diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/65549-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/65549-0.txt | 2858 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 2858 deletions
diff --git a/old/65549-0.txt b/old/65549-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d815001..0000000 --- a/old/65549-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2858 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Louise, Queen of Prussia, by Heinrich Merz - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Louise, Queen of Prussia - Life Stories for Young People - -Author: Heinrich Merz - -Translator: George P. Upton - -Release Date: June 7, 2021 [eBook #65549] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: D A Alexander, Stephen Hutcheson, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital - Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOUISE, QUEEN OF PRUSSIA *** - - - - - [Illustration: _QUEEN LOUISE of Prussia_] - - _Life Stories for Young People_ - - - - - LOUISE - QUEEN OF PRUSSIA - - - _Translated from the German of - Heinrich Merz_ - - BY - GEORGE P. UPTON - _Translator of “Memories,” “Immensee,” etc._ - - WITH THREE ILLUSTRATIONS - - [Illustration: A. C. McCLURG & CO.] - - CHICAGO - A. C. McCLURG & CO. - 1909 - - Copyright - A. C. McClurg & Co. - 1909 - Published August 21, 1909 - - THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. - - - - - Translator’s Preface - - -There have been greater queens in history,—Elizabeth of England, -Catherine of Russia, Maria Theresa of Austria, and others,—greater in -diplomacy and statecraft and power, but none purer, nobler, or lovelier -than Louise, Queen of Prussia, whose pathetic life is narrated in this -volume. No queen has suffered more from the calamities inflicted upon -her family, from the personal insults of a victorious enemy, and from -the misfortunes which visited her country; and no queen has been more -deeply beloved. The brutal attempt made by Napoleon to destroy her -reputation is one of the most disgraceful events in his career. The -insult was avenged sixty-five years later, when her second son, William -the Third, vanquished Napoleon’s nephew, entered Paris in triumph, and -was crowned Emperor of United Germany at Versailles. She will ever -remain in history the ideal of a noble, beautiful woman of refined -character, lofty patriotism, charitable nature, and exemplary goodness. -The story of her sufferings and of the patience with which she endured -them; of her love for her husband and children and country, which never -wavered, as told in this little volume, must commend her to all who -admire purity, beauty, truth, and love. - - G. P. U. - -Chicago, July 1, 1909. - - - - - Contents - - - Chapter Page - I Louise’s Youth 11 - II Louise as Crown-princess of Prussia 24 - III Louise as Queen 40 - IV Louise in Misfortune 51 - V Louise and Napoleon 86 - VI Louise’s Probation 98 - VII Louise’s Death 113 - Appendix 128 - - - - - Illustrations - - - Queen Louise of Prussia _Frontispiece_ - Queen Louise and her two sons 70 - Napoleon Bonaparte 90 - - - - - Louise - Queen of Prussia - - - - - Chapter I - Louise’s Youth - - - “The memory of the just is blessed.” - -The mother of Emperor William the Victorious, Queen Louise of Prussia, a -woman of noble instincts, rich talents, and a character purified in the -crucible of adversity, the guiding-star of her family and her country in -dark and troubled times, was born March 10, 1776, in Hanover. Her father -was Prince Karl of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who later became Duke, and -still later, the first Grand Duke, of that principality. He served under -his brother-in-law, the Elector of Hanover (who occupied the throne of -England as George III), as field-marshal, and governor-general. Her -mother, Frederika Caroline Louise, was a daughter of Landgrave George of -Hesse-Darmstadt. Louise was her sixth child, and lost her mother May 22, -1782, when barely six years of age. In 1784 the Prince married Princess -Charlotte, the sister of the deceased; but she died also in December of -the following year. This double loss deeply pained the sensitive heart -of the child, young as she was. The sense of her loss and the longing -for mother-love accompanied her all through life and caused her to give -to her children all the tenderness that she had so sadly missed in her -own life, and tirelessly to do for them as only a mother can. The -twice-bereaved husband took leave of Hanover in 1786 and removed to -Darmstadt, where he placed the princesses in the care of their wise and -loving grandmother, Landgravine Marie, whose darling the gay and -talented little Louise had already become. - -A French Swiss, Mademoiselle de Gélieu, was engaged as governess, and -proved an excellent guardian for the lively and sometimes passionate, -then again very tender-hearted, little Princess. In the education of the -German Princess under French influence—which unfortunately has been -customary at German courts and among the German nobility since the days -of Louis the Fourteenth—but one thing was lacking, namely, instruction -in her mother-tongue and in the German literature, which at that time -was so rich in promise. This was a loss which later she could not -sufficiently deplore, and which she strove with all her energy to -repair. But, on the other hand, her governess instructed her from the -beginning in the Word of God, guided her in prayer toward faith, purity -of heart, and singleness of character, as well as toward the royal road -of charity and good works, from the palace to the cottage of the poor -and the bedside of the suffering. Thus she had early training in the -practice of that graciousness and benevolence which so endeared her to -the hearts of her subjects. - -Not only did Louise always retain a grateful devotion to her -preceptress, but the King, her husband, also, was warmly attached to her -and recognized her as his own benefactress, for the services she had -rendered to his consort. When he returned in triumph from Paris in July, -1814, four years after the death of Louise, he took his way through -Switzerland and with his second son (afterwards Emperor William the -First), drove to Colombier, on the Lake of Neuenburg, in the Prussian -principality of that name, to visit Mademoiselle de Gélieu, who lived -there with her brother. What a surprise it was for the venerable matron -when she saw an elegant equipage draw up before her door and three -officers alight from it, in one of whom she recognized the King of -Prussia! The King remained long in conversation with the noble woman who -had known his Louise as a child and had watched her grow to maturity. -Many were the reminiscences they exchanged about the dear departed one, -who had been his most precious earthly possession. He took an -affectionate leave of her, and among the rich gifts which he left -behind, the most precious was a shawl which the Queen had worn shortly -before her death, the sight of which moved the old lady to tears. The -King had carried with him in the campaign, like holy relics, several -objects which had belonged to the Queen and which he particularly -prized; among them, this shawl, from which he parted only as a mark of -peculiar favor to one who had been the teacher and motherly friend of -his Louise. - -The following story shows that the governess moulded the will of the -Princess, not so much by command or compulsion, as through the reason, -and appeals to her tender and sympathetic heart. After several quiet -years in Darmstadt, Louise was allowed to go with her grandmother to the -old imperial city of Strasburg on a visit to her aunt, Countess of the -Palatinate of Zweibrücken, wife of Maximilian, who became the first King -of Bavaria. We may imagine what an impression the splendid cathedral -made on the lively young girl. Of course there was no peace until she -was allowed to visit the tower. As the ascent of the three hundred and -twenty-five steps was too arduous for her grandmother, she was put in -charge of the governess. Delighted with the magnificent views of the -Rhine Valley and its surrounding mountains which the platform afforded, -she would have been only too happy to climb the remaining four hundred -steps to the top of the tower. Now Mademoiselle de Gélieu was loath to -oppose her, but felt sure that her grandmother would not approve of her -ascent of this difficult and dizzy height. As the Princess kept urging -her to consent, she said: “The climb will be very difficult for me; but -as my duty demands that I shall not leave you, go, and I will follow.” - -At this Louise immediately relented and replied: “No, indeed, I cannot, -and I am sorry that I have already made you climb so high!” Thus, by an -appeal to her sympathies she was easily induced to yield. - -Louise particularly enjoyed two visits to Frankfort-on-the-Main, during -the coronation ceremonies of the last two emperors of the “Holy Roman -Empire of the German Nation”; one of them was that of the Emperor -Leopold the Second (1790), and the other that of the Emperor Francis -(1792). Her sister, married to the Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis, -lived in Frankfort, and as her guest Louise was enabled to see the last -vestiges of glory of the old empire. Wonderful pageants they were! She -beheld the imperial treasure brought from Nürnberg and Aix-la-Chapelle -with great ceremony, in a state coach drawn by six horses, to the -cathedral; also the crown, sceptre, globe, and sword of the Holy -Mauritius, carried to the King; then His Majesty, who had just been -chosen by the seven Electors, riding from his apartments in solemn -procession to the cathedral; before him, the seven Electors in their -official robes, over him a silk-embroidered baldachin, borne by ten -councillors of the city of Frankfort; surrounding him, the imperial -court, and behind him the splendid procession of the bodyguard and -troops of the city with music and waving banners; and lastly, a -countless multitude of followers, on foot, on horseback, and in -carriages. - -In the cathedral, kneeling on the altar steps during high mass, the King -took the oath on the Sacred Book of Aix-la-Chapelle, was then anointed -by the Elector of Mayence, gorgeous in his archiepiscopal robes, and -thereby made worthy to bear the sword of Charlemagne. After taking the -sacrament, he ascended the throne with the crown upon his head; then, -amid the chanting of “Lord God we praise Thee,” the tolling of the -bells, and the thunder of a hundred cannon, he was acclaimed Emperor. -The great coronation procession streaming at last out of the cathedral -proceeded to “the Römer,” over the bridge laid with cloth of the -imperial colors, which, as soon as it had passed, was appropriated by -the crowd. The hereditary marshal of the empire, filling a vessel of -silver from a great heap of oats in the market-place, presented it to -the Emperor in token that the royal stables were provisioned; the royal -chamberlain offered the silver ewer, basin, and towel; the dapifer -brought a glass from the fountain flowing with red and white wine, and -the royal treasurer, in the name of the Emperor, scattered gold and -silver coins from great purses among the scrambling crowds. All these -scenes Louise had an opportunity of witnessing as a privileged onlooker. -With what childish delight, but how modestly she regarded them! As -member of a family rich only in children, she made with her own hands -the satin shoes which were then in fashion, and which she wore. - -This natural and unassuming young girl was an admirable companion for -simple, domestic Frau Goethe, mother of the celebrated poet, whom she -and her brothers and sisters were often allowed to visit. On one -occasion Louise and her brother found the old lady enjoying a delicious -German salad with an omelette. It looked so appetizing that they begged -for a portion and never stopped until they had eaten the last leaf. -Another time, the fourteen-year-old Louise and her sister Frederika -strayed into the paved court-yard, where they discovered the well and -began to pump with might and main, until their governess espied them and -tried to put a stop to the prank. Their good-natured old friend, -Mistress Goethe, tried first to pacify the irate governess, and when -that failed, locked her into a room until the sisters had pumped to -their hearts’ content. She said afterwards, that she would have taken -almost anything upon herself rather than have interfered with their -innocent fun. When they bade her good-bye, the merry girls declared they -should never forget her and the good times they had had in her house. -When Louise became Queen, she sent her old friend, among other things, a -piece of jewelry which Madame Goethe wore only upon grand occasions, in -her honor. - -It was in Frankfort also where, not long afterwards, she found the great -happiness of her life. The French Revolution, which had broken out in -1789, had grown constantly to greater and more dangerous proportions. In -order to assist the threatened kingdom and its allies, who had taken -refuge in multitudes along the Rhine, King Frederick William the Second -of Prussia entered into an alliance with Austria. The French National -Assembly quickly declared war, in April, 1792. Under command of the -venerable Duke of Brunswick the campaign in France was so mismanaged -that the Allies were obliged to retreat, and the French got possession -of Mayence and on October 23, 1792, took Frankfort and burned it. The -city was recovered December 2, but Mayence had to be besieged. The King -of Prussia established his headquarters in Frankfort. - -On the outbreak of hostilities the Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt and -her two granddaughters took refuge with their older sister, the Princess -of Hildburghausen. From there the Landgrave, who was in the suite of the -King, sent for them in order to present them to His Majesty, whose -consort was also a native of Darmstadt. When the presentation had taken -place, the grandmother intended to proceed with her charges that same -evening to Darmstadt, but was detained by an invitation to the royal -table. Here the twenty-three-year-old Crown-prince, Frederick William, -saw the seventeen-year-old Louise. The charm and graciousness of her -bearing, her delicate and youthful figure, and the sweetness of her -voice affected him; and when she looked at him with an almost frightened -expression in her large blue eyes, an inner voice seemed to say to him, -as years afterwards he used to relate, “It must be she, or no one else -on earth.” Louise had the same feeling; and a clear realization of their -destiny (so the King declared in his reminiscences of that exalted -moment) brought tears of joy to the eyes of both. - -The same evening, Prince Frederick Louis Karl, three years younger than -his brother, fell in love with the fifteen-year-old Frederika. The -brothers had been close comrades from childhood, and now, through their -devotion to the two blooming sisters, they were drawn closer together -than ever before. - -The Crown-prince, who had borne himself gallantly in the French -campaign, was given command of a regiment during the siege of Mayence; -but the impression made upon him by Louise was not to be dimmed by the -turmoil of war. During several visits to Darmstadt he became more -intimately acquainted with the beloved, grew to appreciate her lovely -nature, and being sure of himself, he sought and obtained the consent of -his father to their union. A month after the first meeting, April 2, -1793, the double betrothal was celebrated in the palace at Darmstadt in -the presence of the King of Prussia and the sisters of the two -_fiancées_. Two days later both Princes returned to the field with their -father, and six days afterwards the Crown-prince, at the head of his -battalion, took the village of Kostheim by storm. His brother, betrothed -of Princess Frederika, came very near losing his life one evening from -an overheated stove, as he was resting in his tent after an arduous day. -Everything about the sleeping Prince was already in flames, when a -sentinel who had smelt the smoke rushed in and rescued the unconscious -Prince from certain death. The tent was consumed, and the Prince saved -nothing but the clothes on his back. The next day the serious and -somewhat practical Crown-prince conceived the humorous idea of going to -the King and among his suite, and soliciting contributions in aid of the -“poor burned-out man.” - -The Princesses ventured into the camp several times to visit their -betrothed. During one of these visits at Bodenbach, near Mayence, May -29, 1793, young Goethe, who was staying there, had an opportunity of -seeing them from his tent near by and was so entranced with both sisters -that they seemed to him like “heavenly visions” which he could never -forget. There is but one voice concerning the gracious charm of Louise, -as Princess and as Queen. She appeared to those who knew her almost like -a supernatural being. Her intimates called her an angel. The poet -Fouqué, who saw both lovely sisters on their entry into Berlin, spoke of -the “angelically beautiful brides.” The King called his gracious -daughter-in-law “the Princess of Princesses.” Even a man of intellect -like the court physician, Hufeland, tells us in after years of that -“indescribably blissful feeling” which one always had when in her -presence, “as if in the presence of a heavenly being.” Old Blücher, on -hearing of her death, cried: “Our saint is now in Heaven!” May we not -also look up with deepest reverence to her who was glorified while still -upon earth? - -The Crown-prince, who was now burning to distinguish himself and to -prove worthy of his beloved, was particularly valiant in the siege of -Landau, at which he had command of the royal guard. However, two months -later, November 27, 1793, he and his brother were recalled from the -field by the King, who had grown tired of the war in consequence of -disagreements among the Allies. In the meantime the Crown-prince’s -palace, in which Frederick William, as Crown-prince and as King, lived -and died, was being newly furnished and made ready to receive the young -pair. - - - - - Chapter II - Louise as Crown-princess of Prussia - - -On the seventeenth of December, Louise and her sister left Darmstadt, -which had become like home to them. Accompanied by their father and the -widowed Landgravine, their grandmother, they travelled by way of -Würzburg, Hildburghausen, Weimar, Leipzig, and Wittenberg to Potsdam, -where they arrived on the twenty-first of December. In the outskirts of -this city of Frederick the Great, they were met by bands of citizens on -horseback, carrying the Prussian and Mecklenburg colors, and there -sixteen postilions gave them the first salute of welcome. The -Brandenburg arch in Potsdam had been furnished with a special gate of -honor by the citizens. The street leading westward from this gateway was -renamed in honor of the Princess, and the open square before it was -called Louise Square. On their arrival, toward evening, all the windows -were illuminated and the streets lighted with torches. The guild of -butchers in Potsdam particularly distinguished itself. The masters, in -brown coats with gold shoulder-straps, red, gold-bordered vests, and -high, three-cornered hats with gold tassels, cockades, and red pompons, -carried curved hussar sabres and bestrode horses decked with red -trappings, and were preceded by three lusty trumpeters and the waving -banner of their guild. In memory of this occasion, when (in 1804) the -old banner was discarded, Queen Louise presented the honorable guild -with a handsome new one. - -The entry of the Princesses into Berlin took place on the twenty-second -of December. Both Princes escorted their brides-to-be from Potsdam. The -guilds and societies of Berlin assembled in the village of Schöneberg, -an hour distant, in order to ride in front of the carriage of state. Six -postal secretaries, at the head of forty trumpeters in new festal -garments, led the torch-light procession from Schöneberg. Next to these -came the company of carters in blue; next, the Berlin guild of butchers -in blue; the sharpshooters in green with peach-colored trimmings; a -company of Berlin citizens in old knightly costumes; the brewers and -maltsters in blue; two companies of young clerks; and at the end, the -merchants of the three guilds in red and blue. - -The streets were lined with soldiers of the royal guard and gentlemen of -the court. Thus Louise, with her sister, was received and conducted to -the capital, everything being done to honor and delight her. Poetical -tributes were not lacking, and the tact and grace with which she -received the homage, her wit, and the sincerity of her manner, laid the -foundation for that profound reverence and love with which the people of -the city always regarded her. At the gates and in the streets of Berlin, -the entry became a veritable triumphal procession. Rows of the civil -guard and countless masses of the populace lined the streets all the way -to “the Linden” and the Crown-prince’s palace, where an arch of honor -had been erected, and thirty boys from the French colony and forty young -maidens presented her with a festival poem, which ended with the verse: - - “Forget what Thou hast lost; - This day of joy shall be the promise of a happier life; - Hail to Thee! mother of future monarchs, - A Queen and blissful wife!” - -The young girl who presented a crown of blossoming myrtle and recited -the poem with much taste and feeling was so lovely in dress and manner -that Louise, yielding to the dictates of her heart, bent suddenly toward -her, took her in her arms, and kissed her. - -The Countess von Voss, a dignified courtier and Mistress of Ceremonies, -standing just behind the Princess, was horrified at this unusual -procedure and tried to put a stop to it. But she was too late! How -dreadful that the future Crown-princess of Prussia should have embraced -and kissed a child of the common people! - -“Alas!” she sighed, “what has Your Royal Highness done! It is against -all custom!” - -“What!” answered Louise, innocently, “can I no longer follow the -dictates of my heart?” - -Those who witnessed this scene were carried away by the sincerity and -sweetness which the kiss and these words so spontaneously and naturally -revealed. The procession passed on to the castle through rows of Berlin -working-men, and it was not until three o’clock in the afternoon that -the Princesses found themselves in the midst of the royal family and by -the side of their betrothed. - -Two days afterwards, on Christmas eve, 1793, the marriage of the -Crown-prince and Louise took place in the White Hall of the castle. It -was solemnized by the consistorial councillor, Dr. Sack, who had -baptized and confirmed the Prince. In order to allow the citizens to -participate as fully as possible in the ceremony the King had given -orders that as many admission-cards should be issued as would fill the -hall. Most of them fell to officials of the royal household, who crowded -the apartments, wearing their gorgeous court uniforms. Out of patience -on seeing how his wishes had been misinterpreted, the King said to the -Master of Ceremonies: “Could you not gather enough embroidered collars -about you? I wish to see the wedding garments of the citizens also; on -the day after to-morrow no cards shall be issued, but all shall be -admitted who have whole coats to their backs!” Therefore, on the -twenty-sixth of December, at the wedding of Prince Louis and Frederika, -the multitude which was admitted left so narrow a passage for the rather -corpulent King, who was leading the widow of Frederick the Great, that -he turned and, thrusting out his left elbow, called genially to his -Berliners: “Do not mind, children! No one must expect to spread himself -on such an occasion!” - -On the evening of the Crown-prince’s wedding-day the citizens had -planned a beautiful illumination of the city. While expressing his -thanks on hearing of the plan, the Crown-prince said: “It would give me -far more pleasure if those who have something to spare would give the -money which the lights would cost, to the widows and orphans of those -who have fallen in battle.” No sooner said than done. The King, the -Princes and Princesses contributed large sums, so that the joy of this -Christmas and marriage festival was reflected in many a careworn face -and many a humble home. The next morning, on Christmas Day, the newly -married pair, with their attendants, drove from the castle to the -cathedral. After attending the services, and thus having consecrated the -first day of their married life, they drove to their own palace. - -This was, and still is, an unostentatious building and furnished in -exceedingly plain style. But it pleased the Crown-prince, who was simple -in his tastes by nature and education; and it also satisfied Louise, who -was not at all fond of show. When, after the King’s death, Frederick -William the Third might and should have removed to the castle, he -preferred to remain in the simpler dwelling as long as he lived. When -his children became dissatisfied, he would say to them: “You wish to -make a show in the world, forgetting how it was with me at your age. On -my birthday I received a pot of heliotrope worth threepence, and when my -tutor wished to give me an unusual treat, he would take me to a -coffee-garden and order twopence worth of cherries.” To a newly married -son, whose house he had fitted up in princely style, he remarked: “I had -no such splendors when I married your mother. I can only wish that you -may live as happily and contentedly as we have done.” - -In marked contrast to the usual brilliant, vain, superficial court life -of the period, a new life now began in the Crown-prince’s palace. A -simple, old-fashioned household was established, a shining example of -German family life, of simplicity, love, and faithfulness. Both husband -and wife avoided as much as possible any contact with the unsavory -persons who frequented the court of Frederick William the Second as -satellites of the celebrated Countess Lichtenau. - -The young couple ignored the French custom of formal address and used -the more intimate “thou.” The King noticed this with displeasure and -called them to account with the words: “I hear that you call the -Crown-princess ‘Thou’!” - -But the Crown-prince answered: “For very good reasons.” And on being -asked what these reasons were, replied: “With ‘Thou’ one always knows -where one stands, but with ‘you’ all is uncertainty.” - -In his exalted station he had, at best, but little freedom, and even -when King he “wished to enjoy in his home life some of the independence -that belongs to every private citizen.” He was not so much in his -element at court as at home “with his wife.” When she had laid aside the -necessary trappings of fashion and stood before him in her plain gown -and ordinary attire, he would look at her as upon a pearl newly restored -to its pristine purity; then he would grasp her hand with a radiant -expression and exclaim: “Thank God! that you are my wife once more!” - -And when she would laughingly ask: “How, am I not always your wife?” he -would reply, sighing jocosely: - -“Ah no! All too often you are obliged to be the Crown-princess.” - -The unfortunate Mistress of Ceremonies had her troubles in consequence -of this disregard of court etiquette. Once she read the Prince a French -lecture on the influence of etiquette in the history of the world. With -a very chastened air, he said: “Very well, I will submit myself. -Announce me to my consort and inquire whether I may have the honor of -waiting upon Her Royal Highness, the Crown-princess. Say that I should -like to present my compliments and hope that she will graciously receive -me.” Highly delighted with such a result of her sermon, the good lady -went ceremoniously to the Crown-princess to beg an audience in the name -of His Royal Highness. But what a surprise was in store for her! As she -entered the room she found the Crown-prince, who had hurriedly preceded -her by another passageway, already “with his wife”; and laughingly he -calls to the crestfallen lady: “You see, dear Voss, my wife and I meet -as often as we like unannounced. This is a good Christian custom, I -believe. However, you are a splendid Mistress of Ceremonies, and -henceforth shall be called ‘Madame Etiquette’!” The good lady had a -similar experience afterwards at a festal procession of the Court. The -order of ceremonies read that “Their Royal Highnesses must appear in the -state carriage drawn by six horses, with two coachmen and three royal -riflemen in uniform.” The Crown-prince allowed the Mistress of -Ceremonies to make all the arrangements according to precedent. -Punctually the grand coach drew up before the palace, the Crown-prince -appeared with his consort, but instead of entering it with her, he -gently pushed the Mistress of Ceremonies inside, closed the door, and -ordered the coachman to drive on with the prisoner. With his Louise, he -then seated himself in an ordinary carriage with only two horses and -drove to the castle, where, according to orders, the coachman drew up -behind the state coach, from which at the same moment “Madame Etiquette” -was alighting. - -Louise, brought up in comparative freedom and in the sunshine of love, -was in complete sympathy with this spirit of fun, which was a token of -domestic happiness. She had the most fortunate influence over this -husband, who was generally silent, reserved, harsh, and often seemingly -morose, because of his strict and severe education, which she, with her -frank and innocent nature, most happily supplemented. - -When she celebrated her first birthday in Berlin, March 10, 1794, the -King, who was very fond of her, presented her with the pleasure palace -“Oranienburg” and a splendid park on the river Havel. Ladies and -gentlemen of the court appeared before her in the costume of Oranienburg -and, as it were, in the name of the inhabitants, presented the keys of -the castle to its new mistress. Louise was full of joy and gratitude, -but she could not keep it all for herself. On the King’s inquiring if -she had any other desire, she could only wish for a handful of gold, so -that the poor of Berlin might share her good fortune. Smilingly the King -remarked that it only depended on how large she imagined the handful of -gold to be. Never at a loss for an answer, she quickly replied: “The -handful of gold should be just as large as the heart of the kindest of -kings.” So the poor of the capital received a share of the royal -largess, and the birthday joy of the noble woman was complete. As an -after celebration she, with her sister, gave a banquet for the servants, -each of whom was allowed to bring several guests. The next day, on -hearing that there had been eighty at table, Louise scolded them -good-naturedly for not having made the number a full hundred. - -In the following May, the King and the Crown-prince were obliged to take -the field against the Poles. When the news came that at the storming of -Wola the Crown-prince had led the company next after the King’s against -the intrenchments, she said: “I tremble for the dangers to which my -husband is exposed; but I feel that as he is next to the throne, he -should also be close to the King in the field.” Soon after his return, -October 7, 1794, she gave birth to a still-born daughter in Oranienburg. -This was in consequence of a fright and fall on the stairs. She was all -the happier, when, a year later at the same place, she bore a son who -became Frederick William the Fourth. - -In spite of the many agreeable features of the castle and the town on -the Havel, the young pair did not feel quite at home there. It was too -magnificent for them, and the surroundings were too noisy. They longed -for a quieter, more retired summer residence, where they could live with -fewer restraints, although they often went driving in the forest in an -ordinary farm wagon and without any servants, in spite of the protests -of the Mistress of Ceremonies, who could never be induced to accompany -them. Therefore, when the Prince learned that the estate of Paretz, -pleasantly situated among the fields two miles from Potsdam, was for -sale, he purchased it together with the village which belonged to it, -for thirty thousand thalers, which the King paid for him. The old -residence was torn down and a new one built in plain country style. -“Keep in mind that you are building for an ordinary country gentleman,” -he instructed the architect. It was to be merely comfortable and -homelike, without any costly furnishings, embroidered carpets and -tapestries, silken covers, or velvet hangings; and afterwards when King, -he said that while there he wished to be regarded only as “the squire of -Paretz.” His wife, too, on being questioned by a visiting princess as to -whether Her Majesty was not bored to death by being immured for weeks at -a time in this hermitage, answered: “No, indeed, I am perfectly happy as -the mistress of Paretz.” - -The happy pair now enjoyed all the pleasures of country life—hunting and -boating, the forests and gardens, harvest festival and country dance. -Even as Queen, the lovely, high-born dame often forgot her exalted -station and joined the ranks of the peasants and their girls and gayly -danced among them. Even “her excellency” Madame von Voss, the Mistress -of Ceremonies, led out by the “master of Paretz,” was obliged to take -part in a dance. Another of the Queen’s pleasures was to buy a basketful -of cakes at the annual fair of Paretz and to distribute them among young -and old. The children who joyfully cried out, “Madame Queen, Madame -Queen, give me some too!” she led to the toy booths, where honey cakes -and peppermints were raffled off, bought them tickets, and rejoiced with -them over their sweet winnings. In the year 1802 she clothed all the -children in the village in new garments for the harvest-home; and when -the girls and boys leading the procession entered the castle to tender -their thanks to the royal giver, she was as happy as any of them. -Turning to the King, she quoted: “Ye shall become as little children.” - -This love and appreciation of nature and child-life always remained -characteristic of her. With so many duties and demands upon her, she was -obliged to take a few hours’ rest daily to refresh her spirit and renew -her strength. This repose she found most readily in the solitude and -beauty of nature. “If I neglect this hour for collecting my forces,” she -once remarked, “I am out of sorts and cannot endure the confusion of the -world. Oh, what a blessing it is to be able to commune with our souls!” -It is evident that one of such deep emotional nature, at such times did -not merely lose herself in dreams or ponder idly on her own affairs. She -had been accustomed from childhood to collect and assimilate the best -that human art and science have to offer. In proof of this, we have her -essays, journals, and letters. The works of the great poets, Herder, -Schiller, Goethe, and others, were her companions and the springs of her -spiritual and mental refreshment, next to music, which she loved to -cultivate. She interpreted the songs of her country with a voice full of -feeling. But alas! there were hours in store for her, when all that -genius has to offer could not still the suffering of her heart! - -The first hour of trial came when her brother-in-law, Prince Louis, died -of typhoid fever, December 28, 1796, leaving her sister Frederika an -eighteen-year-old widow. She was married a second time, in 1798, to -Prince Frederick William of Braunfels; and after he