4278. KINGS, Vicious.—
I am much indebted
to you for the memoirs of the Margrave
of Bayreuth. This singular morsel of
history has given us a certain view of kings,
queens and princes, disrobed of their formalities.
It is a peep into the state of the Egyptian
God Apis. It would not be easy to find
grosser manners, coarser vices, or more meanness
in the poorest huts of our peasantry. The
princess shows herself the legitimate sister of
Frederick, cynical, selfish and without a heart.—
To Madame de Tesse. Washington ed. vi, 271.
Ford ed., ix, 437.
(M.
1813)
