close by, because she would not have us leave her.
She was playing all day long at backgammon with
her three ladies, whilst the king was abroad. Thus I
remained alone with my sister, who treated me with
248 MEMOIRS OF THE
contempt : I grew melancholy, through continually
sitting in the house, and listening to nothing but dis-
agreeable discourses. The king's dinner was always
over by one o'clock in the afternoon. He then rested
himself in an arm-chair placed on the terrace, and
slept till half-past two, exposed to the most ardent
rays of the sun. We shared with him this burning
heat, being all stretched on the ground at his feet.
Such was the agreeable life which we led in this
charming abode.
The hereditary prince arrived there some days after
us. He had written to me several times : but the
queen had always dictated my answers. I also had
the gratification to receive from rny brother a letter,
which major Sonsfeld transmitted to me by his sister.
My brother commended me much for the good reso-
lution I had taken of putting an end to domestic
dissensions by my marriage. He appeared uneasy
respecting my fate, and requested me to give him a
faithful account of the prince, and to inform him
whether I was satisfied with the king's choice He
assured me that he lived very contentedly ; that he
amused himself much; and that his only sorrow was
not to be near me. He had been kept ignorant of
what I had suffered on his account ; and he did not
know that he was indebted to me for the good treat-
ment he received, and his approaching pardon. I did
not wish to inform him of it, and made answer only
to those articles on which he requested information.
I also acquainted him with the alteration in the
queen's behaviour towards me, and begged he would
write to her, and try to persuade her to listen to
reason with regard to my marriage. He did so, but
without success. The queen was only the more
incensed, when she saw that she alone of the family
disapproved of my conduct.
In the mean time the hereditary prince insinuated
himself every day more and more into the good
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITII. 249
graces of my sister. The fancy she took for him
increased her hatred towards me ; she made me feel
its effects by exasperatiug the queen against me.
One day, when I had been extremely ill-used by my
mother, and was shedding abundance of tears in a
corner of the room, my sister accosted me, saying :
" What is it that distresses you so much?" " I am
grieved," answered I, " for having lost the affection
of her majesty ; if I cannot regain it, I shall die with
grief." " You are very silly," replied my sister ;
" had I as amiable a lover as yours, I should not care
much for the queen. I laugh when she chides, for it
is just as well so to do." " You, then, do not love
her," I replied : " for when we love a person, we wish
our affection to be returned. Besides, you cannot
complain of your fate. Prince Charles has much
merit arid several good qualities ; and whichever way
you turn, fortune smiles upon you : whilst I am for-
saken by all, even by the king, who has not looked
upon me of late." " Well !" resumed she, with a
malicious air, " if you think prince Charles so amia-
ble, let us change lovers ; take my betrothing ring
and give me yours." I supposed she was joking, and
said, that as my heart was perfectly free, I was ready
to let her have them both. " Then give me your
ring ! " continued she, drawing it from my finger.
" Take it," was my reply, " it is at your service."
She put it on her finger, and hid in a corner that
which she had received from her admirer. I gave it
no thought ; but madame de Sonsfeld having observed
that my ring was gone, and that my sister had worn
it three days, she hinted to me that, if the king or
the prince noticed it, I should have some fresh
trouble. I therefore demanded the ring again from
my sister : but she refused, and would not yield to
our most pressing intreaties. I was obliged to apply
to Mrs Ramen, who mentioned the affair to the queen ;
who severely reprimanded my sister, and compelled
her to resume her own and return me my ring. But
250 MEMOIRS OF THE
she never forgave me. I dared no longer lift up my
eyes, for she instantly reported to the queen that I
was ogling at the prince.
