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 London, John Murray Albemarle S' 
 
ALICE 
 
 GRAND DUCHESS OF HESSE 
 
 PRINCESS 
 
 OK 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND 
 
 LETTERS TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN 
 
 NEW AND POPULAR EDITION 
 
 A MEMOIR BY H.R.H. PRINCESS CHRISTIAN 
 
 WITH PORTRAIT 
 
 LONDON 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET 
 
 1885 
 
 A a ris'/tts reserved 
 
LONDON : PRl.N'THD BY 
 
 SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE 
 
 AND PARLIAMENT STREET 
 
PEEFACE TO POPULAR EDITION 
 
 OP 
 
 PRINCESS ALICE'S LETTEES TO THE QUEEN 
 
 WITH MEMOIR BY HER SISTER 
 PRINCESS CHRISTIAN. 
 
 In publishing a new and revised edition of my dear 
 Sister's Letters, some extracts from my Mother's 
 Journal have been added, and the Memoir translated 
 from the German has been replaced by a short bio- 
 graphical sketch written by myself, in which I have 
 tried to tell the story of my dear Sister's life as 
 simply as I could, and to picture her as she was, 
 tlie loving Daughter and Sister, the devoted Wife 
 and Motlier, and a perfect, true Woman. 
 
 It would have been premature and out of place 
 to attempt anything Hke a complete picture of a 
 character so many-sided, or of my Sister's ideas on 
 
[4] PREFACE. 
 
 the affairs of Europe, in which she took the deepest 
 interest, and on which she formed opinions remark- 
 able for breadth and sagacity of view. The domestic 
 side of her nature might alone for the present be 
 freely dealt with. There was no thought at first of 
 making these letters public, but they were found to 
 be so beautiful, and to be so true an expression of 
 what my Sister really was, that, in comphance with 
 the request of the Grand Duke her husband, they 
 were allowed to be translated into German and pub- 
 lished, so that her subjects might see in them how 
 great reason they had to love her whom they had 
 lost. 
 
 The letters in tJieir original form are now given 
 to the English pubhc, and I am sure that all who 
 read them will feel thankful to my Mother for thus 
 granting them a closer insight into my dear Sister's 
 beautiful and unselfish life. 
 
 They will see in them also, with satisfaction, 
 how devoted she was to the land of her birth, — how 
 her heart ever turned to it with reverence and affec- 
 tion as the country which had done and was doing 
 for hberty and the advancement of mankind more 
 
PREFACE. [5] 
 
 than any other country in the world. How deep was 
 her feehng in this respect was testified by a request, 
 which she made to her husband in anticipation of her 
 death, tliat an Enghsh flag might be laid upon her 
 coffin ; accompanying the wish with a modest expres- 
 sion of a hope, that no one in the land of her adoption 
 could take umbrage at her desire to be borne to her 
 rest with the old Enghsh colours above her. 
 
 I feel confident that the perusal of these letters 
 must deepen the love and admiration which has 
 always been felt for my beloved Sister in this coun- 
 try, where she ever thanked God that her childhood 
 and youth had been tended with a wise love, that 
 had fostered and developed all those qualities and 
 tastes which she most valued and strove to cultivate 
 in her later years. 
 
 HELENA. 
 
 CUMBEKLAND LODGE : 
 
 January 1885. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 1862 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Departiuc from England — Eeception at Darmstadt — Daily 
 routine — Visits to Cobiu'g and Auerbach — Festival at Giessen 
 — Tlie Lndwigstag — Visits to Worms and Baden— Prince 
 Arthur at Darmstadt — Eetiu-n to England . . .04 
 
 1863 
 
 At IMarlborough House — Visit to Mayence — Summer residence 
 at Kranichstein— Jugenlieim — Eeading and domestic employ- 
 ments — First large dinner party — Visits to Lich, Frankfort, 
 and Homburg — Return to Kranichstein — Tom* through the 
 Grand Duchj- — Second visit to England (Aug.) — Retmn to 
 Darmstadt (Nov.) — The Holstein Question — Visits to the 
 hospitals — Visit to Amorbach — Christmas festivities . . 69 
 
 1864 
 
 Birth of Prmce Albert Victor (of Wales) — The Schleswig Holstein 
 Question — Daily routine — Visiting the poor — Visit to Munich 
 — Wedding of Princess Amia of Hesse — Third visit to Eng- 
 land (May to Aug.) — Visit to Darmstadt of the Emperor of 
 Russia, of the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia — Birth 
 of Princess Elizabeth (Nov. 1) — Dr. Macleod comes to 
 Darmstadt . . . . . . .85 
 
[8] CONTENTS. 
 
 1865 
 
 PAGE 
 
 .Smiles's Lives of the Engineers — Dean Stanley's sermon — Visit to 
 Berlin — Eetiirn to Dannstadt — Masked ball — Plans for a 
 joiu-ney — Death of Princess Anna and of the Cesarewitch — 
 Robertson's Sermons — Prince Louis invested with the Gar- 
 ter — Seeheim — Pauli's Histoiy of England — Travelling m 
 Switzerland — Foui-th visit to England — Betrothal of Pruicess 
 Christian — Illness and death of the King of the Belgians . 98 
 
 1866 
 
 Organisation of Bazaar for the Idiot Asylum (Jan. 14) — Visit to 
 Gotha — Opening of Parliament by the Queen in person — 
 Completion of the new palace at Darmstadt — War between 
 Austria and Prussia imminent — Death of Queen Marie 
 Amelie — Mobilisation of the army (May) — Prussians enter 
 Darmstadt (June) — Organisation of field hospitals — Prince 
 Louis' division ordered to the front — Death of Prince 
 Sigismimd of Prussia — Sadowa (July 3) — Birth of Princess 
 Irene (July 12) — The Prussians in Darmstadt — Horrors of 
 civil war — Prince Louis appointed to the command of the 
 Hessian troops — Eesidenee at Nierstem — Conclusion of peace 
 (Sept.) — Christening of Princess Irene (Sept. 12) — Visit to 
 the fields of Frohnhofen and Laufach — Visit to Wald Leinin- 
 gen — General Grey's ' Early Years of the Prince Consort ' 
 — Carlsnihe — Establishment of the Frauenverein . 125 
 
 1867 
 
 The lessons of Sorrow — Charitable works — Eumours of war with 
 France — Visit to Paris — Attempt on the life of the Czar — 
 Return home and departure for St. Moritz (Aug.) — Excur- 
 sions among the Alps — PizLanguard — Pontresina — Livigno 
 — Bormio — The Stelvio — Miinsterthal — Return fi:om Switzer- 
 
CONTENTS. [9] 
 
 PAGI-: 
 
 land — Visit to Arenenberg — Wiesbaden — Visit of the Prince 
 and Princess of Wales to Darmstadt — Want of companions 
 — Christmas presents ...... 162 
 
 1868 
 
 Theatricals — Illness of Prmce Leopold — Birth of Prince Waldemar 
 of Prussia — Neuralgia — Eeminiscences — Contiinied ill-health 
 of Princess Alice — Death of Jager — Fifth visit to England (May 
 to Angustl — Osborne — Retiu'n home — Kranichstoin — The 
 Qneen's visit to Switzerland — Rumours of war with France 
 —Birth of Prince Ernst (Nov. 28) — Presents from England . 181 
 
 1869 
 
 Death of the only son of tlie King of the Belgians — Confirmation 
 of Prince Leopold — Recollections of the Prince Consort — 
 Anxiety aboiit the children — The Irish Church Question — 
 Visit to Potsdam — Gewerbe-Museimi at Berlin — Fischbach — 
 Dresden — Kranichstein — Friedberg — The Ludwigstag — 
 Gewerbe-Ausstelhmg at Mayence — Prince Louis' tour to 
 the East with the Crown Prince — Princess Alice goes to 
 Cannes — Return of the Princes (Dee.) — Return home — 
 Christmas arrangements ..... 195 
 
 1870 
 
 Illness of the children — Prince Louis has scarlet fever — Princess 
 Victoria also — and Prince Ernst — Entertainment to the civil 
 authorities — Death of General Grey — of Sir James Clark — 
 and of Lord Clarendon — Education— Outbreak of war with 
 France — National enth\isiasm — Continued ill-health — Weis- 
 senbm'g — Suspense and anxiety — Prince Louis at the front — 
 Care of the womided — German victories — The miseries of 
 war — Prince Louis receives the Iron Cross — Princess Alice 
 suffering from inflammation of the eyes — General Icnging for 
 
 a 
 
[i2] CONTENTS. 
 
 1878 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Love of England — Conduct of the Opposition in Parliament — 
 Heijirich von Angeli at Darmstadt — Tenth and last visit to 
 England — Eastbourne — Visit to the Albion Home at Brighton 
 — Letter to Mrs. Viears — Return home — Weariness and 
 faihng strength — Outbreak of diphtheria — Eecovery of Prin- 
 cess Victoria and Princess Alix — Illness of Princess May, 
 of the Grand Duke, Prince Ernest, and Princess Irene — 
 Death of Princess I\Iay — SJ^llpathy — Faith the only support 
 in sorrow — The end ...... 307 
 
 A WATCHER BY THE DEAD 317 
 
 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF PRINCESS ALICE. By Sir 
 
 Theodore Martin ...... 325 
 
 INDEX 333 
 
 PORTRAIT OF PRINCESS ALICE IN 1860 . Frontispiece 
 
/ 
 
 Memoir of Princess Alice. 
 
 BY HER SISTER 
 
 PRINCESS CHRISTIAN. 
 
 On the 25th of April, 1843, at Buckingham Palace, a second 
 daughter and third child was born to the Queen and Prince 
 Consort — Alice Maud Mary — who ever since has been known 
 and loved in the country of her birth as ' Princess Alice.' 
 She was christened on the 2nd of June. The Queen, in a 
 letter written at the time to her uncle the King of the 
 Belgians, describes the ceremony as having been ' very im- 
 posing,' and mentions that * little Alice behaved extremely 
 well.' 
 
 Her childhood was, like that of all her brothers and 
 sisters, a very happy one. Indeed, few children can ever 
 have been more blessed in their home life. * Wlien she was 
 a year old, her father mentions her as the " beauty of the 
 family, and an extraordinarily good and merry child," and 
 her mother adds, " she was a very vain little person." ' 
 
 She had the brightest, happiest nature, and was a great 
 favourite with all around her. 
 
2 MEMOIR. 1844 
 
 At the age of two years, the Queen mentions Princess 
 AHee in her Journal as follows : 
 
 * Alice is really a treasure, the clearest, sweetest, funniest 
 little pet I ever saw ; so little, and so fat, and so active and 
 dear and gentle, with such a funny long little face, and such 
 a sweet little voice.' 
 
 And, writing again a year later, the Queen says : 
 
 ' Dear little Alice comes to me every morning while I 
 am dressing, and she really is the dearest little bijou I ever 
 saw, and our very great pet. She has such little indepen- 
 dent, winning ways, she talks so plain and says so dearly, 
 " Let me kiss you, dear mama." ' 
 
 The education and training, both mental and bodily, of 
 their children, was an object of unceasing solicitude to the 
 Queen and the Prince Consort, who themselves chose with 
 the utmost care those persons who, under them, were to 
 carry out their plans. The Queen, in a memorandum dated 
 the 4th of March, 1844, writes as follows : * The greatest 
 maxim of all is, that the children should be brought up as 
 simply and in as domestic a way as possible, that (not 
 interfering with their lessons) they should be as much as 
 possible with their parents, and learn to place their greatest 
 confidence in them in all things.' 
 
 On leaving the nursery the children were entrusted to the 
 care of an English governess and of a German and a French 
 governess. These again were under a lady superintendent. • 
 
 ' LacTy Lyttelton from 1842 to 1851 ; and then Lady Caroline Barrington, 
 who remained with the Eoyal Family till her deatli. 
 
i847 EARLY YEARS. 3 
 
 It was the governesses who dii-ected the children's studies, 
 accompanied them in their walks, and watched over them 
 in their playtime. The Queen and fhe Prince Consort were 
 kept informed of the minutest details of their education 
 by these ladies, in whom they had the utmost confidence, 
 and who were allowed at all times direct communication 
 with them. 
 
 Princess Alice learnt with great facility, and showed 
 great talent for music and drawing. ' Her copy-books were 
 always neatness itself, and she wrote a very pretty hand.' 
 * Fresh, blooming, and healthy, escaping most of the illnesses 
 of childhood. Cheerful, mcrr}-, full of fun and mischief.' 
 
 Such are her eldest sister's words when mentionmg her 
 as a child. 
 
 She excelled in skating and gymnastics, and was espe- 
 -cially devoted to riding. At the age of four the Queen 
 writes of her as follows : 
 
 'November 12, 1847. 
 
 * The children rode on the rocking-horse with great de- 
 light, and Alice really distinguished herself by riding upon 
 it and making it go very high, and sitting on one side 
 without any pommel or stirrup, and without being held on.' 
 
 1 myself well remember her devotion as a child to a 
 silver honhonnicre in the shape of a horse's head, in which 
 she kept a piece of the tail and mane of her favourite horse, 
 and used to put it under her pillow when she went to bed 
 at night. 
 
 Her romps and games with her Ijrothers were what she 
 particularly loved ; and, though so fearless and bold, she was 
 
 B 2 
 
4 MEMOIR. 1852- 
 
 full of gentleness, kindness of heart, and consideration for 
 others. 
 
 It was the custom among the Eoyal Children to cele- 
 brate in some way or other all anniversaries in the family^ 
 often preparing charming surprises for their parents. In 
 the little theatrical pieces which they performed, Princess 
 Alice never failed to distinguish herself. Her rendering 
 of the part of * Joad the High Priest ' in Eacine's Athalie 
 was most remarkable. 
 
 The following account of the Princess's acting in 
 Eacine's piece is from the Queen's own Journal : 
 
 ' February 10, 1852. 
 
 'At six the children performed their fragment from 
 Athalie. Vicky,^ " Athalie ; " Alice, " Joad the High Priest " 
 and " Josabeth" (she acted two characters) ; "Agar, suivante 
 of Athalie," Lenchen ; ^ " Joas," Affie ; * "Abner, unofficier,"' 
 Bertie;^ " Zacharie, the boy of Josabeth," Louise. The 
 dresses were extremely pretty and simple and graceful. 
 Vicky looked extremely well, and spoke and acted her long 
 and difficult part (the celebrated scene describing her dream, 
 which is Eachel's great part) really admirably, with im- 
 mense expression and dignity, and with the true French 
 emphasis, which indeed they all did. She looked very well, 
 Lenchen lovely, and Affie beautiful in his little white tunic- 
 robe and long hair. Little Zacharie was dressed just 
 alike. Alice was mcconnaissahle as the priest with a white 
 beard and hair, and very handsome in her second cha- 
 racter : she acted beautifully ; Affie very nicely ; Bertie very 
 well. He and Alice appeared in the first scene : the curtain 
 
 - Princess Royal. ' Princess Helena. 
 
 •* Prince Alfred. * Prince of Wales. 
 
1854 THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES. 5 
 
 then dropped to enable Alice to change her dress, and the 
 music from Mendelssohn's Athalic was played. The scenery 
 used was that from Julius Ccesar. 
 
 ' Mama and Lad}' Anna Maria,*^ ihe Ladies, Stockmar, 
 Phipps, and children, Colonel Grey and Sybil, Lady Caroline 
 and daughter, and Mr. Wellesley were there. 
 
 ' My beloved Albert was much jileased and surprised, 
 for he had no idea of it.' 
 
 Baroness Bunsen in her Manoircs of her husband also 
 gives a description of one of these performances, which took 
 place on the anniversary of the Queen and Prince Con- 
 sort's wedding day, February 10, 1854. On this occasion 
 &, tableau of the Four Seasons had been arranged by the 
 Eoyal Children as a surprise for their parents. 
 
 ' Fii'st appeared Princess Alice as the Spring, scattering 
 flowers, and reciting verses, which were taken from Thom- 
 son's Seasons ; she moved gracefully, and spoke in a distinct 
 and pleasing manner with excellent modulation, and a tone 
 •of voice sweet and penetrating like that of the Queen.' ^ 
 
 An extract from the Queen's Journal on this subject will 
 be read with interest : 
 
 ' At near six we went over with the whole party to the 
 Piubens Room, where the children had kindly arranged a 
 charming surprise for us. The room was entnely darkened. 
 There were five tableaux. Four of these represented the 
 Seasons. 1. Alice as Spring recited some very pretty verses 
 from Thomson's Seasons. 2. Vicky as Summer, with dear 
 little Arthur asleep near some sheaves ; she also recited 
 
 * Lady Anna Maria Dawson, Lady in Waiting to the Duchess of Kent. 
 ' Bunsen's Life, ii. 328. 
 
6 TvIEMOIR. 1854 
 
 verses. 3. Affie as Bacchus, representing Autumn, also 
 reciting verses. 4. Bertie with a long icicled beard and 
 snowy cloak, and Louise in a sort of Eussian dress sitting 
 before a fire, as "Winter : this was the prettiest almost. 
 Bertie also recited some verses : all were taken and adapted 
 from Thomson's Scaso)is. The fifth and last tableau com- 
 bined the four others as they had each been separately 
 represented, and in the clouds at the back stood dear little 
 Lenchen and recited, as the spirit of the Empress Helena, 
 very pretty verses written on the occasion by Mr. Martin 
 Tupper. Lenchen spoke beautifully, and looked loveh'. 
 The scenery was admirably adapted to each tableau ; appro- 
 priate music was played between each. The children spoke 
 well (Alice beautifully), and looked very pretty. All were 
 so anxious to do their best. Mr. Corbould,^ Miss Hildyard,^ 
 and Mr. Gibbs ' had the merit of the whole arrangement. 
 * We were all delighted.' 
 
 As years went on, her intellectual faculties and those 
 rarer qualities of her character became more and more 
 ai^parent ; above all, a wonderful sweetness of disposition 
 which endeared her to all around. She had a great power 
 of observation and a remarkable gift of making herself 
 attractive to others. 
 
 With all this she continued merry, full of fun and 
 mischief, and always a great favourite with her brothers 
 and sisters. 
 
 It is often maintained that none but those who live 
 in comparative retirement really know the blessings of a 
 home life. Certainly the contrary was proved in this royal 
 
 * The Princes and Princesses' drawing-master. 
 
 ' Princesses' English governess. 
 
 ' Prince of Wales's and Prince Alfred's tutor. 
 
1858 MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS ROYAL. 7 
 
 English famih', and none knew better how to appreciate 
 this than Princess AHce. The happy daily intercourse with 
 her parents ; the many walks, drives, journeys with them 
 and her brothers and sisters ; the various occupations and 
 amusements, all Matched over and shared in by the Queen 
 and the Prince Consort, make up the sum of a most per- 
 fectly happy childhood and youth. Her adoration for her 
 father became the one leading star through all her life ; 
 it influenced her every thought and action, and to the end 
 of her short stay on earth she strove to act up to what he 
 would have thought right. He was her highest ideal of 
 all that was perfect, beautiful, and good, and even on her 
 deathbed his loved name was the last she ever uttered. 
 
 After the Princess Koyal's marriage ^ Princess Alice bad 
 to assume the position of eldest daughter in the house, and 
 this brought with it more responsibilities and more duties. 
 She had hitherto shared all joys and sorrows, all studies 
 and recreations, with her sister. Now her intercourse with 
 her parents became a much more intimate one, and, under 
 the guidance of her father, she soon showed her apprecia- 
 tion of all that was purest and noblest in art, whether in 
 painting or in music. The Prince Consort strove at all 
 times to imbue his children with that honesty and thorough- 
 ness of purpose without which ' it was impossible to fill one's 
 position in life happily, worthily, and with dignity.' ^ 
 
 The Eevolution of 1848-18-19, the Crimean War, and 
 
 "^ Princess Eoyal was married on the 25th of January, 1858, to Prince 
 Frederick William of Prussia. 
 ^ Baron Stockmar. 
 
8 MEMOIR. 1859 
 
 other political disturbances throughout Europe, happening 
 as they did at a time when the Princess was just old enough 
 to appreciate their importance, laid the foundation of that 
 keen interest and clear understanding she showed later in 
 all political events. 
 
 Princess Alice's Confirmation took place on the 21st of 
 April, 1859. She had been prepared for it by the Dean of 
 Windsor (the Honourable and Very Pie verend G. Wellesley). 
 The Prince Consort had also read with her every evening 
 for the previous few months. The following extract from 
 the Queen's own Journal gives an account of those eventful 
 days : 
 
 ' April 20, 1859. 
 
 * At a quarter past four dear Alice's examination took 
 
 place by the Dean in the presence of ourselves, the Archbishop, 
 
 and Miss Hildyard. It lasted more than half an hour in 
 
 her own room. She answered extremely well, without any 
 
 hesitation or agitation, better than either of the others, and 
 
 seemed so relieved when it was over, as she said she was so 
 
 Ixightened. She behaved admirably.' 
 
 ' April 21. 
 
 * We gave dear Alice a pretty Prayer Book. At twelve 
 all was ready. The two little girls and Arthur were present. 
 Albert went to fetch dear Alice. She looked very nice and 
 pretty in a muslin dress trimmed with lace over white silk, 
 her pearl necklace her only ornament. Albert led her into 
 the chapel ; Ernest Coburg, me ; George, Mama. We two 
 and the three children stood on one side ; Ernest, Mama, 
 &c., opposite. Music very fine, the whole very moving, re- 
 minding me so much of dear Vicky, three years ago.^ Dear 
 
 * Princess Eoyal's Confirmation, which took place at Windsor, the 20th 
 of March, 1856. 
 
iS6o CONFIRMATION OF PRINCESS ALICE. 9 
 
 Alice seemed much moved when we came out and kissed 
 her. 
 
 ' We went to the " King's rooms," where were all Alice's 
 presents. 
 
 ' We talked with the company, including Lord Claren- 
 don, who hoped things were coming right. Vain hope ! At 
 that very moment Alhert was called out by Lord Derby, 
 whose face told nothing but had nctcs. He soon returned 
 with the distressing news that Austria had sent a sum- 
 mons to Sardmia to disarm, giving them three days' time 
 to answer, at the end of which time the Austrians would 
 march on Turm. Terribly distressed and houleversce on 
 such a day and at such a moment.' 
 
 ' April 22. 
 
 * Dear Alice breakfasted with us. We took the Sacra- 
 ment with her, Ernest, Lady Gainsborough, Miss Hildyard, 
 and Frtiulein Bauer. Immediately after it we walked out 
 with Alice, and found it very hot and beautiful, all so green, 
 birds singing beautifully. 
 
 * We and all the children attended evening service.' 
 
 ' Ajjril 25. 
 
 * To-day is our dear and sweet Alice's sixteenth birth- 
 day ! I can hardl}" believe it possible. She is a great treasure 
 and a child who only is a comfort and pleasure to us. May 
 God leave her long with us, and ma}' she ever be blessed, 
 preserved, and protected ! We wished one another warmly 
 joy. Put on a new dress. When dressed we went to fetch 
 our dear Alice, gave her a nosegay, and took her with all 
 the children to the breakfast room.' 
 
 It was in June 18G0 that Princess Alice first made the 
 acquaintance of her future husband. The Queen and Prince 
 Consort always received many guests at Windsor Castle 
 
lo MEMOIR. i860 
 
 during the Ascot race week, and this year amongst others 
 were Prince Louis and Prince Henry of Hesse. 
 
 It soon became evident to her parents that the Princess- 
 and Prince Louis had formed a ' mutual Hking for one 
 another,' and they had but httle doubt ' that it would lead 
 to further advances from the young gentleman's family.' 
 Even that little doubt was soon removed, and Prince Louis- 
 of Hesse returned to Windsor Castle during the month of 
 November 1860. 
 
 On the 30th of November the Queen wrote as follows in 
 her Diary : 
 
 *. . . After dinner, whilst talking to the gentlemen, I 
 perceived Alice and Louis talking before the fireplace more 
 earnestly than usual, and when I passed to go to the other 
 room, both came up to me, and Alice in much agitation 
 said he had proposed to her, and he begged for my blessing. 
 I could only squeeze his hand and say " Certainly," and 
 that we would see him in our room later. Got through 
 the evening as well as we could. Alice came to our room 
 . . . agitated, but quiet. . . . Albert sent for Louis to his 
 room ; he went first to him and then called Alice and me 
 in. . . . Louis has a warm noble heart. We embraced our 
 dear Alice, and praised her much to him. He pressed and 
 kissed my hand, and I embraced him. After talking a 
 little, we parted ; a most touching, and to me most sacred^ 
 moment.' 
 
 The marriage gave general satisfaction, and from being 
 one entirely of mutual affection ^ there was every reason to 
 
 * ' Alice and Louis are as happy as mortals can be, and I need scarcely 
 say this makes my heart as a father glad.' — Prince Consort's Letter to the 
 Crown Princess. 
 
i86i DEATH OF THE DUCHESS OF KENT. ii 
 
 think that a very bright and happy future was in store for 
 the Princess. 
 
 March of 18G1 brought the first great sorrow to the 
 bright and happy home. The Duchess of Kent, the beloved 
 mother and grandmother, was taken to her rest. She had 
 been aihng for some time, but her condition had become 
 much more serious since the commencement of the 3'ear, 
 and though she was as full of life and interest as ever, and 
 apparently unchanged, all those near her felt that her state 
 was most precarious. 
 
 On the IGth of March, 18G1, the Duchess of Kent gently 
 breathed her last. The Queen and Prince Consort and 
 Princess Alice were with her, and it was then that the 
 young Princess first showed that wonderfully tender sym- 
 pathy, and that perfect unselfishness of her nature, which 
 but a few months later, when a far bitterer sorrow fell on 
 her family, proved the comfort and solace of her broken- 
 hearted mother. 
 
 The Queen writes in her Diary at that time : 
 
 ' Dear good Alice was full of intense feeling, tenderness, 
 and distress for me.' And again : ' Good Alice was with us 
 through all.' 
 
 In the spring the Queen announced to Parliament Prin- 
 cess Alice's engagement ; and when, later on, * the Princess's 
 settlement of a dowry of 30,000^. with an annuity of 6,000L 
 was brought before the House of Commons, it was voted 
 unanimously.' ^ Her father, writing on this subject to Baron 
 
 ^ Prince Consort's Life. Sir Theodore Martin. 
 
£2 ^lEMOIR. 1861 
 
 Stockmar, mentions, that as the Princess's income would 
 not be a large one, she * would not be able to do great things 
 with it.' 
 
 Prince Louis of Hesse paid several visits to England 
 during the j^ear — one of the last being to the Highlands. 
 Balmoral had ever been peculiarly dear to the Princess, and 
 in her letters to the Queen after her marriage she gives 
 constant proof of her love for her Scotch home. 
 
 On the return of the Court to Windsor Castle, the 
 preparations for the Princess's marriage were being 
 carried rapidl}^ forward, her father himself directing and 
 settling all. It was whilst engaged on these that he was 
 taken ill with typhoid fevei:, and died on the 14th of 
 December, 1861. 
 
 The light and sunshine seemed to have gone out of 
 that hitherto so happy home. Though utterly crushed 
 by the loss of the father whom she so adored, all thought 
 of herself was put aside, and she only lived for her mother. 
 What she was to her in those first terrible weeks is well 
 known ; and it was at that time that an article appeared 
 in the Times, from which the following extract is taken : 
 
 * It is impossible to speak too highly of the strength 
 of mind and self-sacrifice shown by Princess Alice during 
 these dreadful days. Her Pioyal Highness has certainly 
 understood that it was her duty to be the help and support 
 of her mother in her great sorrow, and it was in a great 
 measure due to her that the Queen has been able to bear 
 with such wonderful resignation the irreparable loss that 
 so suddenly and terribly befell her.' 
 
1 862 MARRIAGE. 13 
 
 In every way in her power the Princess strove to guard 
 her mother from all that was painful, to help her over all 
 that was unavoidahle. Since her father's death she had 
 developed a force of character, combined with tact and 
 judgment, truly admirable, settling and arranging every- 
 thing for the Queen with Ministers and officials, and sus- 
 taining her mother by her own firmness and skilfully 
 ministered sj^mpathy ; and when it was decided, at the 
 urgent desire of the King of the Belgians, that the Queen 
 must leave Windsor for Osborne but a few days after the 
 Prince's death, it was the Princess's gentle influence which 
 induced her mother to make that great sacrifice. * She also 
 gained at this time that practical knowledge for organising, 
 and the desire for constant occupation, which in her public 
 as in her private life became a part of herself.' ^ 
 
 Princess Alice's marriage took place at Osborne on the 
 1st of July, 1862. The following most touching accounts 
 of the wedding and the days after it, from the Queen's 
 own Journal, will be read with the deepest interest. 
 
 'July 1, 18G2. 
 
 ' A very bad night, very little sleep, and towards morn- 
 ing heard the knocking for the arrangements for the sad 
 marriage. When dear Alice got up and came and kissed 
 me I gave her my blessing and a Prayer Book, like the 
 one dear mama gave me the day of our happy marriage, 
 and another very pretty book. Got up a little earlier, 
 and breakfasted with dear Alice. . . . Went with Colonel 
 Biddulph to look at the dining-room arranged as a chapel^ 
 
 ' By the Grand Duchess of Baden. 
 
14 MEMOIR. 1862 
 
 with the altar just under our dear family picture. A dark 
 blue velvet cloth and cushions, and chairs covered with dark 
 blue cloth, rails in a circular form, like at our blessed 
 wedding and Vicky's ; the furniture taken out of the room. 
 Then the breakfast for the Eoyal personages in the Council 
 Eoom, where our marriage picture was placed (the deer- 
 stalking one had been taken away for the Exhibition, and 
 I had this brought from Windsor on purpose). 
 
 ' Took a very short drive with Lenchen, and then sent 
 for dear Louis, who was much overcome when I kissed 
 him and wished him joy ; and so was I. Dear Alice was 
 dressed by a little before one. She looked lovely in her 
 bridal attire. Unlike Vicky she had no train, and had a 
 berthe and half-long sleeves. The deep flounce of Honiton 
 lace and the veil to correspond were chosen by my beloved 
 angel, he having seen last spring the designs and ordered 
 a new one to be made, as that first sent was " so unmean- 
 ing." Ever his precious taste ! 
 
 ' Darling Alice had her order on, the beautiful opal cross 
 a;nd brooches of her adored papa, and Bertie's bracelet and 
 the one with our pictures in it. She looked most lovely, 
 with rather a full wreath of orange flowers and myrtle. 
 The dress of crystalline silk, no more flowers but round the 
 bottom of the dress. The four bridesmaids, our three girls 
 and Anna,^ were in sprigged net over white, with grey silk 
 ribbon trimming. The time came. I, in my sad cap, as 
 dear Baby calls it — most sad on such a day — went down 
 with our four boys, Bertie and Affie leading me. It was 
 dreadful ; and yet I felt him very near. No one in the 
 room except the Archbishop of York (the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury not being strong enough), the Dean, and Mr. 
 Prothero. Felt very nervous when I heard the doors open 
 and the different people one after another walk in, though 
 
 * Prince Louis' sister. 
 
1 862 MARRIAGE. 15 
 
 no one could see me, for I sat the whole time m an arm- 
 chah' near the altar, and Bertie and Affie stood close to my 
 right and hid me ; the little hoys to my left. The parents 
 and Wilhelm ^ stood opposite to me, and the Augustuses ^ 
 and Nemours next to them. Another painful pause and 
 Louis came in, conducted by Lord Sidney, and followed by 
 Heinrich.2 Again a still more painful pause, and in com- 
 plete silence in came the dear dear Ijride on her uncle's arm, 
 followed by her bridesmaids — a touching sight — and the 
 service began. The Archbishop read most impressively, 
 solemnly. Dear Alice answered sweetly, distinctly, and in 
 her harmonious voice, full of dignity and self-possession. 
 Louis answered very distinctly and plainly. I restrained 
 my tears (poor dear Affie cried terribly all through) till the 
 words which I never could bear, and which have been ful- 
 filled in an earthly sense, " till death us do part," were pro- 
 nounced, and then I had a violent struggle to prevent a 
 complete outburst. I feel he is near me as ever, and his 
 beloved picture ^ where he stretches out his hand as though 
 he blessed us. 
 
 * All over ! Dearest Alice, who was wonderfully calm, 
 embraced me, who was all she had, while Louis embraced 
 his parents, who were much affected. Then I embraced 
 dear Louis and his parents. I then left the room, shook 
 Ernest's * hand and kissed him, and dearest Feodore ^ came 
 and embraced me. When all had left I got up and went as 
 I had come, and took and pressed the Archbishop's hand as 
 I passed him, the tears rolling down his cheeks. "Went at 
 once with the hojs to the Horn Eoom, where I cried bitterly, 
 
 " Prince William of Hesse. 
 
 ' Prince and Princess Augustus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. 
 '•' Prince Henry of Hesse. 
 
 ' Family picture by Winterhalter. The altar was arranged underneath 
 the picture. '' Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. 
 
 * Princess Hohenlohe Langenburg. 
 
i6 MEMOIR. 1862 
 
 and clasped dear Affie in my arms, who sobbed very much, 
 and was terribly overcome ; the little boj's too. Alice and 
 Louis then came in, and Prince and Princess Charles, who 
 were very much upset, and Prince Charles so kind, saying 
 he felt so much for me. Good dear Fritz ^ came to kiss me, 
 and was very much moved. The Dean then arrived with the 
 three registers, which we signed, and which took a long time ; 
 after which the young couple left the room. Heinrich, 
 Wilhelm, and Anna ^ as well as the other bridesmaids, came 
 in also. Darling Baby cried very much. Then in succession 
 the Cambridges, most feeling, and other Princes, came in, 
 including Nemours. I took leave of all, and then went up- 
 stairs, followed l)y the dear young couple, who lunched with 
 me and Baljy in the schoolroom, all the others lunching 
 below. 
 
 ' Mr. Thomas made a slight sketch of Alice in her dress, 
 and then she went into her dear papa's room and changed, 
 putting on a white muslin de soie. Her calmness and com- 
 posure continued. They both went over to wish the Prince 
 and Princess good-bye, who then came with their children 
 to wish me good-bj^e, after which thej^ all left. Ernest 
 went with them to town, to return on Thursdaj'. Dear 
 Alice and Louis came to me, and I talked a little to her. . . . 
 At five she put on her white tulle bonnet with orange flowers, 
 and I took leave of her, and blessed them both, and saw 
 them from the stairs drive off to St. Clare — Jane Churchill, 
 General Seymour, and Baron Westerweller following them.' 
 
 ' July 3, 1862. 
 
 ' At twenty minutes to three started with Feodore, the two 
 girls, Bertie, the Duchess of Athole, and Mademoiselle de 
 Schenck, for St. Clare,^ going a long way round to avoid 
 
 * Crown Prince of Prussia. ' Prince Louis' two brothers and sister. 
 
 * Villa near Eyde belonging to Colonel and Lady Catherine Harcourt. 
 
i862 LIFE AT OSBORNE. 17 
 
 Eyde, and to arrive there a little before six. Most strange it 
 seemed to see dear Alice and Louis and their people at the 
 door. But oh ! to come alone, without my own blessed one, 
 the incredibility of which, when I think of so many years — 
 of last year — was too dreadful, and gave all a sad, sad tinge. 
 Dear Alice had rather a cold, but seemed well and happy, 
 very quiet and iiosec, but yet sad too. They gave us tea. 
 We left a little before seven.' 
 
 ' July 4. 
 
 ' Went to Alice and Louis's rooms. At half-past seven 
 o'clock they arrived ; took them to their room — the same 
 Vicky had, and Prince and Princess Charles had, but they 
 have been fresh done up. New carpets with orange flowers 
 and wreaths of flowers, and their cyphers. They dined 
 with me, and are very nice together.' 
 
 'Julys. 
 
 ' After luncheon gave dear Louis the Garter. Of course 
 only put it over his shoulder. He was very much pleased, and 
 said, " Ich hoffe ich wcvde micli immer w'iirdig zeigen." ' ^ 
 
 ' July 6. 
 
 ' Feodore dined with me, and after it the others came up. 
 Bertie and Affie went to play billiards, and Louis remained 
 with us. Alice read aloud the Lady of SJialot.' 
 
 ' July 7, 1862. 
 
 ' Alice came over to me and played a few of our chapel 
 hymns. Alice drove me, and it again turned showery — 
 Louis and the others riding. Went with Alice to her room ; 
 she and Louis dined with me. After dinner the boys went 
 down to play at billiards again. Took Alice to her room, 
 being her last night, and she began to cry bitterly ; and I 
 strove to cheer her by the prospect of an early return, but 
 
 ' ' I hope I shall ever prove myself worthy of it.' 
 
 C 
 
 1^0 
 
i8 MEMOIR. 1862 
 
 she said, ** It is my home," and its being so sad made no 
 difference in it, she loved it so much : she loved me, poor dear 
 child ! ' 
 
 ' July 8, 1862. 
 
 ' Went out with Alice and Louis, first walking to play with 
 the monkey, and then driving in little Sardinian pony 
 carriage, Louis sitting behind. Alice received an immense 
 number of pretty presents from all the household, chiefly 
 ornaments for the table, china, &c. — really beautiful 
 things. She and Louis came over to my room, and while 
 she was seeing Dr. Becker ' in the next room, Louis remained 
 with me, and talked very sensibly of Alice's health, &c. I 
 feel quite satisfied as to her happiness ; nothing can be nicer 
 than their tone together, or more truly satisfied and happy, 
 though Alice is serious ; but I feel anxious about her health, 
 she is grown very thin again. Louis is extremely unselfish, 
 and made so little fuss about keeping her to himself, and is 
 very affectionate to me ; and Alice praises him so much, 
 finds him so sensible, not narrow-minded or prejudiced. 
 
 ' Baby and Leopold to luncheon. Soon after Alice again 
 came to me, and I afterwards went over to her room and 
 saw her put her thmgs on, and at half-past four took her 
 over to our side and here had to take leave. She was very 
 much overcome, but I tried to bear up as much as I could 
 and not to cry too violently. Blessed her, and felt (B.V.) 
 we should meet again at the end of October. 
 
 ' Louis was excessively upset. I told him I gave Alice to 
 him in perfect confidence. I joined their hands again, and 
 embraced them, and then they left, and I felt all alone.' 
 
 On the 8th of July the Princess and her husband left 
 for her new home. Many were the earnest prayers, and 
 
 ' Princess Alice's private secretary, who had formerly been private secre- 
 tary and librarian to the Prince Consort. 
 
i862 DEPARTURE FOR DARMSTADT. 19 
 
 many were the loving wishes, that accompanied her on her 
 leaving her English home— that home to which she clung 
 even more passionately as years went on. 
 
 ' Dear to us all by those calm earnest eyes, 
 
 And early tliouglit i;pon that fair young brow ; 
 
 Dearer for that where grief was heaviest, thou 
 Wert sunshine, till He passed where suns shall rise 
 And set no more : thou, in affection wise 
 
 And strong. Avert strength to Her who even but now 
 
 In the soft accents of thy bridal vow 
 Heard music of her own heart's memories. 
 
 ' Too full of love to own a thought of pride 
 Is now thy gentle bosom ; so 't is best : 
 
 Yet noble is thy choice, English bride ! 
 And England hails the bridegroom and the guest 
 
 A friend — a friend well loved by him who died. 
 He blessed your troth : your wedlock shall be blessed.' 
 
 Punch. 
 July 1802. 
 
 c 2 
 
MARRIED LIFE. 
 
 The young married couple met with a most enthusiastic 
 reception on their arrival at Darmstadt. From far and 
 near the people had flocked together to do honour to their 
 young Prince's bride. The Princess created the very best 
 impression, and all were captivated by her great simplicity 
 and grace, and at the same time by the wonderful dignity 
 of her demeanour. 
 
 The first few weeks after their arrival were fully occu- 
 pied by the official duties of their position. In the autumn 
 the Princess had the joy of meeting her mother and several 
 of her brothers and sisters, who had come to Germany (to 
 Piheinhardsbrunn in Thuringia, a shooting castle of the 
 Duke of Coburg's) for a few weeks. 
 
 Prince and Princess Louis decided to come to England 
 at the beginning of the winter and spend some months 
 with the Queen. This they did, and on Easter Sunday, the 
 5th of April, 1863, a little daughter ^ was born to the Prince 
 and Princess at Wmdsor Castle, and was christened there 
 a few weeks later. 
 
 Early in the summer they returned to Germany, spend- 
 ing the hottest months at ICranichstem, a shooting castle 
 
 ' Victoria, married, April 30, 1884, to Prince Louis of Battenberg. 
 
i864 LIFE AT DARMSTADT. 21 
 
 of the Grand Duke's near Darmstadt, beautifully situated 
 among large beech woods. Here the Princess lived a most 
 quiet, happy life, much occupied with ideas and plans of 
 how she could best prove her love and interest for her 
 adopted country and its people. 
 
 * The Congress ' of crowned heads and princes of Ger- 
 many (which took place at Frankfort in August 1803 under 
 the auspices of Austria, the King of Prussia declining to be 
 present) called forth afresh the Princess's interest in poli- 
 tics. Her letters of that time show how keenly she entered 
 into the great questions which were then stirring Germany 
 to its very core — foremost among them the Schleswig- 
 Holstein question, which soon Ijccame one of European 
 importance, and out of which sprang the war of 1866. 
 
 A second daughter ^ was born at Darmstadt on the 1st 
 of November, 1864. During that and the previous years the 
 Princess superintended the building of her own palace, which 
 she had planned herself. She had hitherto lived in a very 
 small house adjoining the palace of her parents-m-law, 
 Prince and Princess Charles of Hesse, and it was felt to be 
 impossible, with an increasing family, for her and the 
 Prince to continue living there; besides, they were quite 
 unable to receive the society of Darmstadt — in fact, to fulfil 
 the social duties of their position. 
 
 Much of the Princess's time was always taken up in 
 organising and carrying out various schemes for the good 
 and welfare of the people at Darmstadt, and in Hesse 
 generally. This was no easy task, for she met with many 
 
 * Elizabeth, married, June 1884, to the Grand Duke Sergius of Eussia. 
 
22 MEMOIR. 1866 
 
 difficulties and had to combat many prejudices. The mere 
 fact of her being an Englishwoman with broad and liberal 
 views excited suspicion in a certain set. She felt this very 
 keenly from the first, but more so as time went on. Yet 
 the great love and respect universally felt for her in her 
 new home, deeply appreciated by her, encouraged her to 
 persevere in her efforts. 
 
 Some time in each year was spent in England with the 
 Queen, and though so thoroughly happy in her husband's 
 country, each return to the old home only strengthened 
 the Princess's passionate attachment to it. 
 
 The death of the King of the Belgians, December 1865, 
 who had been the kindest and tenderest of uncles, was a 
 great grief to the Princess, who felt deeply what an irre- 
 parable loss the death of this wise, devoted friend and 
 counsellor would be to the Queen. 
 
 The year 1866 was an eventful one for Germany. To 
 the Princess it brought alike joys and sorrows, and, great 
 as were the anxieties through which she had to pass, she 
 felt in the end she had also much cause for thankfulness. 
 
 In the spring of the year a bazaar which she had herself 
 arranged in her ' new palace ' took place with the most 
 satisfactory results. This undertaking was for the purpose 
 of raising funds to found an Idiot Asylum in Darmstadt. 
 She had previously attended some lectures on the subject ; 
 and knowing the want of such an institution, she determined 
 to found one herself.'* At the outset she found herself much 
 hampered by the different views prevailing on the subject ; 
 
 * See the Princess's letter of the 2ncl of January, 1866. 
 
i866 THE WAR OF 1866. 23 
 
 but with tact and patience, and with the help of kind 
 friends, the Princess secured the success she so fully de- 
 served. The Idiot Asylum founded by her is now doing its 
 work nobly, and is carried out on the principles laid down by 
 her. The proceeds of the bazaar amounted to 16,000 florins. 
 
 In June the war between Austria and Prussia broke out. 
 The Princess was * such a true German ' that she could not 
 but be affected by it most nearly. It was a struggle between 
 Germans and Germans, or, as she herself writes to her 
 mother, of * brother against brother, and friend against 
 friend.' She knew but too well how Prince Louis and his 
 country would suffer by it ; she knew, too, that her husband 
 must soon take the field with his division against Prussia. 
 The Grand Duke of Hesse naturally went with the ' Bund ' 
 (the German Confederation), and the Princess with her clear 
 foresight saw how South Germany must suffer in the end 
 through the struggle. The mere idea that her husband 
 should stand opposed to the Crown Prince of Prussia (liei' 
 brother-in-law) was bitter pain to her. 
 
 In the midst of this most trying time, the Princess gave 
 birth to a third daughter on the 12th of July, 1866. By 
 the merest chance Prince Louis had returned to Darmstadt 
 for a few hours the very day the child was born, and she had 
 the comfort of having him with her. On the 21st of July 
 the Prussian General von Goben entered Darmstadt with 
 his troops. The Princess, though barely recovered from 
 her confinement, was aware of what took place, and was the 
 comfort and stay of all at that time. 
 
 In August Prince Louis came home for a few days. 
 
24 MEMOIR. 1867 
 
 As soon as the Princess was sufficiently strong, she 
 and her husband visited the wounded and endeavoured 
 to organise means for their reHef. On the 12th of Sep- 
 tember the baby Princess was christened at Darmstadt. 
 The sponsors were the brigade Prince Louis commanded : 
 ' as a remembrance that he and they had stood in the field 
 together for their first campaign, he asked these two regi- 
 ments, officers and men, to stand sponsors to Baby, as she 
 was born during that time, and they are delighted, but wish 
 the child to have one of their names.' ^ 
 
 The Princess had felt throughout the late war the 
 necessity for a general and widespread organisation ' for 
 aid to the sick and wounded in times of war.' A society 
 had existed since 1865 in Hesse for this purpose, Prince 
 and Princess Charles of Hesse being at its head. It had 
 been established on the principle of the German Bed Cross 
 Society. Princess Alice, who was very much interested in 
 the movement, and in all that had to do with nursing, &c., 
 resolved to found a ' Ladies' Union,' in which ladies and 
 women of every rank and denomination should join. A 
 committee was formed in 1867, consisting of seven ladies 
 and four doctors, with Princess Alice at the head. Branch 
 committees were to spring from it and be spread all over 
 the country, to assist ' the nursing and supporting of troops 
 in times of war, and in times of peace to train nurses to 
 assist other hospitals, and to help among the poor or to 
 nurse the rich.' ^ 
 
 ^ The Princess received the names Irene Louise Marie Anna. 
 * See the Princess's letter of the 21sit of December, 1866. 
 
i867 THE PRINCESS'S WORK AT DARMSTADT. 25 
 
 At the same time that Prmcess Ahce fomided the 
 ' Ladies' Union for Aid to Sick and Womided,' she had 
 turned her attention seriously to the subject of ' the improve- 
 ment of the condition of poor unmarried -women and girls.' 
 Friiulein Louise Biichner, a distinguished philanthropist, 
 proved a most efficient help to the Princess, and aided 
 her in establishing a * Committee for the Encouragement 
 of Female Industry.' 
 
 The * Alice Bazaar ' (a permanent one) was founded on 
 the 25th of November, 1867, ' for the object of receiving 
 and selling articles of needlework, and for obtaining em- 
 ployment for women of all classes.' 
 
 The year 1867 was not without its anxieties. There 
 were rumours of war with France, which, however, passed 
 off. The Princess, with her clear-sighted judgment, recog- 
 nised that this could only be for a time. Li a letter to 
 her mother she writes as follows : 
 
 ' Darmstadt : April 21, 1807. 
 
 * . . . How I wish you ma}^ be right in not believing in 
 war. I always fear it is not Luxemburg, but the intense 
 jealousy of the French nation, that they should not be the 
 first on the Continent, and that German}^ is becoming inde- 
 pendent and powerful against their will. Then, again, the 
 Germans feel their new position, and assert their rights 
 with more force because unanimous, and neither nation 
 will choose to give in to the other. 
 
 ' The war would be totally useless, and sow no end of 
 dissension and hatred between the two neighbour countries, 
 who, for their own good as for that of mankind, ought to 
 live in peace and harmony with each other. 
 
26 MEMOIR. 1867 
 
 ' We seem drifting back to the Middle Ages, as each 
 question is pushed to the point of the sword. It is most 
 sad. How dear Papa would have disapproved of much that 
 has happened since 1862 ! ' 
 
 The new Convention ^ entered into by the Grand Duchy 
 of Hesse with Prussia was at first a great source of trouble 
 to Prince Louis. He had every reason to fear that the 
 Grand Duke, with his aversion to the new state of affairs, 
 would never give a very hearty allegiance to it. Under these 
 circumstances Prince Louis felt it incumbent on him to 
 resign his command in the Hessian army, not wishing to 
 appear in constant opposition to his uncle. 
 
 For some time there was great doubt whether the Grand 
 Duke would agree to what was inevitable. The first con- 
 dition under which the Prince considered it would be possible 
 for him to retain the command was that he should have a 
 Prussian officer at his side, and the Grand Duke had said 
 he would rather lose his country than consent. However, 
 finally, to the surprise of all, he gave in to the Prince's 
 wishes rather than lose his services. 
 
 During this year (1867) the strain of her life seemed to 
 tell greatly on the Princess's health. She wrote in May to 
 the Queen : ' I am not up to very much. I don't always 
 feel quite strong ; but the change [to England] will do me 
 good.' A year or two before she had written : * From being 
 always so well and strong, I feel a slight indisposition 
 more than most people.' As the years went on, this feeling 
 
 ' Through which the Hessian army was placed under the King of 
 Prussia's command. 
 
]S7o ACQUAINTANCE WITH STRAUSS. 27 
 
 of bodily weakness and the looking forward to change and 
 rest recurred with more and more frequency. 
 
 The year 1868 brought great joy to the Prince and 
 Princess and the whole countrj^ in the birth of a son * and 
 heir, on the 25th of November. During the autumn of the 
 following year the Prince and Princess were for the first 
 time separated for some months. Prince Louis accompa- 
 nied the Crown Prince of Prussia on his tour to the East. 
 Writing to the Queen at that time, the Princess says : ^ ' I 
 am very glad you approve of Louis' journey, which I know 
 will be so useful and interesting to him, though it was not 
 possible to attain this without parting from each other, 
 which is of course no small trial to us who are so unaccus- 
 tomed to being separated.' The thought of what was best 
 and what was most likely to benefit and fit the Prince for 
 his future high position was ever her first thought, however 
 great the personal sacrifice to herself. The Princess spent 
 the time of her husband's absence with her sister the Crown 
 Princess at Cannes. Prince Louis returned at Christmas, 
 and the New Year saw them safe home at Darmstadt. 
 
 It was in the beginning of 1870 that Princess Alice be- 
 came intimatel}' acquainted with the great theological writer 
 Frederick David Strauss. He was staying at Darmstadt 
 at the time, and often spent some hours with the Princess 
 reading aloud to her and conversing. This gave rise to a 
 proposal, made by the Princess, that Strauss should make 
 notes on Voltaire, whose works they had been discussing 
 together, and then that he should read them to her, and to 
 
 * Einst Ludwig. ' Darmstadt, October 3, 18G9. 
 
28 MEMOIR. 1870 
 
 a select circle of friends, Mr. (now Sir Eobert) Morier 
 being amongst them. This plan, however, was never 
 carried out, as Prince Louis was attacked by scarlet fever. 
 The Princess then intimated to Strauss how glad she would 
 be if he would come and read his lectures to her alone, 
 provided he did not fear the risk of infection in coming to 
 the palace. Strauss agreed to this most willingly. At the 
 time he first took up the idea of writing these lectures on 
 Voltaire for the Princess, he had hoped that when they 
 were printed he might be allowed to dedicate them to her. 
 He, however, quite gave up the idea when he had com- 
 pleted his book. He shrank from making the request, for 
 fear it should place the Princess in a difficult position, 
 owing to the views he held. After some discussion on the 
 point, the Princess, with the full approbation of Prince 
 Louis, accepted the dedication of the book in the terms 
 in which it now stands published. Her intercourse with 
 him has excited much comment, and been the cause of 
 much misconception. The Princess at all times loved 
 to gather around her people of distinction, of whatever 
 denomination. To discuss abstruse subjects with them, 
 and become acquainted with their opinions, was her great 
 delight. She had a peculiar talent in drawing others out, 
 and an inclination to enter, for the time at least, into their 
 thoughts. It was not strange, therefore, that she should 
 have been attracted by one so gifted as Strauss, nor was it 
 strange that, at a time when the Princess was passing 
 through a phase of mental struggle as to her own religious 
 views, this intercourse and real friendship with Strauss 
 
iS7o STRAUSS AND HIS OPINIONS. 29 
 
 slionld have exercised a considerable infiiieuce on her 
 opinions. It was, however, but a phase, out of which she 
 passed triumphantly ; not, alas, without much suffering to 
 herself, but only, as we now know from her own letters, to 
 become in the end more trustful and strong in the most 
 perfectly childlike faith. 
 
 She carried away from her own home that perfect 
 fearlessness which has always been the true reward of pure 
 motives and true faith. The Princess had had occasion to 
 learn how unjust public clamour could be, even in a free 
 country; but she had also learnt the sacredness of the 
 duty never to join in such clamour, or to countenance it 
 in any way, without a conscientious examination of the 
 grounds on which it professed to rest. 
 
 In Germany the opinions of Strauss were looked upon 
 with such dislike and distrust, that it required no small 
 courage on the part of the Princess to make his acquaint- 
 ance. To many people this would no doubt have proved a 
 dangerous experiment, and even to her it was, as we know, 
 a painful trial. As the true child of her father, she wished 
 to prove everything, and to retain what was best ; and she 
 had her reward. What seemed a loss became to her a real 
 gain, and in the future no page in her life will probably be 
 read with deeper sympathy, no sacrifice that the Princess 
 ever made will i^rove, it may be, a greater blessing to many 
 * sick and wounded ' in spirit, than her noble courage in facing 
 a danger from which so many shrink, and the triumph of 
 that childlike faith which in the end helped her to bear 
 burdens which seemed almost too heavy to be borne. 
 
30 MEMOIR. 1870 
 
 Though in course of time she ceased to agree with Strauss 
 in his views, she ever felt and acknowledged his rare gifts 
 and the perfect sincerity of his nature. 
 
 In June 1870, France declared war against Germany, 
 and on the 1st of August Prince Louis was ordered to the 
 front with his division, which formed part of the Second 
 Army, commanded by Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia. 
 
 The Princess had been much urged by her sister, the 
 Crown Princess, to pass the time of her husband's absence 
 with her ; but she determined to stay at Darmstadt. She 
 considered that her parents-in-law, who had all their sons 
 in the war, had the first claim upon her ; and moreover, 
 though she knew all the comfort and advantage it would 
 be to her to be with her sister, it was a satisfaction to her 
 to be in hev husband's home, nearer to him, and where he 
 would have wished her to stay. She was living at Kranich- 
 stein with her children, and drove in every morning early 
 to Darmstadt to attend the meeting of the ' Society for 
 Aid to the Sick and Wounded,' which she allowed to 
 have its ' head-quarters ' at her palace. She daily went 
 to the hospitals and ambulances, directing and organis- 
 ing the best means of relief, and bringing comfort and 
 brightness wherever she went, proud to work like the wife 
 of a German officer whose only thought during her hus- 
 band's absence was to relieve as much as possible the 
 misery and suffermg of the w^ounded soldiers. ' The Alice 
 Society for Aid to Sick and Wounded ' did grand work all 
 this time. The Princess established a ' depot ' at her own 
 
i87o WAR WITH FRANCE. 31 
 
 palace of all hospital necessaries, and organised committees 
 of ladies who served out refreshments day and night at the 
 railway station to the wounded who were constantly passing 
 through Darmstadt on their way home. She was inde- 
 fatigable, never a thought given to herself, and though 
 almost distracted with anxiety about the Prince, it was she 
 who ' kept others up,' who kept her presence of mind, who 
 du'ected, guided, advised, who comforted the bereaved, and 
 gave hope to many ready to despair. But what tried her 
 the most sorely was the heartrending sight of the crowds of 
 mothers, wives, sisters, pressing round her carriage after 
 the first intelligence of a great battle : all came to her for 
 news, and yet she was often unable to tell them anything 
 but * that the loss had been enormous.' 
 
 The stram on her health was intense, but she would not 
 give in. In answer to one of her sisters writing to her at 
 that time and begging her to spare herself, she said : * I 
 must work only not to be able to think. I should go mad if 
 I had to sit still and think ; ' and this, too, was shortly be- 
 fore her second boy's birth, which took place on the 6th of 
 October.' After it, to help her recovery, she was persuaded 
 by her parents-in-law to go for three weeks to her sister 
 at Berlin. There is no doubt that the perpetual mental 
 anxiety and the great physical strain of that terrible time 
 told permanently on the Princess's health. 
 
 The christening of the little Prince had been deferred as 
 long as possible in the hopes of Prince Louis being able to 
 return home, at least for a short time, which hope had 
 
 ' Frederic William. 
 
32 MEMOIR. 1871 
 
 been strengthened by the fact that an armistice had been 
 conchided between Germany and France. However, the 
 Princess was doomed to disappointment, and the baby boy, 
 whom his father had never yet seen, was christened on the 
 11th of February, 1871. The Princess writes to her mother 
 as follows on the very day : 
 
 'Darmstadt: February 11, 1871. 
 
 ' To-day our little son is to be christened, but only the 
 family will be present, and my ladies and the two wounded 
 gentlemen, who can get about on crutches now. When I 
 think that the one owes his life to being here, it always gives 
 me pleasure. 
 
 ' How I shall miss dear Louis to-day ! The seven months 
 will be round ere we meet, I fear, and he has never seen his 
 dear little boy. It always makes me sad to look at him, 
 though now I have every reason to hope — please God^ 
 that I shall have the joy of seeing Louis come home, and of 
 placing his baby in his arms. My heart is full. 
 
 ' I will tell Christa ^ to write an account to you of the 
 christening, for Leopold to see also, as he will be godfather. 
 Frederic William Augustus (after the Empress) Victor 
 (victory) Louis will be his names. Fritz and Vicky, the 
 Empress and Fritz Carl, are godparents.' 
 
 On the 21st of March Prince Louis at last returned 
 home, though only for a short time ; but the beginning of 
 June saw the end of that long and trying separation. The 
 Prince and Princess went to Berlin to be present at the 
 entry of the troops on the 16th of June. 
 
 The Prince and Princess spent the autumn with the 
 Queen at Balmoral. She had not seen her mother since 
 
 2 Baroness von Scheiick, Lady in Waiting to the Princess. 
 
1872 ILLNESS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES, 33 
 
 the war ; and she much needed rest and quiet, somewhat 
 to restore her after all she had gone through. In November 
 she went to Sandrmgham, where, soon after her arrival, 
 the Prince of Wales was taken ill with the same terrible 
 illness that, ten years before, had proved fatal to the life of 
 the Prince Consort. The Princess remained with her sister- 
 in-law during that time, sharing with her the fearful anxieties 
 of those dark days, and, as ever, helping when need was 
 greatest. The end of January 1872 saw her home at Darm- 
 stadt, having left her beloved brother entirely convalescent. 
 In June of that year a fourth daughter ^ was born. The 
 year was passed quietly and peacefull3^ The Princess con- 
 tinued her indefatigable exertions for the welfare of the 
 people at Darmstadt, and more especially turned her atten- 
 tion to bettering the condition of women, and to extend- 
 ing their sphere of employment. The following letter will 
 explain the objects of the great work the Princess had 
 undertaken, and the proceedings of the 'Frauentag,' or 
 Ladies' Diet, which held its meeting at Darmstadt. At that 
 moment England had sent several delegates to it. 
 
 •Darmstadt: October 13. 
 ' . . . A few words about our doings here may be of 
 interest to you. The meeting went oflf well, was very large, 
 the subjects discussed to the purpose and important, and 
 not one word of the emancipated political side of the 
 question was touched upon by anyone. Schools (those of 
 the lower, middle, and higher classes) for girls were the 
 principal theme ; the employment of women for post and 
 
 ' Victoria Alix Helena Louise Beatrice. 
 
34 MEMOIR. 1875. 
 
 telegraph offices, &c. ; the improvement necessary in the 
 education of nursery maids, and the knowledge of mothers 
 in the treatment of little children ; the question of nurses 
 and nursing institutes. 
 
 * The public meeting on the following day lasted from 
 nine to two with a small interruption ; a committee meeting 
 in the afternoon ; and that evening all the members and 
 guests came to us — nearly fifty in number. The following 
 day the meetings lasted even longer, and the English ladies 
 w^ere kind enough to speak — only think, old Miss Carpenter, 
 on all relating to women's work in England (she is our 
 guest here). Her account of the Queen's Institute at 
 Dublin was most interesting. Miss Hill (also our guest),, 
 about the boarding-out system for orphans. Miss C. Wink- 
 worth, about higher education in England. 
 
 ' There was a good deal of work to finish afterwards,, 
 and a good many members to see. They came from all 
 parts of Germany — many kind-hearted, noble, self-denying 
 women. The presence of the English ladies — above all, of 
 one such as Miss Carpenter, who has done such good work 
 for the reformation of convicts — greatly enhanced the im- 
 portance of the meeting, and her great experience has been 
 of value to us all. She means still to give a lecture on India 
 and the state of the native schools there, before leaving us.' 
 
 In November of that year a monument erected to the 
 memory of the Hessian troops who had fallen in the war 
 was unveiled at Metz, the Prince and Princess being present, 
 * besides deputations of officers and men, and the Generals 
 from Metz.' * 
 
 In the spring of 1873 Princess Alice at last saw one of 
 her fondest daydreams realised — a visit to Italy. She had 
 
 * Princess Alice's letter to the Queen, November 12, 1872. 
 
i873 JOURNEY TO ITALY. 35 
 
 never really got over the effects of the strain to her health 
 during the time of the great war, and had moreover lately 
 been in much anxiety about little Prince Fritz, so that a 
 complete change was thought essential. Her great love 
 of Art had always made her long to see Rome and Ital}^ 
 and now that this wish was to be realised she could 
 scarcely believe it. She writes to her mother just before 
 starting : 
 
 * Rome is our first halting-place in Italy, and for years 
 it has been my dream and wish to be in that wonderful 
 city, where the glorious monuments of antiquity and of the 
 Middle Ages carry one back to those marvellous times. 
 
 * I am learning Italian, and studying the history and 
 art necessary to enable me, in the short time we have, to 
 see and understand the finest and most important monu- 
 ments. I am so entirely absorbed and interested in these 
 studies just now, that I have not much time for other 
 things.' 
 
 No journey was ever so enjoyed, or so thoroughly ap- 
 preciated ; but the Princess returned home much fatigued 
 in body, though thoroughly refreshed in mind. 
 
 Whilst still in the midst of her joy and thankfidness 
 at being safe home again, and at findmg her dear ones 
 
 * all well and flourishing,' a terrible misfortune befell that 
 hitherto so happy home, which for a time seemed to crush 
 the whole brightness out of it. Prince Fritz — the Princess's 
 
 * darling little Frittie ' —was killed by a fall from the window 
 on the 29th of May. 
 
 Her husband had left her that very mornmg on a tour 
 of military inspection. The hour of his departure being so 
 
 D 2 
 
36 MEMOIR. 1873 
 
 early, the Princess had remained in bed, contrary to her 
 usual habit. The two little Princes came to wish her good 
 morning, and were left alone with her, as she always tried 
 to accustom her children from their earliest years to be as 
 independent as possible. The two brothers were playing 
 at 'hide and seek.' The Princess's sitting-room had a 
 large bow window, from which it was possible to look into 
 one of the bedroom windows. The Princess always sup- 
 posed that the little brothers had wished to look at each 
 other from the opposite windows ; suffice it to say, the 
 elder ran into the sitting-room, and little Prince Fritz to 
 the bedroom window as ' hard as he could tear,' and the 
 impetus must have shot him out, the windows being half 
 open and giving way with him. He fell about twenty feet 
 on to a stone balustrade below. He was picked up insen- 
 sible, but outwardly unhurt beyond a small bruise at the 
 side of his head. The Princess's scream on seeing her 
 child disappear from her sight has never been forgotten by 
 those who heard it. Doctors were called hurriedly, and 
 the first comers were full of hope ; but when the Princess's 
 own medical adviser arrived he shook his head. His 
 familiar acquaintance with the child's fragile nature made 
 him fear the worst, and in the evening suffusion of blood 
 on the brain ended that precious little life. 
 
 Alone, but calm and collected as ever, the broken-hearted 
 mother had sat all day near that little bed, watching the 
 life so dear to her ebbing slowly away. There was no smile 
 of recognition, but, thank God, there was no struggle and 
 no pain, as the child passed from her care to that of the 
 
i873 DEATH OF PRINCE FRITZ. 2,7 
 
 loving Heavenly Father, who would for ever shield him 
 from all pain and suffering. 
 
 Prince Louis, though sent for at once, only reached 
 home after all was over. 
 
 The sympathy was universal ; and if an3-thing could 
 have brought comfort and solace to the Princess's aching 
 heart, it was the love shown her at that time. Prince Fritz 
 was buried in the mausoleum at the Piosenhohe, near 
 Darmstadt, on the evening of Whit Sunday, the 1st of June. 
 
 The Princess never entirely recovered from this fearful 
 shock — indeed, all her own family felt it had been her 
 * death-blow.' A more tender, self-sacrificing mother never 
 lived. All her thoughts were centred in the welfare of her 
 children ; and though so full of loving care, she was wonder- 
 fully wise in her system of training and education. As she 
 says herself : 
 
 * ... I always think that in the end children educate 
 the parents. For their sakes there is so much one must do : 
 one must forget oneself, if everything is as it ought to be. 
 It is doubly so, if one has the misfortune to lose a precious 
 child. Eilckert's lovely lines are so true (after the loss of 
 two of his children) : 
 
 'Nun hat eiach Gott verliehen, was wir eucli wollten tliun, 
 Wirwollten eucli erziehen, i;nd ihr erzielit uns nun. 
 Kinder, ihr erzieliet mit Schmerz die Eltern jetzt ; 
 Ihr zieht aai uns, und ziehet uns auf zu eucli zuletzt.'-^ 
 
 * Now unto you the Lord has done what we had wished to do ; 
 We would have train'd you up, and now 'tis we are train'd by you. 
 With grief and tears, children, do you your parents train, 
 And lure us on and up to you, to meet in heaven again. 
 
38 MEMOIR. 1875 
 
 Though so utterly crushed by the death of her child, and 
 feeling, like so many that have suffered, ' that one grows 
 to love one's grief as having become part of the thing one 
 loved,' still she did not weakly give way to it, but she tried 
 to find a blessing in the hour of trial and grief ; she threw 
 herself with energy into her work, and her courage and 
 self-sacrifice were not without a reward ; she found indeed, 
 as she so truly said, ' the day passes so quickly when one can 
 do good, and make others happy.' The visit to England 
 in the autumn did much towards comforting her, and the 
 quiet and rest seemed to restore her to some of her former 
 strength. In the May of the following year, a fifth daughter^ 
 was born, and though momentarily disappointed at its not 
 being a boy, this child henceforth became her mother's 
 ' sunshine ' and comfort. 
 
 The years 1875 and 1876 brought outwardly little change 
 in the Princess's life. She continued to take a great interest 
 in politics and in all her favourite schemes ; she was able to 
 fulfil her social duties, but her health became gradually but 
 steadily worse. Change of air always seemed to restore her 
 for the time, and she apparently benefited much by visits to 
 England and Scotland, and also to the Black Forest, but the 
 close observer could not fail to see that the improvement 
 was never more than temporary. She herself was fully 
 aware of this, and was often very despondent as to the future. 
 She had over and over again at different times mentioned to 
 one of her sisters ^ her conviction that she would not live long. 
 
 In 1877 the apparent lull in her life was broken by the 
 
 * Marie Victoria Feodora Leopoldine. ' Princess Christian. 
 
1878 DEATH OF THE GRAND DUKE. 39 
 
 great strain caused by the illness and death of her father- 
 in-law, whom she dearly loved, followed closely by that of 
 the Grand Duke. 
 
 Prince Louis succeeded his uncle as Grand Duke 
 Louis IV. As ever, it fell to the Princess to share the full 
 burden of the trial, and the new life of responsibilities and 
 duties, which came upon her when her physical strength 
 was at a very low ebb, tried her most severely, for with her 
 high sense of duty she could not accept lightly her new 
 j)Osition of ' Mother of the country' (Landesmutter). 
 
 In July of 1878 the Princess came to England with 
 the Grand Duke and children, and spent some weeks at 
 Eastbourne. The doctors had insisted on a thorough 
 change. During her stay there she endeared herself to high 
 and low. She took the liveliest interest in all local institu- 
 tions, helping where she could, and showing her personal 
 sympathy with the poor by visiting their cottages. Before 
 leaving Eastbourne she made the acquaintance of Mrs. 
 Vicars, the founder of the Albion Home at Brighton. She 
 herself paid a visit to that Home, and afterwards became its 
 patroness. She had at first refused to do so, not that she 
 did not take the deepest interest in that good work and long 
 to help it on, but because she knew the prejudices existing 
 agamst such homes. She was deeply impressed by Mrs. 
 Vicars' ' wonderful knowledge and practical power, and by 
 her loving gentle ways towards those poor gu'ls ; ' * and this 
 eventually induced her to take the Home under her protec- 
 tion. She wrote as follows to Mrs. Vicars : 
 
 * Princess Alice's ovm words. 
 
40 MEMOIR. 1878 
 
 • Dear Mrs. Vicars, ' New Palace, Darmstadt. 
 
 ' I have returned from visiting the Home, so con- 
 vinced of your excellent management of it in every respect, 
 that, if you still feel my becoming Patroness of the Home 
 (and of the Ladies' Association connected with it) can 
 further the good and noble work, I am most willing to com- 
 ply with your request. The spirit of true, loving. Christian 
 sympathy in which the work was begun by you, and with 
 which it is carried out ; the cheerfulness you impart, the 
 motherly solicitude you offer to those struggling to return 
 to a better life, cannot fail to restore in a great measure 
 that feeling of self-respect so necessary to those voluntarily 
 seeking once more a virtuous life, and by so doing regain- 
 ing the respect of their fellow-creatures. " Inasmuch as ye 
 have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, je 
 have done it unto Me." In this spirit may the Home, as 
 well as the Association connected with it, continue its good 
 work. My entire sympathy and good wishes will ever be 
 with it. 
 
 * Ever yours truly, 
 
 'Alice.' 
 
 After having settled at home again, the Princess threw 
 herself with renewed zeal into her work. During her last 
 visit to England she was full of admu*ation for Miss 
 Octavia Hill, whose acquaintance she had made in England 
 in 1877, and entirely entered into the spirit of her great 
 undertaking, sharing her view ' that we must become the 
 friends of the poor to be their benefactors.' The Prin- 
 cess was anxious to work on ' the same lines ' as Miss Hill^ 
 and to see similar efforts made in improving the dwellings, 
 and condition of the poor at Darmstadt. 
 
1878 DIPHTHERIA. 41 
 
 Several of the Princess's own fa mil}' visited her at 
 Darmstadt dm'ing the autumn, the very last of them being 
 Prince Leopold. Her happiness at having what she called 
 • a bit of home and of England ' with her alwaj's seemed to 
 give her fresh strength. But she had scarcely had time to 
 realise how great the happiness of those visits had been 
 before an awful and sudden calamity broke in upon her. 
 On the 8th of November, Princess Victoria was seized with 
 diphtheria ; Princess Alix took it next, then little Princess 
 May, after her Princess Irene, then Prince Ernest and the 
 Grand Duke. 
 
 The following touching and beautiful account of those 
 dark days will speak for itself, and will only deepen the 
 love and admiration already felt for the beloved Princess. 
 The account is written by a great personal friend of hers. 
 Miss Macbean, who never left her during that dreadful 
 time, and whose devotion to her cannot be too much appre- 
 ciated. Miss Macbean's family had settled at Darmstadt. 
 The Princess and the Grand Duke were very intimate with 
 them, and always considered them amongst their best and 
 truest friends. Princess Alice's own lady-in-waiting hap- 
 pened to be away on leave when the illness broke out, and 
 ]\Iiss Macbean was, as often previously, doing the duty for 
 her.^ 
 
 ' Miss Macbean left the Princess, to return to England, at the Prin- 
 cess's express wish, after the Grand Duke and Prince Ernie were con- 
 valescent. The Princess was anxious her dear friend should have a 
 thorough change and rest after all she had gone through. This is only 
 another proof of the Princess's unselfish thought for those who were about 
 her. 
 
