no more mention those hateful marriages you propose.
Find a convenient establishment for my daughter, a
husband with whom she may live happy ; and, far
from opposing your wishes, I shall be the first to
second them." The king immediately grew calm,
and, after having considered for some time ; " Your
expedient is not bad," he answered, " but I do not
know of any match better suited for my daughter



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 137

than those which I have proposed : if you can sug-
gest any other I will attend to your suggestion." The
queen named the hereditary prince of Bareith. " I
am satisfied," said the king ; " there is but one tri-
fling difficulty, which I think it well to inform you of :
that is, that I shall give neither portion nor clothes
to my daughter ; and that I shall not be at the wed-
ding, since she prefers your wishes to mine. Had
she married to my fancy I should have treated her
better than any of my children. She may chuse which
of us two she will obey." " You absolutely reduce
me to despair," exclaimed the queen ; " I do every
thing in my power to oblige you, and you are never
satisfied. You wish to kill rne, and to see me in the
grave. Well then, my daughter may marry your
dear duke of Weissenfeld ; I shall not oppose it ; but
I curse her if she marries him in my life-time."
" Well ! well ! madam, you shall be satisfied," said
the king ; " I will write to-morrow to the margrave
of Bareith on the subject, and shall show you my
letter. You may mention it to your unworthy daughter.
I give her time till to-morrow to determine the
matter."

When the king was gone, the queen sent for me.
She embraced me with transports of joy, which I
could not account for. " Everything prospers to ray
wishes, my dear girl," said she ; "at length I triumph
over my enemies ; we have nothing more to do with
the big Adolphus, or the margrave of Schwedt : you
are to be married to the prince of Bareith, and it is
from my hand that you are to receive him." At the
same time she repeated the conversation which she had
just had with the king ; the conclusion of which was
not very agreeable to my mind. I remained quite
stupified, not knowing what answer to return. " Well !
are you not satisfied with what I have done for you?"
I answered, that I acknowledged as I ought the
favours she had done me ; but intreated her to give
me time to consider what I ought to do. " How 1"



138 MEMOIRS OF THE

replied she, " give you time ! I thought the matter
would not want any deciding of yours, and that you
would submit to my will." " I should not hesitate
doing so did not the king oppose insurmountable ob-
stacles. Your majesty cannot require me to be mar-
ried without the approbation of the king and the cus-
tomary formalities. What idea would it give to the
public, and what opinion would he entertained of me,
if I left the parental roof in so unworthy a manner as
the king Lints at ? Under the circumstances in which
I am placed, I can do nothing but inform the king
that I am ready to give my hand to one of the three
proposed princes, provided your majesty and the
king are agreed. But I shall not determine anything
before the sentiments of my father and mother coin-
cide." " Then you may marry the great sultan or
the grand mogul," said the queen, " and follow your
own caprice. I should not have brought so many
sorrows on my head had I known you better. Obey
the commands of the king : it rests with you ; I shall
not concern myself any more about what regards
you ; and deliver me, I beg, of the trouble of your
odious presence ; for I cannot bear it any longer." I
wished to reply, but she bade me be silent, and or-
dered me to withdraw. I left the room in tears.
Madame de Sonsfeld was then called in. The queen
made heavy complaints against me, and told her to
use her endeavours to prevail with me to obey. " I
insist," said she, " upon her marrying the prince of
Bareith. This marriage gives me as much satisfac-
tion as that with the prince of Wales would have
done : I will not be disappointed; and my daughter
may rest assured that I shall never forgive her if she
starts any difficulties." Madame de Sonsfeld ven-
tured the same representations which I had done, and
boldly declared that she would not presume to advise
me ; which much vexed the queen. My brother,
who had been present at the conversation, came to
me and tried to persuade me to obey. His patience



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 139

was exhausted ; the king ^continued to use him ill ;
and he was wearied with the delays of the English
court. I think his resolution was already taken to
escape. In spite of the solid arguments hy which I
justified my refusal, he grew angry, and used some
harsh expressions, which heightened my despair. All
whom I consulted concerning my conduct, approved
of it and encouraged me to continue firm, assuring
me that it was the only way to get reconciled with
the king, who would at length be appeased, and more
easily induced to yield to the wishes of the queen.