died, in 1814, she -became the bride of the English Prince Ernst August, Duke of Cumberland, -and as such, Queen of Hanover, in 1837. A fortnight after Prince Louis’s -death (January 13, 1797) the widow of Frederick the Great, the unhappy -Queen Elizabeth Christine, whom Louise had regarded with tender and -filial reverence, passed away in her eighty-second year. “It will be my -turn next,” said the King, on receiving the news of her death. Two -months after this, on the twenty-second of March, 1797, Louise bore her -second son, Prince William, and on the sixteenth of November of the same -year, the King’s prophecy was fulfilled. Frederick William the Second -died; his eldest son ascended the throne, and Louise was Queen of -Prussia. What a change in so short a time! - - - - - Chapter III - Louise as Queen - - -The new King took the throne of Frederick the Great, not as his -successor, “Frederick the Third,” as he was acclaimed, but more -modestly, with the title of Frederick William the Third. His wife -assured the delegation of citizens who waited upon her to offer the -congratulations of Berlin, that she was most grateful for every proof of -their love, and that she and the King would both endeavor to deserve it; -for, said she: “The love of his subjects is the softest pillow for a -royal head.” The residence and mode of life of the royal pair remained -unchanged. The King still refrained, as before, from all stiff -formalities and vain and ostentatious display. His father, who had had -extravagant tastes, left him nothing but debts, and now they were -obliged to retrench. But even had it been otherwise, Frederick William -the Third and his Louise were happiest in living a simple life. On a -serving-man’s opening both the folding doors for His Majesty to pass -through, he asked: “Have I grown suddenly so stout that one door is not -wide enough for me?” And when the _chef_ put two more courses on the -King’s bill-of-fare than he had served to the Crown-prince, the King -struck them off, with the words: “Does he think my stomach has grown -larger since yesterday?” - -It was an old court custom that two generals should serve standing -during meals, and that the chamberlain should be obliged to attend the -ruler until he had tasted his first glass of wine. At his first state -dinner, when Frederick William the Third saw the Master of Ceremonies -standing behind his chair, he said to him: “You may sit down.” - -“I am not allowed to,” was the answer, “until Your Majesty has taken the -first drink.” - -“Is any particular beverage mentioned?” asked the King. - -“Not so far as I know,” replied the Master of Ceremonies. - -“Wait,” said the King. He reached for the nearest glass of water, drank, -and said: “Now I have had my drink, and you may be seated!” - -Queen Louise in the same manner retained her simple habits. She appeared -in robes of state only when the dignity of her station demanded it. Her -usual dress at balls and festivals was a dainty muslin gown, her -beautiful hair decked only with a diadem, and about her neck a long -string of pearls. In the course of time, by setting a new example, she -also brought about the disappearance of trains yards in length, of the -great hooped skirts, and towers of artificial hair. With her fine tact -she knew how to banish all stiff formality from social life, and to -secure natural and unaffected intercourse. - -The royal pair were often seen, as of old, walking arm in arm “under the -Lindens” and in the zoölogical gardens, without any attendants and -mingling with citizens in the market-place. In the Winter of 1797, -Louise went with her royal consort to the Christmas street-fair in -Berlin. They had made purchases at several booths and approached -another, where a woman was bargaining for some wares. She broke off -immediately and was going to step aside as she saw the royal pair -approaching. “Do not go, my dear woman,” said the Queen. “What will the -merchants say if we drive away their customers?” Then she inquired about -her family and on learning that the woman had a son about the same age -as the Crown-prince, she bought several toys and gave them to her with -the words: “Take these trifles, my dear, and give them to your -crown-prince from mine.” When out walking she often took up children who -were playing by the roadside, and embraced them in motherly fashion. -Even the old dame cowering by the wayside was not unnoticed, and if she -did not need an alms, received at least a friendly word. One day a -little boy playing horse in the castle garden ran into the Queen. Her -lady-in-waiting was about to scold him roundly, but Louise interfered -with: “A boy must be wild.” Tapping the little fellow on his red cheek, -she said in sweetest tones: “Run and play, my son, but take care not to -fall; and you may give your parents greetings from me.” - -A great many little episodes of this kind made her day by day more -beloved among the people. Once while she was Crown-princess, when a -Count and a court shoemaker were announced at the same moment, she -caused the craftsman, whose time no doubt was the more valuable, to be -admitted first, with the words: “Let the shoemaker come; the Count can -wait.” To an elderly man, who was invited for an evening, she wrote on -the invitation card sent out by the Mistress of Ceremonies the words: “I -beg that you will come in boots. Silk stockings are dangerous for your -health, and as I am fond of my friends, I must take care of them,” Old -General Köckeritz, who was a daily guest at table during their country -sojourn, had a habit of disappearing after the meal, no one knew -whither. When Louise learned that he hurried away to his room to smoke -his indispensable pipe, she appeared beside him the next day as soon as -dinner was over, with a filled pipe, a lighted taper, and a spill in her -hand, and said to him: “To-day, my dear Köckeritz, you shall not desert -us; you shall smoke your customary pipe in our company.” After she -became Queen, she and the King were once invited by one of their -ministers to a ball. On their arrival there were several carriages -already before the door yard. The gate was about to be opened that the -royal carriage might pass through, when the King forbade it and waited -until his turn came to alight. The Queen remarked to the minister’s wife -who was waiting to receive them: “You must forgive us for being late, -but my husband was detained by business.” - -At this same ball, when she noticed that a pretty woman had not been -asked to dance by the titled gentlemen, because she was a “commoner,” -she begged the King, who was nothing loath, to dance with her himself. -At a function in Magdeburg the Queen greatly embarrassed a young -officer’s wife by asking from what family she came. As the young woman -was the daughter of a rich merchant of Magdeburg she did not know what -to reply, and stammered: “I am of no family, Your Majesty.” The -bystanders giggled, but the Queen rebuked their levity with a severe -glance, and, turning graciously to the young woman, she said in a loud -voice so that all might hear: “Ah, I see that you have answered in jest -and I must admit that I used a false expression. Certainly all men are -born equal, though indeed it is very gratifying and inspiring to be of a -good family. Who would not rejoice to come of distinguished parents and -ancestors? But thank God, they are to be found in all classes! Indeed, -the greatest benefactors of the human race often spring from the -humblest homes. One may inherit high station and its privileges, but -inner personal worth everybody must cultivate for himself. I thank you, -my dear lady, that you have given me an opportunity to express these -thoughts, which are worth while pondering, and I wish you in your -married life that happiness which springs only from the heart.” She had -emphasized these significant words with her little fan and with a -significant gesture she dismissed the distinguished ladies who had been -presented to her. How consoled and elated she, who felt that she was “of -no family,” must have been! - -The following is a similar incident: At Potsdam, at a church service for -the soldiers, a woman strayed by mistake into the place that had been -reserved for the Queen, and was taken very harshly to task by the Master -of Ceremonies. When Louise heard of this, she was very much distressed, -sent for the preacher at once, and as he entered the door, met him with -the words: “In Heaven’s name, what has happened in your church? I have -just learned with great displeasure that a worthy lady of your -congregation has been humiliated by Mr. von N. And right in the church, -too! I am inconsolable, although it was not my fault I beg of you to -apologize for me and to bring me at dinner the assurance that she -accepts the apology. And to-morrow you may bring her with you—I shall -take pleasure in making her acquaintance.” - -Louise accompanied her husband to Koenigsberg, where the Prussians did -homage to their new King on the fifth of June. On the way thither, at -Stargard, nineteen little girls in white dresses, with baskets of -flowers, were drawn up before the house where the Queen was lodged. -Louise talked with them like a mother and they became very confidential -and told her that there had been twenty of them, but that one of their -number had been sent home because she was so homely. “Poor child!” cried -the Queen, “no doubt she had been anticipating my coming with delight -and is now at home crying bitterly.” Immediately she had her fetched and -distinguished the homely little one beyond all the others, with her -attentions. The next day there was a review, and the populace crowded -close round the royal pair. The Queen, noticing an old countryman trying -in vain to get nearer, sent a servant to bring him to her. At a village -near Köslin the burgomaster begged her to alight, as the peasants as -well as the citizens were anxious to entertain her. She gladly consented -and entered a peasant house which had been decorated for the reception, -and enjoyed the omelettes which were served her as much as, in the old -days, she had enjoyed the one in Madame Goethe’s house. It was regarded -at that time as an unprecedented condescension, at a banquet at Oliva, -that on the Queen’s invitation a number of Danzig women were allowed to -sit down with the guests of honor. In Koenigsberg and also in Breslau -and along the route of her travels, the amiable and gracious lady won -all hearts, and it was not a Prussian, nor a flatterer, who wrote after -her death: “Few Queens have been beloved as she was during her lifetime, -and very few have been thus mourned after their death.” - -On July 6, 1798, the deputies of Brandenburg paid their homage to the -King in Berlin. Eight days after this, Louise’s first daughter was -born—she who became the wife of Czar Nicholas of Russia. - -During the gala days of the accession Louise wrote to her grandmother: -“I am Queen; and what pleases me most about it, is that now I shall not -have to limit my charities so carefully.” But indeed, for the nonce the -King was obliged “to live on the Crown-prince’s income” and to contrive -means to pay his father’s debts. Therefore the Queen had no larger -income than the Crown-princess, or about one thousand thalers a month. -How could this suffice for one who had calls and solicitations from -every side? Indeed, after a few years, she was involved in three times -as much debt as her income amounted to, so that the cabinet councillor -was obliged to represent to the King that she could not possibly make -two ends meet on this income. - -The King paid her debts, but ordered that in future she must keep an -account of her expenses and that they should be paid out of his purse -and the bills be laid before him. - -But it was not enough, and Louise was obliged to ask a loan from the -treasurer. He applied to the King, but the loan was refused, and he -returned to the Queen with the words: “Really, Your Majesty, this can go -on no longer; you will pauperize yourself with your charities.” - -Louise answered: “I love my children; to be the mother of my subjects is -as sweet to me as to know that my best of husbands is their father. I -must help wherever there is need.” - -“Very well, then, I will speak to the King,” answered the official. - -“But in such a manner that he will not be angry!” begged the Queen. - -Soon afterwards she found the empty drawer of her writing-desk newly -filled, and she asked the King: “What angel has done this?” - -Smiling, the King answered: “His name is legion; at least I know no -other name, and I know but one angel [at which his eye rested on her]. -But you know the beautiful saying—‘to his friends he gives even in his -sleep.’” - -Thus loving and beloved throughout the broad expanse of her country and -among its people, as well as in her home circle, she was the happiest of -wives, mothers, and princesses. But all too soon the sun of her -happiness began to decline. - - - - - Chapter IV - Louise in Misfortune - - -From the abyss of the French Revolution Napoleon Bonaparte arose, to be -emperor of the French, the rod of princes, and the scourge of God for -the people of Europe. Austria had been conquered, southern Germany lay -at the feet of its “Protector,” and Prussia too must be crushed. In 1805 -Austria and Russia had allied themselves with England and Sweden to -bring the conqueror to terms. All the countries were preparing for war. -Prussia alone remained quiet and refused every call to arms. Napoleon -offered Hanover as the price of an alliance; Austrian and Russian envoys -were endeavoring to gain the King over to their side. He, however, could -not decide for either, and clung to his neutrality. Czar Alexander sent -word that he should march 100,000 men through southern Prussia and -Silesia to join the Austrians. If the King permitted this, it would mean -war with France. - -He had scarcely taken steps to avert this danger when Napoleon made -another decisive move. Without either giving notice or asking permission -he sent a division under General Bernadotte, October 7, 1805, through -the Prussian territory of Ansbach, to avoid a detour and to fall on the -rear of the Austrians. The consequence of this violent measure was the -penning up of the Austrian General Mack in Ulm and the downfall of -Austria. This disregard of territorial rights in thus entering Prussian -domain, called forth a storm of indignation in Berlin, and with reason. -The King declared that without ample reparation, war with France was no -longer to be avoided. And what did Napoleon do? In a message to the King -he treated the whole matter as trifling. Perhaps no one was more deeply -affected by this indignity and by the misfortunes of Austria than the -tender, pure-hearted Queen. She had never been accustomed to concern -herself with political affairs; but when her eldest son, on his tenth -birthday, October 15, 1805, appeared for the first time in the new -uniform which his father had given him, she expressed the deepest -feelings of her heart in the words: “I hope, my son, that on the day -when you shall make use of this coat, your first object will be to -revenge your brothers.” - -Russia and Austria wished to take quick advantage of the indignation -against Napoleon in order to bring Prussia over to their side. The Czar -and Grand Duke Anton, brother of Emperor Franz, both came to Berlin. The -result of this conference was the treaty of November 3. According to -this, Prussia was to mediate between Napoleon and the Allies. In case -Napoleon did not accept the peace proposals, then Prussia promised to -join the Allies with 180,000 men. Before the Czar left Potsdam he -expressed a desire to visit the tomb of Frederick the Great. After -midnight, together with the King and Queen, he visited the Garrison -Church of Potsdam and the illuminated crypt. He kissed the coffin, -offered the King his hand across it, and swore eternal friendship. On -leaving the church he entered his travelling carriage and drove away to -join the army. - -Unfortunately the man entrusted with the Prussian negotiations was the -entirely incompetent Minister Haugwitz. He was completely in the hands -of the French party at court and, like it, was without love of country, -sincerity, or real devotion, but on the contrary was bent on neutrality. -Unfortunately the King, distrustful of himself by too severe education, -did not possess enough independence of character and strength of will to -see through and to break up the powerful clique which surrounded him and -was leading the State to destruction. By nature he was more inclined to -consideration and procrastination than to quick decision and prompt -execution. The most capable statesmen, like Stein and Hadenberg, who -alone could have saved the State, could do nothing against the so-called -neutral party. Had the King only had some of the decision of the gifted -Prince Louis Ferdinand, a son of the youngest brother of Frederick the -Great, it might have been otherwise. This Prince, full of burning -enthusiasm for the honor of the Prussian State and the army of Frederick -the Great, was at the head of the patriotic party which Napoleon called -the war party. He criticised that so-called highest statesmanship, which -wished Prussia to be friendly with all its neighbors, and in consequence -of which it was regarded with suspicion by all the States. “By love of -peace,” said Prince Louis, with clear insight, “Prussia maintains a -peaceful attitude toward all the powers, and some day when they are -ready for war, it will be mercilessly crushed. Then we shall fall -without hope, and perhaps even without honor.” - -Louise would have nothing to do with Prince Louis Ferdinand, who wasted -his powers recklessly in a round of pleasures. Soon after Louise had -come to Berlin, he became enamoured of the beautiful Crown-princess and -attempted, with