42 MEMOIR. 1878 
 
 * We were having five o'clock tea on Tuesday afternoon, 
 the 5th of November, 1878, the Grand Duke and Duchess 
 and myself — they were both m particularly good spirits — and 
 afterwards we all sat some time talking, the Princess as usual 
 on her sofa. She said, " Katie, you have had the mumps ; 
 isn't it awful pain ? I believe Victoria is going to have them ; 
 she has got such a stiff neck, and her glands seem giving 
 her great pain. Fancy if we are all ill with the mumps, be- 
 cause I believe it is very infectious." Then she called in 
 Princess Victoria, who was reading to all her sisters and 
 Prince Ernie in the next room. Princess Victoria did not 
 hear the call, and I got up and went to tell her. I saw her 
 sitting on the sofa, with Princesses Ella, Irene, Alix, and 
 May, and Prince Ernie in a circle close round her, listening 
 intently to a story she was reading to them. I thought 
 Princess Victoria looked flushed and not very well ; she said 
 her neck was rather painful, and she couldn't move her head 
 comfortably about. The subject was then dropped, as little 
 Princess May was asking her mother (" Mother dear," as Her 
 Pioyal Highness was teaching her to call her) for some cake 
 and a little tea, and then she begged me to play, for them 
 all to dance. Her Royal Highness was reading Sarchedon, 
 and I asked her if it would disturb her, but she said no, she 
 •enjoyed it ; so I sat down to the piano and played every 
 description of thing I could remember, over and over again, 
 and the children all danced in the next room for about half 
 an hour. They were then all sent to bed, Princess Victoria 
 not being allowed to kiss the others on account of the 
 " mumps." . . . The next morning Miss Jackson,' Herr v. 
 Dadelsen,^ and I were in the schoolroom, when the Princesses 
 came up from breakfast. Princess Victoria came up to me, 
 and we talked for some time, each of us perched on the 
 
 ' Governess to the young Princesses. 
 ^ Tutor to the Hereditary Grand Duke. 
 
i878 ILLNESS OF PRINCESS ALIX. 43 
 
 ■edge of the table ; she kept on whispering to me and telhng 
 me " secrets." I noticed she looked rather strange, and her 
 neck was so stiff she could not move her head, but she said 
 nothing. The Grand Duchess sent for me, and I ran down- 
 stairs. She at once said, " I can't think what is the matter 
 with Victoria ; at breakfast just now it was such pain to her 
 to swallow that it made her cry, and her throat was so 
 jminful she ate nothing." The doctor came that morning, 
 and at once ordered her to be shut up away from the others, 
 and towards luncheon-time we heard it was diphtheria. The 
 Grand Duchess was much alarmed, as Princess Victoria got 
 much worse in the afternoon (that was Wednesday, the 6th 
 of November), and also because, as they had all been at 
 breakfast together, the fear was that she had given it to the 
 other children. Thursday and Friday she continued very 
 ill. Friday the doctor told the dear Grand Duchess he hoped 
 to pull her through. Then the illness did not strike one in 
 its horrible strength, hers being the first case, and the doctor 
 not saying very much about it to Her Royal Highness. I 
 hardly left her those days ; she had the children a great 
 deal with her, and I don't think she took in that the little 
 ones, her pets, could be taken ill. We went to church as 
 usual on Sunda}'' morning ; we were then all taking disin- 
 fectants, and no one was allowed to come into the palace on 
 account of infection, nor was I allowed to go home. 
 
 * The Grand Duchess and I went out driving as usual 
 on the following Monday, the 11th of November, and that 
 evening we were rather uneasy about Princess Alix, as she 
 did not appear to be very well, and on coming down to 
 Her Pioyal Highness's room the next morning, she told me 
 that she had been called up to see her at two o'clock in 
 the morning, and on looking at her throat had seen large 
 patches of white membrane ; she had at once sent for the 
 doctor, who declared she had taken it in a very violent form. 
 Her Eoyal Highness w^as dreadfully anxious, as one of the 
 
44 MEMOIR. 187S 
 
 little ones had got it, and her great fear was that Princess 
 May should have the horrible illness. The little one came 
 into Her Eoyal Highness's bedroom at about half-past eight, 
 and rushed up to her mother, clambered on to the bed, and 
 kissed her. I sat on the floor, and we played a long time, 
 close to Her Royal Highness's bed, and she watched us and 
 kept on saying " My sweet Maysie." The little one climbed 
 all over me, on my back and shoulders. I thought I had 
 never seen her look so well or in such high spirits, or such 
 a dear sweet little thing as she was that morning romping 
 with me. After breakfast the Princess and I went out, and 
 on going downstairs we saw Princesses Ella, Irene, and 
 May, and Prince Ernest all at the top of the stairs going 
 down also for their drive. Little Princess May smiled and 
 looked so sweet in the little blue hat and ulster she nearly 
 always wore, with her little face covered with dimples and 
 looking the picture of health. At about 12 a.m. Joey* 
 came into Her Pioyal Highness's sitting-room, and said 
 Princess May did not seem at all well. Her Eoyal Highness 
 gave me a look that said what she had feared had come ; 
 she started up at once and went to the nursery, and there 
 was little Princess May in high fever and spots in her 
 throat. Her Royal Highness was very quiet though deadly 
 anxious, but the little thing was so strong naturally, and 
 in such good health, that we hoped and almost believed she 
 would be spared. She had it so badly from the first that 
 all our thoughts were given to her. The Princess Alix was 
 very ill. That was Tuesday. On Wednesday morning I was 
 writing a note about half-past nine, when Her Royal High- 
 ness came in ; she looked so ill and worn and wretched, and 
 threw herself down into a chair, and burst into tears, and 
 said, " Oh, if only my little May is left to me, my little pet, 
 my darling with her precious dimples and loving ways ! '* 
 
 ' Nurserymaid. 
 
1878 ILLNESS OF PRINCESS MAY. 45 
 
 She was utterly miserable, but so good and patient. Dr. 
 Eigenbrodt said I ought to go home, but I would not. Her 
 Royal Highness said she was so thankful to have me. Prin- 
 cess Ella and Miss Jackson had been sent the day before to 
 Princess Charles', and Prince Ernie with M. von Dadelsen 
 on the Wednesday. She had ordered the pony carriage at 
 eleven, and then we drove to the Exercirplatz, because she 
 thought the air was so good there. She was so dear and 
 sweet, and said how changed she was in her way of thinking 
 on religion, and how now she was able to bear things 
 much more patiently. All that day Princess May became 
 worse. Every morning the doctor looked at our throats — 
 she said, "just to be on the safe side. I am quite sure I shall 
 not take the illness." 
 
 ' The next morning, Thursday, Princess Irene was down 
 with the diphtheria ; she had been taken ill in the middle of 
 the night, and about ten o'clock the same day Prince Ernie 
 was brought back to the palace, down with the illness too. 
 Princess Victoria was now recovering. After breakfast 
 Her Royal Highness and I drove to her hospital to get a 
 cold-water cushion for Princess May, as her fever was so 
 dreadfully high. Friiulein Helmsdorfer tried to comfort 
 Her Royal Highness in saying that they had had many as 
 bad a case and had cured them, but Her Royal Highness 
 was very anxious ; she went often to the door of Princess 
 May's room, but was not allowed in. Princess Ella was 
 quite well, but kept entirely away from the palace. On 
 Thursday evening Her Royal Highness and I went to the 
 service in the English church ; special services they were 
 having every day now, and in the other churches the same. 
 They had nearly all her favourite hymns, and when we got 
 home she made me mark them for her in her hynni-book. 
 The last two or three evenings she had sent for Mr. Sillitoe * 
 
 * English chaplain at Darmstadt. 
 
46 MEMOIR. 187S: 
 
 to read prayers in her room, and she found it such a com- 
 fort, she said — she did not think she could have borne it 
 all "without them ; they were some beautiful prayers for 
 strength for the sick. Friday was an awful day ; all the 
 day the little one continued to get worse, and though 
 very quiet and calm, the Princess was nearly mad with 
 anxiety and fear, but even then always thinking of others, 
 and what she could do for them. God gave her wonderful 
 strength to bear it all. All that day we feared the w^orst, 
 and Princess May's life, and Princess Irene's as well, were 
 hanging on a thread. I had luncheon with the Grand 
 Duke and Duchess, as I had for the last three days, and he- 
 was in a wild state of what seemed excitement ; he was 
 dreadfully flushed and hot, and said he couldn't swallow, 
 but kept on whistling and singing all the time. We thought 
 it looked very bad, but Her Eoyal Highness tried to laugh 
 at him, and told him the port he had been drinking had 
 flushed his face, and some hazel nuts he had been eating 
 that morning were the cause of his sore throat. However, 
 he laughed, and said he was going to be ill, teasing me 
 very much all the time. He sent for a housemaid and had a 
 fire made in the next bedroom (the Crown Princess's bed- 
 room), and directly after lunch went and lay down, saying 
 he was going to sleep. Her Eoyal Highness said, " Well, 
 Katie, you and I are the only ones now left who are not ill, 
 and we must not be ill, there is so much to be done and 
 seen after." 
 
 Whenever she was not going about seeing after the 
 others, she was lying on her sofa, but too anxious to read 
 or do anything, and I always sat on a chair by her. That 
 evening the little one was almost hopelessly ill, but at about 
 half-past seven she improved a little ; she always said, " If 
 my little one is only left me ! What should I do if she were 
 taken away ? " I stayed with her till late that night. She 
 looked so sad and worn. 
 
1878 DEATH OF PRINCESS MAY. 47 
 
 'Next morning, at about five o'clock, Frau Kantner' came 
 to my door and said the Grand Duchess wished me to go 
 down to her room. I went down, and straight up to her 
 bed ; she was half sitting up, her face ghastly white ; she 
 put out both her arms, and drew me to her, and whispered, 
 " She is gone ; my little darling is dead," and then burst 
 into tears. And then she told me how it was : that in the 
 middle of the night Dr. Eigenbrodt had come into her 
 room and said there had been an accident, a piece of mem- 
 brane had crossed the windpipe of the little one, choked 
 her, and in a moment she was gone ; that she (the Grand 
 Duchess) had rushed into the nursery, but that it was too 
 late ; she sat by the little one a long time, then kissed her 
 and left her, and had spent those hours of misery by herself, 
 and then sent for me. She said, "It is God's will, but 
 oh that He should have taken that one, my greatest joy 
 and delight in life my sweet, sweet little May-flower ! Do 
 you remember the last time we saw her well, at the top of 
 the stairs before going out driving, and her face covered 
 with those bewitching little dimples ? " She continued 
 talking about her for some time, and what she dreaded was 
 having to tell the Grand Duke, which she thought she must 
 do almost directly, as he kept on asking after Princess May- 
 She was very quiet after we had talked about the little one 
 for some time, and made an effort to remain calm ; at last 
 she said, " I must go and tell him ; you remain here," and 
 sat up in bed saying, *' Come and kneel down, and let us 
 ask God for strength for me to tell him and bear it." Then 
 she got up quite quietly, and went to the Grand Duke's 
 room, where she stayed about a quarter of an hour, after 
 which she came back and got into bed again. She told me 
 that when she had told him, at first he would not believe it, 
 and he then gave a great cry. She said it was heartreud- 
 
 •" Princess's own housemaid. 
 
4S MEMOIR. 1878 
 
 ing to see his awful grief, and then she herself broke down 
 afresh. She said, " My little darling ! I have said they are 
 not to dress her out, and have told Orchy ^ only to put on 
 her little nightgown, and have given one of my lace hand- 
 kerchiefs for her feet." She spoke about it quite quietly, 
 and seemed to make an effort to do so, and then said, 
 " She was so especially beloved because she was the baby 
 and the nearest to me, and used to kiss and pet me as none 
 of the others do, I suppose because they are older." 
 
 ' I don't quite know how we got through that day. She 
 had Herr von Westerweller, and arranged all about the 
 funeral. It was a sort of quiet despair, and she did not 
 seem to comprehend or take it in that " the little one " was 
 gone. That whole day, and for some days after. Prince 
 Ernie's life hung on a thread ; and she used to say, " Only 
 not him too ; if my boy is taken I shall die too ; surely it 
 is enough to give up one child, my best loved little one ; " 
 and she would lie with clasped hands and closed eyes quite 
 quiet for a long time, till I roused her. Prince Ernie did 
 not improve, but continued almost getting w^orse, and the 
 suspense was dreadful. She was not able to tell the other 
 children, as they were not strong enough, and she dreaded 
 so having to tell them, especially Prince Ernie, as little 
 Princess May was his special favourite, and they all kept 
 talking of her and sending her their toys. All Saturday and 
 Sunday passed, I don't know how ; I never left her except 
 to write letters for her, and she said she wished to have no 
 one with her but me. The service and funeral was to be that 
 (Monday) afternoon, a short private service taking place in 
 the palace at three o'clock, I asked her in the morning if it 
 would not be a great relief when the day was over, and she 
 said, " Oh no, why should it be ? It will be worse after 
 to-day ; it is her last day at home, and to-day they take her 
 
 * Nurse, who had been with the children since 1866. 
 
1878 FUNERAL OF PRINCESS MAY. 49 
 
 away from me altogether." She was very quiet, ahnost 
 cheerful, and told me at the service I was to stand directly 
 behind her, and follow after her next into the room. She 
 said two or three times, " I am so glad it is such a fine 
 bright day for her to go out there (to Rosenhohe), such bright 
 sunshine, and the l)irds singing like a sjiring day — ^_)ustsuch 
 a day as she always liked so much." She spoke very little, 
 and always with her eyes fixed on the sky, and then they 
 would fill with tears ; and once she said, "Fancy having f?ro 
 up there in that blue sky, two of my little angels. I wonder 
 if they know that * mother dear ' is looking at them, and if 
 my two sweet little loves are looking down at me ! Only 
 no more, not Ernie. I could not bear that ; it would kill mo 
 to have to give him up too." She then went into her room, 
 putting on the long crape veil that was customary for 
 funerals. Frau Strccker and Friiulein Helmsdorfer were 
 waiting outside in the passage ; and just before it was time 
 to go down to the service she sent the maid out of her 
 room, and turned round to me, and said, "It is so hard to 
 bear, but let us ask God to give me strength. My Maysie, 
 my sweet little flower, they take my heart away with you 
 this afternoon — away for ever ! Never to see her face 
 again, or to feel her sweet kisses on my face, all blank and 
 dreary!" Then she was quite calm, and said, "Now we 
 must go down ; keep close to me all the time, and if I 
 kneel down be ready to help me up, as I feel so weak." 
 
 ' It was a lovely afternoon, and the sun streamed in 
 through the glass front door. At the bottom of the stair- 
 case, and in rows facing us as we went down, stood all the 
 gentlemen of the Court, and gentlemen filling oflticial posts, 
 and on each side of the staircase her servants. Past them 
 you saw into Prince Alfred's room where they had put her 
 "little one," the curtains of the room drawn, and in the 
 centre the coffin raised and quite buried in masses of white 
 
50 MEMOIR. 1878 
 
 flowers, on either side large candles burning, and at the 
 head great palm plants. She walked into the room, her 
 face looking like a mask, and I kept close to her during the 
 service ; on the other side of the room were all the gentlemen 
 who had moved in. Just after the clergyman had finished 
 the service she knelt down close by the cofiin and prayed 
 for a few minutes, then took up a corner of the white satin 
 pall in her hands and kissed it, and got up and walked up- 
 stairs again ; halfway up she turned round and looked 
 into the hall and said, " They are going to take her out of 
 that door, where she has often gone, but after to-day she 
 will never come in or go out again." The carriage (Her 
 Eoyal Highness's own) was waiting outside in the porch, 
 and the}^ were carrying the flowers out as fast as they 
 could. She then went to the top of the stairs and told me 
 to watch till they brought "her" out, and then tell her, 
 which I did, and she knelt down and looked (and hoiv she 
 looked !) through the banisters, and watched them putting 
 her into the carriage ; and then she and I went into the 
 Grand Duke's sitting-room, and watched it all going out of 
 the gates. After that she was wonderfully quiet, and went 
 and saw the Grand Duke.' 
 
 The Princess seemed to feel with renewed keenness the 
 loss of Princess May after Prince Ernest began to recover. 
 Whilst he was so ill she had to keep from him the death of 
 his favourite little sister, and the mere fact of having to do 
 so seemed to help her over those first sad days ; for her only 
 thought, then as ever, was to try and help the loved hus- 
 band and children, whom she would so gladly have sheltered 
 from all suffering and grief. 
 
 On the 6th of December the Grand Duke and Prince 
 Ernest were sufficiently recovered to go out in a close car- 
 
1878 ILLNESS OF PRINCESS ALICE. 51 
 
 riage, and it was on that day too that Princess Alice wrote 
 for the last time to her mother. It was the intention that 
 the whole family should go in a few days to Heidelberg 
 for change of air. The Princess herself was most anxious 
 for this move, and had personally made all the arrange- 
 ments for it. On the afternoon of the 7th of December, 
 hearing that the Duchess of Edinburgh would pass through 
 Darmstadt with her children on Iter way to England, 
 Princess Alice went to the station to see her. She had 
 complained all day of a very l)ad headache, but did not seem 
 otherwise more than usually aiHng. That evening, however, 
 the first symptoms of that fatal illness declared themselves, 
 and the next morning the doctors confirmed the fact of its 
 being dii^htheria. The case was a most severe one from the 
 first, and the Princess's weakened delicate state made all 
 specially anxious as to the course it would take. 
 
 When first taken ill she had quite given up all hope of 
 her recovery, and she occupied herself in writing numerous 
 directions down on slips of paper lor tlie Grand Duke, also 
 several wishes in case of her death. As the illness, how- 
 ever, assumed a more and more hopeless aspect, the Prin- 
 cess herself said she felt better, and also that she was con- 
 vinced she would ' get through it.' She suffered terribly, 
 but through it all her patience, gentleness, and unselfish- 
 ness, as ever, made themselves felt; there never was a 
 thought for herself, only sympathy and consideration for 
 all around. 
 
 The Grand Duke was still so weak that he could not be 
 as constantly with her as he would have wished, but she 
 
 E 2 
 
52 MEMOIR. 1878 
 
 was tended with untiring devotion by her nurses, her lady 
 in waiting, and mother-in-law. On Friday morning, the 
 13th, the doctors gave up all hope, and broke it to the poor 
 husband. All that day she remained perfectly conscious, 
 and, as it seemed, unaware of her extreme danger. She was 
 able to see her mother-in-law that afternoon, and derived 
 much pleasure from her visit. Her joy, too, w'hen the 
 Grand Duke entered her room, was most touching to see, 
 and she bade him ' good night ' with her usual bright smile 
 and with tender words of inquiry after his health. He 
 knew but too well those were the last words he would ever 
 hear from her loved lips, and yet, fearful of agitating her or 
 causing her pain, he bade her ' good -night ' as if he should 
 meet her on the morrow. She slept off and on through the 
 day, and took all the nourishment given her, jet all was in 
 vain ; all the skill and the untiring efforts of the doctors 
 could not save that precious life. Almost the last thing she 
 did was to read a letter from her mother brought her that 
 afternoon by Sir William Jenner (who had been sent over 
 by the Queen) ; she then composed herself to rest, saying, 
 ' Now I will go to sleep again.' From that sleep she passed 
 into unconsciousness, murmuring to herself as a tired child 
 would do, * From Friday to Saturday — four weeks — May — 
 dear papa ! ' Those were her last words, and early on 
 the morning of the 14th of December she passed away in 
 her sleep from the world where she had suffered so much, 
 yet where she had been so happy and so blessed, to that 
 home above where ' God shall wipe away all tears from 
 their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither 
 
1878 THE END. 53 
 
 sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, 
 for the former things are passed away/ 
 
 On the following Tuesday evening, the 17th of December, 
 the loved remains of the Grand Duchess were taken to the 
 chapel in the ' Schloss ' (Grand ducal castle), and the next 
 evening to the mausoleum at the Rosenhohe. (Her two 
 brothers the Prince of Wales and Prince Leopold, as well as 
 her brother-in-law Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, 
 were present.) There she rests between those two children 
 she had ' loved so well and lost awhile.' 
 
Letters. 
 
 1862 
 
 Beloved Mama, Eoyal Yacht : July 9. 
 
 Before leaving the j'-acht I must send you a few 
 lines to wish you once more good-bye, and to thank you 
 again and again for all your kindness to us. 
 
 My heart was very full when I took leave of you and all 
 the dear ones at home ; I had not the courage to say a 
 word — hut your loving heart understands what I felt. 
 
 Darmstadt : July VS. 
 
 Yesterday, after we reached Bingen, all the Hessian 
 officers of state received us. At every station we received 
 fresh people, and had to speak to them. At Mayence also 
 the beautiful Austrian band played whilst we waited, in 
 pouring rain, which only ceased as we reached DarmstSidt. 
 The station before, the Grand Duke, Prince and Princess 
 Charles with their children, Prmce Alexander and his wife, 
 received us — all most kind and cordial. 
 
 At the station we were again received ; the whole town 
 so prettily decked out ; the Biirger [Burgesses Escort] rode 
 near our carriage ; countless young ladies in white, and all 
 so kind, so loj'al : in all the speeches kind and touching 
 allusions were made to you, and to our deep grief. I believe 
 
56 LETTERS. 1862 
 
 the people never gave so hearty a welcome. We two drove 
 together through the town ; incessant cheermg and shower- 
 ing of flowers. We got out at Prince and Princess Charles's 
 house, where the whole family was assembled. 
 
 We then went to our rooms, which are very small, but 
 so prettily arranged, with such perfect taste, all by my own 
 dear Louis ; they look "quite English. 
 
 We then drove to Bessungen for dinner enfamille. . . . 
 
 We were listening to twelve Siingervereine [Choral 
 Unions] singing together yesterday evening — two hundred 
 people ; it was most beautiful, but in pouring rain. Some 
 came upstairs dripping to speak to us. The Grand Duke 
 gave me a fine diamond bracelet he and his wife had 
 ordered for me, and showed me all over his rooms. 
 
 To-morrow we receive the Standesherren [Prmces and 
 Counts] and the gentlemen of both Houses. 
 
 Ml/ thoughts, rather our thoughts, are constantly with 
 you, beloved Mama. Please give my love to all at home ; 
 it is impossible to write to them all. 
 
 July 16. 
 
 ... It is extremely hot here. The last two days 
 we rode out at eight in the morning in the wood, where the 
 an* is very pleasant, near the ground where the troops are 
 drilled. On Monday we looked on, and the soldiers were so 
 much flattered. 
 
 At half-past one on Monday we received the gentlemen 
 of the Upper House, then the Lower House, then the Fliigel- 
 adjutanten [aides-de-camp], then the Stadtvorstand [Town 
 Council], then about seventy officers, then a dej)utation of 
 the English here. All these people I had to speak to en 
 grande toilette, and at four we drove to a large dinner at the 
 Schloss. The Grand Duke led me, and I always sit near him. 
 
 Yesterday at three the whole family drove to Seeheim, 
 
i862 RECEPTION AT DARMSTADT. 57 
 
 a lovely place in the mountains, to dinner with the Grand 
 Duke. In the two villages we passed, flowers were showered 
 upon us, and the Pfarrer [clergyman] made a speech. 
 
 I am really deeply touched by the kindness and enthu- 
 siasm shown by the people, which is said to be quite un- 
 usual. They wait near the house to see us, and cheer 
 constantly — even the soldiers. 
 
 We then drove for tea, which is always at eight, to 
 Jugenhoim to Prince Alexander, whose birthday it was, and 
 did not get home till ten. 
 
 The whole family are very amiable towards me, and 
 Prince Alexander is most clever and amusing. 
 
 Darling Louis is very grateful for your kind messages. 
 We talk and think of you often, and then my heart grows 
 very heavy. Away from home I cannot believe that 
 beloved Papa is not there ; all is so associated with him. 
 
 Beloved Mama, July 19. 
 
 Many thanks for your last kind letter, and all the 
 news from home ; dear Baby [Princess Beatrice] is the 
 only one you have mentioned nothing of, and I think of 
 her so often. 
 
 Some people are coming to us at one, and then the 
 whole Ministerium [Administration]. It is really so diffi- 
 cult to find something to say to all these people, and they 
 stand there waiting to be spoken to. 
 
 Yesterday we received a deputation from Giessen, with 
 a very in'etty dressing-case they brought us as a present. 
 
 On Thursday we went incognito with Prince Alexander 
 and his wife to Frankfurt. The town is decked out most 
 beautifully, and countless Schiitzen [riflemen] are walking 
 about in their dress. We dined at the Palais and then sat 
 in the balcony. 
 
58 LETTERS. 1862 
 
 I have just taken leave of dear Lady Churchill and 
 General Seymour. • They have made themselves most 
 popular here, and the people have been very civil to them. 
 
 Louis and I have begun reading WesUcard Ho.' to- 
 gether. 
 
 The Grand Duke went all the way to Kranichstein for 
 me the other day, and walked about till he was quite hot. 
 He has forbidden my visiting the other places until his 
 return, as he wishes to lead me about there himself. I do 
 not see very much of the other relations save at meals ; 
 and, having our own carriages, we two drive together 
 mostly alone. We have tea usually out of doors in some 
 pretty spot we drive to. 
 
 These lines will find you in Windsor. I went out this 
 morning and tried to find some of those pretty wreaths 
 to send you, but could get none. Please put one in St. 
 George's^ from me. It is the first time you go to that 
 hallowed spot without me ; but in thought and prayer I am 
 with you. May God strengthen and soothe you, beloved 
 Mama, and may you still live to find some ray of sunshine 
 on your solitary path, caused by the love and virtue of his 
 children, trying, however faintly, to follow his glorious 
 example ! 
 
 I do strive earnestly and cheerfully to do m}' duty m 
 my new life, and to do all that is right, which is but doing 
 what dear Papa would have wished. 
 
 July 20. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear long letter of the 
 18th just received. How well do I understand your feelings ! 
 I was so sad myself yesterday, and had such intense long- 
 
 ' Afterwards Marquis of Hertford, who died on the 25th of January, 1884. 
 - St. George's Chapel, Windsor, where the Prince Consort rested until 
 removed to the Mausoleum at Frogmore. 
 
i862 DAILY ROUTINE. 59 
 
 iug after a look, a word from beloved Papa ! I could bear 
 it no longer. Yet hoiv much worse is it not for you ! You 
 Icnow, though, dear Mama, he is watching over you, waiting 
 for you. The thought of the future is the one sustaining, 
 encouraging point for all. * They who sow in tears shall 
 reap in joy ; ' and great joy will be yours hereafter, dear 
 Mama, if you continue following that bright example. . . . 
 
 We usually get up about a quarter or half-past seven, 
 and take some coffee at eight. Then we either go out till 
 ten or remain at home, and till twelve I write and arrange 
 what I have to do. 
 
 At one, when we return from breakfast, we usually read 
 together. I have still a great many people to see, and they 
 usually come at two. 
 
 At four is dinner, and at half-past five we are usually 
 back here, and occupy ourselves till six or seven, then drive 
 out somewhere for tea at eight, walk about, and return at 
 a quarter or half-past ten. We do not waste our time, I 
 assure you, and Louis has a good deal to do at this moment. 
 
 Mr. Theed's bust of dear Papa must be very lovely. I 
 am cm'ious to hear what you think of Marochetti's.^ It will 
 be very sad for you to see. 
 
 A fortnight already I am here, and away from my dear 
 home three weeks ! How much I shall have to tell you 
 when we meet. My own dear Mama, I do love you so 
 much ! You know, though silent, my love and devotion to 
 you is deep and true. If I could relinquish part of my 
 present happiness to restore to you some of yours, with a 
 full heart would I do it ; but God's will be done ! God 
 sustain my precious mother ! is the hourly prayer of her 
 loving and sympathising child. 
 
 ^ The recumbent statue of the Prince Consort, now in the Mausoleum at 
 Froemore. 
 
6o LETTERS. 1862 
 
 July 24. 
 . . . You tell me to speak to you of my happiness — 
 our happiness. You will understand the feeling which made 
 me silent towards you, my own dear bereaved Mother, on 
 that point ; but you are unselfish and loving and can enter 
 into my happiness, though I could never have been the 
 first to tell you how intense it is, when it must draw the 
 painful contrast betw^een your past and present existence. 
 If I say I love my dear husband, that is scarcely enough — 
 it is a love and esteem which increases daily, hourly ; which 
 he also shows to me by such consideration, such tender 
 loving ways. What was life before to what it has become 
 now ? There is such blessed peace being at his side, being 
 his wife ; there is such a feeling of security ; and we two 
 have a world of our own when we are together, which 
 nothing can touch or intrude upon. My lot is indeed a 
 blessed one ; and yet what have 1 done to deserve that 
 warm, ardent love which my darling Louis ever shows 
 me ? I admire his good and noble heart more than I can 
 say. How he loves you, you know, and he will be a good 
 son to you. He reads to me every day out of Westward 
 Ho ! which I think very beautiful and interesting. 
 
 This morning I breakfasted alone, as he went out with his 
 regiment. I always feel quite impatient until I hear his 
 step coming upstairs, and see his dear face when he returns. 
 
 Yesterday, and the previous night, I thought of you 
 constantly, and of our last journey together to dear 
 Balmoral. Sad, painful though it was, I liked so much 
 being with you, trying to bear some of your load of sorrow 
 with you. From here I share all as if I were really by 
 your side ; and I think so many fervent prayers cannot 
 be offered to a merciful loving God without His sending 
 alleviation and comfort. 
 
i862 VISIT TO COBURG. 6i 
 
 Please remember me to Grant, Brown, and all of them 
 at home in dear Scotland, and tell them how much I wish, 
 and Louis also, that we were there, changed though every- 
 thing is. 
 
 Darmstadt : August 1. 
 
 . . . My heart feels ready to burst when I think 
 of such sorrow as yours. I praj^ my adored Louis may 
 long be spared to me. If you only knew how dear, how 
 loving he is to me, and how he watches over me, dear 
 darling ! 
 
 To-morrow we go to Coburg, which was an old promise. 
 Dear Uncle ■* sent only two days ago to say he left Coburg 
 on the 5th, and would we not come before ? You will 
 understand that, happy beyond measure as I am to go 
 there, a lump always comes into my throat when I think 
 of it — going for the j&rst time with Louis to dear Papa's 
 house, where but recently he showed us everything him- 
 self.-' Dear Mama, I think I can scarcely bear it — the 
 thought seems so hard and cruel. He told us as children 
 so much of Coburg, spoke to us of it with such childlike 
 affection, enjoyed so much telling us every anecdote con- 
 nected with each spot ; and now these silent spots seem 
 to plead for his absence. 
 
 To see the old Baron [Stockmar] will be a great happi- 
 ness, and that Louis should make his acquaintance. 
 
 Calenberg bei Coburg : August 4. 
 
 Once more in dear Coburg, and you can fancy with 
 what feelings. Everything reminds me of beloved Papa 
 and of our last happy visit. 
 
 * Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha. 
 
 * This was in the autumn of 18G0. 
 
62 LETTERS. 1862 
 
 We are living here, and yesterday we spent all the 
 afternoon and dined at the Eosenau. It was a lovely day, 
 and the view so beautiful. We went all over the house 
 and walked about in the grounds. We walked to dear 
 Papa's little garden, and I picked two flowers there for 
 you, which I enclose. 
 
 Every spot brought up the remembrance of something 
 dear Papa had told us of his childhood ; it made me so sad, 
 I can't tell you. Uncle Ernest was also sad, but so kind 
 and affectionate, and they both seemed so pleased at our 
 having come. 
 
 Everything about dear Papa's illness, and then of the 
 sad end, I had to tell. I lived the whole dreadful time 
 over again, and wonder, whilst I speak of it, that we ever 
 lived through it. 
 
 At nine o'clock Church service was in the pretty little 
 chapel. Holzei read, and Superintendent Meyer preached 
 a most beautiful sermon, the text being where our Saviour 
 told His disciples they must become as a little child to 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven. He spoke with his 
 usual fervour, and it was most impressive. I saw him 
 afterwards, and he inquired very much after you. 
 
 We are going after breakfast to the Festung, and then 
 Louis and I are going to see the dear Baron [Stockmar], 
 
 August 9. 
 
 Next Monday we are going to Auerbach, to live there 
 for a little time. It lies in the Bergstrasse, and is very 
 healthy. The Grand Duke allows us to inhabit one of the 
 houses. 
 
 August 16. 
 
 . . . How I long to read what Mr. Helps has written 
 about Papa ! What can it be but beautiful and elevating, 
 
i862 FESTIVAL AT GIESSEN. 63 
 
 if he has rightly entered into the spirit of that pure and 
 noble being ? ^ 
 
 Oh, Mama ! the longing I sometimes have for dear Papa 
 surpasses all bounds. In thought he is ever present and 
 near me ; still we are Init mortals, and as such at times 
 long for him also. Dear good Papa ! Take courage, dear 
 Mama, and feel strong in the thought that you require all 
 your moral and phj^sical strength to continue the journey 
 which brings you daily nearer to Home and to Him ! I 
 know how weary you feel, how you long to rest your head 
 on his dear shoulder, to have him to soothe your aching 
 heart. You will find this rest again, and how blessed will 
 it not be ! Bear patiently and courageously your heavy 
 burden, and it will lighten imperceptibly as you near him, 
 and God's love and mercy will support you. Oh could my 
 feeble words bring you the least comfort ! They come from 
 a trusting, true and loving heart, if from naught else. 
 
 Aucrbaeh : August 16. 
 . . . We do feel for you so deeply, and would wish 
 so much to help you, but there is but One who can do that, 
 and you know whom to seek. He will give you strength to 
 live on till the bright day of reunion. . . . 
 
 Auerbach : August 21, 
 
 . . . Our visit to Giessen ^ went off very well. The 
 people were most loyal. We went to see the Gymnasts, 
 and Louis walked about amongst them, which pleased them 
 very much. He is very popular there, and I am very glad 
 we both went, for it made a good impression. 
 
 '^ This refers to Mr., afterwards Sir, Arthur Helps's Introduction to the 
 Collected Addresses and Sj^ccches of the Prince Consort, wliich was then 
 about to be pubhshed (Murray, 1802). 
 
 ' During a Musical and Gymnastic Festival. 
 
64 LETTERS. 1862 
 
 We drove to Louis' propertj'-, Stauffenberg, a beautiful 
 (alas ! ruined) castle, which by degrees he is having restored, 
 and which will be a charming house for us, if it is finished, 
 which can only be done gradually. 
 
 Auerbach : August 23. 
 
 . . . Try and gather in the few bright things you 
 have remaining and cherish them, for, though faint, yet 
 they are types of that infinite joy still to come. I am sure, 
 dear Mama, the more you try to appreciate and to find the 
 good in that which God in His love has left you, the more 
 worthy you will daily become of that which is in store. 
 That earthly happiness you had is indeed gone for ever, 
 but you must not think that every ray of it has left you. 
 You have the privilege, which dear Papa knew so well how 
 to value, in your exalted position, of doing good and living 
 for others, of carrying on his plans, his wishes into fulfil- 
 ment, and as you go on doing your duty, this will, this 
 must, I feel sure, bring you peace and comfort. Forgive 
 me, darling Mama, if I speak so openly ; but my love for 
 you is such that I cannot be silent, when I long so fer- 
 vently to give you some slight comfort and hope in your 
 present life. 
 
 I have known and watched your deep sorrow with a 
 sympathising, though aching heart. Do not think that 
 absence from you can still that pain. My love for you is 
 strong, is constant ; I would like to shelter you in my arms, 
 to protect you from all future anxiety, to still your aching 
 longing ! My own sweet Mama, you know I would give my 
 life for you, could I alter what you have to bear ! 
 
 Trust in God ! ever and constantly. In my life I feel 
 that to be my stay and my strength, and the feeling in- 
 creases as the days go on. My thoughts of the future are 
 bright, and this always helps to make the minor worries 
 
•i862 LUDWIGSTAG. 65 
 
 and sorrows of the present dissolve before the ^yarm rays 
 of that Hght which is our guide. 
 
 Auerbacli : August 25. 
 
 . . . To-day is the Ludwigstag, a day kept through- 
 out the country, and on which every Ludwig receives pre- 
 sents, &c. ; but we spend it quite quietly. Louis' parents 
 and the others are coming to breakfast, and remain during 
 the day. Louis is out riding. We always get up early. 
 He rides M'hilst I write, and we then walk together and 
 breakfast somewhere out of doors. 
 
 We went to the little church here yesterday", which is 
 ver}' old, and they sang so well. 
 
 I drew out of doors also, as it was very fine ; but it is 
 very difficult, as it is all green, and the trees are my mis- 
 fortune, as I draw them so badly. I play sometimes with 
 Christa ; * she plays very well. 
 
 August 26 [Prince Consort's Birthday] . 
 With a heavy heart do I take up my pen to write 
 to you to-day— this dear day, now so sad, save through 
 its bright recollections. I cannot bear to think of it now, 
 with no one to bring our wishes to, with that painful silence 
 where such mirth and gaiety used to be. It is very hard 
 to bear, and the first anniversary is like the commencement 
 of a new epoch in our deep sorrow. 
 
 When your dear present was brought to me this 
 morning, I could not take my eyes from it, though they 
 were blinded with tears. Oh, those beautiful, those loved 
 features ! There wants but his kind look and word to 
 make the picture alive ! Thousand thanks for it, dear 
 Mama. 
 
 How trying this day will be for you ! My thoughts are 
 
 " The Princess's lady, Baroness Christa Schenck. 
 
66 LETTERS. 1862 
 
 constantly with yon, and I envy the privilege the others 
 have in being near you and being able to do the least thing 
 for you. 
 
 The sun shines brightly in the stOl blue sky ; how 
 bright and peaceful it must be where our dear Spirit dwells, 
 if it is already so beautiful here. 
 
 September 5. 
 
 . . . Two days ago, Louis and I went to Worms. 
 Whilst he went to his regiment, which the Grand Duke 
 came to inspect, I went to the Dom, which is most beauti- 
 ful ; and then went in a little boat on the Ehine, which was 
 charming. It took us, driving, an hour and a half from 
 Auerbach to Worms. 
 
 Auerbach : September 7. 
 
 . . . For Louis' birthday we are going to Darm- 
 stadt ; it is getting cold and damp here, and the house is 
 small. We take our meals in another house, and it is cold 
 to walk over there of an evening. Think of us on the 12th. 
 It was such a happy day last year.^ 
 
 I have such Heimweh [yearning] after beloved Papa; it 
 is dreadful sometimes when I think of him and of our home. 
 But he is so happy in his bright home, could we but catch 
 a glimpse of him there. Dear Grandmama [the Duchess of 
 Kent], too, is constantly in my thoughts lately. I can see 
 her before me — so dear, kind, and merry. As time goes 
 on, such things only mingle themselves more vividly with 
 one's usual life ; for it is their life which is nearest us again, 
 and not their death, which casts such a gloom over their 
 remembrance. 
 
 Auerbach : September 11. 
 
 . . . How beautiful Heidelberg is ! we went all over 
 the Castle, and with such glorious weather. There is one 
 
 ' Prince Louis was then at Bahnoral. 
 
 I 
 
i862 VISIT TO BADEN. 67 
 
 side still standing, built and decorated by a pupil of Michael 
 Angelo, which dear Papa admired so much. How do I 
 miss not being able to talk to beloved Papa of all I see, 
 hear, feel, and think ! His absence makes such a gap in 
 my existence. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 13. 
 . . . Our visit to Baden was charming, and dear 
 Fritz and Louise ' so kind ! Louis and I were both delighted 
 by our visit. The Queen, the Duchess of Hamilton, and 
 Grand Duchess Helene were there, besides dear Aunt [Prin- 
 cess Hohenlohe], and Countess Bliicher. The two latter 
 dear and precious as ever. 
 
 We left yesterday morning ; spent three hours with 
 Grand Duchess Sophie,^ who is the most agreeable, clever, 
 amiable person one can imagine. It gave me real pleasure 
 to make her acquaintance. Aunt Feodore's house, though 
 small, is really very pretty, and her rooms are hung full of 
 pictures. I saw Winterhalter also, in his lovely new house, 
 which he has gone and sold, saying it was too good for 
 him. He has painted a most beautiful picture of the Grand 
 Duchess Helene — quite speaking. 
 
 ... I am going to make my will before leaving. I do 
 not like leaving (for England) without having done some- 
 thing. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 17. 
 
 First of all, thousand thanks from Louis and me for 
 your having allowed dear Arthur ^ to come to us. I cannot 
 tell you what pleasure it has been to me to have that dear 
 child a little bit. He has won all hearts, and I am so 
 
 ' Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Baden. 
 
 * Grand Duchess of Baden, mother of tlie reigning Grand Duke. 
 
 ' Duke of Connaught, then twelve years old. 
 
68 LETTERS. 1862 
 
 proud when they admii'e my Httle brother, who is a mixture 
 of you and adored Papa. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 23. 
 
 . . . We intend probably leaving this on Saturday, 
 the 8th, remaining until the 10th at Coblenz, from whence 
 we go direct in eleven hours and three-quarters to Antwerp, 
 leaving Antwerj) the morning of the 12th, to reach Windsor 
 that evening or the next morning. 
 
 We always continue reading together, and have read 
 Hypatia, a most beautiful, most interesting, and very 
 learned and clever book, which requires great attention. 
 
 I have the great bore to read the newspapers every day, 
 which I must do ; see Dr. Becker ^ from eleven to twelve ; 
 then I write, and have constantly people to see, so that I 
 have scarcely any time to draw or to play. I also read 
 serious books to myself. 
 
 Louis would like to go to Leeds and Manchester from 
 Osborne, as he wants to go to London from Windsor. I 
 shall accompany him sometimes. 
 
 October 25. 
 
 As you come later to Windsor, we shall not leave till 
 the 10th, remain the 11th with the Queen, then go direct 
 to Antwerp. If the weather is bad we shall wait. Then 
 on the 14th or 15th we shall be at Windsor, which we 
 prefer to coming to Osborne. We hope this will suit you. 
 
 All are full of lamentations at our departure, and for so 
 long, which is most natural ; but they are very kind. We 
 have a family dinner in our little room to-day, which is 
 large enough for a few people. The Grand Duke has quite 
 lost his heart to Arthur, and Bertie [Prince of Wales] 
 pleased him also very much. 
 
 In talking together last night, Louis said what I feel so 
 
 * The Princess Alice's private secretary. 
 
i863 FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. 69 
 
 often, that he always felt as if it must come right again 
 some time, and we should find dear Papa home again. In 
 another home we shall. 
 
 October 30. 
 
 The Grand Duke was quite overcome when I gave 
 him the photographs, and with Bahy's [Princess Beatrice's] 
 he is quite enchanted, and wishes me to tell you how grate- 
 ful he is, and how much he thanks 3'ou. You cannot think 
 ]ioic pleased he was, and the more so that you sent them 
 him. He has a warm heart and feels very much for you, 
 and takes warm interest in all my brothers and sisters. 
 
 I am glad you are going to see dear Fritz of Baden ; he 
 will be so pleased. We shall see Louise at Coblenz. 
 
 The plans for our house are come, and even the sim- 
 plest is far above what we poor mortals can build. 
 
 November 6. 
 
 . . . Yesterday, Mrs. Combe, widow of George Combe 
 and daughter of Mrs. Siddons, came to see me, and was 
 some time with me. Such a clever, amiable old lady. It 
 gave me such pleasure to see and talk with her. Will j^ou 
 tell Sir James Clark so, as she is an old friend of his ? 
 
 1863 
 
 Dearest Mama, Marlborough House : May 14. 
 
 Our parting this morning was most painful to both 
 of us — from you to whom we oire so much, and whom we 
 love so dearly. 
 
 ^lay God comfort and support j^ou, beloved Mama, on 
 3'our sad and weary pilgrimage ! 
 
70 LETTERS. 1863 
 
 Marlborough House : May 16. 
 
 I could not get your clear face and your sweet voice 
 out of my mind for an instant, and everywhere I thought 
 I must see you or dear Papa. It seemed so strange ; I had 
 the tears in my eyes all day. The worst was the Opera, for 
 I had never been without you or Papa, and ail was the 
 same and yet so different ! It was very trying to me ; and 
 so will the Drawing-room be to-day. ... I saw Lady 
 Jocelyn, Duchess of Manchester, Sir Charles Locock, and 
 Lord Alfred Paget, to show them Baby, and all find her like 
 what we all were. How much we have to thank for in 
 her name. Your affection for her and all you have done 
 for her have touched us more than I can say. It seemed tO' 
 me quite wrong to take her from you. 
 
 On Wednesday, Alix [Princess of Wales] and myself go 
 to the studios. This morning we drove in Batter sea Park. 
 
 May 19. 
 
 . . . The Drawing-room was long, but Alix and I 
 were not so tired, considering the length of time, for we 
 stood, excepting twenty minutes, in the middle, when there 
 was a block and the people could not come. 
 
 In to-day's letter you mention again your wish that we 
 should soon be with you again. Out of the ten months of 
 our married life five have been spent under your roof, so 
 you see how ready we are to be with you. Before next 
 year Louis does not think we shall be able to come ; at any 
 rate when we can we shall, and I hope we shall be able ta 
 see you for a da}"^ or two in Germany to divide the time. 
 
 Darmstadt : May 23. 
 
 . . . Baby '' has been so much admired, and all the 
 clothes you gave her. 
 
 * Princess Victoria of Hesse. 
 
i863 KRANICHSTEIN. 71 
 
 Darmstadt : May. 
 I shan't have time to write more than a few words, 
 as we have just returned from church, and are going to 
 Mayence till Wednesday. The Grand Duke came all the 
 way to Kranichstein yesterday to go about with us, and 
 see how to arrange it comfortably. He is most kind, and 
 sat an hour with me. 
 
 We have received two deputations this morning, and 
 my things, which ought to have been here before us, only 
 arrived to-da3^ 
 
 Mayence : June 2. 
 
 Now when I return I shall have to unpack and pack 
 again for Kranichstein, and arrange the house there, which 
 has not been lived in for eighty years, so that for writing I 
 have barely a moment. 
 
 I have good accounts of Baby, whom all the old gentle- 
 men run out of their houses to look at when she walks in 
 the garden, and try to tell Moffat [her nurse] what they 
 think of her, but she of course understands nothing. 
 
 Darmstadt : June 3. 
 
 I write to you to-day, as Louis is going for all day to 
 Worms to-morrow, and I am going to Jugenheim to Uncle 
 Alexander. It is already warm here, and we are going in a 
 day or two into the country. 
 
 The Queen of Prussia passes through here to-day, and 
 I shall probably hear from her what her mtentions are 
 about England. I have received a splendid bracelet from 
 the Empress of Piussia — for Baby's picture. She is said to 
 be far from well. 
 
 Darmstadt : June 6. 
 
 . . . Louis was away from four o'clock yesterday 
 morning till eleven at night. He was at Worms with Uncle 
 
72 LETTERS. 1863 
 
 Louis. Tuesday is his birthday, and we shall very likely 
 go on Monday to Mayence, as Uncle Louis is always wish- 
 ing for us. 
 
 I took a walk at Jugenheim yesterday with Uncle Alex- 
 ander,^ his wife and children, of more than two hours, and 
 it was so beautiful, and numberless little birds singing. 
 Uncle Alexander was so grateful for all your kindness, and 
 was above all so charmed with you. It always makes me 
 so happy to be able to talk about you, and to hear you 
 appreciated as you ought to be, darling Mama. 
 
 June 8. 
 
 . . . Baby sits up quite strong, and looks about and 
 laughs. She has got on wonderfully, and she is so good. 
 She was an hour with us yesterday evening wide awake, 
 and so good. She is as well and as strong as any child 
 could be. To-day we go to Mainz, and to-morrow night 
 from thence to Kranichstein. All our beds must be moved 
 meanwhile, as there are none in the house. 
 
 Kranichstein : June 12. 
 
 Louis went at six this morning to Darmstadt for 
 the inspection of his regiment by Uncle Louis. Princess 
 Charles's birthday is on the 18th. The Grand Duke will 
 be at Friedberg, and we are to go for the day, which 
 will be rather tiring, as it is a good way by rail and back 
 again, and we have to wait an hour at Frankfort. 
 
 Louis is going to take his seat in the Chamber on the 
 23rd. He was unable to do so last year, as we left for 
 England two days before the time. 
 
 June 19. 
 
 . . . You ask me again if I occupy myself much 
 and seriously ? Not a moment of the day is wasted, and I 
 
 ° Prince Alexander of Hesse, uncle of Prince Louis of Hesse. 
 
i863 DOMESTIC ARRANGEMENTS. -Ji 
 
 have enough to read and to think about : what with the 
 many and different papers, and interesting books. Dr. 
 Becker comes dailv, and I have a good deal to look after. 
 
 June 23. 
 
 . . . You will be amused to hear that I have taken 
 fi little black (a INIalay) into my service. He is a dear good 
 boy, was brought over two years ago by a gentleman, to 
 whom he was given away by his own parents as a mark of 
 gratitude for some service done. This man has had bim 
 here two years, but has never had him taught anytliing. 
 He has no religion, and can neither read nor write. I am 
 going to have him taught, and, later, christened. He is very 
 intelligent, thirteen years old. 
 
 We shall remain here for the present ; we go about a 
 good deal seeing things near by, and then it is the first 
 time we have our household and stable, so that on ac- 
 count of Haushaltung ^housekeeping] , &c., we arc going 
 to remain here for a little time. It is very pleasant 
 besides, and constant moving is far too expensive for us. 
 We give dinners here, which are also useful, as I know 
 so few people. Some of the Standesherren are coming to- 
 morrow, and later some of the Abgeordneten [Deputies] 
 of the Second Chamber, which will give us an opportunity 
 of making the acquaintance of some of the Liberals in the 
 country. 
 
 I cannot get rid of my rheumatism, which is so un- 
 pleasant. 
 
 Louis is very busy ; he reads to me sometimes out of 
 Lord j\Lacaulay's last volume of the English History, which 
 I had not yet read. Twice a week Louis takes drill with his 
 cavalry regiment, and he has to ride out at six in the morn- 
 ing, as it is some way off. 
 
74 
 
 LETTERS. ' 1863 
 
 June 27. 
 
 ... I bathe every morning and swira about ; there 
 is a nice Httle bathing-house. 
 
 I hear Baby shrieking out of doors ; she does not cry 
 very much, but she is very passionate. She was vaccinated 
 two days ago by Dr. Weber, and I am going to be done 
 next week ; the smaH-pox is at Darmstadt, and a man died 
 of it yesterday. Louis is very industrious and busy ; he 
 has all the papers of the Stande [State papers] to read and 
 look through, and reads other useful books, besides papers 
 and other things which he must read. He wrote to Lord 
 Derby to express his thanks for having been made a Doctor 
 at Oxford. He takes a great deal of exercise, riding, 
 w^alking, rowing, swimming. We get up at six every 
 morning, and go to bed after ten. 
 
 Louis has always a good deal to do at home, and a good 
 many things vdiich would never be expected of him in Eng- 
 land. He knows the necessity and importance of working. 
 I hope next month Uncle Ernest ^ will come to us for a day 
 on his way back from Homburg. He has asked us for a 
 few days to the Calenberg whilst you are in Germany, and 
 then in the winter we hope to be for a few days at Gotha. 
 
 The Liitzows,^ and Miss Seymour dine with us to-day. 
 
 June 30. 
 
 To-morrow is our dear wedding-day. With what grati- 
 tude do I look back to that commencement of such happiness, 
 and such real and true love, which even daily increases in 
 my beloved husband. Oh ! may we not be deprived of it 
 too soon ! I admire and respect him for his true-hearted, 
 
 ' Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 
 
 ' Count Liitzow was at this time the Austrian Minister and Plenipo- 
 tentiary at the Court of Darmstadt. 
 
i863 FIRST DINNER PARTY. 75 
 
 generous, unselfish, and just nature ! Oh, dear Mama, 
 if you only knew how excellent he is ! I wish I were good 
 like him, for he is free from any selfish, small or un- 
 charitable feelings. You should see how he is beloved by 
 all his people ; our servants adore him. I open my heart 
 to you, who have so warm and sympathising a heart, that 
 even in the midst of such deep grief and sorrow as yours 
 will listen to what your children, who love you so dearly, 
 long to say. 
 
 Our little one is grown so pretty ; she has little pink 
 cheeks, and is so fat and so good-humoured. I often think 
 her like you when she smiles. 
 
 July 2. 
 
 You can fancy how much we thought of this day last 
 year, and of you and all the love and kindness you showed 
 us then. How truly we both love you, and, when we can, 
 how willingly we shall come to your side, and be of the 
 least use to you, you know, for I feel for you and with you, 
 more than words can describe. 
 
 Our first large dinner yesterday went off very well. We 
 make our arrangements, sitting, Sec, all as you and dear 
 Papa had it, which is new here, but, I am happy to say, 
 approved of. We always dine at four. Baby appeared 
 afterwards, and really never cries when she is shown, but 
 smiles, and seems quite amused. She is immensely ad- 
 mired, particularly for her healthy appearance and fine 
 large eyes. I really think her like you now ; she is very 
 much changed, and, when she sits up, looks so pretty and 
 dear. 
 
 July 4. 
 
 Shortly we are going to pay Prince Solms-Lich, the 
 President of the First Chamber, a visit. He is very liberal 
 on the w^hole, rich, and a nice old gentleman. He knew 
 
76 LETTERS. 1863 
 
 Grandpapa in the year 1820, also Uncle Charles, Uncle 
 Hohenlohe, Aunt Feodore, and Eliza,^ Lady Fife, Annie,' 
 and Mr. Corbett from Frankfort are coming to us to-day. 
 
 The Grand Duke of Weimar was here yesterday for 
 dinner at the Schloss. 
 
 "Wliat you say about Germany is so true ; and Louis has 
 the real good of his country near at heart. They always have 
 to vote for or against what the Second Chamber brings 
 forward, and the other day a vote was sent in from the 
 Liberals for an alteration of a Press Law. Only one voice 
 in the whole Chamber was for it, which was Louis', and 
 this produced a very good effect among the Liberals. He 
 is no coward, and will say what he thinks, if it is necessary, 
 even if all are against him. 
 
 Kranichstein : July 15. 
 
 To-day is Uncle Alexander's birthday, and we have 
 to drive for dinner to Seeheim. To-morrow morning we 
 leave for Lich at five in the morning. 
 
 Two nights ago a horrid and scJiauerUches [appalling] 
 event took place here. I went out about eight down to the 
 pond, which is close to the house, to meet Louis. I met an 
 odd-looking pale man, who neither bowed nor looked about, 
 walking slowly along ; and when I joined Louis he asked 
 me if I had seen him, as he had been prowling about all 
 the afternoon. We stopped a little longer, when at the end 
 our grooms were running. We rowed on to see what was 
 the matter, and on coming near, a body was floating in the 
 water, the face already quite blue and lifeless. I recognised 
 him at once. Louis and the others with trouble fished him 
 out and laid him in our boat to bring him on shore. It 
 was very horrid to see. We brought him on shore, tried 
 
 8 Princess Hohenlohe's eldest daughter, who died at Venice. 
 ' Lady Fife's eldest daughter, now Marchioness of Townsend. 
 
1 863 LI CH— FRANKFORT. 77 
 
 all means to restore him to life, but of no avail. He was 
 carried into the stable. He had committed suicide, and we 
 heard afterwards that he was a very bad character. You 
 can fancy that it was very unpleasant to me, to have that 
 disfigured corpse next me in the boat : and it haunts me 
 now — for a violent death leaves frightful traces, so unlike 
 anything else. But half or quarter of an hour before, I had 
 passed that man in life, and so shortly after to see him 
 floating by quite lifeless ! It brings death before one in its 
 worst form, when one sees a had man die by his own hand. 
 The indifference with which the other people treated it, and 
 dragged him along, was also revolting to one's feelings ; 
 but one must be manly, and not mind those things ; yet I 
 own it made me rather sick, and prevented my sleep that 
 night. 
 
 I am glad we are going away for a few days ; the change 
 will be pleasant. 
 
 It was such a pleasure to me to have seen dear Lady 
 Frances Baillie the other day, and she was looking well, 
 though she is very thin. 
 
 You kindly gave me our dear Papa's Farm Book for 
 the Farmers' Union here ; the people are so touched and 
 pleased. I send you the letter of thanks to read. 
 
 Lich : July 18. 
 
 . . . "We leave to-morrow afternoon for Frankfort,, 
 and the next day we go to Homburg on the way home. 
 The Prince and Princess are most kind and civil ; they 
 have a fine Schloss, and are rich. The latter is clever and 
 amiable, and the young people — their nephews and nieces 
 — are very nice and very kmd. It is a fine rich country, 
 and they seem very much beloved. The sister of the Prin- 
 cess, Princess Solms-Laubach, Jicc Biidingen, is here also. 
 
78 LETTERS. 1853 
 
 Her husband was in the Prussian service, and they hved at 
 Bonn whilst dear Papa was there. He came to see them 
 and to spend the evening there very often. She told me 
 how handsome he then was, and how much praised and 
 liked by all. She asked after Piath Florschiitz,^ after Eos,^ 
 and if dear Papa continued later on to be so sleepy of an 
 evening, as he was even then. 
 
 Kranichstein : July 21. 
 
 Our visit at Lich went off very well. Everything is 
 so * vornehm ' [in such good style] and so well arranged. 
 
 July 23. 
 
 We are going to give Heinrich * a rendezvous some- 
 where, perhaps at Kreuznach, which is not very far. On 
 August 1 we are going to the north of the country — a part 
 which I do not know — and on the way we stop at Giessen, 
 where we have been invited to see an Agricultural Exhibi- 
 tion. On Monday we give a tea and a dance — between fifty 
 and sixty people. The advantage of this place is its near- 
 ness to Darmstadt, and that there is room enough to receive 
 people. 
 
 The Eussian and French ambassadors, with their wives, 
 and Mr. Corbett and Lord Piobert S. Kerr, dine with us 
 to-day. 
 
 July 27. 
 
 I have no news to give. To-night we give our first 
 large party — seventy people. 
 
 August 1. 
 
 Yesterday we were all day at Eumpenheim : so 
 kindly received ! The Landgrave, his two brothers Frederic 
 
 - Tutor of the Prince Consort during his boyhood and early youth. 
 ^ A favourite greyhound of the Prince Consort's, which he brought to 
 England at the time of his marriage. 
 
 * Prince Henry of Hesse, brother of Prince Louis. 
 
i863 TOUR THROUGH THE GRAND DUCHY. 79 
 
 and George, the Dowager Duchess of Mecklenhurg-Strelitz, 
 her daughter Duchess CaroHne, Aunt Cambridge, Mary,'^ 
 Augusta ^ and Adolphus ; ^ Fritz ^ and Anna of Hesse and 
 good Princess Louise,^ kindness itself. Aunt Cambridge was 
 very amiable, and spoke most tenderly of you. To-morrow 
 morning Louis goes to Oberhessen, where I join him in two 
 days. I go to see Uncle Alexander at Jugenheim ; go on 
 Monday to Friedberg, where there is an asylum for blind 
 people, of which I am Proteetorin [Patroness]. I go to 
 see it, and sleep at the Castle. The next day I stop on my 
 road to see Marburg, and shall be in the evening at Alsfeld, 
 where I find Louis. The next day I go on to Herr von 
 Eiedesel at Altenburg, where I breakfast, and I dine and 
 spend the night with another Eiedesel family at Eisenbach. 
 Louis joins me that evening. The next day we go on 
 through the country, as the people are anxious to see us, 
 and the country is very beautiful. On Thursday and 
 Friday we shall be at Giessen, on Saturday at home. 
 
 Giessen : August 7, 
 
 I am very hot and tired ; w^e have only just reached 
 this place, and have to go out almost immediately to see 
 the animals and machines. 
 
 Our journey has been most prosperous, but rather 
 tiring, and the heat quite fearful. We w^ere most kindly 
 received everywhere. English, Hessian, German flags 
 everywhere, and ' Gesangvereine ' of an evening. 
 
 Last night we slept at Schotten, and posted from thence 
 
 ^ Princess Mary of Cambridge. 
 
 ' (rrand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. 
 
 ' Hereditarj' Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. 
 
 ' Landgrave and Landgravin of Hesse. 
 
 ' Princess Louise of Hesse, sister of the Duchess of Cambridge. 
 
8o LETTERS. 1863 
 
 to-day througli a lovely, rich, wooded and mountainous 
 district, the Vogelsberg. 
 
 We have had but one room everywhere, and have re- 
 mained only long enough at a place to see it, so that writing 
 has been impossible. To-morrow evening we return to 
 Kranichstein, and then I will write to you an account of 
 everything. Here, with no time, and such heat and noise, 
 it is impossible. 
 
 Kranichstein : August 9. 
 
 . . . We went, when I last wrote to you at Giessen, 
 to see the different machines at work, in a crowd close round 
 us and a smothering heat. It was interesting, though, in 
 spite of all. The people cheered and were very civil. That 
 day, at the meeting of the agriculturists. Count Laubach 
 told me dear Papa's book lay on the table, and is of the 
 greatest use and interest. I am so pleased to have been the 
 first in Germany to make known something of Papa's know- 
 ledge in this science, one of the many in which dear Papa 
 excelled. The people are so grateful to you for having sent 
 it. In the evening the president and some other scientific 
 gentlemen came to tea with us. I was so glad to see how 
 pleased the people were at the interest Louis takes in these 
 things. A procession was really very pretty ; large carts, 
 decorated with the different agricultural emblems, peasants 
 in their different costumes — it was something quite new 
 to me. 
 
 At Marburg, I saw in the beautiful church the grave of 
 St. Elizabeth, the castle where she lived, and many other 
 things which Kingsley mentions in his Saint's Tragedy. 
 
 This week the Emperor of Austria and other potentates 
 came to Frankfort. The King of Prussia has refused, so 
 that now, as it is not a universal meeting, it will not be 
 what it might have been. 
 
i863 SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND. 8i 
 
 Buckingham Palace : October 28. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear hnes ! How sad 
 that we should be reduced to writing again ! It was such 
 a happiness to speak to you, and in return to hear all you 
 had to say— to try and soothe you, and try to make your 
 burthen lighter. I always feel separation from you so 
 much, for I feel for and with you, more, oh, far more, than 
 I can ever express ! I can only say again, trust, hope, 
 and be courageous, and every day will bring something in 
 the fulfilment of all your great duties — which will bring 
 you peace, and make you feel that you are not forsaken, 
 that God has heard your prayer, felt for you, as a loving 
 Father would, and that dear Papa is not far from you, 
 
 Darmstadt : November 2. 
 
 Before going out (half-past six) I begin these lines. 
 You will have heard what an awful passage we had. Christa 
 and I had one of those cabins near the paddle-box, and good 
 old May ' was with us. Each wave that broke on the ship 
 Christa and I groaned, and May exclaimed, ' Oh, goodness, 
 gracious me ! what an awful sea ! Lord bless you, child, 
 I hope it is all safe ! ' and so on. If we had not been so 
 wretched, and had not looked so awful with those moun- 
 tains of waves about us, I should have laughed. All the 
 maids and Mofifat were sick. Baby was sick all over her 
 nice new shawl, which was a great grief. 
 
 Uncle Louis and Uncle Gustav received us at the 
 station. My parents-in-law don't return till Wednesday. 
 Yesterday Uncle Louis gave us a large dinner, and to-day 
 he dines en famille in our house with Prince Adalbert of 
 Bavaria, Uncle Gustav,'^ and ourselves. 
 
 ' Mrs. Hull, a former nurse of the Princess and her brothers and sisters. 
 ^ Prince Gustav Wasa, first cousin to Prince Charles of Hesse. 
 
82 LETTERS. 1863 
 
 I was quite done up by this journey. At four in the 
 morning we changed carriages at Cologne, and did not get 
 here till past twelve o'clock — twenty-nine hours under way. 
 
 November 5. 
 
 . . . Yesterday evening Louis and I were at a 
 chemical lecture, which w^as very interesting, by young 
 Hallwachs, the brother of the one Becker spoke to you 
 about. 
 
 Our house is getting on very well, and we are often 
 there. 
 
 Louis is very grateful and touched l^y your kmd mes- 
 sage, and kisses your hand. He is often away for those 
 tiresome Jagden [shooting-parties] from five in the morn- 
 ing till eight at night, as it is some way off. 
 
 November 14. 
 
 It is not yet eight, and I have such cold fingers. 
 The messenger leaves at nine — so I must write now. We 
 are going to Mayence to-day, to see a house of our archi- 
 tect, Kraus, which is said to be very pretty and very 
 English. 
 
 I paid Becker and his mother a visit yesterday. Their 
 rooms are so nice, pictures and presents from you and dear 
 Papa in all directions, remembrances of past, such happy, 
 years ! 
 
 Yesterday also I drove Baby out in my little carriage. 
 She sat on Christa's knees and looked about her so much ; 
 she went to sleep at last. 
 
 November 17. 
 
 . . . Yesterday I was all the morning with Julie 
 Battenberg buying Christmas presents. To-day also I am 
 much occupied. We get up at seven, with candles, every 
 
i863 THE HOLSTEIN QUESTION. 83 
 
 morning, as this is the best time for doing all business, and 
 
 breakfast at eight. 
 
 November 21. 
 
 . . . The Holstein question, I fear, will lead to war, 
 Fritz's ^ rights are so clear. And I am sure all Germany will 
 help him to maintain his rights, for the cause is a just one. 
 
 I am sure, dear Mama, you are worried to death about 
 it, which is very hard, for you cannot undo what once 
 exists. Anythitifi only to avoid war ! It would be a sad 
 calamity for Germany, the end of which no one can foresee. 
 
 My Baby has this morning cut her first tooth, and 
 makes such faces if one ventures to touch her little mouth. 
 
 To-day I am going to visit the hospital in the town, 
 which is said not to be good or well looked after. I want 
 to be able to do something for it and hope to succeed, for 
 the people have plenty of money, only not the will. The 
 Burgomaster and Gemeinderath [the Town Councillors], 
 will meet me there. 
 
 I have just called into life what did not exist, that is, 
 linen to be lent for the poor women in their confinements, 
 and which I hope will be of use to them, for the dirt and 
 discomfort is very great in those classes. 
 
 November 28. 
 . . . My visit to the hospital was very interesting, 
 and the air was good, the place clean and fresh. There 
 were few people dangerously ill there, and they looked well 
 taken care of. Air and water are making their way into 
 these places to the benefit of mankind. 
 
 I was so much distressed the other day ; for the poor 
 man who fell in our house has died. He was a soldier, 
 and so respectable and industrious, not above twenty-four. 
 This is already the second who has died in consequence of 
 s. fall. 
 
 ' The late Duke Frederic of Augustenburg. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 LETTERS. 1863 
 
 November 30. 
 
 A few words of love and affection from us both on 
 this dear day — -the third anniversary of the commencement 
 of all our happiness, which dear Papa and you enabled us 
 to form. 
 
 Those happy days at Windsor and those awful days the 
 year after ! I assure you the season, the days, all make 
 me sad — for the impression of those two years can never 
 be wiped out of my mind. I can write but a few lines, as 
 to-morrow we leave for Amorbach, and to-day I go with 
 Louis out shooting. It is cold and fine, as it was two years 
 ago. 
 
 Darling Mama, again and again we thank you and 
 beloved Papa for all your love to us at that time. 
 
 Anaorbach : December 2. 
 
 . . . We arrived here at half-past four yesterday — 
 after a bitter cold drive in an open carriage over hard roads, 
 all being frozen, since ten in the morning. The country 
 we came through was beautiful, though all white, up and 
 down hill all the way, through many villages, through 
 woods, &c. The house is large and comfortable, full of 
 souvenirs of dear Grandmama [Duchess of Kent], of Uncle 
 Charles. 
 
 I am so pleased to be with Ernest and Marie * — it is a 
 bit of home again. 
 
 December 8. 
 
 . . . Think, only yesterday evening at a concert they 
 played Buy Bias, which I had not heard since Windsor. 
 The room, the band, dear Papa, all came before me, and 
 made my heart sink at the thought that that belonged to 
 the bright recollections of the past ! I cried all the way 
 
 * Prince and Princess of Leiningen. 
 
i864 CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES. 85 
 
 home. Such trivial things sometimes awaken recollections 
 more vividly, and hurt more keenly, than scenes of real 
 distress. I am sure you know what I mean. 
 
 December 12. 
 
 ... I must close— my tears fall fast, and I ought 
 not to make you sadder, when you are sad enough already. 
 Pray for me when you kneel at Ids grave — pray that my 
 happiness may be allowed to last long ; think of me when 
 you kneel there where on that day my hand rested on 
 your and Papa's dear hands, two years ago. That bond 
 between us both is so strong, beloved Mama. I feel it as a 
 legacy from him. 
 
 December 22. 
 
 A great pleasure I have had in arrangiiig a tree for 
 our good servants. I bought all the things myself at the 
 market, and hung them on the tree : then I also got things 
 for darling Louis. 
 
 December 26. 
 
 . . . We all had trees in one large room in the 
 Palace, and our presents underneath it looked extremely 
 pretty. Uncle Alexander's five children were there, and 
 made such a noise with their playthings. 
 
 Baby had a little tree early at her Grandpapa and 
 Grandmama's, with all her pretty things. 
 
 Many thanks for the turkey-pie ; we give a dinner to- 
 day in honour. 
 
 1864. 
 
 January 5. 
 
 . . . The cold here is awful. I skated yesterday, 
 and to-day we are going to the pond at Kranichstein. 
 (Very few people skate here — only one lady, and she very 
 
86 LETTERS. 1864 
 
 badly.) Baby only goes out for half an hour in the middle 
 of the day, well wrapi^ed up. It would not do to keep her 
 quite at home, as she would become so sensitive when first 
 taken out again. Of course when it is windy or too cold 
 she stops in. 
 
 January 9. 
 
 I was aghast on receiving Bertie's telegram this 
 morning announcing the birth of their little son. Oh, may 
 dear Papa's blessing rest on the little one ; may it turn 
 out like dear Papa, and be a comfort and pride to you, 
 and to its young parents ! Your first English grandchild. 
 Dear Mama, my heart is so full. May dear Alix and the 
 Baby only go on well ! 
 
 January 16. 
 
 . . . Baby says ' Papa,' ' Mama,' and yesterday 
 several times ' Louis.' She imitates everything she hears, 
 all noises and sounds ; she gets on her feet alone by a 
 chair, and is across the room before one can turn round. 
 Her adoration for Louis is touching. She stops always, 
 since the summer, alone in our room, so she never cries for 
 Moffat [her nurse], and is very happy on the floor with her 
 playthings. She is a very dear little thing and gets on very 
 fast, but equally in all things, and is as fat as she was. It 
 is so interesting to watch the progress and development of 
 such a little being ; and Baby is so expressive, she makes 
 such a face when she is not pleased, and laughs so heartily 
 when she is contented. She is more like a child of tw^o 
 years old a great deal. 
 
 January 30. 
 
 . . . These poor Schleswig-Holsteiners do what they 
 can to liberate themselves from the Danish yoke, and to 
 regain their lawful sovereign, Fritz. And why is England, 
 who stands up for freedom of countries, who in Italy, where 
 
i864 SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. 87 
 
 there was less cause, did what she could to liberate the 
 country from her lawful sovereigns, to do what she can to 
 prevent the Schleswig-Holsteiners from liberating them- 
 selves from a king who has no right over them, merely 
 because they are unfortunate good-natured Germans, who 
 allow themselves to be oppressed ? 
 
 February 14. 
 
 . . . We have been in sledges to-day, and everybody 
 drives about the town in them ; it sounds so pretty, all the 
 jingling bells. 
 
 . . . Shakespeare's words came home to one — 
 
 Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. 
 
 Thank God, m}- husband has none ! I thank the Almighty 
 daily for our peaceful homely life, in which sphere we can 
 do a good deal of good to our fellow-creatures, without 
 having to mix in those hateful politics. 
 
 Our life is a very very happy one. I have nothing on 
 earth to wish for, and much as I loved my precious Louis 
 when I married him, still more do I love him now and daily ; 
 for his character is worthy of love and respect, and a better 
 husband or father, a more unselfish and kind one, there 
 does not live. His love for you, you know ; and on our 
 return how glad we shall be to be near j^ou once more. 
 
 February 16. 
 Louis is in the Chamber to-day from nine till one, 
 long enough at a stretch, and immediately after breakfast. 
 We always breakfast at eight ; then Louis sees the three 
 officers who come every morning on his military business, 
 then Westerweller and all others who have business. We 
 usually walk before luncheon, which is at twelve ; and often 
 drive at two or three. At five we dine ; at half-past six, 
 
88 LETTERS. 1864 
 
 theatre, four times a week, till half-past nine ; then we 
 take tea together, Louis reads to me and I work. On other 
 week-days there are concerts or parties. We are often in 
 our new house, and in the garden, arranging things and 
 watching the progress. We also go to lectures here, and 
 are much occupied, wdiich makes the day pass so quickly. 
 
 March 1. 
 