Madame de Bulow, seeing me in tears and much
distressed at my brother's behaviour, endeavoured to
comfort me. She assured me she had infallible means
of reconciling the queen : she only wished to let her
first ebullition pass over, and engaged that as soon
as she had spoken to her majesty, the queen would
alter her sentiments. The next morning the king
showed to the queen the letter he had written to the
margrave of Bareith. It was couched in very obliging
terms. After having read it, he repeated in an
angry tone all he had said the preceding evening ; to
wit, that he would not be present at my wedding, nor
give me any portion. To this the queen submitted,
and he left her, declaring that he was going to send
the letter off. Such was indeed his intention : but Se-
kendorff and Grumkow, who did not relish the mea-
sure, prevented its execution. The queen was secretly
informed of it that very same evening by field-marshal
Borck. At length madame de Bulow found means
to speak to the queen. She told her that M. de
"Bourguai and M. de Kniphausen had, after mature
deliberation, on seeing the extremity to which matters
were reduced, resolved upon a last attempt in Eng-
land by dispatching thither the English chaplain who
had taught me his language ; that M. de Bourguai
would give him very pressing letters to the British
ministers concerning our situation; and that this
clergyman, from having seen me every day, would



140 MEMOIRS OF THE

be able to give an exact description of my figure and
disposition, and to paint the deplorable situation to
which we were reduced. The queen highly approved
of this arrangement. She wrote to the queen of
England, bitterly complaining of her procrastinations
and reproaching her with the little friendship she ma-
nifested for her. The chaplain set off with his dis-
patches, loaded with presents by the queen. He wept
in taking leave of me ; and told me, saluting me in
the English fashion, that he would deny his nation if
the English did not do their duty on this occasion.

In the meantime the king appeared more calm ; he
behaved tolerably well to the queen, mentioning no-
thing more about the matter. My brother's condi-
tion and my own were however not improved ; I did
not dare to appear before the king. My poor brother,
who could not help being about his person, was every
day exposed to blows either with his fist or his cane.
He was in the utmost despair, and I suffered more
even than himself, to see him thus treated.

About this time the king resolved to go to Dresden,
to have an interview with the king of Poland. His
departure was fixed for the 18th of February. I had
already taken leave of my brother in the queen's room ;
and having retired to my own, I was on the point of
going to bed when I saw a young man enter, magni-
ficently dressed in the French style. I uttered a loud
scream, not knowing who he was, and concealed myself
behind a skreen. Madame de Sonsfeld, equally ter-
rified, went out to enquire who could have had the
boldness to have come in at such an improper hour ?
But, a moment after I beheld her returning with the
gentleman, who laughed immoderately, and whom I
recognised to be my brother. His appearance was so
changed by his French dress that he actually seemed
a different person. He was in the most cheerful hu-
mour. " I once more come, my dear sister," said
he, " to bid you farewell ; as I know the friendship you
have for me, I will not make a mystery to you of my



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 141

designs. I go away, never more to return. I cannot
longer endure the insults, with which I am treated ;
my patience is exhausted. The opportunity is favour-
able to free myself from an odious yoke : 1 shall make
my escape from Dresden, and pass over to England ;
and I doubt not but I shall deliver you from your
thraldom as soon as I have got there, I therefore
beg you will be calm. We shall soon meet in a place
where mirth will succeed to our tears, and where we
shall enjoy the pleasure of seeing each other in peace,
and be free from all persecution."

I remained immoveable ; but recovering from my
first surprise, I remonstrated strongly with him on
the step he was going to take. I endeavoured to make
him sensible of the difficulty and dreadful conse-
quences of such a step ; but seeing him unshaken in
his resolution, I cast myself at his feet, which I be-
dewed with my tears. Madame de Sonsfeld, who
was present, joined her entreaties to mine. We at
length proved to him so clearly by dint of argument
how fantastical his project was, that he gave me his
word of honour he would not execute it.

