iDrother be very great, I certainly shall not write to
him by that conveyance." He wished to urge me,
but I turned my back upon him, terrified at what he
had told me, and foreseeing that the step was taken
from motives which I had long dreaded, A few days
after, madame de Bulow and some other well-meaning
persons came to inform me, that Katt had divulged
my brother's projects all over the town ; that he had
even mentioned them before suspicious characters.
Proud of the prince's favour, he loudly boasted of it,
and dashed about with a box that contained the por-
traits of the prince royal and myself. This impru-
dence had rendered the mischief worse. I thought it
necessary to inform the queen of it, that by her autho-
rity I might get the box out of his hands, and oblige
him to be silent. She was very angry at his imperti-
nence, and ordered madame de Sonsfeld to deliver
him a rather unpleasing message, and to demand my
portrait. Madame de Sonsfeld acquitted herself of
her commission that very evening. Katt apologized
as well as he could : but nothing that my governess
urged could induce him to return my portrait ; he
said my brother had permitted him to copy it from
an original in miniature with which the princess had
presented the prince royal, and which the latter had
162 MEMOIRS OF THE
entrusted to him till his return. He promised to be
more discreet in future, and requested her to tell the
queen that he besought her to be easy ; that as long
as he should enjoy the prince's favour, he would
endeavour to avert any fatal resolution the prince
might take ; that he sometimes entered into his
views, to bring him more easily back ; and that thus
far there was nothing to be apprehended.
The queen was fond of flattery herself. This answer
dispelled her uneasiness for my brother. But the
denial of my portrait exasperated us both so much
against Katt, that we spoke to him no more.
One morning when I awoke, I was much surprised
to see Mrs Ramen enter my room ; her apparition
seemed to me the sequel of an evil dream. She told
me she only came to open her heart to me. Madame
de Sonsfeld would have withdrawn : but she requested
her to stay, saying that the business concerned her
also. "You are sorry," continued she, " that the
queen uses you ill ; rather thank heaven for it : were
you her favourite, the king would soon dismiss you.
As for me, I have nothing to dread on that head ; I
have taken my precautions beforehand : although my
favour should diminish, the king would not forsake
me, and would know how to support me. I know
you are acquainted with all my intrigues ; I do not
deny them. It rests with you to warn the queen of
them. If you wish to incur the resentment of the
king, by whose orders I act, he shall be instantly
informed of the obstacles you thus oppose to his de-
signs, and will have recourse to extremes against you.
Besides, you know the narrow capacity of the queen ;
I shall immediately perceive that you have excited her
against me, and find means to persuade her that all
you told her were calumnies, and 1 shall thus retort
on your head the harm which you intended to do
me." She had been, addressing us both : but now
turning to me, she added, " You are going, madam,
to be plunged into a very great misfortune ; make up
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 163
your mind beforehand. You will not be able to extri-
cate yourself from your trouble but by marrying the
duke of Weissenfeld. Is marriage then so solemn a
thing ? It is only here that so much noise is made
about it; believe me, a husband under the rule of his
wife is a great convenience. As for the rest, be not
uneasy concerning what the queen will say; I know
her well, and I can assure" you, that if the king
caresses her, and distinguishes her a little in public,
she will soon be consoled, and not care for the matter."
I was enraged against this woman ; had I followed my
first impulse, I should have thrown her out of the
window, to shorten her road. But I was obliged to
dissemble my indignation. I answered that I was
perfectly resigned to the decrees of providence ; that,
for the rest, I should never do any one thing without
consulting the queen, and having her approbation. I
thus terminated this plaguy visit, which filled me with
horror at the conduct of that infamous woman. We
could not help bewailing the fate of the queen for
having fallen into such hands.
But I return to Grumkow. His countenance was
very much changed since sir Hotham's depar-
ture ; an air of satisfaction reigned in his physiog-
nomy. He assiduously paid his respects to the
queen, who treated him with politeness. One even-
ing (it was on the 1 1th of August, a day remark-
able on more than one account) as my mind had
been extremely agitated, and an unusual melancholy
had fastened upon it all the day, I did not sit long at
cards, and took a walk with madame de Bulow.
