478 FROM MANN 10 MAY 1755 a proof of the decay of knowledge in this country, but Count Riche­ court came up, and by his great encomiums upon the learning which the interpreters had shown, as well as of the great use of such an institution to form the judgments of young as well as old people, by torturing their brains to prove that the art of divination in an ancient Etrusco was like a trout, stopped our mouths, and I make no doubt that every great lady of spirito who comes here for the future will insist upon having an accademia and il giuoco della sibilia made for her, and for the encouragement of which the pro­ moters of it take great merit to themselves. Some days before,11 Count Richecourt entertained the Margrave12 and his court at din­ ner, at which I had the honour to assist. Great state was observed, and the conversation was very languid, to enliven which, I suppose, she asked the master of the table which of the two he had rather have been, St Francis or Cassar. I believe he did not decide. There was a concert of music after dinner, which all the men would, I dare say, have willingly dispensed with, as we were forced to stand the whole time, for want of an order from her Royal Highness to sit down. She was pleased then, too, to distinguish me by talking to me the whole time, for as she is a great composer of music, as well as of operas, tragedies, etc., the performers did not please her at all; even the Margrave, she said, played much better. So, she did not attend, but among other things, talked to me of her brother, showed me his picture, and took occasion to say that it was very unfortunate that the King of England her uncle had not that goodness for his family that might be expected, and that her brother very seriously lamented the misunderstanding that was between them. I retorted her accusation, laid the whole blame on the King of Prussia who I said had not even that personal regard for his uncle which that quality might exact, besides the decency observed between princes, and that to make the breach the wider, he had espoused an interest totally opposite to that which the King espoused. You will easily judge that my discourse led me to the brink of disrespect, which, however, I avoided, and she was not at all offended. A lady who was near overheard part of our discourse, and some of my answers have been since quoted about the town. She took an occasion to turn into ridicule the report that was spread of both hers and the Mar- 11. 30 April (London Gazette, loc. cit.). grave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth 1735-63 12. Friedrich Wilhelm (1711-63), Mar- (Isenburg, op. cit. i. 65). .