The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume I / Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &C. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts.

by Freiherr von Karl Ludwig Pöllnitz

LETTER XVI.

SIR,Ludwigsbourg, Feb. 2, 1730.

The Duke of Wirtemberg is a Prince of a middling Size, and before he grew so fat was very well shap'd. He is genteel, affable, and well-belov'd, and few Princes treat their Courtiers with more Familiarity. He has been one of the best Dancers of his Time. He also sits perfectly well on horseback, and performs all bodily Exercises with infinite Gracefulness, and incomparable Dexterity. He takes pleasure sometimes in driving his own Coaches, and I have seen him drive eight Horses without a Postilion, and manage them with as much Ease as if there was but one Horse in the Harness. He is a Prince that loves Magnificence, is generous, gallant, and amorous. Tho' 'tis above twenty Years that he has kept one and the same Mistress, he is as passionately fond of her, and gives as shining Proofs of it as ever. During the last War his most Serene Highness commanded the army of the Empire on the Upper Rhine. He has

an only Son marry'd to Henrietta of Prussia, Daughter of the Margrave Philip, Brother to Frederic I. King of Prussia. This young Prince is called the hereditary Prince. He is short of Stature, but handsome. He has one of the best Tempers that can be desir'd in a Sovereign, being humane, good-natur'd, affable, and civil. It may be said that the Father and the Son are the two politest Men at the Court of Wirtemberg. The Father has spent several Years in Holland, Lorrain, Geneva, Turin, Italy and France. When he return'd from his Travels he went and marry'd at Berlin. He has an only Daughter who is very amiable. The hereditary Prince is vastly fond of Grandeur, Dancing, Plays and Music: He fatigues himself very much, and commonly rides seven or eight Horses in a Morning. His tender Constitution and the little Care he takes of it make me apprehensive he will not live to be an old Man[119].

The hereditary Princess has an Air of Grandeur and Majesty suitable to her Rank. She is tall and handsome, has a noble Mien, and tho' she is not a regular Beauty, 'tis certain that she has a very good Look. She is extremely grave, and does not seem to take a great share in the Pleasures of the Court. She seems to be most of all taken with Dress, and her Apparel is not only splendid but well-fancy'd. Her Royal Highness, which is a Title given her because she is the Daughter of a King's Brother, is extremely gracious and civil to all Mankind, but particularly to those whom she knew at the Court of Prussia. She does me the honour to discourse with me sometimes. I find she thinks very justly, and that her Sentiments are very agreeable to her Birth. This Princess is of the Calvinist Religion, and she keeps a Chaplain who preaches to her in her own Apartment; so that now while the Prince

Alexander de Wirtemberg is here, there are three Chapels in the Castles of as many different Religions.

The Countess de Wurben is the first Lady at Court next to her Royal Highness. She has been the Duke's sole Favourite for a long time. She is Gravenitz by Name, and is descended of a noble Family in Mecklembourg. The Duke first fell in love with her when she was but a Girl. She had the Assurance after she had been some Years in Favour to insist that the Duke should get a Divorce from the Duchess his Wife, by whom he had a Son, and marry her. When the Duchess was inform'd of her Rival's Demand she sued for the Emperor's Protection, and obtain'd it. That Monarch signified to the Duke that he would do well to remove his Favourite, who was therefore oblig'd to retire to Swisserland. The Duke who could not bear her out of his sight, followed her thither and stay'd there with her for some time, but at last being oblig'd to return to his Dominions, and not being able to take Madamoiselle de Gravenitz to him without reviving the just Suspicions of the Duchess, he look'd out for a Husband for his Mistress. The Count de Wurben a Gentleman of a good Family, and in mean Circumstances, but a very eager Stickler for the Favours of Fortune at any rate whatsoever, made an offer to marry Madamoiselle de Gravenitz. She was bestowed upon him with a Pension of 24000 Florins, and the Character of the Duke's Envoy Extraordinary to the Imperial Court. He engag'd never to make use of the Husband's Prerogative and never to require of his Wife to leave the Court. Upon this Condition he obtain'd even before he set out for Vienna the Office of Landthoffmeister or Lord Lieutenant of Wirtemberg, which is the highest Dignity in the Country. When the Marriage was concluded, Madam de Wurben returned to Stutgard, where she

