<358> service of America neither the defence of Minorca nor any project whatever would incline us to dégarnir our coasts by sending out too many ships of war, that, while we had a strong fleet at home, France would hardly venture to invade, but if we weakened ours too much, it became the interest of France, in the present conjuncture, to risk everything with an equal or nearly equal force; he, therefore, recommends keeping at home a fleet greatly superior to the French.
I insinuated to His Majesty that, if any concert of alliance was formed, the republic of Holland might still be of great use, that an ancestor of his had saved that Republic, and it would add to his glory to lend his hand once more to raise and relieve her, that, if something was not done, there was danger of the Republic falling into the hands of France. He heard with attention and did not seem to disrelish the proposition, but added that the Republic at present was in a very low State …“
Mitchell berichtet an Holdernesse, Berlin 27. Mai (private and particular) über Besprechungen, die er mit dem Könige in Betreff des Erbprinzen von Hessen gehabt hat:1 „ …His Majesty was pleased to talk with great freedom to me upon the whole of this unhappy affair. He said that he had so bad an opinion of the Hereditary Prince and he knew him to be so weak and so fickle that he would absolutely have had nothing to do with him, if it had not been pour faire plaisir au Roi and to the Landgrave, and that the consideration of the present State of affairs in Europe made him, the Prince, of conséquence at this time; that in order to prevent his falling into the hands of Vienna or of France, he was Willing to take him into his service, though he had no hopes to make anything of him.
Mitchell hat die Meinung geäussert, der Eintritt in die preussische Armee würde den Erbprinzen von seinen Fehlern heilen … [The King] said « You do not know him, if he was in my service (though he says „après le purgatoire qu'il aime la discipline prussienne“ ), I cannot nor will answer for him, he may deceive me, for he is always of the mind of the person that speaks to him last, and there is nobody about him capable to guide him; I blame his father for this. »
When I urged the necessity there was of an separation and the justice of securing an independent provision for Her Royal Highness, to take place after the death of the Landgrave, the King of Prussia said he was very sensible of the disagreeable situation in which Her Royal Highness must be, and he told me several things that he has learnt from his sister-in-law (a Princess of Hesse married to his brother Prince Henry, who has lately been to visit her uncle the Landgrave)2 that convinced him not only of the impropriety, but of the impossibility of her living with her husband in any degree of comfort.
1 Vergl. S. 330.
2 Vergl. S. 251.