After having taken a few turns, I sat down with her
on a seat at the end of the garden. Grumkow joined
us. We were to perform our devotions on the fol-
lowing Sunday. Grumkow was one of those who
reject religion from the desire of satisfying their pas-
sions, and without previous inquiry. As he was not
firmly grounded in his principles, he sometimes had
violent upbraidings of conscience, and felt remorses
164 MEMOIRS OF THE
which rendered him melancholy, and which he
drowned in wine and good cheer. M. Jablonski,
one of the chaplains of his majesty, had passed the
day with him, and had probahly given him a lively
description of hell. Grumkow entered upon a long
moral discourse, which in his mouth appeared to me
like the gospel in that of the fiend. Passing after-
wards to other matters', he said he was extremely
sorry for the bad treatment I had experienced, and
that which my brother had endured from the king.
" The prince royal," continued he, " ought to con-
form more than he does to the wishes of his father,
who is the greatest monarch that ever reigned, and
who combines the political with the moral virtues."
I was afraid this conversation would lead him farther;
which I wished to avoid : I therefore rose, and
walked very fast, taking the road to the house. I
only answered respecting the king, and endeavoured
to outdo him in the praises which he had lavished
upon his majesty; but he returned to his subject:
" Your ascendancy over the mind of the prince royal
is very great," continued he ; " you are the only per-
son, madame, who can recall him to his duty ; he is
a charming prince, but he is badly advised." <l If
my brother," answered I, " will follow my advice, he
always will regulate his conduct according to the inten-
tions of his majesty, provided he be acquainted with
them." lie wished to reply ; but several ladies came
up to me, and relieved me from my embarrassment.
On the same evening, the queen being before her
toilet-table undressing, and madame de Bulow sit-
ting near her, they heard a terrible rumbling noise in
the adjoining cabinet. This superb cabinet was deco-
rated with rock crystal and other precious stones of
high value, independent of gold and other articles of
superior workmanship. Vases of ancient Japan and
China porcelain had been placed between the com-
partments ; they were of an enormous size. The
queen at first supposed that the fall of some had oc-
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 165
casioned the noise. Madame de Bulow looked into
the cabinet, but, to her surprise, she found everything
in order. Scarcely had she shut the door, and left it,
when the noise recommenced. She three times re-
newed her search, attended by one of the queen's
women ; and they always found everything in the
most perfect order. The rumbling ceased, at length,
in the cabinet ; but another more dreadful noise was
heard in a passage which separated the apartments of
the king from those of the queen, and by which they
communicated. No one ever entered there but the
domestics about their majesties' persons, and sentries
guarded its entrance at the two ends. The queen,
anxious to know whence the noise proceeded, ordered
her women to follow her with lights. Fear revealed
the false attachment of Mrs Ramen ; she would not
go with the queen, and ran away to hide herself in
the adjoining room. Two other waiting- women and
madame de Bulow accompanied her majesty. Scarcely
had they opened the door, when their ears were
struck with dreadful groans followed by horrible
screams, which made them shake with fear. The
queen alone remained firm. Having entered the pas-
sage, she encouraged her followers to search what it
could be. They found all the doors bolted. After
having removed the bolts, they searched the place
without discovering anything. The two soldiers were
half dead with fright : they had heard the same groans
close to them, but had seen nothing. The queen
asked whether any one had entered the king's apart-
ments? They answered in the negative. She re-
turned to her room rather depressed, and related the
adventure to me the next morning. Though she was
far from being superstitious, she yet ordered me to
mark the date, to see what that rumbling noise might
have prognosticated. I am well convinced that there
was nothing supernatural in the case. Yet chance
would have it so that my brother was arrested that
very evening, and on the return of the king he had
166 MEMOIRS OF THE
the most afflicting scene with the queen in that pas-
sage.
As there was no drawing-room that day, we had
a concert at Mon-Bijou, at which the amateurs of
music were permitted to assist ; and Katt never failed
to be present. After having accompanied for a while
on the pianoforte, I passed into the adjoining card-
room. Katt followed me, requesting me for heaven's
sake to hear him for a moment in behalf of my
brother. At a name so dear I stopped. " I am
excessively grieved," said he, " at having incurred
the disgrace of her majesty, and that of your royal
highness. You have been deluded by false reports.
