ness, arid much generosity, united with the most
agreeable manners. Her noble politeness inspires
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 51
respect and confidence. To all these advantages she
adds a lovely figure, which she has preserved to a
very advanced age. She had been maid of honour to
queen Charlotte, my grandmother, and held the same
situation in the household of the queen my mother.
As she never would marry, she refused some very
brilliant offers. She was forty years old when she
was placed with me. I love and revere her like a
mother ; she is still with me, and probably nothing
but death will ever part us.
The queen could not endure her : she had a long
contention with the king on the subject; but as she
could not advance any solid reasons against his choice,
she was obliged to yield. I was informed of all this
by my brother, who was present at the conversation :
the queen always kept it secret. She was much
surprised, on returning to her room, to find me all in
tears. " Oh ! oh!" said she, " I see your brother
has been chattering, and you know all about it. You
are very silly to grieve ; are you not yet tired of
blows?" I entreated her majesty to retain Miss
Letti : but she replied, that I ought to acquiesce, and
that it was no longer possible.
Madame de Sonsfield, who had been sent for, en-
tered at that moment. The queen took her by one
hand, and me by the other, and conducted us both to
the king.
His majesty said many obliging things to madame
de Sonsfeld, and acquainted her with the situation
for which she was intended. She respectfully en-
treated the king to excuse her accepting an office for
which she felt herself incapable. The king used all
manner of persuasions, and it was only by threatening
her with his resentment that she at length accepted
his offer. He gave her the proper rank at court, and
promised her all sorts of advantages for herself and
her family. She was introduced as my governess on
the third Easter day. I felt very much for the mis-
fortune of Miss Letti : she was dismissed in a very
52 MEMOIRS OF THE
harsh manner. The king sent her word by the queen,
" that if he had followed his inclination, he would
have sent her to Spandau ; that she was not to appear
before him ; and that he granted her eight days to
quit the court and the country." I did all I could to
comfort her, and to show her my friendly regard.
I was not possessed of much at that time ; still I
gave her, in precious stones, jewels, and plate, what
might amount to the value of five thousand dollars,
besides what she received from the queen : and yet
she had the wickedness to rob me of everything. The
day after her departure I had not a gown to put on ;
she had carried off all my robes ; and the queen was
obliged to equip me anew from head to foot.
I soon got accustomed to my new governess. Ma-
dame de Sonsfeld began by studying my disposition.
She observed that I was excessively timid. I trembled
when she was grave : I had not the heart to say two
words together without hesitating. She represented
to the queen, that it would be proper to divert me,
and to treat me with much gentleness, to remove my
fears ; that I was extremely docile ; and that, by ex-
citing my ambition, she might do with me whatever
she chose. The queen left her complete mistress of
my education. She every day reasoned with me about
indifferent subjects, and endeavoured to inspire me
with good sentiments on every occurrence. I applied
myself to reading, which soon became my favourite
occupation. The emulation which she excited in me
made me relish my other studies : I learned English,
Italian, history, geography, philosophy, and music.
My improvements were surprisingly rapid : I was so
intent upon learning, that madame de Sonsfeld was
obliged to moderate my ardour. Two years elapsed
in this manner ; and as I only relate facts deserving of
notice, I pass to the year 1/23.
This year opened with new vexations. But as
henceforth the court of England wih 1 have a great
share in these memoirs, it is proper to give an idea of
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 53
it. The king of England was a prince who valued
himself on his sentiments ; but, unfortunately, he had
never applied to the enlightening of his mind. Many
virtues, carried to an extreme, become vices. This
was his case. He affected a firmness which degene-
rated into harshness, and a tranquillity which might
be called indolence. His generosity extended only to
his favourites and mistresses, by whom he suffered
himself to be governed ; the rest of mankind were
excluded. Since his accession to the crown, his
haughtiness had become insupportable. Two qua-
lities, however, his equity and justice, rendered him
estimable. He was by no means an evil-disposed
prince, but rather constant in his benevolence. His
manners were cold ; he spoke little, and listened only
to puerilities.
