and arts, were prohibited as crimes ; no one was al-
lowed t to speak to him: he scarcely durst visit the
queen ; and led the most tedious life possible. Not-
withstanding the king's prohibition, he applied to
the sciences, and made great progress in them. But
the solitude in which he lived made him plunge
into dissoluteness ; as his governors did not dare to
follow him, he entirely abandoned himself to de-
baucheries.
One of the pages of the king, named Keith, was the
pandar of his vices. This young man had found
means to insinuate himself so much, that the prince
was passionately fond of him, and gave him his entire
confidence. I knew nothing of his irregularities, but
I had noticed some familiarities which he had with
this page, and I often reproached him about it ; re-
presenting to him that such manners were unsuitable
to his rank. But he excused himself, saying that as
the young man reported to him all that passed, he
was induced to treat him kindly ; particularly as the
information he conveyed to him, saved him from
many vexations. Jn the meantime, I felt uneasy in
regard to myself: my fate was just on the eve of be-
ing decided. The queen, by her set speeches, in-
creased the aversion which I had always felt for the
prince of Wales. The portrait which she drew of that
prince, was not to my taste. " He has," she ob-
served, " a good heart, but a 'very narrow mind ; he
is rather plain than handsome, and even a little de-
formed. Provided you can have the complaisance to
put up with his debauches, you may then govern him
entirely, and you may be more king than he at his
father's death. Look what a part you will have to
perform : upon you will depend the good or ill destiny
of Europe, and the rule of the English nation."
MARGRAVINE OF BAllEITH. 101
This language showed that the queen was not ac-
quainted with my true sentiments. A husband such
as she described the prince her nephew, would have
suited her. But the principle which I had adopted
respecting marriage, differed much from her's. I
maintained, 'that a happy union ought to be founded
upon mutual esteem and regard. I would have chosen
reciprocal affection as its basis, and that my complai-
sances and attentions should flow from this source.
Nothing appears difficult to us for those we love : but
can there possibly be love without any return ? True
affection suffers no division. A prince who has mis-
tresses, grows attached to them ; in proportion as his
love increases, his affection diminishes for her who
ought to be its legitimate object. What esteem, what
regard, can be entertained for a man who suffers him-
self to be governed, and neglects his affairs and his
country, to abandon himself to dissolute pleasures !
I wished for a real friend, to whom I might give my
confidence and my heart ; towards whom I could feel
both esteem and inclination ; who might insure my
felicity ; and whom I might render happy. I foresaw
that the prince of Wales would not suit me, as he did
not possess the qualities which I required. The duke
of Weissenfeld, on the other hand, pleased me still
less. Independent of the inferiority of his rank, the
disproportion of our ages was too great : I was nine-
teen, and he forty-three. His figure was rather dis-
agreeable than prepossessing ; he was short, and exces-
sively corpulent : his manners were polished ; but he
was brutal in private, and very dissolute. The state
df my poor heart may easily be conjectured. There
was no one but iny governess who was acquainted
with my real sentiments ; and to none but her could I
make them known.
In the end, the queen marred all by her haughti-
ness. Grumkow had purchased a beautiful house at
Berlin with the money he had received from the
emperor. He had adorned and furnished it at the
K 2
102 MEMOIRS OF THE
expense of all the crowned heads. The late king of
England and the empress of Russia had heen contri-
butors to its embellishments. He solicited the queen
to give him her portrait, which he said would be the
greatest ornament of his house. The queen readily
granted his request. She was just sitting to the
famous Pene, one of the most distinguished painters :
this portrait was intended for the queen of Denmark.
