24 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5
of the conferences with Schwerin and Podewils. Cereals were pur-
chased in corn-rich Mecklenburg, and transported along the Spree
and the Friedrich-Wilhelms Canal to the main avenue of the Oder
(water transport was of crucial importance at this time of the year,
when the roads were impassable to heavily laden carts). One day
Frederick watched a mass of the gathering troops, and he told the Old
Dessauer of his impressions. He found it remarkable that all those
thousands of men, who were all individually stronger and better
armed than himself, should be trembling in his presence. Such was
the working of the Prussian discipline (Hildebrandt, 1829-35, V, 46).
Frederick left Rheinsberg for Berlin on 2 December. He found a
society alive with speculation, for the masquerades and balls of the
season continued unabated, while the regiments were already on the
march with sealed orders. On Sunday 4 December the congregations
deserted the churches in order to watch the artillery train trundling
along the Unter den Linden. All of this uncertainty proved too much
for one of Frederick's old tutors, Christoph Wilhelm von Kalckstein,
who made so bold as to approach his young master:
Kalckstein: Your Majesty, am I right in thinking there is going to be a
war?
Frederick: Who can tell!
Kalckstein: The movement seems to be directed on Silesia.
Frederick: Can you keep a secret? (Taking him by the hand.)
Kalckstein: Oh yes, Your Majesty.
Frederick: Well, so can I!
(Anon. 1788-9, III, 60)
Even the Old Dessauer was excluded from Frederick's counsels. He
moped around, spreading despondency and distrust, but Frederick
was determined on the principle that was at stake: This is an
enterprise which I must reserve for myself, so that nobody is left with
the impression that the king of Prussia goes to war in the company of a
court tutor' (PC 178).
Having seen to the last of the preparations and given a patriotic
address to the officers of the departing Berlin regiments, Frederick
allowed himself the relaxation of attending a masked ball in the
apartments of his queen in the^Berlin Schloss. The next morning, 13
December, he awaited the arrival of his travelling coach in the
company of a large crowd and dismissed the pleas of his young
brothers Henry and Ferdinand, who clung to his coat tails and begged
to be allowed to go with him to the war. At nine, Frederick and three
adjutants entered the carriage and set off for the army, which had
been assembling on the border with Silesia.
Frederick hoped that the conquest, or rather the occupation of