the help of her inexperienced sister Frederika, to -ingratiate himself with her and thus destroy the happiness of the -princely pair. But the virtue of this pure woman spared herself and her -family this tragedy. - -On which side the Queen stood in this burning question of the day need -hardly be asked. Inspired by the glory of Frederick the Great, -completely devoted to her Prussia and its people, she was concerned only -with Prussia’s honor. With all the strength of her soul she held to -Schiller’s motto: “The nation is unworthy which will not sacrifice all -to its honor.” It is true that, entirely unfitted by nature and by -calling for politics, she had lived in the sweet belief that her -country, guided by its peace-loving King, would be able to maintain -peace. But now she realized, quoting Schiller once more, that “even the -most pious cannot keep the peace, when it does not please his -quarrelsome neighbor.” She took Napoleon’s deed of violence in Ansbach -as a personal insult to her beloved husband, and saw visions of a still -darker future. Therefore she preferred war or even annihilation to such -humiliation. In the Fall of 1805 the celebrated Field-marshal Gneisenau -wrote: “The Queen is very much in favor of war. She has told the French -ambassador that the King would himself take command of the troops, and -that the nation would sacrifice its blood and treasure to preserve its -independence.” - -When Napoleon heard of the alliance with Russia and Austria he is said -to have exclaimed: “The King of Prussia shall suffer for this!” While he -was rapidly preparing to take the field against the Russian and Austrian -armies in Moravia, Count Haugwitz was not at all in a hurry. He did not -reach Brünn until November 28, then found no time during an audience of -four hours to accomplish his mission in the spirit of the Potsdam -agreement, but allowed himself to be despatched next day, out of this -dangerous neighborhood, to Vienna. Here he waited until, on December 2, -the battle of the three Emperors, at Austerlitz, was fought, an -armistice concluded between Napoleon and the Austrians, and the Russian -army forced to retreat. - -When at last, on December 13, Haugwitz obtained another interview with -Napoleon he was greeted with the angry words: “It would have been far -more honorable if your master had openly declared war on me; then at -least he might have been of some service to his new allies. But you wish -to be everybody’s friend, and that is impossible; you must choose -between me and my enemies. I want sincerity, or I withdraw. Open enemies -are preferable to false friends. My enemies I can attack wherever I find -them.” Then he laid before the Prussian Minister an agreement whereby -Prussia was to enter into an alliance, offensive and defensive, with -France to give up Ansbach to Bavaria and Neuenburg to France in exchange -for Hanover. On December 15 Haugwitz signed this treaty by means of -which Prussia was to become the first vassal of France. What -astonishment it caused in Berlin when Haugwitz presented the Schönbrunn -treaty, on December 25! The King did not wish to accept it, but could -not refuse, for that would virtually mean a declaration of war against -the conqueror of Russia and Austria. Hanover was indeed occupied, but -the army was placed on a peace footing, and Haugwitz was to transform -the offensive and defensive alliance into a purely friendly -understanding. But Napoleon well knew what he could offer the good, -undecided, badly counselled King. “No power in the world shall make me -uphold the treaty. If Prussia now wants Hanover, she shall pay dearly -for it. Your King does not know what he wants; some reckless spirits are -urging him toward war. I tell you it cannot end well.” On February 15, -Haugwitz was forced to sign a still more distasteful treaty, which was -likely to cost the friendship of England. The King, who was unprepared -for war, was obliged to sign this Paris treaty, March 3. After this -first humiliation of Prussia, Napoleon proceeded to exhaust the patience -of the most patient, until Prussia was obliged, as Napoleon had desired, -to declare war, but now without allies. - -Queen Louise was sorely troubled by all this. Her health had suffered -during the Winter and in April she was still more shaken by the death of -her sixteen-months-old son. With this death her saddest days began,—for -one who had looked upon the world so gayly and been accustomed to -dispense happiness to others. She first sought and found strength at the -baths of Pyrmont, where she met her beloved father, who had become Duke -of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. - -Not until her six weeks’ stay at the sanatorium was ended did she learn, -on returning to Berlin, that war had been determined upon. Concessions -had become useless, for Napoleon already treated Prussia as a vassal. On -August 9 the King had given orders for the mobilization of the entire -army. Negotiations were under way with Austria, Russia, and England in -order to effect an understanding. But Austria was too much weakened, -Russia too far away, and even England could not give immediate -assistance. So Prussia remained isolated, and its shortsightedness and -slothfulness during the previous year brought forth sad fruit. One more -attempt was made to conciliate Napoleon. He declared that he would -attack Prussia with all his forces before Russia could come to its -assistance, but that all might still be well, if Prussia would -immediately disarm. What Napoleon expected of the King when he was -disarmed was clear to everybody, and to no one more so than to the -Queen. When, on her return, she learned what had been determined upon as -consistent with the honor and well-being of the fatherland, she -advocated the war, highly as she valued peace. The arch-enemy of Prussia -learned this and made use of it by charging that she instigated the war. -The newspapers which he controlled began rude attacks upon this splendid -woman in order to lower her in the eyes of her people. - -Had she suspected the real condition of the army, a state of affairs -which the King only began to realize when war was at hand, she might -have counselled otherwise. But her high opinion of the army of Frederick -the Great was confirmed by the confidence of its officers. General -Rüchel, who had retaken Frankfort from the French, was so fatuous as to -declare that the Prussian army had plenty of field-marshals equal to -General Bonaparte. A colonel deplored the fact that the heroic army of -the great Frederick should be furnished with cannon, rifles, and swords -for the battle with the French, instead of clubs with which “to beat -back these dogs.” “Why do we need fortifications?” asked another. “Our -fortress is the army, behind whose invincible ranks we can defy the -enemy.” Even a few days before the battle, when the Prussian army was -virtually surrounded, a Prussian general staff officer declared that the -enemy was already cut off by their clever strategy and Napoleon “as -certainly ours as if we already had him in this hat.” But what was the -real state of affairs? - -The fortresses were in bad condition, the commanders were weak dotards, -the strategetical points unoccupied, so that in case of retreat the road -to the capital was open to the enemy. The superior officers were old and -graduates of Frederick’s antiquated school of war, and the younger ones -full of patrician insolence. The army itself was not in training, and -consisted principally of recruited foreigners. The commander-in-chief -was superannuated. - -In the conduct of the war, as in the King’s cabinet, there was discord -and indecision. The King at length became sadly conscious of this. “It -cannot end well,” said he. “There is indescribable confusion; the -gentlemen will not believe this, and say that I am too young and do not -understand. I hope that I may be wrong.” - -But the clear-sighted Prince Louis Ferdinand uttered these sad words -three days before the engagement at Saalfeld, in which he fell: “Alas! -we are in a bad way, and so is our whole Prussian army; I consider it -already lost, but I shall not outlive its fall.” - -The Prussian troops were to concentrate in Thuringia under the -leadership of the old Duke of Brunswick for a decisive battle against -the thus far unconquered one. The previous year, when war seemed -imminent, Louise, with her children, had bidden the departing troops a -hearty and enthusiastic farewell on the Wilhelmsplatz. Napoleon -reproached her with this as though she had been the demon of war. When, -in September, 1806, the Queen’s dragoon regiment left Berlin to take the -field in Thuringia she received it at the Brandenburg Gate clad in the -colors of the regiment, and rode at its head through the streets which -it traversed. This also gave her enemies food for comment. But when, on -September 21, she even accompanied the King, who was lost without her, -by way of Magdeburg and Halle to join the army at Naumburg, Napoleon -found even more fault with her. The celebrated politician Gentz, who was -Austrian court-councillor at the time, had an interview with the Queen -in Erfurt. This temperate statesman had heard so many praises of the -high-born lady that he was quite prepared to find them only false -flatteries. But in a conversation lasting three-quarters of an hour, she -charmed him completely. He could not say enough about the decision and -independence which she displayed, the fire and at the same time the -wisdom of her language. “And yet, in all that she said she showed such -deep feeling that one could not forget for a moment that it was a -feminine intellect which attracted one’s admiration.” This man of the -world and of courts declared that he had never seen such a combination -of dignity, benevolence, and charm as in this wonderful woman. - -Louise was most anxious to be assured that public opinion was in favor -of the campaign. “I do not ask to give myself courage—for, thank God! -that is not necessary!” said she, during the conversation, in which she -showed an astonishing knowledge of even the most unimportant events and -minute affairs. Her womanly nature manifested itself most touchingly -when her eyes would fill with tears at the mention of Austria’s -misfortunes. Commenting on the public criticisms of her political -conduct, she cried: “God knows that I have never been consulted in -public affairs and have never wished to be. Had I ever been asked, I -should—I will admit it—have declared for war, as I believed it was -necessary. Our condition had become so critical that we were in duty -bound, and at all costs, to extricate ourselves; it was most necessary -to put an end to the suspicion and reproaches which were heaped upon us, -as though the King had not been in earnest in regard to the war all the -time. By every principle of honor and therefore of duty, as I understand -it, we were compelled to follow that road, apart from any selfish -considerations.” The accusation of any partiality for the Russians she -denied, and although she did justice to the personal virtues of the Czar -Alexander, she did not look upon Russia as the saviour of Europe from -the usurper. She sought the principal means of help solely in the close -union of all those who bore the German name. - -Among those surrounding the King, opinions were divided as to whether or -not the Queen should be allowed to go farther. She herself preferred to -be at headquarters rather than to hear disquieting rumors at a distance. -Since the King had allowed her to accompany him beyond Erfurt, she was -resolved not to leave him until he desired it. Headquarters were -established in Weimar, October 11, and there the King and Queen received -the first bad news. The vanguard had been defeated by the French and -their leader, the brave Prince Louis, had fallen at Saalfeld, October -10. Three days later the Queen left Weimar to follow her husband to -Auerstädt. On the way she learned that the road was beset by the enemy, -and she was obliged to return to Weimar amid the cheers of thousands of -eager soldiers, whose valiant spirit she had imbued with fresh life. -Here she was urged by General Rüchel no longer to expose herself -needlessly to the dangers of war, and to return to Berlin. This was -possible only by means of a great detour, in order to be safe from the -enemy’s scouting parties. Rüchel designated the road and the stations. -The route, which would take four days to traverse, was to be by way of -Mühlhausen, Brunswick, Magdeburg, and Brandenburg. - -On the morning of October 14 the Queen left Weimar with the Countess -Tauentzien. A company of cuirassiers formed their escort for several -miles; thick mist enveloped the landscape and the travellers’ hearts -were heavy with forebodings. As Louise listened to the distant thunder -of cannon she trembled for the husband of her heart and the father of -her children. She knew that he would shun no danger in this battle and -it deeply affected her that she could not share it with him. - -The double battle at Jena and Auerstädt raged all day long. On the road -the Queen received only uncertain news, sometimes good and sometimes -bad. “I have suffered unutterably,” she declared, “between mountains of -hope and abysses of despair, and have learned the meaning of ‘we know -not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh -intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.’” - -Not until the fourth day did a messenger sent by Colonel von Kleist, -adjutant of the King, overtake her in the neighborhood of Brandenburg. -The rider approached the carriage door and handed the Queen a letter. -She opened it quickly, glanced at it, and appeared crushed. The letter -contained only the words: “The King is alive; the battle is lost.” Tears -streamed from her eyes at this terrible news. The handkerchief, wet with -her tears in this hour of distress, which she gave as a remembrance to -the Prince of Anhalt, her protector, at his request, is still preserved -among the treasures of the royal family, and is certainly not one of the -least valuable. - -“The King is alive”—but where and how? Truly the King considered himself -fortunate to have barely escaped being taken prisoner. Napoleon wrote -triumphantly to his consort, the Empress Josephine, that he had very -nearly taken the King. Although Louise did not know this, she knew that -the battle was lost. Dark pictures of the present and future haunted -her. She knew what it meant to be vanquished by Napoleon; knew with what -boundless arrogance the heartless conqueror treated princes and people, -and what terms of peace he was likely to dictate. - -The carriage passed rapidly through Potsdam on its way to Berlin, where -the Queen arrived late on the evening of October 17. Her children were -not there. That morning, Lieutenant von Dorville, adjutant of -Field-marshal von Möllendorf, whom the King had despatched to Berlin -with the bad news from the battlefield, had arrived, and the Governor, -Count Von der Schulenburg, had at once ordered the removal of the royal -children to Schwedt-on-the-Oder. Scarcely had the Queen entered her -home, when, hearing of the arrival of the Lieutenant, she had him -summoned to her presence. - -“Where is the King?” she asked. - -“I do not know, Your Majesty,” answered Dorville. - -“But is the King not with the army?” she asked again. - -“With the army!” answered Dorville. “The army no longer exists!” - -So great had been the confidence of victory that the news of the defeat -was all the more crushing. Consternation and despair reigned in Berlin. -The Governor sought to quiet the inhabitants by the proclamation: “The -King has lost a battle: the first duty of the citizens is to be calm. I -require this of all our citizens. The King and his brothers are alive.” -Such were the men in power at a time when all the available strength of -the people should have been called forth to enduring devotion and -determined resistance. - -After a terrible night, at six o’clock in the morning of October 18 the -Queen summoned the court physician, Dr. Hufeland. He found her in -despair, with eyes swollen with weeping and hair in disorder. “All is -lost. I must fly to my children, and you must go with us,” she said as -he entered. At ten o’clock the carriage was ready and the Queen drove to -Schwedt, where her children were. The sight of them renewed and -accentuated the mother’s distress. They ran tenderly to meet her at the -great staircase of the castle, but she whom they were accustomed to see -gay and smiling now embraced and greeted them with the words “You see me -in tears. I am weeping for the cruel fate which has befallen us. The -King has been deceived in the ability of his army and its leaders, and -we have been defeated and must fly!” To the tutor of the two elder -children, Delbrück, she said: “I see a structure destroyed in one day, -upon whose erection great men have labored through two centuries. The -Prussian State, Prussian army, and Prussian glory exist no longer.” “Ah, -my sons,” she cried to the eleven-year-old Fritz and nine-year-old -William, “you are already old enough to understand these trials. In the -future, when your mother no longer lives, recall this unhappy hour and -let a tear fall in remembrance of it, as I now weep for the destruction -of my country. But do not be satisfied with tears. Act, develop your -powers! Perchance the guardian angel of Prussia will protect you. Then -free your people from the shame, the reproach, and the humiliation into -which it has fallen! Try, like your great-grandfather, the Great -Elector, to reconquer from the French the darkened fame of your -ancestors, as he revenged the defeat and shame of his father, against -the Swedes at Fehrbellin. Do not be corrupted by the degeneracy of the -times. Become men and heroes, worthy of the name of princes and -grandsons of the great