any scruple, look'd accordingly, and saw himself at first in the Habit of an Elector; afterwards, with a Crown on his Head, and a royal Mantle on his Shoulders; and at last, full of Wounds, and bath'd in his Blood.
This Story, which I should not give you for true, if I had not heard it from a great Nobleman who told me he had it from the King's own Mouth, is however, not without a Parallel; for it is pretended, that a Mason told Madam de Maintenon, when she was no more than Madam Scarron, what her Fortune and Rank would be in France. I could mention several other Instances to you of the same nature, which all surprize me, tho' they don't convince me. Be it as it will, two Articles of the Prediction made to the King of Poland are fully accomplished; as to the third, may Heaven confound the Astrologer[55].
The King of Poland spends part of his time in his Kingdom, and part of it in his Electorate. 'Tis true, that he seems to take more delight in Saxony than in Poland; and 'tis in my Opinion very natural for him to do so; Saxony being his hereditary
Country, where he is so absolute that his Will is the Law of his Subjects, by whom he is rather ador'd than belov'd: besides, 'tis Saxony that furnishes him wherewithal to support his Dignity, and offers him every thing conducive to the Pleasures of a Great King; and it is there that he has a Court, the most brilliant in Europe, not only for its Splendor, but for Magnificence and Pleasures; whereas in Poland, he has only the vain Pageantry of Royalty; being under greater Limitations than any Sovereign in the World; so that the least Innovation, the least Act of Authority, makes the Poles clamorous, and they presently think they are excused from paying him that Obedience which they owe him. All the Gentlemen here are their own Masters; and the Noblemen behave so much like Sovereigns, that they never go to Court but to demand Favours, which if they obtain, they go away ungrateful, and if they are deny'd, they retire with the Intention of taking a Revenge on the first Opportunity: For the Climate being rough, the People are fierce; and the King, tho' adored in Saxony, is scarce beloved in Poland.
The Electoral Prince, this King's only Son, is lusty, proper, and well made, and like the King his Father is adroit in all bodily Exercises. He loves Pleasure, but 'tis with Moderation, and is heartily attach'd to the Religion which he has embrac'd. He is stiff and reserved, without being haughty, which is a Temper that he derives from the late Queen his Mother[56], whom he very much resembles. To such as have the Honour of Access to him, and of being known to him, he is gracious, familiar and very civil. His Royal Highness has been admit'd for his good Qualities in a great
part of Europe, particularly in Germany, France, and Italy, where he has spent several Years. No Son can have more respect to a Parent than he has for the King his Father, whose Will and Pleasure he never oppos'd in any one Instance; and whose Person he has always honour'd even in his Ministers. Of all Pleasures he seems to bestow most Time in Hunting; nevertheless he makes it only as an Amusement without being passionately fond of it. His Royal Highness's Confident is Solckofski or Sulkowski[57], a Polish Gentleman who was once his Page; and by thus making him his Favourite, for which he cannot but be applauded, he shews that he is capable of distinguishing true Merit. I had frequently the Honour of making my Compliments to this Prince while he was at Paris, and this is now the second time that I have had the same favour at Dresden, where I find he is the same gracious Personage as ever. The last time that I had the Honour of being introduc'd to him he talk'd a great deal to me about Paris, and when he dismiss'd me, he said he was sorry to think that Dresden would not afford me so many Pleasures as Paris.
The same Day that I waited on the Prince, I was introduced to the Princess his Royal Highness's Consort, who is the late Emperor Joseph's eldest Daughter. The Voice of the People is unanimous in the Character of this Princess. All Mankind agrees that she has not her superior for Good-nature, Piety, Charity, Modesty, and in a word for all, the Virtue of the Soul: To please her Husband, and to give her Children an Education suitable to their Birth, is her principal Endeavour. 'Tis rare to find a happier Couple than their Royal Highnesses; for Marriage, which generally cools the warmest Passions, seems on the contrary to have animated their
reciprocal Affection to such a degree that they are a Pattern for the Imitation of their Court.
Their Royal Highnesses Children are so young that I shall say but little of them[58]. Their eldest Son very much resembles the Pictures that I have seen of the Emperor Joseph when he was a Child. This young Prince seems to me to be of a very delicate Constitution, and has so great a Weakness in his Knees that he can scarce stand: The Physicians say it will go off as he grows up, but their Promises are no Gospel for me.
The two Princes of the Blood, who commonly reside at Dresden, are John-Adolphus of Saxe-Weissenfels[59], a Prince of uncommon Merit, whose Sentiments and Actions are no disparagement to his Birth; and Maurice-William of Saxe-Zeits, the last of his Branch. He was persuaded by his Uncle the late Cardinal de Saxe-Zeits to abjure the Lutheran Religion and to embrace the ecclesiastical State: He is Bishop of Konigsgratz in Bohemia, Provost of Alten Ottingen in Bavaria, and a Canon of Cologne, Liege, and Aichstedt, and is descended from such a Family that it may be presum'd, he will some day or other, be advanc'd to the Purple[60].