A View of Society and Manners in France, Switzerland, and Germany, Vol. 2 (of 2) With Anecdotes Relating to Some Eminent Characters

Since my return from Darmstadt, the weather has been so very bad, that I have passed the time mostly at home. That I may obey your injunctions to write regularly at the stated p...

So the fate of poor —— is finally decided, and he now finds, that to be ruined is not a matter of so much indifference as he once imagined. I neither see the possibility of his...

Our disputes with the colonies have been a prevailing topic of conversation wherever we have been since we left England. The warmth with which this subject is handled increases...

You express such an earnest desire to be made acquainted with every thing which regards the King of Prussia, that I am in danger of lengthening my descriptions with a tedious mi...

The day after our arrival here, I waited on the Count Finkenstein, and desired to know when the D—— of H—— and I could have the honour of being presented to the King, requesting...

I had the pleasure of yours by the last post, wherein you inform me that our acquaintance C—— talks of setting out for Vienna very soon. As nothing is so tiresome as the company...

The Emperor is of a middle size, well made, and of a fair complexion. He has a considerable resemblance to his sister, the Queen of France, which, in my opinion, is saying a gre...

The D—— of H—— having expressed an inclination to visit the court of Mecklenburg Strelitz, I accompanied him thither soon after his return from Magdeburg and Leipsic. The weathe...

I thank you, Sir, for the poem and pamphlets you sent me by ——. I own I do not think the former a very capital performance; yet am not surprised at the great run it has had. For...

Instead of troubling you with any more observations of my own, on the nature of the Prussian discipline, or the principles on which it is founded, I shall give you the substance...

On arriving at Vienna, the postillions drive directly to the Custom-house, where the baggage undergoes a very severe scrutiny, which neither fair words nor money can mitigate. A...

The Prussian army at present, according to my information, consists of 180,000 men. If twenty, or even thirty thousand are deducted from this account, on the supposition that it...

The D—— of H—— having determined to pay his respects to the Queen of Denmark, before he left this country, chose to make his visit while the Hereditary Princess was with her sis...

We arrived here in the height of the preparation for the reviews. Nothing was to be seen in the streets but soldiers parading, and officers hurrying backwards and forwards. The...

We remained a week at Brunswick, and returned to this town about ten days ago. None of the family are there at present, except the Duke and Duchess, and the young Princess, thei...

Bohemia, though by no means so fertile, or so fine a country as Saxony, does not deserve the bad character which some travellers have given it. I thought many places very beauti...

We have been here about a fortnight. His Majesty arrived at the new palace of Sans-Souci about the same time that we came to Potsdam. The Princess Amelia, who is mistress of the...

I returned very lately from Prince Lichtenstein’s house at Felberg in Austria, where I passed a few days very agreeably. The Lichtenstein family is one of the first in this coun...

In your last, you show such a passion for anecdote, and seem so desirous of my insisting on manners and characters, that I fear you will not be pleased with my last long epistle...

Next to the Electors of the Empire, the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel is one of the greatest Princes in Germany; and even of those, the electors of Bohemia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Han...

When we arrived here first, the Queen lived at Mont Bijou, a small palace just without the gates. Her Majesty had a public day twice a week while she remained there; but she has...

The city of Cassel is situated on the river Fulda. It consists of an old and new town. The former is the largest and most irregular. The new town is well built; and there, as yo...

As soon as the roads were passable, we left Cassel, and arrived, not without difficulty and some risk, at Munden, a town situated in a vale, where the Fulda, being joined by ano...

I believe I neglected to mention in any of my letters from Berlin, that when I visited the manufactory of porcelain, I was so much struck with the beauty of some of it, that I o...

The town of Brunswick is situated in a plain, on the banks of the Ocker. The houses in general are old, but many new buildings have been erected of late, and the city acquires f...

I have not said any thing of the Austrian army, having some suspicion that I rather over-dosed you with military details from Berlin, where the subject of my letters was continu...

On returning to Brunswick, we found the Hereditary Princess had come from Zell a few days before, having left the Queen of Denmark in perfect health. The Princess resided with h...

Berlin is certainly one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The streets are built in a very regular manner, and of a commodious breadth. In the new town they are perfectly s...

When we first arrived here, there was nothing I was so eager to see as the Prussian troops at their exercise; but the reviews at Berlin have completely satiated my curiosity. An...

Whether it is owing to the example of the Empress, or to what other cause, I shall not take upon me to decide; but there certainly appears a warmer and more general attachment t...

Having left Presburg, we travelled eight posts across a very fertile country to the palace of Estherhasie, the residence of the Prince of that name. He is the first in rank of t...

No condition in life can be more active, and at the same time have less variety in it, than that of a Prussian officer in the time of peace. He is continually employed in the sa...

On the days when there is no public court at Sans-Souci, we generally dine with Lord Marechal, who is always happy to see the D—— of H——, and is of great service to all British...

Several individuals here are fond of distinguishing themselves by their passion for the fine arts, and strangers are informed, that it is well worth while to visit certain priva...

Among the remarkable things in Frankfort the inns may be reckoned. Two in particular, the Emperor and the Red House, for cleanliness, conveniency, and number of apartments, are...

Nothing seems clearer to me, than that a fortified town should have no palaces within it, and no suburbs without. As the city of Dresden has both, it would have been well for th...

The Viscount de Laval having proposed to me lately to make a short tour with him into Hungary, I very readily consented, and we arrived at this town yesterday morning.

As you seem curious to know how we pass our time, and the style of living here, I shall give you a sketch of one day, which, with little variation, may give you an idea of all t...

The manners of this court are considerably altered since Lady Mary Wortley Montague was here, particularly since the accession of the present Empress, whose understanding and af...

The preference which is given by individuals in Roman Catholic countries to particular Saints, proceeds sometimes from a supposed connection between the characters of the Saints...

I am afraid you will think the anecdotes and conversation which I sometimes send you are rather tedious. Your curiosity about certain characters has led me into this practice; f...

We have had some masquerade balls here of late.—The Court do not go in procession to these as at Cassel.—Those who chuse to attend, go separately when they find it convenient.

The day after the reviews, the King, attended by his nephew, the Prince of Prussia, and the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, set out for Magdeburg, where there is a camp of 15,00...

I never passed my time more agreeably than since I came to Vienna. There is not such a constant round of amusements as to fill up a man’s time without any plan or occupation of...

We had an invitation lately from Mons. de Breteuil to dine on the top of Mount Calenberg, a very high mountain in the neighbourhood of this city. Common coaches or chariots cann...

Nothing surprised me more, when I first came to Berlin, than the freedom with which the people spoke of the measures of government, and the conduct of the King. I have heard pol...

I have been twice or thrice at Sans-Souci, which is at a small distance from Potsdam. The King lives constantly at the Old Palace, except when some people of very great distinct...