A few days after the departure of the king, the
queen fell dangerously ill : this sudden attack brought
her to the verge of the grave. Her sufferings were ex-
cessive, and in spite of her fortitude, the violence of
her pains extorted from her loud screams. As her
illness had been gradually increasing, the king had
returned to Potsdam before it was at its height. Ma-
dame de Kamken and Dr Stahl, first physician to the
king, had acquainted him with the queen's situation.
His majesty had even been informed that her life was
in danger, and that she would probably be obliged to
submit to an operation very dangerous for her and
her infant, if the illness did not abate soon. Mrs
Ramen, seconded by SekendorfF, contradicted these
accounts, and sent word to the king that the queen
was not ill, and that it was a mere artifice. I did not
quit the bed of her majesty. The indifference which



142 MEMOIRS OF THE

the king manifested for her increased her sufferings.
They at length grew so violent that an express was
sent to the king to intreat him to come, if he wished
to find the queen alive. He therefore came to Berlin
in spite of Sekendorff's endeavours to prevent it. He
brought Holtzendorff with him, that he might be ac-
curately informed whether there was any truth in the
queen's malady. But as soon as he saw her his suspi-
cions were dissipated, and he gave way to the bitterest
grief. His despair was heightened by his surgeon's
report. He shed abundance of tears, and told all who
were around him, " that he should not survive the
queen if she were snatched from him." The affecting
expressions which she addressed to him completed his
despair. A thousand times, in the presence of her
ladies, he implored her forgiveness for the vexations
he had caused her, and showed that his heart had
been less concerned than the wretches who had always
prejudiced him against the queen. Her majesty
availed herself of this opportunity to beseech the
king to treat my brother and me with more lenity.
" Make your peace," said she, " with these two
children, and let me carry to the grave the consola-
tion of seeing harmony restored in the family." The
king sent for me : I cast myself at his feet, and said
everything I thought best calculated to soften him,
and to interest him in my favour. My sobs stifled
my speech ; and all who were present shed many
tears. At length he lifted me up and embraced me,
apparently much affected at my situatiou. My bro-
ther came afterwards : the king simply told him that
he forgave him the past for his mother's sake; that
he ought to reform and regulate his conduct by his
will ; in which case he might rely upon his paternal
love. The queen was so rejoiced at her success in
restoring harmony in the family that, at the end of
three days, she was pronounced out of danger.
When free from uneasiness concerning the queen, the
king resumed his hatred against my brother and me ;



MARGRAVINE OF BAREIT1I. 143

but fearing for her majesty's health, which was still
very precarious, he treated us kindly in her presence,
and used us ill as soon as we had left her room.

My brother was even again exposed to his cus-
tomary endearments with his fist and cane : we how-
ever concealed our sufferings from the queen. My
brother at length grew more and more impatient, and
repeatedly told me, "that he was determined to
make his escape, and only waited for an opportunity."
His mind was so exasperated that he would not listen
to my exhortations, and vented his passion against
me. One day, when I was using all my efforts to
appease him, he said, " You are always preaching
patience, but you will not put yourself in my place :
I am the most unfortunate being ; surrounded from
morn to night with spies who put malicious construc-
tions upon my words and actions. I am forbidden
the most innocent recreations. I dare not read, I
dare not touch an instrument, and I enjoy those plea-
sures but by stealth and trembling. But what has
driven me to despair, is the adventure which I lately
had at Potsdam, of which J have given no account to
the queen, that I might not alarm her. As I was
entering the room of the king in the morning, he in-
stantly seized me by the hair and threw me on the
ground, and after having tried the vigour of his arms
upon my poor body, he dragged me, in spite of my re-
sistance, to a window, and was going to perform the
office of the mutes of the seraglio ; for, seizing the
cord with which the curtain is fastened, he drew it
round my neck. Fortunately I had had time to get
up from the ground ; I laid hold of his hands, and
screamed as loudly as I could. A valet immediately
came to my assistance and snatched me from his
gripe. Every day I am exposed to the same perils ;
my situation is so desperate, that nothing but despe-
rate remedies will cure it. Katt is in my interest : he
is attached to me, and will follow me to the farthest
corner of the globe, if I chuse. Keith will also join



144 MEMOIRS OF THE

me. These two friends will facilitate my flight ; I am
concerting everything with them for the execution of
my plan. I shall not mention it to the queen : she
would infallibly tell it to Mrs Ramen, and I should
be undone. I shall secretly inform you of what is
going on, and find means to get my letters safely
conveyed into your hands."