As the head only was finished, when she left Berlin
for Wusterhausen, she gave orders to the painter to
take a copy for Grumkow ; originals being never
given but to princesses. Grumkow one day came to
return his thanks to the queen, and expressed the
lively satisfaction he felt at possessing so perfect a
painting. " It is Pene's master-piece," added he :
" it is impossible to see a greater likeness, or a more
highly finished portrait." The queen said to me in a
low voice : " I am afraid there has been some mis-
take ; and that he has got the original instead of the
copy I" At the same time she asked him whether it
was so ? " As the portrait which the king," answered
he, (f has vouchsafed to give me is an original, it is
but just I should have that of your majesty equal to
the king's. I have got it from the painter : it is a
perfect performance." "And by whose orders?"
replied the queen ; " for I honour no private person
with an original picture, and it is not my intention to
distinguish you from others." She was going to turn
her back upon him ; but he stopped her, beseeching
her to leave him the portrait. She refused it in a
very disdainful manner, and used many invectives
against Grumkow. While the king was amusing
himself hunting, the queen related the whole scene to
count Finck. The latter, glad to play a trick to
Grumkow, against whom he had a private resentment,
urged the queen to make him sensible of the inso-
lence of his behaviour. It was therefore determined,
that after her return to Berlin, she should send
several of her domestics to Grumkow, to demand her
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. 103
portrait, and to tell him, at the same time, that she
would not give him either original or copy, until he
conducted himself more becomingly towards her, and
had learnt to pay her the respect which was due to
her as his sovereign. The plan was put in execution
the very next day, when we returned to tOAvn. No
sooner was the queen arrived at Berlin, than she
hastened to give her orders accordingly, lest she might
meet with any opposition. Grumkow, who perhaps
had been informed of the queen's intention through
Mrs Ram en, [listened, with a taunting air, to the
message which the valet of the queen delivered to
him. " You may," said he, " take back the queen's
portrait, I have those of so many great princes, that
I may easily console myself for the loss of her's."
He however informed the king of the humiliation
which he had endured, and painted it in the blackest
colouring. Neither he, nor any of his family, ap-
peared any more in the queen's drawing-room. He
spoke of her in very disrespectful terms ; and his en-
venomed tongue displayed all its eloquence in ridi-
culing her : and happy indeed would it have been for
her majesty, had he stopped there ; but he shortly
after took a more effectual revenge, as will be seen in
the sequel. Some well meaning persons interfered to
conciliate the affair. Grumkow made a parade of the
respect he entertained for whatever belonged to the
king, by muttering a kind of apology to the queen ;
to which she returned a condescending answer, which
apparently put an end to their quarrel.
As the answer from England was long in coming,
the queen began to grow uneasy. She had daily con-
ferences with M. de Bourguai, which for the most
part tended to no purpose. At length, at the end of
a month, the anxiously expected letter arrived. That
which the queen of England had written to be shown
to the king, ran thus : " The king my husband is
well disposed to unite more closely the ties of alliance
which his late royal father had contracted with the
104 MEMOIRS OF THE
king of Prussia, and to promote the double marriage
of his children : but he cannot state any thing positive
till he has proposed the business to Parliament." This
was evidently only an evasive answer. The other
letter was not more satisfactory : it contained exhor-
tations to the queen, to support with firmness the
persecutions of the king respecting my marriage with
the duke of Weissenfeld ; and stated that the match
was too little formidable to create so much alarm, and
that it could only be a feint of the king. The letter
to my brother was nearly in the same terms.
Never did Medusa's head cause greater astonish-
ment than the reading of these letters did to the
queen. She would have passed them over silently,
and written a second time to England, to endeavour
to obtain more favourable replies, had not M. de
Bourguai informed her that he was charged with the
same commissions for the king. The queen expressed,
in severe terms, her dissatisfaction at the behaviour
of his court towards her : and requested the ambassa-
dor to inform the king her brother, that if he did not
change his sentiments, all would be lost. The king
rny father arrived a few days after. As soon as he
entered the queen's room, he asked whether the answer
was come ? " Yes, (said the queen, boldly assuming
an air of satisfaction ;) and it is such as you wish."
At the same time she gave him the letter; which the
king took ; and after having perused it, returned it
in a passion. " I see," said he, " that they still
want to deceive me ; but I will not be their dupe."
He then left the room, and went to Grumkow, who
was in his antichamber. His conference with that
minister lasted two long hours ; after which he came
again to the room where we were with an open and
cheerful countenance. He said nothing more about
the matter, and behaved uncommonly well to the
queen. She suffered herself to be blinded by the
caresses of the king, and fancied that things were
going on uncommonly well. But I was not deceived :
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITII. 105
I knew the king, and feared his dissimulation more
than his violence. He staid only a few days at Berlin,
and returned to Potsdam.
