The times., 1901-04-21
II f4lj-l ] l!{(I1@ ~ ! !

through and she was now twenty-nine
had had the smallpox, and was possessed
OF a considerably sharp tongue. George
William thought that if it had to be- she
would do, and came home and was be
trothed but the more he thought OF ms
future as married man, the more ne
did not like it. Neither did he like the
reduction in his income which his sub
iects purposed to make In case he did not
do as they said. So he proposed To his
Youngest brother. Ernest Augustus, that
the latter should take Sophia off his
hands-for a consideration. The author
goes on to say:
Ernest Augustus was nothing 10th
to take his brothers place. He was
favOrably disposed toward the prln-
cess, with whom he had hirted IN his
youth; they had met ut The Hague
and had played the guitar together
but as he was a younger son, Sophia
had niDped the Irritation in the bud. a
deed was drawn up between the two
brothers, in which George William
undertook 10 surrender certain of his
revenues, and bound himself not to
marry, so as TO leave his inheritance
and all his rights to the brother, VINO
would act as substitute for him in the
matter of his intended bride and ducal
obligations. Just as the contract was
signed the other impecunious brother,
John Frederick, came into the room,
and on learning it's contents, fell into
a rage because the chance had not
been offered to him first: he tried to
tear away the document from Ernest
Augustus George William looking on
with amusement. This happy -go-lucky
way of choosing a bride was quite in
keeping with the traditions of the
House of Brunswick; an ancestor of
these princes cast dice with his seven
brothers for wife on somewhat SINH
lar conditions. and won the prize-a
Princess of Hesse- -Darmstadt.
The thing a 9rUnaint the
Princess Sophia with the arrangement;
that lady. having satisfied herself that
the terms of the agreement were
equally advantageous to her and her
heirs, raised no objection to being
handed over like a bale of goods, and
though ner pride was hurt, she skill
fully concealed her resentment. Her
brother, the ElectOr Palatine, glad TO
get rid of her and her sharp tongue,
told her that he thought she was bet
ter for the change of brothers. a re-
mark with which she agreed, adding
that a good establishment is all /
care for, and if this is secured to the
younger brother the change is mat
ter of Indifference.
After a belated period of alteration of
Sophia-his admiration for her seemed to
wake up when she was out of his reach
George William went on more travels, and
there he met Eleonore d'Olbreuse, daugh-
ter of a Huguenot marquis. His atten-
tions to her seem to have been inspired
by an affection as genuine as could exist
in his selfish and egotistic nature, and
finding that she would consent to nothing
save marriage. he would gladly have mar
ried her but for the document in the way
He pleaded, but she held firm. In the
midst of the counting, messengers came
from Celle, with the news that the drunk
ard Christian, was dead, and that the
impecunious John Frederick, who had a
grudge against his elder brother for hav-
ing cheated him out of Sophia, had seized
the estate George William had to go
home to turn out the usurper, but before
he went, he gave Eleonore a paper set
tling upon her the whole of his private
fortune in case of his death. After that
he renewed his pleading with her to come
to Celle. or to Hanover, and finally had
recourse to the advice of his sister-in-
law, the Duchess Sophia, in whose judg
ment he had confidence. The diplomatic
talent of that lady was exercised to some
purpose. for she saw at once that if she
could tie George William down TO some
kind OF an illegitimate alliance, she and
her children were fairly certain to get
Hanover and Celle This is what hap
pened:
so the fllustrious Duchess Sophia,
the descendant Of Kings, the great
lady OF Osnabruck. wrote Il dissem-
bling letter TO poor eXiled Eleonore,
asking her to come, assuring her OF
respect, and Offering her as a pretext
the post Of lady-in-waiting at her
court EleOnore still hesitated. She
was very proud and very poor; but she
was very much in love and wearied
with opportunities. The duchess wrote
again, even more urgently. These at
tentions from one who was known
everywhere as a great princess fiat
tered EleOnOres s pride, and the pros
pect Of joining her lover gratired her
love. She consented and came
''EleOnore was received with every
mark of respect. Sophia, accompanied
by George William, met her at the
foot Of the grand staircase OF the cas-
tie She was led up to the duchess
own chamber, where coffee and salt
biscuits an unusual honor, were Of
fered to her. and she was then con-
Quoted to her apartments. No one
could be more affa bic than the duch-
ess: everything seemed straightfor-
ward. and ii is no wonder that Eieo-
more, stranger in a strange land, was
outwitted. She soon found that she
could not draw back without cOmprO-
missing her reputation. so she yielded
TO advice, not altogether reluctantly,
and accepted AT last the left-handed
marriage offered her. After the cere-
mony, which took place in September,
1868, EleOnOre was granted the title Of
/ Nine. Won HarbuTg, so called from an
estate of the duke $, and her nominal
} y
her sister Angelica. whom she later
married to the Comte de Reuss.
I'm her memoirs Sophia declares
that at first she was agreeably sur
prised 20 find Eieonore a very amiabIe
| person. of modest and even retiring
| manners. and she no doubt thought
J she would be easily kept in her place
I not q high one. She soon found her
! self mistaken. For some months after
the mOrganatic marriage Eleonore
! continued to live in the household OF
! the Duchess Sophia, and was not
/ treated with any great honor, and
/ certainly not admitted to an equality
J of rank. For instance at meal times
J she did not take her place al the ducal
/ table. and had TO sit on a low chair,
/ without anything 20 cat, at a respect
/ ful distance from the Duchess Sophia
/ and Duke George William. and Ernest
! Augustus who ate their food while
! Nine Won HarbuTg looked on. But
/ she was allowed TO remain seated
! when any princes We're present, and
| this was considered a great concession.
| Her pride was much hurt at this eti-
! quctte, nor did the heavy living and
! coarse manners Of the German Court
! appeal TO her finer tastes. In her in
| terestiug letters to her uncle she COM
/ plains that her heart was sadly turn
ed bV the enormous dishes brought
! before the priucely eaters, their menu
! consisting chiefly Of greasy sausages
! thrown in Jumps, upon red cabbage.
and "A farinaceOuS mass OF ginger ana
onions This was washed down by
| cIoudv. heavy ale Of which they
! drank freely. NOW the Duchess
| Sophia would eXclaim after she had
eaten her MI, mOpping her face with a
napkin, you may go, my dear and
/ help your angelic sister with her
| saucepans.' This was Jeer at the
| habit OF EIeonore and. Angelica pre-
pairing for themselves a little meal
! after the French cuisine IN their dress