arms. Tears trickled down his cheeks ; mine flowed
abundantly; our silence was more expressive than
anything we could have said. The queen, when I
bent my knee to her, treated me very coolly. After
having received the compliments of all the princely
personages who were present, the king ordered the
prince to lead me to the ball-room, and to begin the
dance. My marriage had been kept so secret that
every one was surprised at the intelligence. The con-
sternation and grief were general, when it was an-
nounced. I had many friends, and was generally
beloved. The king wept all the evening ; he embraced
madame de Sonsfeld, and said many obliging things
to her. Grumkow and Sekendorff were the only two
contented individuals ; they had been playing a new
trick. Lord Chesterfield, the English ambassador at
the Hague, had sent a messenger from his court, who
had arrived in the morning. The English charge^



236 MEMOIRS OF THE

d'affaires, to whom he was addressed, was obliged to
send his despatches to the minister. Grumkow en-
gaged to lay them before the king ; but he did not
deliver them till after 1 had been betrothed. They
contained a formal assent to my marriage with the
prince of Wales, without requiring that of my brother.
The king, who after all, was marrying me but reluc-
tantly, was extremely distressed by the perusal of
these letters. He however dissembled his vexation
before Grumkow and Sekendorff, considering that
matters were too far advanced to recede ; this last
proposal having come too late, and it being impossible
to recall his engagements without giving offence to a
sovereign prince of the empire, which might have been
prejudicial to my other sisters. Besides, the king
always piqued himself on a faithful adherence to his
engagements, where his word stood pledged for the
performance.

The queen was acquainted with the circumstance
the next day. Though she was told of the king's re-
fusal, she yet began to flatter herself anew that my
intended marriage might be broken off; and she or-
dered me, on pain of her displeasure, neither to speak
or behave politely to the prince. I punctually obeyed,
in the hope of appeasing her by my compliance. But
to confess the real sentiments of my heart, I wished
to be married; the ill-treatment of the queen and the
hatred which she manifested towards me at every op-
portunity reduced me to despair. Excepting madame
de Kamken, I was buffeted about by all the ladies of
her court, who tried my patience by the contempt and
insolence which they made me undergo. ISuch is the
course of the world ; the favour of the great decides
all ; people are sought for and adored as long as they
are in favour ; which, when they are deprived of, they
are exposed to insult and contempt. As long as I had
the hope of a splendid fortune, I was the idol of all ;
they courted me with the view of sharing one day in
my splendour ; but the instant these hopes vanished,



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 237

they turned their backs upon me. I was silly indeed
to grieve at the loss of such friends. The magnifi-
cence of the court of Bareith was continually praised ;
I was assured that it far surpassed in splendour the
court of Berlin, and that it was the centre of plea-
sures; but those who were amused with such dis-
courses, had been there in the time of the late mar-
grave, and were unacquainted with the changes that
had since taken place. These brilliant accounts gave
me an extreme longing to be there. 1 felt no anti-
pathy towards the prince; but I was perfectly indif-
ferent about him. I knew him only by sight, and my
heart had not so much levity as to be attached to him
before I knew him well. But it is time to make a
short digression concerning the prince, and to make
the reader acquainted with the court of Bareith.

Margrave Henry, the grandfather of my consort,
was an apanaged prince of the house of Bareith. He
had married very young, and had had many children.
A very small annual income was insufficient to main-
tain so numerous a family. He was in the greatest
distress, not having wherewith to support himself,
and being reduced, through want of money, to lead
the life of a private citizen. He was heir to the mar-
graviate of Bareith, in case the then reigning mar-
grave, George William, should die without any male
issue. But his hopes in that quarter appeared rather
unfounded ; George William being young, and having
a son. The king Frederic I. my grandfather, knowing
the distressed circumstances of Henry, failed not to
turn them to his own advantage. He induced him
to cede to him his claims to the margraviate, offering
him in lieu of the same a considerable pension, and a
regiment for the second of his sons. After long pre-
liminaries the treaty was concluded, and the two
eldest sons of the unfortunate Henry were sent to
study at the university of Utrecht. On their return
thence, they found their father on the point of death,
and their family disconsolate, because the conditions



