From this Edict-of-Mantes enviroument, which taught our young
Fritz his first lessons of human behavior,--a polite sharp little
Boy, we do hope and understand,--he learned also to clothe his
bits of notions, emotions, and garrulous utterabilities, in the
French dialect. Learned to speak, and likewise, what is more
important; to THINK, in French; which was otherwise quite
domesticated in the Palace, and became his second mother-tongue.
Not a bad dialect; yet also none of the best. Very lean and
shallow, if very clear and convenient; leaving much in poor Fritz
unuttered, unthought, unpractised, which might otherwise have come
into activity in the course of his life. He learned to read very
soon, I presume; but he did not, now or afterwards, ever learn to
spell. He spells indeed dreadfully ILL, at his first appearance
on the writing stage, as we shall see by and by; and he continued,
to the last, one of the bad spellers of his day. A circumstance
which I never can fully account for, and will leave to the
reader's study.

From all manner of sources,--from inferior valetaille, Prussian
Officials, Royal Majesty itself when not in gala,--he learned, not
less rootedly, the corrupt Prussian dialect of German; and used
the same, all his days, among his soldiers, native officials,
common subjects and wherever it was most convenient; speaking it,
and writing and misspelling it, with great freedom, though always
with a certain aversion and undisguised contempt, which has since
brought him blame in some quarters. It is true, the Prussian form
of German is but rude; and probably Friedrich, except sometimes in
Luther's Bible, never read any German Book. What, if we will think
of it, could he know of his first mother-tongue! German, to this
day, is a frightful dialect for the stupid, the pedant and dullard