Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-03-18
IContinued from Yesterday

Like her forbidden books, the En-
press private. letters are a constant
J source Of annoyance to her retinue.
| Having a. habit of leaving the most
intimate missives lying around on
toilet tables and in bandboxeS, the
kaiserin never ,hesitates to accuse
the person on duty in the rooms of
reading them, and of spying upon
her, when at last she recollects the
incident: but as such scenes are mat
| ters of daily occurrence, the host of
officials and waiting women doom
them hardly worth talking about.
|. Her Majesty a Religious Woman
Alas, and alack, for the chimeras
of this world Common folks have
troubles of their own, and, piqued
| by a thousand and one vexations and
discomforts, torment others into a
like unhappy state; it is a detestable
j yet not objectionable habit; but
what about the rich and mighty
causing gloom and detection for the
mere pleasure of the thing?
Her Majesty is a very religious
woman, and it is but natural that
she commands her people to attend
| divine service on Sundays. With this
wish the great majority would glad
lily conform, but for the fact that
they have absolutely no time for
their devotions. The men and wo-
men must be at their Majesty's beck
and call until the very second they
| drive out; that is, up to 9.45 a. m.
Her Majesty decided to arrange
for a special service to be held at
| the Palace, and we ladies of the
! court received the agreeable COM
mission to report truants. 1t is a
! disgusting duty, but We had to fol-
| low orders, and most unpleasant
contentious arose when our grand
mistress, Countess Brockdorff, took
| a hand in the game by rising at an
early hour and watching things from
her window, unknown to anybody.
In that case not only the absentees
got into trouble, but also we, who
failed to tell on them.
! Upon Her Excellency's denuncia-
| ton, myself and a poor chamber
maid were up for a scolding once,
and while I was inventing excuses
for Pauline the best way I could, the
| girl burst out: May it please Your
Majesty to remember that this go
| ing to church costs us an hour OF
| Sleep"
And when do you have to rise in
order to get through with your work
and attend service?" demanded the
Empress, raising her voice.
cat five o'clock, Your Majesty" "
| THAT is not so bad"
NO" said the girl, mot for those
who idle from one years end to the
| other"
This pert answer might have re-
suited in Pauline's dismissal, had
she not Immediately sacrificed a
round five mark piece for Auguste
Victorias church building fund.
Countess Brockdorff had already OBJ
tanned leave to bounce her, but that
act of generosity saved her head
The Kaiserin cannot be angry long
with a person who contributes a
brick to some new church, but mem
bers of the household who refuse to
be bled have an unhappy time of it.
The plate goes round three, four,
or five times per annum, and the
amounts bestowed are carefully re-
corded to speak for or against the
different parties, as the case might
be. And that happens in a house
where the servants are not only bad
| ly paid, but must needs forego the
greater part of the presents domes-
tic in ordinary establishments re-
ceive on stated occasions. ,-
| Sometimes, for no reason what
ever, she takes a sudden dislike to
persons and then she will not rest
until they are discharged. So it
happened that the nurse of little
| Prince Augustus, a girl of twenty
| five, Emma Ruter by name, receiV-
ed orders to quit.
The young woman, daughter of a
preacher in Westphalia, had been
| attached to the nursery for eight
years; she loved the children and
| was beloved by them. Both Majes-
| ties had expressed satisfaction with
| her work on divers occasions, and
| Emma fondly imagined that she
was fixed for life, especially when
on Christmas day the Empress had
given her Prince Augustus picture,
bearing the all-highest autograph,
together with some pious motto.
When the notice of dismissal
came, Emma went at once to Coun-
tess Brockdorff to ask for an ex-
PLANTATION, but Her Excellency re-
fused to enter into details. "I am
acting under Her Majesty's instruc-
tions." That was all she would say.
Five minutes later the girl came
running into the nursery, with dis
hevelled hair and staring eyes. She
threw herself on the floor, and her
means attracted half the household
The doctors said wounded pride
and disappointment had caused her
was sent to an asylum. A week
later poor Emma was q raving
maniac. She died in straitjacket
| at the end of the year.
I asked Countess Brockdorff,
Count Eulenburg, and Baron Lynck-
er why this girl had been discharg-
ed. All three had but praises for
| her. all three regretted the sad end
of so worthy a person, none of the
three knew what prompted Her
Majesty's displeasure. She probab-
ly did not know herself.
And right here 1 approach an
| almost limitless subject, that of Au-
| guste Victoria's inordinate vanity.
II wonder If Solomon the Wise
ever knew a person half so vain
as my ddaughter-in-law," the
] late Empress Augusta used to say,
! adding, with a smile: "Of course
he did, else why should the author
ship of the Ecclesiastes, with it's
quaint truism, All is vanity be i'm
puted to him."
There is probably not brand of
| cosmetics, or similar application in
tended to beautify and improve the
complexion or forestall and arrest
adoposty, or any concoction what
ever claiming this or that or a hun
dred things in the line of averting
bIemishes or amending ones good
points, which the Empress has not
employed at one time or another.
either externally or internally. The
cupboards in the bathroom in Pots
dam as we'll as in Berlin were yeri-
table museums of curiosly-shaped