I am accused of confirming the prince royal in his
intention to escape. I protest, madam, by every-
thing most sacred, that I have written to him and
absolutely declined following him, if he attempted to
fly ; and I answer for it with my head he never will
make the attempt without me." ** I think your head
is not very safe on your shoulders already," answered
I ; *' and if you do not reform very soon, I may per-
haps see it at your feet. I must confess that the
queen and myself are both very much displeased with
you ; I never could have supposed you would have
been guilty of the imprudence to divulge my brother's
intentions, and to confide his secrets to every one.
You should make a better return for his kindness,
and reflect on the irregularity of your behaviour ; par-
ticularly, sir, it does not become you to have my
portrait, and to make a boast of it. The queen
ordered you to return it ; you ought to have obeyed
her commands ; it would have been a reparation of
your fault, and nothing but that can insure you her
forgiveness and mine." " As to the first article,"
replied he, " I can take my oath, madam, that I
never spoke to any one but to M. de Leuvener con-
cerning the prince royal. He is not a man of suspi-
cious character, and I do not suppose that the queen
will blame me for it. As to the second, having myself
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 167
taken a copy of the portrait of your royal highness, and
of that of the prince royal, I thought it no harm to
shew them to some of my friends, particularly as I
only shewed them as pieces of my own workman-
ship : hut I confess, madam, that I had rather sub-
mit to death than give them up. As for the rest,"
continued he, " I have many enemies who envy the
favour with which I am distinguished by the prince,
and, rinding nothing reprehensible in me, have re-
course to calumnies : but I repeat it, madam, as long
as I am with that beloved prince, I shall prevent his
executing his designs, though, after all, I cannot see
that he would run any great risk. What harm could
befall him if he were taken in his flight ? He is heir
to the crown, and no one would be bold enough to
meddle with him."- " Indeed," said I, " you are
playing a dangerous game, and I am very much afraid
I shall prove too true a prophet." " If I lose my
head," answered he, " it will be in a good cause :
but the prince will not forsake me." I gave him no
time to say more, and left him. It was the last time
I saw him ; I was far from thinking that my sad pre-
dictions would be so soon fulfilled, having only
intended to intimidate him.
On the 15th of August, the king's birth-day, when
the queen received the compliments of the court, the
drawing-room was extremely crowded. I had again
a long conversation with Grumkow ; he had dismissed
morals and resumed the playful style. As his wit is
very lively he entertained me very much, He again
expatiated largely on the praises of the king ; and
seeing that I was attempting to disengage myself from
him, he told me, with an earnestness at which I was
surprised, " You will shortly see, madam, how much
I am attached to you, and_ how much I am devoted
to your service." I returned a kind answer to this
protestation, and was leaving him, when madame de
Bulow came up, and began to ply him with her wit ;
it was her habit ; she never could see him without
168 MEMOIRS OF THE
making him the butt of her sarcasms. I had warned
her more than once not to carry the joke too far, and
to behave civilly to Grumkow ; observing that she
ought to follow the example of the Indians, who
adore the devil that he may not harm them ; but she
did not attend to my warning. The contestation she
had with him that night was very hot; her antagonist
ended it by saying to her, as he had said to me, " In
a short time I shall convince you how much I am your
friend." I thought there was a meaning hid under an
expression so studiously repeated, and felt uneasy
at it.
On the next day, the 16th of August, the queen
afforded me a very agreeable surprise. She gave a
ball at Mon-Bijou, in honour of the king's birth-day.
The dining-room was decorated with coloured lamps
and devices, and the table represented a flower-gar-
den ; every one found a present under his plate. We
v/ere all extremely cheerful, only madame de Kamken,
madame de Sonsfeld, countess Finck, and madame de
Bulow, appeared distressed. They spoke not a word,
and complained of being indisposed. Dancing was
resumed after supper. I had not danced for the last
six years; it was something new, I enjoyed it to my
heart's content without paying much attention to
what was passing. Madame de Bulow said several
times, " It is late, I wish you would withdraw."