 I have learned much since I married, and, ahove all, 
 not to be dependent on others in my existence. To be able 
 to make a bright and comfortable home for my dear hus- 
 band is my constant aim ; but even in this one often fails, 
 for self constantly turns up, like a bad sixpence. Oh, how 
 dear Papa spoke about that ! His whole noble life was 
 that one bright example of sacrificing himself to his duty. 
 Dear, adored Papa ! such goodness, such love, when one 
 thinks of it, must silence all complaints of petty troubles in 
 the mouths of his children and servants. You, dear Mama, 
 are the one who suffers the most, though this awful loss 
 has touched all ; and to soothe your grief and to help you 
 lightens one's own. 
 
 March 5. 
 . . . Spring always makes me so icehmuthig [sad], 
 I don't know why ; one longs for everything and anything 
 which is out of one's reach. 
 
 I will tell you of something I did the other day ; but 
 please tell no one, because not a soul but Louis and my 
 ladies knows of it here. I am the patroness of the ' Heiden- 
 reich Stiftung,' to which you also gave a handsome present 
 in the beginning. The ladies who belong to it go to bring 
 linen to poor respectable Wochnerinnen [tying-in women], 
 who claim their assistance. They bring them food, and, 
 in short, help them. All cases are reported to me. The 
 
1 864 CHARITABLE UNDERTAKINGS. 89 
 
 other day I went to one incog, with Christa, in the old 
 l^art of the town — and the trouble we had to find the house ! 
 At length, through a dirt}^ courtyard, up a dark ladder into 
 one little room, where lay in one bed the poor woman and 
 her baby ; in the room four other children, the husband, two 
 other beds, and a stove. But it did not smell bad, nor was 
 it dirty. I sent Christa down with the children, then with 
 the husband cooked something for the woman ; arranged 
 her bed a little, took her baby for her, bathed its eyes — for 
 they were so bad, poor little thing ! — and did odds and ends 
 for her. I went twice. The people did not know me, and 
 were so nice, so good and touchingly attached to each 
 other ; it did one's heart good to see such good feelings in 
 such poverty. The husband was out of work, the childreu 
 too young to go to school, and they had only four kreuzers 
 in the house when she was confined. Think of that misery 
 and discomfort ! 
 
 If one never sees any poverty, and always lives in that 
 cold circle of Court people, one's good feelings dry up, and 
 I felt the want of going about and doing the little good 
 that is in ni}^ power. I am sure you will understand 
 this. 
 
 March 14. 
 
 My own dear precious Mama, 
 
 These words are for the 16th, the first hard trial of 
 our lives where I was allowed to be with you. Do you 
 recollect when all was over [death of the Duchess of Kent], 
 and dear Papa led you to the sofa in the colonnade, an i 
 then took me to you ? I took that as a sacred request from 
 him to love, cherish, and comfort my darling Mother to all 
 the extent of my weak powers. Other things have taken 
 me from being constantly with you ; but nothing has lessened 
 my intense love for you, and longing to quiet every pain 
 
90 LETTERS. 1864 
 
 which touches you, and to fulfil, even in the distance, his 
 request. 
 
 Oh, darling Mama, were there words in which I could 
 express to you how much I am bound up with you, how 
 constantly my thoughts and prayers are yours, I would 
 write them. The sympathies of our souls can only tell 
 each other how tender my love and gratitude to you is, and 
 how vividly I feel every new trial or new thing with you 
 and for you. . . . 
 
 I was with another poor woman, even worse off, this 
 morning, and on the third day she was walking in the 
 room and nearly fainted from weakness. Those poor 
 X)eople ! 
 
 March 26. 
 
 . . . Yesterday morning at nine we took the Sacra- 
 ment— all the family and congregation together. The others 
 then stopped for the rest of the service, till after eleven. 
 I went home, and returned for the English service at twelve. 
 At half-past six, in the Stadtkirche, Bach's ' Passion ' was 
 given. 
 
 April 5. 
 
 To-day is Victoria's birthday. What a day it was 
 this time last year ! Baby has her table in the room next 
 to my sitting-room. Uncle Louis and the rest of the family 
 expected to breakfast with us at twelve. 
 
 Munich : April 13. 
 
 . . . Between sight-seeing, and going to the Queen's 
 room, and being with her, I have not a moment scarcely to 
 rest or write. Yesterday we visited the whole Schloss full 
 of frescoes, and the studios of all the famous painters — so 
 interesting. How dear Papa would have enjoyed it ! I 
 was thinking the whole time what he would have thought 
 of certain pictures, and how much he would have admired 
 
i864 MARRIAGE OF PRINCESS ANNA. gr 
 
 some. But at all times seeing things, and most of all 
 pictures, is fatiguing. 
 
 Darmstadt: April 21. 
 
 ... On Monday Louis goes into the country to 
 shoot capercailzies [AuerJuVnicl. I accompany him part 
 of the way, but stop at Schweinsberg with Christa's parents. 
 The air is very good there, and we thought the country 
 would do me good. 
 
 . . . We shall leave probably later [for England], after 
 or just before your birthday. We have a great deal to do 
 in London for our house, for which I should want a week ; 
 and from Windsor to leave j'ou for a whole week I should 
 not like, and to go up constantly is rather tiring. 
 
 We go from Mayence to Eotterdam b}^ steamer, from 
 thence b}' rail to Antwerp, and then wait for good weather 
 to cross, so that we shall be long under way, but quite 
 easily and comfortably. 
 
 April 25. 
 
 . . . We shall leave the week of your birthday. 
 Louis wishes us to have a full fortnight in London. 
 
 Darmstadt : May 14. 
 
 Many thanks for your letter, and above all for your 
 great kindness about the ships, for which I thank you 
 many times. 
 
 Christa and Becker wrote an account of the wedding,'^ 
 so I won't write any more about it save that it went off 
 very well and was very vornehm and well-arranged. . . . 
 
 I have borne the fatigues well ; but two days before, for 
 two daj's and one night, I was veiy unwell. . . . Dr. Weber 
 is a clever man, and is vielseitig [many-sided] in his views 
 
 * Of the Princess Anna of Hesse with the Grand Duke of Mecklenbnrg- 
 Schwerin. 
 
92 LETTERS. 1864 
 
 on medicine and treatment of illnesses. I think you will 
 like him. 
 
 Babj^ runs alone through two rooms without falling 
 now : she learnt it in a week. She will amuse you so 
 much. Yesterday Louis drove me and his two brothers in a 
 break, and Baby went with us much enchanted. 
 
 May 17. 
 
 . . . To-morrow afternoon Fritz and Anna leave. 
 To-day the town gives a large ball, to which we all go, and 
 before it there is a dinner at the Schloss. 
 
 May 21. 
 
 ... It is excessively hot, which makes me so tired 
 and weak. I am sure you suffered dreadfully from the heat. 
 The parting from Anna three days ago was dreadful ; 
 she so distressed, and her parents also. . . . They begin 
 then old age alone, so to say, for there are no children in 
 their house any more. It makes us both very sad to leave 
 them, and seems so unfeeling ; but we shall return to them 
 soon. ^Yhat a blessing that you have Beatrice and two 
 brothers, still boj^s ; and yet, for one alone what an 
 anxiety ! 
 
 Marlborough House : May 26. 
 
 Arrived here at half-past eleven, and quite rested. 
 I at once write to you to thank you for 3^our letter and for 
 the great comfort of the ships. I feel so much better already 
 fi'om the air on the Ehine those two daj's, and the fresh 
 sea air, that I have borne the journey this way with but 
 little fatigue. I find Bertie and Alix both looking well, and 
 the baby so pretty and dear. 
 
 I slept during the whole night iDassage, as I went to bed 
 early. I had about twelve hours' sleep, which has com- 
 pletely set me up. Louis is paying visits. We have lunched, 
 and in the afternoon Bertie and Alix have promised to call 
 
1 864 RETURN TO DARMSTADT. 93 
 
 on Lady Augusta and Dean Stanley, and we join them. 
 Aunt Cambridge and ]\Iary we shall see afterwards. 
 
 [From May to August the Princess was in England on 
 a visit to the Queen.] 
 
 Kranichstein : August 30. 
 
 ... I have stood the journey well, though I am 
 rather fatigued. It is very warm. Louis is off to Jugen- 
 heim. I am to go there to-morrow, and it takes my whole 
 day, as it is so far. I have seen none of the family yet. 
 I was so distressed to part from dear Ernest and Marie, 
 they were so dear and good all along the journey. The 
 weather was beautiful and the passage good. 
 
 September 2. 
 
 ... I am so glad that, from all accounts, everything 
 went off so very well at Perth ; '^ it must have been most 
 trying to you, and yet satisfactory. We read all the ac- 
 counts you kindly sent us with much interest. 
 
 . . . The Emperor [of Kussia] with his second and 
 third sons arrived yesterday. We saw him at the station 
 at Darmstadt, but did not join them as the rest of the 
 family did. We go to Jugenheim to-day and Baby with 
 us, as little Serge,' who is just Beatrice's age, has such a 
 passion for her. The children are very nice, the two older 
 sons very big. Uncle Gustav is here, which makes me think 
 of you here this time last year. 
 
 September 13, 
 
 . . . Two days ago we had intense heat, and since 
 great cold — the two extremes constant^, which is so un- 
 wholesome. The Emperor is very grateful for your message, 
 
 * The unveiling of a statue of the Prince Consort. 
 ' Grand Duke Serge. 
 
94 LETTERS. 1864 
 
 and sends his best remembrance. . . . There were seven 
 young men to dinner yesterday, and yom* glass was used 
 for the first time and looked so pretty. 
 
 September 20. 
 
 . . . What you say about the poor sisters, and 
 indeed of all the younger ones, is true. The little brothers 
 and Beatrice are those who have lost the most, poor little 
 things ! I can't bear to think of it, for dear Papa, more 
 peculiarly than any other father, was wanted for his chil- 
 dren ; and he was the dear friend, and even playfellow, 
 besides. Such a loss as ours is indeed unique. Time only 
 increases its magnitude, and the knowledge of the want is 
 felt more keenly. 
 
 ... I was yesterday in our little house, arranging and 
 clearing out the rooms. We shall have very close quarters, 
 l3ut it will not be uncomfortable. 
 
 Where people are unselfish, loving, good, and industrious, 
 like my dear Louis, I always feel a certain likeness begin- 
 ning to grow up with our dear angel Father ! Don't you ? 
 Oh, may we all only become like him ! I struggle so hard, 
 dear Mama, in the many little trials I daily have, to become 
 more like him. My trials melt away when I think of you, 
 and I wish I were great and strong to be able to bear some 
 of your great trials for you. Dear Mama, how I love you ! 
 how we both love you, and would shield you with our love 
 from all new blows and trials, you know. God comfort you ! 
 My heart is often too full to say all that is in it; to tell 
 you all my love and devotion, for your own precious sake, 
 and for dear Papa's, who left you as a legacy to us all to 
 love and to cherish for him. 
 
 September 23. 
 
 To-morrow Louis, I and my two ladies take the 
 Sacrament in the little church here. I wished much to 
 
i864 THE CROWN PRINCE AND PRINCESS. 95 
 
 take it before my hour of trial comes. Dear Louis read to 
 me yesterday evening Eobertson's sermon on the ' Sym- 
 pathy of Christ.' 
 
 We have fine autumn weather, and I am out as much 
 as I can. ... I sleep well and breakfast always at half- 
 past eight ; we dme at two, and take supper at eight, then 
 my ladies read aloud, and I work or Christa plays, Louis 
 reads his papers, &c. To myself I read Lord Malmesbury's 
 Memoirs, which are very curious, and when Louis has time 
 he reads Froude to me. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 14. 
 
 We are at length here, in great disorder, and I have 
 been waiting half an hour only for a pen to be found. I 
 am tu'ed and not very well. . . . Augusta [Lady Augusta 
 Stanley] being with you I am very glad of, and she must 
 be such a comfort to you, for, besides being such a friend, 
 she has that peculiar charm of manner which all the Bruces 
 possess. 
 
 October 29. 
 
 . . . To-morrow we expect Vicky and Fritz [Crown 
 Prince and Princess of Prussia] for two hours, and later 
 Bertie and Alix on their way back from Amorbach, for a 
 few hours. I shall be delighted to see them. 
 
 October 31. 
 
 . . . Yesterday we had the pleasure of having dear 
 Vicky and Fritz and baby here for two hours, the former 
 well and in such good looks, as I have not seen her for 
 long. The baby is a love, and very pretty. We were very 
 glad after a year's separation to meet again, and Vicky was 
 so dear and loving. I always admire her understanding 
 and brightness each time I see her again ; and Fritz so 
 good, so excellent. Bertie and Alix we expect in a day or 
 two for a short visit. It is very cold, but not unpleasant. I 
 go out twice a day. 
 
96 LETTERS. 1864 
 
 Darmstadt : November 7. 
 
 . . . The little daughter ^ was but a momentary 
 
 disappointment to us, which we have quite got over. We 
 
 console ourselves with the idea that the little pair will look 
 
 very pretty together. 
 
 November 20. 
 
 . . . We are both very much pleased at the arrange- 
 ment about Brown and your pony, and I think it is so sen- 
 sible. I am sure it will do you good, and relieve a little the 
 monotony of your out-of-door existence, besides doing your 
 nerves good. I had long wished you would do something of 
 the kind ; for, indeed, only driving is not wholesome. ... I 
 have had two drives, which have done me good. . . . My 
 mother-in-law has been kindness itself all along — so atten- 
 tive and yet so discreet. I can't be grateful enough. My 
 good father-in-law also. . . . Louis's mother is to be god- 
 mother, because it is customary here to ask someone of the 
 name the child is to receive to stand on the occasion. We 
 liked Elizabeth on account of St. Elizabeth being the 
 ancestress of the Hessian as well as the Saxon House. 
 
 November 26. 
 
 . . . We probably go to Carlsruhe on Wednesday, 
 the only place we can well go to near by ; we can't take an 
 inn at Baden or anything of that sort, and we only go for 
 a week or ten days at most. ... I am very well and very 
 careful ; all people say I look better, and have more colour 
 than I have had for long, and, indeed, I feel strong and well, 
 and my fat Baby does perfectly, and is a great darlmg. 
 Affie ^ and Louis and his brother are out shooting. The 
 horrid weather has kept me in these three days. 
 
 « The Princess Elizabeth was born on the 1st of November, 1864. 
 » Duke of Edinbm-gh. 
 
i864 CHRISTENING OF PRINCESS ELLA. 97 
 
 November 29. 
 
 ... I ought to mention the christening. My 
 mother-in-law held Baby all the time, and it screamed a 
 good deal. Victoria stood with us and was very good, 
 only kneeling down and tumbling over the footstool every 
 two minutes, and she kept whispering to me, ' Go to 
 Uncle's.' I thought so much of the christening last year, 
 when Victoria behaved much better than her larger dark 
 sister. Ella measured twenty-three and a half inches a 
 fortnight ago, and she had not grown then. Victoria, I 
 believe, was twenty inches. 
 
 Carlsruhe : December 5. 
 
 . . . Dear Dr. Macleod is coming with Affie to 
 Darmstadt for the 14th. Vicky and Fritz will be with us 
 also How kind of him to come, and it has made Affie so 
 happy, for he is so devoted to him. 
 
 December 15. 
 
 I had not a moment to myself to write to you 
 yesterday, and to thank you for the kind lines you sent me 
 through dear Dr. Macleod. He gave us a most beautiful 
 service, a sermon giving an outline of dear Papa's noble, 
 great and good character, and there were most beautiful 
 allusions to you in his prayer, in which we all prayed 
 together most earnestly for you, precious Mama ! 
 
 We talked long together afterwards about dear Papa, 
 and about you, and though absent were very near you in 
 thought and prayer. 
 
 Dear Vicky talked so lovingly and tenderly of you, and 
 of how homesick she sometimes felt. She was not with us 
 on that dreadful day three years ago, and that is so painful 
 to her. Dear Affie was, as we all were, so much overcome 
 by all Dr. Macleod said. Vicky, Affie, Louis and myself 
 sat in the little dining-room ; he read to us there. Fritz 
 
98 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 had left early in the morning. The day was passed quietly 
 and peaceably together, and I was most grateful to have 
 dear Vicky and Affie with me on that day. My dear Louis 
 wishes me to express to you how tenderly he thought of 
 you and with what sympathy on this sad anniversary. 
 Never can we cease talking of home, of you and of all your 
 trials. God bless and comfort jou, my own dear Mama ! 
 
 1865 
 
 January 1. 
 
 . . . Thousand thanks for your dear words, and for 
 the wishes ! I was thinking so much of you and of home, 
 when your letter came in. It made me so happy ! Darling 
 Mama, I can feel so much with and for you during these 
 days. I was all day on the verge of tears, for the very word 
 Neujahr brought Papa and Grandmama, and all at Windsor 
 as in former days, so vividly before me, it made my heart 
 ache ! That bright happy past, particularly those last 
 years, when I was the eldest at home, and had the privi- 
 lege of being so much with you both, my own dearly loved 
 parents, is a remembrance deeply graven, and with letters 
 of gold, upon my heart. All the morning I was telling Louis 
 how it used to be at home, and how we all assembled outside 
 your dressing-room door to scream in chorus ' Prosit Neu- 
 jahr .' ' and to give to you and Papa our drawings, writings, 
 &c., the busy occupation of previous weeks. Then playing 
 and reciting om' pieces, where we often stuck fast, and dear 
 Papa bit his lip so as not to laugh ; our walk to the Eidmg- 
 school [where the alms to the poor were distributed] , and 
 then to Frogmore. Those were happy days, and the very 
 remembrance of them must bring a gleam of sunshine 
 
 I 
 
i865 DEAN STANLEY'S SERMON. 99 
 
 even to you, clear Mama. Those two dinners, when I 
 was with 3'Ou both, were such happy evenings. I am so 
 grateful I remained at home, and lost not a day of those 
 happy ones. 
 
 At eight this morning we two went to church ; at half- 
 past three there was a large dinner at the Schloss. I wore 
 the bracelet with your pictures, as I always do on all par- 
 ticular days, for I like to be able to look at those dear 
 faces. 
 
 January 2. 
 
 We mean to go out sledging. The cold, and all the 
 ground being white this last month, has given me such bad 
 eyes. I can do nothing of an evening at all, and reading 
 even by daylight makes them so bad that they get quite 
 red. The ladies read to me, instead, all sorts of instructive 
 things. Louis has already found time to read through a 
 whole volume of the Lives of the Engineers.^ You could 
 not have sent anything that would interest him more. He 
 thanks you so much for the pretty New Year's wish also. 
 
 January 14. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear letter, for the nice 
 enclosure from Dr. Macleod, and for the beautiful sermon 
 by Dean Stanley. One remark struck me as singularly 
 applicable to dear Papa, where he says : ' To die is gain ; 
 to be no longer vexed with the sight of evil, which they 
 cannot control,' &c. — for dear Papa suffered wliew he saw 
 others do wrong ; it pained that good pure spirit : and 
 though we long for him and want him, if we could call him 
 back — even you who want him so much, I think, would 
 pause before you gave vent to the wish that would recall 
 him. . . . 
 
 ' By Dr Samuel Smiles. 
 
loo LETTERS. 1865 
 
 When trials come, what alone save faith and hope in a 
 blessed future can sustain one ! 
 
 . . . You can't think how much I am interested in 
 every little detail of your daily life. Besides, you know it 
 cannot be otherwise. Please say kindest things to Brown,^ 
 who must be a great convenience to you. 
 
 January 20. 
 
 . . . The more one studies and tries to understand 
 those wonderful laws which rule the world, the more one 
 wonders, worships, and admires that which to us is so in- 
 comprehensible ; and I always wonder how there can be 
 dissatisfied and grumbling people in this beautiful world, 
 so far too good for our deserts, and where, after our duty 
 is done, we hope to be everlastingly with those we love, 
 where the joy will be so great and lasting that present 
 sorrow and trouble must melt away before that sunshine. 
 
 January 23. 
 
 . . . We have rain and warm high wind, and leave 
 at four o'clock this afternoon. Ella has her bath as a bed, 
 and Victoria sleeps in the bassinet, which is done up with 
 chintz for the occasion. I don't think they can catch cold. 
 There is a stove in the centre compartment besides. You 
 can fancy I feel shy going to Berlin into a perfectly new 
 society ; and I have been so little out on the whole since 
 the year 1861. Marie Grancy^ goes with us. 
 
 Berlin : January 29. 
 
 . . . The journey went off very well, and we are so 
 happy to be here. Vicky and Fritz are kindness itself, 
 and Vicky so dear, so loving ! I feel it does me good, that 
 
 - John Brown, the Queen's faithful personal attendant. 
 ^ One of the Princess's ladies in waiting. 
 
i865 BERLIN. loi 
 
 there is a reflection of Papa's gi-eat mind in her. He loved 
 her so much, and was so proud of her. The King is, as 
 always, verj^ kind, and so pleased to see us here. Louis 
 is very happy to meet his old comrades again, and they 
 equally so to see him ; and I am so glad that he can have 
 this amusement at least, for he is so kind in not leaving 
 me — and our life must be rather dull sometimes for a 
 young man of spu*it like him. 
 
 Berlin : February i. 
 
 ... I have not been sight-seeing anywhere, as it is 
 too cold for that. We drive in a shut carriage, and then 
 walk in the Thiergarten. We spend the whole day toge- 
 ther, which is a great enjoyment to me, and of an evening 
 we go out together. It is so pleasant to have a sister to go 
 out with, and all the people are so kind and civil to us. 
 
 Sigismund * is the greatest darling I have ever seen — 
 so wonderfully strong and advanced for his age — with such 
 fine colour, always laughing, and so lively he nearly jumps 
 out of our arms. 
 
 This house is very comfortable, and Vicky is surrounded 
 with pictures of you and dear Papa — near her bed, on all 
 her tables — and such endless souvenirs of our childhood : it 
 made me quite icehmiitkig [sad] to see ah the things I had not 
 seen for seven years, and since we lived together as children 
 — souvenh's of Christmascs and bu'thdays from you both, 
 and from dear Grandmama, from Aunt Gloucester, &c. It 
 awakened a thousand old remembrances of happy past 
 times. 
 
 Berlin : February 7. 
 
 . . . How much do I think of you now, the happy 
 Silver Wedding that would have been, where you could have 
 been surrounded by so many of us ! Poor Mama, I do 
 
 * Then the Crown Princess's youngest child. 
 
I02 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 feel so deeply for you. Oh, may I be long, if not altogether, 
 spared so awful a calamity ! 
 
 Morning, noon, and night do I thank the Almighty for 
 our happiness, and pray that it may last. 
 
 These lines are for the dear lOth,'^ though they will 
 reach you on the eve ; and they are to tell you from Louis 
 and myself how tenderly we think of you on that day, and 
 of darling Papa, who made that day what it was. It will 
 be a day of great trial to you, I fear. May the Almighty 
 give you strength and courage to bear it ! I am sure the 
 dear sisters and brothers who are at home will try to 
 cheer you with their different loving ways — above all, little 
 Beatrice, the youngest of us all. 
 
 Louis goes to Schwerin to-morrow until Friday. They 
 wanted us to go together, but one journey is enough at this 
 time of the year. 
 
 Berlin : February 14. 
 
 . . . We leave next Saturday. I shall be so sorry 
 to leave dear Vicky, for she is often so much alone. Fritz is 
 really so excellent, it is a pleasure to look at his dear good 
 face ; and he is worked so hard — no health can stand it in 
 the long run. 
 
 Berlin : February 17. 
 
 . . . This will be my last letter from here, and I 
 only regret leaving here on account of parting with dear 
 Vicky and Fritz, whom we see so rarely, and usually but 
 for a short time. I have passed such pleasant hours with 
 dear Vicky : that is what I shall look back to with so much 
 pleasure and satisfaction. 
 
 Darmstadt : February 21. 
 I write once more from our dear little home, which 
 I find very cold ; snow and ice everywhere still — it seems 
 
 ' The anniversary of the Queen's marriage. 
 
i865 MENDELSSOHN'S 'ELIJAH.' 103 
 
 as if winter would never end. We accomplished our journey 
 very well. Poor Vicky will miss us very much, I fear, in 
 the many hours when she is alone, and which we spent 
 together. Writing does not make up for it. 
 
 We give a large masked ball in the Palace at Fastnacht 
 [Shrove Tuesday], which is to-day week. It is the first thing 
 we do for the society, and I hope it will go off well. I 
 found so much to do since my return that I can write 
 no more. 
 
 Before closing I must mention, though, that yesterday 
 evening I heard Elijah beautifully given. How I thought 
 of dear Papa ! Nearly every note brought l)ack to mind 
 observations he made about it.. I thought I could see him, 
 and hear his dear sweet voice turning round to me with 
 quite watery eyes, saying, * Es ist doch gar zu schon ' [* It 
 is really quite too lovely ! '] 
 
 Adored Papa ! how he loved this fine music ; the har- 
 mony in it seems like the harmony of souls, and Men- 
 delssohn's music is so good, fro mm [pious] — I mean, it 
 makes one better to hear it- In the second part, in an air 
 of Elijah towards the end, I found the part from which 
 those beautiful responses are taken which Cusins *^ arranged, 
 and which Papa liked so much. 
 
 March 4. 
 
 I have written to dear Tilla." To think of home 
 without her seems too sad, but I hope you will invite her 
 sometimes. Everyone liked her in the house, she was so 
 gentle and so kind. I shall never forget what I owe her, 
 and I ever loved her most dearly. But she has never been 
 the same again since 1861. It gave her a dreadful shock ; 
 she had such a veneration for darling Papa. 
 
 " Master of the Queen's private band. 
 
 " Miss Hildyard, the Princess's former English governess. 
 
I04 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 I hope this j-ear we can show you our house, though it 
 will not be far enough advanced for you to live in. For 
 another year, I hope, we could make you so comfortable. 
 
 Darmstadt : March 6. 
 
 ... I am reading at this moment a book by Herr 
 von Arneth — the publication of letters from Maria Theresa 
 to Marie Antoinette from 1770-80. I recommend it to 
 you. The letters are short and interesting, and it would 
 amuse you to take it up now and then, when you have a 
 leisure moment. The advice the Empress gives her daughter 
 is so good ; she was a very wise mother. 
 
 I have read and studied a great deal about the human 
 body; about children — their treatment, &c. It interests 
 me immensely. Besides, it is always useful to know such 
 things, so that one is not perfectly ignorant of the reasons 
 why doctors wish one to do certain things, and why not. 
 In any moment of illness, before there is time for a doctor 
 to come, one can be able to help oneself a little. I know 
 you don't like these things, and where one is surrounded 
 by such as dear Sir James [Clark] and Dr. Jenner,^ it is 
 perfectly unnecessary and pleasanter not to know a good 
 deal. Instead of finding it disgusting, it only fills me with 
 admu-ation to see how wonderfully we are made. 
 
 March 18. 
 
 My poor children have been confined to the house 
 with dreadful colds and coughs. Victoria looks the most 
 pulled, though Ella's cough was much more violent. I 
 am happy to say that they are really better to-day ; but 
 we have snow every day, and that makes their recovery 
 slower. 
 
 ' The Queen's own private physicians. 
 
i865 PROPOSED JOURNEY. 105 
 
 Yesterday night part of a large seed manufactory close 
 by, near the artillery barracks, was burnt down. The 
 flames were enormous, but the damage done was not great. 
 
 April 1. 
 . . . Since some days the snow is many feet deep ; 
 one can get about in sledges, and Louis drove me in one 
 with four horses this morning. All intercourse by carriage 
 is impossible, and this is very inconvenient to the people in 
 the country when their ' Post ' cannot drive. 
 
 April 4. 
 
 I must begin by telling 3'ou how much pleasure your 
 telegi'am has given me. It is like my own dear Mama to 
 have her arms oj)en for those who want her kind support ; 
 and I can only rei)cat again, that with you, and under your 
 care alone, should I like to leave my little ones so long ! 
 To them, indeed, it will in every way be an advantage, and 
 I shall be quite easy in leaving them there, where I know 
 they will have ever}' care which can be given ; and it would 
 make us both so happy to feel that in this way we could 
 give you some little pleasure. 
 
 Westerweller and Becker both wish very much we may 
 take this winter, D.Y., for a journey. As long as we have 
 fewer servants and this small house, it is easy to break up 
 the whole establishment — later, this will be less possible. 
 Louis has never been able to travel, and the advantage of 
 seeing other parts of the world would be so great for him. 
 Without me he would not do it ; he says, alone he should 
 not enjoy it. I urge this journey principally for his sake, 
 and I hope you will support me in this. Since our 
 marriage we have seen nothing, and all who can try to 
 enlarge their knowledge. From books alone it becomes 
 tedious and less advantageous. 
 
lo6 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 Victoria is going to have a party of thirty children to- 
 morrow in Prince Charles's rooms. The snow is thawing 
 at length, and the sun is much too hot. The sudden spring 
 is not pleasant. We have heen out riding, and this evening 
 I shall accompany Louis to the Schnepfenstrich [woodcock- 
 shooting ^], which in a fine evening, when the birds sing, is 
 lovely. . . . 
 
 April 8. 
 
 . . . We shall be delighted to receive you in Kra- 
 nichstein, and if you will send your suite all to Darmstadt 
 we shall be able to arrange, though we have not one spare 
 room anywhere, and I feel you will be rather squeezed. 
 How I look forward to meeting you again, after a year of 
 separation, I can't say ; and I am so glad that it will be 
 under our roof that our joyful embrace will take place. 
 As Uncle Louis is to have the Garter, may not Affie bring 
 it to him without ceremony ? He would like it so much 
 better, if it can be so. 
 
 On the 17th Louis goes to Oberhessen to shoot caper- 
 cailzies, and be deposits me and the children at Lich on his 
 Avay, where he will join us again for my birthday. 
 
 Anna was safely delivered of a little girl this morning, 
 and is doing well. 
 
 April 15. 
 
 . . . We have been very anxious about Anna ' the 
 last few days, for she has had fever since the 9th, and 
 shivering still yesterday. 
 
 We have a great deal to do this morning, so I can write 
 but shortly. 
 
 We have fine weather at length, and are out a great 
 deal. 
 
 * This sport is practised in the evening twilight. 
 
 ' Prince Louis's sister, the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. 
 She died on the 16th of April, 1865. 
 
1865 DEATH OF PRINCESS ANNA. 107 
 
 Yesterday we took the Sacrament at nine, and numbers 
 of people with us. The service lasted till past eleven, with 
 a pause between. 
 
 April 18. 
 
 This is really a dreadfully sad death in our family, 
 and wdll be a blow to my dear parents-in-law which will 
 weigh them down for many a day. They who lived so 
 retired, and to whom the familj' life was all — Anna the pet 
 — * das Prinzesschen,' whom they gave up so unwillingly, 
 and with whom they corresponded daily ! It will be a 
 blank in their existence, which I can't bear to think of! 
 Such tender loving parents ! My poor Louis was dread- 
 fully distressed, though he feared the worst all along since 
 we knew that Anna had fever. He left with Grolmann, 
 having passed a dreadful morning. All the old servants, 
 tutors, friends, came crying to us. Since he is gone I have 
 passed sad lonely hours : and poor old Amelung ^ comes 
 and sits in my room, sobbing that she should ever have 
 lived to see this day. 
 
 Yesterday morning I went to the Eosenhohe and picked 
 flowers from Anna's garden, and wound a large wreath, 
 which I have sent to Louis to place on her coffin. The 
 three brothers feel it dreadfully — the first rent in the family 
 cu'cle is always hard to bear, and she so young, so good, so 
 happy ! I hear the poor little baby is nice. 
 
 Yesterday night Anna was taken into the Schlosskirche 
 [Palace Chapel] upon Louis's arrival, after a journey of 
 twenty-seven hours. I hope he won't be ill after all this 
 Gemiithshewegung [strain upon his feelings], and fatigue 
 always upsets him and makes him sick, and he feels all 
 so deeply and warmly. It is so shocking. I can think of 
 
 ■ Nurse of the Prince Louis and his brothers and sister. 
 
io8 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 nothing else ; and I am very low and sad being so alone, 
 and the warm weather makes one unwell. 
 
 The poor Cesarewitch has passed a tolerable night. I 
 fear he is so reduced he can't get through it. The Em- 
 press doats on this son, and he is so like her. The poor 
 Emperor has left for Nice. 
 
 April 21. 
 
 Oh, it is sad, very sad ! Life indeed is but a short 
 journey, on which we have our duty to do, and in which 
 joy and sorrow alternately prevail. Anna was very good, 
 very unselfish, and a true Christian, with her gentle, 
 humble spirit, and as such she was loved and admired. 
 "What rare people my parents-in-law and their children are, 
 I can't tell you — such childlike faith, such pure unselfish 
 love to each other ; I really feel unworthy to belong to 
 them, and they are dear to me beyond description. As I 
 have shared their joys, so with all my heart do I share 
 their sorrow, and fervently pray for them ! You will un- 
 derstand this, darling Mama. From you I have inherited 
 an ardent and sympathising spirit, and feel the pain of 
 those I love as though it were my own. To-morrow I have 
 wished that there should be in the Palace Chapel a funeral 
 service at the same time as the funeral at Schwerin, and 
 all the people here seemed pleased at my wish. Bender, 
 who taught her, confirmed her, and who married her not a 
 year ago in that very church, will perform the service. 
 
 Poor Dagmar ! ^ what a journey for her, poor child ! 
 She begins her troubles early enough. 
 
 April 24. 
 
 . . . Many thanks for your kind letter, and for all 
 the kind wishes for my birthday. It will be sad and quiet ; 
 
 ' Princess Dagmar of Denmark, now Empress of Eussia, sister of the 
 Princess of Wales. 
 
i865 DEATH OF THE CESAREWITCH. 109 
 
 but I hope my beloved Louis will arrive to-night, and 
 be with me again — such cause for joy and thankfulness. 
 Wlien I have him, all sorrow is turned into peace and 
 happiness. Could I but know you still had darling Papa 
 at your side, how light would my heart be ! Once when 
 we have all fulfilled our allotted duties, and overcome that 
 dark night, then, please God, we shall be together, never 
 again to part ! 
 
 The sympathy of all does my sorrowing family good, 
 for it soothes so much ! I had a few lines, so tender, so full 
 of faith, from my dear mother-in-law to-day. Since Ella's 
 birth I know to understand and love her most dearly. She 
 suffered dreadfully, but no complaint passes her lips. She 
 consoles her husband, her son-in-law, and this, with prayer, 
 enables her to bear that which has almost broken her heart. 
 
 April 29. 
 I thank you so much for your kind sympathising 
 letter. All my family are so grateful for all the kindness 
 and sympathy you have shown them on this sad occasion. 
 
 To-day Uncle Louis arrives ; on Monday the Emperor 
 and Empress, and children. What a sad meeting ! They 
 go to Jugenheim direct, where last year they were so happy 
 all together. I hear the Empress is worn out, mind and 
 body ; and she insists, instead of finishing her cure, on 
 going in a fortnight to St. Petersburg to meet the remains 
 of her child, and to do him the last honours. Louis fears 
 that it will be more than her feeble frame can endure. In 
 the Greek Church, too, the night Masses are long and ex- 
 hausting, and she is sure to wish to do all. 
 
 We spent my birthday as every other day, and the 
 weather was heavenly. I am painting in oil now, and that in- 
 terests me much. I find it much easier than water-colours. 
 
no LETTERS. 1865 
 
 I hope Affie will come to pay his respects to the 
 Eussians. If you send them a kind message through him, 
 it would please them much. 
 
 May 2. 
 
 . . . How well I understand jonr compassion heing 
 alike for mourners in all positions of life. It is hut right 
 and natural, and I can't imagine one's feeling otherwise. 
 
 Seeheim : May 21. 
 . . . Yesterday the Emperor and Empress and 
 children left. So sorry to see them go ! God knows when 
 we shall all meet here again. We have been so much 
 together, and so intimately, that I have grown very fond of 
 them, and am very sad at the thought of the long and 
 uncertain separation. Dear little Arthur was here, lookmg 
 very well. The wooded hills here are so nice to ride about 
 on, and the country is very beautiful. 
 
 May 31. 
 
 I read serious books a great deal, and of a Sunday 
 together we read out of Robertson's sermons. In the 
 second series there is one, ' The Irreparable Past,' for 
 young people, so cheering, so encouraging, so useful. Louis 
 read it to me on his return from Schwerin after poor 
 Anna's death. A short life indeed, and it makes one feel 
 the uncertainty of life, and the necessity of labour, self- 
 denial, charity, and all those virtues which we ought to 
 strive after. Oh, that I may die, having done my work and 
 not sinned with Unferlassung des Giiten [omission to do what 
 is good], the fault into which it is easiest to fall. 
 
 Our life being so quiet gives one much time for earnest 
 thought, and I own it is discouraging to find how much one 
 fails — how small the step of improvement is. 
 
 I suffer still so much, and so often, from rheumatism. 
 
i865 PRINCE LOUIS INVESTED WITH THE GARTER, in 
 
 I am taking warm soda-baths in the morning for it, and 
 am rubbed afterwards with towels which have been dipped 
 in cold water and then wrung out. It is not very pleasant. 
 
 June 7. 
 
 . . . You know how very Scotch we both are. Louis 
 is devotedly attached to Scotland and his Scotch friends. 
 Do tell them so always. But now I must tell you of yester- 
 day. In the morning Affie, we, and our suite, drove into 
 town for the investiture. At half-past three I drove with 
 my ladies, a Kammerherr [Chamberlain], Becker, &c., to 
 the Schloss, where Uncle Louis received us in shortsl 
 Then Affie and Louis in their whole Garter dress arrived 
 in a carriage with six horses and an escort. Uncle Louis, 
 before the throne, and the family, Court, corps diplomatique, 
 &c., received them. Affie read in English the address, to 
 which Uncle Louis answered in German ; then Affie buckled 
 on the Garter ; then Louis helped him to put on ribbon, 
 cloak, &c., and fastened the sword on him, which was no 
 easy task; but they acquitted themselves to perfection, 
 and went out through the long Kaisersaal backwards, 
 bowing. 
 
 There was a large dinner afterwards, at which your 
 health was proposed by Uncle Louis, and in return Affie 
 gave his. You have made a happy man, and he feels the 
 honour — as he said to me in English — ' utmostly ' ; and 
 he wishes me to repeat once more how grateful he is to 
 you. . . . 
 
 Affie did not return here last night ; he slept at Darm- 
 stadt, and left this morning for Amorbach. To-day Uncle 
 Ernest is coming to us, but onl}^ for one night. As we 
 have again to go into town to fetch him, and it is very 
 warm, I must close. 
 
112 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 Seeheim : June 15. 
 
 . . . How it will amuse and please us to show the 
 good excellent Scotchmen our home. It is a pleasure to 
 hear of such devotion and attention to you as Brown's is, 
 and indeed you are so kind to him, that his whole happiness 
 must consist in serving so good a mistress. 
 
 I think you will be pleased to hear of a most kind and 
 touching tribute which the Frauen [women] of Darmstadt 
 have paid me. Two hundred and fifty have subscribed to 
 have a splendid picture painted for me, by P. Weber, of 
 Loch Katrine. I am to see it on Sunday. It is very much 
 admired, and they sent the painter to Scotland to do it, 
 thinking that something from my own country would please 
 me most. Is it not kind of them ? It has given me so 
 much pleasure — but of all things the feeling which has 
 prompted them to do it, as it shows me that, though I have 
 been here so short a time, they have become attached to 
 me, as I am with all my heart to my new home and 
 country. 
 
 Ella crawls now, and is very strong ; she has her first 
 two teeth. Victoria is very wild, and speaks more German 
 than English. I think her rather small, but other people 
 say she is not. She goes out walking with her Papa before 
 breakfast quite alone, with her hands in her pockets, and 
 amuses him very much. 
 
 June 19. 
 
 Many thanks for your last letter from dear Balmoral. 
 The parting from that lovely place must always be sad, 
 and there is something in mountains which attaches one so 
 much to that scenery. 
 
 Yesterday was a very trying day for my poor mother-in- 
 law (her birthday), and she was very low, but, as all along, 
 so resigned, so touching in the beautiful way she bears her 
 
i865 OCCUPATIONS AND PLANS. 113 
 
 grief; so unselfish with it, never wishing to make others 
 sad, or to be less interested in their concerns than for- 
 merly. 
 
 Dear Mary Cambridge has been here, and we enjoj^ed 
 her visit so much. We took her back to Frankfort to-day, 
 where we gave her and Aunt Cambridge a luncheon in 
 Uncle Louis's Palais. 
 
 June 21. 
 
 It is warm, but very windy and dusty here ; we 
 were nearly blinded out riding yesterday evening. I am 
 reading that most interesting History of England by 
 Pauli, in German, which commences with the Congress of 
 Vienna in 1815, and is, I believe, very detailed and cor- 
 rect. It gives a sketch also of the reign of George III., 
 and is so well written one can scarcely lay the book down. 
 It is part of a work written by the best German professors 
 on England, Russia, Italy, France, Spain, and Austria in 
 those years, and I am reading them one after another. 
 They are thick books, and eight volumes. 
 
 Kranichstein : July 2. 
 
 We are all to go for four weeks to Switzerland, be- 
 ginning with Eigi Kaltbad. We go into the mountains at 
 once for the bracing air. On Saturday until Tuesday we 
 go to Baden for the christening of the baby. We both 
 are god-parents. 
 
 Kranichstein : July 10. 
 
 . . . Ella already says, since some time, * Papa ' and 
 * Mama,' and calls herself, and crawls, anci is very forward 
 and merry — such a contrast to Victoria, who is so pale and 
 fair, and noic thin, for Ella's eyes are so dark blue, and her 
 hair of such a rich brown, that you would never take the 
 little things for sisters. They are very fond of each other, 
 
114 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 and so dear together, that they give us much pleasure. I 
 would not change them for boys, if I could ; this little pair 
 of sisters is so nice, and they can be such friends to each 
 other. 
 
 I hope you will be comfortable here, but we are much 
 annoyed not to be able to be there to receive you. None 
 of the family will be here, save perhaps my mother-in-law 
 with poor Fritz Schwerin,* who is expected then. 
 
 We mean to start on the 25th, and we go as private 
 people, on account of the expense. We are only going to 
 the Oberland, and shan't go very far about. 
 
 Kraniehstein : July 17. 
 
 ... It was 95° in the shade yesterday at eight in 
 the morning, and I think the heat increases. Dr. Lyon 
 Playfair lunched with us yesterday ; he is so charming . 
 To-morrow morning at five we go to Bonn for the day, and 
 shall be there before ten. The heat is too great to go at 
 any other time. We start next Tuesday evening, and on 
 Wednesday shall be on the Eigi. 
 
 This morning at six o'clock we rode to the exercising — 
 I on a new horse, for two hours and a half over sand 
 without any shade. 
 
 Mary [Duchess of Teck] has been so kind as to give us 
 
 a boat, which we expect shortly. It is to be christened 
 
 ' Mary Adelaide,' after her. 
 
 July 24. 
 
 Many thanks for your letter, and for the sad account 
 of Victoria Brand's ^ death. It is quite shocking, and she 
 
 *• Grand Duke of Schwerin, husband of Princess Louis' sister. He died 
 1882. 
 
 * Daughter of M. Van de Weyer, the Belgian Minister Plenipotentiary in 
 England. She had been thrown out of her carriage, and died from the effect 
 of the injuries received. 
 
i865 SWITZERLAND. 115 
 
 was m}^ dearest friend of those contemporaries, and the one 
 I saw the most of. ' In the midst of life we are in death ; ' 
 and the micertainty of all earthly things makes life a real 
 earnest, and no dream. Our whole life should be a pre- 
 paration and expectation for eternity. Merry as she was, 
 she was yet very serious and thoughtful ; but what a loss 
 she will be to her poor parents and husband ! 
 
 I have made all arrangements for your comfort here. 
 I own I do not like your coming here when we and the 
 whole family are away — it looks so odd ! I forgot to tell 
 you, in answer to your question about Ella's name, that 
 she of course must be called ' Elizabeth,' oitre nous only 
 * Ella,' for she bears my dear mama-in-law's name. 
 
 Kigi Kaltbacl: August 1. 
 
 I am enchanted, delighted with this magnificent 
 scenery. Oh, how you would admire it ! When I am 
 sketching, I keep telling Louis how much more like you 
 would make the things ; one can always recognise the 
 places when you draw them. 
 
 We left Darmstadt at eight Wednesday morning, the 
 26th, slept at Basel that night, and we got there early 
 enough to see the fine church in a thunderstorm. The 
 next day we only went to Lucerne, as the weather was not 
 fine enough to ascend the Eigi. It was a lovely afternoon, 
 and the lake of a marvellous green colour. The Pilatus 
 was quite clear for a few hours. The next morning we 
 two, the children, Moffat, Harriet the nursery-maid, 
 Logoz and wife, Jjiger, and Beck, our whole party, started 
 in a very crowded steamer for Waggis. Splendid weather, 
 though cloudy. We then, on horses and in chau's carried 
 by three or six men, made our ascent along a winding, 
 narrow, steep path, below rocks, past ravines, where little 
 
 I 2 
 
Ii6 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 chalets are situated, and all over the green pasture cows 
 and goats feedmg with bells round their necks. Wester- 
 weller was here when we arrived ; he acts courier, and 
 when we make long expeditions remains with the children. 
 This is a very roomy hotel, crammed full of people, among 
 them some odd Austrian ladies whom we see below walk- 
 ing on the terrace — very smart, and smoking. We two 
 have been on mules with a guide — such a funny man, who 
 was a soldier at Naples, and was at the siege of Gaeta — on 
 all the expeditions hereabout. 
 
 To-morrow we leave, and go till Monday to Buochs, on 
 the other side of the lake ; then to Engelberg, where Uncle 
 Adalbert and his wife will be. The children are well; 
 Victoria very troublesome, but Ella good and amiable as 
 ever. As I am writing at the window, the clouds cover the 
 lake and the lower mountains, and I can only see the quite 
 high ones with glaciers, which are of such a splendid shape. 
 
 The colour of the Scotch mountains is, I think, finer ; 
 but here they are, first of all, so enormously high, and then 
 such fine shapes, and the mountains are studded with trees 
 and rocks down below, and of a green colour. 
 
 The air is very light and cold, but the sun intense. We 
 are going off for the day again on our mules, so I must 
 close. Of course many funny incidents take place, which I 
 reserve to tell you when we meet. 
 
 I do hope the heat will be over for your journey, and 
 that it will be fine when you are at our dear Kranichstein. 
 Marie Grancy will be there to receive you, and do anything 
 which is required. 
 
 Engelberg, Hdtel Titlis : August 8. 
 
 These lines I send by Becker, and hope you will 
 receive them at Kranichstein. ... I hope you found all 
 you wanted in the rooms, and that the meals were as you 
 
1 865 SWITZERLAND. 117 
 
 like them. I ordered all, and wrote all down before leaving, 
 as I know what you like. 
 
 We were for some daj's at Enochs, a very pretty vil- 
 lage; and we lived in three detachments in different com- 
 mon Swiss houses, very comfortable on the whole, but not 
 smelling very nice, so that I could scarcely eat while we 
 were there. 
 
 Yesterday morning, in a very funny two-seated carriage 
 with one horse, we left, the children and servants following 
 in a bigger carriage. A nearly four hours' drive through 
 the most beautiful scenery, up a narrow valley through 
 which the Aa runs, brought us here. The last two hours 
 are a steep ascent on the side of a precipice ; beautiful 
 vegetation through the wood all the way upwards ; view on 
 the high mountains with snow and glaciers close by. On 
 coming to the top, there is a narrow and lovely green 
 valley studded with peasants' cottages, and in the centre a 
 Benedictine Abbey, near which our hotel is situated. The 
 valley is of very green grass ; the tops of the mountains 
 quite rocky, with snow. Lower down, and skirting the 
 valley, which is quite shut in by the hills, fine trees ; seve- 
 ral very high waterfalls, in the style of the Glassalt (near 
 Balmoral), only much higher. This Alpine valley is said 
 to give the most perfect idea of a Swiss valley up in the 
 mountains. One can ascend the Titlis ; but it is said to be 
 dangerous, so we shan't attempt it. We are very careful, 
 and Louis won't undertake anything risky. The scenery 
 seen from the carriage merely is so splendid that one may 
 well be content with that. Unfortunately, to-day it pours, 
 and it is very cold. The children are very well. The 
 journey has really done Victoria good, and she begins to 
 have an appetite, which with her is a very rare thing. 
 
 The next place we go to is j\Ieyringen. We mean to 
 
ii8 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 ride there over the Joch Pass, but the children must go 
 back the same way to get round, as there is no other way 
 out of this valley. We will leave them then with Wester- 
 weller, and go to the Grindelwald, Interlaken, &c. ; and 
 then return home by the 29th, probably. The children are 
 living in a cottage here also. 
 
 Pension Belle Vue, Traclit bei Brienz : August 14. 
 
 . . . Our ride from Engelberg over the Joch Pass 
 to Meyringen was quite beautiful ; but a worse way than 
 any we have ever been out on in Scotland. We were eleven 
 hours on the road, and the sun was very hot, and the walk- 
 ing on these steep bad paths made one still hotter ; but we 
 enjoyed it very much, and I never saw anything grander or 
 more magnificent. ... I have made little scribbles on the 
 way. . . . To-day we two with two horses were to have 
 walked and ridden to the Grindelwald, over the Eosenlaui 
 glacier, and to have gone on the next day to Interlaken, 
 but the weather is so bad that it is impossible, and, not 
 being satisfied with the prices, &c., at the hotel of Mey- 
 ringen, we came on here, an hour's drive, near to the 
 beautiful falls of the Giessbach, which we saw on Sunday. . . . 
 The weather will determine whether we can make an expe- 
 dition to-morrow. 
 
 We shall be home on Friday by Thun and Basel, where 
 we sleep. What day are we to be at Coburg, and for how 
 long exactly ? I believe only two or three days. 
 
 The white heather is from above Engelberg, near Brienz. 
 
 Pension Belle Vue : August 15. 
 
 I have this instant received your dear letter from 
 Kranichstein, and, though only just returned from an expe- 
 dition to the Eosenlaui glacier, I sit down at once to thank 
 
i865 RETURN FROM SWITZERLAND. 119 
 
 3'ou with all my heart for such dear lines. How glad I am 
 all was comfortable, and that you were pleased with your 
 day in our nice Kranichsteiu ! I am glad you missed us 
 a little. . . . But I must tell you of to-day. We drove to 
 Eeichenbach, close to the falls, took a guide and horses, 
 and in two hours by a steep stony path got to Eosenlaui. 
 The view on the Wetterhorn, covered with snow, and on 
 the Wellhorn, which is a rugged rock on the other side of it, 
 the white sparkling glacier, is quite beautiful. The shapes 
 and immense height of the mountains are so imposing. I 
 look, admire, wonder ; one can't find words to express what 
 one feels. How you would admire the scenery ! Papa was 
 so fond of it all. 
 
 Kranichstein : August 21. 
 
 These will be my last lines until we meet. We 
 returned here well, having unfortunately, though, much 
 rain fi-om Interlakeu to Basel. At Thun we were in the 
 same hotel as Blanche ^ and Mademoiselle Bernard,^ and 
 to-morrow we expect Uncle Nemours, Marguerite,* and 
 Alencon,^ whom we asked to dinner on then* way to Frank- 
 fort. I am mostly at the Eosenhohe with my mama-in-law, 
 as she is quite alone. I was in town with her, and read to 
 her this morning ; she is ever so dear and kind. I do love 
 her so much. Ever since Ella's birth we have been drawn 
 so closely to each other, and I admire her also now that I 
 know and understand her. There is so much beneath, so 
 much GcmiitJi, tenderness, and delicacy of feeling. It is 
 indeed a blessing to have such people as they are for 
 parents-in-law. 
 
 * Youngest daughter of Due de Nemours. 
 ' Governess of Princess Blanche. 
 
 * Eldest daughter of Due de Nemours. 
 ^ Second son of the same. 
 
I20 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 September 1. 
 
 Uncle George was here yesterday. Vicky remains 
 with us till the 5th, and it gives me so much pleasure to 
 be able to repay her for her hospitality this winter. 
 
 Kraniclistein : September 8. 
 
 . . . After having missed the train they intended 
 to come by, Bertie and Alix arrived at three o'clock. They 
 dined with us. Louis then took him to the theatre, and I 
 drove her about. 
 
 My poor father-in-law's throat is very bad, and gives 
 him much pain. I am really very anxious about him. 
 
 We leave to-morrow afternoon at four, and shall spend 
 the following day at Ostend, embarking in the evening. 
 Till the end of the week we intend stopping in town, and if 
 Bertie and Alix remain longer we shall leave by the limited 
 maU (for Balmoral). 
 
 Inverness : October 8. 
 
 This is a very fine town, and the country is very 
 beautiful. We took a walk this morning, and shall drive 
 this afternoon. It was thought better not to go to a kirk, 
 as the people seemed to look out for us. 
 
 Again a thousand thanks for having arranged this nice 
 journey for us, which we enjoy so much. I thought so 
 much of you and dear Papa yesterday during our ride.^ 
 
 Sandringliam : November 16. 
 
 ... I am pleased that the children are well under 
 your roof. I know they have all they can want. Bertie 
 had such bad toothache yesterday : Louis also a little ; the 
 cold air must be the cause, for it is so sharp here. 
 
 ' See Leaves from a Journal — Grantown, 1860. 
 
i865 DEATH OF THE KING OF THE BELGIANS. 121 
 
 Alix and I practise together for an hour of an evening. 
 . . . Alix drove me down to the sea the other day, and a 
 most alarming drive it was, for the horses pulled, and, to 
 our astonishment, the coachman suddenly alighted between 
 us, with his feet in the air, from the back seat, and caught 
 hold of the reins — it was too funny. I hope to be near you 
 again on Saturday. 
 
 Darmstadt : November 28. 
 
 ... I find my father-in-law looking better, I am 
 happy to say, though far from strong ; and alas ! one of 
 his lungs is affected. Though, with care, one can guard 
 him from evil consequences, still of course it is an anxious 
 thing. All the family are very grateful for your kmd 
 messages, and send their respects to you. 
 
 . . . The children are very well, and Victoria said to 
 my mother, ' Meine Grossmama, die Koniginn, has got a 
 little vatch with a birdie,' and she is always speaking of all 
 at Windsor, but principally of the things in your room. I 
 am so glad that you are pleased with the children's picture. 
 I admire it so much. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 5. 
 
 Many thanks for your letter received yesterday, 
 with the account of Lcnchen's Vcrlohung [betrothal]. I 
 am so glad she is happy, and I hope every blessing will 
 rest on them both that one can possibly desire. 
 
 I had a letter from Marie Brabant ^ two days ago, where 
 she says dear Uncle's [King Leopold's] state is hopeless ; 
 but yesterday she telegraphed that he was rather better. 
 What a loss it would be if he were to be taken from us, for 
 his very name and existence, though he takes no active 
 part m politics, are of weight and value. 
 
 Yesterday I was painting in oils, and I copied my sketch 
 
 ^ Duchess of Brabant. 
 
122 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 of the Sluggan, and, if it be in any way at all presentable 
 and fit to give, I will send it to you. I hope it won't be 
 very Chinese, for our sketches had a certain likeness to 
 works of art of that country. Louis is very busy here. He 
 has begun his military duties ; he has the command and 
 Vencaltiing [administration] of the Cavalry Brigade. To- 
 day he has to go to the Chamber, and he is going to attend 
 the different offices — home department, finances, justice, &c. 
 — so as to get a knowledge of the routine of business. . . . 
 
 Darmstadt : December 8. 
 
 We are so grieved and distressed at dear Uncle 
 Leopold's ^ alarming state, and have given up all hope, the 
 accounts are so bad. Oh, were there but a chance for you, 
 or for any of us who love him so dearly, to be near him 
 during his last hours ! 
 
 December 11. 
 
 Many thanks for your letter. Alas, alas ! beloved 
 Uncle Leopold is no more ! How much for you, for us, for 
 all, goes with him to the grave ! One tie more of those 
 dear old times is rent ! 
 
 I do feel for 3'ou so much, for dear Uncle was indeed 
 a father to you. Now you are head of all the family — 
 it seems incredible, and that dear Papa should not be by 
 your side. 
 
 The regret for dear Uncle Leopold is universal — he 
 stood so high in the eyes of all parties ; his life was a his- 
 tory in itself — and now that book is closed. Oh, it is so 
 sad, and he is such a loss ! I am almost glad this sorrow 
 has fallen into those days already so hallowed by melan- 
 choly and precious recollections. How I recollect every 
 hour, every minute of those days. In thinking of them 
 
 ^ King of the Belgians. 
 
J 865 DEATH OF THE KING OF THE BELGIANS. 123 
 
 one feels over again the hope, the anxiety, and lastly the 
 despair and grief of that irretrievable loss. The Almighty 
 stood by you and us, and enabled us to bear it, for I always 
 wonder that we lived through that awful time. 
 
 The future world seems so like a real home, for there 
 are so many dear ones to meet again. There is something 
 peculiarly sad in the death of the last one of a large family 
 — to feel that none is left to tell of each other, and of their 
 earlier life, which the younger ones could know only through 
 their lips. 
 
 December 15. 
 
 Many thanks for your letter. I was so anxious to 
 hear something of our beloved Uncle's end ; it seems to 
 have been most peaceful. 
 
 There will be many Princes at Brussels, I believe. 
 
 How much I thought of j^ou and of dear Papa on the 
 14th ! Dear Louis leaves me this afternoon. He will 
 reach Brussels at five to-morrow morning, and remain over 
 the Sunday. 
 
 The accession of a new King and the honours that have 
 at once to be paid are so painful, following so closely on 
 the death of one we have loved and known in that position. 
 As the French say : * Le Roi est mort. Vive le Roi ! ' 
 
 December 20. 
 
 ... I was sitting up for Louis till half-past eleven 
 with Countess Bliicher — who leaves to-day, and has spent 
 a few days with me — when he and, to my astonishment, 
 Bertie also, came into the room. The next day, alas ! he 
 had to leave again at four ; but still, short as his stay was, 
 it was a token of his constant love for me, and it touched 
 me very much, for I ever loved him so dearly. 
 
 Everything went off well at Brussels, as you will have 
 
124 LETTERS. 1865 
 
 heard. The more I reaHse that we shall never see beloved 
 Uncle Leopold again, the sadder I grow. He had, apart 
 from all his excellent qualities, such a charm as I believe 
 we shall seldom find again. 
 
 The dear Countess is well. We made the dining-room 
 into a bedroom for her, and we dined downstairs. I was 
 so afraid of her getting cold, if she lived out of the house. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 24. 
 
 . . . How I wish beloved Uncle were brought to 
 Windsor to rest there as he had wished ! I wondered so 
 much that everything had taken place at Laeken, knowing 
 that dear Uncle had wished it otherwise. 
 
 Uncle Louis wishes me to thank you once more for the 
 Christmas eatables, and my mother-in-law likewise for the 
 lovely little frame and photograph. They are both much 
 touched by this kind attention on your part. 
 
 Christmas Day. 
 
 ... To me Christmas is always sad now, and for 
 Louis and his family it was so likewise this year ; my 
 parents-in-law felt it very much. We went to the Military 
 Church at eight this morning. It is the service we like 
 best ; but it was bitterly cold, everything snow white. 
 
 I hope my little picture, though very imperfect, found 
 favour in your eyes. It gave me such pleasure doing it for 
 you, thinking of you and our expedition the whole time I 
 was doing it. 
 
 December 30. 
 
 This is my last letter this year. In many ways a 
 happy one has it been, though it has deprived us of many 
 dear and near ones. Each year brings us nearer to the 
 Wiedersehen [reunion with the dead] , though it is sad to 
 
1866 BAZAAR IN THE PALACE. 125 
 
 think how one's glass is running out, and how httle good 
 goes with it, compared to the numberless blessings we 
 receive. Time goes incredibly fast. 
 
 Every earnest and tender wish from us both is yours, 
 dear Mama, for this coming year with its expected events. 
 May God's blessing rest on this new union which is to be 
 formed in our famil}^, and may dear Lenchen be as happy 
 as all those who loved her can wish ! I am so sorry to 
 think that I shall probably not see her again until she is 
 married ; but I am glad for her sake that the Brautstand 
 [the betrothal period] is not to be long. 
 
 I send you a locket with Ella's miniature, which I hope 
 will please you. 
 
 1866 
 
 January 2. 
 I am at the head of a committee of ladies out of 
 the different classes of society to make a large bazaar, in 
 which all the country is to take part, for the Idiot Asylum. 
 It is very difficult — all the more as I have never had any- 
 thing to do with such things in my life. ... I wanted, for 
 the first public thing I undertake, to take in all principles, 
 and my mother-in-law has given her name to it. I have 
 chosen the committee out of different sets — half adclig 
 [people of rank], half hurgcrlich [of the citizen class], and 
 all these ladies, half of whom I did not know before, come 
 and sit in my small room and discuss — and, as yet, do not 
 disagree. 
 
 January 6. 
 
 . . , The people here are so much pleased that my 
 Louis takes such active part in all his duties — military and 
 civil — for he attends the different offices, and as General, 
 
126 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 I hear, he keeps great order where there was until now 
 disorder and great abuse of power. Of course, I see him 
 much less, and some days scarcely at all. 
 
 On the 14th we go to Gotha for about a fortnight, with- 
 out the children. 
 
 Gotha : January 19. 
 
 Dear Uncle and Aunt are well, and we are very 
 happy here, for they are always kindness itself to us. 
 Uncle looks very well, but he gi'ows very stout, I think. 
 We saw the Braut von Messina [Schiller's] so well given 
 two nights ago. I thought so much of dear Papa, who 
 admired it greatly ; and Uncle Ernest told me he had it 
 given for you, when you first came here. 
 
 Gotha : January 22. 
 
 Our Quaker acquaintances have sent me a great deal 
 for the bazaar, and an old gentleman who heard of it, lOOZ. ! 
 I could not believe my eyes. They are always so generous : 
 and, hearing of my undertaking a work of this sort, they 
 sent me this spontaneously. Is it not kind ? 
 
 Darmstadt : February 1, 
 
 It is spring weather here altogether — quite warm 
 when one comes out of the house. It is so unnatural. 
 The children enjoy it, and are out a great deal, looking so 
 well and strong : I wish you could see them. The little one 
 is growing up to her sister very fast, and actually wears the 
 frocks Victoria wore last year. I wish you could hear all 
 the extraordinary things Victoria says. Ella is civil to all 
 strangers — excepting to my mother-in-law, or to old ladies. 
 It is too tu'esome. There is a large ball given by the 
 officers at their Casino to-night, to which we must go. It 
 will be crowded and hot. Our house gets on tolerably. 
 The housekeeper, a Berlinerinn, comes on the 20th, and 
 
i866 PROGRESS OF THE NEW HOUSE. 127 
 
 we are told that we can go into the house next month. I 
 can't help cloubtmg it, and I regret leaving this nice little 
 house, where our first happy years have been spent. I am 
 so glad that you have at least been in the new house, so 
 that I can always think that j^ou are no stranger to it, 
 which makes me like it much better. 
 
 February 10. 
 
 ... I am happy to think you are quiet at Osborne 
 after all you had to go through. The emotion and all other 
 feelings recalled by such an event must have been very 
 powerful and have tried you much.^ It was noble of you, 
 my darling Mama, and the great effort will bring compensa- 
 tion. Think of the pride and pleasure it would have given 
 darling Papa — the brave example to others not to shrink 
 from their duty ; and it has shown that you felt the in- 
 tense sympathy which the English people evinced, and still 
 evince, in your great misfortune. 
 
 How to-day recalls those bright and happy former years ! 
 There is no cloud without a silver lining, and the lining to 
 the black cloud which overshadows your existence is the 
 bright recollection of the past blending into the bright 
 hope of a happy future ; a small part of it also is the in- 
 tense love of your children and nation, which casts a light 
 around you which many live to enjoy and admire, and 
 wdiich few — if any — possess like you. I wish I could have 
 sent a fine nosegay of orange blossoms for to-day, but 
 they could not have arrived fresh, so I gave it up, 
 
 Louis sends his tenderest love, and wishes me to say 
 how much his thoughts with mine are to-day constantly 
 with you. He is very industrious, and has a great deal to 
 do now, and, I hear, does all very well. 
 
 * The opening of Parliament by the Queen for the first time after the 
 death of the Prince Consort. 
 
128 LETTERS 1866 
 
 Darmstadt : February 15. 
 
 How dear of you to have written to me on the 10th — 
 a day of such recollections ! That last happy wedding-day 
 at Buckingham Palace, how well I remember it, and all the 
 previous ones at Windsor, when we all stood before your 
 door, waiting for you and dear Papa to come out. You 
 both looked so young, bright, and handsome. As I grew 
 older, it made me so proud to have two such dear parents ! 
 And that my children should never know you both together 
 — that will remain a sorrow to me as long as I live. 
 
 March 16. 
 
 How trying the visit to Aldershot must have been, 
 but it is so wise and kind of you to go. I cannot think 
 of it without tears in my eyes. Formerly that was one 
 of the greatest pleasures of my girlhood, and you and 
 darling Papa looked so handsome together. I so enjoyed 
 following you on those occasions. Such moments I should 
 like to call back for an instant. 
 
 Our house here is quite empty, and the demenagement 
 creates such work. To-morrow night we sleep for the first 
 time in the new house. 
 
 March 17. 
 
 I write from our dear little old house. May dear 
 Papa's and your blessing rest on our new home, as I am 
 sure it will ! It is full of souvenu's of you both — all your 
 pictures, photographs of dear brothers and sisters and 
 home. It remmds me a little of Osborne, of Buckingham 
 Palace, a little even of Balmoral. Could I but show it to 
 darling Papa ! If I have any taste, I owe it all to him, 
 and I learned so much by seeing him arrange pictures, 
 rooms, &c. 
 
 At half-past seven we go into our house to-night. 
 
i866 THE NEW PALACE. 129 
 
 Bender is to say a prayer and pronounce a blessing, when 
 we with all our household are assembled in hall ; only 
 Louis's parents and William besides ourselves. Yours and 
 dear Papa's I pray to rest on us. 
 
 March 20. 
 
 That [the death of the Duchess of Kent] was the 
 commencement of all the grief; but with darling Papa, 
 so full of tenderness, sympathy and delicate feeling for 
 you, how comparatively easy to bear, compared to all that 
 followed ! 
 
 . . . We are very comfortably established here, and I 
 can't fancy that I am in Germany, the house and all its 
 arrangements being so English. When can we hope once 
 to have you here ? Of course that is the summit of our 
 wishes. Your rooms are on the east side and very cool — 
 as you always go abroad when it is hot, and suffer so 
 much from the heat. I shall die of it this year, as my 
 rooms are to the west. 
 
 March 24. 
 
 . . . Our Grand-Uncle of Homburg has just died, 
 so that Homburg falls to Uncle Louis now. But all the 
 things of the Landgravine Elizabeth go to Princess Eeuss, 
 and her [Aunt Elizabeth's'*] rooms are full of beautiful 
 miniatures, oil-paintings, and ornaments en masse, like 
 Gloucester House. 
 
 I shall be so glad to see dear Affie. His 'rooms are to 
 be ready by this evening. The house is very comfortable, 
 but the weather is awful — wind, rain, and sleet. In spite 
 of it the house is so cheerful. 
 
 Dear Lady Frances Baillie was with me on Thursday, 
 so dear and charming. 
 
 ^ Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain and Ireland, Princess Alice's 
 grand-aunt. 
 
130 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 April 2. 
 
 . . . We are living in such a state of anxiety and 
 alarm. "War ^ would be too fearful a thing to contemplate — 
 brother against brother, friend against friend, as it will be 
 in this case ! May the Almighty avert so fearful a cala- 
 mity ! Here, at Mayenee and Frankfort, it will begin, if 
 anything happens, as there are mixed garrisons ; and we 
 must side with one against the other. For Henry,^ who is 
 still here, it is dreadful. He can't desert at such a moment, 
 and yet if he should have to draw his sword against his 
 country, his brothers fighting on the other side ! Fancy 
 the complications and horrors of such a war ! 
 
 For Vicky and Fritz it is really dreadful ; please let me 
 hear by messenger what you hear from them. I am sure 
 you think of us in these troubled times. What would dear 
 Papa have said to all this ? I long to hear from you, to 
 know that your warm heart is acting for Germany. 
 
 March 26. 
 
 . . . The dear old Queen Marie Amelie ^ is gone to 
 her rest at last, after a long and so stormy a life ! Clare- 
 mont is now also altered. How sad those constant changes 
 are ! It reminds one again and again that we are on a 
 journey, and that the real home is elsewhere. All those 
 who work hard and love their fellow-creatures meet again, 
 and the thorny path will be forgotten which leads to the 
 happy meeting. I sincerely mourn for the dear Queen, 
 and she was so kind to me always. I am glad she was one 
 of Victoria's godmothers. 
 
 * War between Prussia and Austria was now imminent. 
 ' Prince Henry of Hesse, Prince Louis' second brother. 
 
 * Widow of King Louis Philippe. 
 
i866 PROSPECTS OF WAR. 131 
 
 April 7. 
 . . . Onr Bazaar goes off wonderfully : 7,000 florins 
 the first day, and to-day again a great deal. Affie was 
 invaluable in arranging, selling, and assisting in ever}' way. 
 There have been crowds these two days, as in England : 
 something quite unusual for the quiet inhabitants of this 
 place. They have shown so much zeal and devotion that 
 I am quite touched by it, as I am more or less a stranger 
 to them. 
 
 April 25. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear lines, and for the 
 money and charming bas-relief of you, which I think very 
 good. I thought so much of former birthdays at home 
 in Buckingham Palace. They were so happ3^ We did 
 nothing in particular ; merely dined at Kranichstein with 
 Uncle Louis in the afternoon. It was warm and fine. 
 
 May 3. 
 
 . . . The prospect of war seems to be ncaring reali- 
 sation. It will be so dreadful if it does. God be with us, 
 if such a misfortune befaU poor Germany ! These pro- 
 spects have already done much harm to trade. The large 
 manufactories send away their su])erfluous workmen, and 
 they sell next to nothmg. Most unpopular amongst high 
 and low, and amongst people of all opinions, this civil war 
 will be. . . . 
 
 I have made all the summer out-walking dresses, seven 
 in number, with paletots for the girls — not embroidered, 
 but entirely made from beginning to end ; likewise the new 
 necessary flannel shawls for the expected. I manage all 
 the nm'sery accounts, and everjiihing mj^self, which gives 
 me plenty to do, as everything increases, and, on account of 
 the house, we must live re?-?/ economically for these next years. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 If there is a war then, and Louis is away, what shall I 
 do ? This is my constant dread and apprehension. As long 
 as he comes home safe again — that is all I shall think of. 
 Please God to spare me that fearful anxiety, which weighs 
 on me now already ; for he, having only a brigade, could 
 not keep out of danger, like Fritz ^ in Schleswig. 
 
 I put my trust wholly in the Almighty, who has watched 
 over and blessed our life so richly thus far — so much, much 
 more than I ever deserved, or can deserve ; and He will 
 not forsake us in the hour of need, I am sure. 
 
 These dangerous times make one very serious and 
 anxious ; the comfort of faith and trust in God, who does 
 all well and for the best, is the only support. Life is 
 but a pilgrimage — a little more or a little less sorrow falls 
 to one's lot ; but the anticipation of evil is almost as 
 great a suffering as the evil itself, and mine always was an 
 anxious nature, so I cannot banish the thoughts which all 
 the dreadful chances of war force upon one. 
 
 May 7. 
 
 ... I am so sorry for poor Louise and Beatrice, 
 and whooping cough is a nasty thing, though I wish we 
 could complain of that as our sufferings here. Anxiety, 
 worry without end ! 
 
 Uncle Alexander returned from Vienna two days ago. 
 The Emperor, Uncle Alexander Mensdorff, all frantic at 
 being forced into war, but fearing now no more being able 
 to prevent it. Cannot the other three Powers interfere and 
 step between at this dangerous crisis — proposing a Con- 
 gress, or anything, so as to avert this calamity ? 
 
 Henry, who was here on six weeks' leave, as he and 
 Uncle Louis were to have gone to Piussia (which now, of 
 course, they won't do), had suddenly to return to Bonn, as 
 
 * Crown Prince of Prussia. 
 
i866 MOBILISATION OF THE ARMY. 133 
 
 his regiment is made mohil. Uncle Alexander receives the 
 command of the 8th Armeecorps, which I suppose and 
 hope will be stationed somewhere near here, as Louis is in 
 that, and is to go. He means to go to Berlin this after- 
 noon for a day to see Fritz, and tell him how circumstances 
 now force him to draw his sword against the Prussians in 
 the service of his own country. The whole thing is dread- 
 ful, and the prospect of being left alone here at such a 
 moment (for all our people, nearly, will accompany Louis) 
 is dreadful ! If I were only over my troubles I should not 
 be so anxious, so nervous and unhappy, as I must say the 
 anticipation of all these dreadful things makes me. Could 
 I follow in the distance ! But now that is impossible, and 
 I have not a single older married person near me. When 
 dear Louis goes, of course Westerweller goes too. I still 
 pray and hope against hope that there may be no war ; 
 even if all the troops arc assembled, I hope that the other 
 Powers will interfere, and not look on whilst these brothers 
 cut each other's throats. It is such an unnatm'al, mon- 
 strous war ! 
 