238 MEMOIRS OF THE

of the stipulation had been left unperformed, and
two-thirds of the pension deducted. Henry being
dead, the margrave George-Frederic-Charles, after
having long solicited the Prussian ministers in vain,
resolved to reside at Veverling, a small town in the
dominions of his Prussian majesty. It was in this
place that the princess of Holstein, his spouse, pre-
sented him with the prince, who was to be my hus-
band; and with several other children, of whom I
shall speak hereafter. King Frederic I. also died
shortly after. The accession of my father to the
crown made no alteration in the lot of those princes.
Being reduced to despair, they examined the act of
renunciation, and it was pronounced invalid by all
the lawyers whom they consulted on the siibject.
They therefore secretly removed from Veverling, and
applied to all the courts of Germany to win them over
to their favour. Supported by the emperor, the holy
Roman empire, and the justice of their cause, they
succeeded in getting the treaty cancelled and being
restored to all their rights. The margrave George-
William, and his son, having both died, the margra-
viate devolved to prince George -Frederic -Charles.
He found everything in the greatest confusion ; many
debts, little money, and a corrupt administration.
This induced him to send his eldest son to Geneva
with a tutor, as a simple commoner; a man of great
probity, it is true, but not capable of imparting such
an education as suited an hereditary prince. His
allowance was so scanty that it scarcely sufficed for
his maintenance. When he had finished his studies,
his father sent him on his travels with M. de Voit as
his governor. The prince was returning from his
tour when he arrived at Berlin. I do not intend to
flatter any one ; I strictly adhere to truth. The por-
trait which J am going to give of the prince, shall be
sincere and unprejudiced.

I have already observed, that he has a great share
of vivacity : his disposition is prone to anger ; but he



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 239

knows so well how to overcome it, that it is not per-
ceived, and that no one ever fell a victim to it. He
is extremely cheerful ; his conversation is agreeable,
though he has some difficulty of utterance, as he speaks
rather thick. His mind is comprehensive and pene-
trating. The goodness of his heart insures him the
attachment of all who know him. He is generous,
charitable, merciful, polite, prepossessing, of an even
temper ; in short, he possesses all virtues, unallayed
with any vice. The only failing I have noticed, is too
much levity. I must mention it, else I should be
accused of prejudice : his levity is however much less
than formerly. In a word, all his subjects, by whom
he is adored, are ready to confirm all I have written
on this subject. But I return to my own concerns.

I have already observed, that my sister Charlotte
was betrothed to prince Charles of Bevern. She was
my favourite; I had been blinded by her caressing
manners, her liveliness, and her wit. I did not know
her inward disposition, else I should have better
placed my affection. She is one of those who only
care for themselves ; deficient in solidity, satirical to
an excess, false, jealous, a little inclined to coquetry,
and very selfish, but of an even temper, very mild,
and very obliging. I had done my best to obtain for
her the favour of the queen. As she had accom-
panied her majesty on her excursions to Wusterhausen
and Potsdam, she had very much insinuated herself
into her good graces. Madame de Montbail, daugh-
ter to madame de Roukoule, was her governess. This
woman had taken a dislike to me, because a greater
establishment was destined for me than for my sister,
and because I was treated with more distinction.
She was continually kindling strife betwixt my sister
and me; but she now was much pleased with my
marriage, hoping that my sister might fill my place in
England. My sister being afraid that my presence
might impair her favour, rendered me every kind of
ill service with the queen. But she was much taken



240 MEMOIRS OF THE

with the prince of Bareith. He was handsomer,
better made, and more lively, than the prince of
Bevern. He paid her great attention ; while the
other was rather timid and of a phlegmatic disposi-
tion, which (fcd not suit her. She did all she could
to get him into favour with the queen j but her
efforts proved useless.