We left Wusterhausen for Maqueno, a place fully
as disagreeable. New scenes awaited us here. The
English had long been murmuring against their king ;
they had ardently wished to see me settled in their
country. The prince of Wales was beginning to form
a party ; he regretted that his intended marriage with
me had been broken off. Seconded by the nation, he
complained so loudly, that the king of England re-
solved to satisfy his son by making fresh overtures to
my father : but as he did not wish to expose himself
to any refusal, he employed the Hessian court to sound
the intentions of the Prussian monarch. For this
purpose, colonel Donep was dispatched to Berlin by
prince William. He arrived at Maqueno at the same
time with us. I am not acquainted with his proposals
to the king : I suppose that my brother's marriage
was not forgotten. The king's first answer was so
obliging, that Donep had no doubt of the success of
his negociation. He had never been employed in
state affairs, was an intimate friend of Grumkow, and,
not distrusting the latter, he communicated to him
the object of his mission. Grumkow, seeing the king
in suspense, addressed him in firm language, and
advised him to start several demands of which I am
ignorant, but which he knew beforehand would not
be granted. A fortnight elapsed in discussing this
affair. Colonel Donep required a positive answer.
The king, owing to his own irresolution, was all the
time in a terrible humour.
I just then happened to be extremely ill; I had an
abscess in the throat, attended with much fever. The
queen had the inhumanity to oblige me to walk out.
For three days I was so bad, that I could neither speak
nor stand upright. It may easily be supposed that I
looked shockingly. But the abscess burst, and I
recovered. Notwithstanding his ill-humour, the king
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 251
regaled us with German plays and rope- dancing.
The performances took place on a large grass plot
near the house. His majesty sat in one window with
the queen ; and my sister, the prince of Bareith, and
myself, occupied the other. The prince looked very
depressed, and apprised me in a low voice, so that my
sister might not hear it, of colonel Donep's mission,
and his alarms on the subject, I was much alarmed
at the intelligence, which was quite new to me. I
earnestly besought the prince not to mention it to
the queen, being convinced that my troubles would
be increased if the news reached her ears. My pre-
cautions were, however, of no avail. Colonel Donep
acquainted her majesty with it the very next day.
The sad and pensive air of the prince revived the
queen's hopes: and, to conceal her joy, she oppressed
him with her politeness. When I had retired to my
room I seriously turned over in my mind what I
should do if my father were to enter into the views of
the British monarch. The sincerity and frankness of
the prince in acquainting me with what was going on,
had won my esteem. I had nothing to object either
to his person or to his character. The prince of
Wales was a perfect stranger to me ; I never had felt
any inclination for him ; my ambition was limited : I
had come to a final resolution : I was tired of being
the sport of fortune, and firmly determined, if the
choice were left to myself, to adhere to that which
the king had made for me ; but if matters should
take a different turn, I was resolutely fixed upon not
submitting to a change without warmly expostulating
on the subject.
We returned to Wusterhausen the next day, early
in the morning. Immediately after our arrival the
queen closeted herself with me, and having informed
me of what colonel Donep had told her, she added :
" This day your sorry match will be broken off, and
I hope your silly prince will set off to-morrow ; for
I have no doubt that if the king leave you at liberty
252 MEMOIRS OF THE
to chuse, you will give the preference to my nephew.
f insist upon knowing your sentiments on this point.
I do not speak to you thus without motives : do you
understand me ? I hope you have too proud a heart
to hesitate for a single moment." I was stupified at
her discourse, and called all the saints of paradise to
my assistance, to inspire me with an ambiguous an-
swer that might extricate me. Whether it was that
the saints or my good genius inspired me, I know
not; but I took courage, and replied: " I have al-
ways been submissive to the commands of your ma-
jesty, and only disobeyed them when forced by a su-
perior power. And this I did with no other view
than to restore peace in the family, procure my bro-
ther's liberty, and spare your majesty a thousand
troubles to which you would still have been a prey.
Inclination had no share in my determination ; the
prince was not known to me. But now that I know
him, now that he has gained my esteem, and I have
not discovered in him any failing which could justify
my aversion, I should think myself highly blameable
if I were to retract the promise I have given." Here
the queen interrupted me : enraged at what I had
said, she treated me with the utmost contempt. Great
as was my grief, I was obliged to conceal it before
the king. His majesty had not noticed me since his
return from Prussia : this circumstance increased my
sorrow. He happened to be that day in excellent
humour. In the evening the prince of Bareith came
to sup with us as usual. Neither the queen nor my
sister were in the room when he entered. His coun-
tenance was quite changed ; it was as cheerful as it
had been melancholy. He told me, in a whisper,
' the king has refused, and Donep . . . ." I seemed
to take no notice of it ; but the intelligence gave me
great satisfaction. The queen heard the news a few
hours after. Her heart was wounded, and it was
upon me that she vented her displeasure.