 May 18. 
 
 . . . How glad I am to hear that Lord Clarendon 
 is still hopeful ! Here as yet, though there is no distinct 
 reason for it, save the repugnance of all to this civil war, 
 all still hope to avoid the war. Every day we have occa- 
 sion to hear how the Prussians detest this war — army and 
 all — and there are constant rows, with the Landwehr in 
 particular. Men of forty, who have families and homes 
 to look after, are taken away with their sons ; and those 
 who have horses are also taken, with their horses : so that 
 the wife and children sit at home, unable to do anything for 
 their land. It is ruining numbers, and mm-murs get louder 
 and louder. A revolution must break out if this continues. 
 
134 
 
 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 ... I do pray most fervently that the King will listen 
 to the just advice, in no way derogatory to his dignity, of 
 placing the hated question of the Duchies before the Con- 
 federation ; but I fear he won't. If he would only listen 
 to that advice and disarm, all Germany would do it at 
 once — only too gladly — forgetting all the losses in the hap- 
 piness of peace restored. Forgive my stuiml letter, but we 
 live really so in the midst of these affairs, on which our 
 existence will turn, that I can think of nothing else. 
 
 Austria can't hold out much longer, and the country is 
 getting very violent against the King and Bismarck. The 
 Emperor is less able to concede and keep peace. 
 
 Now good-bye, dearest Mama. We are so grateful to 
 you for taking the children, if anything comes to pass. 
 
 May 22. 
 
 .■ . . Anything you hear of Vicky and Fritz, will 
 you write it to me ? . . . The cloud grows blacker every day, 
 and the anxiety we all live in is very great. But I ought 
 not to write to you to-day of such gloomy things, which, 
 thank God, you only see and hear of from the other side of 
 the water. 
 
 May 25. 
 . . . The Duke and Duchess of Nassau were here 
 yesterday. They, like me, are in such an unpleasant posi- 
 tion, should it come to blows, which I still hope may be 
 averted — for why should we harmless mortals be at- 
 tacked ? 
 
 . . . We shall be beggars very soon, if all goes on as it 
 promises to do ; it is quite dreadful, and the want of other 
 people (and dissatisfaction) increases. ... I have ordered 
 a good travelling-bag for Louis, for much the same reason 
 that some people take out an umbrella in fine weather to 
 
i866 WAR BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND PRUSSIA. 135 
 
 keep off the rain, and this is to be against a war. ... I 
 have a sort of Alinung [presentiment] that it won't come 
 to the worst — for us at least— and here we shall keep so 
 quiet, only on the defensive, if attacked. 
 
 May 28. 
 
 . . . There seems a little chance of the dreadful 
 prospects being bettered. How I do pray it may be the 
 commencement of a better time ; and that, if peace be esta- 
 blished, it may be so firndi/, so that one may not live in the 
 daily dread of new quarrels re-opening between the two 
 countries. . . . 
 
 June 8. 
 
 . . . How precious are your words of love and 
 sympathy and the hope you still hold to, that war may 
 somehow be averted ! It does me good to hear it ; and I 
 know how much, and how lovingly, your thoughts dwell 
 with dear Vicky and with me during this time of trial. . . . 
 
 June 13. 
 
 ... I fear if the Bund orders the mobilisation, and 
 goes against Prussia, our troops will be the first to go, and 
 then Louis may get orders to be off any day. It is too 
 dreadful ! I live in such dread that he may have to go 
 just before, or at the very moment of, my confinement. . . . 
 I hope Scotland will do you good. Please God, when 
 you return matters may be better. If Austria and Prussia 
 would only fight out their quarrel together ; but the latter 
 has taken refuge with the Bund now, because she wanted it. 
 
 Darmstadt : June 15. 
 
 . . . The serious illness of poor little Sigismund ' in 
 the midst of all these troubles is really dreadful for poor 
 
 ' Son of the Cro\\Ti Prince and Princess of Prussia. See ante, p. 101. 
 
136 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 Vicky and Fritz, and they are so fond of that merry Httle 
 child. 
 
 We have just received the news that the Prussians have 
 crossed our frontier and estabHshed themselves at Giessen. 
 The excitement here is dreadful, and it is very difficult to 
 keep people back from doing stupid things — wanting to 
 attack, and so on, which with our force alone would be 
 madness. 
 
 Louis— as always — remains quiet ; but we live in a per- 
 petual fever, alarms being sent, being gehetzt [stirred up] 
 from Vienna, as they want the Bund to go with them at 
 once. It is a dreadful time. I anticipate it will be the 
 close of the existence of the little countries. God stand by 
 us ! Without the civil list Uncle Louis and the family are 
 beggars, as all the private property belongs to the country. 
 
 It is so kind of dear Lady Ely to offer to come. I shall 
 be very glad of it, for from one day to another I don't know 
 what Louis' duties may be ; and, when I am laid up, it is 
 so pleasant to have someone who can write to you. 
 
 June 18. 
 
 These lines I send by our children, whom you so 
 kindly will take charge of — alas, that the times should be 
 such as to make this necessary ! In your dear hands they 
 will be so safe ; and if we can give you a little pleasure in 
 sending them, it would be a real consolation in parting 
 from them, which we both feel very much. 
 
 The state of excitement here is beyond description. 
 Troops arriving, being billeted about — all will be concen- 
 trated from here to Frankfort. Two days ago the Bund 
 telegraphed for Uncle Alexander to come, as the Prussians 
 were advancing; we, of course, were all unprepared, and 
 the confusion and fright were dreadful ; but, thank God, 
 
i866 FIELD HOSPITALS. I37 
 
 they retreated again, when the}^ got wmd that troops were 
 assembhng. . . . 
 
 June 24. 
 
 . . . The state of affairs is awful ; perpetual frights 
 and false news arrive. The Prussians are coming from 
 Wetzlar or Bingen ; all the bustle and alarm for necessary 
 defence ; it is really di-eadful. Louis' chief has his staff 
 at Frankfort. Louis' cavalry brigade is there likewise, so 
 he has his adjutant, &c., there, and does his work early in 
 the mornmg at Frankfort, returning here in the after- 
 noon, which has been kindly allowed on account of me. I 
 remain here, of course, as near dear Louis as I can ; and 
 now that the children are gone, I have only myself to look 
 after. ... I have not the least fear, but my anxiety about 
 Louis will be very great, as you can imagine. . . . Collec- 
 tions are already being made for the hospitals in the field, 
 and the necessary things to be got for the soldiers. Illness 
 and wounds will be dreadful in this heat. Coarse linen 
 and rags are the things of which one can't have enough, 
 and I am working, collecting shirts, sheets, &c. ; and now 
 I come to ask, if you could send me some old linen for rags. 
 In your numerous households it is collected twice a year 
 and sent to hospitals. Could I beg for some this time? 
 It would be such a blessing for the poor Germans; and 
 here they are not so rich, and that is a thing of which in 
 every war there has been too little. Lint I have ordered 
 from England by wish of the doctors ; and bandages also 
 they wished for. If you could, through Dr. Jenner, procure 
 me some of these things, I should be so grateful. . . . Four 
 dozen shirts we are making in the house. Every contribu- 
 tion of linen, or of patterns of good cushions, or any good 
 bed which in the English hospitals has been found useful, 
 we should be delighted to have. . . . For the moment the 
 
138 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 people beg most for rags ; our house being new, we have 
 none. I am tolerably well, and cannot be too thankful for 
 good nerves. Louis is very low at times, nervous at leaving 
 me ; and for him I keep up, though at times not without a 
 struggle. May the Almighty watch over us, and not sepa- 
 rate us, is my hourly prayer ! 
 
 In your hands we feel the children so safe, though we 
 miss them much. It is so kind of you to have taken them, 
 and they are strong and healthy. . . . 
 
 June 25. 
 
 Two words by Lady Ely's courier. I am so glad 
 she is here. She performed the journey in a day and 
 night without difficulty ; and Christa, who merely came 
 from Cassel, took three days coming by road. 
 
 Alas ! to-morrow Louis' division moves on into the 
 country to make room for other troops, and he must go. 
 It will be too far for him to return — save with special per- 
 mission for a few hours — so we shall have to part. My 
 courage is beginning to fail me, but I bear up as best I 
 can. God knows what a bitter trial it is ! He is just in 
 front, so the first exposed. William is to go in Uncle 
 Alex's staff, and my poor mama-in-law is beginning to 
 break down now. We try to cheer each other. The whole 
 thing is so hard : against her countrymen — there where 
 Louis has served. The whole thing is so contre-cceur, and 
 the Prussian soldiers dislike it as much as we do. 
 
 I am going to Frankfort with ever so many poor wives 
 to take leave of their husbands, who march to-day. 
 
 The heat is awful. I have no time to think of myself, 
 or I dare say I should have heat, &c., to complain of. Being 
 still off and on with Louis, and having things to do, keeps 
 me up ; but when he is gone, and I have no man here to 
 reassure me, it will be dreadful. 
 
i866 THE SEVEN WEEKS' WAR. 139 
 
 I must close. . . . Letters from home now are such a 
 pleasure ; do let anyone write to me sometunes to give me 
 
 news of you all. 
 
 Your own child, 
 
 Alice. 
 
 Darmstadt : July 1. 
 
 . . . The parting now was so hard ! and he feels it 
 so dreadfully. I can scarcely manage to write. The heat, 
 besides, is overpowering. Our dear wedding-day four years 
 ago ! Four years of undisturbed, real, and increasing hajjpi- 
 ness. How I thank and bless the Almighty for them, and 
 how fervently I pray that we may live over this most bitter 
 trial ! 
 
 . . . "\\Tbiether Henry is engaged or not we don't know, 
 and can get no news of him. At any rate he is cut off 
 from news of us and the rest of Germany ; and, as our 
 army is moving, and he is on the extreme wing, at any 
 moment he may find himself opposite to his own brothers 
 and countrymen. It is most painful, and has been to my 
 poor father-in-law a great shock, as we all hoped he had got 
 away. Please let my brothers know this. They will feel for 
 this unheard-of position for three brothers to be in. . . . 
 
 Dear Lady Ely is a comfort and support to me, and it 
 was quite a relief to Louis to leave her with me. We are 
 both so grateful that she came. Christa is quite out of 
 sorts about her country, and sees everything black. Marie 
 is low about her brother ; and we are so in the middle of 
 it all, that an English person who has no one concerned 
 in it all is reallj^ a relief. 
 
 I am so glad that you are pleased with the little ones. 
 You will be sure, I know, not to let them get in the way of 
 infection, if there is still any. 
 
I40 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 July 3. 
 . . . Poor Vicky ! She bears her trial [the death 
 of her son, Prince Sigismiincl] bravely, and it is a heavy 
 one indeed. This dreadful war is enough to break one's 
 heart. Those lives sacrificed for nothing — and what will be 
 the end of it all ? All our troops are gone now, too, and, 
 what is so unpleasant, of course we here don't know where 
 they go to — where they are. Letters are fetched by the 
 Feldpost, and as they are chiefly not near the railroads — 
 at least not Louis — we cannot telegraph. At such a moment 
 I know dear Louis fidgets dreadfully for news, and I not 
 less. Since he has gone I have heard nothing. 
 
 I am so very uncomfortable, and it wants courage and 
 patience and hope, under such circumstances, to bear all. 
 Of course anxiety about beloved Louis is the chief thing, 
 and longing for news. The Prussians are collecting a large 
 army near Thiiringen, in w^hich direction ours are march- 
 ing. Probably Uncle Ernest against ours ! He might so 
 well have remained quiet, and sent his troops to Mayence, 
 as was settled. 
 
 For dear Lenchen's wedding-day receive every warm 
 and affectionate wish. May God's blessing rest on their 
 union ! I am so glad you are pleased with the dear child- 
 ren. I have already found that likeness in Ella to Affie's 
 picture by Thorburn, but she is so like dear Louis. 
 
 July 6. 
 . . . There seems a chance of an armistice.^ I trust 
 it is so, and that peace will ensue. The enormous blood- 
 shed on both sides this fortnight is too awful to think of.* 
 
 - An armistice of five days was agreed upon on July 22. 
 3 On June 27, the Austrians had been defeated after a stubborn fight at 
 Nachod, ^\'ith a loss of over six thousand men killed. Other battles took 
 
1866 BIRTH OF PRINCESS IRENE. 141 
 
 Poor Austria ! it is bard for her. But as she is said to be 
 ready to cede Venice, then at least the Italian war will be 
 at an end. 
 
 Surely the neutral Powers will try and prevent Austria 
 and Prussia beginning again ; it is too horrid ! 
 
 The rest of Germany now must knock under ; but that 
 is better than again shedding so much blood on the chance 
 of getting the upper hand. 
 
 I have had some lines from dear Louis from the north 
 of Hesse. He is well ; how I do hope now that they won't 
 come to blows. 
 
 How kind of you to give the children frocks for the 
 wedding ! Will you kiss the dear little ones from me ? I 
 miss them very much. 
 
 Beloved Mama, Darmstadt : July 19. 
 
 What a time I have passed dm-ing these eight days 
 since Baby's birth ! ■* Firstly, I have to thank the Almighty 
 for having preserved my own sweet and adored husband, 
 and for the blessing of having had him by me, so dear, so 
 precious, during my confinement. After three days he had 
 to go, and when he got near Aschaffenburg found fighting 
 going on.- We could hear the guns here. The Prussians 
 shot from the roofs of the houses ; they fought in the 
 streets ; it must have been horrid. Our troops retreated 
 (as had always been intended) in perfect order. The 
 wounded were brought in here the following day. The 13th 
 and 14th they fought. Louis was there on the 14th ; since 
 then I have not seen him — God knows when I shall again. 
 
 place within a few days at Podoll, Miinchengratz, and Trautenau. On 
 July 3 was fought the decisive battle of Sadowa, in which the Austrians are 
 said to have lost nearly forty thousand men. 
 
 * Irene, born July 12, 1866. 
 
 * On July 1-1 the German Federal troops were defeated at Aschaffenburg. 
 
142 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 The Prussians have taken Frankfort, and they are at 
 home here. No communications allowed; get no pajpers 
 or letters ; may send none ! An existence of monstrous 
 anxiety and worry, which it is impossible for those to 
 imagine who have not lived through it. 
 
 I had a letter from Louis from the Odenwald this morn- 
 ing, written yesterday. They expected to pass Amorbach 
 to-day. They are trying to meet the Bavarians, who are 
 never to be found. 
 
 I long for a letter from you. We have none at all, and 
 I have had none from you since Baby's birth. The people, 
 who are such cowards and so silly, fly from here in all 
 available droschkies. 
 
 Hoiv I pray some end may soon come to this horrid 
 bloodshed ! Ah ! the misery around us you can't imagine. 
 Henry has never received his discharge, and has gone un- 
 scathed, in spite of being so exposed through all these battles. 
 
 I myself am very well, and I don't give way, though 
 the anxiety about Louis leaves me no peace. 
 
 Baby is well and very pretty. The time she came at 
 prevented a thought of disappointment at her being a girl. 
 Only gratitude to the Almighty filled our hearts, that I and 
 the child were well, and that dear Louis and I were to- 
 gether at the time. The times are hard ; it wants all 
 a Christian's courage and patience to carry one through 
 them ; but there is one Friend who in the time of need 
 does not forsake one, and He is my comfort and support. 
 God bless you, my own Mama, and pray for your child, 
 
 Alice. 
 
 Friday, July 27, 9 o'clock p.m. 
 At this moment the messenger has arrived, to leave 
 again at five to-morrow morning. A thousand thanks for 
 
i866 SUSPENSE AND ANXIETY. 143 
 
 your dear letter, the first I have received since Baby's 
 birth ! 
 
 To-night (since Sunday no news of Louis) at length I 
 have heard that dear Louis is well. These last four daj^s 
 they have been fighting again. I had a few lines from him. 
 These last two nights he slept in a field, and the country is 
 so poor that they had nothing but a little bread during two 
 days to eat. Now the Prussians, having made peace with 
 Austria, and having refused it to us, are advancing on our 
 troops from three sides. 
 
 I can scarcely write ; this anxiety is killing me, and my 
 love has been so exposed ! All are in admiration of his 
 personal bravery and tender attention to the suffering and 
 want of all around. He never thinks of himself, and shares 
 all the dangers and privations with the others. 
 
 Louis says they long for peace. He disapproves the 
 different Governments for not now giving way to Prussia, 
 and begs me to use my influence with Uncle Louis to accept 
 Prussian conditions to spare further bloodshed. 
 
 From all parts of the country the people beg me to do 
 what I can. 
 
 The confusion here is awful, the want of money alarm- 
 ing ; right and left one must help. As the Prussians 
 pillaged here, I have many people's things hidden in the 
 house. Even whilst in bed I had to see gentlemen in my 
 room, as there were things to be done and asked which 
 had to come straight to me. Then our poor wounded — 
 the wives and mothers begging I should inquire for their 
 husbands and children. It is a state of affairs too di'eadful 
 to describe. 
 
 The new anxiety to-night of knowing a dreadful battle 
 is expected, perhaps going on, in which dear Louis again 
 must be ! I can scarcely bear up any longer ; I feel it is 
 
144 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 getting too much. God Almighty stand by us ! My 
 courage is beginning to sink. I see no hght anywhere ; 
 and my own beloved husband still in danger, and we 
 cannot hear, for the Prussians are between us and them. 
 Anything may have happened to him, and I can't hear it 
 or know it ! I could not go to him were he wounded. 
 
 Wliat I have suffered and do suffer no words can de- 
 scribe — the sleepless nights of anxiety, the long days with- 
 out news — hoiv I pray it may soon end, and dear darling 
 Louis be spared me ! 
 
 In these days I have so longed to hear from you. It 
 would have been such a comfort, and I longed for it much. 
 
 If we live, and peace is restored, the country and every- 
 thing will be in such a mess, and both of us in such want 
 of change, that we must go somewhere ; but we shall then, 
 I fear, be next to ruined. You can't think what war m 
 one's own country- — in a little one like this — is ! The want 
 is fearful. I must go to bed, as it is late. I am well, so is 
 the little one ; but I can't sleep or eat well all along ; and 
 the worry of mind and much to do keep me weak. 
 
 Oh, that we were together again ! Good-bye, beloved 
 Mama. These next days I fear will be dreadful. May the 
 Almighty watch over dear Louis ! You will pray for him, 
 won't you ? 
 
 P.S. — The standard of Louis' cavalry regiment, which 
 they did not take with them, and which is usually kept at 
 the Schloss, is in my room for safety. 
 
 Forgive the shocking writing, but I am so upset to-night, 
 since my messenger of Tuesday returned with Louis' letter. 
 
 Darmstadt : August 4. 
 
 . . . The linen, &c., for the wounded has arrived, 
 and been so useful : a thousand thanks for it ! Matters 
 
i866 THE PRUSSIANS IN DARMSTADT. 145 
 
 here change from one day to another, and I hope Louis 
 may soon be able to return with the troops. Uncle Louis 
 I do hope and pray will then return, and I hope he will 
 regain the favour which he had lost, for any change now 
 would be dreadful. 
 
 My father-in-law is really in such a state since these 
 events, and his nerves so shattered, that my mother-in-law 
 trembles for him, and tries to keep him out of all. He is 
 so angry, so heartbroken at the loss of Oberhesscn, which 
 is probable, that he wishes not to outlive it. My poor 
 mama-in-law burst into tears this morning in my room, 
 where this scene took place. 
 
 I have just returned from having been to enquu'e after 
 the wounded at the different hospitals and houses, which 
 are filling fast, as they can be brought from Aschaffenburg, 
 Laufach, &c. As soon as I am better, I will go to them 
 myself ; but the close and crowded wards turn one easily faint. 
 
 Becker saw Louis three days ago, and accompanied him 
 to Munich for a day. I hear he is well, though for six 
 nights he had slept out of doors, and the last three nights 
 it had poured incessantly ; and all that time — on account 
 of ours not having a truce, and expecting to be attacked — 
 they were, being such a mass together, without provisions, 
 barely a morsel of bread. I am so distressed about poor 
 Anton Hohenzollern ^ and Obernitz ; so many acquaintances 
 and friends have fallen on both sides, it is dreadful ! 
 
 The town is full of Prussians. I hope they will not re- 
 main too long, for they pay for nothing, and the poor 
 inhabitants suffer so much. There is cholera in the Prus- 
 sian army, and one soldier lies here ill of it. I hope it 
 won't spread. 
 
 * Prince Anton Hohenzollern, son of Prince Hohenzollern. He died 
 from diphtheria in a hospital, the result of a wound received during the war. 
 
146 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 August 13. 
 
 . . . It is fearful. Those who have seen the misery 
 war brings with it, near by — the sufferings, the horror — 
 know well what a scourge it is. May the Almighty spare 
 our poor Germany this new evil ! I forgot to thank you 
 in Louis' name, as he had told me, for your letter, which 
 he found here on his return. He is to-day still at Berlin, 
 and we are so grateful for your having written to good 
 Fritz. What he can do I know he will. 
 
 Uncle Louis is still at Munich, and I don't think he 
 will abdicate ; besides, he is at this moment doing what 
 his country wishes. 
 
 I received a letter from Julie Battenberg,^ saying wha,t 
 Uncle Alexander had written to her about Louis : * Le 
 Prince Alexandre m'ecrit qu'il a obtenu du Grand Due la 
 demission de Perglas ' (who commanded the troops so badly), 
 ' et la nomination du Prince Louis en commandement de 
 nos troupes ; il me dit a cette occasion que votre Mari 
 pendant cette triste campagne s'est fait aimer et apprecier 
 de tout le monde, qu'il s'est fait une excellente reputation, 
 et qu'il sera re9U a bras ouverts par la troupe.' ... It is a 
 large command for one so young, and with so little experi- 
 ence — all the more so, as we don't know how long peace 
 may last. He is sent to Berlin, as the country all look to 
 Louis to prevent new evil ; and all this without poor Louis 
 having any direct position of heir to be able to enforce his 
 opinion. He has no easy life of it. 
 
 The horse you gave Louis he rode in the different 
 engagements, and praised him very much. He stood the 
 fire quite well, but not the bursting of the shells close by. 
 
 About the children, the 23rd is quite soon enough for 
 their departure. 
 
 ' Princess Battenberg, wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse. 
 
i866 CARE OF THE WOUNDED.- 147 
 
 We shall not call baby ' Irene,' unless all seems really 
 peaceful, and at this moment it does not look promising. 
 I am ver}^ sad and dismayed at the whole look-out. My 
 mother-in-law was so pleased with your letter, and thanks 
 you warmly for it. 
 
 Nierstein, Gelbes Haus : August 17. 
 This dear day makes me think so much of you, of 
 home, and of those two dear ones whose memories are so 
 precious, and who live on with us, and make me often 
 think that we had parted only yesterday. 
 
 We are so pleased at your saying that you claim Louis 
 as your son. He always considers himself in particular 
 your child, and if anj^thing helps to stimulate him in doing 
 his duty well, it is the sincere wish of being worth}' to claim 
 and deserve that title. Darling Papa would be proud of 
 him, and pleased to see how earnestly he takes his duties, 
 and how conscientiously and unselfishly he fulfils them, 
 for he has had and still has many trials — things I can tell 
 you of when we meet again. 
 
 Life is such a pilgrimage, and so uncertain is its dura- 
 tion, that all minor troubles are forgotten and easily borne, 
 when one thinks what one must live for. 
 
 Before leaving Darmstadt yesterday to come here, we 
 went to see some of the wounded again. One poor man 
 had died since I was last there : he had been so patient, 
 and had suffered so much. Another had had an operation 
 performed and was very low — he was crjang like a child. I 
 could scarcely comfort him ; he held my hand and alwaj's 
 moaned out 'Es brcnnt so' [It burns so]. Such nice 
 people most of those young men are — very young, and for 
 that class so well educated. All who are well enough are 
 reading. 
 
 I must praise the ventilation and cleanliness in the 
 
 L 2 
 
148 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 different hospitals ; in these things they have made won- 
 derful progress here. 
 
 We are here in Eheinhessen, as Louis has to take his 
 command. This place, Nierstein, lies between Worms and 
 Mayence, and all our troops are quartered about here. 
 Louis' staff is at Worms, where he himself is to-day, and 
 was already last night. 
 
 He was more hopeful about the prospects for Oberhessen 
 on his return from Berlin, and had been so kindly received 
 by dear Vicky and Fritz. 
 
 When Louis wrote his Farewell to his cavalry brigade 
 (who are so sorry to lose him), as a remembrance that he 
 and they had stood in the field together for their first cam- 
 paign, he asked these two regiments, officers and men, to 
 stand sponsors to Baby, as she was born during that time, 
 and they are delighted, but wish the child to have one of 
 their names ! We wait till the troops can come home to 
 christen Baby, on that account. ... I don't think we 
 shall be here very long. Whenever the Prussians leave 
 Darmstadt, we can return. 
 
 Nierstein, Gelbes Haus : August 21. 
 
 . . . We are here still, and all our troops, and Louis 
 has a great deal to do. To-morrow the armistice is over, 
 and at present we have no news as to its prolongation or 
 the settlement of peace ; but it must be one or other. A 
 little private war of Prussia against us would be absurd and 
 impossible, so the troops remain quartered in the different 
 villages about here. The country here is so rich and 
 fertile, the villages so clean, with such good houses ; but 
 the people are blessed with children to an extraordinary ex- 
 tent ! It is the most richly poj)ulated part of all Germany, 
 and there are more people on the square mile than in 
 England. 
 
i866 END OF THE WAR. 149 
 
 The change of air— though it is but two hours from 
 Darmstadt — has done me good, and if later, through your 
 great kindness, a Httle journej^ should be possible to us, it 
 would be very beneficial to both of us. 
 
 This house is quite close to the Ehine, and this instant 
 our pioneers have come b}^ from Worms on their pontoon 
 bridge singing a quartett, about twenty or thirty men. It 
 looks so pretty, and they sing so beautifully. On their 
 marches the soldiers alwa3's sing, and they have so many 
 beautiful songs, such as : * Der gute Kamerad.' The Ger- 
 mans are such a gcmiitliUcJi [simple, kindly, sociable] people. 
 The more one lives with them, the more one learns to a]">iu'e- 
 ciate them. It is a fine nation. God grant this war, which 
 has produced so many heroes, and cost so many gallant lives, 
 may not have been in vain, and that at length Germany 
 may become a mighty, powerful Power ! It will then be 
 the first in the world, where the great ideas and thoughts 
 come from, free from narrow-minded prejudice, and when 
 once the Germans have attained political freedom, they will 
 be lastingly happy and united. 
 
 But the present state of things is sad, though one should 
 not despair of some good resulting from it. 
 
 My letter is quite confused. I beg a thousand pardons 
 for it, but I have been interrupted so often. 
 
 Gelbes Haus : August 29. 
 
 . . . The children arrived well and safe, and in such 
 good looks. It was a great pleasure to see them again ; 
 and I tried to make Victoria tell me as much as possible of 
 dear Grandma and uncles and aunts, and when she is not 
 absent-minded she is very communicative. How much we 
 thank you, darling Mama, for having kept them and been so 
 good to them, I can't tell you. This change has been so 
 
I50 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 good for them ; for now there are both cholera and small-pox 
 at Darmstadt, which is still full of Prussian soldiers. More 
 have come, and our peace is not yet concluded. I hope it 
 is no bad sign, and that the hopes of losing less will not 
 disappear. 
 
 "We were only in Darmstadt for the day when the chil- 
 dren arrived, and we go there for a few hours to-morrow 
 on business. Louis has a great deal to do, and all the 
 military things are in his hands. 
 
 I am not feeling very well. The air here after a few 
 days is relaxing, and I begin to feel more what a strain 
 there has been on my nerves during this time. I have 
 such a pain in my side again. Mountain air Weber wants 
 me to have, and quiet, away from all bothers ; but I fear 
 that is impossible 7101c, on account of Louis not being able 
 to leave — and then financially. 
 
 I have some Heimweh [home-sickness] after dear England, 
 Balmoral, and all at home, I own, though the joy of being near 
 dear Louis agam is so great ! But life is meant for work, and 
 not for pleasure, and I learn more and more to be grateful 
 and content with that which the Almighty sends me, and to 
 find the sunshine in spite of the clouds ; for when one has 
 one's beloved, adored husband by one's side, what is there 
 in the world that is too heavy to bear ? My own darling 
 Mama, when I think of darling Papa and of you, and that 
 he is not visible at your side now, I long to clasp you to my 
 heart, in some way to cheer the loneliness which is a poor 
 widow's lot. Oh, none in the world is harder than that ! 
 
 Darmstadt : August 31. 
 
 . . . Thank you for telling me hovr you spent that 
 dear day; it must have been peaceful and solemn, the 
 beautiful countrv harmonising well with the thoughts of 
 
i866 CONCLUSION OF PEACE 151 
 
 that great and beautiful soul which ever lives on with us. 
 He remains nearer and nearer to me, and the recollection 
 of many things dear Papa told me is a help and a stay in my 
 actions, particularly of late. The separation seems so short. 
 I can see him and hear him speak so plainly. Alas ! my 
 children have never seen him. Through you, darling Mama, 
 and in your rooms, and at your side, they must learn to 
 know him, that they may become worthy of their descent. 
 
 Yesterday we saw the children. Victoria is not quite 
 well, but Ella is well, and won't leave me when I come into 
 the room ; she keeps kissing me and putting her fat arms 
 round my neck. There is each time a scene when I go 
 away. She is so affectionate : so is dear Victoria. I send 
 you a photograph of our smallest, who is such a pretty 
 chOd, and very good. 
 
 The peace is not concluded yet ; more Prussians have 
 been quartered in and around Darmstadt. The people are 
 very angry at this lasting so long. . , . They believe it is 
 Strafcinquartk'rnnn [done to punish us]. Nothing is settled 
 as to what we keep or lose, and we know and hear nothing. 
 Waiting here, uncomfortably lodged, the troops impatient 
 to go home, as they have nothing to do, gets very irksome. 
 
 Gelbes Haus : September 8. 
 
 ... At last the jDeace is concluded, though not yet 
 ratified. The terms are not so bad. We lose the Hinter- 
 land and the Domains there, as also the whole of Hesse- 
 Homburg — in all sixty-four thousand souls — pay three mil- 
 lions contribution, besides having kept a large part of the 
 Prussian army six weeks for nothing, which cost the country 
 twenty-five thousand florins daily. For Oberhessen we go 
 into the North-German Bund, and half the army is under 
 Prussian command, which will make a dreadful confusion. 
 
152 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 Louis would prefer having it for the whole, particularly in 
 anticipation, alas ! of a coming war. 
 
 The railroads, posts, and telegraphs also become Prus- 
 sian ; and they demand, besides, some fine old pictures, 
 books, and manuscripts, which had once belonged to the 
 Kolner Dom, and were made a present of to this country 
 years ago ; and for our Domains no Entscliddigung [com- 
 pensation]. In exchange for Homburg we get some small 
 places — amongst others, Eumpenheim. 
 
 When the peace is ratified and the money paid, the 
 Prussians leave the country, which must now be very 
 shortly. Until then Louis must stop here, and as he can 
 only get leave now and then to go to Darmstadt, and that 
 always uncertain. Baby's christening is still impossible, as 
 Louis must be there. She will be called ' Irene Louise 
 Marie Anna.' 
 
 Gelbes Haus : September 11. 
 
 . . . Tired of constantly putting off and waiting, we 
 settled yesterday to have Baby christened to-morrow, as it 
 is Louis' birthday, and to go for the day to Darmstadt. 
 Though the Prussians are still there, some of the godfathers 
 are coming over, otherwise it will be quite quiet. 
 
 . . . How true and sad is what you say, dear Mama, 
 about life and its trials ! Alas ! that it should be you, 
 dear loving kind Mama, who have had to drink so deeply 
 of that cup of bitterness ! Those who possess all they love, 
 as I do, can, however, feel all the more keenly, and sympa- 
 thise more truly with you for what you have lost, though it 
 is a grief we do not know. How I do long always to alle- 
 viate this grief for you, dearest Mama; but that is the 
 world's trial. None can bear the burden for you. One 
 must carry it oneself ; and it wants patience and courage 
 to bear such as yours, dear Mama. I feel for you now 
 
1 866 THE REALITIES OF WAR. 153 
 
 more than ever since during that month I feared from day 
 to day my happy hfe might be brought to a violent close, 
 and anticipated all the misery that might come, but which 
 the Almighty graciously averted. 
 
 Darmstadt : Sei^tember 16. 
 
 The name Irene,^ through other associations, is one 
 my parents-in-law and we like ; it stands, besides, as a sort 
 of recollection of the peace so longed for, and which I so 
 gladly welcomed. It will always remind us of the time, 
 and of how much we have to be grateful for, 
 
 Darmstadt : September 24. 
 
 . . . We are settled here again; our troops have 
 returned and Uncle Louis likewise. The former were re- 
 ceived most warmly by the inhabitants and showered with 
 nosegays — Louis also, who rode at their head. We saw 
 them all in front of the Schloss, and it was sad to see the 
 thinned ranks and to miss the absent faces we knew so well. 
 On the 13th and 14th of July at Frohnhofen, Laufach, and 
 Aschaffenburg, out of 8,000 we lost 800 men and 11 officers, 
 and of the officers just those who were very intimate with 
 the Prussians, and who wished Germany to be united under 
 Prussia. 
 
 This afternoon we are going to see after the poor 
 wounded, some of whom are still very ill with such horrible 
 wounds. So much suffering and pain and grief to those 
 poor people, who are innocent in this unhappy war ! 
 
 If only now the other sovereigns will forget their anti- 
 pathies and the wrongs they have suffered from Prussia, 
 and think of the real welfare of their people and the uni- 
 versal fatherland, and make those sacrifices which will be 
 necessary to prevent the recurrence of these misfortunes ! 
 
 * The Princess Charles had a sister, who died when a child, who had 
 borne that name. 
 
154 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 The poor Homburgers marched by with our trooi^s, and 
 theh^ tears and ours fell as we saw them (who had fought so 
 bravely under Uncle Louis) for the last time before they 
 become Prussians, and return to their homes as such. 
 
 October 1. 
 
 ... I can but write a few lines, as we are going 
 with the children to Uncle Alexander to Jugenheim for a 
 few days. The change of air is wanted for Ella, who is 
 still pale ; and Irene has never had any change yet, and is 
 also rather pale. 
 
 We were at Frohnhofen and Laufach a few days ago to 
 see where the unfortunate engagement was, and visited the 
 graves of our soldiers. In the middle of a field there is a 
 mound, below which some eighty men and some officers lie, 
 and so on. It makes a very sad impression, for as our troops 
 retreated, and they were buried by the people, none know 
 which of the common soldiers or even which of the officers 
 lie in the different places. We found some balls, and things 
 the soldiers had thrown off during the fight. In one grave 
 in the churchyard, the wounded who died afterwards are 
 buried. I asked who lay there, and the gravedigger an- 
 swered, ' Ein Preuss' und ein Hess' liegen dort beisammen ' 
 ['A Prussian and a Hessian lie there together '], united in 
 death, and fallen by each other's hand, perhaps. Some of 
 the officers who accompanied us, and had not been there 
 since the engagement, were much overcome on seeing the 
 graves of their comrades. I put wreaths and flowers on 
 them, and ordered crosses where we knew who lay there. 
 
 The wounded here are recovering, and I go often to see 
 after them. 
 
 As you say, this large Prussia is by no means an united 
 Germany ; but, nevertheless, I think the duty of the other 
 
1866 WALDLEININGEN. 155 
 
 German sovereigns, in spite of all, is to unite with Prussia 
 and place themselves under her, so as to make her unite 
 with Germany. Otherwise, the next opportunity^ they will 
 be annexed. 
 
 Dannstadt : October 22. 
 
 On Thursday we are going to Waldleiningen for a 
 fortnight and take Victoria with us. The two little girls 
 knew your photograph at once, and began, of course, to 
 talk of you and of England. 
 
 Waldleiningen : October 31, 
 
 ... It is quite beautiful here. We found dear 
 Ernest, Marie ^ and children well ; the former so kind and 
 dear, as they always are. Victoria and Alberta^ get on 
 tolerably together. The little boy is splendid, so strong 
 and fat. 
 
 The Castle is so fine and lies just in the midst of moun- 
 tains and woods, and there are walks without end — many 
 of them reminding me so much of Scotland. 
 
 The Nichels came to see us, and Marie and I played 
 with Nichel ; ^ it reminded me so much of the good old times 
 to see him, 
 
 Ella's bh-thday is to be kept when we return. She is 
 too small to know the difference of the day. I thank you 
 beforehand for the locket for her with dear Papa's picture. 
 The children always speak of their two Grandpapas — dear 
 Grandpapa in Heaven, and dear Grandpapa in Darmstadt. 
 Victoria, hearing Papa so often mentioned, and seeing his 
 pictures about everywhere, asks no end of questions about 
 him. 
 
 '■' Prince and Princess Leiningen. ' Princess Alberta of Leiningen, 
 - Formerly one of the Eoyal Band in England. Madame Nichel had 
 been a dresser of the Duchess of Kent's. 
 
IS6 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 Darmstadt : November 14. 
 
 I am better, thank you, but I am so weak without 
 the least reason, and dreadfully chilly. Still, I go out regu- 
 larly in all weathers and take exercise, but of an evening I 
 am quite knocked up. 
 
 We always breakfast at half-past eight, as Louis gets up 
 early and prefers it ; so that I lead a very healthy life, and 
 in spite of that am not well. A change quite into another 
 climate for a few months was what I really required ; but 
 it was impossible. On that account, dear Mama, I shall 
 hope to have a full three months in England when we come, 
 and perhaps part of the time with Bertie, if he can have us. 
 I went through a great deal this summer during my con- 
 finement. The excitement and the will to keep well kept 
 me so at the time, but I feel it now, alas ! and show it, too, 
 for I am getting so thin again. 
 
 November 22. 
 
 A thousand thanks for the precious book,^ and for 
 your dear lines. The former I have nearly finished. I 
 got it yesterday morning, and you can well imagine that 
 every spare moment was devoted to its study. 
 
 I think it very well done, and I am only sorry that 
 General Grey cannot continue it, as the other persons, I 
 believe, did not know dear Papa. The longer I live, the 
 more I see and know of the world, the deeper my tender 
 admiration grows for such a father. It makes me feel 
 myself so small, so imperfect, when I think that I am his 
 child, and am still so unworthy of being it. How many 
 jDeople here who like to hear of dear Papa ask me about 
 him, and you can understand with what pride and love I 
 talk of him, and tell them things which make them all 
 share our sorrow at not having him here any more ! But 
 
 ^ The Early Years of the Prince Consort, by the late General Grey. 
 
 I 
 
i866 THE PRINCE CONSORT'S LIFE. 157 
 
 if ever a life has outlived a man, dear Papa's has done so. 
 In my thoughts and aims he ever remains the centre and 
 the guiding star. Dear beloved Papa, he never half knew 
 how much, even when a foolish child, I loved and adored 
 him. His great life will be a model for many and many for 
 generations to come, and his great thoughts and aims can 
 leave none idle who knew them. 
 
 You kindly ask how I am. Better, thank you, since 
 I have begun some bark — quinine I can't take, or else 
 I should have been well sooner. 
 
 Victoria I am teaching to read — in playing with cards 
 with different letters on them. 
 
 November 30. 
 
 To-day it is six whole years since we were engaged 
 to each other in the Ked Drawing-room at Windsor, when 
 we in dear Papa's little room afterwards received your and 
 dear Papa's sanction to it. And the following year — how 
 sad that already was, for darling Papa was beginning to be 
 unwell ! How constantly do I think of you, beloved Mama, 
 during that fortnight of anxiety and sorrow ! God merci- 
 fully spared you to us, though for yourself it was the com- 
 mencement of the sad and lonely existence you lead without 
 dear Papa. 
 
 I am sure it is good for little Henrj^ ■• to be this winter 
 with you in England : the Berlin climate is very unwhole- 
 some. Health is such a blessing. If one has children, the 
 first wish is they should be healthy, for ill health influences 
 all, and nothing more than temper. 
 
 We intend, if possible, going for a day or two to Carls- 
 ruhe. Poor Louise and Fritz went through so much that 
 is painful this summer. . . . 
 
 I read an immense deal now of serious, and what some 
 
 * Son of the Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia. 
 
158 LETTERS. 1866 
 
 call dry, books ; but it is a great resource to me, and the 
 thought of standing still, if one does not study, urges me 
 on. The long winter evenings we always spend together, 
 and twice in the week receive in the evening, when I play 
 on the piano duets with such as play on the violin, and 
 pass the evenings very pleasantly. 
 
 Carlsruhe : December 6. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear letter ! I congratu- 
 late you on all having gone off so well at Wolverhampton,'^ 
 and am very grateful for the account. Dear Bertie's visit 
 is over, and it has been a very great pleasure to us to have 
 seen him again, and to have him under our own roof — 
 where we at length had an opportunity, in a small way, 
 to return his hospitality and constant kindness to us. God 
 bless him, dear brother ! he is the one who has from my 
 childhood been so dear to me. 
 
 We have come here, and I think it has pleased good 
 Fritz. Louis seems very well. I saw Lady Fanny Baillie 
 yesterday, looking dear and pretty as ever. It is a pleasure 
 to look at her sweet face. 
 
 Carlsruhe : December 11. 
 As every year during these days my thoughts are 
 with you, and as each year brings round again the anniver- 
 sary of that dreadful misfortune, it seems more and more 
 impossible that five years should already have elapsed, since 
 He whom we all loved so tenderly was taken from our sight. 
 How I thank the Almighty again and again, as this season 
 returns, that He spared you to us, when at such a moment we 
 trembled for your precious life, fearing that two so united 
 in life even in death could not be parted ! What should 
 we poor children, what would the country have done, had 
 that second misfortune come over us ! Yet it seemed 
 
 ^ The uncovering of the monument to the Prince Consort. 
 
i866 THE PRINCE CONSORT. 159 
 
 selfisli and unkind to wish for your loving wife's heart the 
 soHtary widow's existence. How bravely and nobly you 
 have borne it ! 
 
 Now I must end, beloved Mama. God bless you and 
 comfort you, and in these days let sometimes the thought of 
 your absent child, who was at your side during that dread- 
 ful time, mingle with the recollection of the past ! 
 
 Beloved, precious Mama, Darmstadt : December 14. 
 
 On awaking this morning, my first thoughts were 
 of you and of dear darling Papa ! Oh, how it reopens the 
 wounds scarcely healed, when this day of pain and anguish 
 returns ! This season of the year, the leafless trees, the 
 cold light, everything reminds me of that time ! 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear letter received yester- 
 day. Well, only too well, do I remember every hour, 
 almost every minute, of those days, and I have such an 
 inexpressible longing to throw my arms round your neck, 
 and to let my tears flow with yours, while kneeling at that 
 beautiful grave. 
 
 The tender love and the deep sorrow caused by His 
 loss remain ever with me, and will accompany me through 
 life. At the age I then was, with its sensitive feelings, it 
 made an impression which, I think, nothing can efface — 
 above all, the witnessing your grief. Happily married as 
 I am, and with such a good, excellent and loving husband, 
 how far more can I understand now the depth of that 
 grief, which tore your lives asunder ! I played our dear 
 Papa's organ under his beloved picture this morning, and 
 my heart and my thoughts were in dear England with 
 you all. 
 
 We found our children well on our return, and Irene 
 prospers perfectly on her donkey's milk. 
 
i6o LETTERS. 1866 
 
 My mother-in-law is so much pleased with the book,^ 
 and it has interested her very much. She came to see me 
 early this morning on account of its being the 14th. She 
 is always so kind and full of attentions. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 21. 
 
 ... I hope by this time that you are quite re- 
 covered, though this mild damp weather is not made to 
 give one strength. I feel it so much also, and am really 
 only kept alive by steel, for off and on I am so weak, that 
 I nearly faint if I have to stand any time, and this is so 
 unpleasant. 
 
 ... I am trying to found what is no small under- 
 taking : a ' Frauenverein,' to be spread all over the land 
 in different committees, the central one being here under 
 my direction, for the purpose of assisting the International 
 Convention for nursing and supporting the troops in time 
 of war, which was founded at Geneva, and to which this 
 country also belongs. The duty in time of peace will be 
 to have nurses brought up and educated for the task, 
 who can then assist in other hospitals or amongst the poor, 
 or to nurse the rich, wherever they may be required. In 
 time of war this committee of women has to collect all the 
 necessary things for the wounded and for the marching 
 troops, has to see to then- being sent to right places, &c. 
 
 All these things were done by private people in this 
 war, and, though quantities of things were sent, the whole 
 plan was not organised, so that there was want and sur- 
 plus at the same time. 
 
 In time of peace these things should be organised, so 
 that, when war comes, people know where to send their 
 things to, and that no volunteer nurses go out who have 
 not first learnt their business. 
 
 ^ General Grey's Early Years of the Prince Consort, 
 
i866 CLOSE OF A YEAR OF TRIAL. i6i 
 
 The same thing exists in Baden, in Bavaria, and in 
 Prussia, and here it is much wanted. But all these under- 
 takings are difficult, particularly in the choice of persons to 
 assist one. Still I hope I shall be able to do it. My mother- 
 in-law helps me, and I hope before long to be able to begin. 
 
 The Elector is coming here on a visit to-day, and Uncle 
 Alexander returned from Petersburg last night. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 30. 
 
 . . . May the Almighty give you every blessing of 
 peace and comfort which the world can still give you, till you 
 gain that greater blessing and reward above all others, which 
 is reserved for such as my own sweet mother ! May every 
 blessing fall on my old dear home, with all its dear ones ! 
 Ma}^ peace, and the glory which peace and order bring with 
 it, with its many blessings, protect my native land ; and 
 may, in the new year, your wise and glorious reign, so 
 overshadowed by dear Papa's sph*it, continue to prosper 
 and be a model and an ornament to the world ! 
 
 This year of pain and anxiety, and yd for us so rich in 
 blessings, draws to a close. It moves me more than ever 
 as its last day approaches. For how much have we not to 
 thank the Almighty — for my life, which is so unworthy 
 compared to many others, the new life of this little one, 
 and above all the preservation of my own dear husband, 
 who is my all in this life ! 
 
 The trials of this year must have brought some good 
 with all the evil : good to the individual and good to the 
 multitude. God grant we may all profit by what we have 
 learnt, and gain more and more that trust in God's justice 
 and love, which is our guide and support in trouble and in 
 joy! Oh, more than ever have I felt in this year, that God's 
 goodness and love are indeed beyond comprehension ! 
 
i62 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 ... I am really glad to hear that you can listen to 
 a little music. Music is such a heavenly thing, and dear 
 Papa loved it so much, that I can't but think that now it 
 must be soothing, and bring you near to him. . . . 
 
 1867 
 
 Gotha : January 15. 
 
 I am delighted to hear of dear Arthur having passed 
 so good an examination. How proud you must be of him ! 
 And the good Major, ^ who has spared no pains, I know — 
 how pleased he must be ! Ai'thur has a uniform now, I 
 suppose. 
 
 Berlin : January 26. 
 
 . . . We remain here a little longer, probably until 
 the following Saturday, as the King, owing to his cold, 
 could not see us often, and begged us to remain longer. 
 
 I saw Amalie Lauchert* here two days ago, looking so 
 well and charming as ever. 
 
 Little Vicky is such a darling, very like her poor little 
 brother — so merry, so good, one never hears her cry — and 
 it is really a comfort to Vicky to have that dear little thing. 
 Poor Vicky is very sad and low at times. 
 
 After intense cold it is quite warm, like spring, which is 
 very unwholesome and tiring. 
 
 Darmstadt : February 16. 
 
 ... I think I can understand what you must feel. 
 I know well what those first three years were — what fearful 
 
 ' Major Elphinstone, Prince Arthur's Governor from 1859, now Sir 
 Howard Elphinstone, K.C.B. 
 
 * Princess Amalie of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfiirst, niece of Queen Victoria's 
 late brother-in-law, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, married to an artist, 
 Herr Lauchert. 
 
1867 THE EDUCATION OF SORROW. 163 
 
 suffering, tearing and uprooting those feelings ■which had 
 been centred in beloved Papa's existence ! It is indeed, as 
 you say, * in mercy,' that after the long storm a lull and calm 
 ensues, though the violent pain, which is but the reverse side 
 of the violent love, seems only to die out with it, and that is 
 likewise bitter. Yet, beloved Mama, could it be otherwise ? 
 There would be no justice or mercy, were the first stage of 
 sorrow to be the perpetual one ; and God grant, that time 
 may still soothe and alleviate that which it cannot change ! 
 I can only imagine what the loss must be, if I measure it 
 by the possession of that one adored being, who is the 
 centre and essence of my existence. 
 
 Darmstadt : February 28. 
 
 . . . Yesterday we had a very interesting lecture 
 in our house about Art in Venice, by a young Swede 
 [Herr von Molin], who has been studying three years in 
 Italy. We had the room full of people, artists and pro- 
 fessors, who liked to listen. 
 
 ... All the natural cleverness and sharpness in the 
 world won't serve nowadays, unless one has learnt some- 
 thing. I feel this so much ; and just in our position it 
 is more and more required and expected, particularly in a 
 small place, where so much depends on the personal know- 
 ledge and exertions of the Princes. 
 
 Darmstadt: April 1. 
 ... I could not write the other day, as I had a 
 good deal to do with two committees for charities, which 
 had to be got into order, and which took up a great deal of 
 my time. 
 
 Cold, hail, snow, and rain have returned ; and Irene has 
 got a cold, which most people here have. The weather is 
 so unpleasant. 
 
 We shall stop here in town until we go to England, as 
 
i64 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 we have nowhere to go to before. It is a pity for the chil- 
 dren to have no country air, and they miss the flowers in 
 their walks. I can't praise Orchard^ enough. Such order 
 she keeps, and is so industrious and tidy, besides under- 
 standing so much about the management of the children's 
 health and characters. 
 
 Darmstadt : April 5. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear letter, and for the 
 kind washes for Victoria's birthday ! I pray she may be a 
 worthy granddaughter and goddaughter of my darling 
 Mama ! I shall never forget that day — your kindness to 
 us, and the tender nurse you were. . . . 
 
 Victoria means to dictate a letter to you ; she is so 
 much pleased with her presents. Irene has not a tooth 
 yet, and is not very fat, poor little thing ! but she is fresh 
 and rosy, and, I think, strong. 
 
 This last w^eek the excitement here has been dreadful, 
 as all anticipated a war with France on account of Luxem- 
 burg. I fear sooner or later it will come. May the Al- 
 mighty avert such a calamity ! 
 
 The Moriers were quite in ecstasies about your handsome 
 present. The christening ^ went off very well. 
 
 April 8. 
 
 . . . We have just returned from church, and to- 
 morrow morning w^e all take the Sacrament at nine o'clock 
 in the Schlosskirche. Professor Jowett is here on a visit 
 to the Moriers, and is going to read the service on Sunday. 
 I have not had an opportunity to attend our English ser- 
 vice since we were at Windsor, excepting one Smiday at 
 Berlin with Vicky and Fritz. 
 
 People think now, the evil of war is put off for a few 
 
 ^ Their nurse, who is still with the youngest child, Princess Alix. 
 ' Of their child, to whom Queen Victoria stood sponsor. 
 
i867 RUMOURS OF WAR WITH FRANCE. 165 
 
 weeks, but that is all. Henry is here for Easter, and says 
 the same from all he heard at Berlin. 
 
 Afril 21. 
 . . . How I wish 3'on may be right in not believing 
 in war ! I alwa}' s fear it is not Luxemburg, but the intense 
 jealousy of the French nation, that they should not be the 
 first on the Continent, and that Germany is becoming inde- 
 pendent and powerful against their will. Then, again, the 
 Germans feel their new position, and assert their rights 
 with more force because unanimous, and neither nation 
 Avill choose to give in to the other. 
 
 The war would be totally useless, and sow no end of 
 dissension and hatred between the two neighbour countries, 
 who, for their own good as for that of mankind, ought to 
 live in peace and harmony with eacli other. 
 
 We seem drifting back to the Middle Ages, as each 
 question is pushed to the point of the sword. It is most 
 sad. How dear Papa would have disapproved of much that 
 has happened since 1862 ! 
 
 Is the Catalogue which Mr. Euland sent some time ago 
 to Mr. Woodward for dear Papa's Eaphael Collection in 
 print now '? ' So many people know of its coming out, and 
 are anxious to see it, as, indeed, I am likewise, for it is the 
 onl}' complete collection in the world, and the world of art 
 is anxious to know all about it. Will you, perhaps, let me 
 know through Mr. Sahl,^ as I believe it is already a good 
 while since you approved of its being published, and gave 
 the orders for its being printed ? 
 
 May 2. 
 
 As yet none dare to be sure of the peace, but all live 
 again since there are more chances for its being main- 
 
 * This Catalogue was not completed and made public till 1876. 
 ' Her Majesty's private librarian. 
 
i66 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 tained. But then, I trust it will be a permanent peace, 
 not merely a putting off till next year ! 
 
 The' French press was so very warlike, and it always 
 talks of the French honour not being able to allow such a 
 mighty empire as the German is becoming to gain the 
 upper hand ; and then rectification of her frontiers, always 
 wishing for the Ehine. 
 
 May 29. 
 
 ... I presided at my committee of seven ladies and 
 four gentlemen a long while yesterday, and to-morrow I 
 have my other one, which is more numerous. It is an 
 easy task, but I hope we shall have good results from our 
 endeavours. 
 
 Paris : June 9. 
 
 I really am half killed from sight-seeing and fetes, 
 but all has interested me so much, and the Emperor and 
 Empress [of the French] have been most kind. Yesterday 
 was the ball at the Hotel de Ville, quite the same as it had 
 been for you and dear Papa, and there were more than 
 8,000 people there. It was the finest sight I have ever 
 seen, and it interested me all the more, as I knew it was 
 the same as in the year when you were at Paris. 
 
 Every morning we went to the Exhibition, and every 
 evening there was a dinner or ball. It was most fatiguing. 
 To-morrow morning we leave, and had really great trouble 
 to get away, for the Emperor and Empress and others begged 
 us so much to remain for the ball at the Tuileries to-morrow 
 night ; but we really could not, on account of Wednesday's 
 concert,'* as w^e should barely arrive in time. 
 
 The attentat on the Emperor of Eussia was dreadful, 
 and we were close by at the time. The Empress can't 
 get over it, and she does not leave Uncle Sache's^ 
 
 * At Buckingham Palace. ^ The Emperor of Eussia. 
 
i867 THE ENGADINE. 167 
 
 side for an instant now, and takes him everywhere in her 
 carriage. 
 
 To-day we are going with the whole Court to Versailles. 
 Dear Vicky is gone. She was so low the last days, and dis- 
 likes going to parties so much just now, that she was long- 
 ing to get home. The King [of Prussia] wished them hotli 
 to stop, hut only Fritz remained. How sad these days will 
 be for her, poor love ! She was in such good looks ; every- 
 one here is charmed with her. 
 
 Darmstadt : August 4. 
 
 We arrived here at midnight on Friday, and I was 
 so knocked up . . . that I was incapable of doing anything 
 yesterday. 
 
 . . . My ])Oor Willem was buried yesterday. Everyone 
 regrets the poor child, for he was very dear. I miss him so 
 much here, for he did everything for me, and liked being 
 about me and the children. All our servants went to the 
 burial. It quite upset me here not to find him, for I was really 
 attached to him, and he learnt so well, and was in many 
 wa3^s so nice, though of course troublesome too at times. 
 How short life is, and the instant one is gone, he is so 
 wiped away for others, and one knows so absolutely notliinff 
 about the person any more ! Were it not for a strong faith 
 in a future, it would indeed be cruel to bear. No one of 
 the family is here. We leave to-morrow for Zurich, where 
 we shall be at ten at night ; the next day to Chur and the 
 next day to St. Moritz. 
 
 St. Moritz : August 8. 
 
 With perfect weather we accomplished our journey 
 perfectly, and were enchanted with the beautiful scenery 
 from Zurich hither, not to speak of this place. 
 
 The first day — 5tli — we left Darmstadt at 11 a.ji., and 
 did not reach Zurich tDl eleven at night. We got two 
 
i68 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 little rooms in the Hotel Baur, but the whole place was 
 full. The next morning after breakfast we went to look 
 at the lovely lake, which is green and quite transparent. 
 It was a beautiful warm morning. We left by rail at 
 ten, partly along the lake of Ziirich and then along the 
 Wallenstadter See, which is long and narrow, with high 
 perpendicular mountains down to the water — very wild 
 and picturesque. This lake likewise is of that marvellous 
 green colour. We reached Chur at three that after- 
 noon — a pretty small town, situated close up against a 
 mountam. We visited a beautiful old church there, which 
 contains fine old pictures and relics; it was built in the 
 time of the Eomans, and is still the chief church of the 
 bishopric. 
 
 The next morning we two, with Sarah, Logoz and our 
 footman, left at six o'clock in a diligence (we both sitting 
 in the coupe in front) with four horses, for here the road 
 is the grandest one can imagine, perpetually ascending for 
 two hom-s, and then descending again, always along preci- 
 pices, and the horses at a quick trot turning sharp round the 
 corners — which, I assure you, is a trial to the best nerves. 
 We drove over the Julier Pass, which was a road already 
 used by the Eomans, and which is almost the highest in 
 Switzerland. One passes close to the top of the mountains, 
 which have snow on them, and are wild and rugged like the 
 top of Lochnagar. Lower down, the mountains are covered 
 with bright green grass and fir trees, but rocks look out 
 everywhere, and there are constantly lovely waterfalls. 
 
 After crossing the Pass, we drove down — ver}^ steep, of 
 course nothing on the edge of the road, always zigzag, and 
 at a sharp trot — for some distance down to Silva Plana, 
 where the view over the valley and lakes of the Engadine, 
 where St. Moritz lies, is beyond description beautiful. 
 
i867 THE ENGADINE. 169 
 
 We reached this m the evening at six o'clock, the 
 weather being most beautiful. The Curhaus is below the 
 town, and looks like a large asj'lum. It is overfilled with 
 people. We have two rooms, but our people as yet none, 
 though they hope for some to-morrow. 
 
 I saw Dr. Berry, a little Swiss man, and he recom- 
 mended me to take the baths twice a week, besides drinking 
 the waters ; which I have begun this morning at seven 
 o'clock, the usual hour, as one has to walk up and down a 
 quarter of an hour between the glasses. The bath I took 
 at ten. It is tepid and also iron water, which bubbles like 
 soda water, and makes one feel as if insects were crawling 
 over one. 
 
 Liua Aumale is here, the Parises and Nemours. Fritz 
 and Louise [of Baden] leave to-morrow. This afternoon we 
 drove with them, in two funny little ' WJigeli ' with one horse, 
 to Samaden, where Louise went into the hotel to see Mme. 
 d'Uscdom, who was lately upset with her carriage off the 
 road, as there is no barrier, and hurt herself severely. We 
 saw her brother likewise. 
 
 I have sent you a nosegay of Edelweiss and other Alp 
 flowers. I hope it won't arrive quite dead. You must 
 fancy them alive, and, if they could speak, the}" would tell 
 you how much I love you, and how constantly I think of 
 3'ou, and of my dear, dear home ! 
 
 St. Moritz : August 11. 
 
 ... All the Orleans' left this place suddenly 
 yesterday, as there are three cases of scarlatina in the 
 house. We consulted the doctor immediately, whether he 
 thought it safe for Louis to remain, he never having had it, 
 and he said ' Perfectly, as we are at the other end of the 
 house, and out nearly all day.' 
 
 Victor and Lolo [Count and Countess Gleichen] are 
 
I70 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 here, and we went out drawing together yesterday ; but it 
 is too difficult here. I think constantly how much you 
 would admu-e this place : it is indeed exquisitely beautiful 
 — much the finest scenery I have ever seen. It is very wild, 
 and reminds me in parts of dear Scotland. 
 
 You say that our home in England is dull now for those 
 who like to amuse themselves. It is never dull, darling 
 Mama, when one can be with you, for I have indeed never 
 met a more agreeable charming companion. Time always 
 flies by, when one is with you. I hope it is not impertinent 
 my saying so. 
 
 St. Moritz : August 13. 
 
 .... I knew you would feel for me at the loss of 
 my poor Willem. Of course one must feel that sort of loss 
 more than that of man}^ a relation, if one knew the latter 
 but little. I said to Louis at the time, that Willem's death 
 distressed me more than would that of several relations who 
 were not intimate with me. . . . 
 
 Yesterday ^e and the Gleichens went to the Eosegg 
 Glacier, and to get there had to go from Pontresina in little 
 Bergwagen, which are strong miniature Leitericagen with- 
 out springs, and we went over a horrid path with quantities 
 of stones, so the shaking was beyond description. 
 
 Victor and Lolo go mostly with us, and we always dine 
 together. 
 
 I take three glasses beginning at seven in the morning, 
 and a bath at eight. One lies in a wooden thing, covered 
 over up to one's chin with boards, and remains so twenty 
 minutes. 
 
 We lunch at twelve, and dine at half-past sis, and go 
 to bed early. We are out nearly all day long. It is 
 very warm, the sun scorching ; my face is quite red-brown, 
 in spite of veils and parasols. I feel already very much 
 
 J 
 
i867 EXCURSIONS IN THE ENGADINE. 171 
 
 better, and Louis saj's my face is quite fat. I wish we 
 could remain longer than the end of the month, but Louis 
 must be home. 
 
 St. Moritz : August 16. 
 
 Yesterday we made a beautiful expedition, which it 
 may amuse you to hear of, as in an exaggerated way it 
 reminded me of our nice Scotch ones. The evening before, 
 we left with Victor and Lolo (without servants) about eight 
 o'clock for Pontresina. The country looked more beautiful 
 than ever in the brightest moonlight. We found two very 
 small but clean rooms in an hotel outside the village. 
 
 The next morning we got up at half-past four, dressed, 
 and breakfasted, then got on four horses with most uncom- 
 fortable saddles, with our guide, Adam Engler, an amusing 
 man, most active and helpful. We saw the sun rising over 
 the snow-covered mountains, and the valleys gradually 
 coming out clearer. 
 
 We were to ascend the Piz Languard, a mountain 
 1,200 feet high. We rode for two hours by a worse and 
 much steeper road than up the Glassalt, then walked over 
 rocks, sand, and slippery grass, so steep that one could not 
 look up to see where one was going to, quite precipitous on 
 each side, leaving snow and glacier below us. The last bit 
 has a sort of immensely high steps hewn in the rock. After 
 an hour and a half's hard labour we reached the summit, 
 which is rocky and small — enormous precipices all round. 
 Poor Lolo was giddy for some time, which was very un- 
 pleasant. The view from the top is most extensive. The 
 Italian, Swiss, and Tyrolese Alps are all to be seen, but 
 the view was not very clear. We rested and ate some- 
 thing, and drank some Lochnagar whisky. The sun was 
 getting intense. We commenced our descent at eleven 
 o'clock, and had to walk the whole way back, for one can't 
 
172 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 ride down. We did not reach Pontresina till nearly four, 
 as we bad to rest several times, our limbs acbed so, for 
 tbere is no level ground tbe wbole way, and tbe stones slip, 
 and it was very bot. I ba,d quite sore feet witb blisters 
 all over, so tbat tbe last bours were really agonising. But 
 it is a tiling to bave done, and tbe view amply repaid one, 
 tbougb one does not feel tempted to do it a second time. 
 I feel very well, excepting my face (wbicb is still burning 
 and quite red), and my unfortunate feet. 
 
 St. Moi-itz : August 21. 
 
 . . . Now I will tell you of our expedition. Louis 
 and I, Victor and Lolo, and a guide, witb each a small bag, 
 left tbis early on tbe morning of tbe 17tb (dear Grand- 
 mama's birtbday) in a carriage for Pontresina ; from 
 tbence, in tw^o of tbose shaky Bergivagen, over part of tlie 
 Bernina Pass, past tbe magnificent Morteratsch Glacier, 
 which we saw perfectly. Tbe guide told us be had been 
 there with Professor Tyndall, and that the latter had ob- 
 served, that the glacier advanced a foot a day in the warm 
 weather, and old people recollect it having been a mile 
 higher up. We soon left the high-road, and all vegetation, 
 save grass, for a bad path into the Val da Fain. Tbe heat 
 was again intense. We lunched and rested, and then took 
 tbe horses out of the carts for us ladies to ride. Tbe 
 scenery was wild and severe, until we began again to de- 
 scend, and came down upon tbe lovely Livigno Valley, 
 which is Italian, and covered with brown chalets. We 
 reached the village of Livigno, with only wooden huts, by 
 six o'clock, and turned into a funny little dark inn, in 
 which we four found one small but clean room for us — 
 most primitive. As the inhabitants speak a sort of Italian, 
 we bad the greatest difficulty to make ourselves under- 
 
1 867 ITALY— SWITZERLAND. 173 
 
 stood. Victor cooked part of the dinner, and it was quite 
 good. 
 
 We all slept— I resting on a bed, the other three on the 
 floor — in this little room, with the small window wide open. 
 
 The next morning we left at nine, and drove on no road 
 in such a small carriage — of course, no springs — our hus- 
 bands at first getting a lift on the horses, without saddles ; 
 then on foot up a steep and dangerous ascent. Splendid 
 weather, but too hot. We went over the Pass of the Stretta : 
 a more difficult and rough ground I never crossed in my 
 life, but splendid scenery. We came on a view which was 
 glorious — such enormous snow-covered mountains and gla- 
 ciers, with the green valleys deep below looking on Italy 
 and the Tyrol. 
 
 We reached Bormio by seven, and took up our residence 
 at a bathing-place, quite magnificently situated, very high 
 up — also Italian. The next morning we started early in 
 carriages, and went over the Stelvio Pass. There, nearly 
 at the risk of my neck, I picked for the first time some 
 Edelweiss, which I am very proud of, as it is always diffi- 
 cult and rare to get. 
 
 We got down to St. Maria, which is at the upper end 
 of the Miinsterthal and belongs to Switzerland. In the 
 afternoon, dreadfully hot, I was very thirsty and drank 
 off a glass of milk ; but how it tasted ! It was goat's milk ; 
 the people keep the cow's milk for butter and cheese. We 
 remained the night there, and left the next morning for 
 here, by Zernetz and Ofen. To get from one valley into 
 another, one has always to ascend and descend enormous 
 heights, and always by narrow paths at the edge of precipices. 
 We enjoyed our tour immensely, and got on perfectly with- 
 out servants. Packing up my things, though, every morn- 
 ing was a great trouble, and the bag would usually not shut 
 
174 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 at first. The trees growing here are splendid larches and ar- 
 ven ; ^ the latter grow only in these very high regions and in 
 Siberia. Victor and his wife are most amiable and pleasant 
 travelling-companions, and pleased with everything; not 
 minding to rough it, which we had to do. 
 
 Schloss Mainau : August 30. 
 . . . We left St. Moritz at seven, and reached Chur 
 at seven in the evening. The next day we came on here 
 to Louise of Baden. Fritz is at Carlsruhe. This place is 
 very lovely, though, alas ! the fine mountains are gone, 
 which one always misses so much. 
 
 I thought of you more than I can say on the dear 26th,. 
 and I felt low and sad all day. Dear Papa ! Time has not 
 yet accustomed us to see each anniversary come round 
 again, and he still remain away. It is so inexpressibly 
 hard for you, and you must feel such intense longing for 
 the dear past. There remains a future ! that is the only 
 consolation. 
 
 To-day we went with Louise by carriage, and then across 
 part of the lake to the property of the Emperor Napoleon, 
 Arenenberg, which the Empress gave him eight years ago, 
 and which was his home with his mother, and where she 
 died. Every picture and bit of furniture is replaced as it 
 was when the Emperor lived there, and he was there him- 
 self and replaced everything. It is quite a page in history 
 to see all the things that surrounded the Emperor in the 
 
 days of his misfortune. 
 
 Darmstadt : September 8. 
 
 ... I spent three da,ys and two nights with dear 
 Alix at Wiesbaden, and I find her leg decidedly better. 
 
 * A kind of dwarf tree — half pine, half juniper — which grows in the 
 highest regions of the Alps, and supplies most of the soft wood used by the 
 Swiss wood-carvers. 
 
i867 RETURN HOME. 175 
 
 ... It is a little less hot to-day, but much hotter even 
 now than we ever have it in England. Stallmeister Meyer ^ 
 came to see us yesterday, and we took him out riding, 
 which made him quite happy. Anyone who reminds me 
 of the good old times before the 14th of December does me 
 good ; it is a pleasure to speak about those past so happy 
 days ! When they came to a close, I lost the greater part 
 of my joyousness, which, though I am so happy, has never 
 returned. A certain melancholy and sadness sometimes 
 overcome me, which I can't shake ofif ; then I have Hcim- 
 7veh after adored Papa to such an extent that tears are my 
 only relief. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 3. 
 
 Yesterday evening I returned from Wiesbaden, 
 leaving Alix well, but having caught a bad cold myself. 
 The children have equally heavy ones. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 8. 
 
 Many thanks for your letter just received, and for the 
 review of dear Papa's Life, which is excellent, and which I 
 sent on to Aunt Feodore, as you desired. I have been laid 
 up for a week with influenza, and am only about again 
 since yesterday, though not out of the house. I am quite 
 weak from it. The whole house is laid up with bad 
 colds, and Baby can't shake hers off at all. The cough is 
 so tiring, and she whoops whenever she coughs. Poor 
 Jager, who is, alas ! we fear, consumptive, broke a blood- 
 vessel two days ago, and is dangerously ill, to the great 
 grief of all in the house. He is our best servant, and so 
 devoted ; he never would take care of himself, as he could 
 not bear letting anyone but himself attend on Louis. We 
 have just got a Diakonissin [Deaconess] to nurse him ; on ac- 
 count of his great weakness he can't be left alone one instant. 
 ' Kiding-master to the Prince Consort and the Queen from 1810 to 1871. 
 
176 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 Sir William, Lady and Charlotte Knollys have been on 
 a visit to us ; also Lady Geraldine Somerset for two nights. 
 They are all interested to see our house. 
 
 Uncle George has made me a present of one of the 
 horses the Sultan sent him. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 10. 
 
 I can't find words to say how sorry I am that dear 
 «weet Arthur should have the small-pox ! and that you 
 should have this great anxiety and worry. God grant, that 
 the dear boy may get well over it, and that his dear hand- 
 some face be not marked ! Where in the world could he 
 have caught it ? The Major kindly telegraphs daily, and 
 you can fancy, far away, how anxious one is. I shall be 
 very anxious to get a letter with accounts, for I think 
 constantly of him, and of you. My parents-in-law wish 
 me to tell you how they share your anxiety, and how they 
 wish soon to hear of dear Arthur's convalescence ; of course 
 my Louis likewise, for he shares all my feelings, being a 
 real brother towards my Geschicister [brothers and sisters]. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 14. 
 
 How glad I am to see by your letter that darling 
 Arthur is going on so very well ! One can't be too thank- 
 ful ; and it is a good thing over, and will spare one's being 
 anxious about him on other occasions. 
 
 Bertie and Alix have been here since Saturday afternoon, 
 and leave to-morrow. They go straight to Antwerp, and 
 Bertie is going back to Brussels to see the cousins. 
 
 The visit of the King went off very well, and Alix was 
 pleased with the kindness and civility of the King. I hear 
 that the meeting was satisfactory to both parties, which I 
 am heartily glad of. Bearing ill will is always a mistake, 
 besides its not being right. 
 
i867 VISITS AND VISITORS. 177 
 
 Dear Alix walked up our staircase with two sticks, of 
 course very slowly, but she is improving wonderfully, though 
 her knee is quite stiff. 
 
 Poor Jager is a little better, and the momentary danger 
 is past, though I fear he cannot ultimately recover. How 
 hard for poor Katrinchen ! There is much sorrow in the 
 world, and how often such a share falls to the best and 
 gentlest ! I of course go to see him daily, but it always 
 goes to my very heart to see that attached and faithful 
 creature dying slowly away. How is Brown's sister ? 
 
 We hope that Countess Bliicher will return here with 
 Vicky and me from Baden for a few days, as it is an age 
 since Vicky has seen her. 
 
 Dear Alix is writing in my room at this moment, and is 
 so dear and sweet. She is a most loveable creature. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 23. 
 