To divert the strangers, and particularly the duchess
of Bevern, the king invited us all to a great chace in
the park of Charlottenburgh. The prince of Anhalt
was also invited, with his two sons Leopold and
Maurice. He was much nettled at the preference
which the king had given the prince of Bareith to
the margrave of Schwedt, as he had always hoped I
should be married to the latter. The hereditary
prince of Bareith was very dextrous, and so good a
shot, that he never missed his aim. This chace had
well nigh been fatal to him. A heedless fellow of a
huntsman who loaded his arms, had the imprudence
to present him a gun which was cocked ; it went off
the moment the prince took it, and the ball grazed
the right temple of the king. The prince of Anhalt
made much noise about the accident. His son Leo-
pold did not fail to aggravate it ; he said loud enough
for the hereditary prince to hear him, that such a
blunder deserved the instant death of him in whose
hands the gun had gone off. The prince of Bareith
answered sharply ; and the matter would have led to
serious consequences, had not the duke of Bevern
and Sekendorff interfered to effect a reconciliation.
The king blamed the conduct of prince Leopold, but
took no notice of the accident.

After the chace, we all went to Charlottenburgh,
where we were to pass some days. The queen con-
tinued to talk sarcastically to the prince of Bareith.
Her intention was to mortify me, and to sneer at the
choice of the king. She once told him, that I was
fond of being employed ; that I had been brought up
as a princess who aspired to a crown j and that I was



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 241

mistress of every science. (She said a great deal too
much in my favour.) " Da you" continued she,
" know history, geography, Italian, English, painting,
music, &c. ? ' The prince replied, yes and no, ac-
cording to circumstances. But seeing that her ques-
tions had no end, and that she examined him like a
child, he at length began to laugh, and said : " I also
know my catechism and the belief." The queen was
a little disconcerted by this reply, and never teased
him again with her questions.

The king and all the foreign princes, except the
prince of Bareith, left us soon after our return to
Berlin. Vexation, anger, and the cruel constraint of
the queen, at length disordered her health. She was
attacked by a certain fever, which continued three
weeks. I did not quit her during the whole time,
and endeavoured to regain her friendship by my
attentions to wait upon and to amuse her. But I no
longer found in her that tender mother who shared
my pains, and whose comfort I had been. Whenever
she saw me uneasy about her condition : she used to
say : " it ill becomes you to be alarmed at the state
of my health, when it is you that kill me." Was I
melancholy, she very harshly reproached me with
my uneven temper ; and when I affected to be chear-
ful, it was my approaching marriage that made me so.
I durst not wear any but dirty gowns, lest she might
fancy I studied to please the prince ; in short, I was
the most miserable being on earth, and my head was
almost distracted. I dined and supped in the queen's
anti-room with the prince and the ladies of the house-
hold. The queen sent fifty spies after me, to see
whether I spoke to the prince : but I never trans-
gressed in that respect, for I did not say a word to
him, and always turned my back to him at table.
He has since told me, that he frequently was driven
to despair, and on the point of setting off, had not
M. de Voit prevented him. The poor prince was in
as bad a situation as myself. Every one studied to

Y



242 MEMOIRS OF THE

give a malicious turn to his actions and words. He
was not treated with any consideration, but like an
insignificant being ; which discouraged him so that he
grew absent and melancholy.

When the queen had recovered, the king came
back to Berlin, where he staid only a few days, as he
was going to Prussia. He informed the queen, that
he intended to celebrate my nuptials on his return,
which was to be in six weeks ; that he should furnish
her with the sums necessary to equip me ; and that
she was to amuse the prince, during his absence, by
giving balls and entertainments. The queen, who
only studied to gain time, started many difficulties ;
representing the impossibility of having my clothes
made in so short a time, because the stocks of the
tradesmen were not large enough to furnish what
would be requisite. Her arguments prevailed to my
sorrow ; for the king was uncommonly well-disposed
in my favour, and would have dealt generously with
me : but his liberality vanished into smoke, like a
vapour, when my marriage was put off.

After the departure of the king the queen altered
her behavionr. She affected much friendship for the
prince, and pretended to be glad to have him for her
son-in-law: but she put herself under no restraint
with me ; and madame de Sonsfeld and myself con-
tinued to bear the brunt of her ill-humour. I was
pining away ; incessant vexations impaired my health ;
and at last I moved the pity even of those who were
least susceptible of it. I might have said, like Alzire,

Have my sorrows softened hearts that were born to hate ?

