7873. UNTERREDUNG DES KÖNIGS MIT DEM GROSSBRITANNISCHEN MINISTER MITCHELL.
Berlin, 19. August 1756.
Mitchell berichtet, Berlin 20. August, an Holdernesse: „The King of Prussia came to Berlin yesterday, and I had a very long audience of him, in which I made use of every argument which your Lordship had suggested upon both the important points,1 and such was his goodness to me that he not only heard with patience and attention everything I had to say, that was new, but also suffered me to touch upon some of my former arguments which I thought had made the most impression upon him.
It is not necessary to trouble your Lordship with a detail of this conférence, as the King of Prussia was pleased to send me last night a paper2 … which contains his resolutions and the reasons for them.
As to the first point of his not attacking the Empress-Queen and thereby giving her a right to claim the succour from France and from Russia,3 he said that was merely a dispute about words, for he that gave the first blow, was not to be considered as the first a ggressor, but he that made that blow necessary and unavoidable, that en temps et lieu he would tell me more of the conduct of the court of Vienna with regard to him than I yet knew. He then told me that he had not yet reeeived an answer to his last demand at the court of Vienna, which was occasioned by a mistake of his minister at that court,4 who, when count Kaunitz asked him for a copy of what he was directed to say to the Empress, not thinking himself empowered to give it, had sent a Courier to know his master's pleasure, that he, King of Prussia, had directed him to give the copy required and wondered how his minister could doubt of it, that this accident would occasion a delay of a week or ten days, that he thought the court of Vienna would not reculer, and therefore he expected nothing from their answer, that he was informed there were near 100,000 men in Bohemia and Moravia, that they had also been at a very great expence and had remitted no less than one million of florins to Petersburg. He concluded with saying that he wished for nothing so much as for peace, he knew he could get nothing by war, and yet he was forced to it.
When I urged the fatal consequence that any precipitate measure on his part would have on the King's5 affairs at the court of Petersburg, which now seemed to be in a more favourable situation, he answered things were gone too far, it now depended solely on the Empress-Queen.
1 Erlass des Grafen Holdernesse an Mitchell, Whitehall 6. Augnst. Vergl. Nr. 7S74.
2 Nr. 7874.
3 Vergl. den Bericht Michell's, London 6. August. Nr. 7880.
4 Vergl. S. 209.
5 Georg II.