Instead of one letter the Prince de Ligne received three, all charming. For fear of missing him the King had written from Potsdam to Vienna, Dresden, and Berlin. The travellers arrived at Potsdam on the 28th of June.
“Having to wait until twelve o’clock, at which hour I was to be presented to the King, together with my son Charles and M. de l’Isle, I went to the parade ground, and was soon surrounded and escorted by Austrian deserters, especially those from my own regiment, who tried to fawn upon me and ask my forgiveness for having left me. The hour for the presentation arrived, and the King received me in the most charming fashion. The military stiffness of headquarters was exchanged for a tender and benevolent welcome. He said he did not know I had so old a son.
“‘He has even been married a year, Sire.’
“‘May I ask to whom?’
“‘To a Pole—a Massalski.’
“‘What, a Massalski? Do you know what her grandmother did?’
“‘No, Sire,’ replied Charles.
“‘She fired off the cannon at the siege of Dantzic,—she fired, and made them fire, and defended the place, when her party, who had lost their heads, only thought of yielding.’
“‘Women are unaccountable creatures,’ said I, ‘strong and weak by turns, cautious and dissimulating, they are capable of anything.’
“‘No doubt,’ said M. de l’Isle, annoyed at not having been spoken to, and he added, with a familiarity which met with no success, ‘See, for instance——’