 The accounts of poor dear Aunt Feodore are so sad, and 
 I hear she does not look well, and is so low about her eyes. 
 
 Schweinsberg : October 24. 
 
 Dear Vicky and Fritz left us yesterday morning. 
 It is such a pleasure to me to think that thej^ like Bertie 
 and Alix, know my house, and that they have lodged under 
 our roof. ^Vllen will you, darling Mama ? If ever again you 
 go abroad and wish to rest on your way, all in the world we 
 have is at your disposal. How happy that would make us ! 
 We ourselves left at four yesterday afternoon, remaining 
 the night at Marburg, and leaving at a quarter to five in 
 the morning, so that Louis could reach Alsfeld in time to 
 join the shooting-party. We parted at Kirchhain, and I 
 came here with Christa to her mother's house — so sad and 
 changed since three years ago. It is most kind of them to 
 have taken me up here, and the bracing air will do me 
 
178 LETTERS. 1867 
 
 good. They know that I can understand what a house of 
 mourning is, and that I don't want to amuse myself. 
 
 Ella cried on parting with us yesterday, and wanted to 
 get into the train with us. 
 
 Victoria is going to have a little lesson every other day, 
 when I go back, from Mr. Geyer, who taught poor Willem, 
 and who teaches little girls particularly well. She must 
 begin in my room, as it is better not to have lessons in the 
 nursery, I think. Vicky and I spoke much together about 
 education and taking a governess. I thought to wait a 
 year (for financial reasons), and I think it time enough 
 then — do not you ? 
 
 November 15. 
 
 ... It is SO good and wholesome not always to.be 
 one's own master, and to have to suit oneself to the wish of 
 others, and, above all, to that of one's mother and sove- 
 reign. feels it as such, and often told me so, regret- 
 ting how seldom such was the case. 
 
 The Moriers are often with us, and we value them much ; 
 they are such pleasant companions, and such excellent, 
 clever people. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 6. 
 
 . . . The visit to Claremont must have been quite 
 peculiar for you ; and I can fancy it bringing back to your 
 mind the recollections of your childhood. In spring it 
 must be a lovely place, and, with gayer papers on the walls, 
 and a little modern comfort, the house must likewise be 
 very pleasant. Ella, who was breakfasting with me just 
 now, saw me dip my Bretzel in my coffee, and said : ' Oh, 
 Mama, you must not ! Do you allow yourself to do 
 that ? ' because I don't allow her to do it. She is too 
 funny, and by no means quite easy to manage — a great 
 contrast to Victoria, who is a very tractable child. Ella 
 
1 867 WINTER DAYS. 179 
 
 has a wonderful talent for sewing, and, when she keeps 
 quiet a little while, sews quite alone and without mistakes. 
 She is making something for you for Christmas, which she 
 is quite excited about. Victoria's little afternoon lesson 
 answers admu'ably, and is the happiest time of the day for 
 her. She can read words already. 
 
 We have snow and ice, and no sunshine since some 
 time, and it is not inviting to take the dull walks in the 
 town. But I make a rule to go out twice a day, and keep 
 nearly the same hom'S as at home. 
 
 The account of your visit to Lady Palmerston and to 
 her daughter is most touching. It is so inexpressibly sad 
 for grandmother and mother, for it is unnatural for parents 
 to survive their children, and that makes the grief a so 
 peculiar one, and very hard to bear. 
 
 December 9. 
 
 . . . During the long winter days, when Louis is 
 away sometimes four times in the week from six in the 
 morning till six in the evening, and then when he retm'ns 
 from his shooting has his work to do, I feel lonely. I am 
 often for several hours consecutively quite by myself ; and 
 for my meals and walks only a lady, as she is the only 
 person in the house besides ourselves. It is during these 
 hours, when one cannot always be reading or at work, that 
 I should wish to have some one to go to, or to come to me 
 to sit and speak with ; but such is not the case, and it is 
 this I regret — accustomed as I was to a house full of people, 
 with brothers and sisters, and, above all, the chance of 
 being near j^ou. I always feel how willingly I would spend 
 some of those hours with or near you — and the sea ever 
 lies between us ! When Louis is at home and free — for 
 in the morning I don't see him — then I have all that this 
 world can give me, for I am indeed never happier than at 
 
 N 2 
 
i8o LETTERS. 1867 
 
 bis dear side ; and time only increases our affection, and 
 binds us closer to eacb otber. 
 
 We bave deep snow now and sledging tbe last two days. 
 
 December 12. 
 
 Before going to rest, I take up my pen to write a 
 few loving words, tbat they may reacb you on the morning 
 of the 14th. Tbe sound of tbat date brings with it tbat 
 sad and dreary recollection which, for you, my poor dear 
 Mama, and for us, time cannot alter. As long as our lives 
 last, this time of year must fill us with sad and earnest 
 feelings, and revive the pain of tbat bitter parting. 
 
 I ought not to dwell on those hours now, for it is wrong 
 to open those wounds afresh, which God in His mercy finds 
 little ways and means to heal and soothe the pain of. 
 
 Dear darling Papa is, and ever will be, immortal. Tbe 
 good he has done ; tbe great ideas be has promulgated in 
 tbe world ; tbe noble and unselfish example he has given, 
 will live on, as I am sure he must ever do, as one of tbe best, 
 purest, most Godlike men that bave come down into this 
 world. His example will, and does, stimulate others to 
 higher and purer aims : and I am convinced that darling 
 Papa did not live in vain. His great mission was done ; 
 and what has remamed undone he has placed in your dear 
 bands, who will know best bow to achieve bis great works 
 of love and justice. I shall think much, very much, of you 
 on the 14th, and you will be more in my prayers than ever. 
 Think also a little of your most devoted child ! 
 
 Darmstadt : Christmas Day. 
 
 We missed poor Willem so much in arranging all 
 the things ; and poor Jager's illness was also sad. We gave 
 him a tree in bis room. He looks like a shadow, and bis 
 voice is quite hoarse. 
 
i868 THEATRICALS. i8i 
 
 To two hospitals, the military and the town one, I 
 took presents yesterday, and saw many a scene of suf- 
 fering and gi'ief. My children are going to give a certain 
 number of poor children a Besclieerung on New Year's 
 Day. It is so good to teach them eai'ly to be generous and 
 kind to the poor. They even wish to give some of their 
 own things, and such as are not broken. 
 
 Your many generous presents will find their use at once, 
 and the Christmas pie, kc, be shared by all the family. 
 The remembrances of those bright happy Christmases at 
 Windsor are constantly before me. None will ever be again 
 what those were, without you, dear Papa, and dear kind 
 Grandmama. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 27. 
 
 ... I am sure you will have felt under many a 
 circumstance in life, that if any momentary feeling was 
 upon 30U, and you were writing to some one near and dear, 
 it did you good to put down those feelings on paper, and 
 that, even in the act of doing so, when the words were 
 barely written, the feeling had begun to die away, and the 
 intercom-se had done you good. 
 
 1868 
 
 Darmstadt : January 24. 
 
 . . . To-night I am going to act with two other 
 persons in our dining-room a pretty little piece called 
 Am Klavier, but I fear I shall be very nervous, and con- 
 sequently act badly, which would be too tii'esome. 
 
 I have never tried to act in anything since Roth- 
 kdppchcn. 
 
1 82 LETTERS. 1868 
 
 February 1. 
 
 Wliat a fright the news of dear Leopold's dangerous 
 attack has given us ! Mr. Sahl's letter to Becker arrived 
 yesterday afternoon containing the bad news, and he spoke 
 of so little hope, that I was so upset and so dreadfully dis- 
 tressed for the dear darling, for you, poor Mama, and for 
 us all, that I am quite unwell still to-day. 
 
 When your telegram came to-day, and Louise's letter, I 
 was so relieved and only pray and hope that the improve- 
 ment may continue. May God spare that young bright 
 and gifted life, to be a comfort and support to you for 
 many a year to come ! 
 
 Had I only had a telegram ! for, the letter being two days 
 old, until your telegram came I passed six such agonising 
 hours ! Away from home, every news of illness or sorrow 
 there is so difficult to bear — when one can ^hare all the 
 anxiety and trouble only iw thougld. 
 
 The day passes so slowly without news, and I am always 
 looking towards the door to see if a telegram is coming. 
 Please let me hear regularly till he is quite safe ; I do love the 
 dear boy, as I do all my brothers and sisters, so tenderly ! 
 
 How I wish you had been spared this new anxiety ! 
 Those two daj's must have been dreadful ! 
 
 Darling Mama, how I wish I were with you ! God grant 
 that in future you may send us only good news ! 
 
 Louis and my parents-in-law send their respectful love 
 and the expression of their warmest sympathy, in which 
 the other members of the family join. 
 
 February 2. 
 
 How glad and truly thankful I am, that the Al- 
 mighty has saved our darling Leopold and spared him to 
 you and to us all ! For the second or even third time that 
 life has been given again, when all feared that it must leave 
 
i868 ILLNESS OF PRINCE LEOPOLD. 183 
 
 us ! A mother's heart must feel this so much more than 
 any other one's, and dear Leopold, through having caused 
 you all his life so much anxiety, must be inexpressibly dear 
 to you, and such an object to watch over and take care of. 
 Indeed from the depth of my heart I thank God with you 
 for having so mercifully spared dear Leo, and watched over 
 him when death seemed so near ! 
 
 You will feel deeply now the great joy of seeing a con- 
 valescence after the great danger, and I know, through a 
 thousand little things, how your loving and considerate heart 
 will find pleasure and consolation in cheering your patient. 
 
 That for the future you must ever be so anxious is a 
 dreadful trial, but it is to be hoped that Leo will yet out- 
 grow this strange illness. I am sure good Archie ^ takes 
 great care of him, and by this time he will have gathered 
 plenty of experience to be a good nurse. 
 
 Darmstadt : February 13. 
 
 . . . First let me wish you joy for the birth of 
 this new grandson,^ born on your dear wedding-day. I 
 thought of 3^ou on the morning of the 10th, and meant to 
 telegraph, but those dreadful neuralgic pains came on before 
 I had time to look about me, and really laid me prostrate 
 for the whole day, as they lasted so very long. I have never 
 felt so unwell, or suffered so much in my life, and this mo- 
 ment, sitting up in Louis' room, I feel more weak than I ever 
 felt on first getting up after my confinements. Quinine 
 has kept me free from pain to-day, and I hope will do so to- 
 morrow. I have been in bed a week and touched absolutely 
 nothing all the time. Yesterday evening, as throughout 
 
 * Archibald Brown, his valet, younger brother of the Queen's personal 
 attendant. 
 
 " Prince Waldemar of Prussia, fourth son of the Crown Prince and 
 Princess. He died of diphtheria on the 27th of March, 1879. 
 
1 84 LETTERS. 1868 
 
 the day, I had had (but much more sHghtly) a return of 
 these agonising attacks, which seized my left eye, ear, and 
 the whole left side of my head and nose. I got up and sat 
 in Louis' room ; I could only bear it for two hours, and all 
 but fainted before I reached my bed. If I can get strength, 
 and have no return of pain, I hope to go out after to- 
 morrow. I could not see the children or anyone during this 
 week, and always had my eyes closed, first from pain, and 
 then from exhaustion when the pain left me. I really 
 thought I should go out of my mind, and you know I can 
 stand a tolerable amount of pain. 
 
 Darmstadt : February 24. 
 
 To my and, I fear, dear Vicky's great disappoint- 
 ment, Dr. Weber won't let me go to Berlin, and wants me to 
 go to Wiesbaden for a cold-water cure instead. The latter 
 will be intensely dull, as I shall be there for four weeks all 
 alone ; but I believe it will be very beneficial, as with every 
 year I seem to get more rheumatic, which at my age is of 
 course not good. 
 
 We shall hope to be able to come to Windsor, middle of 
 June, as you desire. The exact time you will kindly let us 
 know later. 
 
 Darmstadt ; March 14. 
 
 I send you a few lines to-day for the 16th, the anni- 
 versary of the first great sorrow which broke in upon your 
 happy life. How well do I recollect how I accompanied 
 you and dear Papa down to Frogmore that night, our 
 dinner in the flower room, the dreadful watching in the cor- 
 ridor, and then the so painful end ! Darling Papa looked 
 so pale, so deeply distressed, and was so full of tender sym- 
 pathy for you. He told me to go to you and comfort you, 
 and was so full of love and commiseration as I have never 
 seen any man before or after. Dear, sweet Papa ! that in 
 
 I 
 
i868 REMINISCENCES. 185 
 
 that same year we should live together through such 
 another heartrending scene again, and he not there to com- 
 fort or support you, poor Mama ! 
 
 It sometimes, even at this distance of time, seems 
 nearly impossible that we should have lived through such 
 times, and yet be alive and resigned. 
 
 God's mercy is indeed great ; for He sends a balm to 
 soothe and heal the bruised and faithful heart, and to 
 teach one to accommodate oneself to one's sorrow, so as to 
 know how to bear it ! 
 
 Darmstadt : April 5. 
 
 Onl}^ two words to-day, as my heart is so full of love 
 and gratitude to you who took such care of me this day five 
 years ago, who heard Victoria's first cry, and were such a 
 comfort and help to us both. All these recollections make 
 Victoria doubly dear to us, and, as in this world one never 
 knows what will happen, I hope that you will always watch 
 over our dear child, and let her be as dear to you as though 
 she had been one of us. 
 
 April 3. 
 
 I am so distressed at dear, good Sir James [Clark's] 
 illness. I hope and trust that this precious old friend will 
 still be spared for a few years at least. 
 
 Gotha: April 26. 
 ... It is now eleven years since I spent my birth- 
 day with dear Vicky, and she has been so dear and kind, 
 and dear Aunt and Uncle likewise. We spend the day quite 
 quietly together, and the bad weather prevents any expe- 
 ditions. 
 
 After to-mor]-ow we go home. 
 
 Darmstadt : May 4. 
 
 Accept my best thanks for your last letter written 
 on dear Arthur's birthday. The playmg of the band I am 
 
1 86 LETTERS. 1868 
 
 sure gave him pleasure ; but it ^YOulcl be too painful for all 
 ever to have it again on the terrace as formerly. There 
 are certain tunes, which that Marine Band used to play, 
 which, when I have chanced to hear them elsewhere, have 
 quite upset me, so powerful does the recollection of those 
 so very happy bkthdays at Osborne remain upon me ! 
 Those happy, happy days touch me even to tears when I 
 think of them. AVhat a joyous childhood we had, and how 
 greatly it was enhanced by dear, sweet Papa, and by all 
 3'our great kindness to us ! 
 
 I try to copy as much as lies in my power all these 
 things for our children, that they may have an idea, when 
 I speak to them of it, of what a happy home ours was. 
 
 I do feel so much for dear Beatrice and the other 
 3'ounger ones, who had so much less of it than we had ! 
 
 Darmstadt : May 11. 
 
 For your sake I am sorry that my condition should 
 cause you anxiety, for you have enough of that, God knows. 
 But I am so well this time that I hope and trust all may 
 go well, though one is never sure. It is this conviction 
 which I always have, and which makes me serious and 
 thoughtful, as who can know whether with the termination 
 of this time my life may not also terminate ? 
 
 This is also one of the reasons why I long so very much 
 to see you, my own precious Mama, this summer, for I 
 cling to you with a love and gratitude, the depth of which I 
 know I can never find words or means to express. After a 
 year's absence I wish so intensely to behold your dear, 
 sweet, loving face again, and to press my lips on your dear 
 hands. The older I grow the more I value and appre- 
 ciate that mother's love which is unique in the world ; and 
 having, since darling Papa's death, only you, the love to 
 
i868 DEATH OF A F^AITHFUL SERVANT. 187 
 
 my parents and to adored Papa's memory is all centred 
 in yoiL. 
 
 Louis has leave from the 11th of June to the 11th of 
 August. 
 
 Uncle Ernest is coming here to-day for the day from 
 Frankfort, where he has been to a cattle-show. Uncle Adal- 
 bert is here, so much pleased with having seen you again, 
 singing the praise of both Lenchen and Louise, which of 
 course I joined in, as it is such a pleasure to hear others 
 admire and appreciate my dear sisters. 
 
 Darmstadt : May 14. 
 
 I know you will be grieved to hear that we all have 
 had the grief of losing good, excellent Jager.' He was, on 
 the whole, better and was out daily, and he went to bed as 
 usual, when in the middle of the night he called one of the 
 men, and before they could come to his assistance he ex- 
 pired, having broken a blood-vessel. Poor Katrinchen's 
 despair and grief were quite heartrending, when we went 
 together to see our true and valued servant for the last 
 time. I was so upset by the whole, that it was some days 
 before I got over it. We made wreaths to put on his coffin, 
 which was covered with flowers sent from all sides, and we 
 both were at the door with our servants when he was 
 carried out, and tried to console the poor unfortunate 
 Brant [Bride], who remained at home. 
 
 He was the best servant one could find ; never, since he 
 has been in our service, had he been found fault with by 
 anyone. He was good, pious, and gentle, and very intelli- 
 gent. The death of a good man, who has fulfilled his 
 allotted duty in this world as a good Christian ought, 
 touches one deeply, and we have really mourned for him as 
 
 ' A footman, much valued by the Prince and Princess. 
 
i88 LETTERS. 1868 
 
 for a friend, for he was one in the true sense of the word. 
 Jager rests alongside my poor Willem, in the pretty little 
 cemetery here ; a bit of my heart went with them. 
 
 Fritz, on his way back from Italy, spent a few hom's 
 with us, and told us much of his journey. He heard the 
 strangest rumours of France intending to break out in 
 sudden hostilities with Germany, and asked me what you 
 thought of a probability of a war for this summer. I hope 
 to God, that nothing horrid of that sort will happen ! Do 
 you think it likely, dear Mama ? 
 
 Darmstadt : May 19. 
 
 My own darling and most precious Mama, 
 
 The warmest and tenderest wishes that grateful 
 children can form for a beloved parent we both form for 
 you, and these lines but weakly express all I would like to 
 say. May God bless and watch over a life so precious and 
 so dear to many ! It is now six years since I spent that 
 dear day near you, but I hope that some time or other we 
 shall be allowed to do so. Our joint present is a medal for 
 you with our heads. We had it made large in oxidised 
 silver on purpose for you. I myself have braided and em- 
 broidered with Christa's help (who begged to be allowed to 
 do something for you), a trimming for a dress, which I hope 
 you will like and wear. It took a deal of my time, and my 
 thoughts were so much with you while I was doing it, that 
 I quite regretted its completion. 
 
 We are having a bracelet with our miniatures and the 
 three children's in it made for you, but unfortunately it is 
 not finished, so we shall bring it and give it to you our- 
 selves. 
 
 Osborne : August 6. 
 
 I was just sitting down to write to you when Ernest 
 came in with your dear letter. Thousand thanks for it ! 
 
i868 OSBORNE TO KRANICHSTEIN. 189 
 
 These parting lines will be such a dear companion to me 
 on om- journey. I can't tell you how much I felt taking 
 leave of you this time, dear Mama ; it always is such a 
 wrench to tear myself away from you and my home again. 
 Where I have so, oh, so much to be thankful and grateful 
 to you for, I always fear that I can never express my thanks 
 as warmly as I feel them, which I do indeed from the 
 bottom of my heart. God bless you, darling Mama, for all 
 your love and kindness ; and from the depth of my heart 
 do I pray that nothing may cause you such anxiety and 
 sorrow again as you have had to bear of late. . . . 
 
 When I left you at the pier the return to the empty 
 house was so sad ! It felt quite strange, and by no means 
 pleasant, to be here without you and all the others. We 
 lunched alone with Victoria, and dined in the hot dining- 
 room with the ladies and gentlemen, sitting on the terrace 
 afterwards. 
 
 It has rained all the morning, and is most oppressive. 
 As it is so foggy, we have to leave at two ; but there is no 
 wind, and I hope the sea will be quite smooth. I am sure 
 you must feel lonely and depressed on this journey, poor 
 Mama ; but the change of scene and beautiful nature en- 
 joyed in rest and quiet must surely do you good. 
 
 Kianichstein : August 10. 
 
 . . . We left Osborne at two on Thursday' in rain 
 and wind. The children and I were dreadfully sick an 
 hour after starting, but the passage got smoother later : 
 and, though I was very wretched m every way, I was not 
 sick again. The same sort of weather on the Alberta next 
 morning, but it cleared up later. The Ehine steamer was 
 very comfortable, and Doctor Minter accompanied us to 
 Dordrecht. The last afternoon and night on board I 
 
IQO LETTERS. 1868 
 
 suffered dreadfully. Since I arrived here, I am better, but 
 not right yet. Had it not been for your great kindness in 
 giving us the ship, I am sure I should not have got home 
 right. This awful heat adds to my feelings of fatigue and 
 discomfort. 
 
 Kranichstein : August 11. 
 
 I have just received your letter from Lucerne, and 
 hasten to thank you for it. 
 
 How glad I am that you admire the beautiful scenery, 
 and that I know it, and can share your admiration and en- 
 joyment of it in thought with you ! It is most lovely. The 
 splendid forms, and the colour of the lake, are two things 
 that we don't know in dear Scotland, and which are so 
 peculiar to Swiss scenery. 
 
 Louis is in town from eight till our two o'clock dinner, 
 and has a great deal to do. 
 
 For your sake as for my own I long for a respite from 
 this unbearable heat, which is so weakening and trying. 
 
 Kranichstein : August 16. 
 
 . . . How satisfactory the accounts of dear good 
 Arthur are ! From the depth of my heart do I congratulate 
 you on all that Colonel Elphmstone says about his character, 
 for with a real moral foundation, and a strict sense of duty 
 and of what is right and wrong, he will have a power to 
 combat the temptations of the world and those within him- 
 self. I am sure that he wUl grow up to be a pride and 
 pleasure to you, and an honour to his country. 
 
 Brown must have been glad to be allowed to continue 
 wearing his kilt, and, as it is a national dress, it is far more 
 natural that he should give it up nowhere. I am sure that 
 he and Annie ^ must admire the place. 
 
 - Mrs. McDonald, the Queen's first wardrobe-maid. 
 
i868 THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO SWITZERLAND. 191 
 
 Kranichstein : August 26. 
 
 I have just received your dear letter, and am so 
 pleased to hear that you enjoyed your excursion, and that 
 you have now seen the sort of wild scenery high up in the 
 mountains, which I think so heautiful and grand in Switzer- 
 land. For all admirers of that style of scenery there is 
 nothing to be compared to Switzerland. 
 
 Since it became cool again, I have had neuralgia in my 
 head, and I have had a dreadful st3% which had to be cut 
 open, and made me quite faint and sick for the whole day. 
 In spite of it I went to the station here, with a thick veil 
 on, to see the Russian relations pass two days ago. The 
 Emperor looks even more altered and worn since last year, 
 and is suddenly grown so old. 
 
 Kranichstein : September 4. 
 . . . How too delightful your expeditions must have 
 been ! I do rejoice that, through the change of weather, 
 you should have been able to see and enjoy all that glorious 
 scenery. Without your good ponies and Brown, &c., you 
 would have felt how difficult such ascents are for common 
 mortals, particularly when the horses slip, and finally sit 
 down. I am sure all this will have done you good ; seeing 
 such totally new beautiful scenery does refresh so im- 
 mensely, and the air and exertion — both of which you seem 
 to bear so well now — will do your health good. 
 
 Yesterday we both were two hours at Jugenheim. To- 
 day the two little cousins are coming to see my children. 
 
 Louis' business is increasing daily, and until the 19th, 
 manoeuvres, inspections, &c., won't be over. He will even 
 have to be away on his birthday, which is a great bore. 
 There is a great review for the Emperor on Saturday. 
 
192 LETTERS. 1868 
 
 September 15. 
 
 . . . Like a foolish frightened creature as I am, I 
 have worried myself so much about this sudden talk of war 
 and threatening in all the French papers, saymg that 
 October, November, or thereabouts would be a good time to 
 begin. Do tell me, if you think there is the least reason- 
 able apprehension for anything of that sort this year. I 
 have such confidence in your opinion, and you can imagine 
 how in my present condition I must tremble before a recur- 
 rence of all I went through in 1866 ! 
 
 I am so grieved that you should have been so unwell on 
 the journey home. Dear beautiful Scotland will do you 
 good. I envy your going there, and wish I could be with 
 you, for I am so fond of it. Eemember me to all the good 
 people. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 28. 
 
 . . . The Queen of Prussia is coming to lunch with 
 us on Saturday on her way to Coblenz. 
 
 I have a cold these last days, and Victoria is still con- 
 fined to the house with her swelled neck. She had quite 
 lost her appetite, and I tried some porridge for her, which 
 she enjoys, and I hope it will fatten her up a little, for she 
 is so thin and pale. Would you please order a small barrel 
 of oatmeal to be sent to me ? Dr. Weber thmks it would be 
 very good for Victoria, and one cannot get it here. 
 
 Darmstadt : November 20. 
 
 It is with the greatest interest that I read about the 
 Mausoleum,^ as I was very anxious to know whether all 
 would be finished. Having been present before at all the 
 important steps in the progress of this undertaking, I feel 
 
 * The Eoyal Mausoleum at Frogmore. 
 
i868 BIRTH OF A SOX AND HEIR. 193 
 
 very sorry to be absent at the last, and I shall be very im- 
 patient to see it all again. 
 
 Winter has quite set in now here, and when there is no 
 wind the cold is very pleasant. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 4. 
 
 Thousand thanks for all your dear kind wishes, for 
 your first letter to me, for the one to Louis, and finally for 
 the eatables ! I can't tell you how touched, how pleased we 
 both are at the kind interest all at home have shown us on 
 this occasion. It has really enhanced our pleasure at the 
 birth of our little son,'' to receive so many marks of sympathy 
 and attachment from those m my dear native home, and in 
 my present one. My heart is mdeed overflowing with grati- 
 tude for all God's blessings. 
 
 The time itself was very severe, but my recovery is up 
 to now the best I have ever made, and I feel comparatively 
 strong and well. 
 
 The girls are delighted with their brother, though Vic- 
 toria was sorry it was not a sister. Darling Louis was too 
 overcome and taken uj) with me at j&rst to be half pleased 
 enough. Bab}^ is to be called, by Louis' Uncle Louis' wish, 
 Ernst Ludtcig, after a former Landgrave ^ ; then we would 
 like you to give the name oi Albert ; Charles, after my father- 
 in-law ; and WUUa))i, after the King of Prussia, whom we 
 mean to ask to be godfather. The christening is most likely 
 to be on the 28th or thereabout. 
 
 I am on my sofa in my sitting-room with all your dear 
 photos, &c., around me, and yoiu: pretty quilt over me. 
 
 December 12. 
 
 . . . Every new event in my life renews the grief 
 for dear Papa's loss, and the deep regret that he was not 
 
 * Hereditary Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, born on the 28tli November, 
 1868. * Who died on the 8th of November, 1825. 
 
194 LETTERS. 1868 
 
 here to know of all, to ask advice from, to share joy and 
 grief with, for he was such a tender father, and would have 
 been such a loving grandfather. 
 
 You, darling Mama, fill his place with your own, and 
 may God's support never leave you and ever enable you to 
 continue fulfilling the many duties towards State and family I 
 The love of your children and people encircles you. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 18. 
 
 . . . The presents you intend giving Baby will de- 
 light us, and in later years I can tell him all about his 
 Grandpapa, and how I wish and pray he may turn out in 
 any way like him, and try and aim to become so. 
 
 I think it would be best, perhaps, if you asked my 
 mother-in-law to represent you and hold Baby. I think it 
 would pain her, should anyone else do it, and I will ask 
 her in your name, if you will kindly telegraph to me your 
 approval. 
 
 I am sorry Arthur cannot come ; it would have given us 
 such pleasure had it been possible. 
 
 The greater part of Baby's monthly gowns have been put 
 away, as from the beginning they were too small. He is sO' 
 very big. 
 
 Christmas Day. 
 
 . . . Louis thanks you a thousand times, as we do for 
 the charming presents for the children. They showed them 
 to everyone, shouting, ' This is from my dear English 
 Grandmama ; ' and Ella, who is always sentimental, added : 
 * She is so very good, my Grandmama.' Irene could not 
 be parted from the doll you gave her, nor Victoria from hers. 
 Baby was brought down, and was wide awake the whole 
 time, looking about with his little bright eyes like a much 
 older child. 
 
 i 
 
i869 PRINCE ERNST. 195 
 
 We spent a very happy Christmas eve, surrounded by 
 the dear children and our kind relations. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 29. 
 
 . . . Prince HohenzoIIern with three gentlemen 
 was sent by the King, and the former dined with us after 
 the ceremony. All went off so well, and Baby, who is in 
 every way like a child of two months, looked about him 
 quite wisely, and was much admired by all who saw him. 
 
 I am so sorr}' that you have never seen my babies since 
 Victoria, for I know you would admire them, they look so 
 mottled and hcalth3^ Weather permitting, Baby is to be 
 photographed to-morrow. 
 
 1869 
 
 Darmstadt : January 8. 
 
 . . . Dear charming Lady Frances [Baillie] is on a 
 visit with us, and I enjoy havmg her so much. We talk of 
 old times at Frogmore, and so many pleasant recollections. 
 I am glad that you like Baby's photograph, though it 
 does not do him justice. He is a pretty baby on the whole, 
 and has a beautiful skin, very large eyes, and pretty mouth 
 and chin ; but his nose is not very pretty, as it is so short 
 at present. He is a dear good child, and, though immensely 
 lively, does not give much trouble. He is a great source of 
 happiness to us, and I trust will continue so. 
 
 Darmstadt : January 13. 
 
 ... Is not the death of Leopold's son shocking ? '^ 
 Such suffering, such a struggle for months between life 
 
 * The only son and heir of the King of the Belgians. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 LETTERS. 1869 
 
 and death ; and for the poor parents to have in the end to 
 rehnquish their child, their only son ! I think it heart- 
 rending. May the Almighty continue to support them 
 even now, as he did these many months ! I cannot say 
 how much and truly I feel for them both. This world is 
 full of trials, and some seem to be called upon to suffer and 
 give up so much. Faith and resignation alone can save 
 those hearts from breaking, when the burden must be so 
 heavy. 
 
 A few days ago at two o'clock we had another shock [of 
 earthquake], and it seemed as if the house rocked ; at the 
 same time the unearthly noise. I think it uncommonly 
 unpleasant, particularly this repetition. 
 
 January 30. 
 
 Our thoughts and prayers are so much with you and 
 dear Leopold on this day [his Confirmation]. May the 
 Almighty bless and protect that precious boy, and give him 
 health and strength to continue a life so well begun and so 
 full of promise ! 
 
 It seems to me quite incredible, the eighth of us should 
 already be old enough to take this step in life, and to have 
 his childhood in fact behind him. Dear Papa's blessing 
 surely rests on him, and his spirit is near you as you stand 
 there alone by the side of his child, about whom he always 
 
 was so anxious. 
 
 Darmstadt : March 8. 
 
 . . . We shall go to Potsdam the first week in May, 
 
 and from there go for a week or ten days to Fischbach. 
 
 My mother-in-law, Tante Mariechen,''' and Uncle Adalbert * 
 
 are all going to spend my mother-in-law's birthday there. 
 
 The Moriers are going to England in the first days of 
 
 ' Queen of Bavaria, sister of Princess Charles of Hesse. 
 
 * Prince Adalbert of Prussia, brother of Princess Charles of Hesse. 
 
i869 ANNIVERSARIES. 197 
 
 April, and I hope that you will see them. "We see a good 
 deal of them, and like them hoth much. He is wonderfully 
 clever and learned, and takes interest in everything ; and 
 she is very agreeahle, and a most satisfied, amiable disposi- 
 tion — always contented and amused. 
 
 March 19. 
 I thought of 5'ou so much on the 16th. From that 
 day dated the commencement of so much grief and sorrow ; 
 yet in those days you had one, darling Mama, whose first 
 and deepest thought was to comfort and help you, and I 
 saw and understood only then how he watched over you, 
 and how and everywhere he sought to ward off all that was 
 painful and strange from you, and took all that pain alone 
 for himself, for your sake ! I see his dear face — so pale, 
 and so full of tears, when he led me to you early that 
 morning after all was over, and said, ' Comfort Mama,' as 
 if those words were a Vorbedeutung [presage] of what was 
 to come. In those days, I think he knew how deep my 
 love was for j^ou, and that, as long as I was left in my home, 
 my first and only thought should be you and you alone ! 
 This I held as my holiest and dearest duty, until I had to 
 leave you, my beloved Mother, to form a home and family 
 for myself, and new ties which were to take up much of my 
 heart and strength. 
 
 But that bond of love, though I can no more be near 
 you, is as strong as ever. 
 
 Darmstadt : March 23. 
 
 . . . Yesterday it was very warm, and to-day it 
 snows ; the weather continues so changeable, and many 
 people are ill. Ella has again had one of her bad attacks 
 in her throat, but, thank God, it passed away very soon. 
 Two nights ago she could not speak — barely breathe — and 
 was so uncomfortable, poor child ! It makes one so anxious 
 
198 LETTERS. 1869 
 
 each time ; but I hope she will outgrow it, when she is six 
 or seven years old. 
 
 Victoria is already now composing a letter for your 
 birthday. I won't have her helped, because I should like 
 you to see her own ideas and style — ^it is much more 
 amusing. 
 
 March 26. 
 
 . . . We had such an unexpected pleasure the other 
 day in the visit of good General Seymour, and I was so 
 pleased to see some one who had seen you lately, and who 
 could give me news of my home. He had not been here 
 since he came with us after our marriage, and was of course 
 interested in seeing everything. 
 
 April 2. 
 
 . . . The constant anxiety about the children is 
 dreadful ; and it is not physical ill one dreads for them, it 
 is moral : the responsibility for these little lent souls is 
 great, and, indeed, none can take it lightly who feel how 
 great and important a parent's duty is. 
 
 Darmstadt : April 5, 
 
 . . . Thousand thanks for your dear letter, and for 
 all the tender wishes for our dear child's birthday ! The 
 child born under your roof and your care is of course your 
 particular one, and later, if you wish to keep her at any 
 time when we have been paying you a visit, we shall gladly 
 leave her. 
 
 Victoria is so delighted with what you sent her, and 
 sends her very warmest thanks and her tenderest love. 
 She is in great beauty just at present, as she is grown 
 stouter ; and I look with pleasure on those two girls when 
 they go out together. They possess, indeed, all we could 
 wish, and are full of promise. May the Almighty protect 
 
i869 THE IRISH CHURCH QUESTION. 199 
 
 them and give them a long Hfe, to be of use and a joy to 
 their fellow-creatures ! 
 
 April IG. 
 
 . . . Eain and wind have at length cooled the air, 
 for this heat without any shade was too unpleasant. Louis 
 left at five this morning to inspect the garrison at Friedberg 
 and Giessen, and then to go to Alsfeld to shoot Aucrhdhne 
 [capercailzies]. He will return on the 21st or 22nd pro- 
 bably. 
 
 We shall indeed be so pleased, if later you wish to 
 have any of the granddaughters with 3'ou, to comply with 
 any such wish, for I often think so sadly for your dear 
 sake, how lonely it must be when one child after another 
 grows up and leaves home ; and even if they remam, to 
 have no children in the house is most dreary. Surely you 
 can never lack to have some from amongst the many grand- 
 children ; and there are none of us, who would not gladly 
 have our children live under the same roof where we passed 
 such a happy childhood, with such a loving Grandmama to 
 take care of them. 
 
 April 25. 
 
 . . . May I only know the way to give my children 
 as much pleasure and happiness as you have ever known 
 to give me ! 
 
 The dniner of family and suite is here m the house to- 
 day — or rather I should call it a luncheon, as it is at two 
 o'clock. 
 
 The Irish Church question, I quite feel with you, will 
 neither be solved nor settled in this way ; and instead of 
 doing something which would bring the Catholics more 
 under the authority of the State, they will, I fear, be the 
 more powerful. It seems to me that one injustice (with 
 regard to the Protestants) is to be put in the place of a 
 
200 LETTERS. 1869 
 
 former one, instead of doing justice to both, which would 
 not have been an impossibility through some well-con- 
 sidered settlement and giving in on both sides. Such a 
 cJiangement requires so much thought and wisdom, and, 
 above all, impartiality. 
 
 May 3. 
 
 . . . My children are, on the whole, very well be- 
 haved and obedient, and, save by fits and starts, which 
 don't last long, very manageable. I try to be very just and 
 consistent in all things towards them, but it is sometimes 
 a great trial of patience, I own. They are so forward, clever, 
 and spirited, that the least spoiling would do them great 
 harm. 
 
 How glad I am that the dear Countess [Bliicher] is with 
 you again ! She is the pleasantest companion possible, and 
 so dear and loving, and she is devoted to you and dear 
 Papa's memory as never anyone was. 
 
 Potsdam : May 25. 
 
 How much we thought of you yesterday, I can't say. 
 Lord Augustus Loftus lunched with us three and the eldec 
 children ; and we drank your health, the band playing 
 * God save the Queen ! ' All our girls had wreaths of natural 
 flowers in honour of the day. 
 
 Potsdam : June 1. 
 
 . . . To-day is regular March weather, and the 
 palace is cold and draughty. 
 
 We were in Berlin yesterday, to visit the Gewerbe- 
 Museum [Industrial Museum] ; then luncheon at Lord 
 Augustus Loftus's, and from thence to the Victoria bazaar 
 and Victoria Stift, and then home. 
 
 It is always so tiring to see things at Berlin ; an hour's 
 rail there and the same back takes so much time. Before 
 returning, we paid a short visit to Baron Stockmar and his 
 
i869 AT POTSDAM. 201 
 
 wife, who is very pleasing, and seems to suit him iierfectly. 
 They look as if they had always belonged to each other. 
 
 Potsdam : June 13. 
 Our time here is soon drawing to a close, much to 
 my regret ; for the life with dear Vicky — so quiet and plea- 
 sant — reminds me in many things of our life in England 
 in former happy days, and so much that we had Vicky has 
 copied for her children. Yet we both always say to each 
 other, no children were so happy, and so spoiled with all 
 the enjoyments and comforts children can wish for, as we 
 were ; and that we can never (of course, still less I) give 
 our children all that we had. I am sure dear Papa and 
 you, if you could ever hear how often, how tenderly, Vicky 
 and I talk of our most beloved parents, and how grateful 
 we are for what they did for us, would in some measure feel 
 repaid for all the trouble we gave, and all the anxiety we 
 caused. I ever look back to my childhood and gh'lhood as 
 the happiest time of my life. The responsibilities, and often 
 the want of many a thing, in married life can never give 
 unalloyed happiness. 
 
 We are looking for a governess for the two elder girls 
 for next year, and a lady with the necessary knowledge and 
 character, and yet of a certain rank, is so difficult to find. 
 
 Potsdam : June 19. 
 
 Louis went two days ago to Fischbach for his mother's 
 birthday, and returns to-morrow morning. Vicky was very 
 low yesterday ; she has been so for the last week, and she told 
 me much of what an awful time she went through in 1866, 
 when dear Siggie [Sigismund] died. The little chapel is 
 very peaceful and cheerful, and full of flowers. We go 
 
202 LETTERS. 1869 
 
 there en imssant nearly daily, and it seems to give dear 
 Vicky pleasure to go there. 
 
 Vicky goes on the 7th of July to Norderney. 
 
 Fischbach, Schlesien : July 2, 
 
 We arrived here in this exquisitely lovely country 
 two days ago, and were received by our parents-in-law and 
 Aunt Mariechen, whose guests we are in the pretty old 
 Castle of Fischbach, surrounded by fine old trees, with a 
 view on the beautiful Eiesengebu"ge, which reminds me a 
 little of Scotland, and also of Switzerland. The valleys 
 are most lovely, and the numberless wooded hills, before one 
 reaches the high mountains, are quite beautiful. The trees 
 are splendid, and the country looks very rich and green. 
 
 All the people of the village and the neighbourhood came 
 out to see us and our children, and old servants of Louis' 
 grandparents, who were so delighted and pleased that I 
 and my children should be here, and that they should have 
 lived to see the younger generation. 
 
 We are out seeing the beautiful spots nearly all day 
 long. The weather is fine, and not very warm, so that one 
 can go about comfortably. Yesterday we went over for tea 
 to Erdmannsdorf. If only dear Vicky and Fritz were there 
 now ! We must hope for another year to be there together. 
 The parting from them, who had made our sejour under 
 their hospitable roof such a very happy one, was very sad, 
 and the pouring rain was in accordance with our feelings. 
 We left them and dear lovely Potsdam and the pleasant life 
 there with much regret, and many a blessing do I send back 
 in thought to its dear inmates. 
 
 Yesterday afternoon we were at Schmiedeberg. We 
 went to see a very interesting carpet-manufactory, worked 
 by hand, and all by gnls, and a very simple process, much 
 
t869 DRESDEN. 203 
 
 like making fringe, which you used to do and then make 
 footstools of after Beatrice's birth. 
 
 Yesterday our weddmg-day — ah-eady seven years ago — 
 made me think so much of Osborne, and of you, darling 
 Mama, and of all that passed during that time. It was a 
 quiet wedding in a time of much sorrow, and I often think 
 how trjdng it must have been for you. 
 
 Kranichstein : July 21. 
 
 Yesterday, after eighteen hours' very hot railway journey, 
 we arrived here all well. Many thanks for your letter, which 
 I received at Dresden. It was impossible to write, as I had 
 to pay visits and to see things, during those two days. 
 
 I went to see the picture-gallery, which has some ex- 
 quisite pictures, though the Sistine Madonna surpasses all 
 others, and the famous Holbein, of which the Dresden 
 gallery has been for long so proud, is now recognised as a 
 copy, and the one that belongs to my mother-in-law as 
 the original. We visited the Griine Gewolbe [the Green 
 Vaults], where the magnificent jewels and other treasures 
 are preserved, and the King was kind enough to lead us 
 over the rest of the castle himself, including his own rooms, 
 in one of which the life-size pictures of his last four daughters 
 (all dead) stand, of whom he cannot speak without tears. 
 How dreadfully he and the poor Queen must have suffered 
 these last years ! 
 
 Kranichstein : July 25. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your kind letter which I re- 
 ceived yesterday, at the same time that the beautiful chris- 
 tening present for Ernest arrived ! Thousand thanks for 
 this most beautiful and precious gift for our boy, from 
 Louis and from myself ! We are so pleased with it ! It 
 is to be exhibited here, and it will interest and delight all 
 who see it, I am sure. 
 
204 LETTERS. 1869 
 
 I have just received a letter from Bertie, announcing 
 his arrival here for the 28th. We shall be greatly pleased 
 to see them all ; but we have so little room, and our house 
 in town is all shut up and under repair, so that we shall 
 have some trouble to make them comfortable and shall be 
 quite unable to do it as we should wish. But I trust they 
 will be lenient and put up with what we can offer. 
 
 The heat is very great, though this place is compara- 
 tively cool. 
 
 Kranichstein : August 11. 
 
 . . . Victoria has often ridden on Dred, and also 
 the other girls, on a Spanish saddle, and he goes very 
 well. They delight in him. Baby rolls about the room 
 anywhere now, and tries to crawl properly. He calls Papa, 
 and tries no end of things ; he is very forward, and is now 
 cutting his fifth tooth, which is all but through. 
 
 Friedberg : August 26. 
 
 On this dear day I must send you a few words. 
 The weather is so beautiful, and the sun so bright, as it 
 used to be at Osborne in former years. I don't care for 
 the sun to shine on this day now, as it can't shine on Him 
 whose day it was. It makes one too icehmiithig to think of 
 darling Papa on those happy birthdays, and it must be 
 more so for you than for any of us, poor Mama. 
 
 Yesterday was Ludwigstag ; all the tow^n decorated with 
 flags, illummations, &c., and English flags and arms with 
 the Hessian everywhere. 
 
 We started on horseback along the high road at half- 
 past seven this morning, and did not get off till one. A 
 lovely country and very interesting to see. To-morrow we 
 shall have a very long march, and the night Alice Morier,^ 
 
 * Mrs. now Lady Morier, daughter of General Peel. 
 
i869 PRINCE LOUIS' TOUR IN THE EAST. 205 
 
 I and William (Louis is undecided) will spend at Prince 
 Ysenburg's at Biidingen. The next morning we have to 
 ride off at half-past five, and a long day back here. 
 
 Kranichstein : September 11. 
 
 . . . AVliat charming expeditions you must have 
 made in that lovely country ! '° "WHiat I saw of it some 
 years ago I admired so intensely. You can well be proud 
 of all the beauties of the Highlands, which have so entirely 
 their own stamp, that no Alpine scenery, however grand, 
 can lessen one's appreciation for that of Scotland. 
 
 The day before yesterday we went to Mayence to see a 
 * Gewerbe-Ausstellung ' [Industrial Exhibition] of the town, 
 which was very good and tastefully arranged. From there 
 we went to Frankfort to our palace, for a rendezvous with 
 Aunt Cambridge, Uncle George, Augusta and Fritz Strelitz. 
 I showed them the children, and afterwards, when our re- 
 lations left, we took our children to the Zoological Garden, 
 which delighted them. 
 
 Many thanks for the grouse, which has just arrived, the 
 first since two years ago ! 
 
 Darmstadt : October 3. 
 
 ... I am very glad that you also approve of Louis' 
 journe}^ which I know will be so useful and interesting for 
 him, though it was not possible to attain this without part- 
 ing from each other, which is, of course, no small trial for 
 us, who are so unaccustomed to being separated. But we 
 never thought of tliat when we considered the plan of Louis 
 joining Fritz, which was my idea, as travelling in new 
 countries is so good for a man, and Louis ma}' never find 
 
 '" This refers to the Queen's stay at Invei'trossachs, and the excursions 
 to the neighbourhood. These are described in ^fore Leaves from a Journal 
 of a Life in the Highlands, pp. 116-147 (London, 1884). 
 
2o6 LETTERS. 1869 
 
 SO good a chance again. I am looking forward very much 
 to seeing Geneva — where we spend a day — and the south 
 of France, and, above all, seeing the sea again. Fritz passes 
 through here to-morrow. Louis starts Saturday morning, 
 via Munich, for Venice, where he will join Fritz next 
 Sunday afternoon, and spend the following Monday there 
 before they go to Brindisi. Vicky comes here with her 
 children on the 12th or 13th, and a suite of twenty-five 
 people. She goes on with the big boys to Baden, and I 
 follow with the other children on the following day. I 
 don't like separating Victoria and Ella, who like being 
 together ; the three girls will be so well taken care of at 
 their grandparents'. I have written down rules for meals, 
 going out, to bed, to lessons, &c. ; and my mother-in-law,, 
 who never interferes, will see that all is carried out as I 
 wish. I shall miss them so much, but having one child 
 at least is a comfort ; and Baby is beginning to talk, and is 
 so funny and dear, and so fond of me, that he will be com- 
 pany to me when I am alone. I take no one but Orchard, 
 Eliza, Beck, and my Haushofmeister [steward], who used 
 to be with Lord Granville. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 11. 
 Yesterday morning at eleven we had the hard sepa- 
 ration from each other, which we both felt very much. 
 My own dear, tender-hearted Louis was quite in the state 
 he was in when we parted at Windsor in 1860 after our en- 
 gagement. He does not like leaving his children, his home, 
 and me, and really there are but few such husbands and 
 fathers as he. To possess a heart like his, and to call it 
 my own, I am ever prouder of and more grateful for from 
 year to year. Nowadays young men like Louis are rare 
 enough, for it is considered fine to neglect one's wife, and 
 for the wife also to have amusements in which her husband 
 
i869 LIFE AT CANNES. 207 
 
 does not share. We sisters are singularly blessed in our 
 husbands. 
 
 Dear kind Countess BKicher has been here the last 
 two days — such a happiness to me just now, for the house 
 feels far too lonely. 
 
 Grand Hotel, Cannes : November 5. 
 
 ... I have this instant received another letter from 
 dear Louis from Constantinople, giving the accounts of 
 what they did and saw there until the 29th ult., when they 
 left for Jaffa. He seems delighted, and very greatly inter- 
 ested with all he has seen. Louis thought so much of the 
 Sultan's English visit in 1867, on seeing him again. He 
 found him more talkative than then. He saw also several 
 of the suite who were in England. They went to Scutari, 
 into the Black Sea, and visited all in and near Constan- 
 tinople, and on the last day they visited the Emperor of 
 Austria, who had just arrived. There is something very 
 funny in hearing of these Royalties, one after another, all 
 running to the same places. They must bore the Sultan 
 considerably. 
 
 This journey will be of great advantage to dear Louis, 
 who has never had an opportunity (through marrying so 
 young) of travelling like others. 
 
 This afternoon we went to see poor Princess Waldeck.' 
 She is still in great grief at the loss of her eldest daughter, 
 who suffered so long, and knew she was dying, and bore her 
 lot with such resignation and such goodness. She was 
 only fifteen-and-a-half, I think. 
 
 I was very much pleased to see Lord and Lady Russell 
 again the other day. We hope to be able to pay them a 
 visit at San Remo, though one can't go and return in the 
 same day. 
 
 ' Mother of the Duchess of Albany. 
 
2o8 LETTERS. 1869 
 
 The country has looked too lovely to-day ; the sunset is 
 always most beautiful, for it sets behind the Esterel moun- 
 tains, which lie to the right from this bay, and have a very 
 lovely jagged form. 
 
 I am reading to Vicky a new Life of Napoleon, by Lan- 
 frey, which is very well and impartially written. 
 
 Cannes : December 14. 
 
 . . . The heavenly blue sea, stretching so far and 
 wide, is in accordance with one's feelings, and the beauties 
 of nature have always something comforting and sooth- 
 ing. . . . 
 
 The Duke of Argyll's sister, with his pretty daughter 
 Victoria, are here, and we have been twice to see them, and 
 are distressed that they should be so anxious about the 
 dear Duchess, of whom the news to-day is worse. How 
 dreadful, should anything happen to her, for her husband 
 and for the many children ! 
 
 The Eburys and Lord Dalhousie have likewise arrived 
 here, but we have not seen them yet. 
 
 To-morrow we had intended leaving this, but during the 
 night poor Vicky had the dreadful fright of Waldie's being 
 taken ill with the croup. Thank God, he is better this 
 morning, but our journey will have to be put off for a few 
 days, so that Vicky cannot now reach Berlin in time for 
 Christmas. As we don't wish to spend that day en route, 
 we have telegraphed to our husbands, who reach Naples to- 
 day, to ask whether they will not join us here, that we may 
 all spend Christmas together before leaving. 
 
 This is all unsettled, and I will telegraph as soon as 
 anything is definitively arranged. Eollet ^ is here to-day, 
 and spends this day in quiet with us. 
 
 - Madame EoUande, formerly the Princess's French governess. 
 
1 869 RETURN FROM CANNES. 209 
 
 Cannes : December 20. 
 We both had the happmess yesterday of receiving 
 our dear husbands safe and well here after so long a sepa- 
 ration. 
 
 They had been to Naples and Pompeii, and Louis went 
 for a day to Kome, so that he has seen an enormous 
 deal, which is very instructive for him, and will be such a 
 pleasure for him to look back upon in later years. 
 
 I am so glad that Louis has had the opportunity of 
 making this journey ; and it seems to have done his health 
 good also, for he looks very well. 
 
 The journey back is so long and difficult for me to 
 manage alone with Louis — as Vicky's people, particularly in 
 the nursery, have helped mine — that I am obliged to wait 
 until the 26th, and to go with Vicky and Fritz, for they 
 travel slower than I would do if I went with Louis, who 
 goes back direct day and night. The doctor would not 
 consent to my travelling with Ernie from this warm climate 
 into the great cold so fast, and during the night, for he is 
 cutting four back teeth at this moment. 
 
 The day before yesterday we visited Lord Dalhousie 
 and Lady Christian, and found him very gouty, but in good 
 spirits. Lady Ebury and Oggie' came to see us this after- 
 noon. Prmce and Prmcess Frederic of the Netherlands 
 and their daughter have arrived here. The poor Princess 
 is so weak, and looks like a shadow. 
 
 Hotel du Jura, Dijon : December 28. 
 
 Just as we were leavmg Cannes your last letter 
 reached me, for which many thanks. It was cold the 
 morning we left Cannes, very cold at Avignon, where we 
 spent the night, and still colder, and snow and frost, on 
 
 •' Miss Grosvenor, Lady Ebm'y's daughter. 
 
 P 
 
2IO LETTERS. 1870 
 
 reaching this place yesterday evenmg. We and the children 
 are all well, and the poor little ones are very good on the 
 journey, considering all things. In an hour we leave for 
 Paris, rest there to-morrow, and then go to Cologne, where 
 I shall take leave of dear Vicky and Fritz, and go straight 
 home. I have been so much with dear Vicky this year, 
 that the thought of parting from her costs me a great pang, 
 the more so as I do not think it likely that I shall meet her 
 in this new year. 
 
 On New Year's eve I arrange a Christmas-tree for all 
 my children, and m advance I thank you for all the presents 
 you have been kind enough to send us, and which we shall 
 find at Darmstadt. . . . 
 
 1870 
 
 January 8. 
 
 . . . My three girls have had fearful colds — Ella 
 bronchitis, which Ernie also took from her, and during 
 twelve hours we were in the very greatest anxiety about 
 him : the difficulty of breathing and his whole state caused 
 great alarm. Thank God, he is now quite convalescent ; 
 but those were hours of intense suffering for me, as you 
 can imagine. Weber is most attentive and most kind on 
 such occasions, and in such moments one is so dependent 
 on the doctor. 
 
 . . . Some very good lectures have been given here 
 lately, undertaken by a committee, which we are at the 
 head of, and of which Mr. Morier is a member. They have 
 been a great success hitherto, and we are going to one to- 
 night by Kinkel, who in 1848 was a refugee in England, 
 and is now a professor at Ziirich. 
 
1870 SCARLET FEVER. 211 
 
 Beloved Mama, January IG. 
 
 We are very grateful for your kind inquiries, and 
 for your letter received this morning. The violence of the 
 fever and the great pain in the throat have abated, and 
 dear Louis is going on favourably.'' The nights are not 
 good as yet, and his head pains him. 
 
 I am cut off from all intercourse with anyone in the 
 house, on account of the dear children ; and I trust they 
 may escape, for they still cough, particularly Ella and 
 Ernie. I see Christa when I am out walking, not otherwise, 
 as she comes in contact with the part of the house where 
 the children live. I read to Louis, and play to him, as my 
 sitting-room opens into the bedroom. I keep the rooms 
 well aired, and not hot, and at night I sleep on a sofa near 
 his bed. The first two nights were anxious ones, and I 
 was up all night alone with him ; but now, thank God, all 
 seems to be going well. . . . 
 
 January 20. 
 I am happy to say that all is going on well. Louis 
 has no more fever, but his throat is still far from well ; it 
 has still the character of diphtheria, though in a mild form 
 — a sort of skin and bits of Ijlood come away when he 
 coughs. He is a very good patient, and I leave him very 
 little alone save when I take my walks, which in this high 
 cold wind are very unpleasant. I hear Ella is still so hoarse 
 and coughs, and Victoria is not quite weh. Orchard writes 
 to me every evening, and Dr. Weber ^ sees them in the 
 morning before he comes downstairs. 
 
 This instant Weber tells me that Victoria has the scarlet 
 fever, and I have just been up to see her. She suffers very 
 
 * Prince Louis was ill with an attack of scarlet fever. 
 
 * Prince and Princess Louis' own physician. 
 
 V 2 
 
212 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 much, poor child ; the fever is very high and the rash 
 much out. It is too late now to sej^arate the others, and 
 those who are not predisposed will escape ; but those who 
 are inclined to take it have it in them by this time. 
 
 It is a source of great anxiety. Orchard and Emma 
 have never had it. . . . 
 
 January 23. 
 
 I was very glad to get your dear lines of the 22nd,. 
 full of sympathy for me during this anxious time. Victoria's 
 fever has been ver}- high ; and so much discomfort and pain, 
 with a dreadful cough, which she has had for the last six weeks. 
 She is very low, and cries every now and then from weak- 
 ness, &c., but is a very good patient, poor little one ! Ame- 
 lung comes every afternoon and sits with her, and she is a 
 great favourite with the children, as she knows countless 
 pretty stories. 
 
 Louis is not out of bed yet, on account of his throat, 
 &c. ; but he is much better, though in this treacherous 
 climate, which is proverbially bad for throats and lungs, I 
 fear that even with the greatest care there is a risk. 
 
 The other children are as yet well, though I don't think 
 Ella looking well ; she has still a cold, and is as hoarse as 
 when I came home. Ernie is all right again, and looks the 
 best of them all. I doubt their escaping, though it is quite 
 possible, as they did not take it when Victoria did. I keep 
 the rooms fresh, and continually au'ed. 
 
 All the balls and parties are going on here now. Of 
 course, 1 can neither go anywhere nor receive anyone, on 
 account of the infection. It is a wearisome time indeed, 
 and being so much in sick rooms and so little out begins to 
 tell upon me. How kind of you to send the books ! Louis 
 will be delighted. I have just read to him Eussell's book 
 of Bertie and Alix's journey, and am now reading to him a 
 
1870 DEATH OP^ GENERAL GREY. 213 
 
 new Life of Napoleon, by Lanfrey, which is very well 
 written — more against than for Napoleon. Of course, news- 
 papers and the Revue dcs Dcux-Mondes I read to him 
 besides. . . . 
 
 January 31. 
 
 . . . Though dear Baby has had two bad, restless 
 nights, yet I am happy to say that he has the illness 
 so slightly, with so little fever or sore throat, that we are 
 in great hopes it will get no worse. He is cutting his back 
 teeth just now, which is the worst moment possible to be ill in. 
 Victoria looks very hollow-eyed, pale and wretched, 
 poor darling, but is in good spirits now. The other two 
 are as yet free. The weather is most beautiful — frosty 
 and clear — and I have been skating daily for the last six 
 days, which does me much good, and enables me to see 
 people again. This afternoon I have a large party on the 
 ice at Kranichstein, and this is always a great amusement 
 to the young people. . . . 
 
 Maycnce : April 10. 
 
 . . . Yesterday evening we had to give a large party 
 here, half to the military, and the other to the civil au- 
 thorities and to the Bllrgcr [citizens]. It went off well ; 
 but the amount of speaking, as one must speak to all, and 
 the effort to remember who they all were — they having 
 been all presented at once — was no small exertion. . . . 
 
 Mayence : April 15. 
 
 . . . Lady Car. [Barrington] wrote to me how very 
 grateful Mrs. Grey was to 3'ou for your great kindness 
 and consideration.^ In trouble no one can have a more 
 true and sympathising friend than my beloved Mama 
 always is. How many hearts has she not gained by this, 
 
 * General Grey, Her Majesty's private secretary, who died March 30. 
 
314 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 and how many a poor sufferer's burdens has she not 
 lightened ! . . . 
 
 April 25. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear loving lines ! I 
 kissed them a thousand times, and thank you so much for 
 the quite lovely statuette— a little gem, which everyone has 
 been admiring this morning. The shawl and little orna- 
 ment gave me also great pleasure, and the coloured photo- 
 graphs of the rooms — in short, all and anj'thing from such 
 dear hands must give pleasure. . . . 
 
 June 25. 
 
 ... I am proud of my two girls, for they are warm- 
 hearted and gifted, too, in appearance. Victoria's facilitj'- 
 in learning is wonderful, and her lessons are her delight. 
 Her English history and reading she has learned from me. 
 I give her a lesson dail}^, and Biiuerlein " can tell you how 
 much she has learned. . . . 
 
 I read a great deal, chiefly history and deeper works ; 
 and I have one or two very learned acquaintances with 
 whom to read or to have books recommended by. 
 
 My two committees always give me no end of work, and 
 T have tried to have many improvements made in the girls' 
 schools of the different classes ; and some of these things, 
 by dint of a deal of trouble, are prospering, and I hope in 
 time to come will prove their worth. There is a great deal 
 to be done, and in the hospitals I have been able to get 
 some very necessary changes made. I tell you all this, 
 fancying it may perhaps interest you a little bit. . . . 
 
 July 2. 
 
 How grieved I am for yom* sake, above all, and for the 
 poor Clarks and ourselves, that dear kind Sir James,® that 
 
 " Miss Bauer, the German governess of the Eoyal family. 
 ' Sir James Clark died at Bagshot June 29, 1870. 
 
1870 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. 215 
 
 true fatherly friend, is no more ! ! Many thanks for your 
 last letter, which tells me of your last visit to him, which I 
 am sure must he a great comfort to you. Oh ! how sad to 
 think how many are gone ! And for you, dear Mama, this 
 is quite dreadful. I can't say how I feel it for you ! 
 
 Lord Clarendon's death ^ grieves me much also ; and it 
 was so sudden. Alice Skelmersdale wrote to me in the 
 greatest distress ; he had been a most loving father. 
 
 In the midst of life we are in death ; and in our quiet 
 and solitary existence out here, where we see no one, all 
 accords with sad and serious feelings, which, amidst the 
 many people and worry you live in, must jar with such 
 feelings and make you wish for solitude. The accounts 
 you give touch me so much. Many thanks for having 
 written so much about dear Sir James ; it is of great value 
 to me. Louis begs me to say how he shares the grief you 
 all and we must feel at such a loss. 
 
 Wliat ,you say about the education of our girls I entirely 
 agree with, and I strive to bring them up totally free from 
 pride of their position, which is nothing, save what their 
 personal worth can make it. I read it to the governess — 
 who quite enters into all my wishes on that subject — ^thmk- 
 ing how good it would be for her to hear your opinion. . . . 
 I feel so entirely as j^ou do on the difference of rank, and 
 how all-important it is for princes and princesses to know 
 that they are nothing better or above others, save through 
 their own merit ; and that they have only the double duty 
 of living for others and of being an example — good and 
 modest. This I hope my children will grow up to. 
 
 July 2(). 
 
 "When I returned home last night really heartbroken, 
 after having parted from my good and tenderly loved Louis, 
 
 " Died June 27, 1870. 
 
2i6 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 I found your dear sympathising words, and I thank you 
 a thousand times for them — they were a comfort and plea- 
 sure to me ! I parted with dear Louis late in the evening, 
 on the high road outside the village in which he was 
 quartered for the night, and we looked back until nothing 
 more was to be seen of each other. May the Almighty 
 watch over his precious life, and bring him safe back again ! 
 All the pain and anxiety are forgotten and willingly borne 
 if he is only left to me and to his children ! 
 
 It is an awful time, and the provocation of a war such 
 as this a crime that will have to be answered for, and for 
 which there can be no justification. Everywhere troops and 
 peasants are heard singing ' Die Wacht am Ehein ' and 
 ' Was ist des Deutschen Yaterland ? ' and there is a feeling 
 of unity and standing by each other, forgetting all party 
 quarrels, which makes one proud of the name of German. 
 All women feel ashamed of comi)laining, when father, 
 husband, or son goes, and so many as volunteers in the 
 ranks. This war is felt to be national, and that the King 
 had no other course left him to pursue with honour. 
 
 I must be in town by nine o'clock : so much rests 
 on me, and there are so many to help — the poor for- 
 saken soldiers' families amongst others ! I have seen 
 that all is ready to receive the wounded, and to send out 
 help. I send out fom-teen nurses for the Feld-Lazarethe 
 [field-hospitals]. 
 
 How much I feel for you now, for I know how truly 
 you must feel for Germany ; and all know that every good 
 thing England does for Germany, and every evil she wards 
 off her, is owing to your wisdom and experience, and to 
 youi* true and just feelings. You would, I am sure, be 
 pleased to hear how universally this is recognised and 
 appreciated. 
 
i87o WAR WITH FRANCE. 217 
 
 What would beloved Papa have thought of this war '? 
 The unity of Germany, which it has brought about, would 
 please him, but never the shocking means ! 
 
 July -JS. 
 
 My darling Louis is at Worms, and Henry just in 
 front of him. The enthusiasm all along the Ehine is won- 
 derful. They are all hopeful, though knowing well what 
 enormous sacrifices and struggles a victory will cost. 
 
 I cannot leave this place until our troops should have — 
 which God prevent ! — to retreat, and the French come ! 
 Now is the moment when a panic might overcome the 
 people ; and I think it my duty to remain at my post, as 
 it gives the people courage and confidence. My pareuts-in- 
 law, who have their three sons out, would feel my absence, 
 and they have the first claim on me. I am in beloved 
 Louis' home, and nearer to him, if I remain. Of course, 
 with dear Vicky I should personally be far better off. But 
 Fritz is not much exposed, and she has not that fearful 
 anxiety to such an amount as I have for dear Louis, who, 
 as commander of only a division, must be in the very midst 
 of all. Day and night this thought is uppermost in my 
 mind. I hope and pray for the best, and bear what is sent 
 to me in common with so many others. Work is a Zer- 
 streuung [distraction], and I know dear Louis would prefer 
 knowing me here for the present, and that must be the first 
 consideration to determine my actions. 
 
 Louis is well, and, now the dreadful parting is over, I 
 am sure in better spirits, though work and anxiety weigh 
 on him, poor love. 
 
 The children send their love. I am pretty well ; able 
 to do a great deal ; headache and sleeplessness are but 
 natural at this moment. 
 
2i8 LETTERS 1870 
 
 August 6. 
 
 Arrived in our house this morning, I was received 
 with the news of dear Fritz's first victory,' and that 600 
 French prisoners had just j^assed through here by rail. I 
 know none of ours can have been engaged, but we have not 
 heard if there was an engagement elsewhere. The excite- 
 ment and anxiety are quite dreadful ! Please God, my dar- 
 ling is safe, and will pass safely through these dreadful 
 dangers — and our many dear friends and acquaintances 
 also ! I am a,lways sending off things for the wounded from 
 our stores, and continue working and collecting, and all are 
 most patriotic and united. It is a solemn and great time 
 we live in, and there is something grand and elevating in 
 the unity of high and low throughout this great nation, 
 which makes one proud of belonging to it. If only all goes 
 on well ! 
 
 I am very sleepless, and never without headache, but 
 one has neither time nor wish to think of oneself. My own 
 Louis' safety is the all-engrossing thought ; and I know, 
 beloved Mama, that you love him truly, and share thLs 
 anxiety with me. . . . 
 
 August 15. 
 
 A few words by messenger. I have sent a letter by 
 Kanne,^ who came here yesterday, having seen dear Louis 
 the day before, which was the first direct news I have had 
 from him. Yesterday morning he was at Faulquemont. 
 Poor General von Manstein (our Chef), when he reached 
 Saarbriick, found his son had been killed, and he had him 
 taken out of the general grave and buried in the church- 
 yard. ... No less than forty French wounded I saw 
 
 ' Victory of the Germans at Weissenburg over Marshal MacMahon, on 
 August 4, 1870. '^ The Queen's own courier. 
 
1870 CARE OF THE WOUNDED. 219 
 
 this morning in our hospital, with some Tm*cos. Some 
 can't speak in an}- known language, and the French dislike 
 having these savages near them as much as we do ; their 
 physiognomies are horrid, and they steal and murder as 
 Handwcrk [their vocation]. 
 
 So much going al)out — for I go to Darmstadt at half- 
 past eight, and remain till half-past eleven, in the morning, 
 and in the afternoon from five till eight — is getting very 
 fatiguing to me ; but the people have no time to come out 
 here, and there is much to see to, and many to speak with. 
 
 August 19. 
 
 I have tried to write as often as I could, but I have 
 only two hours to myself daring the whole day, through 
 driving in here twice a day. Besides the large Hiilfs- 
 verein for the 'wounded and sick,' which is in our palace, 
 I have daily to visit the four hospitals. There is very 
 much to do ; we are so near the seat of war. This morning 
 we got two large waggons ready and sent off for Pont-a- 
 Mousson, where they telegraph from the battlefield of the 
 16th they are in great want. My best nurses are out there ; 
 the others are in three hospitals : two of them — military 
 ones — were not ready or organised when 150 wounded 
 arrived a week ago. I have just had a telegram from dear 
 Louis ; he is well, and I hope in a day or two the least 
 dangerously of the Hessian wounded will arrive. 
 
 Thank God, all goes on successfully; but, indeed, I 
 hope I shall not live to see another such war — it is too 
 shocking by far. We have over five hundred wounded ; as 
 soon as any are better, they are sent north, and worse ones 
 fill the beds — French and German intermixed. I neither 
 see nor smell anything else but wounds ! and the first 
 Anhlick [sight], which sometimes one does not escape meet- 
 
220 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 ing, is very shocking ! It was very late last night before I 
 got home. I was stopped at one of the hospitals, as a poor 
 soldier had had sudden violent bleeding, and was all but 
 dead, as the doctor could not find the artery ; but I sent 
 my carriage for another surgeon, and I am happy to say he 
 lives, and is recovering. 
 
 As Louis commands the whole of our little army, a 
 great many things concerning the troops come to me from 
 all parts of the country, and there is much to do — much 
 more than in my present state is good for me ; but it can't 
 be helped. 
 
 I drive back to Kranichstein by one daily, and am here 
 again before five, so I hope you will kindly forgive my 
 writing seldomer. Becker is engrossed with his duties at 
 the Hiilfsverein ; there is no other gentleman with me, and 
 I have the household to look after, besides. 
 
 August 20. 
 My telegram will have told you that dear Louis is 
 until now safe.^ On the 16th, in the evening, and on the 
 17th and 18th, our troops were engaged, and yesterday 
 evening late I drove to the station, to speak to General 
 Kehrer, our commandant, and received a telegram of the 
 last victory, near Metz — a battle of nine hours, very bloody 
 — no mention of names. The people, all excited, crowded 
 round my carriage, asked for news — which of om- regiments 
 had been under fire ? I could tell them nothing, but 
 pacified them, begging them to go to their homes — they 
 
 ^ On the 16th, Marshal Bazaine, while retreating from Metz to Verdun, 
 ■was attacked by Prince Frederic Charles, between Vionville and Mars-la- 
 Tour, and a severe engagement was fought. On the 17th and 18th occurred 
 the battles of Eezonville and Gravelotte, in which the King of Prussia com- 
 manded, and defeated Marshal Bazaine. Prince Louis was engaged with his 
 division in these battles. 
 
1870 THE MISERIES OF WAR. 221 
 
 should hear as soon as I had news. T drove home with an 
 aching heart, and passed a dreadful night of suspense. At 
 six this morning a telegram from Louis (19th) ; he and his 
 two brothers safe ; our loss enormous — seventy officers 
 out of one division (ours is the 25th), and Oberlieutenant 
 Moller, a great favourite, his adjutant since 1866, very 
 badly wounded. I went at once to Darmstadt to Louis' 
 parents. Thej^ were so overcome and thankful to hear of 
 the safety of their children. This continual anxiety is fear- 
 ful. Now to-day all the poor wives, mothers, sisters, come 
 to me for news of their relations ; it is heartrending ! We 
 sent off two large waggon-loads to Pont-a-Mousson again 
 with provisions, bandages and medicaments, and mattresses 
 to bring back all the wounded possible by rail. I went the 
 round of the hospital, to have all the convalescent Prussians 
 and French able to travel sent to their homes, so as to get 
 room, and now we can await the sad arrivals. Oh, if it 
 would but end ! the misery of thousands is too awful ! 
 
 Kranichstein : August 25. 
 
 Many thanks for your dear words of the 20th, God 
 knows, I have suffered much, and the load of anxiety is 
 great ! But thousands of Germans bear this load in unity 
 together for their Fatherland, and none murmur. Yester- 
 day a poor woman came to me to ask me to help her to 
 get to the battlefield, to have the body of her only son 
 looked for and brought home ; and she was so resigned 
 and patient. 
 
 I see daily, in all classes, so much grief and suffering ; 
 so many acquaintances and friends have fallen ! It is heart- 
 rending ! I ought to be very proud though, and I am so, 
 too, to hear from the mouths of so many wounded officers 
 the loud praise of Louis' great bravery on the 16th and 
 
222 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 18tli. Always in front, encouraging his men where the 
 battle raged fiercest and the balls fell thickest. He was 
 near our troops, speaking to them, directing them, and 
 right and left of him they fell in masses. This lasted eight 
 hours ! 
 
 . . . Hourly almost the trains bring in fresh wounded, 
 and many and shocking are the sights one sees. I only 
 returned here by one, having gone to town at half-past 
 eight this morning, and have still three hospitals for this 
 afternoon. 
 
 My nurses reached the battlefield in time, and were of 
 great use. Louis telegraphed (yesterday's date) from 
 Auboue, between Thionville and Metz, where they remain in 
 bivouac. ... It is ten days since Louis has been in a 
 bed or under a roof. They have no water (it is kept for 
 the wounded), and little to eat, but he is very well. 
 
 It is difficult to get news, and I can never send any that 
 is not mostly ten days old ere it reaches him. 
 
 August 26. 
 
