ich we give to our first love; she longed to surrender to his passion, yet she held back with a modesty of maidenly reserve which her many jealous

is Highness's advent, constantly counselled her to hold back. Wilhelmine herself realised that a battle's importance is generally gauged by its difficulty,

as men-poor, beloved fools!-need experience, philosophy, and the Lord knows what, to teach them. Alas! by the time they h

characteristic of a tiresome personality. Forstner was genuinely devoted to the Duke; he had been the companion of the Prince's childhood, had shared his studies, and had followed him on his travels to the various European courts and in the campaigns where Eber

le, for obedience, all a gentleman's reverence for honour and truth; yet these things, as presented by Forstner, were to him odious, and h

flat, narrow feet posed precisely, the head held forward, like some gaunt bird seeking with its lengthy beak for any meagre grain which might chance in its way. Somehow one felt the grain he sought mus

proval, and preferred the open hostility of a real enemy to the presence of any merely disapproving person. Eberhard Ludwig suffered intensely in those weeks at Stu

e no sign thereof, for he treated the whole situation as an ordinary court intrigue, which indeed it was, though both people concerned were earnestly and deeply engaged in the one great love of their lives. Forstner sat like a grim, polite skeleton at th

f with jealous fears. She appeared before the Duke with eyes reddened by sleep

ne, reproachful ways with an irritation which, though it could not pierce the studied courtesy of his manner, made itself felt, and further wounded the unhap

ne more gloriously, and the Duchess longed for one grey, overcast day. To her the su

orses. True, his Highness never failed to send his consort a courteous invitation to join the feast at some Jagd Schloss in the forest; but she i

with a true and lasting passion, yet a wave of haughty doubt swept over her and kept her back. One day it was announced from the castle that her Highness had commanded a famous troupe of Italian musicians to perform a series of madrigals before the court. The Duchess caused a summons to be issued to members of the court at Stuttgart, adding, however, that no foreign visitors could be invited, the concert being strictly private. This wa

at my castle of Stuttgart. Her Highness, my honoured wife, will gladly ma

tafforth hurriedly, 'I fe

lmine he said, almost sternly: 'I await the honour, Mademoisel

lmine

blood mantled to her cheeks. Eberhard Ludwig caught her hand; raising it to his lips he murmured 'To-morrow!' and turning quickly left the garden with hasty strides. Wilhelm

g too far. It is an insult to her Highness, and we shall have the whole

lead till his heart breaks, it is when a woman sees another woman absolutely denied for her sake, that she k

afforth, 'you will see wha

summer months; thus it had been deemed more fitting for the madrigals to be performed in the castle itself instead of in the fine hall of the Lusthaus where the court festivities usually took place. Her Highness's reception-room gave out on to the Renaissance gallery of the inner courtyard.

, struck to prove its correctness, broke on the air. The swish of silken skirts on the wooden floor of the gallery without a

urtiers whispered that their Highnesses were closeted together, and that angry voices had been heard by one of the pages attendant in the a

zabetha entered, followed by Madame de Stafforth, who was in attendance on her Highness in the absence of Mademoiselle de Münsingen, the lady-in-waiting. The audience rose to

gilded chair without a word of direct greeting to any individual. Eberhard Ludwig, on the contrary, assumed an air of gaiety, as with his habitual grace of manner he passed down the lines of guests, finding a courteous word for each and all. Yet the

n the music. It was a matter of comment that Monsieur and Madame de Stafforth were present at the concert without their guest Mademoiselle de Gr?venitz; and the well informed, delighted with their superior knowle

ation of the shoulder. It is less satisfactory to the offended, though certainly not less abashing to the offender, than the ruder, more frankly human market-place manner. And it seemed as though his Highness

e fine head had dropped forward on his breast. He was asleep; and Madame de Ruth realised, with a sigh, that her beloved had grown old; that her youth had vanished too, and even the joy of observing the tragi-comedy of human nature palled f

her Highness's seat, was flung open, and a bewildering vision of beauty stood framed in the doorway. It was Wilhelmine von Gr?venitz, the expressly e

nt; Wilhelmine was as firmly fixed to her place in the doorway as though nails had been fastened through her satin-slippered feet to the boards beneath; for etiquette forbade her to advance without her Highness's greeting, and fear of ridicule barred her way back through the door. The Duchess remained immovable, her eyes upon the group of musicians; the Duke endeavoured nervously to draw her Highness's attentio

d, with eyes fixed upon the musicians. The tension was almost intolerable. The victory seemed to belong to the stern hostess, and yet it was upon Wilhelmine standing in the doorway that every eye was fixed. She stood perfectly motionless, one hand upon the lintel of the door, the other holding her f

er Highness's shoulder. 'Your Highness has not obser

he audience heard each car

le de Gr?venitz to attend upon your Highness this

er head in formal greeting. Wilhelmine stepped forward, then sank to the ground in the elaborate court courtesy; rising, she walked a few st

was inscrutable. The concert came to an end, and the Duchess rose; she turned towards Madame de Stafforth, summoning her as lady-in-waiting-extraordinary to accompany her, thereby entirely ignoring Wilhelmine, the newly appointed lady-in-waiting, whose office it should have been to attend her Highness. After saluting

dy-in-waiting will be dispensed with. May I have the honour of leading you to supper?' and he offered Wilhelmine his hand in the graceful fashion of those days. The last th

t; Zollern sleepy; the voluble Madame de Ruth was talking rapidly, with the evident intention of making the scene appear unimportant to the flunkeys in attendance. Friedrich Gr?venitz said nothing, but looked pompous, and drank ostentatiously with rounded forearm, showing off his fine muscles, in spite of the fact that no one paid any heed to him. He had been invaluable during supper itself, for he had roared out storie

ce towards them. She wished the conversation would end; already the servants must have made comment upon so long an interview, and though the opinion of menia

ighness has many virtue-loving spies who will report to her with the exaggeration of t

r at the window. He had just reached them when the doo

y of that witty tale in his mind as a bonne bouche.' He bowed and took his leave, while Forstner, who had arrived on the scene hoping to find th

d to her rooms in the castle. Stafforth escorted Wilhelmine to his coach, which waited to convey her to the house in the Graben. As he bowed gallantly over her hand he felt her fingers press a paper into his palm. She must have penned it ere she came to the concert, he reflected, for she could have fo

gh the antehall, he gained admissi

Oberhofmarshall appeared, 'this is much courtes

y correct, though it was usual for the subordinate official to retire courteously when a person holding a superior court charge was present at the Duke's disrobing. It was impossible for Stafforth to give his Highness Wilhelmine's missive in her brother's presence, for the conspirators had long discovered that Friedrich Gr?

oetry in your soldier-nature.' This being exactly what Friedrich Gr?venitz entirely lacked, it flattered him extremely to be credited with the quality. He craved his Highness's permission to look at the glorious night scenery, and repairing to the window leaned out beside Stafforth. The Oberhofmarshall immediately pressed close against him and encircled his shoulders with one arm, holding the dupe firmly away from the inter

sleep through! Gentlemen, I invite you to hunt with me to-morrow at break of day! We will meet at the ed

s, Eberhard Ludwig snatched a crumpled paper from his breast. It was the Duchess Johanna

hambe

Al

Duchesse d

viter Madame de

8 heures

ouvoir inviter des voya

er Highness's own hand. Beneath which, i

nzes heures.

wig of Wirtemberg did not keep his tryst at dawn with Oberho