"For goodness' sake," answered I, "let me dance
as much as I like this day ; perhaps I may not dance
again for a long time." " That may be the case, in-
deed I" replied she. I made no reflection upon it, and
continued to divert myself. She renewed her attack
half an hour after. " Do give over," said she, in an
angry tone ; " you are so well employed that you can-
not see." * f And you are so cross to-day," replied I,
" that I do not know what to make of you." " Do
but look at the queen, and you will no longer find
fault with me, madam." Indeed the sight of the
queen, on whom I now cast my eyes, chilled me with
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITII. 169
horror. She was as pale as death, conversing in a
corner of the room with the first lady of her house-
hold, and madame de Sonsfeld. As I felt more inte-
rested in my brother's fate than in anything else, I
immediately enquired whether it concerned him?
Madame de Bulow shrugged her shoulders, saying,
" I don't know." The queen retired a moment after,
and took me in her carriage ; she did not open her
lips all the way to the palace. The uneasiness her si-
lence gave me, caused me terrible palpitations of
heart. As soon as I was in my room I tormented my
governess to know what was the matter. She an-
swered, with tears in her eyes, " that the queen had
enjoined her to be silent." I now thought that my
brother was dead ; which plunged me into such
violent grief, that madame de Sonsfeld thought it ne-
cessary to undeceive me. She told me that madame
de Kamken had that morning received an express
from the king, with letters for her and the queen, in
which his majesty ordered her gradually to prepare
the queen for the intelligence, that he had placed the
prince royal under arrest for having attempted to
leave the country. My brother's misfortune threw
me into an agony of grief; I passed the night in the
most frightful agitation, The queen sent for me early
in the morning to show me the king's letter, which
evidently betrayed his rage. It ran thus :
" I have ordered the rascally Frederic to be arrested.
I shall deal with him as his crime and his meanness
require. I no longer acknowledge him for my son.
He has dishonoured me and my house. Such a
wretch does not deserve to live."
I fainted at the perusal of this letter. The situation
of the queen and mine would have moved a heart of
stone. As soon as the queen recovered a little, she
related to me that Katt had been arrested. I shall
here insert the particulars of his arrest, such as we
learned them afterwards.
M. de Grumkow having been acquainted with my
Q
170 MEMOIRS OF THE
brother's misfortune on the 15th, had not been able
to conceal his joy, and had mentioned the matter to
several of his friends. M. de Leuvener, who had spies
about Grumkow's person, was informed of it. He
immediately wrote to Katt, and advised him to
set out instantly, or else he would infallibly be ar-
rested. Katt availed himself of his advice and wrote
to field-marshal Natzmer, who commanded his regi-
ment, for leave of absence to go to Friderichsfelde, to
pay his respects to the margrave Albert, which was
granted. He had got a saddle made in which he
could conceal money and writings. Unfortunately
for him the saddle was not quite ready and he was
obliged to wait. He made however a good use of his
time, for he burnt all his papers. His horse being at
length saddled, he was going to mount it when the
field-marshal, attended by a strong guard, came to
ask him for his sword, and arrested himjn the king's
name. Katt delivered his sword without changing
countenance, and was immediately conducted to pri-
son, His effects were sealed in the presence of the
field-marshal, who appeared more depressed than the
prisoner. He had delayed more than three hours ex-
ecuting the orders of the king, to give Katt time to
escape, and was extremely sorry to meet him yet at
home.
I return to the queen. She inquired whether my
brother had ever mentioned his design to me ? I told
her what I knew on the subject, and stated as an apo-
logy for not having communicated it to her, that I
had been afraid it might commit her majesty in case
my brother should actually make the attempt. I con-
fessed besides that the assurances which Katt had
given me had thrown me into a perfect security, and
taken away the most distant expectation of what I had
just learned. " But," said the queen, " do you know
what is become of our letters ?" " I have frequently
mentioned them to my brother, and he assured me
that he had committed them to the flames." " I.
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 171
know your brother too well," replied she, " and I
durst lay anything that they are among Katt's effects.