 ... I had a telegram on the 25th from near 
 Marengo, not far from Metz — all well. Louis has not been 
 in bed or under a roof since the 16th, and it rains inces- 
 santly. I hope they won't all be ill. He writes mostly on 
 cards, on the hilt of his sword, sitting on a box. They cook 
 their own dinner, and on the 16th they were going to eat 
 it, when orders came to turn the French left wing and go 
 into battle. That night was awful, though the day of the 
 18th seems to have been the bloodiest ever known. Our 
 wounded all tell me so. 
 
 My dear parents-in-law bear up well ; but when we three 
 get together we pour our hearts out to each other, and then 
 tears which are full of anxiety will flow. 
 
iSyo ANXIETIES. 223 
 
 Kranich stein : September 2. 
 
 I went earlj' to Homburg, as no trains go regularly 
 now. I went by road from Frankfort, and found dear 
 Vicky well — her little baby very pretty and healthy-looking ; 
 the other dear children also well. 
 
 How much we had to tell each other ! How much to 
 be proud of, and how many friends and acquaintances to 
 mourn over ! The few hours we had together flew by in no 
 time, and at Frankfort the train was unpunctual — outside 
 Darmstadt it waited nearly an hour. At our palace, where 
 I arrived at ten in the evening, people who were going to 
 our Hauptquartier [headquarters] were waiting. I scrib- 
 bled a few words to my dear Louis (the first since he re- 
 ceived the Iron Cross, a great distinction) and packed a few 
 things for him — tea, &c. 
 
 September 15. 
 
 Though I am still forbidden to use my eyes, I must 
 send you a few words of thanks for your dear letter and tele- 
 gram. I had a violent inflammation of eyes and throat, 
 with two days strong fever and neuralgia. I am recovering 
 now, but feel the effects very much ; my eyes are still bad, 
 and it has reduced my strength, which I require so much. 
 Dr. Weber has just lost his sister (whom he treated in her 
 confinement) from puerperal fever, and he told me he thought 
 he must have given it to her, from going to and fro to his 
 wounded, for Lazarcthfiehcr [hospital fever] and that were 
 so closely akin. You can fancy that in Louis' absence, 
 and with the prospect of being alone, without even a married 
 experienced lady in the house, this prospect ft'ightened me. 
 It is unhealthy at any time to be for one's confinement in 
 a town full of hospitals with wounded, and Weber could 
 never give me as much attention as at another time, and. 
 
224 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 should I be very ill, there is no authority to say anything 
 about what had best be done. On that account your tele- 
 gram was a relief to me. 
 
 September 20. 
 
 . . . Daily I hear the muffled drums of the funeral 
 of some soldier or officer being taken past my windows to 
 his last resting-place. How deeply I do feel for the poor 
 parents and widows ! 
 
 My children are very well, but have absolutely no place 
 where they can walk with safety from infection, for the 
 mass of sick troops who get out and stop near the Exercir- 
 platz [drill-ground], and the hospitals in town. The bar- 
 rack at the foot of our garden contains 1,200 French 
 prisoners, and many of them ill. It is much to be hoped 
 that there will be soon an end to all these things. I feel 
 for the Emperor and Empress very much. What un- 
 grateful, vain, and untruthful people the French are ! To 
 expose Paris to a siege, now their armies are beaten, which 
 they think through fine speeches and volunteers they can 
 set right again. 
 
 September 22. 
 
 I received your letter through Kanne yesterday, and 
 thank you many times for it ; also for the little shawls and 
 sash for Ernie. Every souvenir from dear Balmoral is a 
 pleasure. 
 
 Good Dr. Hofmeister * will be very welcome, and I know 
 he is very clever. Mrs. Clarke ^ is sure to get on well with 
 him, and an older doctor just now, besides being an ac- 
 quamtance of so many years, is to me indeed a comfort. I 
 shall be able also to hear of all at home, and of so many 
 
 * Sent by the Queen to attend the Princess in her confinement. 
 ^ Nurse. 
 
i87o DESIRE FOR PEACE. 225 
 
 things that interest me. Thousand thanks from Louis and 
 from myself for your sending him ! . . . 
 
 All long for peace — the army and the nation — and I 
 think so great a national war as this need not require part 
 of the foes' territory. What little is necessary for the mili- 
 tary frontier they must take ; but the union of Germany 
 under one head is a far greater and finer end to such a war 
 than the annexation of land ! 
 
 . . . War is the greatest scourge this world knows, and 
 that we may not live to see it again, is my earnest prayer. 
 
 October 1. 
 
 . . . The children are all well, in spite of the bad 
 air here. I send them out driving of an afternoon, when 
 I can best, having only one coachman, as ours are with 
 Louis. At present the}^ can't manage it often. . . . 
 
 October 3. 
 
 . . . Dr. Hofmeister is to both of us a source of 
 real confidence and comfort. I don't think anyone else 
 would have been more welcome to me just now, and he can 
 write daily to Louis, and letters go usually in two days 
 now. 
 
 I go as little as possible to the hospital now, and, indeed, 
 do nothing imprudent, you can be sure. . . . 
 
 November 12. 
 
 . . . The nerves of my forehead and eyes are still 
 painful ; and from all sides I am again called upon to look 
 after, settle, and advise concerning many things. On that 
 account Dr. Weber and my mother-in-law insist on my 
 leaving Darmstadt for a total change of scene, &c., for 
 three weeks. I have resisted as long as I could, as I so 
 
226 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 much dislike going from home now (though I do not feel 
 up to the work, and yet cannot keep from doing it), but I 
 have finally given in, and accepted Vicky's kind invitation 
 to accompany her for three weeks to Berlin. The journey 
 is long and cold, but her company when we are both alone 
 is a pleasure to me, and I shall hear all news as directly 
 there as here. 
 
 . . . Last night I was much overcome. I had been 
 sitting at the bedside of one of my poor young friends, 
 and he was gasping in a too-distressing way. The father 
 held his hand, the tears streaming down his cheek, the son 
 trjdng to say ' Weme nicht. Papa ' [' Don't weep, Papa !]. 
 The poor old father, so proud of his good and handsome 
 child, is heartbroken, and they are touchingly united and 
 full of feeling for each other. I would give anything to 
 save his life ; but all efforts will, I fear, be in vain. Though 
 I have seen so many lately die hard deaths, and heard and 
 seen the grief of many heartbroken widows and mothers, it 
 makes my heart bleed anew in each fresh case, and curse 
 the wickedness of war again and again. 
 
 Poor Baby can't be christened yet, as my parents-in-law 
 think Louis would not like it during his absence, so I shall 
 wait. . . . 
 
 November 17. 
 
 . . . How I rejoice to hear that Leopold gains so 
 much strength, and that he can be about again as usual. 
 Will you kindly tell him in Louis' name and mine (as I 
 am still restricted in all writing and reading), that we beg 
 him to stand godfather to our little son ? ^ Baby is so nice 
 and fat now, and thrives very well. I thmk you would 
 
 * Prince Frederick William, the ' Frittie ' of these letters, born the 6th 
 of the previous month of October, and who was killed by a fall from a 
 window on the 29th of May, 1873. 
 
1870 THE PRINCESS ROYAL AT DARMSTADT. 227 
 
 admire him, his features are so pretty, and he is so pink, 
 and looks so wide-awake and intelHgent. Ernie, who in 
 general is a rough boy, is most tender and gentle to his 
 little brother, and not jealous. ... 
 
 Berlin : December 5. 
 
 . . . Yesterday Fieldmarshal Wrangel came to see 
 me, and his words were, ' Zu gratuliren dass Ihr Mann ein 
 Held ist, und sich so superb geschlagen hat ' [* Accept my 
 congratulations that your husband is a hero, and has fought 
 so magnificently ']. I am very proud of all this, but I am 
 too much a woman not to long above all things to have him 
 safe home again. 
 
 . . . The evenings Vicky and I spend alone together, 
 talking or writing our letters. There is so much to speak 
 of and think about, of the present and the future, that it is 
 to me a great comfort to be with dear Vicky. It is nearly 
 five months since Louis left, and we lead such single exist- 
 ences that a sister is inexpressibly dear when all closer 
 intercourse is so wanting ! There is so much, beloved 
 Mama, I should like to speak to you about. . . . 
 
 The girls arc quite well, and very happy with their 
 grandparents. The governess — who in the end did not 
 suit for the children — as the six months' trial is over, will 
 not remain, and I am looking for another one. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 18. 
 
 . . . The children and I bore the journey well, and 
 it was not cold. Parting from dear Vicky was a hard 
 moment, and I shall feel the loneliness here so much, and 
 miss my dear good Louis more than ever. The children 
 are, of course, at such a time the greatest blessing. There 
 is so much to do for them and to look after for them ; and 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 mine are clear good children, and do not give over-much 
 trouble. 
 
 Letters I have again received speak of the amount of 
 danger Louis has again been daily exposed to, and how his 
 personal courage and daring have given the victory in many 
 a fight. God protect him ! I live in fear and trembling 
 for his precious life, and after I hear of his being safe 
 through one battle, I take it as a fresh present from the 
 Almighty, and breathe freer again, though the fear soon 
 enough gets the upper hand again. 
 
 I have asked Uncle Louis to allow his Berichte [reports] 
 to be copied for you. Louis has Kohler and another foot- 
 man with him, that is all — and two coachmen. He rides at 
 all battles the horse you gave him in 1866, which he rode 
 during that campaign, and which is quite invaluable. It 
 would interest Colonel Maude ^ to know this, as he bought the 
 horse. My nursery is in very good order, and they are all 
 invaluable in their way. 
 
 How is good Dr. Hofmeister's family? Please say 
 many kind things to him from me, and tell him that the 
 Baby is getting so nice and fat, and is so healthy in spite of 
 all troubles. Here is a photograph of him, but not at all 
 flattered. Please give Dr. Hofmeister one of them ! 
 
 I have this instant received a letter from Louis dated 
 the 11th ! I will have an extract made for you. I think it 
 might interest Bertie to hear something of Louis, whom he 
 can be proud to have as a brother-in-law, for I hear his 
 praises continually. He has been throughout the war, as 
 every other General has been, without a carriage, &c., like 
 other Princes, and has gained the respect and devotion of 
 his troops. 
 
 ' Crown Equerry to the Queen. 
 
i87o THE ALICE HOSPITAL. 229 
 
 Darmstadt : December 19. 
 
 ... I hope for this last time, if we are spared and 
 live to come over together once more, we may have the joy 
 of showing their dear Grandmama the whole little band. 
 Of course, no thoughts of plans can be entertained, and I 
 know, after so very long a separation, Louis would not be 
 willing again to part fi'om his children. 
 
 My wounded were so pleased to see me again yesterday. 
 Alas ! many m bed, and so ill still ! My two in the house 
 are much better, and the one who during six weeks lay at 
 death's door is recovering. I have seldom experienced so 
 great a satisfaction as seeing this young man recover, and 
 the doctors say I have been the means of saving his life. 
 
 The joy of the old parents will be very great. Smce I 
 left, there are new widows and fresh parents bereft of onlj' 
 children ; it is a most painful duty to go to them. But I 
 know the comfort of sympathy is the only one in deep 
 grief. 
 
 December 23. 
 
 My warmest and tenderest thanks for your dear and 
 loving letter, with so many expressions of a mother's love 
 and sympathy, which do my heart good, now that I feel so 
 lonely and anxious. It seems too great a happiness to think 
 of, that of our being allowed to come with our children to 
 you, and to Scotland ; and you know the smallest corner is 
 enough for us, who are by no means particular — neither are 
 our people. If I write this to Louis, it will be something 
 for him to look forward to, to cheer him and reward him 
 after so hard a time, which he bears so bravely and un- 
 complainingly. This morning I have been at the Alice 
 Hospital, which is prospering. I have been taking my gifts 
 for Christmas to one hospital after another. Your two 
 capes have delighted the poor sufferers, and the one wounded 
 
230 LETTERS. 1870 
 
 for the second time is very bad, alas ! My wounded officer 
 in the house is recovering, next to a miracle. For the two 
 wounded in the house, the children, our household, and the 
 children of our servants at the war, I arrange Christmas trees. 
 
 We grown-up ones of the family have given up keeping 
 Christmas for ourselves. We have too much to do for 
 others, and my parents-in-law, like me, feel the absence of 
 the dear ones who are always here for Christmas. 
 
 I am superintending Victoria and Ella's letters to you, 
 which have not achieved the perfection wished for. As they 
 are to be quite their own, I hope you will excuse their 
 arriving a little later. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 27. 
 
 . . . Louis telegraphed on Christmas day from 
 Orleans, where I had sent Christa's brother with a box of 
 eatables and woollen things for his people, and a tiny 
 Christmas tree with little lights for the whole party. Louis 
 has sent me a photograph of himself and staff done at 
 Orleans, and I have sent for a copy for you, as it is very 
 good. On Christmas day it was five months since Louis 
 and the troops left. The charming stockings you sent, I 
 have sent off in part to-day to Louis to give to his Stabs- 
 wache [Staff-guard] ; the other things I divide among the 
 wounded and sick. 
 
 My children are all well. The little one sits up, and, 
 though not very fat, is round and firm, with rosy cheeks and 
 the brightest eyes possible. He is very healthy and strong, 
 and in fact the prettiest of all my babies. The three girls 
 are so grown, particularly the two eldest, you would scarcely 
 know them. They are both very tall for their age. Vic- 
 toria is the height of Vicky's Charlotte, and Ella not much 
 less. They are thin, and a change of air would be very 
 beneficial. 
 
2871 THE GERMAN ARMY IN FRANCE. 231 
 
 187I 
 
 Dannstadt : January 7. 
 ... In England people are, I fear, becoming un- 
 just towards the German troops. Such a long and bloody 
 war must demoralise the best army ; and I only say, in such 
 a position how would the French have behaved? Many 
 French officers say the same, and how greatly they respect 
 the German soldier. Hundreds of French officers and two 
 generals have broken their word of honour, and run away. 
 I doubt whether one in the German army would do such 
 a thing. The French peasants, often women, murder our 
 soldiers in their beds, and the wounded they have used too 
 horribly many a time. Is it a wonder, then, when the men 
 let a feeling of revenge lay hold of them ? A guerilla war 
 is always horrid, and no words can say how all Germans 
 feel and deplore the present phase of the war ! I hope and 
 trust that the end may not be far distant. 
 
 One of the poor wounded soldiers whom I gave your 
 cape to is dymg, and the poor boy won't part from it for 
 an instant, and holds it tight round himself. 
 
 Louis continues at Orleans, where they have entrenched 
 themselves, and await with impatience news from Paris 
 which must be of great influence for the continuation or 
 ending of the war. 
 
 My days fly past. The children take much of my time 
 — so, too, the house, my two wounded in the house, and the 
 hospitals, to one of which I go daily. 
 
 Darmstadt : January 14. 
 
 . . . How kind of you to work something for Louis ; 
 he will wear it with such pleasure. Prince Frederick Carl's 
 
232 
 
 LETTERS. 1871 
 
 recent victories® and the fresh hosts of prisoners^ must help 
 to bring the war to an end. Germany does not wish to go 
 on, but the French won't see that they are beaten, and 
 they will have to accept the visitors, who must increase in 
 numbers the longer the French refuse to accede to the 
 German demands. 
 
 I am so low, so deeply grieved for the misery entailed 
 on both sides, and feel for the French so much. Our troops 
 do not pillage in the way described in English papers. I 
 have read far worse accounts of what the French soldiers 
 ^nd francs-tireurs do in their French villages. 
 
 The poor soldier who had your cape is dead. He died 
 with it round him. I was with him in the afternoon, and 
 he had tears in his eyes, and was very low. In the night 
 he died. This morning I was at the station to give things 
 to the wounded and sick who came through — a sorry sight. 
 This afternoon I am going to a poor soldier's widow who 
 has just had twins. The distress on all sides is great. I 
 help where I can. Becker tears his hair. The two wounded 
 in the house cost so much. So does everything else ; but as 
 long as I can, through sparing on myself, help others, I 
 must do it — though I have, as things are now, nothing left. 
 
 I will get a head of Ernest done for your bracelet, and 
 another one, so that you may have something else of him. 
 He is a magnificent boy, but so huge — such limbs ! The 
 Baby is not at all small, but near Ernest all the others look 
 small. 
 
 He can't speak properly yet, but he understands every- 
 thing, and has a wonderful ear for music. He sings the 
 ' Guten Kameraden ' without a fault in the time, and is 
 passionately fond of dancing, which he also does in time. 
 
 Irene is growing fast also, but the two eldest are quite 
 
 « On the 10th, Uth, and 12th of January, 1871, before Le Mans. 
 
i87i CAPITULATION OF PARIS. 233 
 
 big girls ; it makes me feel old when I see them growing 
 up to me so fast. Victoria has a very inquiring mind, 
 and is studious, and learns easily and well. Since the 
 middle of December I have been without a governess. 
 
 To-morrow I go to Mayence to see poor Woldemar^ 
 Holstein's sister. He is very bad, to the grief of all 
 Mayence, and of all who know him. 
 
 Darmstadt : January 16. 
 
 My little Baby ought to be christened, but Louis and 
 my parents-in-law always hope that the end of hostilities is 
 near, and that Louis can then get leave. Baby's blue eyes 
 are beginning to turn, and look almost as if they would be 
 brown. Should dear Grandmama's and Grandpapa's eyes 
 come up again amongst some of the grandchildren, how 
 nice it would be ! 
 
 I have but little news to give. I go about to the poor 
 soldiers' widows and wives— no end of them, with new-born 
 babies, m the greatest distress. 
 
 Yesterday I saw the mother of the poor young soldier 
 who died. She keeps your cape as a precious relic, as it 
 had given him such great pleasure. 
 
 January 30. 
 
 Your charmmg photograph and kind letter arrived 
 this morning— thousand thanks for both ! How like the 
 photograph, and how pleasing ! I am so glad to have it. 
 
 The armistice and capitulation of Paris are great events. 
 The people are out of their minds with joy— flags all over 
 the town, and the streets crowded. 
 
 I forgot to say in my last letter how grieved I was about 
 Beaty Durham's ' death. It is quite shocking ! and those 
 
 " Prince Henry Charles Woldemar of Schleswig-Holstein, Governor of 
 the fortress of Mayence. He died on the 20th of January, 1871. 
 ' Daughter of the Duke of Abercorn. 
 
234 LETTERS. 1871 
 
 numbers of cliildren in so short a time. I earnestly hope 
 none of us run such a chance, for on the whole our children 
 have not been so close together. My last came sooner than 
 I wished, and is smaller than his brother, but I hope now 
 for a long rest. I have Baby fed, besides, so as not to try 
 my strength. He is very healthy and strong, and is more 
 like Victoria and my brothers and sisters than my other 
 children, and his eyes remind me of Uncle Ernest's, and 
 seem turning brown, which would be very pretty, as he is 
 very fair otherwise. 
 
 Your pretty photograph is standing before me, and 
 makes me quite absent. I catch myself continually staring 
 at it, instead of writing my letters. 
 
 Darmstadt : February 2. 
 
 . . . All the many French here are pleased at the 
 capitulation of Paris, and hope that peace is certain. Louis 
 writes to me that the inhabitants of Orleans were equally 
 pleased, and consider the war over. I earnestly pray it 
 may be so. How greatly relieved and thankful all Germany 
 would be ! 
 
 Louis telegraphed to-day. He has no leave as yet, 
 though he hopes for it. Now that there is a prospect of 
 peace, and that the fighting is momentarily over, I feel 
 quite a collapse of my nerves, after the strain that has been 
 on them for six whole months. I can scarcely imagine 
 what it will be when my beloved Louis is at home again ; 
 it seems too great a joy ! Kest and quiet together are what 
 I long for ; and I fear in the first weeks he will have so 
 much to do, and there will be much going on. 
 
 He speaks wdth the greatest hope of going to Scotland 
 this autumn ; and, if we are spared to do so, it will be such 
 a rest, and do good to our healths, which must feel the 
 wear and tear sooner or later. 
 
s87i AN EARTHQUAKE. 235 
 
 February 11. 
 
 Many thanks for your last kind letter. I thought 
 80 much of you yesterday, spenduag the dear 10th for the 
 first time again at Windsor. To-day our little son is to be 
 christened, but only the family will be present, and my 
 ladies and the two wounded gentlemen, who can get about 
 on crutches now. When I tlimk that the one owes his life 
 to bemg here, it always gives me pleasure. 
 
 Two nights ago I was awakened by a dreadful noise, the 
 whole house and my bed rocking from it ; and twice agam, 
 though less violently. It was an earthquake, and I think 
 too unpleasant. It frightens one so ; the doors and win- 
 dows rattle and shake. To-night two slight shocks, and one 
 during the day yesterday. 
 
 How I shall miss dear Louis to-day ! The seven months 
 will be round ere we meet, I fear, and he has never seen 
 his dear little boy. It always makes me sad to look at 
 him, though now I have every reason to hope — please God 
 — that I shall have the joy of seeing Louis come home, and 
 of placmg his baby in his arms. My heart is full, as you 
 €an fancy, and, much as I long to see Louis, I almost dread 
 the moment — the emotion will be so great, and the long 
 pent-up feelmgs will find vent. 
 
 I pray that peace may be restored, and that I may not 
 live to see sucli a war again, or to see my sons have to go to it. 
 
 I will tell Christa to write an account to you of the 
 christening, for Leopold to see also, as he will be god- 
 father. Frederic "William Augustus (after the Emjiress) 
 Victor (victory) Louis will be his names. Fritz and yick3% 
 the Empress and Fritz Carl, are godparents. 
 
 Darmstadt : February 14. 
 
 My bad eyes must again excuse the shortness of 
 these lines, which are to thank you many times for your 
 last dear letter. 
 
236 LETTERS. 1871 
 
 Clirista will have sent you the account of little Fritz's 
 christening, which was a sad day for me, and will have 
 been so for dear Louis likewise. We have added dear Leo- 
 pold's name to the others, as his sad life, and the anxiety 
 his health has so often caused us all, endear him particu- 
 larly, and we hoped it would give him pleasure, dear boy. 
 
 The elections in the provinces are all for peace, and 
 only the towns for war and a republic. This week is one 
 of intense and anxious expectation ; though the greater 
 portion believe in the restoration of peace, yet we have no 
 security for it. 
 
 March 6. 
 
 . . . Now dear Louise's marriage draws near, how 
 much you must feel it ! I think so much of her, of your 
 and of my dear home. I trust she will be very happy^ 
 which with such an amiable young man she must be. 
 
 Louis has received the Order ' Pour le merite,' which I 
 am so glad of for him. The Emperor telegraphed the 
 announcement to my mother-in-law, with many compli- 
 mentary words about her sons. To have the three sons safe 
 is something to be thankful for, for they were much and 
 continually exposed. I know nothing of Louis' commg. 
 The troops march home, and it will take at least six weeks. 
 I hope so much that he may have leave for a fortnight, and 
 then return to the troops, to lead them home. 
 
 To-night are the peace illuminations here, which will be 
 very pretty. Our house will also be illuminated, and I take 
 the two eldest gMs out with me to-night to see it all. It is 
 a thing for them never to forget, this gi-eat and glorious, 
 though too horrid, war. 
 
 March 13. 
 
 I know nothing as yet of Louis" return. I fear I 
 must wait a few weeks longer. On Wednesday the Emperor, 
 
1871 RETURN OF THE LAXDWEHR. 237 
 
 Fritz, and some of the Princes pass through Frankfort, and 
 I am going there with my parents-in-law to see them. 
 
 The Paris news is not very edifying, and I fear France 
 has not seen the worst yet, for there seems to be a fearful 
 state of anarchy there. 
 
 I have no news to give, save that Frittie has his first 
 tooth. He is between Victoria and Irene, but not like 
 Ernie — not near so big, which is really not necessary. I 
 think he is the sort of baby you admire. I go on looking 
 after my hospitals, and now the trains, full of Landwehr 
 returning home cheering and singing, begin to pass. Now 
 good-bye, darling Mama. I am in thought daily with you 
 during these days, and only wish it had been in my power to 
 be of any use or comfort to you just now. 
 
 Darmstadt : April 8. 
 
 . . . We had the pleasure of catching a glimpse of 
 Louise and Lome on their way through, but their stay was 
 too short to be able to say more than a few words. They 
 can scarcely help passing through here, as they can't go 
 through France, on their way back ; and if you would allow 
 them quite incognito on their way back to pass a day here, 
 it would give both Louise and me the greatest pleasure, and 
 entail no other visits. 
 
 The Emperor, who kindly gave Louis leave, prolonged 
 it till Monday, when he leaves, and for how long is quite 
 undecided. If I could only go with him ! INIarie of Saxony 
 has joined George : so has Carola [the Crown Princess of 
 Saxony] her husband ; but our division, which is near Chau- 
 mont, is in too bad and close quarters to admit of my living 
 there. 
 
 Should Louis have to remain very long, I still hope to 
 rejoin him— I don't care about the little discomfort. 
 
238 LETTERS. 1871 
 
 The new governess, FrL Kitz, comes on Thursday. 
 She is not young, but pleasmg-looking— said to be veiy 
 amiable, and a good governess ; has been for eighteen years 
 in England, first with Lady Palk, and then for ten years 
 with Herr lOeinwart — a rich German banker in London — 
 where she brought up the two daughters. 
 
 Darmstadt : April 13. 
 
 . . . Ernie's kilt was sent him by Mr. Mitchell.^ 
 He admired Ernie so much at Berlin, that he said he 
 would send him a Scotch dress, and I could not refuse. It 
 is rather small as it is, and I hope that you will still give him 
 one, as from his Grandmama it would be doubly valuable. 
 
 Louis has arrived safely at his destination — Donjeux ; 
 and we both feel the separation very much after having 
 had the happiness of being together again. 
 
 The Paris battles are too dreadful, and the end seems 
 some way off yet. 
 
 May 27. 
 
 My thoughts cannot leave unfortunate Paris ! What 
 horrors, and enacted so close by in the centre of the 
 civilised world ! It seems incredible ; and what a lesson 
 for those who wish to learn by it ! 
 
 Darmstadt : June 8. 
 
 Louise and Lome are just gone, and it rains and 
 blows, and is dreadful. Their visit was so pleasant, so 
 gemiithUch, and I think Louise looks well and happy. She 
 had much to tell of their journey, which seems to have 
 been very interesting. I could show them almost nothing,, 
 as the weather was so bad. We three went yesterday 
 evening to my parents-in-law, who were most kind to them,, 
 as they always are to all my relations. 
 
 ^ The late Mr. John Mitchell, the librarian of Old Bond Street. 
 
1 8; I SEEHEIM. 239 
 
 Their short stay was a great great pleasure to me, so 
 cut off from home as I have been smce three long years. 
 
 Louis will be here in a few clays, and we go together to 
 Berlin for four daj^s ; Louis insists on my accompanying 
 him. On the 24th the entry of the troops will be here. 
 
 Seeheim : June 14. 
 
 ... I am SO glad that the poor Emperor and 
 Empress are so kindly treated. They deserve to be well 
 used hj England, for the Emperor did so much to bring 
 France and England together. How shamefully the French 
 treat them, and speak of them, is not to be told ; for the 
 French consider themselves blameless, and always betrayed 
 by others, whom they had made almost their gods of as long 
 as all went well. 
 
 Dear Frittie is getting better — principally his looks, but 
 the illness is not overcome yet. I have been so anxious 
 about him. The country here is more beautiful than ever, 
 and country air and flowers are a great enjoyment. Every 
 little walk is up and down hill, little brooks, rocks, small 
 green valleys, fine woods, &c. I have not lived here since 
 1865, when Ella was a baby. The children are beside 
 themselves with pleasure at the pretty country and the 
 scrambling walks, but above all at the wild flowers, in 
 which they are getting quite learned. I find them in a 
 book for them, and even Ernie knows some names, and 
 never calls them wrong. All my children are great lovers 
 of nature, and I develop this as much as I can. It makes 
 life so rich, and they can never feel dull anywhere, if they 
 know to seek and find around them the thousand beauties 
 and wonders of nature. The}' are xery happy and con- 
 tented, and always see, the less people have the less they 
 want, and the greater is the enjoyment of that which they 
 
240 LETTERS. 187 1 
 
 liave. I bring my children up as simply and with as few 
 wants as I can, and, above all, teach them to help them- 
 selves and others, so as to become independent. 
 
 Darmstadt : June 20. 
 Thousand thanks for your dear letter received before 
 -our departure from Potsdam ! Our journey was dreadful. 
 We left in the evening, and were to have been here at 
 11 A.M., and through the irregularity of the trains we 
 ■only got here at four in the afternoon. I am quite done 
 up. The fatigues at Berlin were incessant. Anything 
 more grand, more imposing or touching and erhehend 
 [elevating] than the entry of the troops in Berlin I never 
 saw. It was a wonderful sight to drive for three-quarters 
 of an hour through rows of French cannon ! The decora- 
 tions were so artistic, so handsome, and the enthusiasm 
 of the dense crowds quite enormous. I am glad to have 
 been there : it will be a thing to recollect. The old 
 Emperor, surrounded by the many princes and by his 
 great generals, looked so noble riding at the head of his 
 glorious troops. Deputations of all the German troops 
 were there. 
 
 It was very Ijot, and we had to drive every day to 
 Berlin, and back in the evening. 
 
 Alas ! it is rainy here, and the town is so beautifully 
 decorated : three large triumphal arches, and the houses 
 covered with garlands and flags. 
 
 I found the dear cliildi*en well, though rather pale from 
 the heat. 
 
 Louis left again this morning, but after to-morrow re- 
 mains here for good, which will indeed be a pleasure after 
 such endless separations. 
 
i87i ENTRY OF TROOPS INTO DARMSTADT. 241 
 
 Darmstadt : June 27. 
 
 . . . To-day Aunt Marie ' of Russia and her children 
 were here. Aunt Marie looks thinner than ever, but ^Yell ; 
 and Marie dear and nice, with such a kind fresh face, so 
 simple and ghlish. She gives her brothers music lessons 
 during the journey, which she is very proud of. She is 
 very fond of children, and of a quiet country life — that is 
 the ideal she looks for. The Emperor of Russia comes 
 here on the 5th, to join Aunt Marie at Petersthal. Louis' 
 work is incessant — the selling off of horses, the changing 
 garrisons of the regiments, the new formation of our 
 division, causes almost more work than the Mohilmacliun<j 
 [mobilisation]. The entry was very beautiful : the decora- 
 tions of the town most tasteful ; not a house or the smallest 
 street which was not covered with garlands, flags, and em- 
 blems. There were large groups of the captured guns, and 
 the names of the battles on shields around. Unfortunately, 
 it poured nearly all the time, and we were quite drenched. 
 I had the five children in my carriage, and Irene gave 
 wreaths to her godfathers of the cavalry brigade. Two 
 days ago we gave a large military dinner, and have several 
 soirees of that sort to give before we can go into the country, 
 which I am longing for. We shall probably go to Seeheim, 
 as the summer seems too damp for Kranichstein. 
 
 The middle of August we shall go to Blankenberghe, 
 near Ostend, as the doctors wish sea-bathing for Louis, and 
 sea air for me and for some of the children, which is very 
 necessary to set us up before going to Scotland. We want 
 to remain one or two days and one night in London. We 
 require a few things, which make a stay necessary. If we 
 
 ■'' Empress of Russia, mother of the Duchess of Edinburgh, and aunt of 
 Prince Louis of Hesse. 
 
242 LETTERS. 1871 
 
 might be at Balmoral on the 10th, as Louis's birthday is on 
 the 12th, would that suit you ? 
 
 Please let me know in time if you think our plans good. 
 This will enable us to settle when to go to Blankenberghe, 
 as we can't be there longer than three weeks. 
 
 Hoiv I look forward to seeing you again, and to come 
 home once more ! It is so kind of you to let us bring the 
 children. The arrangement of the rooms will do perfectly, 
 and we don't care how we are put up, and above all things 
 don't wish to be in the way. 
 
 The weather is horrid — rain and wind incessantly — after 
 having been tremendously hot. These sudden changes up- 
 set everyone, and Frittie has had a very slight return of 
 his illness. 
 
 August 13. 
 
 We leave at eight to-morrow morning, reach Cologne 
 at one o'clock, and wait there till ten in the evening, when 
 we continue our journey and reach Blankenberghe at eight 
 next morning. Will you kindly send a gentleman to Graves- 
 end, who can remain with us in London, as we are quite 
 alone ? 
 
 Uncle George, Aunt Cambridge, and Mary dined with us 
 at Frankfort two days ago. Mary I had not seen for three 
 years ; she was looking very handsome. 
 
 Blankenberghe : August 17. 
 
 Only two words to say that we arrived safe and well 
 here yesterday after a very hot journey. The hotel is on 
 the beach, where we sit all day ; there are no walks or any- 
 thing save the beach, and no trees. Our rooms are very 
 small and not very clean ; but the heavenly sea air and the 
 wmd refresh one, and the sands are very long. One can 
 ride on donkeys which enchants young and old children. 
 
i87i BLANKENBERGHE. 243 
 
 Everyone bathes together, and one has to take a little run 
 before the waves cover one. We bathed with the three girls 
 this morning, but I felt quite shy, for all the people sit 
 round and look on, and there are great numbers of people 
 here. Our children play about with others and dig in the 
 sand. Frittie sleeps so well since he has been here ; his 
 colour is beginning to return. 
 
 We have one small sitting-room, which is our dining- 
 room, and Louis's dressmg-room. 
 
 I was so sad and upset at taking leave of my dear Marie ^ 
 Grancy the other day ; a kind true friend and companion 
 has she been to me these nine years, and during the war 
 she was quite invaluable to me. I hope she will be as happy 
 as she deserves to be. 
 
 Buckingham Palace : September 10. 
 
 The pleasure of seeing your dear handwriting again 
 has been so great ! Thank God that you are going on well. 
 I do feel so much for you, and for all you have had to suffer 
 in every way ! I trust entire quiet and rest of mind and 
 body, and any little attention that I may be able to offer 
 for your comfort, will make the autumn of real benefit for 
 your health. How I do look forward to seeing you agam, 
 I can't say. . . . 
 
 We propose leaving the evening of the 13th. Bertie 
 and Uncle George have arranged for our going to Aldershot 
 on Monday and Tuesday, which interests Louis above all 
 things, and I fancied this arrangement would suit you best. 
 
 The journey has quite cured Frittie, without any medi- 
 cine, and the heat is over. 
 
 ... I took Victoria and Ella to the Exhibition, and 
 what enchanted Ella most was a policeman, who was, as 
 she said, ' so very kmd ' in keeping the crowd off. It 
 
 * Lady in Waiting to the Princess, married to General v. Hesse. 
 
 B 2 
 
244 LETTERS. 1871 
 
 reminded me of ' Susy Pusy,' -^'liich dear Papa used to tease 
 me with as a child. 
 
 We dined and hmched with Bertie, who had only just 
 arrived, and is gone again. Dear Arthur of course I have 
 not seen. 
 
 Bram's Hill Park Camp, Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Division : 
 
 September 12. 
 
 In Bertie's tent I write these few lines to thank you 
 in Louis's name and my own a thousand times for your 
 dear kind letter. Every loving word is so precious to us, 
 and the presents you so kindly gave Louis enchanted him. 
 The pin, unfortunately, did not arrive. 
 
 How I regret each time I hear you speak of your illness ! 
 I have been so anxious about you. Uncle Louis and my 
 parents-in-law, in their telegram of to-day, inquire after 
 you. 
 
 We have had two such interesting days ; the country 
 too lovely, each day in a quite different part. We accom- 
 panied Uncle George, and in this way have seen the two 
 Divisions, and through sleeping here will be enabled to see 
 the third Division to-morrow before returning to town. 
 
 I saw dear Arthur yesterday. He rode with me all the 
 time, and to-day we met him marching with his company. 
 How I have enjoyed seeing your splendid troops again, I 
 can't tell you ; but I shall reserve all news till we meet. 
 
 Louis thanks you again and again for your kindness, 
 and only regrets not having seen you himself, but is very 
 grateful that we were allowed to stay a few days at Buckmg- 
 ham Palace, through which we were enabled to come here, 
 which to him as a soldier is of the very greatest interest. 
 Bertie is full of his work, and I think it interests him im- 
 mensely. He has charming officers about him, to help and 
 show him what to do. To om' great disappointment we did 
 
i87i SCOTLAND- SANDRINGHAM. 245 
 
 not see the 42nd Highlanders, the * Black Watch,' to-day ; 
 but yesterday we saw the Argyleshu'e 91st Highlanders, who 
 gave Louise the present. Bertie lent me a charming little 
 horse, but the ground is dreadful, and not having ridden 
 for so long, and being on horseback so many hours, makes 
 me feel quite stiff. 
 
 Duniobiii Castle, Sutherland : October 19. 
 
 I wish your telegram had brought me better new 
 of you. I really can't bear to think of you suffering, and 
 so much alone. I feel it quite wrong to have left you, and 
 my thoughts and wishes are continually with you, and dis- 
 tract my attention from all I see here. I can't tell you how 
 much I feel for you at being so helpless. It is such a trial 
 to anyone so active as yourself; but your trial must be 
 drawing to a close, and you will be rewarded in the end, I 
 am sure, by feeling perhaps even better and stronger than 
 you did before all your troubles. 
 
 I was nearly sick in the train, which is the slowest I 
 was ever in in my life, and was unable to go to dinner ; 
 but a long walk by the sea this morning has quite set me 
 up in spite of the extraordinary warmth. 
 
 SancUingham : November 9. 
 
 It is the first time since eleven years that I have 
 spent Bertie's birthday with him, and though we are only 
 three of our own family together, still that is better than 
 nothing, and makes it seem more like birthday. Bertie and 
 Alix are so kind, and give us so warm a welcome, showing 
 how they like having us, that it feels quite home. Indeed 
 I pray earnestly that God's blessing may rest on him, and 
 that he may be guided to do what is wise and right, so that 
 he may tide safely through the anxious times that are before 
 him, and in which we now live. They are both charming 
 
246 LETTERS. 1872 
 
 hosts, and all the party suit well together. The Westmin- 
 sters and Brownlows are here ; Lady B. is so very handsome. 
 "We joined the shooting party for luncheon, and the last 
 beats out to-day and yesterday ; and the weather is beautiful, 
 though cold — a very bracing air, like Scotland. 
 
 1872 
 
 Darmstadt : January 21. 
 
 . . . Louis returns to-morrow from Berlin. He was 
 the first to be invested by the Emperor, and has met with 
 great kindness. He was very glad to have been there with 
 dear Arthur, who seems to please everyone. 
 
 February 5. 
 
 ... It is a great pleasure to have dear Arthur here. 
 He is so amiable, civil, and nice, and takes interest in all 
 he sees, and is so pleasant to have in the house. His visit 
 will be very short, as he gives up two days to go to Baden. 
 
 We gave small suppers on two evenings for Arthur, 
 and yesterday evening a celebrated most excellent violinist 
 played quite as well as Joachim : a friend of his, and a pupil 
 of Spohr's. This afternoon he is going to play some of 
 Bach's celebrated sonatas with and to me. Arthur enjoys 
 music very much, and keeps up his playing. 
 
 There is a dance at Uncle Alexander's to-night, on 
 Wednesday a Court ball, and on Friday one at my parents- 
 in-law. I can't stand the heat at all of an evening, and 
 the rooms are very hot. Louis, who has an awful cold, 
 took Arthur to see the barracks, as all military things give 
 him pleasure. 
 
 It is heavenly sunny weather, having been quite dark 
 and foggy all day yesterdaj^ 
 
1872 BIRTH OF PRINCESS ALIX. 247 
 
 June 17. 
 Many thanks for your dear letter and kind wishes 
 for the birth of our Baby ^ — a nice Httle thing, hke Ella, 
 only smaller and with finer features, though the nose pro- 
 mises to be long. . . . 
 
 Kind Dr. Hofmeister was most attentive ; and of course 
 having him was far pleasanter than not, and we owe you 
 great thanks for having sent him. Mrs. Clarke has been 
 all one could wish. 
 
 Louis wrote as soon as he could, but this last week he 
 has only been home just before his dmner, and was so tired 
 that he invariably fell asleep. He has gone out at six, 
 returning at twelve, and has had to be out before four in 
 the afternoon, returning at eight. He is away again to- 
 day. Until the 15th of September his duty will be impor- 
 tant, and he has all the office work besides. It is double 
 this year to what it usually is, as ail people and things are 
 new since the war. 
 
 How sad the loss of those two poor children is,*' and the 
 sweet little * bairnie ' of three ! The unfortunate mother 
 to lose two in so dreadful a Avay ! I am sure it touched 
 Beatrice much to see the poor little one ; and in a child 
 death so often loses everything that is painful. 
 
 We think of calling our little girl *Alix' (Alice they 
 pronounce too dreadfull}^ in German) * Helena Louise Bea- 
 trice,' and, if Beatrice may, we would much like to have 
 her as godmother. 
 
 ' Princess Alix, born on the 6th of June. 
 
 •i Two children who were carried away by a ' spate ' while playing in 
 Monaltrie Burn, near Balmoral (11th of June, 1872), and swept into the 
 river Dee and drowned. See More Leaves from a Journal of a Life in the 
 Highlands, p. 15G ct scq. 
 
248 LETTERS. 1872 
 
 Darmstadt : June 24. 
 
 . . . We both felt so truly for you when we heard of 
 dear Dr. Macleod's death, knowing what a kind and valued 
 friend of yours he was, and how fate seems to take one 
 friend after another, and before age can claim its right. 
 He indeed deserves his rest, for he did so much good in his 
 life! 
 
 I feel rather weaker than usual this time, and sitting 
 and walking, though only a few steps, tries me a good deal. 
 I was out for half an hour yesterday, and I think the air 
 w'ill do me good. 
 
 Louis left at half-past five this morning, and will be 
 back by seven, I hope, this evening ; to-morrow the same. 
 
 I will add Vicky's name to Baby's others, as you propose ; 
 and ' Alix ' we gave for ' Alice,' as they murder my name 
 here : ' Aliice ' they pronounce it, so we thought ' Alix ' 
 could not so easUy be spoilt. 
 
 Uncle Alexander is coming back shortly, and says the 
 Empress is not to return to Eussia this winter, and will be 
 sent to Italy for the whole whiter. 
 
 The heat has been quite dreadful ; there is a little air 
 to-day, though. 
 
 August 14. 
 
 . . . Baby is like Ella, only smaller features, and 
 still darker eyes with very black lashes, and reddish-brown 
 hair. She is a sweet, merry little person, always laughing, 
 with a deep dimple in one cheek just like Ernie. 
 
 We are going to Frankfort to-day to give Uncle George ^ 
 and Fritz Strelitz * a luncheon in our Palais there. Helene 
 Reuter comes to us for a month to-morrow as lady. 
 
 * Duke of Cambridge. * Grand Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz. 
 
i872 ANNIVERSARY SERVICE. 249 
 
 I hope your Edinburgh visit will go off well. You have 
 never lived in Holyrood since 1861, have you? 
 
 How 1 shall think of you at dear Balmoral, and this 
 time capable of enjoying it — not like last time, when you 
 had to suffer so much, and were unable to do anything. 
 It quite spoiled our visit to see you an mvalid. Eemember 
 me to all old friends there — to Brown's kind old mother, 
 and any who ask after us. 
 
 T shall think of you on dear Grandmama's birthday. 
 She is never forgotten by any of us, and lives on as a 
 dearly-cherished memory of all that was good and loving, 
 and so kind. My children have her picture in their room, 
 and I often tell them of her. 
 
 Kraniclistein : August 20. 
 
 I am very grateful for your telegrams from Edin- 
 burgh, and for Flora ^ [MacDon aid's] letter. It interests 
 me so much to know what you did there, and I am very 
 glad all went off so well. The people will have been too 
 delighted to have had you in their midst again, and I am 
 sure you enjoyed the beauty of your fine northern capital 
 anew after not having seen it for so long a time. Beatrice 
 seems delighted with what she saw. I recollect those many 
 interesting and beautiful spots so well.^ 
 
 The 18th was the anniversary of the dreadful battle of 
 Gravelotte, which cost so many lives, to our division espe- 
 cially. We drove into town to the military church, which 
 was full of officers and men, at half-past seven in the morn- 
 ing, and thought much of the friends and acquamtances in 
 then' distant graves, and of the desolate homes, until that 
 day so bright. My heart felt too full when we were singing 
 
 " Maid of Honour to the Queen, now Bedchamber Woman. 
 ' For an account of this visit, see More Leaves from a Journal, pp. IGi 
 et scq. 
 
250 LETTERS. 1872 
 
 Ein' feste Burg, and I had my husband at my side, whom 
 the Almighty had graciously spared to my children and 
 myself. Gratitude seems barely enough to express the 
 intense depth of what I feel when I think of that time, and 
 how again and again I long to give all and all to my good 
 dear Louis and to our children, for he is all that is good 
 and true and pure. 
 
 . . . The children were much distressed at the sad fate 
 of my poor little bullfinch, who piped beautifully. Louis 
 had caught an owl and put it in a wooden sort of cage in 
 the room where my bird was. In the night it broke the 
 bars and got loose and tore the bullfinch's tail out, and the 
 poor little thing died in consequence. 
 
 Of our quiet country life there is little to tell. We are 
 a good deal out always with our little people, their pets — 
 dogs, cats, ponies, donkeys ; it is rather like a menagerie. 
 
 Schloss Kranichstein : September 17. 
 On the 9th there is a large meeting here of the different 
 associations existing throughout Germany for the bettering 
 of women's education and social position (of the middle 
 class especially with regard to trade). Some English ladies 
 are coming, some Swiss and Dutch. It will last four days, 
 and be very fatiguing. The programme I arranged with 
 my two committees here and the gentlemen at Berlm, and 
 they wanted to force me to preside ; but for so large an 
 assemblage — to me nearly all strangers — I positively re- 
 fused. I do that in my own Associations, but not where 
 there are so many strangers, who all want to talk, and all 
 to cross purposes. It is difficult enough to keep one's own 
 people in order when they disagree. I hope and trust I 
 have prevented all exaggerated and unfemmine views being 
 brought up, which to me are dreadful. These Associations, 
 
i872 DEATH OF PRINCESS FEODORE. 251 
 
 if not reasonably led, tend too easily to the ridiculous. 
 My Associations take a great deal of my time and thought, 
 and require a good amount of study. I hope and trust 
 that what we are doing here is the right thing. We have 
 already had some satisfactory results in the class of the 
 workwomen, and in the reform of the schools ; but there 
 are many open questions yet, which I hope this meeting, 
 with others who work in the same field, may help us to 
 solve. 
 
 Will you look through the programme ? It would please 
 me so much if I thought you took a little interest in my 
 endeavours here in a very small way to follow in a slight 
 degree part of dear Papa's great works for the good of 
 others. 
 
 Kranichstein : September 25. 
 
 . . . All sj'mpathise with you, and feel what a loss 
 to you darling Aunt ^ must be — how great the gap in your 
 life, how painful the absence of that sympathy and love 
 which united her life and yours so closely. 
 
 Darling, kind Mama, I feel so acutely for you, that my 
 thoughts are incessantly with you, and my prayers for 
 comfort and support to be granted you in the heavy trial 
 are warm indeed. You have borne so many hard losses 
 with courage and resignation, that for darling Aunt's sake 
 you will do so again, and knowing her at rest and peace 
 will in time reconcile you to the loss — all the more as her 
 passing from this world to another was so touchingly peace- 
 ful. Dear Augusta [Stanlej'] wrote to me, which was a 
 great consolation, and we intend going to Baden to pay our 
 last token of respect and love. 
 
 - The Queen's half-sister, Feodore, Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 
 who died on the '23rd of September, 1872, at Baden-Baden. 
 
252 LETTERS. 1872 
 
 Darmstadt : October 13. 
 
 ... A few words about our doings here may be of 
 interest to you. The meeting went off well, was very large, 
 the subjects discussed to the purpose and important, and 
 not one word of the emancipated political side of the ques- 
 tion was touched upon by anyone. Schools (those of the 
 lower, middle, and higher classes) for girls were the prin- 
 cipal theme ; the employment of women for post and tele- 
 graph offices, &c. ; the improvement necessarj^ in the educa- 
 tion of nursery-maids, and the knowledge of mothers in the 
 treatment of little children ; the question of nurses and 
 nursing institutes. 
 
 The committees of the fifteen Associations met Wednes- 
 day afternoon, and in the evening thirteen of the members 
 came to us to supper. 
 
 The public meeting on the following day lasted fi'om 
 nine to two with a small interruption ; a committee meeting 
 in the afternoon ; and that evening all the members and 
 guests came to us — nearly fifty in number. The following 
 day the meetings lasted even longer, and the English ladies 
 were kind enough to speak — only think, old Miss Carpenter, 
 on all relating to women's work in England (she is our 
 guest here). Her account of the Queen's Institute at 
 Dublin was "most interesting. Miss Hill (also our guest), 
 about the boarding-out system for orphans. Miss C. Wink- 
 worth, about higher education in England. She mentioned 
 also the new institution to which Louise now belongs, and 
 is a member of it herself. The ladies all spoke very well ; 
 the German ones remarkably so. 
 
 There was a good deal of work to finish afterwards, 
 and a good many members to see. They came from all 
 parts of Germany — many kind-hearted, noble, self-denying 
 
1872 EDUCATION OF WOMEN. 
 
 253 
 
 women. The presence of the EngHsh ladies— above all, of 
 one such as Miss Carpenter, who has done such good works 
 for the reformation of convicts — greatly enhanced the im- 
 portance of the meeting, and her great experience has been 
 of value to us all. She means still to give a lecture on India 
 and the state of the native schools there, before leaving us. 
 
 I have still so much work in hand, that I fear my letter is 
 hurried and ill-written, but I hope you will kindly excuse this. 
 
 To-morrow I am taking Miss Carpenter to all our dif- 
 ferent schools, that she may see how the different systems 
 in use work. Some are good, but none particularly so ; 
 there is much to improve. 
 
 Louis is gone to Mayence to-day for the inauguration 
 of the Memorial which the town has erected to the memory 
 of dear excellent Woldemar Holstein, for so many years its 
 beloved Governor. 
 
 Darmstadt : October 24. 
 
 You must indeed miss dear Aunt much, and feel 
 your thoughts drawn to her, whose precious intercourse was 
 such a solace and comfort to you. It is nice for you to 
 have Louise a little to yourself, . . . 
 
 You ask, if my mother-in-law talks with me about the 
 different woman's work in which I am interested. Of 
 course she does. We are so intimate together, that even 
 where we differ in opinion we yet talk of everything freely, 
 and her opinion is of the greatest value to me. She has 
 ever been a most kind, true, and loving mother, whom I re- 
 spect and love more and more. She was much pleased and 
 interested in the success of the meeting, but is of course as 
 averse as myself to all extreme views on such subjects. 
 
 I have joined to my Nursing Institute an Association 
 for watching over the orphans who arc boarded out by the 
 State into families, where some poor children are unhappy 
 
254 LETTERS. 1872 
 
 and ill-used. The use of such meetings as this one was 
 consists mainly in the interchange of experience made in 
 the different branches in other places, which it is impossible 
 to carry on by correspondence. 
 
 The schools are entirely different throughout Germany 
 — good and indifferent ; and those here do not count among 
 the best, as everything, through the long misrule of the late 
 Government, is not what it ought to be. 
 
 Darmstadt : November 3. 
 
 Ella is writing to you herself to thank you for the 
 lovely bracelet, which gave me as much pleasure as it did 
 her. To think that she is already eight ! She is hand- 
 somer than she was, and a dear child. . . . They all give 
 me pleasure, dear children, though of course they have as 
 many faults as others ; but they are truthful and contented, 
 and very affectionate. Having them much with me, watch- 
 ing and guiding their education — which, through our quiet 
 and regular life, is possible — I am able to know and under- 
 stand their different characters, for not one is like the other. 
 
 Darmstadt : November 12. 
 
 . . . We have the same weather here which you 
 seem to have, which for our long journey was not pleasant. 
 We took nearly twelve hours going, and as much return- 
 ing from Metz. For the inauguration itself the weather 
 held up. The roads were dreadful, and the wide plateau 
 looked dreary and sad — dotted all over with graves, like an 
 enormous churchyard. 
 
 The Memorial is a dead lion in bronze, on a plain 
 pedestal, bearing an inscription on black marble in front, 
 and at the back all the names. Deputations of officers and 
 men were ^Dresent, besides the generals, &c., from Metz. 
 The clergyman of the division read the prayers, preached a 
 
1872 THE MEMORIAL AT METZ. 255 
 
 short and toucliiiig sermon, and the band played a chorale. 
 Louis spoke a few words, ending with the usual ' Hoch ' for 
 the Emperor and Grand Duke. I then laid some wreaths 
 at the foot of the Memorial from Louis's parents and 
 ourselves, and we drove back to Metz across the differ- 
 ent battlefields. The villages are all built up again, and 
 re-inhabited, so that few traces of the dreadful struggle 
 remain. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 12. 
 
 For the 14th I write a few words. From year to 
 year they can but express the same : the grief at the loss of 
 such a father, such a man, grows with me, and leaves a 
 gap and a want that nothing on earth can ever fill up. 
 
 The deep, intense sympathy for what you, my poor dear 
 Mama, went through then and since, in consequence of 
 your bereavement, remains as vivid as ever. God heard 
 our prayers, and sustained you, and through the healing 
 hand of time softened your grief, and retained you for us, 
 who were too young and too numerous to stand alone ! 
 
 That our good sweet Alix should have been spared this 
 terrible grief, when this time last year it seemed so immi- 
 nent, fills my heart with gratitude for her dear sake, as for 
 yours, his children, and ours. That time is as indelibly 
 fixed on my memory as that of 1861, when the witnessing 
 of your grief rent my heart so deeply. The 14th will now 
 be a day of mixed recollections and feelings to us — a day 
 halhwed in our family, when one great spirit ended his 
 work on earth — -though his work can never die, and genera- 
 tions will grow up and call his name blessed — and when 
 another was left to fulfil his duty and mission, God grant, 
 for the welfare of his own family and of thousands ! 
 
 I have not time to write to dearest Bertie and Alix to- 
 day ; and as I love to think of them with you on the 14th, 
 
256 LETTERS. 1872 
 
 SO I would ask you to let them share these lines full of 
 sympathy for them, letting a remembrance of me, who 
 suffered with them, mingle with your united prayers and 
 thanks on this solemn day ! 
 
 My little Fritz is at length better, but white and thin, 
 in consequence of his illness. 
 
 Christmas Day. 
 
 Your dear presents gave me so much pleasure ; I 
 thank you again and again for them. The precious sou- 
 venir of dear Aunt, and my Ernie's picture delight me. 1 
 assure you, nothing has given me more pleasure this 
 Christmas. 
 
 Let me also thank you, in Louis' and the children's 
 names (meanwhile, until they do so themselves), for your 
 kind gifts to them. It makes us all so happy and grateful, 
 to be always so kindly remembered. 
 
 The boys were well enough to enjoy Christmas, though 
 rather pale and pulled — above all, sweet Ernie. 
 
 We gave all our servants presents — the whole household 
 and stable — under the Christmas-tree, which we made for 
 the children ; and when the tree is divided, the children of 
 all our servants come and share it with ours. It keeps the 
 household as a family, which is so important. We have 
 fifty people to give to ! 
 
 Dear Beatrice's wishes (cards) pleased the children very 
 much, but Frittie lamented for a letter from Auntie ' for 
 Frittie.' He talks quite well now. 
 
 On Saturday we shall go for the day to Vicky. I don't 
 like leaving the boys for longer yet. I am so glad Vicky 
 gave such a flattering account of Baby. She is quite the 
 personification of her nickname ' Sunny ' — much like Ella, 
 but a smaller head, and livelier, with Ernie's dimple and 
 expression. 
 
1873 DEATH OF NAPOLEON III. 257 
 
 1873 
 
 Darmstadt : January 12. 
 
 . . . We were both much shocked to hear of the 
 death of the Emperor Napoleon, and I must say grieved ; 
 personally he was so amiable, and she is much to be pitied. 
 That he should die an exUe in England, as Louis Philippe 
 did, is most striking. In England the sympathy shown 
 must touch the poor Empress, and, as I telegraphed, we 
 should be so grateful to you, if you would kmdly be the 
 medium through which both of us would like to express to 
 her how much we feel for her. How proud you must ever 
 be, in feeling that your country is the one always able to 
 offer a home and hospitality for those driven away from 
 then' own countries ! England is before all others in that ; 
 and its warm sympathy for those who are in misfortune is 
 such a generous feeling. 
 
 February 1. 
 
 If anyone will feel with us, I know you will do so 
 most. Since three days, with an interruption of one day, 
 poor Frittie has been bleeding incessantly from a slight 
 cut on his ear, which was nearly healed. Since yester- 
 day evening we cannot stop it. All the usual remedies 
 were used, but as yet unavailing. Just now the place has 
 been touched again with caustic, and tightly bound, 
 after we had with great trouble got rid of the quantity 
 of dried blood from his hair, ear, neck, &c. He is hor- 
 rified at the sight of so much blood, but shows great 
 strength as yet in spite of so great a loss. He is of course 
 very irritable, and, as he must not scream, one has to 
 do whatever he wishes, which will spoil him dreadfully. I 
 own I was much upset when I saw that be had this 
 
 S 
 
258 LETTERS. 1873 
 
 tendency to bleed, and the anxiety for the future, even if he 
 gets well over this, will remain for years to come. All have 
 their trials, one or another, and, please God, we shall bear 
 whatever is sent without complaining. To see one's own 
 child suffer is for a mother a great trial. With what plea- 
 sure one would change places with the little one, and bear 
 its pain ! 
 
 February 6. 
 
 ... In the summer Fritz had a violent attack of 
 dysentery, which was so prevalent at Darmstadt, and off 
 and on for two months it continued, until Scotland stopped 
 it ; and this illness made him sensitive and delicate. 
 
 . . . What has caused him such great suffering has 
 been that, what with the use of caustic, the tight bandag- 
 ing and the iron, a quantity of small gatherings formed on 
 his cheek and neck, causing such an amount of pain that 
 he could not remam in bed or anywhere quiet for the twa 
 first days and nights. Now they are drying off, the itching 
 is such that he don't know what to do with himself, and we 
 have the greatest difficulty in keeping him from rubbing or 
 scratching himself. The want of sleep through pain, &c.^ 
 has excited him very much, so that he has been very diffi- 
 cult to manage. The bandages of course cannot be removed^ 
 and great care will be taken when they are removed, lest 
 bleeding should recommence. He has been out twice a day 
 as usual all along, and his skm never quite lost its pinkness 
 and mottled appearance ; all of which are signs that he has 
 good blood and to spare, else he would look worse and have 
 shown weakness, which after all he did not. . . . 
 
 He speaks well for his age, and is, alas ! very wild, so that 
 it will be impossible to keep him from having accidents. . . . 
 
 ... I have been playmg some lovely things (very diffi- 
 cult) of Chopin lately, which I know you would admire. 
 
i873 VISIT TO ITALY. 259 
 
 Darmstadt : February 19. 
 
 My best thanks for j'our dear letter ! That I forgot 
 to thank you at once for dear Grandmama's very beautiful 
 prmt ^ came from my having the lithograph of that picture 
 in my room always before me, and, though the print far 
 surpasses it, I am so fond of the lithograph, that I forgot 
 the print at the moment I was writing to j'ou. Before that 
 dear picture, the painting of which I recollect so well, my 
 children often sit, and I tell them of her who was and ever 
 will be so inexpressibly dear to us all. In the schoolroom, 
 in my sitting-room, in the nursery, there is with the pic- 
 tures of you and dear Papa always one of dear Grandmama, 
 and, in my room and the schoolroom, the Duke of Kent also. 
 
 My sitting-room has only prints and lithographs, all 
 Winterhalters, of the family : you and Papa, your receiving 
 the Sacrament at the Coronation, Piaphael's Disputa and 
 Belle Jardiniere, and the lovely little engraving of yourself 
 from Winterhalter's picture in Papa's room at Windsor."* 
 
 Vicky is coming here on Wednesday. The Grand Duke 
 of Weimar has kindly allowed Mr. Euland ' to join us as 
 cicerone : which for galleries, &c., is very necessary, and we 
 take no courier. Pome is our first halting-place in Italy, 
 and for years it has been my dream and wish to be in that 
 wonderful city, where the glorious monuments of antiquity 
 and of the Middle Ages carry one back to those marvellous 
 times. 
 
 I am learnmg Italian, and studying the history and art 
 
 ' A private plate, engraved for the Queen by the late Mr. Francis HoU 
 from a picture by Wintcrhalter. 
 
 ■■ Also engraved by the late Mr. Francis Holl for the Queen from a pic- 
 ture given by Her Majesty to the Prince Consort on the 2Gth of August, 
 1843. 
 
 ^ Former German private secretary and librarian to the Prince Consort. 
 
 s 2 
 
26o LETTERS. 1873 
 
 necessary to enable me, in the short time we have, to see and 
 understand the finest and most important monmnents. I 
 am so entirely absorbed and interested in these studies just 
 now, that I have not much time for other things. My 
 father-in-law, perhaps Princess Charles too, will be with 
 Aunt Marie of Kussia at Sorrento then. William will pro- 
 bably join us at Kome ; he is quite a connoisseur in art, and 
 a good historian, quite at home in Eome, about which he 
 raves. I must say that I look forward immensely to this 
 journey ; it opens a whole new life to one. . . . 
 
 Kanne has made all arrangements for us at Eome. We 
 shall leave here about the 18th of March. 
 
 Eome, Hotel cT'AUemagne : March 27. 
 
 . . . We left the dear children well, but very sorry 
 at parting. The two days at Munich were most interesting. 
 The National Museum in its way surpasses any I have ever 
 seen, and in originals is richer even than South Kensing- 
 ton. Aunt Mariechen was very kind and dear ; the 
 Moriers very amiable hosts, and we met some interesting 
 people there. Two hours before we left, after eight in the 
 evening, Ludwig and Otto ^ came to us and remained some 
 time. 
 
 The Brenner, over which we came, was covered with 
 snow — most beautiful scenery, like St. Moritz in the Enga- 
 dine. The journey was very fatiguing. We had a morn- 
 ing for Bologna, and had to wait three hours at Florence 
 for the night train — time enough to drive round and in 
 the town, which is most lovely. What trees, mountains, 
 colours ! then the fine buildings ! 
 
 The following morning at six we reached Eome. The 
 
 ^ The King of Bavaria and his brother, first cousins of Prince Louis 
 Hesse. 
 
i873 ROME. 261 
 
 sun was bright, the distance blue — the grand ruins dark 
 and sharp against the sky, cypresses, stone-pines, large cork 
 oaks, making up such a beautiful picture. Every day I 
 admire the scenery more and more ; every little bit of 
 architecture, broken or whole, with a glimpse of the Cam- 
 pagna, a picturesque dirty peasant and a dark tree close hj, 
 is a picture in itself which one would like to frame and hang 
 up in one's room. It is too, too beautiful ! To tell you all 
 we have seen and are seeing would tire you. Bertie and 
 Arthur's descriptions, too, so lately have told you the same. 
 
 The Via Appia, the grand old road lined with ruins of 
 splendid tombs, leading from Albano through the Cam- 
 pagna to Eome, along which St. Paul went, and the great 
 kings and emperors made their triumphal entries, is a fit 
 one to lead to such a city as Eome, which ruled the world. 
 
 The antique monuments, those of the Middle Ages, are 
 so magnificent and interesting that as yet I don't know 
 which to mention first or admire most ! 
 
 Our incognito did not last long (though even now we 
 maintain it), for the Crown Princess^ heard of us and came 
 to see us, as did the Crown Prince, and we had to go to the 
 Quirinal, a mornmg visit without entourage. 
 
 Palm Sunday, Eome : April 6. 
 
 . . . "We saw the beginning of Mass and blessing of 
 the palms in St. Peter's this morning, with a procession 
 and beautiful singing. Whilst the procession, with part 
 of the choristers, go outside the church, some remain 
 within, and they respond to each other, which produces a 
 very striking effect. In spite of the bad style inside of 
 
 • Crown Princess of Italy, daughter of the Duke of Genoa, and grand- 
 daughter of late King of Saxony. 
 
262 LETTERS. 1873 
 
 St. Peter's, as a whole it produces a marvellous effect 
 through its wonderful size and richness of decoration. 
 
 I saw two convents yesterday : the Sepolte Vive, which 
 Bertie and Alix saw, and where the nuns asked much after 
 him, and said that he w^as molto amahile ; and another 
 equally strict one, but not austere, where the Superior told 
 me that Aunt Feodore with Princess Hohenzollern had 
 paid them a visit. Monsignore Howard was the only gen- 
 tleman with me and the ladies, as they never see any men. 
 Their idea is, that they spend the whole of their life in con- 
 templation and prayer, so as to pray for those who cannot 
 pray for themselves. 
 
 The museums of the Vatican and of the Capitol, with 
 their enormous collection of antiques, are very fine. The 
 celebrated Venus, Apollo Belvedere, the Torso (which 
 Michael Angelo admired so much, and was taken to touch 
 when he could no more see it), the wounded Gladiator, &c., 
 are there. The Sistine Chapel, with Michael Angelo's 
 frescoes, which are certainly the most marvellous pieces 
 of painting and conception, is very dark, and the frescoes 
 are suffering much from the smoke, dust, &c. Eaphael's 
 Stanze are far better preserved, and lighter than I had 
 expected, and of such beauty ! 
 
 I thought so often and so much of dear Papa when I 
 saw the originals of all the pictures he so much admired 
 and took such interest in. How this alone fascinates me I 
 cannot tell you. In these galleries and churches there is 
 only too much to be seen, besides the antique ruins, &c. 
 You would be terrified to see how full our day is from before 
 nine. Mr. Ptuland is an excellent cicerone for pictures and 
 sculptures. William is with us here since last Sunday. 
 
 We are going to the Villa Ludovisi this afternoon. The 
 gardens of the Villa Doria Pamfili are most beautiful : the 
 
iS73 ROME— SAN CLEMEXTE. 263 
 
 terraces there remind rae of Osborne. I can see in many 
 things where dear Papa got his ideas from for Osborne and 
 for his decorations, which Professor Griiner understood so 
 well to carry out. 
 
 Many thanks for your having told Lady Churchill to 
 send me an account of your opening of the Park.** I am 
 glad all went off so well, and that you were not the worse 
 for it. 
 
 I have quite refused going to Naples. We shall arrange 
 probably to go for two days to Castellamare (one hour 
 from Naples) ; from thence to Sorrento and Pompeii, and 
 return here. As yet it is not hot here at all. 
 
 Eome : April 9. 
 
 Let me thank you for your letter written on our 
 dear Victoria's birthday. I have never been away from her on 
 her birthday before, and though we see such tine interesting 
 things, yet I feel very homesick for the dear children always. 
 Li three weeks or less I shall see them all again. I look 
 forward to the time with perfect impatience, as I am so 
 rarely separated from them, and we live so much together. 
 Every other day Fraulein Kitz and Orchard write, so that I 
 have news daily. 
 
 Louis's father wrote to me to-daj^, as his sister asks us 
 to her house at Sorrento for one or two nights for the 12th ; 
 but as I was rather deranged from a sick headache yester- 
 day, I shall wait a day before we decide. It is wet and quite 
 cold to-day. 
 
 We visited San Clemente two days ago, and Father 
 Mulooly took us through the three churches — one under 
 the other. The antique one was full of w-ater, and we 
 
 ' The opening of Victoria Park, in the East End of London, on the 2nd 
 of April. 
 
264 LETTERS. 1875 
 
 walked about on rickety planks, each ^Yitll a lighted taper, 
 as it is quite dark there. It is most curious, and the old 
 paintings on the walls telling the legend of St. Clement 
 are wonderfully full of expression and feeling for the time 
 they were done. 
 
 Eome : April 19. 
 
 . . . Our visit to Sorrento went off well. We got 
 there at one on Monday morning for luncheon. The sun 
 had given me a dreadful headache, which ended in sickness, 
 so that I could not leave my room. Marie sat with me, 
 and was ver}^ dear and kind. The next day, she and my 
 Aunt, who seems tired and dispirited, had bad headaches. 
 We went with my father-in-law and some of the ladies and 
 gentlemen on the following afternoon in the Empress's 
 yacht to Capri, close by, to see the blue grotto. 
 
 The Bay of Naples, particularly seen from Sorrento, is 
 most lovely — like a beautiful dream — the colours, the out- 
 lines are so perfect. 
 
 We breakfasted together in the mornings with Aunt and 
 Marie, and on Tuesday we took our leave. 
 
 We shall go to Florence the 23rd (the first station home- 
 wards) ; remain there three or four days ; one night at Verona, 
 and then home. It is a fatiguing journey, and we have 
 so often had people in the carriage, which is very unplea- 
 sant — some very rude English, going to Sorrento ; they did 
 not know us. 
 
 Florence : April 25. 
 
 Your kind wishes I received early this morning. 
 Thousand thanks for them, and for the presents which I 
 shall find on getting home ! 
 
 I shall be so glad to have a large photograph of your- 
 self. Thirty years ! Good-bye, youth ! but I feel quite as 
 old as I am, though the time has flown by so fast. I would 
 
i873 DEATH OF PRINCE FREDERICK. 265 
 
 it had flown as well as it has fast ! I look back to the past 
 with great gratitude to the Almighty for innumerable bless- 
 ings, and pray our life may continue so blest. I have a 
 very bad headache — neuralgia ; I have it continually, and 
 the journey is very long and tiring. Darling Ernie wanted 
 to buy something for my birthday, and he thought a china 
 doll with a bath would be the best. I am glad Victoria 
 remembered to write to Beatrice as I told her ; they are 
 very fond of their Auntie. 
 
 Florence seems a beautiful town, and the situation 
 amongst the hills, over which the suburbs spread, is most 
 picturesque. 
 
 Darmstadt : June 9. 
 
 Tender thanks for your last letter, and for every 
 word of sympathy ! The weary days drag on, and bring 
 much pam at times, though there are moments of comfort, 
 and even consolation. 
 
 The horror of my Darlmg's sudden death ^ at times tor- 
 ments me too much, particularly waking of a morning; 
 but when I think he is at rest, free from the sorrow we are 
 suffering, and from every evil to come, I feel quite resigned. 
 He was such a bright child. It seems so quiet next door ; 
 I miss the little feet, the coming to me, for we lived so 
 much together, and Ernie feels so lost, poor love. 
 
 We were at the Mausoleum with all the children yester- 
 day evening. It is a quiet spot amidst trees and flowers, 
 with a lovely view towards the hills and plain. He loved 
 flowers so much. I can't see one along the roadside without 
 wishing to pick it for him. 
 
 There is a young sculptor from Stuttgart, who was 
 accidentally here, and, meetmg the children, had asked 
 
 " The allusion is to the death of the little Prince Frederick, who was 
 killed on the 2'Jth of the previous month by a fall from a window. 
 
266 LETTERS. 1873 
 
 permission to make medallions of them. The last after- 
 noon sweet Frittie had sat to him, and he is now making a 
 lovely bust of him, which is getting very like. 
 
 On Wednesday my mother-in-law, with her three sons, 
 goes to Berlin ; on Thursday Uncle Adalbert ' will be buried 
 in the Dom. 
 
 We shan't be able to go to Seeheim until Saturday. 
 
 How too kind of you to have asked us to Osborne ! 
 How a rest and home air would have revived me — and the 
 pleasure of seeing you again ; but Louis cannot leave until 
 after his birthday. If he did get leave, it would so throw 
 him out before he has to command ; and, havmg been ab- 
 sent this spring, he feels it an impossibility, and this I am 
 sure you will understand. I could not leave him or the 
 children. Our circle has grown smaller, and drawn us all 
 the more together with a dread of parting from each other. 
 We thank you a thousand times for the kind offer. 
 
 Seeheim : June 22. 
 
 ... I do earnestly hope that too long a time may 
 not elapse before we meet. 
 
 It is very hot, and I feel very low and unhappy. 
 
 To-morrow this house will be full, and all the Kussians, 
 &c., close by. Had there only been any other quiet country 
 place to be at, how gladly would I have escaped this ! 
 
 ... It is only three weeks to-day since we took our 
 darling to his last resting-place ! I wish I could go there 
 to-day, but it is too hot and too far. 
 
 Fritz and Louise of Baden came two days ago to Darm- 
 stadt, to see my parents-in-law and us. 
 
 Dr. Macleod's letter is very kind. 
 
 I enclose two photographs of dear Frittie out of groups, 
 
 ' Princess Charles's brother, Prince Adalbert of Prussia. 
 
l873 DAYS OF MOURNING. 267 
 
 the negative of one of which unluckily does not exist any 
 more. The little hlouse is the one he had on on that 
 terrible day. My darling sweet child — to have lost him so ! 
 To my grave shall I carry this sorrow with me. 
 
