第1章

ThisPiece，itwouldseem，wastranslatedsixteenyearsago；

somefourorfiveyearsbeforeanypartofthepresentHISTORYOF

FRIEDRICHgottopaper。TheintercalatedbitsofCommentarywere，asisevident，allormostlywrittenatthesametime:thesealso，thoughtheyarenowbecome，inparts，SUPERFLUOUStoareaderthathasbeendiligent，Ihavenotthoughtofchanging，wherenotcompelled。Hereandthere，especiallyintheIntroductoryPart，someslightadditionshavecreptin；whichtheabovekindofreaderwillpossiblyenoughdetect；andmayevenhave，forfriendlyreasons，somevestigeofinterestinassigningtotheirnewdateandcomparingwiththeold。（NOTEOF1868。）

ADAYWITHFRIEDRICH。

（23dJuly，1779。）

\"OBERAMTMANN（HeadManager）Fromme\"wasasister\'ssonofPoet，Gleim，GleimCanonofHalberstadt，whowrotePrussian\"grenadier

songs\"in，orinreferenceto，theSevenYearsWar，songsstillprinted，butworthlittle；whobeggedonce，afterFriedrich\'sdeath，anOLDHATofhis，andtookitwithhimtoHalberstadt（whereIhopeitstillis）；whohada\"TempleofHonor，\"orlittleGardenhousesonamed，withPortraitsofhisFriendshunginit；

whoputJeanPaulVERYSOONthere，withagreatexplosionofpraises；andwho，inshort，seemstohavebeenaverygoodeffervescentcreature，atlastratherwealthytoo，andabletoeffervescewithsomecomfort；OberamtmannFromme，Isay，wasthisGleim\'sNephew；andstoodasakindofRoyalLandBailiffunderFredericktheGreat，inatractofcountrycalledtheRHYNLUCH（adreadfullymoorycountryofsandsandquagmires，allgreenandfertilenow，sometwentyorthirtymilesnorthwestofBerlin）；

busytherein1779，andhadbeenforsomeyearspast。HehadoriginallybeenanOfficeroftheArtillery；butobtainedhisdischargein1769，andgot，beforelong，intothisemployment。

Amanofexcellentdispositionandtemper；withasolidandheavystrokeofworkinhim，whateverhemightbesetto；andwhointhisOBERAMTMANNSHIP\"becamehighlyesteemed。\"Hediedin1798；andhasleftsons（nowperhapsgrandsonsorgreatgrandsons），whocontinueestimableinlikesituationsunderthePrussianGovernment。

OneofFromme\'susefulgifts，theusefulestofallforusatpresent，was\"hiswonderfultalentofexactmemory。\"Hecouldremembertoasingularextent；and，wewillhope，onthisoccasion，wasunusuallyconscientioustodoit。Foritsohappened，inJuly，1779（23dJuly），Friedrich，justhomefromhistroublesomeBavarianWar，[HadarrivedatBerlinMay27th（Rodenbeck，iii。201）。]andagainlookingintoeverythingwithhisowneyes，determinedtohaveapersonalviewofthoseMoorRegionsofFromme\'s；totakeaday\'sdrivingthroughthatRHYNLUCHwhichhadcosthimsomucheffortandoutlay；andheorderedFrommetoattendhimintheexpedition。

Whichtookeffectaccordingly；FrommeridingswiftlyattheleftwheelofFriedrich\'scarriage，andloudlyansweringquestionsofhis，allday。Directlyongettinghome，Frommeconsultedhisexcellentmemory，andwrotedowneverything；aconsiderablePaper，ofwhichyoushallnowhaveanexactTranslation，ifitbeworthanything。FrommegavethePapertoUncleGleim；who，inhisenthusiasm，showeditextensivelyabout，andsosoonastherewasliberty，hadit\"printed，athisownexpense，forthebenefitofpoorsoldiers\'children。\"[\"Gleim\'sedition，broughtoutin1786，theyearofFriedrich\'sdeath，isnowquitegone，theBookundiscoverable。ButthePaperwasreprintedinanANEKDOTEN

SAMMLUNG（CollectionofAnecdotes，Berlin，1787，8tesSTUCK，whereIdiscoverityesterday（17thJuly，1852）inacopyofmine，muchtomysurprise；havingbeforemetwithitinoneHildebrandt\'sANEKDOTENSAMMLUNG（Halberstadt，1830，4tesSTUCK，aratherslovenlyBook），whereitisgivenoutasoneoftherarestofallrarities，andashavingbeenspecially\'furnishedbyaDr。W。