had Lodgings in the Palace. All her Aim was to insult the Duchess, in hopes of provoking her to commit something so outragious as might embroil her with the Duke, and make him resolve never to forgive her; but this Princess equally virtuous and prudent, and always patient, bore all this Mortification without murmuring. The Mistress, who could not endure to see her in the Palace, obtain'd an Order from the Duke for her Retirement to the Estate which was settled on her for her Jointure; but the Duchess would never comply to it, saying, that if she had not been unfortunate enough in the Loss of her Husband she would not retire to her Jointure. This Refusal, how reasonable soever it was, affronted the Duke, who acquainted the Duchess that he did not look upon her any longer as his Wife, and gave orders that she should be treated no longer as a Sovereign. During this, Madam de Wurben became a Widow; whereupon all the Hopes reviv'd that she had presumed to entertain when a Maid. She persuaded the Duke to leave Stutgard, and to found Ludwigsbourg. As soon as this House was in a Condition to be occupy'd, the Duke and his Mistress came and liv'd in it. There's no sort of Intrigue which this Favourite has not try'd to put herself in the Duchess's Rank, but hitherto she has not been able to succeed. Mean-while she enjoys all the Honours of a Sovereign. 'Tis at her Apartments that the Court is kept. Whenever the Duke plays 'tis there, and there it is he diets. In short she is treated in every thing upon a par with her Royal Highness. Her Excellency (which is the only Title given to this imperious Favourite since the Death of her Husband) is drawing on to fifty Years of Age, and yet carries a mighty Sway. She employs all the Remedies imaginable to cancel the Injuries which Time has done to her Complexion, and also to conceal her natural Temper; for Artifice

and Dissimulation are the Compounds of her Character. She is so eager in amassing of Riches that she makes it her chief Business. While she pretends a mighty Respect for the Duke, she expects like another Astarte that every Knee should bend and tremble before her. As she is the Reservoir of Favour, greater Court is made to her than to the Duke himself, and Woe be to those that dare to disoblige her! I must own however that she knows how to behave as well as any Woman in Germany, when she has a mind to shew her Politeness. The worst on't is, that she is not always so inclin'd; for she has been so long us'd to give herself great Airs that they are become habitual to her. The principal Offices of the Court are distributed among her Kindred or Creatures. Her Brother the Count de Gravenitz is Grand Marshal and Prime Minister. I hardly ever saw a handsomer Man: I must also do him the justice to declare that he is as civil as his Sister is haughty. Some Years ago the Duke obtain'd for him the Dignity of a Count of the Empire, in which Quality he was admitted also at the Dyet, and he has a Seat there on the Bench of the Counts of Swabia. His Authority is never oppos'd but by his Sister, to whom he will not always be obedient. 'Tis said their Divisions have sometimes gone so far that the Favourite has done all in her power to turn out her Brother, and he has try'd all Ways in his turn to remove his Sister, but the Duke has always been so good as to reconcile them. The Prime Minister and his eldest Son are honour'd with the Order of Prussia. There is no Court in Europe where there's such a Variety of Orders and Ribbons. The Duke bears alternatively the Danish Order of the Elephant, the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle, and his own Order which is that of St. Hubert.

The Hereditary Prince has the Order of Prussia and that of the Duke his Father.

The Prince Charles-Alexander wears the Fleece, and the Order of Wirtemberg[120]. Prince Lewis his Brother wears the Polish Order of the White Eagle.

The Baron de Schunck heretofore the Duke's Minister of State, and at present Great Bailiff of a Bailywic, is Knight of the Order of Dannebrog.

I should never have done were I to give you the Names of all the Knights of the Order of St. Hubert, and the many petty Sovereigns that have been the Grand Masters.