 In the hook j^ou sent me there is a fine poem by Miss 
 Procter, * Our grief, our friend,' called Friend sorrow, which 
 expresses so much what I myself feel about a deep grief. 
 
 Seeheim : June 27. 
 
 ... It was just four weeks j^esterday smce our 
 darling died, and we went to the Mausoleum. I felt the 
 whole weight of my sorrow, and the terrible shock doubly 
 again. But the precious child does not — that is a comfort. 
 He is happy and at rest, whilst we grieve and mourn. 
 Ernie always prays for Frittie, and talks to me of him 
 when we walk together. 
 
 Aunt ]\Iaric arrived at two on Monday, and a few hours 
 later came to see me, and was so sympathising, motherly, 
 and loving ; it touched me much. At such moments she is 
 peculiarl}' soft and womanly, and she loves her own children 
 so tenderly. She cried much, and told me of the sad death 
 of her eldest girl, who was seven, and of the terrible, irre- 
 parable loss her eldest son was to her. She has such a reli- 
 gious, truly resigned way of looking at great sorrows such as 
 these. In the room I am now living in Aunt Marie had 
 seen Frittie in his bath two years ago, and she remembered 
 all about him. She is coming to ' Sunshine's ' toilet this 
 evening ; it always amuses her, and she is very fond of the 
 children. 
 
 Seeheim : July 9. 
 
 . . . There are days which seem harder than others, 
 and when I feel very heartsick, prayer and quiet and soli- 
 tude do me Gfood. 
 
268 LETTERS. 1873 
 
 I hear Affie - comes on Thursday night. This evening 
 the Emperor arrives. Poor Marie ^ is very happy, and so 
 quiet. . . . How I feel for the parents, this only daughter 
 (a character of Hingehung [perfect devotion] to those she 
 loves), the last child entirely at home, as the parents are 
 BO much away that the two youngest, on account of their 
 studies, no more travel about. 
 
 Seeheim : July 26. 
 
 ... I am glad that you have a little coloured picture 
 of my darling. I feel lower and sadder than ever, and 
 miss him so much, so continually. There is such a gap 
 between Ernie and Sunny, and the two boys were such a 
 pretty pair, and were become such companions. Having 
 so many girls, I was so proud of our two boys ! The plea- 
 sure did not last long, but he is mine more than ever now. 
 He seems near me always, and I carry his precious image 
 in my heart everywhere. That can never fade or die ! 
 
 Seeheim : August 2. 
 
 Many thanks for your dear letter ! I am feeling so 
 low and weak to-day that kind words are doubly soothing. 
 You feel so with me, when you understand how long and 
 deep my grief must be. And does one not grow to love 
 one's grief, as having become part of the being one loved — 
 as if through this one could still pay a tribute of love to 
 them, to make up for the terrible loss, and missing of not 
 being able to do anything for the beloved one any more ? ^ 
 
 - Duke of Edinburgh. 
 
 ^ The Grand Duchess Marie, who was engaged on the 11th of July to 
 the Duke of Edinburgh. 
 
 * How these words recall those of Constance {Kinfj John, act iii. 
 
 scene 4) : — 
 
 Grief fills the room up of my absent child, 
 Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me, 
 
i873 DIFFICULTIES OF PARENTS. 269 
 
 I am so much with m}^ children, and am so accustomed to 
 care for them and their wants daily, that I miss not having 
 Frittie, the object of our greatest care, far more than words 
 can describe ; and in the quiet of our everyday life, where 
 we have only the children around us, it is doubly and 
 trebly felt, and is a sorrow that has entered into the very 
 heart of our existence. 
 
 May the hour of trial and grief bring its blessing with 
 it, and not have come in vain ! The day passes so quickly, 
 when one can do good and make others happy, and one 
 leaves always so much undone. I feel more than ever, one 
 should put nothing off; and children grow up so quickly 
 and leave one, and I would long that mine should take 
 nothing but the recollection of love and happiness from 
 their home with them into the world's fight, knowing that 
 they have there always a safe harbour, and open arms to 
 comfort and encourage them when they are in trouble. 
 I do hope that this may become the case, though the lesson 
 for parents is so difficult, being continually [lirinfi, without 
 always finding the return. 
 
 Dear Fanny Baillio'' has been a few daj's here, and goes 
 to England to-day. I shall miss her so much. I am so 
 very fond of her. I hope you will see her; she will bring 
 you many messages from us. 
 
 Seeheim : August 16. 
 . . . Louis joins with me in saying that we shall 
 gratefully accept your wish that we should come to Windsor, 
 and he trusts there will be no difficulties for leave then. . . . 
 
 Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words, 
 Remembers me of all his gracious parts, 
 Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form ; 
 Then have I reason to be fond of grief. 
 * Lady Frances Baillie, sister of Lady Augusta Stanley and late Earl of 
 Elgin. 
 
270 LETTERS. 1875 
 
 Seeheim : September 7. 
 
 . . . You ask if I can play yet ? I feel as if I could 
 not, and I have not yet done so. In my own house it seems 
 to me, as if I never could play again on that piano, where 
 little hands were nearly always thrust when I wanted to 
 play. Away from home — in England — much sooner. I 
 had played so often lately that splendid, touching funeral 
 march of Chopin's, and I remember it is the last thing I 
 played, and then the boys were running in the room. 
 
 Mary Teck came to see me and remained two nights, 
 so warm-hearted and sj^mpathismg. I like to talk of him 
 to those who love children, and can understand how great 
 the gap, how intense the pain, the ending of a little bright 
 existence causes. 
 
 Heiclen, Appenzell : October 7. 
 
 How kind of you to remember our darling's birth- 
 day ; we both thank you for this. Sad and many are our 
 thoughts. I think of m}^ loneliness and anxiety when he 
 was born, with Louis far away in the midst of danger — a 
 sad and awful time to come into the world ; but sweet 
 Frittie was my comfort and occupation, a second son, a 
 pleasure to us both ! Now all this is wiped out, and our 
 parents' hearts are sore, and askmg for the dear bright face 
 we miss so much from amongst our circle of children ! He 
 ended his fight very soon. May we all follow in a way as 
 peaceful, with as little struggle and pain, and leave an image 
 of as much love and brightness behhid, to be a blessed 
 remembrance for the rest of our lives ! 
 
 I can't write on any other subject to-day, therefore close 
 these short lines with much love from your devoted child, 
 
 Alice. 
 
1 873 IN ENGLAND. 
 
 271 
 
 Beloved Mama, Buckingham Palace : December 20. 
 
 How much I thank you for your dear precious letter, 
 and for all the true love and considerate sympathy you 
 showed me durmg our visit ! It has soothed and comforted 
 me, I assure you, and will be a pleasure and satisfaction 
 for me to look back to the many pleasant talks we had 
 together. 
 
 Louis, who has always been so devoted to you, was 
 touched to tears, as I was, by your expressions of love to 
 us and to our children. 
 
 Thank you also for all advice, which is so precious to 
 me, and in followmg it I shall like to think that I am doing 
 something that you told me. 
 
 How much I felt in parting from you I cannot say. 
 Neither did I like to speak of it, for it was too much, and 
 the harder things in life are better borne in silence, as none 
 can bear them for one, and they must be fought out by 
 oneself. 
 
 Ernie and Irene send endless loves to 3'ou, to Uncle and 
 Auntie. Sunny's hand is better. 
 
 Tilla came to see me yesterdaj^ and we both drove with 
 her to the Memorial.^ 
 
 . . . There is so much I would run on about, now the 
 dear habit of intercourse together has once more become so 
 natural to me. Writing is at best a poor rcmpla(;ant. 
 
 Once more from both of us warm and tender thanks 
 for so much love and kindness ! Love to Leopold and Bea- 
 trice ; kind remembrances to all who surround 3'ou ! 
 
 From your grateful and devoted child, 
 
 Alice. 
 
 " To the Trince Consort in Hyde Park. 
 
272 LETTERS. 1874 
 
 Buckingham Palace : December 21. 
 
 ... It is fine and warm and still. I hope it will 
 be so early to-morrow when we cross over. I shall tele- 
 graph how the passage has been. 
 
 Please thank Brown for his kind wishes. I am so sorry 
 that I missed saying good-bye to several. To say the truth, 
 I dreaded it. It is always so painful. The old Baron's ^ 
 way of disappearing was almost the best. 
 
 1874 
 
 Darmstadt : January 12. 
 
 . . . How low and miserable I am at times in these 
 rooms, particularly when I go to bed, I cannot tell you ! 
 The impression of all is so vivid and heartrending. I could 
 cry out for pain sometimes. 
 
 Till the first year is round this will often return, I know, 
 and must be borne as part of the sorrow ! 
 
 January 16. 
 
 ... I know well what your grief and your bereave- 
 ment were compared to mine ; but they are such differ- 
 ent sorrows, I don't think one can well compare them. 
 Your life was broken — upset : altered from the very roots, 
 through the one you lost ; my life is unchanged, save in 
 the mother's heart the blank, the pain which thousands 
 of little things awaken — which by the world, even by the 
 family, are scarcely felt ; and this ofttimes loneliness of 
 
 ' Baron Stockmar had such a dislike of leave-takings that he never let 
 it be known when he was going away from the English Court. The first 
 intimation of his intention was — that he was already gene. 
 
i874 MARRIAGE OF DUKE OF EDINBURGH. 273 
 
 sentiment clouds one's life over with a quiet sorrow which 
 
 is felt in erenjikinci. . . . 
 
 Darmstadt : January 23. 
 
 On our dear Affie's [Prince Alfred's] wedding-day, a 
 few tender words. It must seem so strange to you not to 
 be near him. My thoughts are constantly with them all, 
 and we have only the Times' account, for no one writes 
 here — they are all too busy, and of course all news comes 
 to you. What has Augusta [Lady Augusta Stanley] 
 written, and Vicky and Bertie? Any extracts or other 
 newspaper accounts but what we see would be most welcome. 
 
 We give a dinner to-night to the family and entourage, 
 and Russian and English legations. . . . 
 
 Louis sends you his love and warmest wishes for your- 
 self and the happiness of the dear pair, in which I most 
 earnestly join. God bless and protect them, and may all 
 turn out well ! 
 
 Darmstadt : January 28. 
 
 . . . Dear Marie [the Duchess of Edinburgh] seems 
 to make the same impression on all. How glad I am she 
 is so quite what I thought and hoped. Such a wife must 
 make Affie happy, and do him good, and be a great plea- 
 sure to yourself, which I always like to thmk. I shall read 
 to my mother-in-law the letters, and show them to Bauer- 
 lein. Both will be very gi'ateful for being allowed to see them. 
 
 We are going from Saturday to Monday to Carlsruhe. 
 The eldest girls and Biiuerlein, who is going to take charge 
 of them for a week, are gomg with us. 
 
 . . . One day we have six degrees of heat, the next 
 two or four of cold ; it is very unwholesome. 
 
 Carlsruhe : February 2. 
 
 I have a little time before breakfast to thank you 
 so very much for the enclosures, also the Dean's [Stanley] 
 
274 LETTERS. 1874 
 
 letter through clear Beatrice. We are most grateful for being 
 allowed to hear these most interesting reports. It brings 
 everything so much nearer. How pleasant it is to receive 
 only satisfactory reports ! I fear Aunt Marie is far from 
 well. I should be very anxious, for she is like a fading flower. 
 
 All the family, Hohenlohes and Holsteins, send their 
 duty. All their respective children and ours were together 
 yesterday afternoon. I hope not to seem vain, if it strikes 
 me that amongst all the children my girls usually carry 
 away the palm. Victoria is in such good looks at pre- 
 sent ; they are both natural and real children, and as such 
 I hope to be able to retain them long. 
 
 Sophie Weiss ^ came to see me yesterday. I was very 
 glad to be able to give her so good an account of you, and 
 how yomig you looked when I had that great happiness of 
 those few short days at Windsor, which did me good in 
 every respect. Old Frau von Bunsen, now eighty-three, 
 I went to see — such a charming old lady, fresh m her 
 mind, with snow-white hair. You and Papa were the topic 
 she enjoyed speaking about, and our brothers and sisters. 
 
 Darmstadt : March 11. 
 
 ... I hope you were not the worse for all your 
 exertions. The Times' accounts are charming. Such a 
 warm reception must have touched Marie, and shown how 
 the English cling to their Sovereign and her house. 
 
 We have cold, snow and dust, after quite warm weather. 
 I trust you will have sunshme to-morrow. 
 
 This last fortnight the news from Ashantee has so 
 absorbed our thoughts. It has been an arduous undertak- 
 ing, and one's heart warms to our dear troops, who under 
 all difficulties sustain their old name for bravery and endur- 
 
 8 A former Dresser of the Queen's. 
 
i874 THE ASHANTEE WAR. 275 
 
 ance. The poor 42nd [Eegiment] lost many through Dlness, 
 too; and I see they entered Coomassie playmg the bag- 
 pipes ! 
 
 Louis is just reading to me Sir Hope Grant's book on 
 the Indian Mutiny, which he kindly sent me, and which is 
 interesting and pleasant to read. 
 
 I am takmg the first snowdrops to sweet Frittie's 
 grave. How the first flowers he so dearly loved bring tears 
 to my eyes, and recollections which wring my heart anew ! 
 I dread these two next months with their flowers and their 
 birds. Good-bye, darling Mama. 
 
 Darmstadt : April 7. 
 
 . . . Surely Marie must feel it very deeply, for to 
 leave so delicate and loving a mother must seem almost 
 wrong. How strange this side of human nature always 
 seems — leaving all you love most, know best, owe all debts 
 of gratitude to, for the comparatively unknown ! The lot 
 of parents is indeed hard, and of such self-sacrifice. 
 
 April 11. 
 . . . The children are too much an object here : 
 they have too little to compare with ; they would be bene- 
 fited by a change, seeing other things and people, else they 
 get into a groove, which I know is not good. They are 
 very unspoilt in their tastes, and simple and quiet children, 
 which I think of the greatest importance. 
 
 Louis Battenberg ^ has passed a first-rate examination. 
 The parents are so happy, and the influence the good 
 conduct and steady work of the elder brother has on the 
 younger is of the greatest use, as they wish to follow him, 
 
 " Eldest son of Prince Alexander of Hesse and Princess Battenberg 
 married on the 30th of April, 1884, to Princess Victoria of Hesse, and 
 brother to the present Prince of Bulgaria and Prince Henry of Battenberg. 
 
 T 2 
 
276 LETTERS. 1874 
 
 and be as well spoken of, and please their parents, as 
 he does. . . . 
 
 April 15. 
 
 My best thanks for j^our dear letter of the 13th. You 
 say rightly, what a fault it is of parents to bring up their 
 daughters with the main object of marrying them. This is 
 said to be a too prominent feature in the modern English 
 education of the higher classes. ... I want to strive to 
 bring up the girls without seeking this as the sole object for 
 the future — to feel they can fill up their lives so well other- 
 wise. ... A marriage for the sake of marriage is surely 
 the greatest mistake a woman can make. ... I know what 
 an absorbing feeling that of devotion to one's parent is. 
 When I was at home, it filled my whole soul. It does still 
 in a great degree, and Heimiceh [home-sickness] does not 
 cease after ever so long an absence. . . . 
 
 Darmstadt : April 23. 
 
 ... I thought so much of your remarks about 
 daughters, &c., and do think it so natural and dutiful to 
 remain with one's parent as long as one is wanted. Is it 
 not a duty when no one else can take one's place ? I should 
 feel it so. 
 
 April 26. 
 
 I thank you most tenderly for your loving wishes 
 for my birthday, received on getting up yesterday morning. 
 You can understand that the day was inexpressibly sad, 
 that the fair head missing in our circle was painfully felt, 
 and that all these recollections caused me endless tears and 
 heartache — though not for him, sweet precious child. 
 
 As you say, life at best is a struggle : happy those who 
 can lie down to rest, having fought their battle well ; or 
 those who have been spared fighting it at all, and have 
 
1 874 DEATH OF MR. VAN DE WEYER. 277 
 
 remained pure and untouched, barely touching this earth, 
 so mixed up with grief and sin ! 
 
 Let me thank you for the charming photographs, and 
 for the present towards the layette — a most kmd assistance. 
 
 . . . We went to the Mausoleum. The children had 
 made me wreaths to take there, and we all went together. 
 How often and tenderly Ernie speaks of Frittie ! It is 
 very touching, and speaks of his deep and warm heart. 
 He said the other day — for the recollection of death has 
 left such a deep impression, and he cannot reconcile it with 
 life, it pains him — ' When I die, you must die too, and all 
 the others ; why can't all die together '? I don't like to die 
 alone, like Frittie.' Poor child ! the wish that all have, 
 who love their own, so early expressed. . . . 
 
 May 4. 
 
 Many thanks for your last dear letter written on dear 
 Arthur's birthday, of which, though late, I wish 5^ou joy. 
 Such a good, steady, excellent bo}' as he is ! What a com- 
 fort it must be to you, never to have had any cause of 
 uneasiness or annoj-ance in his conduct ! He is so much 
 respected, which for one so young is doubly praiseworthy. 
 From St. Petersburg, as from Vienna, we heard the same 
 account of the steady line he holds to, m spite of all chaf- 
 fing, SiC, from others ; which shows character. 
 
 My mother-in-law tells me that since Miechen has been 
 allowed to retain her religion, this right will of course be con- 
 ceded to all Prmcesses in future. ^Miat a good thing, for 
 the changing I always thought too bad, and nowadays so in- 
 tolerant and narrow. ... To think of Mr. Yan de Weyer 
 also leavmg this world ! To you he will be a loss, and to all 
 who knew him. Old friends are precious landmarks in the 
 history of one's life, and not to be replaced by new ones ; 
 and it is sad, how time reduces the number as one gets on 
 
278 LETTERS. 1874 ; 
 
 in life. How deeply you must feel this with each fresh loss ! 
 I feel much for you. . . . 
 
 Beloved Mama, Darmstadt : June 5. 
 
 . . . The day (Whitsunday, and dear Frittie's burial- 
 day) of Baby's ' birth would have been too sad, had not the 
 fact of its being your birthday given a double significance ; 
 but when I heard those bells, and became conscious again 
 of everything, my feelings were deep and mingled beyond 
 expression. 
 
 . . . With repeated tender thanks, your most loving 
 child, 
 
 Alice. 
 
 June 11. 
 
 . . . Having no cow, or country place to keep one, 
 in this tremendous heat where one can't keep milk, and 
 dysentery carries off so many babies, it would not be fair 
 to deprive the poor little thing of its natural and safest 
 nourishment till the hot months are over. 
 
 July 13. 
 
 The christening went ofl' very well. Baby looked 
 really pretty for so young an individual. It was m a large 
 room. Marie [Duchess of Edinburgh], quite in pink, held 
 her godchild ; and my mother-in-law, with her best love, 
 begs me to tell you, it had pleased her so much that you 
 had asked her to represent you. My three older girls looked 
 very nice, I thought, in lavender silk (your Christmas pre- 
 sent). I had the same colour, and ' Sunny,' in pink, was 
 immensely admired. She is still improving in looks since 
 3^ou saw her. 
 
 ' Princess May, born on the 24tli of May, 1874. 
 
i874 BLANKENBERGHE. 279 
 
 I was glad it was another place, in different circum- 
 stances from the last christening. As it was, it moved me 
 much. The last time I heard these words darlmg Frittie 
 was with us, and now the chain has a gap ! 
 
 . . . We can get nothing at Scheveningen except at 
 exorbitant prices, so we go to that dreadful Blankenberghe 
 — without tree or bush, nothing but a beach and sand 
 banks. 
 
 Blankenberghe : July 24. 
 
 The sea air is doing all good, the children especiall}', 
 the heat had pulled them so. 
 
 I have bathed once, and hope it will agree. . . . My 
 cough and relaxed throat are getting better. 
 
 The rooms are small and few, but clean, and the cook- 
 ing good, and we arc quite satisfied. There is not a soul 
 one knows. 
 
 Blankenberghe : August 16. 
 
 This day makes me think of our dear kind Grand - 
 mama, whose image still dwells amongst us ! None who 
 ever knew her can forget how truly loveable she was ; and 
 we grandchildren will ever retain such a bright recollection 
 of her. So many little attentions, small souvenirs, kind 
 letters, all tokens of affection so pleasing to the receivers. 
 
 Yesterday Louis saved a lady from drowning. He was 
 bathing. The waves were high, and he heard a cry for help, 
 and saw a bather struggling. She had lost her footing. Her 
 husband tried to help her, but was exhausted and let her go ; 
 equally so the brother-in-law, and Louis felt he was losing 
 his strength, but she kept her presence of mind and floated. 
 He let her go once till a wave brought her near him again, 
 and he caught her hand and brought her in, feeling quite 
 done himself. I was not in the sea at the time, for the 
 waves were so tremendous that I lost my footing several 
 
28o LETTERS. 1874 
 
 times, and had come out, fearing an accident. The lady 
 is a Mrs. T. Shgo, a Scotchwoman, and she has just written 
 to me to thank Louis. He is a good swimmer, and very 
 strong. The gentlemen are two grey-haired Scotchmen. 
 
 Ella has so wonderfully improved since she has been 
 here. She is no more pale and languid, and Ernie is 
 another child also. 
 
 Luckily it has not been warm, so the air and baths are 
 doubly efficacious. They have done me a world of good. 
 I feel quite different to what I have done ever since Sunny's 
 birth. I believe the sea to be the only thing for such a 
 relaxed state, and, being strong and healthy by nature, I 
 can't bear not being well and feelmg so weak. Miss Graves - 
 has returned, but the girls have been very good — no trouble 
 at all. 
 
 Kraniclistein : August 26. 
 
 On dear Papa's birthday I must send you a few 
 lines. The past is ever bright and vivid in my mind, though 
 year after year intervenes. How must it be for you, who 
 live surrounded by such precious recollections of the happy 
 past ! 
 
 Kranichstein : September 1. 
 
 ... I shall get a comforter done for good Mrs. 
 Brown, kind old woman. I am glad she does not forget 
 me, and shall be pleased to do any little thmg that can give 
 her pleasure. Will you tell her, the plaid she made me 
 still goes everywhere with me ? How is Mrs. Grant ? 
 
 Louis is gone, and I have a good deal to do every day. 
 We breakfast at half-past eight, then I have Baby and take 
 the children out till eleven. I then have business, Baby, 
 and, at one, the elder girls alternately for French reading. 
 
 ^ Governess to Princess Alice's children. 
 
i874 PROTESTANTS AND ROMAN CATHOLICS. 28 1 
 
 After luncheon I write my letters, &c., and before j&ve go 
 out. In the evenings I read, and have supper at eight with 
 the two ladies. 
 
 Ella is another child since she has been at the seaside — 
 fine colour, no longer pale and languid, learns well, and is 
 quite different. Ernie the same, bright and fresh ; while 
 before they had been looking pulled and weak, outgrowing 
 their strength. 
 
 ' Sunny ' is the picture of robust health, and sweet little 
 ' sister Maly ' sits up quite alone, and is very neat and rosy, 
 with such quick eyes, and two deep dimples in her cheeks — 
 a great pet, and so like my poor Frittie. 
 
 The return here has been very painful, and days of 
 great depression still come, when I am tormented with the 
 dreadful remembrance of the day I lost him. Too cruel 
 and agonising are those thoughts. I dwell on his rest and 
 peace, and that our sufferings he cannot know. What 
 might not life have brought him ? Better so ! but hard to 
 say, ' God's will be done.' 
 
 Kranichstein : September 15. 
 
 . . . 's conversion has created no smaller sensa- 
 
 tion with us than elsewhere, and the Tim<'s criticised his step 
 so sharply. It remains a retrograde movement for an}^ Pro- 
 testant, how much more so for a man of his stamp ! Quite 
 incomprehensible to me, 
 
 . . . This Catholic movement is so ?/?i-£n(7/is//. I think, 
 among those Eitualists there are bond fide Catholics who 
 help to convert. . . . 
 
 I will send you sweet little Maly's photograph next time. 
 . . . Baby has a very fair skin, light-brown hair and deep 
 blue eyes with marked eyebrows, not much colour in her 
 cheeks, but pink and healthy-looking altogether. 
 
282 LETTERS. 1874 
 
 Kraniehstein : September 24. 
 
 . . . People with strong feelings and of nervous 
 temperament, for which one is no more responsible than for 
 the colour of one's eyes, have things to fight against and to 
 put up with, unknown to those of quiet equable dispositions, 
 who are free from violent emotions, and have consequently no 
 feeling of nerves — still less, of irritable nerves. If I did not 
 control mine as much as I could, they would be dreadful. 
 . . . One can overcome a great deal — but alter oneself one 
 cannot. . . . 
 
 October 31. 
 
 ... I always think, that in the end children educate 
 the parents. For their sakes there is so much one must 
 do : one must forget oneself, if everything is as it ought 
 to be. It is doubly so, if one has the misfortune to lose a 
 precious child. Euckert's lovely lines are so true (after the 
 loss of two of his children) : 
 
 Nun hat eucb Gott verlielien, was wir euch woUten tbun, 
 Wir woUten euch erziehen, und ihr erzieht uns nun, 
 Kinder, ihr erziehet mit Scbmerz die Eltern jetzt ; 
 Ihr zielit an uns, und ziehet uns auf zu euch zuletzt.^ 
 
 Yesterday Ernie was telling Orchard that I was going 
 to plant some Spanish chestnuts, and she said, ' Oh, I shall 
 be dead and gone before they are big ; what a pity we had 
 none sooner ! ' and Ernie burst out crying and said, ' No, 
 you must not die alone — I don't like people to die alone ; 
 we must die all together ! ' He has said the same to me 
 before, poor darling. After Lenchen's [Princess Christian's] 
 
 ^ Now unto you the Lord has done what we had wished to do ; 
 We would have train'd you up, and now 'tis we are train'd by you. 
 With grief and tears, children, do you your parents train, 
 And lure us on and up to you, to meet in heaven again. 
 
i874 OPINIONS ON EDUCATION. 283 
 
 boys were gone, and he had seen Eddy and Georgy [sons of 
 Prince of Wales], his own loss came fresh upon him, and he 
 cried for his little brother ! It is the remaining behind 
 the loss, the missing of the dear ones, that is the cruel 
 thing to bear. Only time can teach one that, and resigna- 
 tion to a Higher Will. . . . 
 
 November 16. 
 
 Many thanks for your dear letter, and for the advice, 
 which, as a mark of your interest in our children, is very 
 precious, besides being so good ! What you mention I have 
 never lost sight of, and there is, as you say, nothing more 
 injurious for children than that thej^ should be made a fuss 
 about. I want to make them unselfish, unspoiled, and con- 
 tented ; as yet this is the case. That they take a greater 
 place in my life than is often the case in otir families, 
 comes from my not being able to have enough persons of a 
 responsible sort to take charge of them always ; certain 
 things remam undone from that reason, if I do not do them, 
 and thci/ would be the losers. I certainly do not belong by 
 nature to those women who are above all icife; but circum- 
 stances have forced me to be the mother in the real sense, 
 as in a private family, and I had to school myself to it, I 
 assure you, for many small self-denials have been necessary. 
 Baby- worship, or having the children indiscriminately about 
 one, is not at all the right thing, and a perpetual talk about 
 one's children makes some women intolerable. I hope I 
 steer clear of these faults — at least I try to do so, for I can 
 only agree in every word you say, as does Louis, to whom I 
 read it ; and he added when I was reading your remarks, 
 ' Das thust Du aber nicht. Die Kinder und andere Menschen 
 wissen gar nicht, was Du fur sie thust ' [' But you don't do so. 
 Neither the children nor anybody else knows what you do 
 for them ']. He has often complained that I would not have 
 
284 LETTERS. 1874 
 
 the children enough in my room, but, being of your opinion, 
 where it was not necessary, I thought it better not. . . . 
 
 December 12. 
 
 I enclose a few lines to Mr. Martin.* I have only 
 had time to look at the preface, and am very glad to hear 
 that you are satisfied. 
 
 With what interest shall I read it ! You will receive 
 these lines on the 14th. Last year I had the comfort of 
 being near you. It did me real good then, and I thank you 
 again for those short and quiet days, where the intercourse 
 with you was so soothing to my aching heart. There is no 
 Umgang [intercourse] I know, that gives me more happiness 
 than when I can be with you — above all, in quiet. The 
 return to the so-called world I have barely made. Life is 
 serious — a journey to another end. The flowers God sends 
 to brighten our path I take with gratitude and enjoy ; but 
 much that was dearest, most precious, which this day 
 co)iunc))iui-(ttes, is in the grave ; part of my heart is there 
 too, though their spirits, adored Papa's, live on with me, the 
 holiest and brightest part of life, a star to lead us, were we 
 but equal to following it ! The older I grow the more per- 
 fect, the more touchmg and good, dear Papa's image stands 
 before me. Such an entire life for duty, so joyously and 
 unpretendingly borne out, remains for all times something 
 inexpressibly fine and grand ! With it how tender, loveable, 
 gay, he was ! I can never talk of him to others who have 
 not known him, without tears in my eyes — as I have them 
 now. He icas and is ni}^ ideal. I never knew a man fit 
 to place beside him, or so made to be devotedly loved and 
 admired. . . . 
 
 ^ The lirst volume of whose Life of the Prince Consort had just been 
 pubhshed. 
 
i874 THE PRINCE CONSORT'S LIFE. 285 
 
 December 14. 
 
 Before this day is over, I must write a few words — my 
 thonghts are so much with you and with the past, the 
 bright happy past of my childhood, where beloved Papa 
 was the centre of this rich and happy existence. I have 
 spent nearly the whole day with the precious volume which 
 speaks so much of you and of him. 
 
 What a man in every sense of the word ; what a Prince 
 he was — so entirely what the dear old Baron [Stockmar] 
 urged him always to be ! Life with him must have seemed 
 to you so secure and well-guarded. How you must have 
 loved him ! It makes one's heart ache again and again, in 
 reading and thinkmg of all dear Papa was to you, that you 
 should have had to part from him in the heat of the day, 
 when he was so necessary. IJnn ist wold [With him it is 
 well]. A life like his was a whole long lifetime, though 
 only forty-two years, and he well deserved his rest ! 
 
 The hour is nearing when we last held and pressed his 
 hand in life, now thirteen years ago. How well I recollect 
 that last sunrise, and then the dreadful night with you that 
 followed on that too awful day ! But it is not well to dwell 
 on these things, when we have the bright sunny past to 
 look back to. Tennyson's beautiful Dedication ^ expresses 
 all one feels and would wish to say. I can only add, with 
 a heavy-drawn sigh, ' Oh, to be worthier of such a Father ! ' 
 How far beneath him, if not always in aims, at least in 
 their fulfilment, have I always remamed ! 
 
 December 17. 
 
 My best thanks for the letter of the 15th. Poor 
 Colonel Grey's ^ death is shockmg, and Bertie and Alix are 
 
 * To Tlie Idylls of tlie King. 
 
 * Only child of Sir George Grey, and Equerry to the Prince of \\"ales. 
 He died at Sandringham of inflammation of the lungs. 
 
286 LETTERS. 1875 
 
 sure to have felt it deeply. Dear Bertie's true and constant 
 heart suffers on such occasions, for he can be constant m 
 friendship, and all who serve him serve him with warm 
 attachment. I hope he won't give way to the idea of 
 Sandrmgham being unlucky, though so much that has been 
 trying and sad has happened to them there ! Superstition 
 is surely a thing to fight against ; above all, with the feeling 
 that all is in God's hands, not in ours ! 
 
 How mterestmg the book is [Life of the Prince Consort] ! 
 I have jQnished it, and am befriecUgt [satisfied]. It was a 
 difficult undertaking, but Mr. Martin seems to have done it 
 very well. 
 
 I am sure dear Osborne is charming as ever, but I can't 
 thmk of that large house so empty ; no children any more ; 
 it must seem so forsaken in our old wmg. I have such a 
 Heimiceh [yearnmg] to see Osborne again after more than 
 six years ! . . . 
 
 1875 
 
 [The following two letters refer to an opinion held and 
 expressed m certain quarters, that the publication of the 
 Prince Consort's Life had taken place too soon after the 
 occurrence of many of the events which are dealt with in it.] 
 
 Darmstadt : January 3, 1875. 
 ... It is touching and fine in you to allow the 
 world to have so much insight into your private life, and 
 allow others to have what has been only your property and 
 our inheritance. 
 
 People can only be the better for readmg about dear 
 
i875 THE PRINCE CONSORT'S LIFE. 287 
 
 Papa, such as lie was, and such as so feehngly and dehcately 
 Mr. Theodore Martm places him before them. To me the 
 volume is mexpressibly precious, and opens a field for 
 thought in various senses. 
 
 To this letter Her Majesty replied : — 
 
 Dearest Alice, Osborne : January 12, 1875. 
 
 . . . Now as regards the book. If you will reflect 
 a few minutes, you will see, how I owed it to beloved Papa 
 to let his noble character be known and understood, as it 
 now is, and that to wait longer, when those who knew him 
 best — his own wife, and a few (very few there are) remam- 
 ing friends — were all gone, or too old, and too far removed 
 from that time, to be able to present a really true picture of 
 his most ideal and remarkable character, would have been 
 really wrong. 
 
 He must be known, for his own sake, for the good of 
 England and of his family, and of the world at large. 
 Countless people write to say, what good it does and will do. 
 And it is already thirteen years since he left us ! 
 
 Then you must also remember, that endless false and 
 untrue things have been written and said about us, public 
 and private, and that in these days people will write and 
 will know : therefore the only way to counteract this is to 
 let the real, full truth be known, and as much be told as can 
 be told with prudence and discretion, and then no harm, 
 but good, will be done. Nothmg will help me more, than 
 that my people should see what I have lost ! Numbers 
 of people we knew have had their Lives and Memoirs pub- 
 lished, and some beautiful ones : Bunsen's, by his wife ; 
 Lord Elgin's, by his (very touching and interesting) ; Lord 
 Palmerston's : &c. &c. 
 
288 LETTERS. 1875 
 
 The Early Years volume was begun for private cir- 
 culation only, and then General Grey and many of Papa's 
 friends and advisers begged me to have it published. This 
 was done. The work was most popular, and greatly liked. 
 General Grey could not go on with it, and asked me to ask 
 Sir A. Helps to continue it, and he said that he could not, 
 but recommended Mr. Theodore Martin as one of the most 
 eminent writers of the day, and hoped I could prevail on 
 him to undertake this great national work. I did succeed, 
 and he has taken seven years to prepare the whole, sup- 
 plied by me with every letter and extract ; and a deal of 
 time it took, but I felt it would be a national sacred work. 
 You must, I think, see I am right now ; Papa and I too 
 would have suffered otherwise. I think even the German 
 side of his character will be understood. 
 
 One of the things that pleases people most is the beau- 
 tiful way in which he took all good Stockmar's often very 
 severe observations. And they also admire so much good 
 old Stockmar's honesty, fearlessness, and are pleased to be 
 shown what a dear warm-hearted old man he was. Your 
 
 devoted Mama, 
 
 V. E. 
 
 January 27. 
 
 . . . My little May has such a cold, which lessens 
 her usual smiles. She is a fine strong child, more like 
 what Victoria was, but marked eyebrows, with the fair hair 
 and such speaking eyes. She and Aliky are a pretty con- 
 trast ! 
 
 February 14. 
 
 You say of the drains just what I have said from 
 year to year ; and this summer — if we can get away in the 
 
 J 
 
i875 ACCIDENT TO PRINCE LOUIS. 289 
 
 spring, when it is most unwholesome — what can be done is 
 to be done, and I hope with better success than what has 
 hitherto been attempted. 
 
 M}^ httle May cannot get rid of her cough, though she 
 looks pink and smiling. I shall be so glad to show her to 
 you — she is so pretty and dear. 
 
 My father-in-law has for the first time got the gout in 
 his feet, and is so depressed. Uncle Louis suffers dread- 
 fully from oppression at night, so that he can't remain in 
 bed. He is a good deal aged, and stoops dreadfully. . . . 
 
 March 14. 
 
 Louis gave me a dreadful fright last week by sud- 
 denly breaking through the ice, and at a very deep place. 
 He laid his arms over the thicker ice, and managed to keep 
 above water till some one was near enough to help him out. 
 He said the water drew immensely, and he feared getting 
 under the ice. The gentleman, who is very tall, lay down 
 and stretched his arms out to Louis, another man holding 
 the former : and so he got out without ill effects. As it 
 was at Kranichstein, he undressed and rubbed himself 
 before the stove in the Verwalter's [land-steward's] room ; 
 and he came home in the Verwalter's clothes, which looked 
 very funny. , . . 
 
 Marlborough House : May 15. 
 
 I did not half thank you yesterday for our pleasant 
 visit. I could not trust myself to speak. I felt leaving 
 you again so much. It has been a great happiness to me, 
 so icohlthncnd [doing me so much good] to have been with 
 you, and I can never express what I feel, as I would, nor 
 how deep and tender my love and gratitude to you are ! 
 The older I grow, the more precious the VerhiUtniss [rela- 
 tion] to a mother becomes to me, and how doubly so to you ! 
 
 u 
 
290 LETTERS. 1875 
 
 Louis feels as I do ; his love to you has always been 
 as to his own mother ; and my tears begin to run, when 
 I recall 3'our dear face and voice, w^hich to see and hear 
 again has seemed so natural, so as it ought to be ! that 
 it is quite difficult to accustom myself to the thought that 
 only in memory can I enjoy them now. 
 
 How I do love you, sweet Mama ! There is no sacrifice 
 I would not make for you ! and as our meetings are of late 
 years so fleeting and far between, when they are over, I 
 feel the separation very much. ... 
 
 Marlborough House : June 15. 
 
 . . . God bless you, my precious Mother, watch 
 over and guard you ; and let your blessing and motherly 
 interest accompany us and our children ! Louis' tenderest 
 love ; many, many kisses from all children, and William's 
 respectful duty ! 
 
 Kranichstein : June 20. 
 
 ... All Victoria and Ella tell me of their stay at 
 Balmoral — the many things you gave them and their 
 people — touches me so much : let me thank you so many 
 times agam. I feel I did not say half enough, but you 
 know hoiv much I feel it ! 
 
 Our journey did very well; no one was ill, after that 
 dreadful storm — a piece of luck. You are now again at 
 Windsor. How much I think of you and of dear Beatrice ! 
 
 Kranichstein : October 7. 
 
 . . . To-day my eyes will not remain dry : the 
 recollection of five years ago, which brought us joy and 
 promise of more in our sweet second boy, is painful in the 
 extreme. The sudden ending of that young life ; the gap 
 this has left ; the recollections that are now but to be en- 
 
i875 PRINCE 'FRITTIE.' 291 
 
 joyed in silent memoiy, will leave a heart-ache and a sore 
 place, beside where there is much happiness and cause of 
 gratitude. The six children and we, with endless flowers 
 and tears, decked his little grave this morning, and some 
 sad lines of Bj-ron's struck me as having much truth in the 
 pain of such moments — 
 
 But wlien I stood beneath the fresh green tree, 
 Wliicb living waves where tliou didst cease to live, 
 And saw around me the wide field revive 
 "With fruits and fertile promise, and the Spring 
 Come forth her work of gladness to contrive, 
 With all her reckless birds upon the wing, 
 I turn'd from all she brought, to those she could not bring.' 
 
 The weather is fine ; it was much like this five years 
 ago, hut round Metz it rained. Louis was turning into 
 quarters with his troops from a sortie, and he called the 
 news out to the regiments as he rode along, and they gave 
 a cheer for their little Prince ! 
 
 It was a dreadful time of trial and separation for both 
 of us, and Frittie was such a comfort and consolation to 
 me in all my loneliness. 
 
 How sorry I am for poor Alix at this long separation ! " 
 For her sake I grieve at the impossibility of her accom- 
 panymg him. 
 
 We hope to get back to our house by the 19th, though 
 there will be an end of nice walks for the next eight months 
 — the town grows so, and is all railroad and coal-heaps 
 where we had our walks formerly, and the town pavement 
 in the streets is most unpleasant walking. . . . 
 
 ' Cliildc Harold, canto iii. stanza 30. 
 
 * During the visit of the Prince of Wales to India. 
 
 u 2 
 
292 LETTERS. 1876 
 
 Schloss Kraniehstein : October 16. 
 
 For 3^0111- dear letter and for the enclosures I am so 
 grateful, but distressed beyond measure at dear Fanny's 
 [Lady Frances Baillie]. I had a long letter from her 
 some weeks back, when she was more hopeful about dear 
 Augusta [Stanley]. This is too much sorrow for them all I 
 Fanny I love as a sister, and dear Augusta's devotion and 
 self-sacrifice to you, and even to us in those dreadful years, 
 was something rare and beautiful. Her whole soul and 
 heart were m the duty, which to her was a sacred one. 
 The good, excellent Dean ! My sympathy is so great with 
 these three kind and good people so sorely tried. I grieve 
 for you, too ! God help them ! 
 
 October 26. 
 
 How sorry I am for dear good old Mrs. Brown and 
 for her sons ! ^ Please say something sympathising from 
 me ; her blindness is such a trial, poor soul, at that age^ 
 How gloomily life must close for her ! 
 
 1876 
 
 January 18, 1876. 
 
 No words can express how deep my sympathy and grief 
 is for what our dear Augusta and the Dean ^ have to go 
 through. With her warm, large heart, which ever lived 
 and suffered for others, how great must her pain be in 
 having to leave him ! I can positively think of nothing else 
 lately, as you know my love for Augusta, the General [her 
 
 " Her husband, the father of the Queen's personal attendant, John 
 Brown, had just died. See More Leaves from a Jouriial, p. 319. 
 
 ' Lady Augusta Stanley's life was at this time despaired of. She died 
 on the 1st of March. 
 
 d 
 
1876 LADY AUGUSTA STANLEY. 293 
 
 brother, General Bruce] and Fanny has always been great ; 
 and when I thmk back of them m former times, nnd m the 
 year 1861, my heart aches and my tears flow — feelmg what 
 you and we shall lose in dear Augusta. My pity for the 
 dear good kind Dean is so deep. I sent him a few words 
 again to-day, in the hope he may still say a few words of 
 love and gratitude to dear x\ugusta from me. 
 
 Davnistaclt : January 22. 
 
 . . . Yesterday morning Ernie came in to me and 
 said, ' Mama, I had a beautiful dream ; shall I tell you ? 
 I dreamt that I was dead and was gone up to Heaven, and 
 there I asked God to let me have Frittie again ; and he 
 came to me and took my hand. You were in bed, and saw 
 a great light, and were so frightened, and I said, " It is 
 Ernie and Frittie." You were so astonished ! The next 
 night Frittie and I went with a great light to sisters.' Is 
 it not touching ? He says such beautiful things, and has 
 such deep poetic thought, yet with it all so full of fun and 
 romping. 
 
 February 9. 
 
 ... I am so sorry and shocked about excellent Mr. 
 Harrison.^ What a loss ! He was so obliging and kind 
 always in the many commissions for us children. Poor 
 Kriiuslach,^ too — so sad ! It is too grievous ; how one well- 
 known face — with its many associations — after another, is 
 called away ; and on looking back, how short a space of 
 time they seem to have filled ! 
 
 - Secretary in the office of the Privy Purse. 
 
 ' The Prince Consort's head groom, who had come over with him to 
 England. 
 
294 LETTERS. 1876 
 
 Darmstadt : June 23. 
 
 . . . How sorry I am for good kind old Mrs. Brown ! 
 — to be blind with old age seems so hard, so cruel ; but I 
 am sure with your so loving heart you have brightened her 
 latter years in many kind ways. It is such a pleasure to 
 do anything for the aged ; one has such a feeling of respect 
 for those who have the experience of a long life, and are 
 nearmg the goal. 
 
 September 5. 
 
 It is long since I have felt such pain as the death 
 (to me really sudden and unexpected, in spite of the danger 
 inherent in her case) of my good, devoted, kind Emily * has 
 caused me. My tears won't cease. Louis, the children, the 
 whole household, all mourn and grieve with me. She was 
 singularly beloved, and richly deserved to be so ! Her devo- 
 tion and affection to me really knew no bounds. I cannot 
 think what it will be to miss her. I have never been served 
 as she served me, and probably never shall be so again. It 
 is a wrench that only those can estimate who knew her well — 
 like poor Mary Hardinge. She came first in Emily's hearty 
 and the loss for her is quite, quite irreparable ! Had I but 
 seen dear Emily again ! This sudden, cruel sort of death 
 shocks me so. 
 
 How I should have nursed and comforted her had I 
 been near her ! She always wished this, and told me she 
 had such a fear of death. There never breathed a more 
 unselfish, generous, good character. 
 
 September G. 
 
 ... I fear you will find me so dull, th-ed, and use- 
 less. I can do next to nothing of late, and must rest so 
 
 * The Hon. Emily Caroline Hardinge, the Princess's Lady-in-Waiting> 
 died in London on the 4th of September, 1876. 
 
1876 EDINBURGH. 295 
 
 much. Poor Emily ! My thoughts never leave her. I 
 cannot yet get accustomed to the thought of her loss. 
 
 P.S. — Just received 3'our dear note. The accounts of 
 my dear Emily's sad end have just reached me, and I am 
 terribly upset. You can hardly estimate the gap, the blank 
 she will leave — my only lady, and in many ways homme 
 d'affaires. We had been so much together this last waitmg ; 
 everything reminds me of her, and of the touching love she 
 bore me. Surely some years more she would have lived. 
 
 Darling Mama, I don't think you quite know how far 
 from well I am, and how absurdly wanting in strength. I 
 only mention it, that you should know that until the good 
 air has set me up I am good for next to nothing ; and I 
 fear I shan't be able to come to dinner the first evenings. 
 I hope you won't mind. I have never in my life been like 
 this before. I live on my sofa, and in the air, and see no one, 
 and yet go on losing strength. Of course this unexpected 
 shock has done me harm too, and has entailed more sad 
 things. . . . 
 
 Douglas's Hotel, Edinburgh: September 11, Sunday. 
 
 ... I hear Ernie is still so dull and melancholy at 
 missing me ; he always feels it most, with that tender loving 
 heart of his. God preserve and guard this to me so inex- 
 pressibly precious child! I fancy that seldom a mother 
 and child so understood each other, and loved each other, 
 as we two do. It requires no words ; he reads in my eyes, 
 as I do in his what is in his little heart. 
 
 It is so wonderfully still here, not a soul in the streets. 
 The people of the house have sent up several times to 
 inquire when and to what church I was going ; so I shall 
 go, as it seems to shock them, one's staymg away. I shall 
 see the Monument this afternoon, and go and see Holyrood 
 again. The whole journey here brought back with the 
 
296 LETTERS. 1876 
 
 well-remembered scenery the recollection of my childhood, 
 all the happy jom-neys with dear Papa and you. How the 
 treasured remembrance, with the deep love, lives on, when 
 all else belongs to the past ! 
 
 I seem, in returning here, so near you and him and 
 former happy years, when my home was in this beloved 
 country. No home in the world can quite become what the 
 home of one's parents and childhood was. There is a 
 sacredness about it, a feeling of gratitude and love for the 
 great mercies one had there. You, who never left country, 
 Geschicister Piindred], or home, can scarcely enter into this 
 feeling. 
 
 In the hopes of meeting you soon, kissing your dear 
 hands, with thanks for all goodness, and many excuses for 
 having caused so much trouble. . . . 
 
 Buckingham Palace : October 19. 
 
 I was so sad at parting with you yesterday. I could 
 not half thank you for all your love and kindness during 
 those weeks. But you know how deeply I feel it; how 
 truly grateful I am to you ; how happy and contented I am 
 to be allowed to be near you as in old days. Darling 
 Mama, once more, a thousand thanks for all and for every- 
 thing ! 
 
 The journey went quite well, and I am not particularly 
 tired. 
 
 Buckingham Palace : November 19. 
 
 Thousand thanks for your dear letter received this 
 morning ! I feel leaving dear England, as always, though the 
 pleasure of being near the dear children again is very great. 
 Let me thank you once more from my heart, darling 
 Mama, for all your great kindness, and for having enabled 
 me to do what was thought necessary and best. I return 
 
1876 THOMAS CARLYLE. 297 
 
 SO much stronger and better than I came, in every way — 
 refreshed by the pleasant stay in dear Balmoral with you, 
 and then much better for the time here. I feel morally 
 refreshed, too, with the entire change, the many interests 
 to be met with here, which is always so beneficial, and will 
 help me in every way when I get back to Darmstadt. All 
 this I have to thank you for, and do so most warmly. 
 
 Louis, who, as you know, is full of love and affection 
 for you, is very grateful for your kind words, and has like- 
 wise derived profit and enjoyment from his stay in England. 
 
 . . . My colour and strength have so much returned, 
 that I do not doubt being well again this winter. 
 
 I went with Dean Stanley to see Mr. Carlyle, who was 
 most interesting, and talked for nearly an hour. Had I 
 had time, I would have written down the conversation. 
 The Dean said he would try and do so. 
 
 With Louise I visited Mr. Motley also, who in his way 
 is equally interesting, and has a great charm. . . . 
 
 Darmstadt : November 26. 
 
 Many thanks for your last letter from Balmoral, 
 received yesterday morning ! I kiiow you feel leaving the 
 dear place, but without going away there is no Wiedersehen 
 [meeting again]. The happiness of our meeting with the 
 dear children was very great on all sides — they eat me up ! 
 They had made wreaths over the doors, and had no end 
 of things to tell me. We arrived at three, and there was 
 not a moment's rest till they were all in bed, and I had 
 heard the different prayers and hj-mns of the six, with all 
 the little different confidences they had to make. My heart 
 was full of joy and gratitude at being with them once more, 
 and I prayed God to make me fit to be their real friend 
 and staj^ as long as they require me, and to have the insight 
 
299 LETTERS. 1877 
 
 into their different characters to guide them aright, and to 
 understand their different wants and feelings. This is ao 
 difficult always. 
 
 Victoria is immensely grown, and her figure is forming. 
 She is changing so much — beginning to leave the child and 
 grow into the girl, I hear she has been good and desirous 
 of doing what is right ; and she has more to contend with 
 than Ella, therefore double merit in any little thing she 
 overcomes^ and any self-sacrifice she makes. 
 
 Ernie is very well, and his birthday was a great delight. 
 Sweet little May is enchanting, — ' my iceet heart,' as she 
 calls me. Aliky is very handsome and dear. 
 
 Darmstadt : December 12. 
 
 I see this letter will just arrive on the 14th — day 
 never to be forgotten ! How deeply it is graven in my 
 heart — with letters of blood ; for the pain of losing him, and 
 of witnessing your grief, was as sharp as anything any 
 child can go through for its beloved parents. Yet, God's 
 mercy is to be found through all, and one learns to say 
 ' Thy will be done,' hard though it is. . . . 
 
 1877 
 
 Darmstadt: January 1. 
 . . . How beautifully Max Miiller's letter-^ is written 
 and expressed, and how touchingly and truly he puts the 
 point of view on which we all should learn to stand ! To 
 Ijecome again pure as children, with a child's faith and 
 trust — there where our human intellect will ever stand, 
 stiU! 
 
 * Written after the death of his daughter. 
 
i877 DEATH OF PRINCE CHARLES OF HESSE. 299 
 
 I have been reading some of Eobertson's sermons again, 
 and I think his view of Christianity one of the truest, 
 warmest, and most beautiful I know. . . . 
 
 Darmstadt : March 23. 
 
 Thank you so much for your dear and symiDathising 
 letter. These have been most painful — most distressing 
 days — so harrowing.*^ 
 
 The recollections of 1861, of dear Frittie's death, when 
 my dear father-in-law was so tender and kind, were pain- 
 fully vivid. My mother-in-law's resignation and touching 
 goodness, doing all that she could during the illness and 
 since for all arrangements, is very beautiful ! 
 
 The poor sons gave way to bursts of tears during those 
 agonising hours ; yet they held their father alternately with 
 me, and were quiet and helpful for their mother and for him, 
 just as their simple quiet natures teach them. I begged 
 Bauerlein to write to you meanwhile. I am feeling so 
 exhausted, and there is so much to do, and we are always 
 going from one house to the other. 
 
 It was heartrending from Monday morn till Tuesday* 
 eve, to see the painful alteration in the dear well-known 
 features augmenting from hour to hour, though I believe 
 he did not suffer latterly. He was not conscious, unless 
 spoken to, or called very directly. 
 
 My mother-in-law never left his bedside day or night, 
 and we were only a few hours absent on Monday night. 
 Before we went home, she called our names distinctly to 
 him as we kissed him, and he seemed to notice it ; then she 
 knelt down, and distinctly, but choked with tears, prayed 
 the Lord's Prayer for him, calling him gently. 
 
 The next day at six we were there again, and till half 
 
 ' Illness and death of Prince Charles of Hesse, father of Prince Louis. 
 
300 LETTERS. 1877 
 
 past six in the evening never left the bedside. She re- 
 peated occasionally, as long as she thought he might hear, a 
 short verse — so touching ! and once said, ' Bist Du traurig ? 
 es ist ja nicht auf lange, dann sind wir wieder zusammen ! ' 
 [* Art thou sad ? It is not for long, and then we shall be 
 together again '] kissing and stroking his hands. It was 
 very distressing. 
 
 When all was over we four were close to her, and she 
 threw herself on him, and then clasped her sons to he)* 
 heart with words of such grief, as you so well under- 
 stand ! 
 
 Early the next morning we went with her to his room. 
 He lay on his bed, very peaceful, in his miiform. Louis 
 had clasped the hands together when he died, and I arranged 
 flowers on the bed and in the room round him. 
 
 There is a terrible deal to do and to arrange, and many 
 people come, and we are much with my poor mother-in- 
 law. Yesterday afternoon we went for the last time, to see 
 the remains of what had been so precious. She read a 
 Lied [a hymn], and then kissed him so long, and took 
 with us the last look. Yesterday evening the coffin was 
 closed in presence of the sons. 
 
 We are going to the Eosenhohe [the Mausoleum] now, 
 before gomg to Louis' mother, to put things straight there, 
 and see if one can get by dear Frittie — it is so small. 
 
 The three brothers are dreadfully upset, but able to 
 arrange and see after what is necessary. Aunt Marie [the 
 Empress of Eussia] wanted to come, and is in terrible dis- 
 tress ; she loved that brother beyond anything. In her last 
 letter to my mother-m-law she says, * Ich habe solche 
 Sehnsucht nach dem alten Bruder ' [' I have such a yearning 
 after my old brother]. 
 
 His was a singularly delicate-minded, pure, true, un- 
 
i877 ILLNESS OF THE GRAND DUKE. 301 
 
 selfish nature, so full of consideration for others, so kind. 
 My tears flow incessantly, for I loved him very dearly. 
 
 My dear mother-in-law has such a broken ruined exis- 
 tence now — all turned round him! She knows where to 
 find strength and comfort — it will not fail her. . . . 
 
 Darmstadt : June 7. 
 
 . . . We are going through a dreadful ordeal. The 
 whole of Monday and Monday night, with a heat beyond 
 words, dreading the worst. Now there has been a slight 
 rally.^ Whether it will continue to-morrow is doubtful. 
 He is always conscious, makes his little jokes, but the pulse 
 is very low and intermits. I was there early this morning 
 with Louis. . . . 
 
 The questions, long discussions between Louis and some 
 people, as to complication and difficulty of every kind that 
 will at once fall upon us, are really dreadful, and I so unfit 
 just now ! The confusion will be dreadful. . . . 
 
 I am so dreading everything, and above all the respon- 
 sibOity of being the first in everything, and people are not 
 hicnvciUant. 
 
 I shall send you news whenever I can, Init I am so worn 
 out. I shall not be able to do so much myself. 
 
 I know your thoughts and wishes are with us at so hard 
 a time. God grant we may do all aright ! . . . 
 
 Telegrams. 
 
 June 7. 
 
 Going to Seeheim, as great weakness has come on. 
 
 Am much tired by all that lies before us, and not feeling 
 
 well. 
 
 • The Grand Duke of Hesse was alarmingly ill. 
 
302 LETTERS. 1877 
 
 Seeheim : 13th. 
 
 Dear Uncle Louis is no more. We arrived too late. 
 
 Darmstadt : 6.20 o'clock, 13th. 
 
 Such press of business and decisions. Feel very 
 tired. 
 
 15th. 
 
 We are both so over-tired ; the press of business and 
 decisions is so wearing, with the new responsibility. 
 
 18th. 
 
 Last ceremony over ! All went off well, and was 
 
 very moving. 
 
 Alice, 
 
 Darmstadt : June 19. 
 
 Only two words of thanks from both of us for your 
 kmd wishes and letters ! Christian and Colonel Gardiner 
 bring you news of everything that has been and is still 
 going on. But we are overwhelmed, over-tired, and the 
 heat is getting very bad again. 
 
 . . . Will tell you what a very difficult position we are 
 in. It is too dreadful to think that I am forced to leave 
 Louis in a few weeks under present circumstances, but, if 
 he wishes to keep me at all, I must leave everything and 
 this heat for a time. These next weeks here will be very 
 anxious and difficult. God grant we may do the right 
 things ! 
 
 June 28. 
 
 . . . To have to go away just now, when the refresh- 
 ment of family life is so doubly pleasant to Louis after his 
 work, I am too sorry for. If I were only better ; if I only 
 thought that I shall have the chance of rest, and what is 
 
i877 THE RUSSIANS IN TURKEY. 303 
 
 necessary to regain my health ! Now it will be more diffi- 
 cult than ever, and I see Louis has the fear, which I also 
 have, that I shall not hold out very long. 
 
 July 15. 
 
 ... I leave on Tuesday, but stop on the way. The 
 children go direct and join me in Paris, when we go on 
 together on Friday or Saturday to Houlgate. The trains 
 don't fit, and one has some way to drive from Trouville. 
 
 Houlgate : July 25, 
 
 . . . This place is quite charming — real country, so 
 green, so picturesque — a beautiful coast ; the nicest sea- 
 place I have been at yet. Our house is * wee ' for so many, 
 and the first days it was very noisy : and it was so dirty. 
 The maids and inu'scs had to scrub and sweep ; the one 
 French housemaid was not up to it. All is better now, and 
 quite comfortable enough. The air is doing me good, and 
 the complete change. I have bathed twice, and the sea 
 revives me. 
 
 I follow as eagerly as any in England the advance of 
 the Eussians, and with cordial dislike. They can never be 
 redressers of wrongs or promoters of civilisation and Chris- 
 tianity. What I fear is, even if they don't take Constan- 
 tinople, and make no large demands as the price of their 
 victories now, the declaration of the independence of Bul- 
 garia will make that country to them in future what 
 Eoumania has been for Russia now, and therefore in twenty 
 years hence they will get all they want, unless the other 
 Powers at this late hour can bring about a change. It is 
 bad for England, for Austria, for Germany, if this Paissian 
 Slav element should preponderate in Europe ; and the other 
 countries must sooner or later act against this in self- 
 preservation. 
 
304 LETTERS. 1877 
 
 What do the friends of the ' Atrocity Meetings ' say 
 now ? How difficult it has been made for the Government 
 through them, and how bhnd they have been ! All this 
 must be a constant worry and anxiety for you ! 
 
 The children are so happy here — the sea does them 
 such good. I am very glad I brought them. 
 
 Houlgate : July 28. 
 . . . Though we have rain off and on, still the 
 weather is very pleasant, and we are all of us charmed with 
 the place, and the beautiful, picturesque, fertile country. 
 The life is so pleasant— real country — which I have never 
 yet found at any bathing-place abroad yet. I have bathed 
 every other day — swim, and it does me good. I feel it 
 already. Ella is getting her colour back, and the little 
 ones look much better. 
 
 I send you the last photos done of the children ; Ella's 
 is not favourable, nor Irene's, but all in all they are a 
 pretty set. May has not such fat cheeks in reality ; still it 
 is very dear. The two little girlies are so sweet, so dear, 
 merry and nice. I don't know which is dearest, they are 
 both so captivating. 
 
 I have been to an old tumble-down church at Dives — 
 close by here — where William the Conqueror is said to have 
 been before starting for England. His name and those of 
 all his followers are inscribed there— names of so many 
 families now existing in England. It was very mteresting. 
 
 August 22. 
 . . . How difficult it is to know one's children well ! 
 to develop and train the characters according to their 
 different peculiarities and requirements ! . . . 
 
i877 ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION. 305 
 
 Darmstadt : September 9. 
 ... I must tell yoii now, how very heartily and 
 enthusiastically the whole population, high and low, re- 
 ceived us yesterday. It was entirely spontaneous, and, as 
 such, of course so very pleasing. ... I was really touched, 
 for it rained, and yet all were so joyous — flags out, bells 
 ringing, people bombarding us with beautiful nosegays ; all 
 the schools out, even the higher ones, the girls all dressed 
 in white. The Kriegerverein, Louis' old soldiers, singing, 
 &c. In the evening all the Gesangvereine joined together 
 and sang under our windows. 
 
 We are very glad to be at home again, and, please God, 
 with earnest will and thought for others, we together shall 
 in our different ways be able to live for the good of the 
 people entrusted to our care ! May God's blessing rest on 
 our jomt endeavours to do the best, and may we meet with 
 kindness and forbearance where we fall short of our duties ! 
 
 Darmstadt : October 30. 
 ... I had to receive sixtj^-five ladies — amongst 
 them my nurses — and some doctors from here and other 
 towns, all belonging to my Nursing Society, which has now 
 existed ten years. Then I was at the opening of my In- 
 dustrial Girls' School, where girls from all parts of the 
 country come, and which is a great success. I started it 
 two years ago. On Sunday I took the children to hear the 
 Sunday school, which interested them very much. 
 
 I have been doing too much lately, though, and my 
 nerves are begmning to feel the strain, for sleep and ap- 
 petite are no longer good. Too much is demanded of one ; 
 and I have to do with so many things. It is more than 
 my strength can stand in the long run. . . . 
 
3o6 LETTERS. 1877 
 
 December 13. 
 
 For to-morrow, as ever, my tenderest sympathy ! 
 Time shows but more and more what we all lost in beloved 
 Papa ; and the older I grow, the more j)eople I know, the 
 more the remembrance of him shines bright as a star of 
 purer lustre than any I have ever known. May but a small 
 share of his light fall on some of us, who have remained 
 so far beneath him, so little worthy of such a father ! We 
 can but admire, reverence, long to imitate, and yet not 
 approach near to what he was ! 
 
 We are going with the children to-day to Wiesbaden 
 until Saturday ; and I mean to tell Vicky that she had 
 better give up the hope of my being able to come for the 
 wedding.^ I could not do it. I only trust the why will be 
 understood. Do write to the dear Empress about it when 
 next you write. Hoiv sorry I am to be absent at a moment 
 when, as sister and a German Sovereign's wife, I should 
 be there ; but the doctor would not hear of it, so I gave 
 it up. . . . 
 
 Darmstadt : December 21. 
 
 . . . You say all that happened after the dreadful 
 14th is effaced from your memory. How well I can imagine 
 that ! I remember saying my utmost to Sir Charles Phipps 
 in remonstrance to your being wished to leave Windsor — 
 it was so cruel, so very wrong. Uncle Leopold insisted; 
 it all came from him, as he was alarmed lest you should 
 fall ill. 
 
 How you suffered was dreadful to witness ; never shall 
 I forget what I went through for you then ; it tore my heart 
 in pieces ; and my own grief was so great, too. Louis 
 
 8 Of the Princess Charlotte of Prussia with the Hereditary Prince of 
 Saxe-Meiningen. 
 
1878 HEINRICH VON ANGELI. 307 
 
 thought I would not hold to my engagement then any more 
 — for my heart was too filled with beloved, adored Papa, 
 and with your anguish, to have room or wish for other 
 thoughts. 
 
 God is very merciful in letting time temper the sharp- 
 ness of one's grief, and letting sorrow find its natural place 
 in our hearts, without withdrawing us from life ! 
 
 1878 
 
 Darmstadt : January 26. 
 Though I have no letter, and expect none at such a 
 moment, still I must send you a few lines to tell you how 
 constantly I think of you, and of my own beloved and 
 adored country. The anxiety you must be going through, 
 and the feelings you must experience, I share with my 
 whole heart. . . . 
 
 God grant it may be possible to do the right thing, for 
 it is late, and the complication is dreadful ! 
 
 I have barely any thoughts for anything else ; and the 
 Opposition seems to me to have been more wrong in its 
 country's interest, and to have done her a greater harm 
 than can ever be redressed. It is a serious, awful moment 
 for Sovereign, country, and Government ; and in your posi- 
 tion none have to go through what you have — and after all 
 so alone ! 
 
 I hope your health bears up under the anxiety. 
 
 April 9. 
 . . . Angeli has arrived, and will begin at once. 
 We thought Ernie and Ella - -Victoria is too big, though 
 she is the eldest and ought to be in the picture ; she would 
 
 X 2 
 
3o8 LETTERS. 1878 
 
 be too preponderant. Angeli is quite lost in admiration of 
 Aliky and May, who are, I must say myself, such a lovely 
 little pair as one does not often see. He will begin our 
 heads to-morrow. . . . 
 
 Darmstadt ; November 6.. 
 
 ... I am but very middling, and leading a very 
 quiet life, which is an absolute necessity. It is so depres- 
 sing to be like this. But our home life is always pleasant 
 — never dull, however quiet. Only a feeling of weariness 
 and incapacity is in itself a trial. 
 
 Telegram. November 8. 
 
 Victoria has diphtheria since this morning. The 
 fever is high. I am so anxious. 
 
 Telegram. November 10. 
 
 Victoria is out of danger. 
 
 Telegram. November 12. 
 
 This night my precious Aliky has been taken ill. 
 
 Darmstadt : November 12. 
 
 This is dreadful ! my sweefc, precious Aliky so ill ! 
 At three this morning Orchie called me, saying she thought 
 the child was feverish : complaining of her throat. I went 
 over to her, looked into her throat, and there were not only 
 spots, but a thick covering on each side of her throat of 
 that horrid white membrane. I got the steam inhaler, 
 wdth chlorate of potash for her at once, but she was very 
 unhappy, poor little thing. We sent for the doctor, who 
 lives close by, and who saw at once that it was a severe 
 case. We have put her upstairs near Victoria, who is quite 
 convalescent, and have fumigated the nursery to try and 
 spare May and the others. It is a terrible anxiety ; it is 
 
1878 OUTBREAK OF DIPHTHERIA. 309 
 
 such an acute, and often fatal, illness. . . . Victoria has 
 been graciously preserved ; may God preserve these [the 
 younger ones] also in His mercy ! My heart is sore ; and I 
 am so anxious. 
 
 Telegram. November 13. 
 
 Aliky tolerable. Darling May very ill ; fever so 
 high. Irene has got it too. I am miserable ; such fear 
 for the sweet little one ! 
 
 On the 14th of November Prince Ernest and the Grand 
 Duke were attacked with diphtheria, so that, up to that time, 
 Princess Elizabeth only had escaped the infection. She 
 was sent to her Grandmother's, Prmcess Charles of Hesse's 
 palace. 
 
 Telegram. November 15. 
 
 My precious May no better ; suffers so much. I am 
 in such horrible fear. Irene and Ernie fever less. Ernie's 
 throat very swelled. Louis no worse; almost no spots. 
 Aliky recovering. 
 
 Evening. 
 
 Darling May's state unchanged ; heartrending. 
 Louis' fever and illness on the increase. The others, as 
 one could expect ; all severe cases. May's most alarming. 
 
 November 16. 
 
 . . . Our sweet little one is taken. Broke it to my 
 poor Louis this morning ; he is better ; Ernie very, very 
 ill. In great anguish. 
 
 Telegram. November 16 ; evening. 
 
 The pain is beyond words, but ' God's will be done ! ' 
 Our precious Ernie is still a source of such terrible fear. 
 The others, though not safe, better. 
 
3IO LETTERS. 1878 
 
 Telegram. November 17. 
 
 Ernie decidedly better ; full of gratitude. 
 
 Telegram. November 18. 
 
 My patients getting better ; hope soon to have them 
 better. Last painful parting at three o'clock. 
 
 Telegram. November 19. 
 
 The continued suspense almost beyond endurance. 
 Ernie thought he was going to die in the night, and was in 
 a dreadful state for some hours. Louis very nervous, too ; 
 but they are not worse. The six cases have been one worse 
 than the other. 
 
 Later, November 19. 
 
 Ernie had a relapse, and our fears are increased. 
 I am in an agony between hope and fear. 
 
 Beloved Mama, November 19. 
 
 Tender thanks for your dear, dear letter, soothing 
 and comforting ! 
 
 Our sweet May waits for us up there, and is not going 
 through our agony, thank God ! Her bright, happy, sun- 
 shiny existence has been a bright spot in our lives — but 
 oh ! how short ! I don't touch on the anguish that fills me, 
 for God in His mercy helps me, and it must be borne ; but 
 to-day, again, the fear and anxiety for Ernie is still greater. 
 This is quite agonising to me ; hoic I pray that he may be 
 spared to me ! 
 
 His voice is so thick ; new membranes have appeared. 
 He cries at times so bitterly, but he is gayer just now. 
 
1S78 DEATH OF PRLN'CESS MAY. 311 
 
 To a mother's heart, who would spare her children 
 every pain, to have to witness what I have, and am still 
 doing, knowing all these precious lives hanging on a thread, 
 is an agony barely to be conceived, save by those who have 
 gone through it. 
 
 . . . Your letter says so truly all I feel. I can but say, 
 in all one's agony there is a mercy and a peace of God, 
 which even now He has let me feel. . . . 
 
 P.S. — I mean to try and drive a little this afternoon. 
 I shall go out with Orchie. Of my six children, since a 
 week none more about me, and not my husband. It is 
 like a very awful dream to me. 
 
 Beloved Mama, November 22. 
 
 Many thanks for your dear letter, and for all the 
 expressions of sympathy shown by so many ! I am veru 
 grateful for it. 
 
 Dear Ernie having been preserved through the greatest 
 danger is a source of such gratitude ! These have been 
 terrible days ! He sent a book to May this morning. It 
 made me almost sick to smile at the dear boy. But he 
 must be spared yet awhile what to him will be such a 
 sorrow. 
 
 For myself, darling Mama, God has given me comfort 
 and help in all this trouble, and I am sure His Spirit will 
 remain near us in the trials to come ! Great sympathy, 
 such as all show, is a balm ; but I am very tired, and the pain 
 is often very great ; but pain can be turned into a blessing, 
 and I pray this may be so. . . . 
 
 When alone, I rest ; and writing even is a physical 
 exertion. Those around me have spared me all they could, 
 but one must bear the greater weight oneself. 
 
312 LETTERS. 1S78 
 
 May God spare you all future sorrow, and give you the 
 peace which He alone can give ! 
 
 P.S. — I finish these lines at my dear Louis' bed. He 
 thanks you so much for your dear loving sympathy. Thank 
 God, he is doing well. But the pain they have all gone 
 through in their poor throats has been awful. The doctors 
 and nurses— eight ! for they have changed day and night, and 
 had such constant attendance — have been all I could wish. 
 
 Your loving child, Alice. 
 
 Darmstadt: December 1. 
 
 .... Everyone shows great sympathy, I hear, every- 
 where. . . . All classes have shown a great attachment to 
 us personally, and to the House, and amongst the common 
 people — it ^"goes home to them that our position does not 
 separate us so very far from them, and that in death, 
 danger, and sorrow the palace and the hut are visited 
 alike. 
 
 So many dee^D and solemn lessons one learns in these 
 times, and I believe all works together for good for those 
 who believe in God. . . . 
 
 December 2. 
 
 So many pangs and pains come, and must yet for 
 years to come. Still, gratitude for those left is so strong, 
 and indeed resignation entire and complete to a higher will; 
 and so we all feel together, and encourage each other. Life 
 is not endless in this world, God be praised ! There is much 
 joy — but oh ! so much trial and pain ; and, as the number 
 of those one loves increases in Heaven, it makes our passage 
 easier — and home is there ! 
 
 Ever your loving child, 
 
 Alice. 
 
1878 THE END. 313 
 
 December 6. 
 
 Louis and Ernie will go out in a shut carriage to- 
 day, though it rains — but it is warm. Louis' strength 
 returns so slowly. Of course he shuns the return to life, 
 where our loss will be more realised ; to him, shut off so 
 long, it is more like a dream. I am so thankful they were 
 all spared the dreadful realities I went through — and alone. 
 My cup seemed very full, and yet I have been enabled to 
 bear it. But daily I must struggle and pray for resignation ; 
 it is a cruel pain, and one that will last years, as I know 
 but too well. 
 
 Ever your loving child, 
 
 A. 
 
A Watcher by the Dead 
 
 ■ , 
 
A Watcher by the Dead. 
 
 [The beautiful sketch which folloAvs appeared in the 
 Darmstddter Zeitung, dated * Christmas Eve, 1878 ' ; and 
 the annexed translation of it, by Sir Theodore Martin, 
 appeared a few days afterwards in the Times,'] 
 
 A WATCHER BY THE DEAD. 
 