The year 1729 opened with a new transaction.
M. de la Motte, an officer in the Hanoverian service,
came secretly to Berlin, and took up his residence
with M. de Sastot, a chamberlain of the queen, his
near relation. " I am intrusted," said he to his
friend, " with commissions of the greatest importance,
but which require the utmost secresy, and oblige me
to keep my journey very secret. I have a letter for
the king : but I am expressly commanded to have it
delivered into his own hands. I have not applied to
any person here, as I am not acquainted with any one.
I therefore flatter myself that, as a friend and a re-
lation, you will assist me in this business, and get my
dispatches transmitted to the king." This confiden-
tial opening inspired M. de Sastot with curiosity ; he
intreated La Motte to acquaint him with the motive
of his journey. After a long resistance on the part
of the latter, he at last learned of him, that he was
sent by the prince of Wales to inform the king that
the prince had resolved to escape from Hanover, un-
known to the king his father, and to come to marry
me. " You perceive," added La Motte, " that the
success of the plan depends on its being kept secret.
However, as I have been ordered not to inform the
queen of it, I leave to you the care of acquainting her
with the matter, if you think her sufficiently discreet."
Sastot answered, that not to run any risk, he would
consult madame 'de Sonsfeld on the subject. I had
a few days before been attacked with a severe cold.
Sastot found madame de Sonsfeld with the queen,
giving her majesty an account of the state of my
health. As soon as he could speak to her, he ac-
quainted her with the arrival of La Motte, and the
intelligence he had communicated to him ; requesting
her to advise him whether he ought to tell it to the
queen. Both Sastot and madame de Sonsfeld knew
106 MEMOIRS OF THE
full well that the queen kept nothing from her deal-
Mrs Ramen, and that, consequently, Sekendofff
would not fail to be immediately informed of what
had happened. But at length, after mature delibera-
tion, they resolved to confide it to the queen. It is
impossible to conceive an idea of the pleasure with
which her majesty received the intelligence. She
could not conceal her joy either from the countess de
Finck or madame de Sonsfeld. They both exhorted
her to be discreet, and warned her of the fatal conse-
quences that might ensue, if the project happened to
be divulged. She promised every thing ; and turning
to my governess : " Go," said she, " prepare my
daughter for this news : I shall visit her to-morrow
to speak to her : but, above all, do your best that she
may soon be able to leave her room." Madame de
Sonsfeld immediately came to me. " I do not know,"
said she, " what is the matter with Sastot ; he is like
a madman ; he dances, he sings, and all for joy, he
says, about some good news which he has received,
and which he is ordered not to divulge." I paid no
attention to what she said ; and as I made no
answer : " I am however anxious," continued she,
" to know what it may be, for he says, madame, that
it concerns you." " Alas !" said I, " what good
news can there be for me in my situation ; and
whence could Sastot get any?" " From Hanover,"
answered she ; " and, perhaps, from the prince of
Wales himself." " I see no very great happiness in
that," replied I ; " you perfectly well know my sen-
timents on the subject." " It is true, madam,"
answered she, " but I am afraid heaven will punish
you for slighting a prince, who, sacrificing himself
for you, incurs the displeasure of the king his father,
and exposes himself to the ill-will of all his family
for the sake of coming hither to marry you. What
is it you would be at ? You have no choice left. Do
you prefer the duke of Weissenfeld, or the margrave
of Schwedt ? or will you not marry at all ? Indeed,
MARGRAVINE OF BARE1TU. 107
madam, you break my heart ; and after all, you do
not know your own mind." I could not forbear
smiling at her earnestness, not supposing that what
she had been telling me was so certain. " The queen
has probably received letters similar to those she had
six months ago, and this is doubtless the cause," said
I, *' of the long arguments you are using with me."
" By no means," replied she; at the same time in-
forming me of La Motte's journey. I now saw that
the affair was serious, and the inclination to laugh
gave way to a gloomy sorrow, which did not tend to
restore my health.