Frederick. But if you cannot with all your -efforts uplift the down-trodden State, then seek death as did Prince -Louis Ferdinand!” - -From Schwedt, the sorrowing but heroic Queen travelled to Stettin. -There, on her own responsibility, she caused the arrest of the cabinet -councillor Lombard, who had originally been a wig-maker and was now -universally considered a traitor, and who had fled from Berlin to escape -the threatening anger of the populace. Subsequently the King released -Lombard, but deposed him and never saw him again. The King had gone from -the battlefield to Sömmerda, where he collected a few scattered -detachments of troops about him. Learning that the enemy had already -passed round his left flank, he went on to Magdeburg, accompanied by a -squadron of dragoons, reached Berlin on the eve of October 20, but did -not enter the city, and arrived, on the morning of the same day at the -fortress of Cüstrin, where his wife also arrived in the evening at ten -o’clock. What a meeting after only a week! - - [Illustration: _QUEEN LOUISE and her two sons_] - -On the road she had not even been able to get fresh horses at Bärwalde. -Rather than furnish them the steward had turned them loose. So far had -some of their subjects already fallen from their allegiance. Bad -feeling, cowardice, treachery, and incompetence had spread since the -misfortune at Jena, through military, official, and citizens’ circles. -One fortress and one division of troops after another were needlessly -surrendered to the enemy. It became evident that since the last years of -Frederick the Great social decay had spread, not only in the army, which -was insolently resting on its former laurels, but in official circles -and even in the life of the people. Of this few had had any inkling, -least of all the thoroughly upright King and the noble Louise. “Disaster -had to come, or we should have burst with pride,” acknowledged a -Prussian years afterwards. - -The whole country between the Weser and the Oder became a prey to the -enemy after the reserves under the Prince of Württemberg had been -defeated and destroyed near Halle. Napoleon arrived in Potsdam October -24 and made his entry into Berlin on the twenty-seventh. Here he gave -free vent to his ill-humor. According to him, Queen Louise and the -Prussian nobles were to blame for everything. “I will bring these -patricians down to beg their bread on the streets.” He pursued the Queen -with the most violent abuse. He called her the “cause of all the -troubles which had befallen Prussia.” He brought contempt upon her by -pictures and writings. Even when, three years later, Major Schill -marched from Berlin with six hundred hussars, called on the people of -Germany to rise for their liberties, and fell fighting at Stralsund, -this also was attributed to Louise, and Napoleon caused an engraving to -appear in Paris, which represented her in the uniform of the Schill -hussars. The attempt made by Frederick Staps in Schönbrunn at that time -to assassinate the tyrant, Napoleon declared was planned in Berlin and -Weimar. When a general doubted this, he exclaimed, “Women are capable of -anything.” - -These unworthy attacks and slanders of course did not injure her in the -eyes of her subjects, as Napoleon wished. On the contrary, the Queen -grew dearer to every good Prussian because of this abuse, and many -heroic hearts were burning to avenge her wrongs. These attacks of her -ignoble opponent could not always be kept from the Queen, and cost her -much agitation and many tears. “Can this wicked creature not be content -to rob the King of his State? Must the honor of his wife be sacrificed -also, by this contemptible wretch who spreads the most shameful lies -abroad concerning me?” - -As prospects for a favorable turn of affairs were very slight, the King -thought it advisable to open peace negotiations. Napoleon already -demanded (October 22), at Wittenberg, that the Elbe should be the -western boundary of Prussia, and that the King should pay one hundred -million francs as war indemnity; but he was willing to permit him to -keep Magdeburg. These demands appeared too harsh after but one defeat, -and ambassadors were sent to Napoleon at Berlin to secure more favorable -terms. In the meantime, however, Prince Hohenlohe had been obliged to -lay down his arms, with twelve thousand men, at Prenzlau. The fortresses -of Erfurt, Spandau, Magdeburg, and others were surrendered to the enemy -by their cowardly commanders with incredible quickness, and Napoleon -would no longer consider the Wittenberg conditions. He determined to -keep as much territory as possible, so that he could force the English, -as allies of Prussia, to hand over as many of the conquered French -colonies as possible. He offered an armistice on condition that the -principal fortresses in Silesia and on the Weichsel should be turned -over to him, that the Prussian army should withdraw to the northeast -corner of the dominion, and the assistance of Russia be declined. By -means of this treaty, which the plenipotentiaries of the King accepted -November 16 in Charlottenburg, Napoleon would have had Prussia -completely in his power. The King who had gone with his consort from -Cüstrin by way of Graudenz to Osterode, held counsel with his generals -and ministers, most of whom were in favor of confirming the treaty. -Stein, however, persuaded him to reject it, as it gave no guarantee of -lasting peace and threatened the very existence of Prussia. At this, -Napoleon declared: “If the King will not separate his affairs from -Russia, he must take the consequences of the war. Should we conquer the -Czar, there will no longer be a Prussian King.” - -Louise took fresh courage from her devotion to Prussia’s honor and -favored rejection of the treaty, in accord with the Minister Stein. She -had always recognized in him one of the bulwarks of Prussia, and she -placed in the King’s hands his memorial on the changes in systems of -government. However, the two men did not understand one another, and the -King, considering him an obstinate, pig-headed person, gave him -permission to resign. - -In political affairs Louise held to the faith which “is the substance of -things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Her motto was: “Only -enduring resistance can save us.” But on receiving news of one disaster -after another; seeing nothing but good fortune attending Napoleon and -nothing but misfortune the Prussians; seeing nothing but misery, the -strong woman had her weak moments, when doubts tortured her as to -whether she had been right in preaching resistance to the conqueror, or -whether it was not presumptuous rebellion against the cruel fate which -seemed to have overtaken her house and her country. On the way from -Koenigsberg, at Ortelsburg, December 5, 1806, she wrote in her journal -these verses from Goethe’s “Wilhelm Meister”: - - “Who never ate his bread in sorrow, - Who never spent the darksome hours - Weeping and watching for the morrow, - He knows ye not, ye gloomy powers! - - “To earth, this weary earth, ye bring us, - To guilt ye let us heedless go, - Then leave repentance fierce to wring us: - A moment’s guilt, an age of woe!” - -This was indeed a depth of despair in which the stars of faith and hope -seem to have been extinguished. But by God’s providence she found just -at this time a guide and consoler. This was the pious Madame von -Krüdener, who at that period exercised such a mighty awakening -influence, especially among the higher classes, and also upon the Czar. -Five years before, as wife of the Russian ambassador, she had seen the -Queen in undimmed splendor at the court of Berlin. Now she no longer -found a gay young princess, but a downcast, unhappy woman, who gladly -accompanied her through the hospitals of Koenigsberg bringing comfort to -the suffering victims of war. It was under her tutelage that the Queen -devoted herself more and more earnestly to religion and the study of the -Bible. Louise wrote to her later: “I owe you a confidence which I am -sure you will receive with tears of joy. Your earnest conversation, our -talks on religion and Christianity, have left the deepest impression -upon me. I have been pondering more earnestly on these things, whose -existence and value I certainly felt before, but suspected rather than -appreciated. They have been of great solace to me. I drew nearer to God, -my faith has strengthened, and so, in the midst of misfortune and -numberless insults and injustices, I have never been without fortitude -or wholly unhappy. It is surely the mercy of the God of love, which has -never allowed my heart to become hardened or permitted me to lose my -love and sympathy for my fellow men or the desire to serve and help -them. I have seen the vanity of earthly greatness, and its poverty -compared with heavenly treasures. Yes! I have attained a quietness of -soul and an inner peace, which leads me to hope that I may be enabled to -bear with the composure and humility of a true Christian all that God in -His providence may send for my purification. From this standpoint I -regard all the temptations which beset us here below.” Thus she found at -last sure hope, though her ship of life and her heart were to ride -stormy seas of trouble, and she was often fain to cry out with Peter: -“Lord, save me!” - -Under the stress of this time of anxiety her health began to suffer. In -Koenigsberg she was stricken with typhoid fever. Her youngest son, -Prince Karl, had first succumbed to it. The court physician, Dr. -Hufeland, who was called from Danzig to Koenigsberg, tells us: - -“Never shall I forget the night of December 22, 1806, when the Queen’s -life was in mortal danger. I sat watching by her bedside, and a terrible -storm was raging that blew down one of the gables of the old castle -where she lay. But here, as in the case of Prince Karl, through God’s -blessing the treatment was successful, and she began to mend. But -suddenly the news came that the French were approaching. She declared -emphatically: ‘I would rather be in the hands of God than of these -creatures.’ During a terrible snowstorm and intensely cold weather -(January 3, 1807) she was placed in a carriage and taken twenty miles -across the marshes of Courland to Memel. We passed three days and three -nights, travelling during the days, partly through the surf and partly -over the ice, and passing the nights in the most miserable shelters. The -first night the Queen lay in a room where the windows were broken, and -the snow drifted across her bed. She had no refreshing food. Never has a -queen known such hardships. I watched her in constant anxiety, fearing -hemorrhages. Her courage never wavered nor her trust in God, and this -encouraged us all. Even the fresh air seemed to be restorative; instead -of becoming worse, she improved on this terrible journey. At last we -espied Memel on the opposite shore. For the first time the sun burst -forth and mildly illuminated the city, which was to be our goal and -resting-place. We accepted this as a good omen.” - -The King and the two children also came soon afterwards to this town, -two miles distant from the Russian border. The inhabitants gave the -royal pair the most touching proofs of their sympathy and loyalty. - -The King had gradually gathered together an army of 40,000 men; and they -were now joined by 60,000 Russians under General Bennigsen. The new -campaign was begun December 26. There was a fresh gleam of hope when, in -the bloody battle at Eylau (February 7-8, 1807), the remains of the -Prussian army with the Russians fought so heroically against Napoleon -that five days after the battle he offered the King a favorable peace if -he would desert Russia. But the honorable man kept faith with the Czar, -who had come to Memel with reinforcements, and answered in the negative. -Louise, filled with fresh hopes, went back to Koenigsberg with her -husband. - -On the way, one morning a peasant and his wife presented themselves -before the royal pair. She brought the Queen several pounds of fresh -butter wrapped in cabbage-leaves. She thought, she said, that supplies -might be rather low, and would the Queen accept a few pieces of -perfectly fresh snow butter from a poor peasant. Louise took the gift -with hearty thanks. - -But the King interrupted with: “Aha! I see you have brought me the -cheese.” - -But the peasant answered: “No! we Mennonites have learned that Your -Majesty’s war-chest has a hole in it, and you must have lost your small -change. So we have been looking into our savings-boxes and each has -contributed to a present for our poor, gracious King.” - -“No, no, not poor,” cried the King; “not so long as I have such -subjects.” - -Greatly to his astonishment he saw the peasant pour out two thousand -bright gold pieces. He accepted them gratefully, and afterwards, when -the peasant was in need, he paid them all back again with interest. - -In Koenigsberg Louise lived in a modest dwelling and devoted herself to -charity. She cared for the wounded and assisted the destitute. She -visited no theatres, concerts, or balls, but assiduously attended the -church of the gifted preacher, the evangelical Bishop Borowsky. The -letters which she wrote at the time to her father, Duke of Mecklenburg, -show us her inmost heart. One of them, written in the Spring of 1807, -reads: - - “Dear Father: - - “The departure of General Blücher gives me a safe opportunity of - writing frankly to you. Ah! how long I have been deprived of that - pleasure and how much I have to say to you! Until the third week of my - illness, each day was marked by a fresh misfortune. The despatch of - the excellent Blücher to Pomerania, the patriotism which animates - every one,—of which the reserve battalions, the first that have been - organized in months, are a proof,—all this gives me fresh hope. Some - of these reserves are moving to the front, and some have already - fought well. Yes, dear father, I am convinced that all will yet be - well, and that we shall meet happily once more. - - “The siege of Danzig is progressing satisfactorily; the inhabitants - make the soldiers’ burden easier by providing them with meat and wine - in abundance. They will not hear of giving up. They would rather be - buried in the ruins of their city than turn traitors to the King. - Kolberg and Graudenz are of the same mind. Had it only been thus with - all the fortresses!—But enough of past evils. Let us turn our eyes to - God, to Him who guides our destinies, who never forsakes us when we do - not forsake Him! - - “The King is with the Czar and the army. He will remain there as long - as the Czar does. This splendid unanimity, founded on unshakable - steadfastness in misfortune, gives the best promise of endurance. - Surely, by perseverance we must conquer sooner or later; of that I am - firmly convinced.” - -It proved to be so, but this long-deferred hope was not to be realized -during Louise’s lifetime and not until the Prussian people had made -ample penance. On May 24 Danzig was taken by the French after a brave -defence under General Kalkreuth. After several engagements Napoleon was -victorious over Prussians and Russians in the battle of Friedland, in -consequence of which, Koenigsberg and the country as far as the Niemen -was occupied by him. Louise, then in Memel, writes to her father, June -17: - - “With profound emotion and tears of grateful tenderness I read your - letter of April last. How can I thank you, best and tenderest of - fathers, for the many proofs of your love, your favor, and - indescribable goodness! What a comfort this is in my trouble, and what - a support! When one is so loved, one cannot be wholly unhappy. - - “Another terrible disaster has now overtaken us, and we are on the - point of leaving the kingdom. Imagine what my feelings are! But I pray - you, do not mistake your daughter. Do not think that my head is bowed - in cowardice. I am upheld by two thoughts. The first is that we are - not the victims of blind chance, but that we are in God’s hands, and - that He is directing us; the second, that we fall with honor. The King - has given proof to the world that he desires honor, not disgrace. - Prussia would not bear the chains of slavery willingly. The King could - not have acted otherwise in a single point without being untrue to - himself and a traitor to his people. What a solace this is, no one who - has not a true feeling of honor can imagine. But to the point. - - “In consequence of the unfortunate battle of Friedland, Koenigsberg - fell into French hands. We are pressed by the enemy, and if the danger - becomes greater, I shall be obliged to leave Memel with my children. - The King will again join the Czar. As soon as the danger becomes - imminent I shall go to Riga. God help me at the moment that I have to - abandon my country. That will require courage, but I shall look - upward, from whence come all good and evil; and my firm belief is, - that He will not send more than we are able to bear. - - “Once more, dear father, I repeat, we go down to defeat in honor, - respected by the nations; and we shall always retain friends, because - we have deserved them. I cannot tell you how comforting this thought - is. I bear all this with a quietness and composure that can only come - from a clear conscience and pure faith. Therefore be assured, dear - father, that we can never be wholly unhappy and that many who are - clothed with power and good fortune are not so content as we. God - gives peace to the just, and we may always have reason for joy. - - “Let me assure you for your comfort, that nothing will be done by us - that is not consistent with strictest honor or with our actions in the - past. Rest assured of this, and I know it will be a comfort to you, as - to all who belong to me. I am always your faithful, obedient, loving - daughter and—thank God that I can say it as your favor