Sahn's Position. 235 



holt, the people living there all did their best to make me com- 

 fortable and feel at home. Prince Alfred, though Prince and 

 Dnke, did not differ in his manner and behaviour from other 

 well-bred gentlemen, and his daughters were quite natural, 

 kind, and good-hearted girls, with no stupid pride or any other 

 nonsense about them. 



The household of the Prince was carried on in a style be- 

 coming his position ; ever)'thing was well regulated and agree- 

 able. The weather was not very favourable, and the family 

 were mostly confined to the Castle, where we passed the time 

 with home occupations and amusements. My brother-in-law 

 taught me how to play at billiards and his daughters how to 

 spin, which afforded me much pleasure. 



When the weather permitted, we had a ride on horseback, 

 or in a pony-chaise, or a walk to a neighbouring farm, where 

 we took coffee. Felix and his brother went out shooting 

 hares, and I joined them occasionally with my fowling-piece, 

 and sometimes succeeded well. In a word, we led a quiet 

 country life, which was to me very pleasant after the exciting 

 scenes I had gone through, but of which but little of interest 

 could be said without entering into details. 



The future of my husband occupied Prince Alfred a good 

 deal. Though Felix might have lived to the end of his life in 

 Castle Anholt, such an idle and dependent existence would 

 not have suited either him or me, and it was his great desire to 

 enter the army again. Felix had served before both in the 

 Austrian and Prussian army, and it deserved some considera- 

 tion where he would have the best chances. His sympathies 

 were entirely with Prussia, but having once left that service 

 when still a very young officer, it \v\as rather doubtful whether 

 he would find there a position he could accept in his advanced 

 age, after having occupied places of some importance. In 

 Austria his chances seemed to be better ; he had been the chief 

 of the household of the Emperor Maximilian, had been distin- 

 guished by him especially, and been his companion in prison. 

 Moreover, the late Emperor had remembered him in his last 

 will, and expressed otherwise confidence and love towards my 

 husband. It was therefore reasonable to expect that he would 

 be favourably received by the Imperial brother of his late 

 friend and Emperor. 



There existed, however, still other difficulties, which were 



