sort! Only in the hands of the gifted does it become supremely
good. It had not yet been the language of any Goethe, any Lessing;
though it stood on the eve of becoming such. It had already been
the language of Luther, of Ulrich Hutten, Friedrich Barbarossa,
Charlemagne and others. And several extremely important things had
been said in it, and some pleasant ones even sung in it, from an
old date, in a very appropriate manner,--had Crown-Prince
Friedrich known all that. But he could not reasonably be expected
to know:--and the wiser Germans now forgive him for not knowing,
and are even thankful that he did not.



Chapter II.

THE GERMAN ELEMENT.

So that, as we said, there are two elements for young Fritz, and
highly diverse ones, from both of which he is to draw nourishment,
and assimilate what he can. Besides that Edict-of-Nantes French
element, and in continual contact and contrast with it, which
prevails chiefly in the Female Quarters of the Palace,--there is
the native German element for young Fritz, of which the centre is
Papa, now come to be King, and powerfully manifesting himself as
such. An abrupt peremptory young King; and German to the bone.
Along with whom, companions to him in his social hours, and
fellow-workers in his business, are a set of very rugged German
sons of Nature; differing much from the French sons of Art.
Baron Grumkow, Leopold Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (not yet called the
"OLD Dessauer," being under forty yet), General Glasenap, Colonel