assures me of - it—your affectionate friend. - - “Louise” - -On June 24 she writes again: - - “My letters are still here, as wind and storms have prevented all - vessels from leaving port. Now, I shall provide a reliable messenger - and continue to send you news from here. The army has been obliged to - retreat farther and farther, and on the twenty-first an armistice of - four weeks was arranged by the Russians. The sky often clears when one - expects only cloudy weather; it may be so now. No one longs for it - more than I, but wishes are only wishes and not realities. Everything - comes from above, Thou merciful Heavenly Father! - - “My faith shall not waver, but I can hope no more. I refer again to my - letter, which was written from the depths of my soul. You will - understand me thoroughly when you have read it, dear father. I will - live and die in honor and even eat bread and salt, if it must be. I - shall never be totally unhappy; only I can hope no more. One who has - been overwhelmed as I have been, can have no more hope. Should good - fortune come, oh! no human being could be more grateful than I should - be; but I no longer expect it. If misfortune come, it may surprise me - for the moment, but it cannot overwhelm me, if it is undeserved. Only - wrongdoing on our part would bring me to the grave, and to that we - shall not come, for we are above it. You see, dear father, the enemy - of mankind has no power over me. The King has been with the Czar since - the nineteenth; and since yesterday they have been in Tauroggen, only - a few miles from Tilsit where the French Emperor is. - - “I am at your feet, devotedly yours, - - “Louise.” - - - - - Chapter V - Louise and Napoleon - - -An armistice with Russia was concluded by Napoleon June 21, and on the -twenty-fifth of June one was arranged with Prussia also, at Tilsit. The -next day an interview took place between the Czar and Napoleon, at which -the King of Prussia was present. Napoleon’s egotism and haughtiness -clashed continually with Frederick William’s directness and honesty. The -King met the insolent victor with a noble pride and bore his misfortunes -with a dignity which seemed to increase the enmity of the French -Emperor. Upon this occasion Alexander conceived the unfortunate idea -that the presence of the Queen might facilitate the deliberations and -that her graciousness and the nobility of her character would soften the -stern purpose of the conqueror. Alexander urged the King to summon his -wife to Piktuppönen, a village east of Tilsit, where he returned each -evening from the conferences. The King was finally persuaded, and wrote -to his wife of the mission proposed for her. He withheld his own -judgment and wishes, however, and allowed her to decide the matter -entirely for herself. The Queen received the letter while sitting with a -circle of intimate women friends, glanced at it hastily, and silently -left the room. An hour later she reappeared with a tear-stained face and -told the company the contents of the letter. Some of those present -advised against the action as undignified and useless. But she -explained: “If there is any one who believes that I can save even one -village more to the fatherland by this step, I am in duty bound to test -that belief. If I must take this painful step, however, I do not wish to -do it unprepared; I must know just what to say and what to demand.” - -Hufeland tells us that the Queen was beside herself at the thought of -meeting the slanderer and defamer, and said: “This is the most cruel -sacrifice that I have yet made for my people, and only the hope of being -useful to them makes it possible for me.” She wrote in her journal in -regard to it: “God knows what a struggle it costs me! For though I do -not hate the man, I regard him as the author of the misfortunes of the -King and our country. I admire his talents, but I cannot admire his -character, which is evidently false and deceitful. It will be very -difficult for me to be polite and agreeable to him. But this hard task -is demanded of me, and I am already used to sacrifice.” - -She left Memel and arrived on the evening of July 4 at Piktuppönen. Here -she received her instructions from Minister Hardenberg as to what she -was principally to dwell upon in the interview. On July 5 she received a -visit from the Czar, and on the sixth Napoleon sent her greeting through -General Caulaincourt, and an invitation to dinner. With a French guard -of honor she drove in a state carriage with eight horses to Tilsit,—and -stopped at the house where her husband lodged. An hour after her arrival -Napoleon, mounted on a white Arabian horse and accompanied by a large -escort, rode to her door. The King and the princes received him at the -staircase. Napoleon, holding his riding-whip in his hand, took off his -hat, bowed quickly right and left, and ascended the steps to the Queen’s -room, into which the King led him and then left him alone with her. -After the first painful moments, the Queen expressed her concern that he -had been obliged to climb such a wretched stairway to visit her. -Napoleon answered gallantly: “On the road to such a goal, one should -fear no obstacles.” She inquired how the northern climate agreed with -him. And then she turned the conversation to the negotiations and told -him that she had come to try to persuade him to make reasonable terms of -peace. And when he loftily inquired: “But how could you go to war with -me?” she answered, “Sire, if we deceived ourselves, it was but a natural -consequence of the fame of the great Frederick.” This reply was -overheard by the celebrated Talleyrand, Napoleon’s clever minister. He -is said to have warned Napoleon of the impression the Queen might make -upon him, in these words: “Sire! shall posterity be able to say that a -beautiful queen has caused you to forego the full results of your -greatest victory?” But Napoleon scarcely needed any such warning from -Satan, he was Satanic enough himself. After the Queen’s remark he led -the conversation to indifferent subjects, asked about the material of -her dress, etc. But Louise would not be turned from her purpose. With -warmth and even with tears in her eyes she pleaded with him not to -impose upon the country this unreasonable burden of a half billion -francs for war indemnity and the numerous garrisons, and especially to -promise her that Danzig and Magdeburg should remain Prussian. “I will -think it over,” he answered, holding out a prospect of an acceptable -peace. The conversation lasted a quarter of an hour. - -At noon the King and Queen dined with the Emperor of the French; she at -his right next to the Czar and the King at his left. Napoleon was very -amiable. He was good-humored and talkative, and joked about the danger -she had run the previous autumn, when at the King’s headquarters, of -being taken prisoner by his hussars. The conversation turned on the -cession of the provinces, which Napoleon thought the King ought not to -take so much to heart. The King replied: “You do not know how painful it -is to lose inherited lands in which the dearest memories of childhood -are rooted, and which one can as little forget, as he can his cradle.” - -“His cradle,” sneered Napoleon, “when the child has become a man he no -longer has time to think of his cradle.” - -“Oh! yes,” answered the King, “one can no more forget his youth than he -can deny it, and a man of sentiment will always think with gratitude of -the cradle where he lay as a child.” - - [Illustration: _NAPOLEON BONAPARTE_] - -The Queen sought to give the conversation another direction by saying: -“The mother’s heart is the only cradle which one never forgets.” She had -in mind the respect which Napoleon felt for his own mother, and -pointedly inquired about the health of “Madame Bonaparte.” - -In the evening the Queen drove back to the village. On July 7 she again -received an invitation to dine with Napoleon, but before leaving for -Tilsit, she received a letter from the King with the news that the -conditions of peace were merciless. Therefore all hopes of the Queen’s -success vanished, and this second journey to Tilsit was an almost -intolerable martyrdom. Exciting discussions took place, and neither the -King nor the Queen concealed their feelings and opinions. As she took -her leave Napoleon picked a magnificent rose from the vine at the window -and offered it to her. Louise was about to refuse it, but quickly -recovering herself, she took it with the words: “At least with -Magdeburg?” - -To which Napoleon answered dryly: “Your Majesty will kindly remember -that it is I who offer, and you who accept.” - -As she threw herself weeping bitterly against the cushions of her -carriage, she sighed and, pointing to the house, exclaimed: “In that -place I have been horribly circumvented.” - -Napoleon wrote on July eighth to his Consort Josephine: “The Queen of -Prussia is really a charming woman; she is very amiable to me, but you -need not be jealous. I am like an oil-cloth, over which such things -slide without touching the inside. To play the gallant on such occasions -does not cost much.” While a prisoner at St. Helena he wrote: “She was -perfectly unaffected in her conversation, and remained mistress of it in -spite of all the dexterity which I employed and all the trouble which I -took. She always returned to her subject, and always with so much tact -and delicacy that it was impossible to take offence.” - -A year after this fruitless sacrifice Louise wrote to a friend: - - “I suffer unutterably. Reproaches are heaped upon me over and over - again. What can I answer? I sigh and swallow my tears. A year ago - yesterday I had my last interview with Napoleon. Ah! what a - recollection! How I suffered, suffered more for others than for - myself! I wept and pleaded in the name of love and humanity, in the - name of our misfortunes and the laws that govern the world. And I was - only a woman—a weak creature, and yet superior to this adversary, so - cold and heartless. The King is still greater than his enemy, even - though his kingdom has been diminished one-half. He only treated with - the wicked one under pressure of necessity and will not enter into an - alliance with him. That this will sometime prove to be a blessing to - Prussia is my firm belief.” - -With such lofty sentiments this deeply wounded woman was able benignly -to forgive the man who was to her the incarnation of evil, the boundless -suffering which he had caused to her, to her family, and to her people. -She was too noble to share the petty hatred of Napoleon shown by weaker -natures. In former days, when every one belonging to the court joined in -scorning the “upstart,” she kept silence. Shortly before her last -illness, one day when her sorrowful glance fell upon the portrait of the -Emperor, a titled lady in her company passionately denounced the -oppressor. The Queen quickly turned and rebuked the outbreak with a -gentle look and word: “If I have forgiven him the injuries he has done -me, what reason have you not to forgive him?” And with a gesture of her -hand, as though in blessing to her great enemy, she left the room. - -The Tilsit peace, concluded on the night of July 9-10 was more -detrimental to Prussia than the previous war had been. The fortresses of -Stettin, Cüstrin, and Glogau remained in the hands of the conqueror as -pledges for the war indemnity. This indemnity, which included the -support of forty thousand French troops and all sorts of unreasonable -extortions, amounting, at the end of the year 1808, to at least six -hundred million francs, was ruthlessly exacted from a poor land already -robbed of its richest territories. Agriculture and art life were -crippled, commerce restricted, and the country impoverished. - -Though the King and his people tried conscientiously to meet all these -oppressive demands, Napoleon purposely delayed the evacuation of the -country, paid no attention to representations made him, treated the -Prussian ambassador like a servant, and kept faith with nobody. “Is it -not enough to make one despair?” asked Louise in a letter. “Ah! my God, -why hast Thou forsaken us?” Her last comforter on earth was Stein, who, -with his “great heart and comprehensive mind,” she hoped might still -find a way out of this misery. - -The Queen, supported by the King’s brothers and the patriotic Princess -Louise Radziwill, a sister of Prince Louis Ferdinand, undertook to -persuade the King that Stein was the only saviour in this time of need; -and begged him to recall to the head of the ministry the man who had -once been dismissed in disfavor. The King agreed; and Stein, generously -forgetting the injustice which had been done him, accepted. He arrived -in Memel, September 30, 1807, and was at once placed at the head of the -government by the King. But he encountered a strong party bent upon -deposing him and which put many obstacles in his way. Louise wrote to -him at that time: “I entreat you to be patient during these first -months, so that we shall have nothing to regret, and all shall not be -lost. I implore you to consider this for the sake of the King, the -country, my children, and myself. Patience!” - -At length the commission appointed to fix the war indemnity finished its -work. The poor, depleted country was really to pay “only” one hundred -and fifty-four million francs, and until this was accomplished, it must -maintain a French army and allow the taxes to be collected by the French -in the provinces occupied by them! Even Stein, when he heard of these -terrible demands, was turned to stone. This new and dreadful calamity -was a crushing blow for a weak woman. It is no wonder that she wrote in -October, 1807: - - “Even I am losing my fortitude. It is terribly hard, especially as it - is undeserved. My future is very sad. If we may only keep Berlin; but - sometimes I have an awful presentiment that he will take it from us - also and make it the capital of another kingdom. In that event I have - only one wish—to emigrate to some distant land and to live a private - life and forget—if possible. Alas! poor Prussia! Deserted through - weakness, persecuted by insolence, depleted by misfortune, we must - perish. Savary, the French ambassador, has assured us that Russia’s - intervention would not help us, and he has advised us to sell our - jewels and valuables. Think of his daring to say this!” - -The mockery of this advice wounded Louise, who was already accustomed to -privations and self-denial. During her stay in Memel money was often -lacking for daily expenses. At that time many citizens fared more -sumptuously than the royal family. The King sent his golden dinner -service to the mint to be turned into money to lighten the burden of his -oppressed subjects. Only a single golden plate remained of all the -inherited antique treasures. The princes and princesses also renounced a -third of their yearly incomes. It was at that time that the hard-pressed -King sent his eldest daughter, afterwards Empress of Russia, a -five-thaler note for a new dress, adding that she must make that do, as -it was all he could spare. - -Napoleon had been unyielding. Even the mission of Prince William to -Paris was in vain. They were obliged to resign themselves to the demands -of the conqueror. Stein signed a treaty September 3, 1808, in Berlin, by -which it was finally agreed that Prussia was to pay one hundred and -forty million francs. The fortresses of Glogau, Stettin, and Cüstrin -were to be held by the French until the debt was fully extinguished. -Until the first hundred million francs were paid the taxes were to be -collected by the French and the country was to be under their regime, -and during ten years the Prussians were to keep only 42,000 men under -arms. It was now necessary to raise great sums of money as quickly as -possible. By alienation of royal domains and strictest economy in all -branches of government, a large amount was at last collected, and by the -payment of this and by giving mortgage deeds, at last, at the end of the -year 1808, the French (who continually sought to put obstacles in their -way) were induced to evacuate the country. - - - - - Chapter VI - Louise’s Probation - - -As soon as the country between Memel and the Weichsel was evacuated the -royal family removed to Koenigsberg, January 15, 1808. It was none too -soon, for Louise’s health had suffered seriously in the cold, damp -climate of Memel. In Koenigsberg she gave birth to a daughter, February -1, who was christened with the name of Louise. - -In May the royal family moved to the quiet, simple country-seat, which -still goes by the name of the Queen. Encouraged by the Koenigsberg -professor Süvern, she devoted herself while there to the study of the -history of Europe and tried “to live in the past, as the future held -nothing for her.” The ancient history of Germany was particularly -comforting to her. The motto of pious knightly times: “Justice, Faith, -Love,” pleased her so well that she had a seal made bearing the device. -But she said that if she were to choose a motto for herself, it would -be: “God is my refuge.” Her soul was filled with a new hope, as she saw -the perishing faith in God’s power and dominion reviving amid the fiery -trials of the time, and felt that the German and Prussian peoples would -awake, abandon foreign immorality, and arise in their might to shake off -foreign domination. At that time a new light had arisen in Switzerland, -a man who was dedicating his life and means to the better education of -the masses, from a religious and humanitarian standpoint. This was the -noble Pestalozzi, who had evolved a new system of education and written -books of instruction for the people, particularly for mothers. Louise -read the tale of “Poor Leonard and his Noble Gertrude” with great -emotion and found in it a passage that particularly appealed to her: -“Misery and suffering are God’s