My wedding was fixed for the 20th of November ;
MARGRAVINE OF BARE1TII. 253
the king, wishing it to be splendid, invited several
foreign princes, the whole house of Bevern, the
duchess of Meinungen, the margrave of Bareith my
father-in-law, and the margrave of Anspach and my
sister. The latter were the first who arrived at
Wusterhausen. The king met them on horseback,
and conducted my sister to the queen. We scarcely
knew her again : she had been very handsome, but
her beauty had faded ; her complexion was spoiled,
and her manners were extremely affected. She had
succeeded me in the good graces of the king ; but she
never was a favourite with the queen : her majesty
was even nettled at the caresses and distinctions which
the king bestowed upon her, as she never could en-
dure his paying more attention to any one than to
herself. She was, however, obliged to assume an air
of complacency towards the margravine. The meet-
ing betwixt my sister and myself was unaffectedly
tender and mutual : she had always loved me, and
I warmly returned her affection. The king, after
supper, led her to her chamber, which was close to
mine under the roof. As her servants were not yet
arrived, the king, pointing to me, said : " Your sister
will supply the place of your maid ; she is good for
nothing else." 1 was amazed on hearing these words.
The king withdrew a moment after, and I did the
same. My heart was so full of grief that I thought I
should die that night. What crime had I committed
that could deserve such cruel treatment in the pre-
sence of him I \vas destined to marry, and before a
foreign court ? My sister herself felt for me, and did
all she could to console me. To humble me still
more, the king the next day gave her the precedency
over me, who was the eldest. The queen was vexed
at it, but her remonstrances were of no avail. I my-
self felt hurt ; and the rather as it appeared to tally
with what the king had said to me the evening before.
His majesty made it his study to mortify me all the
time we stayed at that confounded Wusterhausen.
VOL, i. z
254 MEMOIRS OF THE
He himself did not know what he would be at. One
while he sorely repented having betrothed me, and
broken with England ; then, again, he was more ex-
asperated than ever against that court ; though this
latter instance of his displeasure seldom lasted long.
It was, however, upon me that his ill-humour was
vented.
At length, on the 5th of November, we returned
to Berlin. The duchess of Saxe-Meinungen, my
great aunt, a daughter of the elector Frederick Wil-
liam, arrived two days after us. This princess was
then a widow after her third husband, having been
married first to the duke of Courland, and after his
death to the margrave Christian Ernest of Bareith.
She had wholly ruined the dominions of those two
princes. It was said that in her youth she had made
it her study to win admiration, which was still appa-
rent from her affected manners. She would have
been an excellent actress to have performed the parts
of antiquated lovers on the stage. Her ruddy face,
and her figure of a size so monstrous that she could
scarcely walk, gave her the appearance of a female
Bacchus. She delighted in exhibiting her large, flat,
and shrivelled breasts, which she was continually
patting with her hands to attract attention. Though
she was above sixty, she tricked herself off like a
young person. She wore her hair in large curls, with
pink ribbands, of a shade somewhat lighter than her
face ; and the stones of her jewels were of as many
colours as the rainbow. His majesty obliged the
queen to pay her the first visit. " When I come
back," said she to me, " you may go to the duchess."
I punctually obeyed her orders. As it was late, and
the queen held a drawing-room in the evening, my
visit was not a long one ; but I found the drawing-
room had already commenced when I returned to the
queen, who was engaged in receiving the court. As
soon as the queen saw me, she asked in an angry
tone,, why I came so late? " I have been with the
MARGRAVIttE OF BARfclTH. 255
duchess, as your majesty ordered." "How!" re-
plied she ; " By my order ! I never ordered you to
be guilty of a mean action, or to forget your rank
and your character : but latterly you have been so
much in the habit of demeaning yourself that I am
not surprised at this." So severe a reprimand, in the
face of every one, greatly irritated my feelings. I
cast down my eyes, and in spite of all my efforts, I
could not help changing countenance. Every one
secretly blamed the queen, and pitied me. Madame
de Grumkow, though married to a very malicious
man, was a woman of great merit. She came up to
me, and enquired what could induce the queen to
treat me with so much severity ? I only shrugged my
shoulders, but gave her no answer.
