Catherine the Great Selected Letters by Andrew Kahn & Kelsey Rubin-Detlev

Author:Andrew Kahn & Kelsey Rubin-Detlev
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2018-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

127. To Gustav III of Sweden

Marking the one-year anniversary of Gustav’s departure from Russia and responding to a letter about his visit to Denmark, Catherine feigns to find the king amiable, although she in fact found him an excessive stickler for etiquette. Immediately upon his departure from Russia in 1777, Gustav had suggested a further meeting at the border town of Fredrikshamn (now Hamina, Finland ), which Russia had acquired from Sweden in 1743. Catherine demurred and the encounter did not take place until 1783.

I have just received, dearest Brother, your charming letter of 28 June from Maltesholm, near Kristianstad in Scania.* I found that you were gay as a chaffinch, and I exclaimed, ‘A cheerful and personable king is such an amiable thing!’ Let it be said in passing and without offending anyone that I find that we Medusa heads petrify everyone who comes near us anyway. If, to top it off, we are glum, frosty, and stiff, we make people want to defenestrate us, and only fear holds them back. Well, my dear champion, you are not at all a salt statue, good and stiff, like Lot’s wife: you go looking for adventures, visiting princes, princesses, kings, kingdoms, soldiers, warriors, etc. You talk about all that in the plural to brighten up your tale: you tell me of your journey in the most agreeable way in the world. You quote your governess and comic operas just like me. How could you think I could forget or hate you? I would have you know once and for all that you are not odious.

I am very sorry to hear of the piteous state in which you found your brother-in-law.* I had long since been warned of it, yet they say that here and there he has good moments and even witticisms, but that is not much good. You will have found Prince Ferdinand to be a character of quite another sort.*

You were not mistaken, dearest Brother: I am indeed at Peterhof, and as soon as I arrived, I looked around for the Count of Gotland. He is not present this year, and he is literally missed. We have already said many times that ‘on St Peter’s Day this year the black domino (the one you want me to recall ) would not have got wet, for it would not have left the house.’ The weather was diabolical that day,* but nonetheless there were lots of masks. The illumination stayed on the ground, that is, there were only lanterns on the ground.

I do not know why they are dawdling over my house at Fredrikshamn. I have already twice told Count Bruce to build it, and he is not naturally a dawdler, but I shall reheat his memory.

Farewell, dearest Brother, be well and rest assured that I return most affectionately all the marks of friendship that you give me.

This 5th day of July 1778, on which a year ago you unfortunately left, I attended the ordination of a bishop and am dead tired. Writing to you seems to me like resting.

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