Korte，\'beingunattainableotherwise！Thetwocopiesdifferslightlyhereandthere，notalwaystoDr。Korte\'sadvantage，orratherhardlyever。Ikeepthembothbeforemeintranslating\"

（MARGINALEOF1852）。

\"TheRHYN\"orRhin，isalittleriver，which，nearitshigherclearersources，wewerealloncewellacquaintedwith:

considerablelittlemoorlandriver，withseveralbranchescomingdownfromRuppinCountry，andcertainlakesandplashesthere，inasouthwestdirection，towardstheElbevalley，towardstheHavelStream；intowhichlatter，throughanotherplashorlakecalledGULPERSEE，andafewmilesfarther，intotheElbeitself，itconveys，afteracourseofsay50Englishmilescircuitouslysouthwest，theblackdrainingsofthosedrearyandintricatePeatbogandSandcountries。\"LUCH，\"itappears，signifiesLOCH（orHole，Hollow）；and\"RhynLuch\"willmean，toPrussianears，thePeatbogQuagmiredrainedbytheRHYN。NewRuppin，wherethisbeautifulblackStreamfirstbecomesconsiderable，andofsteadilyblackcomplexion，liesbetween40and50milesnorthwestofBerlin。

TenortwelvemilesfarthernorthisREINSBERG（properlyRHYNSBERG），whereFriedrichasCrownPrincelivedhishappiestfewyears。Thedetailsofwhichwerefamiliartouslongago，andnodoubtdwellclearandsoft，intheirappropriate\"palemoonlight，\"

inFriedrich\'smemoryonthisoccasion。SometimeafterhisAccession，hegavetheplacetoPrinceHenri，wholivedtheretill1802。Itisnowfallenalldim；andthereisnothingatNewRuppinbutaremembrance。

TothehitheredgeofthisRhynLuoh，fromBerlin，Iguesstheremaybefiveandtwentymiles，inanorthwestdirection；

fromPotsdam，whenceFriedrichstartstoday，about，thesamedistancenorthbywest；\"atSeelenhorst，\"whereFrommewaitshim，Friedrichhasalreadyhad30milesofdriving，rate10milesanhour，aswechancetoobserve。Notablethings，besidestheSpade

husbandriesheisintenton，solicithisremembranceinthisregion。OfFreisackand\"HeavyPeg\"withherdidacticbatteringsthere，Isupposehe，inthosefixedtimes，knowsnothing，probablyhasneverheard:FreisackisonabranchofthissameRhyn，andhemightseeit，toleftamileortwo，ifhecared。

ButFehrbellin（\"FerryofBellEEN\"），distinguishedbytheshiningvictorywhich\"theGreatElector，\"Friedrich\'sGreatGrandfather，gainedthere，overtheSwedes，in1675，standsontheRhynitself，aboutmidway；andFriedrichwillpassthroughitonthisoccasion。

GeneralZiethen，too，livesnearitatWusterau（aswillbeseen）:

\"OldZiethen，\"alittlestumpyman，withhangingbrowsandthickpoutinglips；unbeautifultolookupon，butpious，wise，silent，andwithaterribleblazeoffightingtalentinhim；fullofobedience，ofendurance，andyetofunsubduable\"silentrage\"

（whichhasbrookedeventhevocalrageofFriedrich，onoccasion）；

areallycuriousoldHussarGeneral。HeisnowakindofmythicalordemigodpersonageamongthePrussians；andwasthen（1779），andeveraftertheSevenYearsWar，regardedpopularlyastheirAjax（withadashoftheUlyssessuperadded），Seidlitz，anotherHorseGeneral，beingtheAchillesofthatservice。

Thedateofthisdrivethroughthemoorsbeing\"23dJuly，1779，\"weperceiveitisjustabouttwomonthssinceFriedrichgothomefromtheBavarianWar（whattheynowcall\"POTATOWAR，\"sobarrenwasitinfighting，soripeinforaging）；victoriousinasort；andthatinhisprivatethought，amongthebigtroublesoftheworldonbothsidesoftheAtlantic，theinfinitesimallysmallbusinessoftheMILLERARNOLD\'SLAWSUITisbeginningtorisenowandthen。