Mrs Ramen, who frequently witnessed my despair,
and to whom in the violence of my grief I had often
said that the queen was driving me to extremities,
and that I should cast myself at the feet of the king
to beseech him to release me from my matrimonial
engagement, informed Grumkow of it, and made him



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 243

apprehend that I might actually execute my resolu-
tion. The latter, knowing that the queen was still
carrying on her intrigues in England, and fearing new
proposals from that quarter, resolved to deceive her,
and to put an end to her ill humour, which she so
strangely vented upon me. He sent her word by M.
de Sastot, that the king was sorry he had betrothed
me ; that, as he could not esteem the prince, he in-
tended to break off my marriage at his return from
Prussia, and to marry me to the duke of Weissenfeld.
Above all, he enjoined the strictest secrecy ; because
he alone was acquainted with his majesty's intentions.
This false confidence had the effect which Grumkow
had expected. The queen immediately resolved upon
what measures she should pursue ; she began openly
to patronize the hereditary prince. She communi-
cated her fears to me, and ordered me to behave
politely to the prince ; declaring, that she would
rather suffer death than see me duchess of Weissen-
feld. Such was her disposition ; the king's approval
sufficed to induce her to disapprove. I could not
account for her mysterious conduct, the motives of
which Grumkow has since unravelled to me.

This happy interval was not of long duration.
After the return of the king from Prussia, his actions
sufficiently testified that the queen had been imposed
upon. It is true, the polished and reserved manners
of the prince of Bareith by no means pleased him :
he desired for a son-in-law one who delighted in
soldiers and wine ; one who practised economy, and
imitated German fashions. To fathom the prince's
disposition, and to train him to his liking, he every
day attempted to intoxicate him. But the prince bore
wine so well, that he never varied in his behaviour,
and retained his senses, while his companions were
losing theirs. This exasperated the king ; he even
complained of him to Grumkow and Sekendorff,
saying, that he was a mere fop, destitute of talents,
and whose manners he abhorred. Repeated observa-



244 MEMOIRS OF THE

tions of this kind made the two friends apprehensive
that the aversion of the king might he attended with
consequences injurious to their interests; and to
obviate these, they proposed to the hereditary prince
to obtain for him a regiment in the Prussian service ;
representing it as the only way of insinuating himself
into the king's favour, and bringing about his mar-
riage. The prince felt himself greatly embarrassed
on this account. The margrave, his father, was a
high-minded prince, who never would allow his son
to devote himself to the military profession ; and in
order to deprive him of the means of doing so, he
had actually ceded two regiments in the Austrian
service, which the margrave George William had
raised, one to his youngest son, the other to general
Philippe. However, after mature deliberation, the
prince yielded to Grumkow's advice. The king was
delighted to hear that the hereditary prince was
willing to serve in his army. A few days after, he
gave him a regiment of heavy dragoons, and pre-
sented him with a golden sword, so heavy, that it
could scarcely be brandished.

I was extremely sorry for all this. It was enough
to be in the army to be treated as a slave. My
brothers and the princes of the blood had no other
distinction than what they derived from their rank in
the army. They were confined to their garrisons,
which they quitted only to be reviewed, and they
associated with rude officers, men without talents or
education, by whom they were made complete savages,
having no other occupation than to exercise their
troops. I had no doubt but the prince would be
placed on the same footing : and my conjectures
proved true. Before the king returned to Potsdam,
he hinted to the prince that it would give him plea-
sure if he went to take possession of his regiment :
and the prince was fain to obey.

The day before, his departure, he accosted me in the
garden at Mori-Bijou. He had been informed of my