This dreadful confidence plunged me into an agony
of grief. The situation of my brother was so de-
plorable that I could not disapprove of his resolution,
and yet I foresaw its terrible consequences. His plan
was so badly contrived, and the individuals acquainted
with it were so giddy, and so little calculated to con-
duct an affair of that importance, that it could not
possibly succeed. I pointed out all this to my bro-
ther ; but he was so obstinately bent upon his pro-
ject, that he would not credit what I told him ; and
all I could obtain of him was, that he would delay its
execution until answers should have been received
to the letters sent to the court of St James's by the
English chaplain.

As the queen, was gradually recovering, the king re-
turned to Potsdam. The expected letters arrived
shortly after his departure. T}ie chaplain had safely
landed in his country, where he had acquitted himself
of his commission, and represented our situation to
the English ministers. The interesting portrait he
had drawn of my brother and me had prepossessed
the whole nation in our favour. He had even ob-
tained an audience of the prince of Wales, who had
expressed the greatest eagerness to marry me, and
had declared to the king his father, that he would
never give his hand to any other princess. The soli-
citations of the prince had been strongly backed by
ministers, and the murmurs of the nation against the
delays of the king had been so loud, that he deter-
mined at length to send sir Hotham his ambas-
sador extraordinary to Berlin : and he was to set out
immediately. This intelligence caused great joy to



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITII. 145

the queen ; it also calmed a little the uneasiness given
me by my brother, to whom I instantly imparted this
good news. I availed myself of this momentary
tranquillity to perform my devotions. On the Sun-
day, in coming from church, I found M. de Katt, who
was waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase in
the palace, and very imprudently handed me a letter
from my brother: ' The apartment of Mrs Ramen
faced the stairs ; the door was open, and she was
sitting so that she could see all that passed. " I
come from Potsdam," said Katt to me : "I passed
three days there incognito, to approach the prince
royal. He has entrusted me with this letter, and
charged me to deliver it into the hands of your royal
highness: it is of great consequence, and he intreats
you, madam, not to show it to the queen." I took
the letter without returning any answer and flew up
stairs like lightning, angry at the rash step that had
been taken. After having vented to my governess
my resentment against Katt for the embarrassment
into which he had thrown me, I opened the letter and
read as follows :

1 1 am still in the utmost despair; the tyranny of
the king increases ; my patience is exhausted. You
vainly flatter yourself that the arrival of sir Hotham
will put an end to our sufferings. The queen frus-
trates our plans by her blind confidence in Mrs
Ramen. The king is already informed, through this
woman, of the news which has arrived, and the mea-
sures that are taken, at which he is more and more
exasperated. I wish the old slut was hanged upon
the highest gibbet ; she is the cause of all our mis-
fortunes. The queen ought no longer to be made
acquainted with any intelligence : her weakness for
that infamous creature is unpardonable. The king
will go to Berlin on Tuesday ; it is still a secret. Adieu,
my dear sister ; I am wholly yours."

I had no doubt but Mrs Ramen had already in-
formed the queen that I had received a letter. I durst
VOL. i. o



146 MEMOIRS OF THE

not shew it, and knew not what pretence to invent to
avoid it. At length I agreed with my nurse, that she
should not send me the letter, though I should dis-
patch thirty messengers to her with the order to find
it ; that, after having pretended to have been anxi-
ously looking for it, she was to say that I must have
inadvertently burnt it with some other papers which
I had thrown into the fire. . To save her an untruth,
I actually committed the fatal epistle to the flames.
The queen, fortunately, mentioned nothing about the
letter ; which relieved me from my anxiety. The
sequel will show how much uneasiness I suffered from
Katt's imprudence.