blessings, when they are patiently -endured.” Pestalozzi and his followers hoped everything from a more -natural system of education and the thorough religious training of -youth. The Queen firmly believed in him and awaited with impatience the -arrival of his pupil Zeller, from Würtemberg, whom the King had summoned -to introduce the new Swiss system of education into Prussia. Louise took -great pleasure in visiting his school and educational institute, and -contributed to its success by every means in her power. - -It was at that time that she wrote this splendid letter to her father, -which gives us such a charming glimpse not only into her matured and -disciplined mind, but also into her happy family life. The beginning is -sad. She judges and foresees like a prophetess, then she rejoices as -only a happy wife and mother can. - - “All is over for us, if not forever, at least for the present. For - myself I have no more hopes. I have become resigned, and in this - resignation to the will of Heaven, I am composed and happy, if not - with an earthly happiness, at least with what means much more, a - spiritual happiness. I see ever more clearly that all had to come as - it has come. God’s providence works silently toward new conditions and - I feel that there is to be a new order of things, for the old has - outlived itself and is doomed to decay. We had fallen asleep on the - laurels of Frederick the Great, who, as master of his century, created - a new era. We did not advance with it and so it has left us behind. We - can learn a great deal from Napoleon, and what he has accomplished - will not be lost. It would be blasphemy to say that God is with him; - but evidently he is a tool in the hand of the Almighty employed to - bury the dead past. The world will certainly progress, faith in the - Perfect One is promise of that. But the world can only grow better - through the good. Therefore I do not believe that the Emperor Napoleon - Bonaparte is firmly seated on his now brilliant throne. Men of truth - and justice alone are secure, and he is only politic and crafty. He - does not conform to eternal laws, but only to circumstances as he - finds them. He besmirches his reign with many injustices. He is not - honest with the world and not true to himself. His unbounded ambition - concerns only himself and his personal interests. He is blinded by his - own good fortune and believes that he is capable of all things. - Withal, he is without moderation; and he who cannot be temperate is - sure to fall sooner or later. - - “I believe firmly in God, and therefore in a moral order. I do not see - this in the rule of the strongest: therefore I live in hopes that - better times will come. It is plain that all that has happened and is - now happening is but the preparation for the accomplishment of God’s - good purpose, and not the end, as it shall be in perfection. We shall - probably not see this end, but die on the road thither. But God’s will - be done in everything. In this hope which lives in the depths of my - soul I find comfort, strength, courage, and joy. Truly, everything in - this world is in transition! We must learn our lesson, and our only - care should be to become better and wiser with each day. - - “You see, dear father, that you have a pious and resigned daughter - even in adversity, and that the principles of Christian piety which I - owe to your instruction and your good example have borne good fruit - and will as long as I draw breath. - - “You will be glad to hear, dear father, that the misfortune which has - overtaken us has not affected our family life at all; indeed, it has - strengthened the bonds and made them all the more precious. The King, - who is the best of men, is kinder and more loving than ever. He is - still the lover and bridegroom. His deeds, more than his words, show - how attentive and full of care for me he is. Yesterday he said to me - so sweetly and simply: ‘Dear Louise, you have become more precious and - dear to me in our misfortunes, as I see more and more what a treasure - I have in you. Let storms rage outside if bright weather can only - prevail in our married life. I have named our youngest daughter Louise - because of my love for you. May she become a second Louise.’ His - goodness moved me to tears. It is my pride, my joy, and my happiness - that I possess the love and respect of the best of husbands, and - because I love him and we are so in accord, that the will of the one - is also the will of the other. It will be easy for me to preserve this - happy understanding, which grows more perfect as the years pass. In a - word, he loves me and I love him, and we are happiest when we are - together. Forgive me, dear father, if I say this rather boastfully. I - should not care to speak of it to others; and this also I have learned - from the King. It is enough that we know it ourselves. - - “Our children are our treasures, and we look upon them with confidence - and hope. The Crown-prince [later Frederick William the Fourth] is - full of life and spirit. Our son William [the German Emperor], if I do - not deceive myself, will be like his father, simple, sensible, and - reliable. He resembles his father most, but will not be so handsome, I - think. You see, dear father, I am still in love with my husband.” - -After picturing in the same graphic manner her son Carl and the -daughters Charlotte and Alexandrine, the happy mother continues: - - “There is nothing to be said yet about little Louise. May she become - like her ancestress, the amiable and pious Louise of Orange, the - worthy consort of the Great Elector. Now I have shown you my whole - gallery, beloved father. You will say, this is a mother who is in love - with her children and can see only the good. But really I do not see - any bad tendencies in any of them. They have their faults like other - children, but these disappear in time as they grow older. - Circumstances and conditions discipline people, and it may be well for - our children that they have become acquainted in their youth with the - serious side of life. Had they grown up in the lap of luxury and in - comfort, they would have thought that it must always be so. But now - they perceive that there is another side to life in the grave face of - their father and the frequent tears and sadness of their mother. My - whole care is devoted to my children, and I ask God daily in my - prayers to bless them and not to take his Holy Spirit from them. If - God preserves them to me, he gives me my richest treasure, which no - one can take from me. Come what may, united with our good children we - shall be happy. I am and remain always your grateful daughter, - - “Louise.” - -Thus, happy with her husband and children, communing with God and -occupied with the future of her people, Louise lived a blessed life in -her family circle, though the little country house was hardly large -enough to accommodate them, and in spite of the hardships of the time. -“I have good books, a good conscience, a good piano, and so can live -more peacefully among the storms of the world than those who cause these -storms,” she wrote to a friend. - -Napoleon had just raised a fresh storm by crushing Spain, as he had -crushed Prussia. But this time it was a revolution of the people, a -prophecy of the storm which was to arise five years later against the -tyrant in enslaved Germany. In the dethronement of the King of Spain at -a time of peace, in order to put his brother Joseph on the throne, -Louise recognized fresh evidence of the iron hand which rested so -heavily on the bowed brow of Europe, and also a warning for Prussia. - “What have we to expect in our situation?” she wrote. “Ah, my God! will -the time come when the hand of fate shall at last write ‘Mene, mene, -tekel’ on these walls? I do not complain, however, that my lot has been -cast in this unhappy period. I have borne children who will perhaps -contribute to the good of humanity.” - -In the meanwhile Napoleon had been holding the fate of Prussia cruelly -in the balance, until in September, 1808, the country, with the -exception of the three fortresses on the Oder, was at last evacuated by -the French tormentors. Napoleon now wished to have the royal family -again in Berlin, “as in a mousetrap,” surrounded by the armies of France -and of the Rhenish Confederation. Instead of immediately returning -thither, they gladly accepted an invitation from Czar Alexander to visit -St. Petersburg, December 27. On the journey the King and Queen were -shown at Riga the house of the order, founded in 1390, “guild of the -blockheads,” whose members were obliged to take an oath never to marry. - -The King remarked to Louise: “Had I belonged to that guild you would -have been spared many unhappy experiences.” - -“Had they been ten times worse, and had you been able to foretell all -our misfortunes, I should not have allowed you to become a master of -this guild,” she answered. - -The royal pair were greeted with all honors and pomp, both on the -journey and in St. Petersburg. The French ambassador also _fêted_ them -at a grand banquet. But Louise was depressed rather than elated by all -this pomp and ceremony. A deep melancholy possessed her in the midst of -these splendors. Added to this, she fell ill at an evening exhibition of -fireworks, which ended with a shower of thirty-four thousand rockets. - -On January 31, the King and Queen returned to Koenigsberg. “I come as I -went; nothing dazzles me now,” she remarked. “My kingdom is not of this -world.” Two days after her thirty-third birthday (1809) she wrote: - - “This has been another day when I have felt the burden of the world - with all its sins. I am sick and I believe that as long as things - remain in their present condition, I shall not get well. [It was - dreadful to her that war had broken out again between France and - Austria, and in the end Russia and Prussia would be forced to take the - field against Austria.] My birthday was a terrible day to me. In the - evening there was a brilliant celebration given by the city in my - honor, preceded by a rich, gay banquet at the castle. How sad it all - made me! My heart was torn. I danced! I smiled and said pleasant - things to the hosts, was friendly to every one, but could scarcely - endure my misery. To whom will Prussia belong a year hence? Whither - shall we all be scattered? God, Almighty Father, take pity on us!” - -In the new campaign against Austria, Napoleon arrived before Vienna, May -10. After overthrowing the brave army led so gallantly by Archduke Carl, -in the battle of Wagram (July 5-6, 1809), he dictated the humiliating -peace treaty at Schönbrunn on October 14, which made the return of the -royal family to Berlin impossible. Therefore Louise passed another -summer with her family at the country-seat near Koenigsberg. Her health -grew worse, and an intermittent fever depleted her system. Austria’s new -misfortune, which completed the enslavement of Germany, increased her -illness.—“God knows where I may be buried—scarcely in Prussian soil! -Austria is singing her swan song and then adieu, Germania!” she wrote in -her journal, fearing the utmost from Napoleon’s anger and greed and no -longer believing there was any future for them on earth. - -Notwithstanding all this, she devoted herself zealously, as far as her -strength allowed her to do so, to the schools of the adjacent metropolis -of Koenigsberg, as the nurseries of a better future. She was especially -interested in the “model institute” installed in the orphans’ home by -School-director Zeller. She studied detailed reports and took a lively -interest in all that pertained to the moral elevation of the people. She -clearly perceived that this would cost great sacrifices. To her sorrow -she realized that neither reason nor justice, morality nor piety had -been awakened by the misfortunes which had overtaken Prussia. She wrote -to a friend: “Our natures are too hardened through selfishness and false -education for them to be easily shaken or disciplined. Only great -revolutions can and will accomplish this.” - -She watched with great interest during this cruel and sorrowful time, -the revolt of the people of the Tyrol under the leadership of the -heroic, simple, and pious Andreas Hofer, innkeper of Passeyr, against -the foreigners. “Hofer!” she wrote, “what a man! This Hofer, a peasant, -becomes a field-marshal, and what an able one! His weapons, prayer; his -ally, God! He fights with folded hands and bent knee, and slays as with -the flaming sword of the cherubim!” How she must have mourned over the -fallen hero, when, betrayed by a countryman, he was taken prisoner by -the French and shot on the walls of the fortress at Mantua, February 20, -1810! - -At the beginning of September Louise had to be taken back to the city -castle as the result of a relapse. In those days of suffering she found -a comforter in the excellent, liberal-minded Pastor Borowsky. Once, when -the King was looking dejectedly into the future, he took him by the -button of his uniform and frankly said to him: “Your Majesty must learn -faith!” Borowsky describes the Queen thus: - - “She is not joyful in this time of trial; but her earnestness is full - of quiet cheer, and the insight and composure which God has given her - lends to her personality a charm and dignity. Her eyes have indeed - lost their former brilliancy, and one can tell that she has wept much - and still weeps; but they have gained an expression of sadness and - quiet longing which is more beautiful than the mere zest of life. The - roses on her cheeks have faded, and a delicate pallor has taken their - place; but it is still a beautiful face, and I like the white roses on - those cheeks almost better than the red ones. About her mouth, where - formerly a sweet, happy smile lurked, one sees now and then a slight - trembling of the lips. This shows pain but no bitterness. Her dress is - always extremely simple, and the choice of colors shows her mood. Last - Sunday I found her alone in the sitting-room, and reading the Holy - Book. She quickly arose, met me kindly, and began at once: ‘I have now - come to feel and appreciate the wonderful one hundred and twenty-sixth - Psalm about which we lately conversed. The more I ponder it and try to - understand it, the more its grandeur and loveliness attract me. I know - of nothing so elevating and comforting, so deep and so sweet, as these - precious words. It is full of a spirit of sadness and yet of victory, - of resignation and of the most joyful confidence and trust; it is a - hallelujah with tears. I have read it again and again, until it is - graven on my memory.’ And then the Queen reverently repeated the - psalm, with a soft, but clear, firm voice, varying it here and there - and applying it to her condition. The tone in which she recited it - betrayed how deeply her richly tuned nature had made it her own.” - -Louise’s youngest son, Albert, was born October fourth. At the -christening the officiating clergyman spoke of “the dedication of the -child to life” instead of the reception of this new soul into the -company of God’s elect. This shallow and superficial interpretation, -which seemed to Louise like a profanation of the holy sacrament, grieved -her deeply. Only the certainty consoled her that the worthiness or the -opinions of the officiating clergyman had nothing to do with the -holiness of the christening and could take nothing from it, for its -power comes from God who instituted it, and not from weak men who -perform it. But these occurrences gave her an insight into the true -causes of Prussia’s downfall. She expressed this in the words: “We have -fallen away from the faith; hence our misfortunes.” All the more urgent -it seemed to her that she must never tire in her work, particularly for -the religious elevation of the people. In this she was in accord with -her husband. - -Freiherr von Stein, who had been banished by Napoleon, but whom she -considered the “foundation stone of justice” and a “jewel among the -German people,” and had always esteemed so highly because the foundation -of his steadfast political character was a serious piety and high -morality, expressed her sentiments exactly when he said that “it was the -highest duty to foster a moral, religious, and patriotic spirit in the -nation, to infuse fresh courage, self-reliance, and a feeling of -national unity, with a readiness to make any sacrifice for -independence.” Thus Louise inspired all the efforts and the work by -means of which, in the field of religion, of morality, and of scientific -education, the Prussian State was to be regenerated. - - - - - Chapter VII - Louise’s Death - - -Although life in Koenigsberg and its environs was peaceful and pleasant, -yet Louise often felt oppressed “in this banishment, this climate of -raging storms more than a hundred miles from her home.” A fit of -homesickness for Berlin and her Charlottenburg seized her. When at last -the time of return grew near, she wept many tears at the thought of -finding all as it had been, and yet so changed. “Dark forebodings -trouble me,” she admitted, while everywhere the most gratifying and -touching reception was being prepared for them. - -The King, the Queen, the Princes and Princesses left Koenigsberg -December 15, 1809, and during the journey, which lasted eight days, were -the recipients of countless proofs of sincere affection from the -populace. In Stargard they met old Nettelbeck of Kolberg, who had -assisted the commandant Gneisenau so valiantly and successfully in the -defence of this fortress, while other Prussian strongholds were -shamefully capitulating. He was invited to dinner, and afterward had a -long conversation in the adjoining room with the King and Queen. He was -so affected at the sight of the long-suffering pair that he cried out: -“Ah! as I look upon Your Majesty and my good Queen and think of the -misfortunes which still weigh so heavily upon you, it seems as though my -heart would break.” They all wept, and Nettelbeck, turning to the Queen, -said: “May God long preserve you, my good Queen, to comfort my good -King, for without you he could not have borne his misfortunes.” - -On December 23, 1809, the same day on which, sixteen years before, she -had made her first triumphal entry into Berlin, she now returned after -an absence of two years and two months. In the meanwhile Berlin had been -treated as the capital of a French province, and Louise found that her -apartments had been occupied by insolent French generals. The rejoicings -of the inhabitants over the return of their King and Queen were -exuberant. The Queen with the younger children drove in a magnificent -carriage which the citizens of Berlin had given her. The King was on -horseback; the Princes Frederick and William followed as officers of the -guard with their regiments. The City Council hoped that Their Majesties -would give the citizens the pleasure of attending the gala performance -at the theatre in the evening. “No,” said the King, “the first place I -visit in Berlin shall be the church.” Not until the following Monday did -he appear with his family at the opera house, where they were greeted -with great enthusiasm, and many eyes filled with tears at the sight of -the beloved King and “the partner of his sorrows.” Many Prussians vowed, -as they saw their Queen again, that they would not rest until they had -caused those angelic eyes, which had so often filled with tears over -Bonaparte’s insults and injuries, to shine with joy over Prussian -victories. - -During the occupation of Berlin by the French, all mention of the Queen -and any celebration in her honor had been strictly forbidden by the -commandant. Nevertheless, on her birthday, the famous actor Iffland -appeared on the stage at the evening performance wearing a rose and -induced the other actors to do likewise. The audience immediately -guessed what the roses meant, and cheered the Queen. Iffland suffered -the penalty of a few days’ arrest for this. The Queen summoned him to -her presence at the theatre to express her gratitude and appreciation. -Later the King bestowed on him the order of the Red Eagle. Immediately -after her return, Louise remembered another worthy man, who had stood -for the truth when nearly all were bowing before the conquerors and -allowing the most shameful scandals against the Queen to be circulated. -Upon a certain occasion the local authorities of Berlin were being -presented to the French Emperor, and he broke out in abusive complaints -against the Queen. The reverend Dr. Ermann interrupted him abruptly with -the words: “Sire, that is not true.” The despot hastily turned to the -miscreant who had dared to tax him with the lie, but when he saw the -tall, venerable figure of the old clergyman and looked into his earnest -face, he remained silent and confused and said not another word about -the Queen. The King also honored Ermann with an order; but Louise arose -from the dinner-table at which the excellent man was a guest and went to -him, glass in hand, to greet him, saying: “I cannot deny myself the -pleasure of drinking to the knight, who, when all kept silence, had the -courage to break a lance for the honor of his Queen. Do you still -remember how, on your jubilee, we wished you happiness and long life? -God has heard our prayer and preserved you, so that there should be at -least one courageous enough to tell Napoleon the truth.” - -Their terrible enemy continually devised methods for making life -uncomfortable for Louise and her family, even in Berlin. He insisted -upon the payment of the outstanding war debts more vehemently than ever, -and threatened to occupy the country once more with an army to collect -them. But all means of help had been exhausted, and it was impossible to -make any new loans. Then Napoleon intimated to the King that he could -wipe out the debt by ceding the country and its people. Indeed, Minister -Altenstein could see in the relinquishment of Silesia the only possible -way out of their difficulties. But the King and Queen rejected this idea -with indignation, and the new Minister, Hardenberg, succeeded in -conciliating Napoleon for the time being, until Prussia had recuperated -and liberation was at hand. - -But Louise was not destined to see this time of resurrection. She could -not rid herself of the thought that fresh misfortunes awaited her family -and country, and that the King might be taken from her by some -Napoleonic act of violence. On her birthday she said: “I think this is -the last time that I shall celebrate my birthday here.” Her condition -became rapidly worse. She suffered from oppressed breathing and heart -attacks, and had several spells of fever. The anxious physicians advised -her to beware of strong emotions and excitement. But how in such times -could the heart of a woman so sensitive remain calm and cheerful? She -passed the month of May in Potsdam and was so much improved by the -country sojourn that she ventured to carry out a long-cherished plan. - -She had long wished to visit her beloved father in Strelitz. She started -cheerfully from Charlottenburg, June 25, 1810, but soon became very -serious, and scarcely knew why she was so downhearted when she reached -the frontiers of Mecklenburg. Did she have a presentiment of her early -death? Certainly she had said at her last birthday celebration—“I feel -that this will be the last time that I shall have a birthday.” But this -fit of sadness passed and she was filled with joy at the meeting with -her dear father. She found her eighty-year-old grandmother, the -Landgravine of Darmstadt, also at Strelitz. While there she wished to -live only for her own people, and she attended but one court function, -at which all those present noted an indescribable nobility and sweetness -in her bearing. Her beautiful features bore the stamp of suffering, and -when she raised her lovely blue eyes toward heaven, her look -unconsciously expressed a longing for the home above. After the meal, -Louise joined the circle of more intimate friends, and they admired the -pearls which were her only ornaments. She answered: “I am very fond of -them and withheld them when I gave up my jewels. They suit me best for -they symbolize tears, and I have wept so many.” When the King punctually -joined her as he had promised, she cried: “Now at last I am perfectly -happy.” She immediately seated herself at her father’s desk and wrote in -French the words: - - “My dear father, to-day I am very happy as your daughter and as wife - of the best of all husbands. - - New Strelitz, June 28, 1810. - - “Louise.” - -These were the last words she ever wrote. - -Late in the evening she drove with the King and her family out to the -country seat of High-Zieritz. - -On alighting she felt ill and was seized with a severe catarrhal fever. -The next day she forced herself to appear at table and in the garden for -tea with the family. But the next morning the doctor, whom she had not -called, as she was anxious to accompany her husband to Rhinesberg, found -her condition serious. After being bled, she fainted. Nevertheless she -grew so much better that on July 3 the King, who was obliged to go to -Berlin on important business of state, left her, hoping to return in a -few days to find her well enough to be taken home. The illness seemed to -lessen during the week. Louise bore the sleepless nights patiently; she -seemed tranquil. The King, who had himself fallen ill, sent the Queen’s -own physician, who found that the greatest danger was over. But the -disease took another bad turn, though there were times of improvement -when the cough, abated and the patient was able to talk with her -old-time strength and clearness. A letter from the King affected her so -much that she kept it on her heart, where she could read it again and -again. “How happy is she who receives such letters!” she exclaimed -several times. She was also interested in political news and thought -continually of her children. - -On July 13, the birthday of her daughter Charlotte, she received a -letter from her full of tenderness and longing. Her sister Frederika -read it to the Queen, but was obliged to pause several times and could -not finish it, for the patient was too much agitated by it. After a few -comfortable days, on July 16 severe heart paroxysms set in, which -continued fully five hours. It was the first struggle with death. The -Duke’s physician, Dr. Hieronymi, found an incurable affection of the -heart and prepared the Queen’s father for the worst. Messengers were -sent post-haste to the King in Charlottenburg. Instead of Dr. Hufeland, -who had been called to Holland, Dr. Heim of Berlin with three other -physicians came. The fever and weakness grew worse. Louise could -scarcely await the coming of the King, and she was happy when she heard -that he would arrive July 19. She was patient during her terrible pain -and thanked God for every moment of relief, but the feeling of her -infirmity overwhelmed her. “I am a Queen,” she said once, “but I cannot -so much as move my arm.” The coughing spells and oppression of breathing -grew worse during the night, and Dr. Heim remained at her bedside. About -midnight the patient had a burning thirst, drank several times, and -often exclaimed: “Air! air!” A cold perspiration stood in great drops on -her forehead. At two o’clock, in one of her painful moments, she said to -the physician: “Think of it! if I should have to die and leave the King -and my children!” - -At the break of day, about four o’clock, the King arrived with the two -eldest sons. The sky was overcast. Having been advised of the certainty -of her death the King was completely crushed with grief. When her -grandmother said that with God nothing is impossible, the bitter words -escaped him: “Ah! if she were not mine she would live; but as she is my -wife, she is sure to die.” - -When he entered her room she said with a feeble voice: “My dear friend, -how happy I am to see you!” Though the King made the greatest effort he -could not completely control his grief. “Am I then so dangerously ill?” -she asked him. After he had somewhat reassured her, she asked again: -“Who came with you?” - -“Fritz and William,” answered the King. - -“Oh, how happy I am!” she said, while her hand trembled in his. - -“I will fetch them,” he cried, hardly able to master his feelings. He -immediately returned leading both sons to their mother’s bedside. - -“Ah, dear Fritz, dear William, are you here?” she said to them. They -wept aloud, went out, and returned when the paroxysm of her pain had -subsided. - -In the meantime it had come to be nearly nine o’clock. A new paroxysm -came on. “Air! air!” gasped the Queen. The doctor came in and tried to -raise her arms, but she was not able to keep them there, and as they -sank she said: “Ah, nothing can help me but death!” The King sat beside -her and held her right hand. Her sister, the Princess Solms, kneeling in -front of her, had grasped her left hand. Her weary head rested on the -bosom of her friend Madame von Berg. At ten minutes before nine, July -19, 1810, came the last seizure of pain. Louise bent her head gently -back, closed her eyes, and cried: “Lord Jesus, take me quickly!” - -Five minutes later she had breathed her life away in a last deep sigh. - -The King had sunk back, but now drew himself quickly together and, amid -kisses and tears, closed the eyes of his Louise, “his life’s star, which -had guided him so faithfully our life’s dark journey,” as the poet sang. -Then he hurried out and brought his two sons, who, weeping bitterly, -kissed the hands of their departed mother. - -The beautiful features of the Queen were not in the least distorted. -Death seemed to glorify her countenance. Her mouth bore an expression of -victory and peace. The features of “the most beautiful woman in the -King’s lands” have been preserved by Rauch’s master hand in the marble -monument which he was later commissioned to chisel for her tomb in -Charlottenburg. - -On July 20 the King left High-Zieritz with his children, and a week -later the Queen’s remains were brought to Berlin. The whole city was in -mourning, not a heart remained untouched; tears flowed, and even men -wept as the funeral procession passed by. The body lay in state in the -castle until the thirtieth. Then the casket was sealed and laid away for -a time in the cathedral. On December 23 it was taken to Charlottenburg -and placed in the mausoleum which the King had had built after plans by -the famous architect Schinkel. Over the vault rises a building in the -form of a Greek temple. The roof of the antechamber is supported by four -granite columns. The light falls from above through blue glass, which -casts a magical light over its interior. On the memorial tablet the King -caused the simple words to be engraved: “According to God’s Will.” In -the year 1815 the marble figure of the Queen was placed in the -mausoleum. The transfigured Queen lies on a couch as though in peaceful -slumber. Her head, with its flowing hair crowned with a diadem, is -slightly inclined toward the right. The beautiful arms, clad in short -sleeves, are lightly crossed below the breast, which the right hand -touches expressively. One foot is crossed over the other, and the whole -beautiful figure is half revealed by a simple, flowing garment. - -Louise was lovely in life and her monument shows her lovely in death. -She rests in the chamber, where trials can no longer touch her, until on -the day of resurrection her decayed body shall be awakened from the tomb -to a more beautiful life. More enduring even than marble is the memory -which she has left behind in our hearts. She gave to her people and the -whole German fatherland an example of piety, purity, singleness of -heart, and true, womanly virtues; a model of humility in fortune, -courageous faith in misfortune, of devoted patriotism, of faithfulness -in small things as well as in great things. Therefore her influence has -been felt, even after the night came, in which no man can work. - -The rise of the Prussian people in the great war for liberation from -Italian oppression and craftiness, was principally inspired by the -memory of the never-to-be-forgotten Queen, “who always carried the -banner of hope before us,” as the poet Heinrich von Kleist sung on her -last birthday. Her memory and example inspired a great multitude of -women and girls to sacrifice their gold rings for iron ones, which bore -the inscription: “I gave gold for iron.” - -In the year 1813, on the birthday anniversary of the departed, King -Frederick William the Third instituted the highest order of the soldiers -of liberty, “the Iron Cross.” After the battle of Leipzig (October 18, -1813) he hurried from the battlefield to the thanksgiving service in the -Berlin cathedral and then to the mausoleum in Charlottenburg to place a -wreath on the casket of the perfect one. He founded the Order of Louise, -August 3, 1814, as a decoration for the most zealous among the army -nurses. Since 1840 he has rested beside her. - -Her oldest son, King Frederick William the Fourth, said, in the year -1848: “The unity of Germany is dear to my heart; this idea is an -inheritance from my mother.” But her second son, William, when the -nephew of his mother’s old arch-enemy declared war against Germany on -the anniversary of Louise’s death, July 19, 1870, knelt at his mother’s -coffin in the tomb at Charlottenburg before he went to meet the enemy, -and prayed for a blessing from above. It accompanied him through many -battles and victories, until he arrived before the palace at Versailles. -He returned to Berlin March 17, 1871, as Emperor of the united German -fatherland, crowned with laurels, but giving the honor to God alone, and -stood once more at his mother’s grave in Charlottenburg. How wonderfully -through the grace of God had all her hopes been realized! - - - - - Appendix - - -The following is a chronological statement of the principal events in -Prussian history connected with this volume: - - 1770 Birth of Frederick William the Third. - 1776 Birth of Louise. - 1793 Marriage of Frederick William the Third and Louise. - 1805 Napoleon’s victory at Austerlitz. - 1806 Frederick William the Third declares war against France. - 1806 Defeat of Prussians at Jena and Auerstädt. - 1806 Napoleon enters Berlin. - 1807 Frederick William the Third signs humiliating treaty at Tilsit. - 1809 German War of Liberation. - 1810 Death of Louise. - 1812 Frederick William the Third joins France against Russia. - 1813 Frederick William the Third joins in the war of Liberation. - 1815 Frederick William the Third joins the Holy Alliance. - 1840 Death of Frederick William the Third. - 1871 William the First, Louise’s second son, vanquishes France, - enters Paris, and is crowned Emperor of United Germany - at Versailles. - - - - - LIFE STORIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE - - _Translated from the German by_ - GEORGE P. UPTON - - 24 Volumes Now Ready - - _Historical and Biographical_ - - Barbarossa - William of Orange - Maria Theresa - The Maid of Orleans - Frederick the Great - The Little Dauphin - Herman and Thusnelda - The Swiss Heroes - Marie Antoinette’s Youth - The Duke of Brittany - Louise, Queen of Prussia - The Youth of the Great Elector - Emperor William First - Elizabeth, Empress of Austria - - _Musical Biography_ - - Beethoven - Mozart - Johann Sebastian Bach - Joseph Haydn - - _Legendary_ - - Frithjof Saga - Gudrun - The Nibelungs - William Tell - Arnold of Winkelried - Undine - - Illustrated. Each 60 cents _net_ - - A. C. McCLURG & CO., Chicago - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original—this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOUISE, QUEEN OF PRUSSIA *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |