or his serious conversation thought a check upon those joyous meetings; however it was he was not invited again. He was promised that his brother the major should be made brigadier, a promise which was soon fulfilled, as my uncle was one of those promoted on the 3rd of January 1770. This uncle had been presented at Versailles the 12th of March 1755, fourteen years before. The early death of my mother prevented her enjoying a like honour, and my grandmother sought happiness only in seclusion. Later, as we shall see, I enjoyed this prerogative myself, for which I was prepared by serving my court apprenticeship at Montbéliard, under princes not difficult to please, for nowhere, not even in the humblest cottage, did the domestic virtues ever shine with greater purity and lustre than in this royal abode.

My father returned from Paris about the same time that Prince Frederick Eugene fixed his residence at Montbéliard, and hastened, accompanied by Madame Wurmser, to pay his respects to his royal highness. The prince and his august spouse received him in the kindest and most honourable manner. The Baron Waldner, my grandfather, had rendered important services to the Duke Leopold Eberhardt during the disputes of the latter with the empire concerning the succession of the principality The life of this Duke Leopold Eberhardt (as I shall

relate in another place) was filled with the most romantic adventures, in which love played only too important a part. In 1720 and 1723 he had requested M. de Waldner to support his interests with the emperor and the regent of France; but his cause, being either bad or difficult to sustain, failed, notwithstanding the zeal of my grandfather. My father's reception at the court of Frederick Eugene was as gracious as if this negotiation had succeeded. The comté of Montbéliard was restored to the reigning branch of WurtembergStuttgard. The pages of these memoirs which will relate to Duke Leopold Eberhardt will not be the least interesting amongst them. I will recount various anecdotes of this extraordinary man, for the authenticity of which I can vouch, as Baron Waldner learned them at their source. He was a kind of Sardanapalus or Louis XIV., on a lesser scale; he has left an immortal reputation in this country, where such wild adventures as his were unknown, and where, if it please God, they will never be again enacted.

My father had been colonel of the Wurtembergian regiment belonging to the Duke Louis Eugene, brother of the Prince Frederick Eugene, which regiment having been incorporated with the Royal German caused my father to join that of Bouillon. The prince spoke with him for a long

time concerning this affair, and treated him with the greatest distinction. Her royal highness the duchess was not less gracious to him and to Madame Wurmser.

"I know that you have a charming daughter, M. de Waldner," said she; "you must bring her to us very soon, I would wish my children to be acquainted with her; they could not have a better friend, and, for several reasons, I would wish them to make a great many; in a few days I will expect you and the Countess Henrietta." (I was called countess because I belonged to a Protestant Chapter of Germany, of which the Canonesses bore this title.)

;

Such an invitation could not be declined; my father came home delighted: he told me of my good fortune, which in truth it was for me. I was very happy at Schweighausen, but at fifteen one feels new desires; I hoped to see the world and to meet companions of my own age, with whom I could often talk and sometimes laugh. I was tall they said I had a distinguished air; my face was good-looking, notwithstanding my health, which had been always delicate; and, besides, the most sensible girl has a thousand ideas, a thousand vague desires, which bear her imagination beyond the walls of a castle. A young bird spreads its wings and seeks to fly—a young girl desires to see, to

know. I will say nothing of the pleasure I felt in a change of dress: my pinafores were put aside, I

got long dresses; and, perhaps because of my going

to the court at Montbéliard, I was allowed to wear a hoop and court dress-think of my delight.

The family into which I was to have the honour of being admitted consisted, in the first place, of the Duke Frederick Eugene de Wurtemberg, prince of Montbéliard, aged 37 years. He inherited some of the genius of his mother, the princess of La Tour and Taxis, whose powers of fascination were so generally recognised during her lifetime. The lively disposition of this princess, vivacious almost to petulance, and her strong passions, were a constant subject of conversation in the German courts. She was suspected of many weaknesses, whether justly or unjustly I cannot say; all that I know is that she possessed the art of pleasing in an eminent degree, and was the most charming and the most captivating of women. Of this she could not be ignorant, as she heard it constantly; but what influence it may have had on her is a secret between herself and God.

The Prince Eugene had at first been destined by his father for the church, and had even received at eighteen the ecclesiastical tonsure at Constance. But he soon abandoned this career to enter the service of Frederick II. of Prussia, and served under

his orders during the seven-years' war. He covered himself with glory: the hero took notice of him. The duchess, his mother, who did not allow any opportunity to escape, profited of this occasion to negotiate at Berlin a marriage between this prince (who was her third son) and the princess Frederica Dorothea Sophia, daughter of the Margrave of BrandenburgSchwadt, and niece of the king. As it ought to be, they fell in love on their first acquaintance: never was there a happier or more suitable union. The princess of Montbéliard was an accomplished woman, in whom virtue ennobled every grace.

The

When I had the honour of being presented to them, the princess was thirty-three years of age. They had five sons and three daughters. eldest, Prince Frederick William, born in Pomerania, where his father's regiment was in garrison, was of the same age as I, that was fifteen.

His brother, Prince Louis, was thirteen. Prince Eugene the Third was eleven. The fourth was Prince William who was eight, and the fifth Prince Ferdinand who was only six.

Of the three daughters, the eldest was my dear Princess Dorothea who, though only ten, was almost as tall as I. She then gave promise of all for which she has been since distinguished-a charming disposition, an excellent heart, and the most extraordinary beauty. Although she was