Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
Carlyle called it a “ nomenclature inscrutable to mankind ”. 4 )
Having spent three years in Köstritz dealing with administrative matters , Geusau accompanied a younger brother of Henry XXIV , Count Henry XXIX of Reuss-Ebersdorf ( 1699 – 1747 ), on a grand tour through the Low Countries and France . Following their return , he was tasked with supervising Henry XXIV ’ s eldest surviving son Henry VI ( 1707 – 1783 ) and his best friend and future brother-in-law , Count Rochus Friedrich von Lynar ( 1708 – 1781 ), during the time of their studies at the universities of Jena and Halle . Geusau once again served as a travel companion when these two noblemen subsequently went on an extended grand tour through the Low Countries , France — where they spent five months in Paris alone —, and England . 5 After their eventual return in 1732 , Geusau accompanied Count Henry XXIV on a visit to Vienna where there were some legal issues to resolve regarding the guardianship over Count Henry XI of Obergreiz ( 1722 – 1800 ).
When the young ward had come of age , Geusau travelled with Henry XI through France , Italy , and Switzer- land . It was during this journey , while staying in Paris in the spring of 1741 , that he encountered and befriended the Chevalier Ramsay . Finally , in 1747 , Geusau accompanied Count Henry XXIII of Reuss-Köstritz ( 1748 – 1787 ), Henry XXIV ’ s youngest son , on a passage to Denmark , where they were to witness the coronation of King Frederick V . 6
Geusau , who had never married , died on 19 November 1749 , at the age of 54 . Immediately after his death , Count Rochus Friedrich von Lynar set out to write a short biography of the deceased courtier . The tutor of his eldest son , Anton Friedrich Büsching , contributed an account of Geusau ’ s final days , which Lynar had not witnessed himself . The obituary was read at the memorial service and later put to print . 7 Lynar left Köstritz the day after the service because Frederick V had appointed him as his ambassador to Russia . Büsching joined him , rather reluctantly , and spent half a year in Saint Petersburg before returning to Germany together with his young ward . 8
It was Büsching who would make sure that the diary of his paternal friend became known to the wider public , albeit not in its original form .
4 Thomas Carlyle , History of Friedrich the Second , Called Frederick the Great , vol . 3 ( New York : Harper , 1862 ), 183 .
5 See the diary of this journey , written collectively by Geusau , Lynar , and Henry VI , Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv Potsdam , Rep . 37 Lübbenau , no . 5065 , and the only surviving letter by Geusau , dispatched from London , 6 May 1732 , ibid ., no . 5030 / 6 .
6 See the diary of this journey , written in French , Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv Potsdam , Rep . 37 Lübbenau , no . 5067 .
7 Kurtzer Lebens-Lauf Herrn Antons von Geusau [ ... ] zu Köstritz [ ... ], Greiz [ 1750 ]. For a handwritten copy , see Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Greiz 3-12-1400 II 436a , fol . 28 – 40 .
8 See Peter Hoffmann , Anton Friedrich Büsching ( 1724 – 1793 ): Ein Leben im Zeitalter der Aufklärung ( Berlin : Spitz , 2000 ), 34 – 42 .
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