Sir Hotham arrived at Berlin on the 2d of May.
The queen was yet so weak that she could not leave
her bed. Sir Hotham would not acquaint her with
the object of his embassy, though she sent him word
that she wished very much to know it. He demanded
an audience of the king, who received him at Char-
lottenburgh. The queen, anxious to know what he
had to propose, sent some of her domestics in dis-
guise to endeavour to discover what turn her affairs
were taking. Sir Hotham, after having assured
his Prussian majesty of the friendship which the king
of England still entertained for him, told him that he
was ordered to demand me in marriage for the prince
of Wales ; and that, to cement the union of the two
houses, he had no doubt but his Prussian majesty
would also consent to the marriage of my brother
with the princess Amelia; that his sovereign, how-
ever, would not object to my marriage being first
celebrated ; and that it should rest with the king of
Prussia to fix what time he thought proper for the
nuptials of my brother.

The king, highly pleased with the proposal, re-
plied to it in the most obliging manner. During the
dinner, which was served up at the close of the au-
dience, satisfaction shone radiant on his countenance;
the repast was uncommonly cheerful, and Bacchus, as



MARGRAVINE OF JBARE1TH. 147

usual, presided at the feast. In the height of his
good-humour, the king took a large goblet, and
pledged sir Hotliam, to the health of his son-in-
law the prince of Wales and mine. These few words
had a different effect upon the guests. Grumkow and
Sekendorff were thunderstruck ; while the friends of
the queen and the other foreign ministers were
triumphing. All, however, behaved alike ; they
arose from table to congratulate the king, who was
so delighted that he shed tears of joy. After dinner,
Sir Hotham went up to the king, and intreated
him not to divulge the proposals of marriage he had
made to his majesty before he had had a second
audience. The king felt somewhat surprised at the
secrecy which was recommended ; signs of disappro-
bation clouded his brow. Sekendorff and Grumkow,
tired of the scene which they had witnessed, returned
to Berlin, much abashed at seeing their projects
ruined. The queen, in the mean time, learned a]l
this through her domestics.

I was quietly in my room, busy with my needle, and
listening to my lecturer, who was reading to me.
The ladies of the queen's household, followed by a
swarm of domestics, broke in upon me, and bending
one knee, eagerly exclaimed ; " that they came to
pay their compliments to the princess of Wales.'* I
really thought they were mad ; they stunned me
with their noise; their joy was so turbulent, that
they did not know what they were about. They all
spoke at once, they wept, they laughed, jumped about,
and embraced me. At length, after the farce had
continued for some time, they told me what I have
just related. I was so little moved at the intelligence,
that T said, continuing my work, "Is that all?"
They left me surprised at my indifference. Shortly
after, my sisters and several ladies came to congratu-
late inc. I was much beloved, and was more pleased
with the proofs of attachment given me on this occa-
sion, than with the cause of these felicitations. In



148 MEMOIRS OF THE

the evening I went to the queen. Her- satisfaction
may easily be conceived : she called me her dear
princess of Wales, and addressed madame de Sonsfeld
by the appellation of my lady. The latter took the
liberty to suggest, that the queen would do better to
dissemble ; that as the king had not sent her any in-
formation concerning the business, he might be of-
fended at her making so much noise about it ; and
that the least trifle might yet ruin her hopes. Coun-
tess Finck having joined in these representations, the
queen reluctantly promised to moderate her joy.

The king arrived two days after. He mentioned
nothing of what had passed, which gave us an un-
favourable opinion of sir Hotham's negociation.
He told the queen the engagements he had entered
into with the duke of Brunswick Bevern, who had
demanded the second of my sisters in marriage for his
eldest son ; and that he expected those two princes
the next day. Sekendorff had contrived this match ;
he carried his views much farther ; this alliance was
merely an outline of the great plan he had formed.
The duke, brother-in-law to the empress, was at that
time but an apanaged prince, the duke of Blanken-
burgh being presumptive heir to the duchy of Bruns-
wick. I shall not attempt his portrait: it will be
sufficient to state, that this prince had the love and
esteem of the virtuous ; his son treads in his steps.
As the queen was near her time, the betrothing of my
sister took place without any 'ceremony. Sekendorff
was the only foreign minister invited.

In the mean time, sir Hotham had almost every
day secret conferences with the king. The conclu-
sion of the double marriage depended only on one
condition which the king of England required of the
Prussian monarch, namely, that he should sacrifice
Grumkow. The English ambassador represented,
that this minister being entirely devoted to the court
of Vienna, was the sole author of the continual ani-
mosity between the two families ; and that, in con-