ti72 Ten Years of my Life. 



Great exertions were made at that time to persuade the 

 second son to renounce the majorate and his hereditary seat 

 in the Prussian First Chamber in favour of his youngest 

 brother, who was then an office* in a Prussian regiment of 

 cavalry, and married to a French princess related to the Bour- 

 bon family. This he refused to do, and also to be divorced 

 from his wife. He said, ' I love my wife, and as to the ma- 

 jorate and to my seat in the chamber, no law can deprive me 

 of my right ; I certainly shall maintain it.' This he did, and 



on his becoming of age his mother had to leave Castle S , 



to the great regret of all the neighbouring families, who of 

 course sided with the mother, with whom they had been on 

 the most friendly footing for many years, and who retired to a 

 country-seat she bought on the Lake of Geneva. 



To atone in some way at least for our, not idle, but rather 

 gay and useless manner of living, a number of Catholic ladies 

 had formed a sewing society, which met regularly on certain 

 days for a few hours in the Convent St. Barbara. My poetical 

 friend, who was a most zealous Catholic, belonged of course 

 to this society, and I became a member likewise. She also 

 induced me now and then to go with her to some other con- 

 vent, where we did not make clothes for the poor, as in St. 

 Barbara, but where we mended the garments of the priests, 

 which required repairing very badly. 



The Queen visited us not rarely in St. Barbara's Convent, 

 and on seeing me there she was very kind, and expressed her 

 approval at my being occupied in this manner. 



Though I liked pleasure, gay company, and dancing, I 

 never felt more satisfied than I did at home, quietly sitting at 

 the sewing-machine I had bought, and which I learnt to use 

 extremely well ; or going out for a walk with one or two of our 

 friends, and passing some pleasant hours in one of the public 

 restaurant gardens in the New Promenade of the Queen, 

 listening to the music of the band, or chatting amongst our- 

 selves. 



In England or in America this kind of enjoyment is utterly 

 denied to ladies belonging to society, and all of them would 

 shudder at the very idea of sitting down in a public garden 

 amongst smoking and beer-drinking people of all classes. 

 Whoever has travelled in Germany will find it, however, 

 everywhere, and agree that it is rather pleasant, for the 