The countess of Schulenburgh (then duchess of
Kendal and princess of Eberstein) was his mistress, or
rather his wife by the left hand. She was of that class
of beings who are so very good that they are, so to
say, good for nothing. She had neither vices nor
virtues : she only studied to keep in favour, and to
guard against being supplanted.
The princess of Wales had a powerful understand-
ing and great knowledge. She had read much, and
was possessed of a particular capacity for public affairs,
On her arrival in England, she gained the hearts of
all : her manners were gracious ; she was affable, but
she had not the good fortune to retain the affections
of the people : means were found to ascertain her
disposition, which did not correspond to her exterior.
She was imperious, false, and ambitious. She has
frequently been compared to Agrippina ; like that
empress, she might have exclaimed, " Let all perish,
so I do but rule,"
The prince, her consort, had not more genius than
his father : he was hot, passionate, haughty, and ava-
ricious to an unpardonable extreme.
Lady Arlington, who held the second rank, was
54 MEMOIRS OF THE
the natural daughter of the late elector of Hanover
and a countess of Platen. It might truly be said of
her that she possessed the disposition of a devil : for
she was altogether inclined to work evil. She was
vicious, intriguing, and as ambitious as the two ladies
whose portraits I have just been sketching. These
three females alternately governed the king, though
they lived in great discord among themselves. On
one point they all agreed, viz. that the young duke
of Gloucester should not marry a princess of a great
house, and strenuously desired to have him united to
a female of no very prominent talent, that they them-
selves might continue to govern.
Lady Arlington, who had her private views, dis-
patched Miss Pelnitz to Berlin. This person had been
a maid of honour and favourite of queen Charlotte
my grandmother, after whose death she had retired
to Hanover, where she lived on a pension settled
upon her by the king of England. Her mind was as
much inclined to evil as that of Lady Arlington. She
was equally fond of intrigue; her envenomed tongue
spared no one ; she had only three trifling faults ; she
loved men, gambling, and wine. The queen my
mother had known her for a great length of time.
As she was informed that Miss Pelnitz enjoyed great
credit at the court of Hanover, she received her un-
commonly well. When she presented her to me, she
said, " This is one of my ancient friends, with whom
you will be glad to be acquainted." I courtsied, and
politely complimented her concerning what the queen
had just spoken. She surveyed me for some time
from head to foot, and then turning to the queen, she
exclaimed, " Heavens ! how auk ward the princess
looks ! What a shape ! what an appearance for a
young person ! And how clumsy her attire!" The
queen was a little disconcerted at this address, which
she was by no means prepared to expect. " It is
true (said she) that she might look better : but her
shape is straight, and will display itself when she has
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 55
done growing. However, if you converse with her,
you will find that she is not a mere automaton."
Miss Pelnitz thereupon began to talk with me, but
in an ironical manner, asking me questions which
would have suited a child of four years. I was so
vexed, that I did not deign to make any reply. My
sullen behaviour gave her an opportunity to hint to
the queen that I was capricious and haughty, and that
I had scrutinized her from head to foot. This brought
upon me severe reprimands, which continued all the
time Miss Pelnitz staid at Berlin. She quarrelled
with me about everything.
One day the conversation turned upon the powers
of memory. The queen observed that I had an ex-
cellent memory. Miss Pelnitz set up a malicious
grin, as much as to say, that she disputed the fact.
The queen, nettled at this, offered to try me, and
proposed a wager that I could learn one hundred and
fifty verses by heart in an hour's time. " Well," said
Miss Pelnitz, " I will try her local memory; and I
will bet that she will not remember what I shall write
down." The queen was consequently very strenuous
to maintain what she had asserted, and I was sent
for. Having taken me aside, the queen told me she
would freely forgive me all that was past, if I proved
successful, and so caused her to win her wager. I
did not know what was meant by a local memory,
having never heard of it before. Miss Pelnitz wrote
what I was to learn. It was a series of one hundred
and fifty fanciful names of her own invention, all
numbered. She read them twice over to me, always
mentioning the numbers ; after which I was obliged to
repeat them in succession. I was very fortunate in
the first trial : she desired a second, and asked the
names out of order, mentioning merely the number.