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. , 245

dissatisfaction ; madame de Sonsfeld had mentioned
it to M. de Voit. I was walking with her, when the
prince came up to me, and said : " I have not hither-
to been able to find an opportunity of speaking to
your royal highness, and of expressing my despair at
beholding the aversion which your actions indicate
towards me. i know what evil impressions have
been instilled into your mind against me ; and I am
grieved on that account. Am I the cause of the
afflictions you have endured ? I never could have
dared to have aspired to the hand of your royal high-
ness, had not the king proposed it. Should I have
refused it, and have rendered myself the most un-
happy of mortals ; and can you condemn me for
having accepted it ? Under such circumstances I
must leave you, without knowing how long my
absence may endure ; 1 therefore intreat you to favour
me with a positive answer, and candidly to tell me,
whether your royal highness actually feels an insur-
mountable hatred against me ? If that be the case, I
shall take an eternal leave, and, by breaking my en-
gagement, at the risk of incurring my father's and
the king's displeasure, render myself unhappy for the
rest of my days. But, madam, if I may flatter myself
that I am mistaken, and if you really entertain some
kindness for me, I hope you will have the goodness
to say that you will keep the promise you have given
me, by order of the king, never to accept of any
other hand than mine." He had tears in his eyes
when he spoke, and appeared very much affected.
Being unaccustomed to such language I felt extremely
embarrassed and blushed to my finger's ends. As I
returned no answer, the prince renewed his intreaties,
and added, with a mournful countenance: " I see
your silence forebodes nothing good, and I shall act
accordingly." At length I replied : " my promise is
.inviolable: I gave it you by order of the king, but
you may rely upon its being faithfully performed."

\ 2



246 MEMOIRS OF THE

The queen, who then came up to us, put an end to
this conversation, to my great satisfaction.

Madame de Kamken had amused herself that after-
noon with making mottoes in sweetmeats, which she
distributed in the evening to every person at tahle.
The prince broke one of them in my hand ; he did
the same to my sister : but the queen was irritated
only against me, and immediately left the table. She
bade adieu to the prince in great haste, and took my
sister and me with her in her carriage. " You are
no longer/' said she to me, " the same person since
your confounded betrothing has taken place. You
have neither shame nor modesty. I blushed for you
when your foolish prince broke a motto in your
hand. These are unbecoming familiarities, and he
should be more aware of the respect which he owes
to you." I answered, that as he had done the same
to my sister, I did not think the matter of any con-
sequence : but that it should happen no more. This
did not appease her ; she thence took an opportunity
of abusing madame de Sonsfeld the next day. Madame
de Kamken, who was present, put an end to her
scolding, and spoke with so much energy in my
behalf, that, having nothing to reply, she was com-
pelled to hold her peace.

Hitherto my sufferings had been trivial, in com-
parison with those accumulated pangs which wrung
my inmost soul about a fortnight afterwards; being
obliged to attend the queen to Wusterhausen. The
countess de Kamken, madame de Sonsfeld, madame
de Montbail, and my sister Charlotte, were the only
persons who accompanied us to that famous country
palace, a description of which will not be misplaced
here.

By dint of labour and expense, the king had raised
a hill of dry sand, which confined the prospect so
much, that the enchanted castle was only seen on
coming down the declivity of the hillock. The palace



MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 247

consisted of a very small building, the beauty of which
was heightened by an antient tower, containing a
winding staircase of wood. This building was sur-
rounded by a terrace, along which a ditch had been
dug, whose black and stagnant water resembled the
waters of Styx, and emitted a suffocating smell.
Three bridges, each facing a different side of the
building, formed the communication with the yard,
the garden, and a mill which was opposite. Two
wings on both sides of the yard formed the dwelling
of the gentlemen of the king's retinue. The yard
itself was inclosed by a palisade, at the entrance of
which were chained two white and two black eagles,
and two bears, by way of guards to the fortress :
these animals, by the bye, were extremely savage,
and attacked every one. In the middle of the yard
was a well, which had with much ingenuity been
converted into a fountain for the use of the kitchen.
The magnificent structure was adorned with a flight
of steps and an iron railing on the outside, and this
was the delightful spot which the king had chosen
for his evening's iudulgence of smoking. My sister
and myself, with our attendants, had only two rooms,
or, to speak more correctly, two garrets. In all
weathers we used to dine in a tent spread under a
large linden-tree, and when it rained much we r.at in
water above the ankles, the place being hollow.
There were constantly twenty-four persons at table,
eighteen of whom were kept fasting, because our
ordinary consisted hut of six dishes, and those very
sparingly filled. From nine o'clock in the morning
till three or four o'clock in the afternoon, we were
shut up with the queen without daring to breathe the
fresh air, or to go into the garden, although it was