The Duke's particular or Cabinet-Council is compos'd of the Hereditary Prince and the Counts de Gravenitz, Father and Son, the Baron de Schutz, and M. de Pollnitz[121]. There are many other Counsellors of State, but not being admitted to the Cabinet-Council they are not in so much Esteem as the others.

His most Serene Highness keeps the Estimate of his Forces to himself. I think that he has now 4000 Men without reckoning his Life-Guards, which are two Companies, the finest of all the Guards in Germany. One of these Companies is commanded by the Lieutenant-General Baron de Phul, and the other by a Count of Witgenstein. They are dress'd in yellow, and are only distinguish'd by the Facing of their Clothes and their Bandeliers,

one of which is Black and the other Red. Their Regimental Clothes are Yellow with Silver Lace. The Duke has also a Company of Cadets on Horseback, all Gentlemen. They are dress'd in Red, with black Velvet Facings and Silver Lace. They mount Guard at the Duke's Apartment only. Two of them always stand Centry before his Highness's Chamber-Door.

The Court of Wirtemberg is one of the most numerous in Germany.

There's a Grand Marshal, who as I have told you is the Count de Gravenitz, Brother to the Favourite.

A Marshal of the Court, who is second Son to the Grand Marshal.

A Travelling Marshal, who is Brother-in-law to the Prime Minister.

A Great Cup-bearer, who is the Baron de Frakenberg.

A Master of the Horse.

A Great Huntsman.

Four Chamberlains.

A Number of Gentlemen of the Bed-Chamber, and Gentlemen of the Court.

Two Captains of the Guards.

A considerable number of Counsellors of State and Aulic Counsellors.

Twenty Pages, all Men of good Families.

And finally a great many Footmen, and Officers of the Kitchen, Pantry, and Buttery.

The Duke's Stables are the best furnish'd of any in Europe. One shall not see finer Horses, or any that are better manag'd. The Hunting Equipage is also very magnificent; and I don't know one thing that is wanting. His Highness keeps a Company of French Comedians to whose Performance every body is admitted gratis. We have often Balls, Masquerades, and Concerts of Music. There

is an Assembly at the Favourite's House every day, where the Company plays at Piquet, Quadrille, and Pharo; so that here are all the Pleasures of a great Court. The Duke's Table is serv'd with very great Cost and Delicacy, and is commonly spread for sixteen Guests. The Duke sits at the upper end, between her Royal Highness and her Excellency. The Gentlemen are plac'd according to the Rank which they derive from their Employments, and the Ladies according to the Offices which are borne by their Husbands.

There's a Ceremonial observ'd here which is not known in any other Court, viz. the Duke's Ministers give place to no Foreigner, unless he be a Minister like themselves to some Prince, or unless he be a Count of the Empire. These have so distinguish'd a Rank at this Court that all who are not Counts must give place to them. A Count of the Empire, tho' he be a Cadet in the hundredth Generation, a Lieutenant or an Ensign, as it sometimes happens, in the Duke's Service, takes place of all Ministers and great Officers who are not Counts. This is a Regulation which her Excellency made after her Brother was created a Count, to the end that her Family might have the more Honour, and that the greater Respect might be paid to her own Dignity of Countess without a County.

I have told you that the Duke had transferr'd his Residence from Stutgard to Ludwigsbourg, and the reason which made him abandon the Capital of his Dominions; but why he preferr'd the Situation of his new Town to a hundred others that he might have chose more agreeable, is what I cannot account for.

Ludwigsbourg is remote from any River, great Roads and Forests. The Duke at first only built a small Mansion-House with two advanced Wings, so disposed that the Court lay between the House and the Garden; but he has since made great Additions

to it, and is actually building a large Mansion between the Court and the Garden, to which the Wings of the former Building are to be joined. One Frisoni, an Italian, has the direction of these Works; in which it appears that he is a much better Mason than an Architect. The new Building runs so far out that it discovers all the Effects of it. The Front of the Mansion consists of three Stories, including the Ground-Floor; but on the Garden side there are only two of a moderate Height, so that one wou'd take this Building rather for an Orangerie than for the Palace of a Sovereign. The great Stair-Case is dark, the Apartments want Light, the Chambers are long and narrow, and have very few Outlets. However, this single Building was undertaken by Frisoni for 700000 Florins, exclusive of several sorts of Materials with which he was furnished.

