Year: 1878




the young Prussian princess, who
had drunk deep in their intoxicat-
ing fervor. 1t is true that she was
the only person in the world in
whose presence the 0lympian gray
ity Of his features gave way to
radiant cheerfulness, which made
his manly beauty perfectly irresist-
ible.


In such moments his magnificent
brow, always the seat of meditation
and thought, exhibited the serene
beauty and Attic grace of a young
Athenian; the serious Pericles
seemed, by the invisible wand of a
magician, to have been transplanted
into the youthful Alcibiades.


At this time, however, the match
less personal charms of the Grand
Duke were enhanced by political
prospects Of the most exalted char
acter. He was not eventually con-
sldered an heir to the imperial
crown of Russia. 1t is true, Alex
ander the First, his brother, had no
children, but in case of his death,
which could not be expected soon,
the Grand Duke Constantine was
to inherit the throne of Peter the
Great, and to leave to Nicholas at
best but the position of prince OF
the first blood. Nevertheless, Fred
erick William, charmed alike by
the beauty and intellect Of his guest,
and by the hope of uniting the
sovereign houses of Prussia and
Russia by the close ties of family
union, greeted the prospect of
marriage between the grand duke
and his daughter with enthusiasm,
especially when he discovered that
the young folks themselves were
fond of each other.


The king then delicatelv insiu-
uated to his daughter that, if she
had taken a liking to the grand
duke, and had reason to believe
that the prince entertained similar
feelings toward her, their marriage
would meet with no objection on
his part.


But the young princess, although
secretly delighted in hope which
fully responded to the secret wishes
of her heart, was either too proud
or too bashful to confess to her
father her love for the grand duke,
who had not yet made any declara-
ton to her.


In this manner the day ap-
preached on which the grand
duke was to leave Berlin. On the
eve of his departure a grand gala
supper was given in his honor, at
the royal palace, and, by way OF
accident or policy, the young Prin-
cess Charlotte was seated by the
side of her distinguished admirer.


The grand duke was uncommon
ly taciturn during the evening.
His forehead was clouded, and his
gloomy eyes seemed to follow in
space vague phsntoms fitting be-
fore his imagination. Repeatedly
he neglected to reply to questions
addressed to him; and, when he
was asked to respond to a toast
which one of the royal princes had
proposed to his honor, he seemed
to awake from a profound dream
which had entirely withdrawn him
from his surroundings.


Suddenly, as if by mighty eff
fort of his will, he turned to his
fair neighbor and whispered, so as
only to be understood by her:
" So l shall leave Berlin to-mor-
roww


He paused abruptly and looked
at the princess, as if he were wait
ing for an answer which expressed
sorrow and grief on her part. But
the princess was fully as proud as
the grand duke, and overcoming
the violent throbbing of her heart,
she said politely to him:


"We are all very sorry to see
your imperial highness leave us so
soon. Would it not have been pos
sible for you to defer your depar-
ture ?"


:" You will all be very sorry p'
muttered the grand duke, not en-
tirely satisfied by the vaguenesS of
sorrow which these words of the
lprincess implied. "But you in
particular, madam" he added after
some hesitation "for it will de-
pend on you alone whether l shall
stay here or depart"


" Ahl' replied Charlotte, with
her sweetest smile; "and what have

l to do to keep your imperial high
ness here?p


=" You must permit me to ad-
dress my admiration and homage
to you"


sis that all ?"


"And you must encourage me to
please you"


"That is much more difficult" f"
said the princess, with a deep blush;
but at the same time her eyes
!. beamed forth so much affection and
delight that the prince could see
at glance that his fondest hopes
had been realized beforehand.
During my short stay at Ber-
n lin /" the Grand duke continued. in