, surely, except as above, it has no sense? From north to south, there is but one fir-seed sown against the wind; from east to west, there is a whole row.]
FORESTER. "'From east to west.'
KING. "'That is right. But why?'
FORESTER. "'Because the most wind comes from the west.'
KING. "'That's right.'
"Now his Majesty arrived at Fehrbellin; spoke there with Lieutenant Probst of the Ziethen Hussar regiment, [Probst is the leftmost figure in that Chodowiecki Engraving of the famous Ziethen-and-Friedrich CHAIR-scene, five years after this. (Supra. 374 n.)] and with the Fehrbellin Postmeister, Captain von Mosch. So soon as the horses were to, we continued our travel; and as his Majesty was driving close by my Big Ditches," GRABEN, trenches, main-drains, "which have been made in the Fehrbellin LUCH at the King's expense, I rode up to the carriage, and said:--ICH. "'Your Majesty, these now are the two new Drains, which by your Majesty's favor we have got here; and which keep the Luch dry for us.'
KING. "'So, so; that I am glad of!--Who is He (are you)?'
FROMME. "'Your Majesty, I am the Beamte here of Fehrbellin.'
KING. "'What 's your name?'
ICH. "'Fromme.'
KING. "'Ha, ha! you are a son of the Landrath Fromme's.'
ICH. "'Your Majesty's pardon. My father was Amtsrath in the AMT Luhnin.'
KING. "'Amtsrath? Amtsrath? That isn't true! Your father was Landrath. I knew him very well.--But tell me now (SAGT MIR EINMAL)has the draining of the Luch been of much use to you here?'
ICH. "'O ja, your Majesty.'
KING. "'Do you keep more cattle than your predecessor?'
ICH. "'Yes, your Majesty. On this farm I keep 40 more; on all the farms together 70 more.'
KING. "'That is right. The murrain (VIEHSEUCHE) is not here in this quarter?'
ICH. "'No, your Majesty.'
KING. "'Have you had it here?'
ICH. "'Ja.'
KING. "'Do but diligently use rock-salt, you won't have the murrain again.'