If that be the case, we are undone." The queen was
right in her conjecture; we heard the next day that
there were several chests belonging to my brother at
Katt's, arid that seals had been put upon them. This
intelligence made us shudder. After having reflected
some time the queen had recourse once more to field-
marshal Natzmer, who had rendered her service in a
similar case, as I have related above. She imme-
diately sent for one of her chaplains of the name of
Reinbeck, to commission him to induce the marshal
to let her majesty have the chest which contained the
letters. Reinbeck being ill, begged to be excused,
which encreased the queen's uneasiness. Chance
however served her better. Countess Firick came to
see me the next morning. I was surprised at the alte-
ration of her face. After I had dismissed every one
except madame de Sonsfeld, she told me that she was
the most unfortunate person in the universe, and that
she was come to trust me with her sorrows. "Judge,
madam," said she,' " of my embarrassment. Last
night on my return home I found a sealed chest ad-
dressed to the queen, which had been left with my
servants, together with this note." She gave it me ;
it contained only these words :
" Have the goodness, madam, to give this chest
to the queen ; it contains the letters which her ma-
jesty and the princess have written to the prince-
royal."
" I cannot conceive," added she, " who can have
played me this trick ; for those who brought it were
masked. In the mean time I know not what to re-
solve. I am sensible that by sending this fatal deposit
to the king, I ruin the queen ; and if I give it to her
majesty, I shall be the victim of it. Either of these
measures is so fatal, that I know not which to adopt."
We spoke to her with so much energy, and urged her
so earnestly, that we persuaded her to mention the
172 MEMOIRS OF THE
circumstance to the queen ; proving to her that she
could not run any risk hy doing so, since the chest
was addressed to the queen.
We repaired all three to her majesty's room. The
satisfaction which the queen felt at this good news,
caused some alleviation of her grief ; hut it was not
of long duration. Our reflections dispelled it. We
observed how difficult it would be to bring the chest
secretly to the palace, as there were spies everywhere ;
that, though this could be accomplished, it was to be
feared that Katt would allude to it at his examination ;
what then would be the lot of the countess Finck ?
She would find herself innocently implicated in this
shocking affair, without the possibility of extricating
herself. If she should act openly and send the chest
publicly to the queen, the king would immediately be
informed of it and force her majesty to become the
instrument of her own misfortune, by giving the let-
ters up. The case was critical ; there were precipices
on all sides. At length, after having maturely weighed
the arguments on both sides of the question, the last
resource was determined upon as the least perilous,
and leaving us besides the hope of hitting upon some
expedient to get at the papers. The writing-desk, for
such it was, was carried to the apartment of the
queen ; who immediately locked it up in the presence
of her domestics and of Mrs Ramen. Our conferences
were resumed in the afternoon. The queen intended
to burn the letters, and simply to say to the king,
that as they were of no importance she had thought
it no harm to commit them to the flames. We all re-
jected this advice ; one proposed one thing, the other
another, and the whole day passed in this manner
without coming to a conclusion.
When I had retired to my room, I told madame de
Sonsfeld that I had hit upon an infallible expedient,
but which would be attended with great danger if the
queen entrusted it to Mrs Ramen. I gave her to un-
derstand, that if the seals could be removed without
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 173
breaking, it would be easy to open the padlock of the
desk; the letters might then be taken out without
difficulty and others might be written and put in their
place. My governess approved my plan ; we agreed
with countess Finck to propose it to the queen, and
to bind her by her word of honour not to mention
anything about the business.
This plan was executed the next day, as agreed
upon. We all spoke so intelligibly without naming
any one, that the queen remarked extremely well that
we were alluding to Mrs Ramen. But her foible for
this woman was such, that she made as though she
had not understood us ; she promised however eter<-
nal secrecy, and was for this time as good as her
word. In the afternoon we executed our scheme.
The queen dismissed her ladies and domestics, I re-
mained alone with her. We met at first with a ter-
rible obstacle ; the writing-desk was so heavy, that
neither the queen nor I could move it; which cir-
cumstance obliged her to confide in a valet, an old
and faithful domestie of inviolable integrity and dis-
cretion. T tried for a long time to lift up the seal,
and trembled as I found it impossible. The valet,
whose name was Bock, having examined the arms,
which were those of Katt, said with great exultation ;