 Long, long before daybreak on one of those gloomy De- 
 cember days of last week an officer made his way hurriedly 
 along the empty, silent streets of the capital. He was in 
 full uniform, but its pomp and splendour were shrouded in 
 a thick covering of crape, for he was afoot thus early to 
 do duty by the bier of the beloved Princess. Desolate were 
 the streets, as of a city of the dead ; desolate as though 
 tenanted only by the dead was the lordly palace to which 
 he bent his steps. The sentinels at the great gate stood 
 motionless, despite the severe cold, as if they feared to dis- 
 turb the repose of death. Here, where the inhabitants of 
 the capital used to see all U.stir with the busy, cheerful life 
 inseparable from the residence of a reigning Prince ; here, 
 where, in days but recently gone bj', children, blooming and 
 beautiful, the country's pride and the joy of their princely 
 parents, gave animation to house and garden, all was silent 
 and void ; a deadly blast had swept over the till now so 
 happy home. The country's young, idolised mother had 
 
3i8 A WATCHER BY THE DEAD. 
 
 closed her beautiful eyes, closed them for evermore, after 
 doing and enduring nobly, after tastmg the bitterness of 
 great earthly sorrow. Many long and woeful days, many 
 nights of even greater anguish, had she watched, trembled, 
 and prayed by the couch of a husband sick unto death, and 
 of five children beloved past telling. The sweet, youngest 
 bud in the fair wreath of princely children had been torn 
 from her bleeding heart, and tears — scalding tears — for the 
 sweet little May-blossom, which she had herself put to its 
 last sleep under chaplets of flowers, flowed fast, as she 
 folded her hands in gratitude, when the peril of death had 
 passed over the heads of her husband and her other children. 
 * Thus do we learn humility ! ' she said, with quivering lip, 
 to a lady who stood beside her. ' God has called for one 
 life, and has given me back five for it ; how, then, should 
 I mourn ? ' And now, when, with fear and trembling, joy 
 seemed about to enter once more into that heavily-stricken 
 home, again the dark pinions of the Angel of Death were 
 heard upon the air, and he bore away the truest of wives, 
 the most loving of mothers, a sacrifice to duty fulfilled with 
 the noblest forgetfulness of self. These were the thoughts 
 with which the solitary wayfarer went upon his sorrowful 
 way, and crossed the threshold of the chamber of death. 
 With light step and whispered words the watchers by the 
 dead whom he relieved withdrew. 
 
 Overwhelmed by the majesty of death, which met him 
 here in its most sombre form, the new-comer bent his head 
 and continued long in silent prayer. The Princess lay on 
 a bier in the great hall on the ground floor, where she had 
 so often sat surrounded by a radiant circle of guests. What 
 of her was earthly, cased in a triple cerement, was covered 
 with a pall of black velvet, which, however, was almost hid 
 from view beneath a mass of flowers and palms. Upon the 
 
A WATCHER BY THE DEAD. 319 
 
 head of the coffin stood a Httle, simple crucifix of perfect 
 artistic workmanship. Six torches on pedestals, hung with 
 black, stood round the bier, shedding but a feeble glimmer 
 through the hall, scarcely brighter, indeed, than the scanty 
 light of the dawning winter daj'. From the wall opposite 
 the coffin the youthful image of her husband, painted in 
 happier times, looked sadly down upon the loved one lost. 
 Directly opposite hung the picture w4iich the Hessian 
 Division had had painted for their much-loved leader, in 
 remembrance of the glorious day of Gravelotte — a picture 
 of battle and of the wild mclec of slaughter in the silent 
 chamber of death. He who now watched by the coffin had 
 played a part in the conflict of the memorable day which 
 the picture was meant to perpetuate, and he knew how 
 deeply it was interwoven with the life of the Princess who 
 lay there in her long last sleep. Her dear husband had 
 gone to the campaign with his faithful Hessians ; she knew 
 his precious life to be in hourly danger ; but her own 
 sorrows and cares were not her first thought. Helpful, 
 comforting, encouraging, she gave at all times to those who 
 were left behind a brilliant example of cheerful and devoted 
 courage ; and when the wounded and sick came back from 
 the battlefields in ever-increasing numbers, she it was who 
 everywhere took the lead with noblest self-abnegation and 
 practical good sense. By the beds of the sick and dying 
 she stood like a comforting angel, and the love of the 
 Hessian people twined the fairest of all diadems, the 
 aureole of the heroine, round her princely brows. 
 
 This gi-ateful love, not only of those who bore arms, Init 
 of the citizen and artisan as well, for which these things 
 laid the foundation, was now sincerely and unconstrainedly 
 busy beside the bier of the princely sleeper. Servants came, 
 with loads of wreaths and bouquets, and arranged them 
 
320 A WATCHER BY THE DEAD. 
 
 upon the coffin. But it was not the official tributes of 
 flowers from Court and noble, from the deputations of regi- 
 ments far and near, which were laid as a mournful homage 
 at the feet of the dead mistress, that touched most deeply 
 the heart of him who stood there on guard. No, the tear 
 that stole down unbidden, the little trivial gift of the poor 
 and humble who lived far away from Court favour, had a 
 greater value in his eyes. It was still quite early morning 
 when, with the first glimmer of day, came an old peasant 
 woman from the Odenwald. Advancing timidly, she laid, 
 with a murmured prayer, a little wreath of rosemary, with 
 a couple of small white flowers, perhaps the only ornament 
 of her poor little room at home, as a token of grateful affec- 
 tion down upon the velvet pall. Then, thinking herself 
 unnoticed, she took a rosebud from one of the splendid 
 wreaths, and hid it under the old woollen dress. Who 
 could interfere to balk the impulse of genuine affection, that 
 longed to carry off some slight memorial with it ? And 
 now the little flower is lying between the leaves of the old 
 Bible, and in days to come the matron, when she turns the 
 leaves of the sacred volume, will tell her daughters and 
 granddaughters of the noble lady, too early snatched away 
 from her people — of her, who never forgot the poorest and 
 the humblest of them all. 
 
 Anon appeared the bearer of one of the proudest names 
 in Hesse, who was attached to the personal service of the 
 Princess. The official, stalwart bearing of the courtier was 
 left outside, and, weeping hot unhidden tears, he lingered 
 long by the bier. To what a lofty soul, to what goodness 
 of heart, was he saying here a bitter farewell ! He was 
 followed by two little girls, poorly but cleanly dressed, and 
 they, too, brought their tribute of gratitude — two little 
 bunches of violets. Shyly, almost frightened, and yet with 
 
A WATCHER BY THE DEAD. 321 
 
 childish curiosity, they drew slowly nearer. They thought 
 of another winter day, some years ago. Hungry, chilled 
 to the heart, they were sitting in an empty attic ; their 
 parents were dead, and they ate among strangers bread 
 that was hard and grudgingly given, when that great lady 
 appeared who was now sleeping here under the flowers. 
 From her, whose heart was ever yearning to the orphan's 
 cry, the}' heard again, for the first time, gentle, loving 
 words ; by her provision was quickly made for their more 
 kindly treatment, and gratitude was rooted firmly and for 
 ever in their young souls. 
 
 A deputation from the Court Theatre laid upon the 
 coffin a wi'eath intertwined with pale pmk streamers. Art, 
 too, had come to mourn for her noblest patroness, who had 
 been ever ready with her fine, cultivated intelligence to 
 advance whatever was great and good. A servant brought 
 a beautiful cross, of dark foliage with white flowers. It 
 was the gift of the Grand Duke's mother, anxious to testify 
 by an outward sign her love for her dead daughter. In 
 ever-growing numbers came the mourners, all visibly op- 
 pressed by the weight of the calamity which had fallen upon 
 the couutr3\ Countless were the gifts of love, of gratitude, 
 of respect, which, now beautiful and costly, now slight and 
 simple, arched ever higher and higher the hill of flowers 
 above the coffin. The ladies of the neighbouring towns 
 sent cushions of dark violets, with chaplets of white flowers. 
 Two ladies deeply veiled brought branches of palm, from 
 the dark green of which gleamed a white scroll — a poetic 
 farewell word of deep feeling : — 
 
 A hurricane, charged with destruction, 
 palm, swept o'er tliee. The squall 
 
 Crasb'd through thy leaves, aud tore from thee 
 The teuderest, sweetest of all. 
 
322 A WATCHER BY THE DEAD. 
 
 The clouds clear 'd away in tlie distance, 
 
 The tempest seem'd over and past, 
 When forth from the firmament darted 
 
 A lightning-bolt, fiery and fast. 
 
 It struck thee, noble one, struck thee ! 
 
 It crush'd thee, and now thou art gone ! 
 Farewell ! To our death-day thine image 
 
 Still, still in our hearts shall live on. 
 
 There was a second poem, enclosed in a heart-shaped 
 framework of leaves, which gave expression to the grief of 
 a devoted soul for the high-hearted lady. 
 
 But now the hour was come for another to take the 
 post of honour by the bier of the Princess. Silently and 
 sadly the two men saluted. He that left took away with 
 him a deep and elevating impression of the general love and 
 respect paid by the people of Hesse to their too-early de- 
 parted Princess, and the remembrance of that silent watch 
 by the dead will remain in his memory for ever. And he 
 who now entered on that honourable duty could chronicle 
 proofs of genuine grief, of true reverence and love, not 
 fewer nor less touching. Whosoever is thus bewept has 
 secured the best and fairest memorial in the hearts of her 
 own people for all time — ' The remembrance of the just 
 abideth in blessing.' 
 
SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 Princess Alice 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR THEODORE MARTIN 
 
 T 2 
 
A SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Life of Princess Alice, 
 
 By SIK THEODORE MAETIN. 
 
 ' Oil, sir, the good die first, 
 And tliose wliose hearts are dry as summer dust 
 Burn to the socket.' — Wordsworth. 
 
 December 14, 1878. 
 On the 14th of December, seventeen years ago, a great 
 sorrow fell upon England in the death of the Prince 
 Consort, who, if he did not die too soon for his own happi- 
 ness and fame, died at least, as all now feel, too soon for 
 England. That memorable 14th of December has again 
 come round, and again a great sorrow has fallen upon the 
 country. The Princess has been taken to her rest who 
 watched and soothed the Prince Consort in the last days of 
 his fatal illness, and who by her fortitude and noble devo- 
 tion helped materially, though then but a girl of seventeen, 
 to sustain and comfort the widowed Queen in her measureless 
 affliction. For the first time a breach — and such a breach — 
 has been made in that family circle to which all who had 
 the privilege to know it looked as the happiest in England 
 — happiest, because mutual love and esteem bound all its 
 members together by ties knit in childhood and never 
 broken, and because the noble activity for good which had 
 
326 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 been set before them in the example of their parents kept 
 their hearts fresh and their minds ever open. She who, 
 while yet a girl, was called to plaj^ a woman's part by her 
 father's deathbed, has been the first to follow him into the 
 Silent Land. 
 
 No life could have opened more auspiciously than that of 
 the second daughter of our Eoyal house. ^ From the first 
 she gave great promise of beauty and of intelligence. The 
 fine old English names of Alice and Maud, selected for her 
 by her happy parents, seemed, as names sometimes do, to be 
 particularly fitted to the winning, open character of her fair 
 and finely-formed features, and their sound was one pleasant 
 in the mouths, not only of those to whom she was known, 
 l)ut of the people, as she grew up and was seen in public by 
 the eager and kindly eyes to whom the sight of the Eoyal 
 children has always been welcome. 
 
 When the marriage of the Princess Eoyal took place in 
 1858, the Princess Alice was still only a girl of fifteen ; but 
 she had already developed qualities of mind and heart of 
 no ordinary kind. She came by degrees to fill up in some 
 measure the vacancy which had been created by the remo- 
 val of her very gifted sister to Berlin. Naturally she was 
 drawn nearer to the Prince Consort ; and the influence of 
 his character and the teachings of his affectionate wisdom 
 sank deeply into her pure and highly intellectual nature. 
 
 ' ' She is a pretty and large baby, and we think will be la BeauU of the 
 family.' — The Queen to King Leopold, 9th May, 1843. 
 
 ' Our little baby, whom I am really proud of, for she is so very forward 
 for her age, is to be called Alice, an old English name ; and the other names 
 are to be Maud (another old English name, and the same as Matilda), and 
 Mary, as she was born on Aunt Gloucester's birthday.' — The same to the 
 same, 16th May, 1843. 
 
 ' Our christening went off very brilliantly, and I wish you could have 
 witnessed it. Nothing could be more anstdndig, and little Alice behaved 
 extremely well.' — The same to the same, 6th June, 1843. 
 
PRINCESS ALICE. ' 327 
 
 He looked forward to her future with the assurance that she 
 would prove all he could wish a daughter to be. She, on 
 the other hand, loved him with a devotion only tempered by- 
 profound reverence for the great qualities wiiich she could 
 then, perhaps, but dimly appreciate, but the true extent and 
 worth of which her own subsequent experience and reflection 
 taught her more thoroughly to measure. When in later 
 years she spoke of the Prince, one saw that, as Ben Jonson 
 said of Shakespeare, ' she honoured his memory, on this 
 side idolatry, as much as any.' 
 
 The teaching of that beloved father was put to the proof 
 in those sad days of patient watching which preceded his 
 death. Things w^ere told at the time of the devotion and 
 the marvellous self-control of the young girl, called so 
 sternly and so suddenly to face death in the person of a 
 father, on whose life that of the Queen herself seemed to 
 depend, and whose counsels she knew to be of inestimable 
 value to the nation. A few days after the Prince's death, 
 she was spoken of by the Times in these noticeable words : 
 ' Of the devotion and strength of mind shown by the 
 Princess Alice all through these trying scenes it is impos- 
 sible to speak too highly. Her Eoyal Highness has, indeed, 
 felt that it was her place to be a comfort and a support to 
 her mother in her affliction, and to her dutiful care we may 
 perhaps owe it that the Queen has borne her loss with 
 exemplary resignation, and a composure which, under so 
 sudden and terrible a bereavement, could not have been 
 anticipated.' The knowledge of this fact — and it was a fact 
 — sank deeply into people's minds. It was never forgotten, 
 and from that day the name of the Princess Alice has 
 been a cherished household word to all her countrymen and 
 women. 
 
 When, in 1862, she married the husband of her choice 
 
328 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 — a man whose sterling worth and manhness had satisfied 
 even the critical judgment of parents jealous for the happi- 
 ness of a daughter so justly dear — the affectionate good 
 washes of the Queen's subjects of all grades went with her to 
 her new home. In that home, brightened and ennobled as 
 it was by her presence, her love for the home and country 
 of her youth burned with a steady and ever-deepening glow. 
 It is only those who know how strong is the mutual love by 
 which the children of Queen Victoria are bound to their 
 parent and to each other, who can appreciate the passionate 
 yearning towards England of the Princesses whose homes 
 have been made elsewhere. England and all its interests 
 held a foremost place in the heart of the Princess Alice ; 
 and no one watched more closely every phase of the change- 
 ful life of the busy land, which she loved and reverenced as 
 the home of liberty and the pioneer of civilisation. 
 
 While fulfilling with exemplary devotion every duty as a 
 wife and mother, the process of self-culture was never re- 
 laxed. Every refined taste was kept alive by fresh study, 
 fresh practice, fresh observation ; neither was any effort 
 spared to keep abreast with all that the best intellects of the 
 time were adding to the stores of invention, of discovery, of 
 observation, and of thought. Each successive year taught 
 her better to estimate the value of the principles in religion, 
 in morals, and in politics in which she had been trained. 
 As her knowledge of the world and of man grew, she could 
 see the wide range of fact upon which they were based, and 
 their fitness as guides amid the perplexing experiences of 
 human life, which, however seemingly varied in different 
 epochs, are ever essentially the same. Then the signifi- 
 cance of the Prince Consort's habit of judging everything 
 by some governmg prmciple, and working always by strict 
 method, became clear to her ; and in a letter written in 
 
PRINCESS ALICE. 329 
 
 January 1875, of which a copy is before us, the Princess 
 writes with her accustomed modesty : ' Living with thinking 
 and cultivated Germans, much in Papa has explained itself 
 to me, which formerly I could less understand, or did not 
 appreciate so much as I ought to have done.' 
 
 She inherited much of her father's practical good sense, 
 and, like him, was ever ready to take part in an}' well- 
 du-ected effort for raising the condition of the toilworn and 
 the poor. How much of their misery, nay, of their evil 
 ways, was due to their wretched habitations, she, lilve him, 
 felt most keenly ; and she gave her sympathy and support 
 to every effort for their improvement. With this view she 
 translated into German some of Miss Octavia Hill's essays 
 On the Homes of the London Poor, and published them with 
 a little preface of her own (to which only her initial A. wa^^ 
 affixed), in the hope that the principles, which had been 
 successfully applied in London by Miss Hill and her coad- 
 jutors, might be put into action m some of the German 
 cities. No good work appealed to her in vain. The great 
 exemplar of her father was always before her ; and in the 
 letter from which we have already quoted she speaks of his 
 life ' spent in the highest aims, and with the noblest con- 
 ception of duty,' as a ' leading star ' to her own. 
 
 That sense of duty carried her to the bedside of the 
 Prince of Wales when, at the end of 1871, he was struck 
 down at Sandrmgham by the fell disease under which his 
 father had sunk. There she fulfilled the same priceless 
 offices which she had ten years before discharged at Wind- 
 sor Castle. It pleased Heaven to spare her a renewal of 
 the great affliction of 1861 ; and in the very days of Decem- 
 ber in which we are now living, the life of the much-loved 
 brother, which had been well-nigh despaired of, came slowly 
 back to requite her afifection, and in answer to her prayers. 
 
330 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF 
 
 The trials of that time came, before the exhaustion had 
 passed away both of body and mind which the Princess had 
 undergone during the Franco-German war. Separated — 
 and for the second time — by war from the Prince of Hesse, 
 who was away in the thickest of the perils of that campaign, 
 she was not a woman to give herself up to morbid brooding 
 on the pangs and apprehensions under which, devoted wife 
 as she was, she yet could not fail to suffer most acutely, for 
 her feelings were warm, and her imagination active beyond 
 that of most women. In the hospital at Darmstadt, crowded 
 with the soldiers, French as well as German, who had come 
 from the battlefields maimed and racked with pain, she 
 was foremost with her bright intelligence, her helpful sym- 
 pathy, and her tender hand, in soothing pain, and inspir- 
 ing that sense of manly gratitude which is the best of 
 panaceas to a soldier's sick-bed. What she was and what 
 she did at that time have embalmed her image in many a 
 heart, and will make the tears flow thick and fast in many 
 manly eyes at the thought of the death of one so young, so 
 good, so gifted, and so fair. To her it was merely duty — 
 duty to be done at every cost ; but how much it had cost 
 to that finely touched spirit and to that delicate womanly 
 frame might be read, by all who could look below the surface, 
 in the deep earnestness of her eyes and the deeper earnest- 
 ness of her thoughts. The pain of that terrible period 
 would not let itself be forgotten even in the gratitude which 
 she felt for the providence which restored her beloved hus- 
 band to her side, and for the realisation of her father's 
 cherished dream of an United Germany, which had been 
 pm'chased by the valour and the sufferings of its sons. 
 
 The Princess's fortitude had already been severely tried 
 in the war between Prussia and Austria in 1866. Hesse- 
 Darmstadt was engaged upon the side of Austria, and her 
 
PRINCESS ALICE. 331 
 
 husband, Prince Louis, took the field with the troops of the 
 Principaht3\ At the very time his third daughter, the 
 Princess Irene, was born, he was with the army ; and the 
 Princess AHce knew he was under fire but was unable 
 to get any tidings from him. The victorious Prussians 
 marched into Darmstadt, while the Princess, newly made 
 a mother, was still confined to her room. 
 
 Of the sad aspects of life it had been her destiny to see 
 much — as daughter, as sister, and as woman. In June 
 1873, a terrible calamity fell upon her as a mother. A 
 vhiid — one especially beloved — climbing to an open window 
 in a room adjoining that in which she was, lost its balance, 
 and was killed almost before her eyes, as she rushed in 
 terror to call him back. This, too, had to be borne. It 
 was borne nobly, and with Christian resignation. But such 
 shocks tell upon the vital powers, and some trace of what 
 had been * undergone and overcome ' seemed to be visible 
 long afterwards in a perceptible bodily languor, and in a more 
 spiritual beauty which had passed into her expressive face. 
 
 The thought of this sent an anxious thrill through the 
 hearts of many, when it became known that the Princess 
 was herself seized by the terrible malady which had pro- 
 strated her husband and five of her children, and taken from 
 her the youngest of them all — the youngest, the brightest, 
 the idol of her other children.- She had nursed them all 
 through their time of danger, and now, spent with watching 
 
 ■■' The struggle to conceal from the other children that their favourite 
 was dead cost the Princess, down to the time of her own fatal seizure, such 
 a daily and almost hourly effort as, in her weak state, she was ill able to 
 bear. Her sufferings during her short illness, which lasted less than a 
 week, were borne with exemi^lary patience, and an unselfish and even cheer- 
 ful spirit which were truly admirable. The day before she died, she ex- 
 pressed to Sir William Jenner her regret that she should cause her mother 
 so much anxiety. 
 
332 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF PRINCESS ALICE. 
 
 and anxiety as she was, the malady had laid its fatal clutch 
 upon herself. She that had cared and thought for all was 
 soon past all human care to save. Thus she died as she 
 had lived, devoted, self-sacrificing, purified by great pain 
 and great love — a model daughter — wife — mother. 
 
 Of the loss of such a woman to the husband to whom she 
 was the all-in-all, to the children to whose love she will 
 respond no more, to the mother in whose thoughts she is 
 interwoven w'ith the sweetest, the saddest, the most sacred 
 memories, to the brothers and sisters whom she loved and 
 who loved her so truly, so tenderly, who dare trust himself 
 to speak ? It must be long before the grief can be assuaged, 
 under which all these must now be suffering — before the 
 ' Idea of her life can sweetly creep,' as something hallowed, 
 * into their study of imagination ; ' but the day will come 
 when they will bless God, that theirs was a wife, a daughter, 
 a sister, a mother, so good, so noble, and that, having fought 
 her fight on earth valiantly, yet meekly, she has gone where 
 there is no more sorrow, nor crying, and where the great 
 mysteries of life alone find their solution. 
 
 Theodore Martin. 
 
Index. 
 
 A LBERT EDWARD, Prince of Wales, 4, 6, 
 14, 15, 16, 17 ; birth of first son, 86 ; visit 
 of Princess Alice to, 93; visitstoDarmstailt, 
 95, 158; to Kranichstcin, 120, 204; severe 
 illness of, at Sandringham, 33 ; Princess 
 Alice with him during his illness, 33, 245 ; 
 liis recovery, 33 ; at Bram's Hill Park Camp, 
 244 ; visit to Rome, 261 ; Princess Alice's 
 opinion of constancy of his friendship, 286 ; 
 at the funeral of Princess Alice, 53; 329 
 
 Albert, Prince Consort, his care for the educa- 
 tion of his chililren, 2, 3 ; anniversary of his 
 \vedding-d:iy ( 18.54), 5 ; his iiiHurnee on the 
 character and education of Princess Alice, 
 7 ; at her confirmation, 8, 9 ; letters on the 
 subject of her marriage, 10, 11 ; at the death- 
 bed of the Duchess of Kent, 11 ; his illness 
 and death, 12, 325; his name the last on 
 Princess Alice's lips, 52 ; bust of, by Mr. 
 Theed, and statue of, by Marochetti, 59 ; 
 his Addresses and Speeches, 63 ; his Farm 
 Book, 77, 80 ; letters by Princess Alice on 
 anniversary of his death, 85, 97; his ad- 
 miration of Mendelssohn's Elijah, 103 ; of 
 Schiller's Bratit von Afessina, 126; Raphael 
 collection bj', 165; review of his life, 175; 
 likenesses of, 15, 259 ; Hyde Park Memorial, 
 271 : 326, 327, 328 
 
 Aldershot, 128, 243 
 
 Alcn(,on, Duke of, 119 
 
 Alexandra, Princessof Wales, 33 ; birth of first 
 son, 86 ; visit of Princess Alice, to. 92 ; visit 
 to Darmstadt, 95 ; visits Princess Alice at 
 Kranichstcin, 120 
 
 Alfred, Prince (Duke of Edinburgh), 4, 6, 14, 
 15, 16, 17, 96 ; accompanies Dr. Macleod to 
 Darmstadt, 97 ; visits Princess Alice at 
 Seeheim, 1 10 ; invests Grand Duke of Hesse 
 with Garter, 111; engagement to Princess 
 Marie, 268 ; his wedding, 273 
 
 ALICE 
 
 Alice Maud Mary, Princess of Hesse, Memoir 
 of, by her sister. Princess Christian, 1-53 ; 
 her birth and christening, 1 ; her character 
 as a child, 1-4 ; early education, 3 ; takes 
 part in juvenile theatricals, 4-6 ; her sweet- 
 ness of disposition, 6 ; her home life in the 
 Roy.al family, 7 ; her veneration for her 
 father : its influence on her after life, 7, 327 ; 
 aseldcst dausrhtcr, after the Princess Royal's 
 marriage, 7 ; her confirmation, 8 ; sixteenth 
 birthd.ay, 9 ; first meeting with Prince 
 Louis of Hesse, 9; her betrothal, 10; at 
 the deathbed of the Duchess of Kent, U ; 
 announcement of her engagement to Parlia- 
 ment, 11 ; her love for her Scotch home, 12 ; 
 preparations for the marriage, 12 ; inter- 
 rupted by the death of her father, 12 ; her 
 devotion and assistance to her mother in her 
 bereavement, 12-13 ; hermarriage, 13, 327 ; at 
 St. Clare : last days in England, 17-18 ; depar- 
 ture for her new home, 18 ; reception at Darm- 
 stadt, 20 ; official duties, 20 ; meeting with her 
 mother and brothers and sisters at Rhcin- 
 hardsbrunn in Thuringia, 20; letters from 
 and impressions of her new home, 56-69 ; 
 revisits England : birth and christening of 
 first daughter, at Windsor Castle, 20 ; returns 
 to Germany, 20 ; love for her adopted 
 country, 21 ; her interest in politics, 21 ; 
 birth of a set^ond daughter, 21, 97 ; plans and 
 superintentls thebuildingof her own palace, 
 21 ; schemes for the welfare of the people of 
 Hesse, 21 ; annual visits to Englantl, 22 ; life 
 at Kranichstcin, 72, 77 ; visit to Lich, 77 ; to 
 Giessen, Marburg, and Frankfort, 80 ; to 
 Munich, 90 : to Berlin, 101, 102 ; meeting 
 with Emperor and Emjiress of Russia, 109, 
 110; arrangements for the Queen's visit to 
 Kranichstcin, 115, 116 ; tour in Switzerland, 
 115-118; Scotch tour, 120; at Sandringham, 
 
334 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ALICE 
 
 120 ; death of her uncle, the King of the 
 Belgians, 22, 123 ; bazaar in her new palace, 
 to found idiot asylum in Darmstadt, 22 ; war 
 between Austria and Prussia : her husband 
 takes the field, 23, 138 ; birth of Princess 
 Irfene, 23, 141 ; return of Prince Louis : 
 visiting the sick and woundeil, 24, 147, 153 : 
 christening of the baby Princess, 24 ; founds 
 the ' Ladies' Union ' for aid to the sick and 
 wounded, 24 ; establishes a committee for 
 encouragement of female industry, 25 ; the 
 ' Alice Bazaar,' 25 ; endeavours to found a 
 Prauenvereiu, 160 ; visit to Berlin, 162 ; to 
 Paris, 166; to Switzerland, 167-174; anxiety 
 on account of Prince Leopold, 182 ; sufiering 
 from neuralgia, 193 ; at Grotha with Crown 
 Princess, 185 ; in Englanrl, 188 ; apprehen- 
 sions of war, 25, 192 ; failing health, 26 ; 
 birth of Prince Ernest, 27 ; first lengthened 
 separation from her husband, 27 ; her self- 
 sacrifice to his interests, 27 ; views on Irish 
 Church question, 199; visits Potsdam, 201 ; 
 at Industrial Exhibition at Mayence 205 ; 
 Prince Louis' proposed visit to the East, 205 ; 
 at Cannes with Crown Princess, 27, 207-209 ; 
 nurses Prince Louis and children through 
 scarlet fever, 27, 210-214 ; becomes ac- 
 quainted with Frederick David Strauss, 27 ; 
 proposes that he should make notes on 
 Voltaire, 27 ; Strauss reads his notes to her, 
 28 ; acceptance of his proposal to dedicate 
 the work to her, 28 ; misconceptions as to 
 her intercourse with Strauss, 28; bis in- 
 fluence on her opinions, 29 ; her examina- 
 tion and rejection of Strauss' views, 30 ; her 
 husband ordered to the front in the Franco- 
 German war, 30, 216 ; visits to the hospitals 
 and ambulances, 30 ; organises aid for the 
 sick and wounded, 30-31 ; birth of Prince 
 Frederick William, 31, 226 ; letters during 
 the war : account of her life at Darmstadt, 
 30,215-227 ; visits to Berlin, 31, 32 ; christen- 
 ing of the little Prince, 32 ; meeting with her 
 husband after the war, 32 ; peace illumina- 
 tions at Darmstadt, 236 ; at Berlin on tri- 
 umphant entry of troops, 239, 240 ; visit to 
 the Queen at Balmoral, 32 ; at Bram's Hill 
 Park Camp, 244 ; in Scotland, 245 ; at Sand- 
 ringham : illness of the Prince of Wales, 33 ; 
 remains with her sister-in-law till his re- 
 covery, 33 ; birth of Princess Alix, 33, 247 ; 
 at Kranichstein : anniversary of battle of 
 Gravelotte, 249 ; at the funeral of Princess 
 Hohenlohe-Langeuburg, 251 ; at the general 
 assembly of charitable societies at Dami- 
 
 BADEN 
 stadt, 252 ; the ' Ladies' Diet ' : letters ex- 
 plaining its objects, 33, 252 ; present at un- 
 veiling of monument to Hessian soldiers, 
 34, 254 ; visit to Italy, 259-265 ; returns to 
 Darmstadt much fatigued, 35 ; accidental 
 death of Prince Frederick, 35, 36, 265, 331 ; 
 its effect on her health, 37, 38 ; on the 
 proper training of children, 37, 276, 283 ; 
 birth and christening of Princess Marie 
 Victoria, 38, 278 ; continued failing liealth : 
 visits to England, Scotlantl, and the Black 
 Forest, 38 ; death of her father-in-law, 39, 
 299-301 ; illness and death oi the Grand Duke, 
 39, 301-302 ; her husband succeeds as Grand 
 Duke Louis IV., 39 ; increased responsi- 
 bilities, 39, 302 ; visit to Houlgate, 303 ; her 
 feelings regarding policy of Eussia, 303 ; 
 enthusiastic reception at Darmstadt, 305 ; 
 thorough change ordered : summer at East- 
 bourne 39 ; visits the Albion Home at 
 Brighton, and consents to become patroness 
 of it, 39, 40 ; Princesses Victoria, Alix, 
 Marie, and Irene, Prince Ernest, and the 
 Grand Duke attacked with diphtheria, 41- 
 50, 309-310 ; death of Princess Marie, 47, 310 ; 
 the funeral, 48-50 ; is attacked with diph- 
 theria, 51, 331 ; her last hours, death, and 
 interment, 51-53 ; sketch by one of the 
 watchers by her coffin, 318-322; sketch of 
 her life and character, by Sir Theodore 
 Martin, 325-332 
 
 Alsfeld, 79, 177, 199 
 
 Altenburg, 79 
 
 Amelung, Emily, 107, 212 
 
 Amorbach, 84, 95, 111, 142 
 
 Angeli, Heiurich von, 308 
 
 Antwerp, 68, 91, 176 
 
 Arneth, Herr von, 104 
 
 Arthur, Prince (Duke of Connaught), 5, 8 ; 
 visit of, to Darmstadt, 67; to Seeheim, 110; 
 ill with small-pox, 176 ; his birthday (1868), 
 185 ; Col. El phinstone's high opinion of, 190 ; 
 at Berlin, 246 
 
 Aschaffenburg, action at, 141, 145, 153 
 
 Auboue, 222 
 
 Auerbach, letters from, 62-66 
 
 Aumale, Lina, at St. Moritz, 169 
 
 Austria, Emperor of, visit to Frankfort and 
 Kranichstein, 80 ; 132, 134, 207 
 
 Avignon, 209 
 
 X)ACH, 90, 246 
 
 -•-* Baden, 67, 113, 161, 206, 246 
 
 Baden, Frederick, Grand Duke of, visits of 
 
INDEX. 
 
 335 
 
 BADEN 
 Prince and Princess of Hesse to, 67, 158 ; 
 visit of, to Her Majesty, 68 ; troubles of, 
 157 ; at St. iloritz, 169 ; at Carlsruhe, 174 ; 
 at Darnistailt, 266 
 
 Baden, Louise, Princess of Prussia, Grand 
 Duchess of, visit of Prince Louis and Princess 
 Alice to, at Baden, 67 ; visits of Princess 
 Alice to, on Island of Mainau, 174 ; at St. 
 Moritz, 169 ; visit of, to Darmstadt, 266 
 
 Baden, Sophia, Grand Duchess of, 13, 67 
 
 Baillie, Lady Frances, 77, 129, 158, 195, 269, 
 292, 293 
 
 Balmoral, 112, 120, 128, 150, 249; Princesses 
 Victoria and Ella at, 290 ; Princess Alice 
 at, 296 
 
 Barriugton, Lady Caroline, 2, 5, 213 
 
 Batteuberg, Henry, Prince of, 275 
 
 Battenberg, Julia, Princess of, at Darmstadt 
 with Princess of Hesse, 82 ; letter by, to 
 Princess Alice, 146 
 
 Battenberg, Louis, Prince of, 120, 275 
 
 Bauer, Miss, 9, 214, 273, 299 
 
 Bavaria, Adalbert, Prince of, 81 
 
 Bavaria, Ludwig XL, King of, at Home, 260 
 
 Bavaria, Marie, Queen of, sister of Princess 
 Charles, 196, 202, 260 
 
 Bavaria, Otto, Prince of, 260 
 
 Bazaiiie, Marshal, 220 
 
 Beatrice, Princess, 14, 16, 17, 57, 92, 94, 102 ; 
 illness of, 132 
 
 Beck, Louis, 115, 206 
 
 Becker, Dr., private secretary, 17,68, 73 ; visit 
 of Princess Alice to, 82 ; accompanies 
 Prince Louis to Munich, 145 
 
 Belgians, Leopold, Crown Prince of, death of, 
 195 
 
 Belgians, Leopold, King of, letters by Her 
 Majesty to, 1, 326 ; advises the Queen's re- 
 moval to Osborne after the death of Prince 
 Consort, 13 ; illness of, 122 ; his death, 22, 
 123 
 
 Belgians, Leopold II., King of, death of only 
 son of, 195 
 
 Belgians, Marie, Duchess of Brabant, after- 
 wards Queen of, 121 
 
 Bender, 108, 129 
 
 Berlin, triumphal entry of German troops 
 into, June 16, 1871, 240 
 
 Bernard, Mademoiselle, 119 
 
 Berry, Dr., 169 
 
 Bessungen, 56 
 
 Biddulph, Colouel, 13 
 
 Bismarck, Prince, 134 
 
 Blanche, Princess of Orleans, 119 
 
 Blankenberghe, 241, 242, 279 
 
 I1.VWSOX 
 BlUcher, Countess, 67, 123, 177, 200, 207 
 Bologna, 260 
 Bormio, 173 
 
 Brabant, Duchess of, 121 
 Bram's Hill Park Camp, 244 
 Brand, Victoria, 114 
 Brown, Arcliibahl, 183 
 Brown, John, 61, 96, 100, 112, 190, 272 
 Brown, Mrs., 280, 292, 294 
 Brown's, John, sister, 177 
 Brownlow, Lord and Lady, 246 
 Bruce, General, 292 
 Biichner, Friiulein Louise, 25 
 Bulgaria, Alexander, Prince of, 275 
 Bunsen, Baroness, 5, 274, 287 
 
 pAMBRIDGE, Duchess of, at Rumpenheim, 
 79 ; visit of Princess Alice to, 93 ; at 
 Frankfort, 113, 205, 242 
 
 Cambridge, George, Duke of, at Ejanicbstein, 
 120 ; present of horse by, to Princess Alice, 
 176 ; meets her at Frankfort, 205, 242 ; visit 
 of Prince and Princess to Aldershot in com- 
 pany with, 244 ; visits them at Frankfort, 
 248 
 
 Cambridge, Mary, Princess of, 79. 242 
 
 Campbell, Lady Emma Augusta, sister of Duke 
 of Argyll, 208 
 
 Campbell, Lady Victoria, daughter of Duke of 
 .\j-gyll, 208 
 
 Canterbury, Archbishop of, 8, 14 
 
 Carlyle, Mr., 297 
 
 Carpenter, Miss Mary, 34, 253 
 
 Chopin, 258, 270 
 
 Churchill, Lady, 16, 58, 263 
 
 Clarendon, Lord, 9, 133, 215 
 
 Clark, Sir James, 69, 104 ; illness of, 185 ; his 
 death, 214 
 
 Clarke, Mrs., nurse, 224, 247 
 
 Coburg, 61 
 
 Combe, Mrs. George, 69 
 
 Congress of German Princes at Frankfort, 21 
 
 Convention with Prussia, 26 
 
 Corbett, Annie, 76 
 
 Corbett, Mr., 76, 78 
 
 Courbold, Mr., 6 
 
 Cusins, Mr., 103 
 
 "TvADELSEN, Herr von, 42, 45 
 
 Dalhousie, Lady Christian, 209 
 Dalhousie, Lord, 208, 209 
 Dawson, Lady Anna Mariii, 5 
 
336 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Derby, Loril, 9, 74 
 Dives, old cburcli at, 304 
 Dunrobin, visit to, 245 
 
 Durhaui, Beatrix Frances, Countess of, daugh- 
 ter of Duke of Abercorn, 233 
 
 "PASTBOURNE, Princess Alice at, 39 
 
 Ebury, Lord and Lady, 208, 209 
 Eigenbrodt, Dr., 45, 47 
 Elgin, Earl of, 269 
 Elgin, Lady, 287 
 Elphinstone, Major (Sir Howard, K.C.B.), 162, 
 
 176, 190 
 Ely, Lady, 136, 138, 139 
 Engeler, Adam, guide, 171 
 
 "PAULQUEMOXT, 21S 
 Fife, Lady, 76 
 
 Fischbach, 201, 202 
 
 Frankfort, congress of German Princes at, 21 
 
 Frauenverein, attempt by Princess Alice to 
 found a, at Darmstadt, 160 
 
 French, Eugenic, Empress of, distress of, at at- 
 tempt on Emperor of Russia's life, 166 ; gift 
 of Arenenberg by, to the Emperor Napoleon, 
 174 ; Franco-German Wax, 224 ; in England, 
 239 ; general sympathy with, on death of 
 the Emperor, 257 
 
 French, Louis Napoleon, Emperor of, 174 ; 
 Franco-German War, 224 ; treatment of, in 
 England, 239 ; his death, 257 
 
 French, Louis Philippe, King of the, 257 
 
 niAINSBOROUGH, Lady, 9 
 
 Gardiner, Colonel, 302 
 George, Prince, son of Prince and Princess of 
 
 Wales, 92, 283 
 Geyer, Mr., 178 
 Gibbs, Mr., 6 
 
 Gleichen, Laura, Countess, 170, 171, 172, 174 
 Gleichen, Victor, Count, 170, 171, 172, 173, 
 
 174 
 Gloucester, Duchess of, 101 
 Goben, General von, enters Darmstadt at head 
 
 of Prussian troops, 23 
 Grancy, Marie, 100, 116, 243 
 Grant, Mi-s., 280 
 Grant, John, 61 
 Grant, Sir Hope, liis book on Indian Mutiny. 
 
 275 
 Granville, Lord, 206 
 Gravelotte, 220, 249 
 
 Graves, Miss, 280 
 
 Grey, Mi-s., 213 
 
 Grey, Colonel, son of Sir George Grey, 5 ; his 
 
 death, 285 
 Grey, General, 15C 
 Grolmann, Adolphus, 107 
 Grosvenor, Miss (Oggie), daughter of Lord 
 
 Ebury, 209 
 Grliner, Professor, 263 
 
 TTALLNACHS, Dr., 82 
 
 Hamilton, Duchess of, 67 
 
 Ilarcoui't, Colonel and Lady Catherine, 16 
 
 Harclinge, the Hon. Emilj' Caroline, death of, 
 294, 295 
 
 Harrison, Mr., 293 
 
 Helena, Princess, memoir of Princess Alice, by, 
 1-53 ; 4, 6, 14 ; betrothal of, 121 ; Prince 
 Adalbert's praise of, 187 
 
 HelrasdorfCer, Friiulein, 45, 49 
 
 Helps, Sir Arthur, 63 
 
 Hesse, Alexander, Prince of, 55, 57, 72, 76, 79. 
 132, 133, 136, 138, 146, 161, 246, 248, 275 
 
 Hesse, Alice, Grand Duchess of. See Alia 
 Mnud M(tnj, Princess 
 
 Hesse, Anna, Princess of, 14, 16, 79 ; death of, 
 107 
 
 Hesse, Charles, Prince of, father of Prince 
 Louis, 16, 21, 24, 92, 96 ; grief at loss of his 
 daughter, 107-109 ; his delicate state ol 
 health, 121 ; at blessing of Prince and Prin- 
 cess's new palace, 129 ; distress at position 
 of his sou, Prince Henry, during the German 
 war, 139 ; Prince Louis' first son named after, 
 193 ; Prince and Princess guests of, at Castle 
 Fischbach, 202 ; three sons in the war, 217 ; 
 continual anxiety, 221, 222, 230 ; his recep- 
 tion of the Marquis and Marchioness of 
 Lome, 238 ; at Sorrento, 260, 263, 264 ; his 
 death, 39, 299-301 
 
 Hesse, Princess Charles of, 16, 21, 24, 45, 55, 
 72, 92 ; her kindness to Princess Alice, 96 ; 
 death of her daughter. Princess Ajina, 107- 
 109 ; at Kranichstein to meet Her Majesty, 
 114 ; Princess Alice's frequent vists to, at 
 the Rosenhbhe, 119 ; present at the blessing 
 of the new palace at Darmstadt, 129 ; helps 
 in establishing Frauenverein, 161 ; proxy 
 for Her Majesty at baptism of Prince 
 Ernest, 194 ; original famous Holbein in 
 Darmstailt Gallery, property of, 203 ; three 
 sons in the war, 217, 221 ; complimentary 
 message concerning her sons from Russian 
 Emperor, 236 ; sympathy of, with Princess 
 
INDEX. 
 
 337 
 
 Alice in her various works, 253 ; death of 
 her husbaiKl, 299, 301 
 
 Hesse, Elizabeth Alexandra Louise Alice, 
 Princess of, birth of, 21 ; 42, 45, 86, 96, 97, 
 100, 104, 112, 113, 115, 125, 126, 140, 151, 154, 
 178, 194; her delicacy, 197,210,211 ; Christ- 
 mas letter by, to the Queen, 230 ; birthday 
 present from Her Majesty to, 254 ; visit of, 
 to Balmoral, 290 ; sent to Princess Charles, 
 and escapes infection, 309 
 
 Hesse, Ernest Louis Albert Charles William, 
 Prince of, birth of, 27 ; christening, 31, 32 ; 
 193, 203, 206, 209, 210, 227, 232, 238, 239, 
 248 ; his grief for loss of his brother. Prince 
 Frederick, 267, 277, 282, 293 ; his affectionate 
 disposition, 295 ; in picture by Angeli, 308 ; 
 attacked with diphtheria, 41-49, 309-313 
 
 Hesse, Frederick William, Landgrave of, 78 
 
 Hesse, Frederick, Prince of (brother of Land- 
 grave), 78 
 
 Hesse, Frederick William L, Elector of, 161 
 
 Hesse, Frederick William Augustus Victor 
 Louis, Prince of, 31, 35, 37, 226, 237, 242, 
 256, 257, 258 ; description of, 233, 237 ; death 
 of, 35, 36 ; reminiscences of, 265, 266, 267, 
 270, 275, 276, 278, 290, 299 
 
 Hesse, General von, 243 
 
 Hesse, George, Prince of (brother of Land- 
 grave), 79 
 
 Hesse, Henry, Prince of, 10, 15, 16, 78; his 
 painful position during German war, 130, 
 132, 139 ; in the Franco-German war, at 
 Worms, 217 ; at Berlin, for Prince Adalbert's 
 funeral, 266 ; present at his father's death, 
 299-301 
 
 Hesse, Irine Louise Marie Anna, Princess of, 
 birth of, 23-24; 141, 142, 147, 152, 154, 163, 
 175, 194, 232, 241, 271 ; attacked with diph- 
 theria, 41-44, 309 ; 331 
 
 Hesse, Louise, Princess of (sister to the 
 Duchess of Cambridge), 79 
 
 Hesse, Louis III., Grand Duke of (uncle of 
 Prince Louis), 21, 23, 26 ; Prince's regiment 
 inspected by, 66 ; his kindness to Prince and 
 Princess, 71, 72, 81 ; meeting with Emperor 
 and Empress of Russia, 109 ; receives the 
 Garter, 111 ; his Palais at Frankfort, 113 ; 
 Prince and Princess with Mm at Gotha, 126 ; 
 132, 136, 143; at Munich, 145 ; return, after 
 war, to Darmstadt, 153 ; Princess Alice's 
 son named Ernest Ludwig at his wish, 193 ; 
 failing health, 289 ; death of, 39, 302 
 
 Hesse, Louis, Prince of, visits of to England, 
 10-12 ; first meeting with and betrothal to 
 Princess Alice, 10 ; marrriage of, 13-16 ; in- 
 
 vested with the Garter by the Queen, 17 ; 
 departure from England, 18 ; reception of, 
 at Darmstadt, 20 ; life there, 21, 55-61 ; stay 
 at Auerbach, 63-66 ; visit to Baden, 67 ; 
 again in England, 20 ; returns to Darmstadt, 
 23, 72 ; takes his seat in tlie Chambers, 72 ; 
 his occupations, 73, 74 ; votes for alteration 
 of Press Law, 76 ; visit to Lich, 76 ; to 
 Giessen, 77 ; to England, 79 ; at his sister's 
 funeral at Schwerin, 107 ; assists at investi- 
 ture of the Grand Duke with Order of the 
 Garter, 111 ; tour in Switzerland, 115, 119 ; 
 military and other duties at Darmstadt, 122 ; 
 visits Brussels for King Leopold's funeral, 
 123 ; takes the field in the war of 1866, 23 ; 
 with the staff at Frankfort, 136 ; returns to 
 Darmstadt on birth of Princess Irine, 141 ; 
 departure for the front again : fighting at 
 Aschaffenburg, 141 ; march to Odenwald 
 and Amorbach, 142 ; hardships endured by, 
 143, 145 ; appointed to command of troops 
 sent to Berlin, 146 ; visiting the sick and 
 wounded with the Princess, 24, 147 ; at 
 Nierstein, his farewell to Cavalry Brigade, 
 148; peaceconcluded, the terms, 151 ; enters 
 Darmstadt at the head of the troops, 153 ; at 
 Waldleiningen, 155 ; at Carlsruhe, 158 ; visit 
 to Switzerland, 167-174; resigns his com- 
 mand in the Hessian army, 26 ; at Blranich- 
 stein : press of business, 191 ; birth of Prince 
 Ernest Ludwig, 27, 193 ; inspects garrisons 
 at Friedberg and Giessen, 199 ; Ludwigstag, 
 204 ; tour to the East with the Crown Prince 
 of Prussia, 27, 205, 207 ; rejoins Princess at 
 Cannes, 209 ; attacked with scarlet fever at 
 Darmstadt, 28, 211-212; with the army of 
 Prince Frederick (Charles in Franco-German 
 war, 30, 220 ; at Metz, Vionville, Rezonville, 
 and Gravelotte, 220, 221 ; receives the Iron 
 Cross, 223; Field Marshal Wrangel's high 
 opinion of, 227 ; with head-quarters at Or- 
 leans on Christmas Day, 230 ; at Darmstadt 
 on leave, 32, 237 ; receives Order of Merit, 
 236 ; at Donjeux, 238 ; at Berlin, triumphal 
 entry of troops, 32, 239, 240 ; enters Darm- 
 stadt at head of his division, 240, 241 ; visit 
 to the Queen at Balmoral with the Princess, 
 32 ; at Buckingham Palace, 243 ; at San- 
 dringham, 245 ; invested with Order of 
 Black Eagle at Berlin, 246 ; press of work, 
 247 ; anniversary of battle of Gravelotte, 
 249 ; at funeral of Princess Hohenlohe- 
 Langenburg, 251 ; change of Ministry at 
 Darmstadt, 253 ; present at unveiling of 
 monument to Hessian soldiers, 34, 255 ; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 HESSE 
 
 visit to Italy, 259 ; journey to Rome, 260 ; 
 visit of Crown Prince and Princess of Italy 
 to, 261 ; at Rome, 260-264 ; visit to Sorrento, 
 263 ; to Capri, Bay of Naples, Florence, 264 ; 
 return to Darmstadt, death, of little Prince 
 Fritz, 36, 257, 265 ; visit to England, 271 ; to 
 Blankenberglie : saves life of a lady while 
 batliing, 279 ; accident on the ice at Kranicli- 
 stein, 289 ; in England again, 289 ; at Darm- 
 stadt, 297 ; illness and death of his father, 
 39, 299, 301 ; illness and death of the Grand 
 Duke, 39, 301-302; ascends the throne as 
 Louis IV., 39 ; failing health of Grand 
 Duchess, 303 ; enthusiastic reception at 
 Darmstadt, 305 ; at Eastbourne with the 
 Grand Duchess and children, 39 ; return to 
 Darmstadt, 307 ; attacked with diphtheria, 
 41-50, 309 ; his recoverj-, 51, 311 ; illnessand 
 death of the Grand Duchess, 51-52 ; 330 
 
 Hesse, Marie Victoria Feodora Leopoldine, 
 Princess of, birth of, 38 ; 41, 278, 280, 288, 
 298, 308; attacked with diphtheria, 42-46, 
 308; her death and funeral, 47-50, 309; 
 312 
 
 Hesse, Victoria Alberta Elizabeth Matilda, 
 Princess of, birth and christening of, 20 ; 
 71, 75, 81, 83, 85, 86, 90, 104, 106, 112, 118, 
 121, 130, 149, 151, 155, 157, 178, 185, 189, 192, 
 193, 198, 204, 206, 211, 212, 214, 230, 233, 
 265, 275, 290 ; attacked ^\ith diphtheria, 41- 
 44, 308 ; her recovery, 308 
 
 Hesse, Victoria Alix Helfene Louise Beatrice, 
 Princess of, birth of, 33 ; attacked with 
 diphtheria, 41-45; 247, 248, 256, 278, 280, 
 288, 298, 308, 309 
 
 Hesse, William, Prince of, 15, 16, 129, 138, 
 209, 260, 262, 290, 299, 300 
 
 Hessen-Homburg, Elizabeth, Landgravine of 
 129 
 
 Hessen-Homburg, Landgrave of, death of, 129 
 
 Hildyard, Miss, 6, 8, 9, 103, 271 
 
 HUl, Miss Florence, 34, 252 
 
 Hill, Miss Octavia, 40, 329 
 
 Hofmeister, Dr., 224, 225, 228, 247 
 
 Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Eliza, Princess of, 76 
 
 Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Feodora, Princess of 
 (the Queen's half-sister), at Princess Alice's 
 wedding, 15 17; bad health of , 177 ; mention 
 of visit to convent at Rome by, 262 
 
 Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Hermann, Prince of, 
 274 
 
 Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Leopoldine, Princess 
 of, 274 
 
 Hohenlohe, Prince of, 76 
 
 Hohenzollern, Princess of. 262 
 
 LEININGEN 
 
 Hohenzollem-Sigmaringen, Anton, Prince of, 
 
 death of, 145 ; 195 
 Holl, Ml-., 259 
 Holstein, Henry Charles Woldemar, Prince of, 
 
 233 
 Holyrood, 248 
 Holzei, Herr, 62 
 Houlgate, in Normandy, 303 
 Howard, Monsignor (Cardinal), 262 
 
 TTALY, Humbert, Prince of (now King), 261 
 Italy, Marguerita, Princess of (now Queen), 
 261 
 
 JACKSON, Miss, governess, 42, 45 
 
 Jtiger, Catherine, 177 
 Jager, servant, 115; illness of, 175, 177, 180; 
 
 death of, 187, 188 
 Jenner, Dr. (Sir William), 52, 104, 137, 331 
 Joachim, Herr, 246 
 Jocelyn, Lady, 70 
 Joch Pass, 118 
 Jowett, Professor, 164 
 
 TTANNfi, M., 218, 224, 260 
 Kantner, Frau, 47 
 
 Kelirer, General, 220 
 
 Kent, Duchess of, 5, 8 ; failing health and 
 death of, 11 ; remembrance of, by Princess 
 Alice, 66 ; souvenirs of, at Amorbach, 84 ; 
 anniversary of death, 89 ; of birthday, 172 ; 
 249, 279, 181, 233; engraving of portrait 
 of, sent to Princess Alice, 259 ; Princess's 
 loving recollections of, 279 
 
 KeiT, Lord Robert S., 78 
 
 Kingsley, Rev. C, his Saint's Tragedy, 80 
 
 Kinkel, Professor, 210 
 
 Kitz, Frauleiu, governess, 238, 263 
 
 Klein wart, Herr, 238 
 
 Knollys, Miss Charlotte, 176 
 
 KnoUys, Lady, 176 
 
 Knollys, Sir William, 176 
 
 Kbhler, 228 
 
 Kraus, architect, 82 
 
 Kriiuslach, groom, 293 
 
 T ANFREY, Life of Napoleon by, 208, 213 
 Lauchert, Amalie, Princess of Hohenlohe- 
 Schillingsfurst, 162 
 Leiningen, Alberta, Princess of, 155 
 Leiningen, Charles, Prince of, 76, 84 
 
INDEX. 
 
 339 
 
 LEIXINGEN 
 
 Leiningen, Ernest, Prince of, 84, 93 ; visit of 
 Princess Alice to, 155 ; at Osborne, 188 
 
 Leiningen, Marie, Princess of, 84, 155 
 
 Le Mans, 232 
 
 Leopolil, Prince (Duke of Albany), 18, 32 ; the 
 last to visit Princess Alice at Darmstadt, 
 41 ; at funeral of Princess Alice, 53 ; serious 
 illness of, 182, 183; his confirmation, 196; 
 delicate health of, 226, 236 
 
 Locock, Sir Charles, 70 
 
 Loftus, Lord Augustus, at Berlin, 200 
 
 Logoz, Sarah, nurse, 115, 168 
 
 Logoz, Theodore, 115 
 
 Lome, Marquis of, marriage of, 236 ; at 
 Darmstadt on wedding tour, 237, 238 
 
 Louise, Princess, 4, 6, 69, 132 ; letter to 
 Princess Alice by, 182; Prince Adalbert's 
 praise of, 187 ; her marriage, 236 ; wedding 
 tour, 237, 238 ; present given to, by 91st 
 Highlanders, 245 ; member of Institute, 252 ; 
 visit to Mr. Motley with Princess Alice, 297 
 
 Liitzow, Count, 74 
 
 Luxembourg question, 164, 165 
 
 Lytteltou, Lady, 2 
 
 TV/TACBEAN, Miss, 41 ; account by of tlie 
 attack with diphtheria of the Grand 
 Duke of Hesse and his children : anxiety 
 and devotion of the Princess Alice, 42-50 
 
 Macdonald, Miss Flora, 249 
 
 Macleod, Dr., 97, 99, 248 
 
 Mainau, 174 
 
 Manchester, Duchess of, 70 
 
 Manstein, General von, 218 
 
 Marie Am61ie, Queen of the French, death of, 
 130 
 
 Marlborough House, 69, 92, 289 
 
 Marochetti, Barou, his statue of Prince Con- 
 sort, 59 
 
 Martin, Mr. (Sir Theodore), his 'Prince Con- 
 sort's Life,' 11 ; 284, 286, 287, 288 ; sketch of 
 the life of Princess Alice by, 325-332 
 
 Mary, Princess (Duchess of Teck), 79, S3, 113, 
 114, 242, 270 
 
 Maude, Colonel, 228 
 
 McDonald, Annie, 190 
 
 Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Anna, Princess of 
 Hesse, Grand Duchess of, 79 ; marriage of, 
 91 ; death of, 106-110 
 
 Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick, Grand 
 Duke of, marriage of, 91 ; 114 
 
 Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus, Grand Duke 
 of, 79 
 
 I'RUSSIA 
 
 ] Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Augusta, Princess, 
 
 Grand Ducliess of, 79, 205 
 Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Caroline, Duchess of, 79 
 Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Dowager Duchess of, 79 
 Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Frederick, Grand Duke 
 
 of, 205, 248 
 Mendelssohn, his Elijah, 103 
 Mensdorfl, Pouilly, Graf von, 132 
 Metz, battle near to, 220, 254 
 Meyer, Stallmeister, 175 
 Meyer, Superintendent, 62 
 Minter, Dr., 189 
 
 Mitchell, Mr., librarian. Old Bond Street, 238 
 Moffat, nurse of Princess Victoria of Hesse, 
 
 71, 81, 86, 115 
 Molin, Herr von, lecture on Art in Venice 
 
 by, 163 
 Mijllcr, Oberlieutenant, 221 
 Moricr, Lady, 164, 178, 196, 260 
 Morier, Sir Robert, 28, 164, 178, 196, 210, 260 
 Motle}-, Mr. Lotlirop, 297 
 MUller, Max, letter by, 398 
 Mulooly, Father, 263 
 Milnchengratz, battle at, 141 
 
 "M'ACHOD, defeat of Austrians at, 140 
 Nassau, Duke and Duchess of, 134 
 Nemours, Duke of, 15, 16, 119, 169 
 Netherlands, Prince and Princess Frederick of, 
 
 209 
 Nickel, Herr, 155 
 
 rvBERHESSEN, 79, 106, 148, 154 
 
 Obcmitz, Hugo von, 145 
 Orchartl, nurse, 48, 164, 211, 263, 308, 311 
 Orleans, Marguerite, Princess of, 119 
 
 pAGET, Lord Alfred, 70 
 
 Palk, Lady, 238 
 Palmerston, Lady, 179, 287 
 Pauli, History of England by, 113 
 Perth, unveiling of statue of Prince Consort 
 
 at, 93 
 Pliipps, Sir Charles, 306 
 Playfair, Dr. Lyon, 114 
 PodoU, battle at, 141 
 Procter, Miss Arlelaide, 267 
 Prothero, Mr., 14 
 Prussia, Adalbert, Prince of, 187, 196 ; death 
 
 of, 266 
 
 7. 2 
 
340 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PRUSSIA 
 
 Prussia, Augusta, Princess of (Queen of Prus- 
 sia, Empress of Germany), at Baden, 67 ; 
 proposed visit of Princess Alice to, 68 ; 
 passes througli Darmstadt, 71 ; visit to 
 Princess Alice, 192 ; Prince Frederick Wil- 
 liam Augustus named after, 235 ; inter- 
 change of visits with Prince and Princess, 
 306 
 
 Prussia, Charlotte, Princess of (daughter of 
 Crown Prince and Princess), marriage of, 
 306 
 
 Prussia, Frederick Charles, Prince of, in com- 
 mand of Second Army, 1870, 30, 220 ; victories 
 of, 231 ; sponsor to Frederick William 
 Augustus of Hesse, 235 
 
 Prussia, Frederick William,Crown Prince of (of 
 Germany), 7 ; present at marriage of Princess 
 Alice, 16 ; 23 ; visit of to Darmstadt, 95 ; there 
 on anniversary of December 14 (1864), 97, 
 98 ; kindness of to Prince and Princess of 
 Hesse, 100 ; hard work, 102 ; his sad posi- 
 tion in case of war, 130 ; in Schleswig, 132 ; 
 Prince Louis' interview with, 133; domestic 
 trouble, 136 ; Queen Victoria writes to, 146 ; 
 his kind reception of Prince Louis, 148 ; 
 at Paris, 167 ; visit of to Darmstadt, 177 ; 
 at Darmstadt on his return from Italy, 188 ; 
 journey to the East with Prince Louis of 
 Hesse, 27, 202, 205 ; at Cannes, 209 ; his first 
 victory, 218 ; sponsor to Prince Frederick 
 William of Hesse, 235 ; passes througli 
 Frankfort, 237 
 
 Prussia, Henry, Prince of (son of Crown Prince 
 and Princess), in England with Her Majesty, 
 157 
 
 Prussia, Sigismund, Prince of (son of Crown 
 Prince and Princess), Princess Alice's ac- 
 count of, 101 ; illness of, 135 ; death of, 140, 
 201 
 
 Prussia, Victoria, Crown Princess of (of Ger- 
 many), on the character of Princess Alice 
 as a child, 3 ; in juvenile theatricals in 1852 
 and 1854, 4, 5; marriage of, 7, 326; confirm- 
 ation of, 8 ; visit of Princess Alice to, 27 ; 
 desires the Princess to stay with her during 
 Franco-German War, 30 ; at Darmstadt on 
 anniversary (1864) of December 14, 98 ; 
 Princess Alice's account of visit to, 100- 
 102 ; at Kranichstein, 120 ; war a terrible 
 prospect for, 130, 134 ; death of her son 
 Prince Sigismund, 140 ; Prince Louis kindly 
 received by, 148 ; accepts invitation to Paris 
 Exhibition, 167 ; visit to Darmstadt, 177, 
 184 ; Princess Alice spends birthday with, 
 185 ; at Potsdam, 201, 202 ; with Princess 
 
 QUEEN 
 
 Alice at Cannes, 208 ; visit of the Princess 
 to, 223; together at Berlin, 226, 227; 
 sponsor to Prince Frederick William of 
 Hesse, 235 ; at Darmstadt, 256 ; 259, 273 ; at 
 Wiesbaden, 306 
 
 Prussia, Victoria, Princess of (daughter of 
 Crown Prince and Princess), 162 
 
 Prussia, Waldemar, Prince of (son of Crown 
 Prince and Princess), 208 
 
 Prussia, William I., Prince of (King of Prus- 
 sia, Emperor of Germany), 21, 26 ; refuses 
 the meeting at Frankfort, 80; policy of, 134; 
 at Paris, 167 ; sponsor to Prince Ernest of 
 Hesse, 193, 195 ; in command at Rezonville 
 and Gravelotte, 220 ; announcement by of 
 Prince Louis having received Order of 
 Merit, 236 ; passes through Frankfort, 237 ; 
 at head of his troops at Berlin after the 
 peace, 240, 254 
 
 Punch, sonnet in, on marriage of Princess 
 Alice, 19 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA, of England, 1 ; letters 
 by to Eling of the Belgians describing the 
 christening of Princess Alice, 1, 326 ; on 
 the Princess's character as a child, 2, 3 ; 
 plans for training her children, 2, 3 ; 
 account of Princess Alice's acting in juve- 
 nile theatricals, 4, 5 ; anniversary (1854) of 
 wedding, 5 ; shares in her children's occu- 
 pations and amusements, 7 ; description by 
 of Princess Alice's confirmation, 8, 9 ; of 
 her sixteenth birthday, 9 ; of her betrothal, 
 10 ; at the deathbed of the Duchess of Kent, 
 11 ; announces to Parliament Princess 
 Alice's contemplated marriage, 11 ; death of 
 the Prince Consort, 12, 13 ; account by of the 
 Princess Alice's marriage and her last days in 
 England, 13, 18 ; invests Prince Louis of Hesse 
 with the Garter, 17 ; at Rheinhardsbrunn, 
 20 ; receives Prince and Princess in England, 
 20, 32 ; anxiety of, during Prince Leopold's 
 illness, 182 ; Princess Alice's recollections 
 of first great sorrow of, 184, 185, 197 ; 
 letter by, on Princess Victoria's birthday, 
 198 ; christening gift to Prince Ernest, 203 ; 
 present of pony from, to the Princess's 
 children, 204 ; visit of to Invertrossachs, 
 205 ; statuette of Prince Consort sent to 
 Princess Alice by, 214 ; Princess's thanks 
 for letters of sjTnpathy from, during the 
 war, 216, 221, 223, 224, 229, 235 ; illness of, 
 243-245 ; letters by, on birth of Princess 
 Alix, 247; visit of to Edinburgh, 248; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 341 
 
 QUEEN 
 
 death of her half-sister, 251-253 ; anniversary 
 of Prince Consort's death (1872), 255 ; 
 print of Winterhalter's picture of Duchess 
 of Kent sent to Princess by, also engraving 
 of picture of herself, 259 ; opening of 
 Victoria Park by, 263 ; letters by, on 
 Princess Alice's birthday, 264, 276 ; and 
 after Prince Frederick's death, 265, 268 ; 
 Prince and Princess's visit to, at Windsor, 
 269, 271 ; her biithday (1874), 278; Prince 
 Consort's, 280 ; advice to Princess regarding 
 the education of her children, given by, 
 283 ; letter by, on publication of Prince 
 Consort's Life, 286, 287 ; Prince Alice's ex- 
 pressions of love for, 289, 295, 296; last 
 letters to Princess, 310,311 ; 325.326,327,328 
 
 ■pEUSS, Princess, 129 
 Reuter, Helene, 248 
 
 Rezonville, 220 
 
 Riedesel, Herr von, 79 
 
 Rigi Kaltbad, 115 
 
 Robertson, Rev. Frederick William, his ser- 
 mons, 95, 110 
 
 Rollande, Madame (Rollet), 208 
 
 Rome, 35, 209, 259 ; Princess Alice's visit to, 
 261-264 
 
 RUckert, Frederick, quotation from, 37, 282 
 
 Ruland, Mr. (Hofrath), catalogue of Prince 
 Consort's Raphael collection bj% 165 ; accom- 
 panies Princess Alice to Italy, 259, 262 
 
 Russell, Lord and Lady John, 207 
 
 Russia, Alesander II., Emperor of, visit of 
 to Kranichstein, 93 ; leaves for Nice, 108 ; 
 death of his son, 108, 109 ; visit to Jugen- 
 heim, 109 ; attempt on his life, 166 ; aged 
 appearance of, 191 ; review at Darmstadt in 
 honour of, 191 ; at Petersthal, 241 ; at 
 Seeheim, 268 
 
 Russia, Marie, Empress of, gift to Princess 
 Alice from, 71 ; death of her eldest son, 108, 
 109, 267 ; shock caused by attempt on 
 Emperor's life, 166; visit of to Princess 
 Alice at Darmstadt, 241 ; at Petersthal, 
 241 ; proposed winter in Italy, 248 ; visit 
 to Sorrento, 260, 264 ; at Seeheim with 
 Princess Alice, 207, 268 ; death of her eldest 
 il.iughter, 267 ; failing health, 274 ; her 
 grief at Prince Charles's death, 300, 301 
 
 Russia, Marie, Grand Duchess of (Duchess of 
 Edinburgh), meets Princess Alice at Darm- 
 stadt railway station, 51 ; description of, by 
 the Princess, 241 ; at Rome, 264 ; at See- 
 heim, engaged to Duke of Edinburgh, 
 
 STANLEY 
 
 268; reception of in England, 274; god- 
 mother to Princess Marie of Hesse, 278 
 
 Russia, Nicholas, Cesarewitch of, death of, 108, 
 109, 267 
 
 Russia, Serge, Grand Duke of, 21, 93 
 
 gADOWA, battle of, 141 
 
 Sahl, Mr. Hermann, 165, 182 
 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Duchess of, visits of 
 
 Princess Alice to, 126, 185 
 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Ernest, Duke of, 8, ; at 
 
 Princess Alice's wedding, in her father's 
 
 place, 15, 16; Princess Alice's visits to, 61, 
 
 62, 74, 126, 185 ; at Seeheim, 111 ; possible 
 
 opposition to Hessians during the war, 140 ; 
 
 234 
 Sase-Coburg-Gotha, Prince and Princess 
 
 Augustus of, at Princess Alice's wedding, 
 
 15, 17 
 Saxony, Albert, Crown Prince of, 237 
 Saxony, Carola, Crown Princess of, 237 
 Saxony, George, Prince of, 237 
 Saxony, Marie, Princess of, 237 
 Schenck, Baron Alexander, sent to Orleans by 
 
 Princess Alice during the war, 230 
 Schenck, Baroness Christa, Lady-in-Waiting 
 
 to Princess Alice, 32, 65, 81, 82, 89 ; visits of 
 
 Princess Alice to her parents, 91, 177 ; writes 
 
 account of Princess Anna's wedding, 91 ; 95 ; 
 
 138 
 Schenck, Baron William, visit of Princess 
 
 Alice to, 91 
 Schenck, Mademoiselle de, 16 
 Schleswlg-Holstein, Adelaide, Duchess of, 274 
 Schleswig-Holstcin, Frederick, Hereditary 
 
 Prince of (later Duke of), 83, 86 ; meets 
 
 Crown Prince at Carlsruhe, 274 
 Schleswig-Hol stein, Princess Christian of. 
 
 See Helena, PHncess 
 Seymour, Miss, 74 
 Sejrmour, General (Marquis of Hertford), 16, 
 
 58, 198 
 Sidney, Lord, 55 
 
 Sillitoe, Mr., English chaplain at Darmstadt, 45 
 Skelmersdale, Alice (Lady Lathom), 215 
 Sligo, Mrs. T., 280 
 Sluggan, 122 
 
 Smiles, Dr. Samuel, Lives of Engineers, 99 
 Solms-Laubach, Princess, 77 
 Solms-Lich, Prince of, President of First 
 
 Chamber, 75 
 Somerset, Lady Geraldine, 176 
 Spohr, 246 
 Stanley, Dean, 93 ; Her Majesty sends sermon 
 
342 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 by to Princess Alice, 99 ; letter by to Prin- 
 cess Alice, 273 ; illness of his wile, Lady 
 Augusta, 292-293 ; visit of to Carlyle with 
 Princess Alice, 297 
 
 Stanley, Lady Augusta, 93, 95, 269, 273 ; illness 
 of, 292-293 
 
 Stockmar, Baron, 5, 7, 12 ; Prince Louis and 
 Princess Alice visit him at Coburg, 61, 62 ; 
 his dislike to leave-taking, 272 ; the high 
 standard placed by him before Prince Con- 
 sort, 285 ; his relations with Prince Consort, 
 288 
 
 Strauss, David Frederick, becomes acquainted 
 with Princess Alice, 27 ; reads to her his 
 notes on Voltaire, 28 ; publication and dedi- 
 cation of the work to the Princess, 28 ; his 
 influence on her opinions, 29 
 
 Strecker, Prau, 49 
 
 rnENNYSON, his dedication to the Idylls of 
 
 the King, 285 
 Theed, Mr., his bust of Prince Consort, 59 
 Thomas, Mr., 16 
 Thorburn, Mr., painter, 140 
 Times, extract from article in, on death of 
 
 the Prince Consort, 12, 327 
 Townsend, Marchioness of, 76 
 Trautenau, battle at, 141 
 Tupper, Mr. Martin, 6 
 Turkey, Sultan of, visit of to England, 207 
 Tyndall, Professor, 172 
 
 YSENBUKG 
 
 TJSEDOM, Madame d", 169 
 
 ■yAJ^ JDE WEYER, Mr., his death, 277 
 
 Vicars, Mrs. Murray, 39 
 Victoria. See Queen 
 Vionville, battle of, 220 
 
 TyALDECK, Princess of, 207 
 
 Wasa, Gustav, Prince, 81, 93 
 Weber, Dr. Carl, 74; Princess Alice's high 
 
 opinion of, 91 ; 150, 184, 192, 211 ; death of 
 
 his sister, 223, 225 
 Weber, P., painter, 112 
 Weimar, Grand Duke of, 76, 259 
 Weiss, Sophie, a former dresser of the Queen's, 
 
 274 
 Wellesley, Hon. and Very Rev. C, Dean of 
 
 Windsor, 5, 8, 14, 16 
 Westerweller, Anthony von, 1 6, 48, 87, 105, 1 1 6, 
 
 118, 133 
 Westminster, Duke and Duchess of, 246 
 Willem, a Malay, Princess Alice's servant, 73 ; 
 
 death of, 167 ; 170, 178, 180, 188 
 Winkworth, Miss C, 34, 252 
 Winterhalter, painter, 15, 67 
 Woodward, Mr., 165 
 Wrangel, Pield-Marshal von, 227 
 
 VORK, Archbishop of, 14, 15 
 
 Ysenburg and Biidingen, Prince of, 205 
 
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