Note 61 — Chapter XVII · THE CAMPAIGN OF MORAVIA.

Count Brühl was for many years the first minister of the king. He was a weak, extravagant man, reveling in voluptuousness. His decisions could always be controlled by an ample bribe. His sole object seemed to be his own personal luxurious indulgence. “Public affairs,” he said, “will carry themselves on, provided we do not trouble ourselves about them.”

Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, in his letters from Dresden, writes: “Now, as every thing of every kind, from the highest affairs of the state down to operas and hunting, are all in Count Brühl’s immediate care, I leave you to judge how his post is executed. His expenses are immense. He keeps three hundred servants and as many horses. It is said, and I believe it, that he takes money for every thing the king disposes of in Poland, where they frequently have very great employments to bestow.”