King made pleasantries about religion [pity, that]; Bastiani not slow with repartees", of a defensive kind.

"King told me, on one occasion, 'Would you believe it?
I have just been putting my poor Jesuits' finances into order.

They understand nothing of such things, CES BONS HOMMES.

They are useful to me in forming my Catholic Clergy.
I have arranged it with his Holiness the Pope, who is a friend of mine, and behaves very well to me.' Pointing from the window to the Convent of Capuchins, 'Those fellows trouble me a little with their bell-ringings.
They offered to stop it at night, for my sake: but I declined.

One must leave everybody to his trade; theirs is to pray, and I should have been sorry to deprive them of their chimes (CARILLON).' "The 20,000 troops, assembled at Breslau, did not gain the King's approval,"-- far from it, alas, as we shall all see!" To some Chiefs of Corps he said, 'VOUS RESSEMBLEZ PLUS A DES TAILLEURS QU'A DES MILITAIRES (You are more like tailors than soldiers)!' He cashiered several, and even sent one Major-General to prison for six weeks." That of the tailors, and Major-General Erlach clapt in prison, is too true;--nor is that the saddest part of the Affair to us.