1 December 1873 – 7 December 1873

Germany and Frederick — Carlyle visited various battlefields and ' found something to go on ; Frederick occupied me thirteen years ; about eight in writing ; I knew I should have mountains of dust and rubbish to swallow. I thought I could manage somehow brevi manu. But it was infinitely worse than I had ever prefigured. I thought of nothing else for eight years : used to go about and say to myself, " What kind of man is this Frederick } What does all this talk about him mean } incredible most of it, clearly incredible." ' W. A. — ' Did you read about nothing else } ' C. — ' Hardly anything, — except something very notable now and then. My mind was full of Frederick. I used to ride a great deal then, and when I came in I had usually an hour's bright talk or so (ah me !), and then after dinner sat down to Frederick^ — she silent in another corner of the room. Often, I think, she would have been glad to speak to me — ah dear ! . . . Well, it nearly killed me. It was the desire and longing of my life to finish it. ' When it was done I felt ill in body and much discomposed.' W. A.—' But it is done.' C. (quietly and perhaps sadly) — 'Yes, it is done.' C. despised oratory, yet much of his writing is akin to Oratory. Whatever he takes up he impresses upon you with all the emphasis of his forcible nature, and all his skill of language. When the Reader has recovered breath he may sometimes suspect that a claim has been made upon his attention and nervous system, dispropor- tionate to the real importance of the matter. The Frederick Book might be called the reductio ad ahsurdum of Carlyleism. Yet, on the other hand, take — that very Book. Suppose you care little or nothing at all for the King of Prussia and his concerns, — if you care for Literature and for Genius, here is a supreme work of Literary Genius, here is the best that a truly Great Man of the literary sort found himself able to give you by the conscientious devotion of thirteen laborious years ; here is spread out legibly before you a world of wit, humour, picture, narrative, character, history, thought, wisdom, shrewdness, learning, insight. Open it where you will, the page is alive.