Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-02-12
AM EMPRESS AT HOME.
"reminiscences OF Augusta an
Her Court ifa

/ "reminiscences OF Augusta and
Her Court Life.
With the death of the old Kaiser's
widow, the dowager Empress, as she
was called, period in court history
seems ended, says a writer In the New
York Press. The empress belonged to
the ancient regime. She was the pupil
of Goethe, she knew Beethoven i'll his
palmy days, she was a HOhenZollern of
HohenZollern, and at one time the most
brilliant and beautifulof European royal
ties. Few people to-day appreciate what
the Empress had to endure in the first de-
cades of her married life. She was in
| tensely proud and high spirited; and the
Emperor was for years notOriously uu-
faithful to her; moreover, he treated
her at times with scanteSt courtesy.
Curiously enough, the Berlinese al
ways side with the husbands at court.
and for some time they Tega ded the
Empress very coldly, believing her the
! cause of her husbands wrong-dolng,
! but her unbonded charities opened their
| hearts. A woman who, while suffer-
| ing from painful disease, could spend
! hours daily visiting the hospitals and
pooThouses, merlted their respect, and.
while never popular, the Kaiser's wife
became at last understood and esti-
mated highly.
The Berlinese Court is in some ways
| as peculiar to-day as 1t was when Fred
erick the Greats ia her amused him
self by beat NJ his wife and children in
| turn. It's conventionalItIes are eX-
ceedingly tIresOme, but in spie of her
atfdbility in society the DOwager EN-
| press liked and encouraged them. Her
waged war against many of these stupid
rules of court, but the kiiSerin II yer
relaxed any of those she could main
tain. Her routine of life, however,
was rather simple. She breakfasted
| between S and 9, if not with some mem
Der of her family, alone; but her chief
| lady in waiting frequently read aloud to
| her during this meal. Generally speak
ing, the Kaiser spent short time with
her after breakfast, and their CORES
! pohdence WAS discussed. Meanwhile
| her wardrobe woman, with an assistant,
was preparing the toilets of the day,
which the Empress always carefully in-
! spected, knowing TO a pfenuing's worth
what every bit of remodelIng or repa L
! ing ought to cost, and being very care
! full as t. how any sp, is were removed.
Her loss of beauty was great source
of trouble to her, and it was well
known that she accepted eagerly any
new cosmetic put upon the market,
while her passion for jewels was carrie
t. such an extreme that the poor little
woman looked i'll later years, as though
| she was decked with ''votive offerings
Her driving toilet made she went out.
generally speaking, for three or four
| hours, never f ling to visit some char
/ toll NJ n II Itu Of "a irafF
home. Tie 3 O'Clock rcpast brought
some members of the Royal family to-
gether, after which the ladies OF the
| Court assembled and n. T Majesty was
very fond of hearing the latest bit OF
gossip, especially in the literary OF
| scient fic world.
The evenings were devoted to cards,
! music or some social entertainment, but
as | have said, so rigid were the con-
/ vcntionalItIes of court etiquette that
they could hardly be called diyerting.
| The Crown Princess was a sort of
whirlwind on occasion, and alway )
/ brought vitality and movement with
/ her, so that in spite of the faction
against her she was welcome as a re-
! lief on any social occasion.
For a woman OF such liberal educa-
/ ton the Empress Augusta had a mum
/ Ter of fads. She was very fond of in
vestIgating certain minor matters in
| the household. More than one under
| ling has been artled by the Empress
suddenly accosting her in a corriIer
/ where she might have been at work,
and putting her through the facings!
On one occasion young girl from
/ the country, who had just eeu EN-
ployed as one of the houSemaids IN the
/ huTuT hi wN~fra
dows when her Majesty came out of
the boudoir of the chief lady in waiting
] quite alone She stood st II a moment
watching the girl (who by the way had
never seen her befoTe) at work.
! ''What soap are you using?'' the
! Empress inquired. The girl he'd out Il
wet hand with the soap in it.
That's it," she answered. taking
/ for granted that her Males Y was one
of the upper housemai IS.
''How long have You been here?"
was the next inquiry. The girl ans
wered since the Gay before, and the
/ Empress surmislng THAT she was not
/ reclgnIzed, asked whether she had yet
SEN II Majesty. mo" answered the
| girl, bu they say I'm SIR to see her
soon, for she Is a great busybody among
/ the servants"
The Empress laughed heartily and
/ asked the giTl whether she did not
think that a goOl housskeeper ought TO
know eyery one in her employ, where
upon the girl begged of her to let her
know if possible what her Majesty
looked like. Thoroughly amused by
the situation the Empress scrubbed
something on a leaf of her notebook,
and handing it to the maid told her 20
AXE it to the housekeeper and she
would tell her where the Empress
would be that afternoon, when she
would be sure to see her. The paper
! contained an ordsr fer the new servant