The king, the margrave of Bareith, and the family
of Bevern, arrived the next day. The queen intro-
duced me to the margrave, who loaded me with
endless assurances of his esteem. As my nuptials
were to be solemnized in six days, the king ordered
the queen to permit the margrave and his son to visit
me freely. They did not profit much by this permis-
sion ; I was the whole day with the queen, and saw
them only for a moment in the evening in the pre-
sence of company.
On the 19 th I was surprised to find the queen's
behaviour towards me completely changed. She la-
vished her endearments upon me, affirming that I was
the dearest of her children. I could not account for
this change ; but she herself explained it in the even-
ing, when, taking me into her closet, she said : " To-
morrow you are to be sacrificed; my exertions have
not been able to delay your marriage. I expect a
message from England, and I am certain beforehand
that the king my brother will no longer insist upon
my son's marriage ; his majesty will not then farther
object against breaking your engagements with the
hereditary prince. However, as I do not know how
long it may be yet before the messenger arrives, and
256 MEMOIRS OF THE
can hit upon no pretence to put off your wedding to-
morrow, a thought has occurred to me which may
quiet my mind ; and to you I look for its execution.
Promise me you will have no familiarity with the
prince, and live with him as a sister with her hrother,
since this is the only way to dissolve your marriage,
which may be annulled, if it be not consummated."
The king came up to us when I was going to answer,
and the queen was so beset that she could not find
any opportunity of speaking to me all the evening.
The next morning I went to the queen in an
elegant undress. She led me to the king to pronounce
the customary renunciation to the allodial estates.
The margrave and his son, Grumkow, Podewils, Thul-
meyer, and Voit, the minister of Bareith, were with
his majesty. The oath was read to me. Its purport
was, that I renounced all my claims to the allodial
estates as long as my brothers and their male pos-
terity lived : but that, in case of their demise, I should
re-enter upon all my rights of presumptive heir.
After I had taken this oath, a second was required,
which extremely surprised me, as I had not been
apprised of it beforehand. I was also to renounce the
inheritance of the queen, if she should die intestate.
I stood motionless. The king perceiving my per-
plexity, said, with tears in his eyes, and encircling
me in his arms : " You must, my dear daughter, sub-
mit to this hard law. Your sister of Anspach has gone
through the same ordeal. It is in fact nothing but a
formality. Your mother is always at liberty to make
a will, whenever she chuses." I kissed his hands,
reminding him that he had given me an authentic
promise to take care of me : and adding, that I could
not have believed he would have treated me so harshly.
" This is no time for starting difficulties," answered
lie in an angry tone; " sign with a good grace, or I
will make you sign by force." These last words he
spoke in a low voice. I was reluctantly obliged to
obey. As soon as this confounded ceremony was
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITII. 257
over, the king caressed me much, praised my sub-
missiveness, and was profusely liberal of promises,
which he had no intention of performing.
We afterwards sat down to table ; where the king
made me sit near himself: the company consisted
only of the prince of Bareith, my brothers and sisters,
and the duchess of Bevern. I was in a sad pensive
mood. Reflections naturally crowd upon the mind
when we are on the point of forming ties which de-
termine the happiness or misfortune of our lives.
When we had dined, the king ordered the queen to
begin to dress me ; it was then four o'clock, and I
was to be ready at seven. The queen wished to ar-
range my head-dress : as she was not clever at acting
the waiting-maid, she could not succeed at all : her
ladies took her place ; but as soon as my hair was
ready on one side, she spoiled it ; and all this was a
mere feint to gain time, in hopes that the messenger
might arrive : she did not know that he was already
in town, and that Grumkow had the despatches. It
may easily be supposed that he did not deliver them to
the king till the marriage solemnity was over. All
this made my head-dress appear so uncouth as to
give me the appearance of a mad creature. It had been
so much handled that it was quite out of curls : I re-
sembled a little boy : for my hair was falling flat in
my face. The royal crown was placed on my head
with four-and-twerity hair locks as thick as my arm :
such were the orders of the queen. I could not hold
my head up ; it was too weak to sustain such a weight.
My robe was of a very rich silver brocade, with a
Brussels gold lace ; and my train was twelve yards
long. I had well-nigh died under this attire. Two
ladies of the queen's household and two of my own
carried my train ; the two latter were madame de
Sonsfeld and a sister to my governess, with madame
de Grumkow, and a niece to my persecutor ; the king
having insisted upon my accepting of the latter. Ma-
dame de Sonsfeld was proclaimed abbess of Wol-
z s>
258 MEMOIRS OF THE
nierstadt ; and the king himself invested her with
the insignia of the chapter. We repaired to the
state-rooms; of which I shall suhjoin a short de-
scription.
They form a suite of six large rooms which lead to
a hall magnificently adorned, and equally remarkahle
for its paintings and its architecture. At the end of
this hall are two richly decorated chambers, forming
the passage to a gallery of very fine paintings. All
these apartments communicate in a straight line. The
gallery, which is ninety feet long, leads to a second
suite of fourteen rooms, as spacious and as well de-
corated as the first ; at the extremity of which there
is a very extensive hall, destined for the grand cere-
monies. There is nothing extraordinary in what I
have described : but now comes the marvellous. The
first room contains a silver chandelier, which weighs
ten thousand Prussian dollars ; the whole assortment
is equally heavy in proportion. The second room is
still more superb ; the pier-glasses are of massy silver,
and the mirrors twelve feet in height ; twelve persons
may conveniently sit at the tables placed under these
glasses. The chandelier is much larger than in the
first room, and the furniture of each apartment in-
creases proportionally in size : the last hall contains
the largest pieces. Here are the portraits of the king
and queen, and those of the emperor and empress, as
large as life, in massy silver frames. The chandelier
weighs fifty thousand dollars : the globe is so large
that a child of eight years old might conveniently sit
in it : the plates are six feet high, and the stands
twelve. The gallery for the musicians is also of
silver : in short, this hall contains more than two
millions of plate in weight. It is all wrought with
much taste : but, after all, it is a magnificence which
does not please the sight, and is attended with many
inconveniences ; for, instead of wax-candles, tapers
are burnt, which cause a suffocating vapour and
blacken the faces and clothes. The king my father
MARG11AVINE OF BAREITII. 259
got all this plate after his first journey to Dresden.
He had seen in that town the treasure of the king of
Poland; he wished to surpass that monarch, and
being unable to excel him in precious and rare stones,
he bethought himself of getting what I have de-
scribed, that he might possess a novelty of which no
sovereign of Europe had yet been possessed.
It was in the last hall that my marriage was so-
lemnized. A triple discharge of guns took place
when the service was finished. All the foreign mi-
nisters, except the English, were present. The mar-
grave of Schwedt was obliged to attend, by the express
command of the king. After* having received the
compliments of the company, I was seated in an arm-
chair under the canopy near the queen. The here-
ditary prince opened the ball with my sister the mar-
gravine of Anspach. It only lasted one hour ; after
which, we sat down to supper. The king had ordered
lots to be drawn for the seats, to avoid all disputes
about precedency among so many foreign princes,
I was placed at the top with the prince, each of
us in an arm-chair. The margrave my father-in-
law sat next to me, and the king next to the
prince. There were thirty princes at the table. The
king would gladly have intoxicated the prince ; he
made him drink so much that he was actually a little
flushed. Two ladies stood all the time behind me,
and the gentlemen of my household, who were colonel
\ 7 reiche arid major Stechow, waited upon me, as well
as M. de Voit, who had been appointed my grand-
master of ceremonies, and M. Bindemann my groom
of the chamber. After supper we returned to the
first hall, where everything had been prepared for the
dance by torch-light. The dance is an ancient Ger-
man custom ; it is performed with great ceremony.
The ^marshals of the court with their staves begin
the march ; then follow all the lieutenant-generals of
the army, bearing each a lighted taper. The new-
married couple gravely march twice round the room ;
260 MEMOIRS OF THE
the lady, with all the princes present, one after the
other ; and when she has finished her round, the gen-
tleman takes her place and does the same with the
princesses. All this is performed to the sound of
cymbals and trumpets. When the dance was over
I was conducted to the first apartment, where was a