I again succeeded, to her great vexation. I had never
made a greater effort of memory ; yet she could not
prevail with herself so far as to bestow upon me the
slightest commendation. The queen could not account
56 MEMOIRS OF THE
for her behaviour ; and was much offended, though
she held her peace. Miss Pelnitz at length freed us
from her insupportable criticisms, and returned to
Hanover.
Shortly after her departure, Miss Brunow, a sister
to madame de Kamken, came also to Berlin. She
had been maid of honour to the electress Sophia of
Hanover, my great-grandmother, and she was still
residing at that court, from which she received a pen-
sion. She was a good creature, but somewhat childish
in her manners. She made many enquiries about me,
and as her sister was very much my friend, she praised
me more than I deserved. Miss Brunow appeared
astonished at what madame de Kamken told her.
To a sister," said she, " you might speak more
freely than you do, and not conceal things that are
generally known : for we are very well informed at
Hanover of whatever concerns the princess : we know
that she is deformed, excessively plain, wicked, and
haughty; in short, that she is a little monster, of
whom it might be said, that it would have been better
that she had never been born." Madame de Kamken
was angry, and had a violent dispute with her sister ;
and to cure her of her prejudices, she took her with
her to the queen, with whom I then was. She could
hardly be persuaded, when she saw me, that I was the
same person : but to convince her that my shape was
good, I was obliged to undress in her presence. Many
women were sent at different times from Hanover to
Berlin, to examine me. I was obliged to submit to
be viewed by them, and to show them my back, to
convince them that I was not crooked. All this vexed
me ; and, to heighten my misfortune, the queen in-
sisted upon making me more slender than I was. She
ordered my stays to be laced so tight, that I became
black, and was almost deprived of respiration. The
attention of madame de Sonsfeld had restored my
complexion : it was now tolerably fair, but the queen
spoiled it by keeping me so tightly laced. The whole
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 57
year passed in the same manner. As nothing inte-
resting happened, I pass to the year 1724.
The king of England arrived at Hanover in the
spring. The duchess of Kendal and lady Arlington
were in his retinue ; and Miss Letti attended the
latter of these ladies. She lived on her bounty, and
on a pension which lady Arlington had obtained for
her from the king. My father, who at that time
had no other object in view than my marriage with
the duke of Gloucester, went to Hanover soon after
the arrival of the English monarch. He was received
with all possible demonstrations of joy and affection,
and returned to Berlin very much satisfied with his
journey.
The queen set out soon after his return, charged
with secret instructions for the king her father to
conclude an offensive and defensive alliance between
the two monarchs, which was to be confirmed by my
brother's marriage and mine. Her majesty did not
meet with such favourable dispositions as she had
flattered herself in expecting. The king of England
agreed to every proposition except that of marriage ;
saying that he could not enter into any engagement
without having consulted the inclination of his grand-
son, and without knowing whether our inclinations
corresponded. The queen, in despair, not knowing
how to extricate herself, had recourse to the duchess
of Kendal. She bitterly complained to that lady of
the king's answer, and wished her to interest herself
in her behalf. By dint of caresses and intreaties, she
at last obtained the intercession of the duchess. The
latter told the queen, " that the aversion of the king
of England to my marriage arose from certain mali-
cious suggestions instilled into his mind concerning
me : that Miss Letti had exhibited such a picture of
me as was calculated to deter any man from marrying;
that she had described me as uncommonly plain and
extremely deformed : that the praises she bestowed
upon my disposition were in perfect harmony with
58 MEMOIRS OF THE
those on my figure ; that she had represented me so
wicked and passionate, that my rage threw me into
fits several times a day. Your majesty may judge
(continued the duchess) whether, after hearing such
reports, which were confirmed by Miss Pemitz, the
king your father could consent to this marriage."
The queen, who could not conceal her indignation,
told her how Miss Letti had behaved to me, and what
motives had induced her to dismiss her. She named
to her every individual who had been sent from
Hanover to Berlin, and referred to their testimony.
At length, the untruth of all these rumours was so
clearly demonstrated to the duchess, that she was
completely persuaded of the contrary.
The duchess was the intimate friend of lord Towns-
hend, at that time first secretary of state. She resolved
to accomplish this business herself, that the court of
Berlin might be obliged to her alone. But perceiving
how difficult it would be to eradicate from the mind
of the king the prejudices which had been instilled
into it against me, she advised the queen of Prussia to
persuade the king of England to take a journey to
Berlin, that he might with his own eyes undeceive
himself respecting the calumnies that had been vented
against me. Assisted by the duchess, the queen
managed it so well that her father complied with her
wishes, and fixed on the month of October for his
journey. The queen returned in triumph to Berlin,
and was uncommonly well received by the king my
father. The promised visit of the king of England
diffused incredible joy all over the country ; my
father in particular was highly pleased. I was the
only person who did not share in the general satis-
faction ; for I was ill used from morning to night.
Whatever I did, the queen never failed to make her
remarks : " These manners will not please my
nephew; you must from this moment conform to
his humour, for he will not like your ways." Such
reprimands, which I heard^ twenty times a day, were
MARGRAVINE OF EAREITII. 59
not very flattering to my childish vanity. It has ever
been my misfortune to indulge in reflections : I say
misfortune ; for indeed, when things are too deeply
investigated, we often discover many that create no
trifling vexations. Self-examination is very salutary :
but we should be much happier, if we endeavoured
to divest iOiirselves of all painful recollections. It is
a physical evil, but a moral good : and although this
moral good is sometimes very troublesome, I yet find
it useful for the proper direction of my conduct. But
while I am declaiming against the excess of reflec-
tions, I perceive I am making some which do not
belong to the thread of my history. I return to those
thoughts which were suggested to me by the be-
haviour of the queen. " How hard it is (said I fre-
quently to my governess) to be always reprimanded
in so strange a manner by the queen. I know that I
have faults ; I am desirous to get the better of them ;
but it is through the ambition of acquiring general
esteem and approbation. Ought I to be encouraged
by any other motives than honour ? Why am I al-
ways reminded of the duke of Gloucester and of the
pains I ought to take to please him some day ? I
think I am full as good as he; and who knows
whether I shall like him, and live happy with him ?
Why all these advances before my marriage ? 1 am
the daughter of a king ; and it is not so very great
an honour for me to marry that prince. I feel no in-
clination for him, and all that the queen repeats to
me daily, gives me more aversion than eagerness to
marry him." Madame de Sonsfeld knew not what
answer to return. My reasoning was too just to be
condemned. I was naturally timid, and the per-
petual caprices which I had to endure were not calcu-
lated to inspire me with confidence. Madame de
Sonsfeld made some representations to the queen ;
but they were of no avail.
About that time, one of the gentlemen belonging to
the duke of Gloucester came to Berlin. The queen
60 WEMOIHS OF THE
held a drawing room : he was presented to her and
me. He delivered me a very handsome compliment
from his master ; I blushed, and replied only with a
courtsey. The queen, who was upon the listen, was
vexed that I returned no answer to the duke's com-
pliment, and chid me severely, insisting upon my
making amends the next day, on pain of her dis-
pleasure. I retired, weeping, to my room ; I was
angry with the queen and the duke. I vowed I would
never marry him : as my submission to his will was
to hegin even before marriage, I easily perceived that
I should be more than his slave after the solemnity :
the queen was following her own ideas without con-
sulting my heart ; and I was going to cast myself at
her feet, and intreat her not to force me to marry a
prince for whom I felt no inclination, and with whom,
I clearly saw, I should be unhappy. My governess
had much difficulty to calm me, and to prevent my
taking this false step. The next day I was obliged to
converse with the gentleman, and to talk to him of
the duke ; which 1 did with a very ill grace and great
confusion.
In the mean time, the visit of the king of England
drew near. On the 6th of October we went to
Charlottenburgh to receive him. My heart beat high ;
and I felt violently agitated. The British monarch
arrived on the 8th, at seven at night. The king, the
queen, and all the court, received him in the Palace-
yard, because the apartments are on the ground-floor.
After he had embraced the king and the queen, I was
presented to the English monarch. He embraced
me, and, turning to the queen, he observed : " Your
daughter is very tall for her age." He gave his hand
to the queen, and conducted her to his apartment,
where we all followed him. As soon as I entered the
room, he took a wax-light, and examined me from
head to foot : while I all the time remained immove-
able like a statute, and very much disconcerted. All
this passed without his saying anything. After
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITII. 61
having thus reviewed me, he turned to my brother,
whom he caressed much, and with whom he enter-
tained himself for a long time. I availed myself of
that opportunity to withdraw. The queen beckoned
to me to follow her, and passed into an adjoining
room, where the Englishmen and Germans of the
king's retinue were presented to her. After having
spoken with them for some time, she told the gentle-
men, that she left me to converse with them ; and ad-
dressing herself to the Englishmen : " Address my
daughter in English," said she ; " you will perceive
that she speaks it very well." I felt myself much less
embarrassed when the queen was gone ; and gaining
a little confidence, I began to converse with those
gentlemen. As I spoke their language as fluently as
my native one, I got very well over it, and every one
appeared delighted with me. They praised me very
much to the queen ; and told her that I had the air
of an English lady, and that I was calculated to be
one day their sovereign. This was saying a great
deal ; for the English fancy themselves so much su-
perior to other nations, that they think they pay a
very great compliment when they say of a person,
that he has the appearance of an Englishman. The
manners of the king were those of a Spaniard ; he
was uncommonly grave, and did not speak a word to
any one. He received madame de Sonsfeld very
coolly, and asked whether I was always so grave, and
of a melancholy disposition ? " Far from it," replied
she ; " but the respect which she has for your
majesty deprives her of her usual cheerfulness." He
shook his head, but made no reply. The manner in
which he had received me, and what I had just heard,
inspired me with such fear, that I never could sum-
mon courage enough to speak to him.
At length we sat down to supper ; but the English
monarch continued mute. I know not whether he
was right, or wrong -, but I think he followed the
62 MEMOIRS OF THE
proverb which says, " It is better to say nothing 1 ,
than to talk nonsense." He felt himself indisposed
towards the end of the repast. The queen wished to
persuade him to withdraw : many mutual compli-
ments passed on the occasion; at last the queen
threw her napkin on the table, and arose. The king
of England began to totter, my father ran to support
him : all rushed about him, but in vain : he fell upon
his knees, his wig on one side, and his hat on the
other. They gently laid him on the floor, where he
remained senseless for a full hour. The care that
was taken with him brought him at last gradually to
his senses. Meanwhile the king and queen were in
the utmost consternation, and many people thought
that this attack was the forerunner of an apoplexy.
They earnestly intreated him to withdraw ; but he
would not, and reconducted the queen to her apart-
ment. He was very ill all the night ; which we only
learned by private means. But it did not prevent his
re- appearing on the following day. The remainder
of his stay was passed in pleasures and festivities.
Secret conferences daily took place between the Eng-
lish and Prussian ministers : the result J of which was
the ratification of the treaty of alliance, and the double
marriage which had been broached at Hanover ;
which were signed on the twelfth of the same month.
The English monarch left us the next day ; and his
parting with all his relations was as cold as their re-
ception had been. The king and queen of Prussia
were to return him his visit at the Glider, a hunting-
box near Hanover."
The queen of Prussia had been ill for more than
seven months ; the pains she suffered were so pe-
culiar, that the physicians did not know what to say
about them. Every morning her body was prodi-
giously swelled, and towards night the swelling dis-
appeared. The faculty for some time supposed the
queen might be pregnant : but latterly, they had given
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 63
it as their opinion that her indisposition proceeded
from another cause, which is very troublesome but
not at all dangerous.
The 8th of November was fixed upon for the king's
journey to the Ghoer. He was to set out early in
the morning; and we all had taken leave of him : but
an occurrence retarded his departure. In the night
the queen was attacked with a violent cholic : but she
concealed her pains as much as she could that she
might not awaken the king. Knowing however by
certain indications, that she was in labour, she called
for assistance. But before either midwife or physician
could arrive, she was safely delivered of a princess,