The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21
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ter-Ioving Charles II but that match fell
1 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
I would do and came home and was be
I trothed: but the more he thought of his
! future as married man, the more he
/ did not like it. Neither did he like the
| reduction in his income which his sub
jects 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 prin-
cess, with whom he had flirted in his
! youth; they had met ut The Hague
and had played the guitar together,
/ but he was a younger son, Sophia
had niDped the Irritation in the bud. y
deed was drawn up between the two
brothers, in which George William
undertook to surrender certain of his
revenues. and bound himself not to
marry. so as to leave his inheritance
and all his rights TO the brother. who
f, 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 its contents, fell into
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 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 next thing to acquaint 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 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 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 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
IL.
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
Ting 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 iilustrious Duchess Sophia,
the descendant of Kings, the great
lady of Osnabruck. wrote d dssem-
bling letter to poor eXiled Eleonore,
asking her to come. assuring her of
respect, and Offering her a pretext
the post of ady-inwaiting 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
Eiennnre'S an
pect of joining her lover gratified 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 affable than the OUCH
ess; everything seemed straightfor-
ward, and ii is no wonder that Eleo-
more, a 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, EIeonore was granted the title Of
Nine. Won Harburg, so called from an
estate of the dukes, and her nominal
her sister Angelica. whom she later |
married to the Comte de Reuss
In her memoirs Sophia declares
that at first she was agreeably sur
prised TO find EIeonore "A very amiable
person, Of modest and even retiring
manners. and she no doubt thought
she would be easily kept in her place
not a 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
of rank. For instance. at meal times
she did not take her place at the ducai
table. and had to sit on low chair,
without anything to eat at a respect
full distance from the Duchess Sophia
and Duke George William. and Ernest |
Augustus, who ate their food while |
Nine. Won Harburg looked on. But |
she was allowed to remain seated
when any princes Were present. and
this was considered great concession.
Her pride was much hurt at this ETH
quette, nor did the heavy living and |
coarse manners of the German Court
appeal to her finer tastes. In her in
teresting letters to her uncle she COM
plains that her heart was sadly turn
ed by the enormous dishes brought
before the princely eaters. their menu \
consisting chiefly of greasy sausases
thrown in Jumps, upon red cabbage, |
and a farinaceous mass of ginger and
onions. This was washed down by
cloudy, heavy ale, Of which they
drank freely. Now the Duchess
Sophia would eXclaim after she had |
eaten her nil, hopping her face with a
napkin, you may go, my dear. and !
help your angelic sister with her
saucepans This was a jeer at the
habit of Eleonore and. Angelica pre-
pairing for Themselves a little meal
after the French cuisine in their dress
ing rooms.
Mime Won Harburp u,as not clint