The queen came to see me the next day : and after
having embraced me several times with tokens of the
most lively affection, she repeated all that madame de
Sonsfeld had told me the day before. " At length
you will be happy ! what a joy for me !" During all
this time I kissed her hands, which I bedewed with
my tears without returning an answer. " But you
weep," added she; "what is the matter?" I felt
some reluctance to lessen her satisfaction. " The
mere thought of quitting you, madam," said I,
*' gives me more pain than all the crowns of the world
could give me pleasure." She was affected at my
answer, and after tenderly caressing me, withdrew.
The queen held a drawing-room that evening.
Her evil star brought M. de Bourguai, the English
minister, to court. The ambassador, as usual, com-
municated to her majesty the letters he had received
from his court, and insensibly entered into conver-
sation on their contents with the queen ; who,
forgetting all her promises, imprudently informed
him of the design of the prince of Wales. M. de
Bourguai appeared surprised, and asked, whether it
was perfectly certain? " So certain," said the queen,
" that La Motte has been sent hither to acquaint the
king with the business." M. de Bourguai, shrugging
his shoulders, replied ; " how unfortunate I am, ma-
dame! your majesty has trusted me with a secret that
108 MEMOIRS OF THE
should have been kept from me as much as from Se-
kendorff. Indeed! I am much to he pitied, since I
must this very evening send a "messenger to England
to inform the king of the project of his son ; which
his majesty will no douht take measures to prevent;
but I cannot act otherwise." The consternation of
the queen may easily be imagined : she used all her
efforts to divert de Bourguai from his design ; but the
minister was inexorable, and withdrew immediately.
The queen was left a prey to despair. Unfortunately,
she had likewise trusted the secret to her favorite
Ramen. Sekendorff, who had been acquainted with
the business through this woman, had gone to Pots-
dam to dissuade the king from returning any answer.
Countess Finck told me all this the following day.
The mine was sprung ; nothing was now more urgent
than to prevent the queen's imprudence reaching the
ears of her royal husband. The king came to Berlin
the week after. In spite of SekendorfPs insinuations,
his majesty sent for La Motte, whom he received very
kindly, expressing his impatience at seeing the prince
of Wales. He gave him a letter for the prince, and
requested La Motte to set off as fast as he could to
hasten his arrival. But matters were completely
altered. The king's delay and the queen's impru-
dence gave time to the messenger of the ambassador
to arrive in England. As his dispatches were addressed
to the secretary of state, the latter obliged the king
to send an express to Hanover to order the prince of
Wales over to England without delay. The messen-
ger reached Hanover a moment before the departure
of the prince for Berlin. As the order was addressed
to the ministers, the prince was forced to obey and to
set out for London, while the king and queen of
Prussia expected him at Berlin with joyful eagerness.
But their joy was soon converted into grief by the
arrival of an express, which informed their majesties
of the prince's sudden departure for England.
But it is time to unravel this mystery. The English
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITII. 109
nation was ardently wishing for the presence of the
prince of Wales in his future kingdom. The British
monarch had repeatedly, but vainly been urged on
this subject. He did not wish to have his son in
England, because he foresaw that his presence would
give rise to parties that might become prejudicial to
his authority. He however saw that he could not
long delay complying with the wishes of the nation.
He therefore secretly ordered his son to go to Berlin,
and to marry me, with an express injunction of secrecy
as to the part his majesty had taken in this business.
This contrivance was a decent pretext to quarrel with
the prince, and to leave him at Hanover, without the
nation having any right to complain. The indiscre-
tion of the queen of Prussia, and the arrival of de
Bourguai's messenger, marred the project, and com-
pelled the king of England to comply with the wishes
of the nation. Poor La Motte fell a sacrifice ; he was
confined for two years in the fortress of Hameln, and
afterwards broke. But after his release, the king my
father took him into his service, where he is still com-
mander of a regiment. All this rendered our situa-
tion worse; the king was more than ever incensed
against the British monarch his brother-in-law, and
resolved from that instant to break with him, if my
marriage were not concluded.
We shortly after followed the king to Potsdam,
where he had a violent fit of the gout in both feet.
This illness, added to the vexation of seeing his hopes
vanished, put him into an insupportable humour.
The pains of purgatory could not equal those we en-
dured ; we were obliged to be in the king's room by
nine o'clock in the morning ; we dined there and durst
not leave it on any account. The king passed the
whole day in abusing my brother and me ; he called
me the " English baggage," and my brother the "ras-
cally Frederic." He forced us to eat and drink things
which we disliked, or which disagreed with our con-
stitutions ; this ill-judged severity sometimes made us
VOL. i. L
110 MEMOIRS OF THE
throw up in his presence all we had in our stomachs.
Every day was marked by some unlucky event ; we
could not lift up our eyes without beholding some ill-
fated being tormented in one way or other. The
impatience of the king would not suffer him to lie in
bed; he was placed in an arm-chair upon castors,
and rolled about all over the palace ; his arms rested
on crutches. We followed his triumphal car every-
where like unfortunate captives undergoing their pu-
nishment. The poor king was really suffering violent
pain, and the overflowing of a black bile caused his
intolerable humour.
One morning when we entered his room to pay him
our respects, he sent us all back. " Get you gone,"
said he, in a passion, to the queen, " with your con-
founded brats; I wish to be alone." The queen
would have replied, but he bade her be silent, and or-
dered dinner to be served up in her room. My mother
was vexed, but we were delighted, for my brother and
myself were actually as meagre as jades through the
want of food. But we had scarcely sat down to dinner,
when one of the king's valets came running, quite out
of breath, calling out to the queen, " For heaven's
sake, madame ! come quickly : the king is about
strangling himself." The queen immediately ran to
his assistance; she found the king with a rope about
his neck, and on the point of suffocation if she had
not timely saved him. His brain was affected; the
heat of his fever however abated towards night, when
he found himself somewhat better. We were all ex-
ceedingly rejoiced at it, hoping that his humour would
be less violent; but we were disappointed. At table
he told the queen that he had received letters from
Anspach, informing him that the young Margrave in-
tended to be at Berlin in May, to marry my sister ;
and that he should send M. de Bremer, his governor,
to carry to him the betrothing ring. He asked my
sister whether she was pleased ; and how she would
regulate her house when married ? My bister was in
MARGRAVINE OF BAREITH. Ill
the habit of speaking her sentiments freely, and even
telling him his own faults, without his being offended.
She therefore told him, with her usual frankness,
"that she would keep a good table, -well provided
with all sorts of delicacies, which," added she, "will
be superior to yours ; and if I have children, I shall
not use them ill as you do, nor force them to eat food
that disagrees with them." "What do you mean?"
replied the king ; " what fault is there in my table ?"
"The fault is," said she, " that there is not enough
to satisfy one's hunger; and that [the little there is
consists of coarse vegetables, which we cannot digest."
The king had already begun to be angry at her first
answer ; the last put him into a furious rage ; but his
passion vented itself upon my brother and me. He
first threw a plate at the head of my brother, who
avoided the blow ; he then threw one at me, which I
also avoided. A pelting storm followed ; he flew into
a rage at the queen, scolding her for the bad educa-
tion she gave to her offspring ; and turning to my
brother, " You ought to curse your mother," said he,
" she is the cause of your being so ill-bred. I had a
tutor," added he, " who was an honest man. I shall
never forget a story which he told me when I was
very young. ' There ."was/ said he, * a man at Car-
thage, who had been condemned to death for several
crimes he had committed. When he was led to ex-
ecution, he asked leave to speak to his mother, who
was instantly sent for. He approached her, as if he
wanted to speak to her, and bit off part of her ear
with his teeth. I do this, said he to his mother, to
set you up as an example to all parents who neglect
bringing their children up in the practice of virtue.*
You may make the application ;" continued the king,
still addressing my brother ; and as the latter did not
return any answer, he went on abusing us till he was
no longer able to speak.
We arose from table, and as we were obliged to pass
close by him, he aimed a blow at me with one of his
112 MEMOIRS OF THE
crutches, which I luckily avoided, else it would have
felled me to the ground. He pursued me for some
time in his rolling car, but those who dragged it gave
me time to fly to the room of the queen, which was
at a great distance. I reached it half dead with fear
and in such a tremble that I sunk on a chair unable
to support myself any longer. The queen had followed
me ; she did all she could to comfort me and to per-
suade me to go back to the king. His plates and