The old Mansion, which fronts the new, is not near so large, tho' it is three Stories high every way. The Apartments are small and too inconvenient to live in, yet no Cost has been spar'd to adorn them; Carving, Gilding, and Painting being employ'd in them with more Profusion than Judgment. The Furniture is rich, but of a very odd Fancy. The best thing in all the Palace is the Chapel, which would every where be reckon'd a fine noble Structure. But notwithstanding all the Faults which are observ'd in the Palace, it must be allow'd that whoever lives to see it finish'd will find it a magnificent Piece of Work. In the Gardens there are several Terrasses, which rising by degrees one above another, intirely bound the Prospect of the Palace. 'Tis certain that when the Duke's Architects saw this Prince resolutely determin'd to build at Ludwigsbourg, they ought at least to have advis'd him to place his Palace at the very spot where his Gardens end: In this case it would have stood in the middle of a Plain, the Apartments would not have been cramp'd by the

Buttresses, with which the Palace is encompass'd, and the Gardens wou'd have had a gentle Descent; and for a very little Expence there might have been a fine Piece of Water at one end, betwixt them and a Coppice, which is a Walk for Pheasants.

The City of Ludwigsbourg is as irregular as the Palace; and its Scituation, which is very disadvantageous, will always render it a very incommodious Town, because of the unevenness of the Ground. Most of the Houses are of Timber, and slightly built; for those who build them do it with an Ill-will, either out of Necessity, or to please the Duke who seems to be fond of building. This Prince has ruin'd Stutgard, and will never make a good Town of Ludwigsbourg; for if the Court was absent from it but one Year, 'twou'd be one of the meanest Villages in Wirtemberg. This Town is in no respect very agreeable. The Nobility here don't seem very fond of Strangers, and there are no Entertainments but what are made by the Duke. No body here, not even the Prime Minister keeps a Table; and all the Expence of the Courtiers is in their Dress, and their Horses. Yet there is not a Prince of the Empire who gives handsomer Salaries, except the Electors; so that the Case is the very reverse here to what it is at almost all other Courts, for here People grow rich, whereas elsewhere they are beggar'd. I have known Persons that came to this Court in mean Circumstances, and in a few Years got Estates. The Duke is by nature generous and beneficent, and wou'd be more so if his Liberality was not curb'd. He has given several Gentlemen Materials for building gratis; and the Houses were no sooner up but he purchas'd them, and paid as dear for 'em as if he had not contributed a Shilling towards raising them. I have been assur'd that his most Serene Highness's Revenues amounted to four Millions of Florins. 'Tis certain that he is

Master of one of the finest Countries in all Germany; a Country which has plenty of every thing, but Money is scarce by reason of the Fertility of the neighbouring Provinces, viz. the Palatinate, Bavaria, Franconia, and Alsace. The People are desirous of a War upon the Upper Rhine, in hopes of putting off their Commodities.

The Lutheran is the only Religion tolerated in the Duchy of Wirtemberg, tho' the Duke has permitted Frisoni the Director of his Buildings to erect a Chapel for the Use of the Catholic Workmen whom he has sent for from Italy to build the Palace; which Chapel however is design'd to be demolish'd as soon as the Works are finish'd: But I am rather inclin'd to think that the Court itself will one day have a Catholic Chapel; for if the hereditary Prince shou'd happen to die without Male-Issue, Wirtemberg will fall to the Share of Prince Alexander, (Cousin-german to the Duke) who has embraced our Religion; and who having Children by the Princess of Tour and Taxis whom he marry'd at Brussels, sees them brought up in the Catholic Faith.

I kiss your hand, and am, &c.

POSTSCRIPT.

Since I wrote the above, the Countess de Wurben is fallen under Disgrace, which I have been told happen'd by this means.

The Duke's Carriage to his Mistress had been cold for some time, when the King of Prussia came to Ludwigsbourg and exhorted him to be reconcil'd to his Wife, in order to get Heirs. The Duke cou'd not persuade himself to take the Duchess again; but however the King's Representations prevail'd so far, as to put him quite out of conceit with his Mistress. He just kept up a bare Acquaintance with her, and that was all; which she

perceiv'd, and made no scruple to try the most extraordinary Methods to maintain herself in Favour. The Duke having been blooded in her Presence, she secreted a Napkin stain'd with his Blood. What Use she propos'd to make of it I know not, but she carry'd it to her Apartment. The Duke's Valets de Chambre missing the Napkin acquainted their Master of it. M. de Roder, a Gentleman of the Bed-Chamber, and a Favourite of his Highness, said that no body cou'd possibly take it but the Countess, and that to be sure she did it for no good. The Duke order'd M. de Roder to go to the Countess's Apartment and enquire into the Fact. Roder ask'd for the Napkin. The Countess deny'd her having it; but Roder affirm'd he saw her take it, upon which she was in a Passion with him, and told him she wou'd make him repent of his Ill-manners to her. Roder made answer, that all the Airs she gave herself were out of season, that her Reign was over, and that he wou'd oblige her to return the Napkin. The Countess not us'd to be talk'd to at such a rate, was frighten'd, and restor'd the fatal Napkin, which completed her Ruin. The Duke, when inform'd by his Favourite of what had pass'd, sent an Order to the Countess not to stir from her Apartment: And this Prince setting out soon after for Berlin, charged the hereditary Prince his Son to command Madamoiselle de Wurben to retire to her Estate. The Countess obey'd, and being indulg'd to carry what she had a mind to along with her, retir'd to a Territory of hers depending immediately on the Empire, not many Leagues from Ludwigsbourg. There it was that she heard of the Duke's Reconciliation with the Duchess, upon the Duke's return from Berlin. This News extremely shock'd her, because she always flatter'd herself that the Prince wou'd return to her: And perceiving now that she had no Hopes of being restor'd

to Favour by the power of her own Charms, she had a mind to try what she cou'd do by I know not what Charm in the Magic Art. To carry her Point she was under a necessity of having a little of the Duke's Blood; and she wrote to his Valet de Chambre, promising him great Rewards if he cou'd procure her some. What does the Domestic but carry the Letter to the Duke? who immediately gave Orders to Colonel Streithorst to arrest the Countess, and carry her to some Place of Security. The Colonel taking a Detachment of Soldiers along with him, contriv'd it so that he came to the Countess's Seat at Night, and immediately surrounding the House, knock'd at the Gate, but no body making answer he thunder'd so hard at the Gate, that at length Madame de Sultman the Countess's Sister put her Head out at the Window, and ask'd who it was that dar'd to make such a Noise. Streithorst told her his Name, and said he came thither by Order of the Duke. Madame de Sultman made answer that the Countess was not well, and cou'd not be spoke with. The Colonel, who knew the contrary, said, that if they did not let him in he wou'd break open the Doors; upon which they thought fit to open them. During this the Countess was got to Bed; and Streithorst entring her Chamber found her there with her Sister and her two Brothers-in-law, the General N—— and Sultman, who was formerly at Berlin Equerry to the Countess of Wartenberg, and afterwards Privy-Counsellor to the Duke of Wirtemberg. The Colonel having signify'd his Order to the Countess, she affected to be in a dying Condition; but said that if she was able enough to get up she did not intend it, she being at home, and in a free House of the Circle of Swabia, from whence she did not think the Duke had Authority to remove her. The Colonel threaten'd that his Grenadiers shou'd pull her out of Bed; and the Lady seeing that she must obey,

thought fit to rise. She fell on her Knees to Streithorst; but the hard-hearted Officer was deaf to her Cries, and conducted her to a place of Security where she is closely confin'd, and like to be a Prisoner as long as the Duke lives.

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