cavalcade bid adieu to the princess, and returned home. Some ladies, too, who were only to go thus far, likewise took their leave. All this tended to open the wounds of Leopoldine's poor little heart. She watched with sorrow the departing set, though most of them were people utterly indifferent to her, and now followed the congratulatory speeches and presentations of the retinue that had been sent forward to meet her; alterations were made in the interior arrangements of the carriages, and we proceeded on our journey.

The weather was so fine, that the princess preferred one of the open carriages; into it she was therefore handed, with the ambassadress and a stately duchess of the new set-the fourth place she wished to have given to Röschen, but precedence, and not preference, was to be attended to, and another courtly dame claimed the privilege of making up the number. I pitied Leopoldine for the isolation of heart which she seemed to suffer in this stately thraldom, and occasionally when she looked round to see if any of her friends were near her, I rode close up to the carriage, and took some trifling message from her to Röschen, and then I again fell back in the rear, and enjoyed some flying gossip with the ladies in the hindmost carriages, who, though not possessing so many quarters of nobility, were prettier, more agreeable, and infinitely gayer than those more honoured by their nearer approximation to the princess.

On my return from one of my escapades, towards Röschen's party, I saw that Leopoldine was talking to the duchess, and as there could be no secrets between them, I thought there was no indiscretion in listening, the power of doing so being favoured at that moment by our ascending a high hill, and the consequent slow motion of the carriage. She seemed to be asking a few questions relative to her future husband.

"Is the king good-looking ?" at length hazarded Leopoldine. "Very," was the reply.

"But he is no longer young ?" urged the princess, timidly.

"Nor is he old," replied the duchess, jesuitically attempting to conceal the fact of the good man being far on his way towards sixty. "Does he look as old as Major R?" said Leopoldine, with the greatest naïveté.

The ladies required all their fortitude to be brought into play not to smile at this question, but the duchess kept a perfect composure of manner as she answered, "He does not show his age any more than your highness's honoured father."

There was very little consolation for the poor girl in this. Much as she loved and revered the good old elector, it was no pleasant prospect to hear that her future husband looked about on a par with him for age. Whether or not the displeasing intelligence was mixed up with some fond recollections of Ernest, and some painful comparisons of past times and disagreeable anticipations, certain it was, that part of her feelings depicted themselves strongly enough on her face to excite the compassion of the fat, good-natured baroness who sat opposite, and who, for the first time, ventured on a remark, which was to the effect, that "The king does not look more than forty, after all."

"His manners afford the most perfect specimen of a gentleman," resumed the duchess, with the most frigid gravity.

"He is the most amiable of men," said the baroness. "The greatest wit at court," cried the ambassadress.

And so they went on for about a quarter of a mile, tossing about the shuttlecock of flattery to a most ludicrous degree, without observing that she for whom the game was kept up, had long ago sunk back into her former apathy and listlessness.

The nearer we approached to the end of our journey, the more Leopoldine's spirits sank. This was what one might have expected; yet at times there seemed such an apathetic resignation about her, that I could scarcely tell whether it proceeded from hopeless despair, or from some internal determination to save herself from a marriage she abhorred, and a husband whom she, of course, hated in anticipation. What she could do to avoid it was to me a problem-and then I shuddered, as I thought of the one frightful escape from human ills, and prayed in my heart that this alternative might never have occurred to her young and gentle mind. I felt so oppressed with these ideas, that when we came in sight of the capital, and I beheld all the festive preparations for her reception-the triumphal arches, the garlands of flowers, the bands of music, with waving banners, and the shouts of welcome which rent the air for miles round-my heart seemed absolutely cramped; and sickening at the sight of all these rejoicings, I thought of the sacrifices of ancient times, when the victim was led to the altar crowned with flowers.

But my train of reflections was suddenly broken in upon by the necessity of reining in my horse, who began prancing wildly at the sound of a most brilliant flourish of trumpets, broken at intervals by a discharge of cannon, which recalled the exciting sensations of a battle-field. Just at this moment, like some fleeting vision, a young rider, mounted on a coal-black charger, whose speed and beauty declared its Arab origin, dashed through one of the intersecting streets; but not before Leopoldine had caught a glimpse of his face, and her quick sight and still quicker feelings had told her it was Ernest von Hohenfels. A sudden flush covered her hitherto pale cheeks, and so heightened her beauty, that the crowd, in admiration and amazement, nearly deafened us with their vivats; while the princess, inspired with a temporary excitement, answered by the most graceful bows to the repeated greetings of her subjects, and got through the entry much better than could have been anticipated. Of course a reaction followed, and by the time she had changed her dress, and reappeared covered with the costliest jewels of the crown, her face was whiter than the white robe that she was attired in, her eyes were red, and the conflicting passions of her bosom were painfully manifested by the short quick sighs that escaped her. How she would ever get through the first interview, was the subject of all my apprehensions; and how much the imprudent cruelty of Ernest, in following her to this place, had increased the difficulty of maintaining her composure, was one which I could scarcely think of without a wish to chastise the amorous and ill-advised lieutenant. And when I called to mind the sort of levity I had remarked in him on the day of their

BB 2

parting, I could but view the step he had taken as that of a man of disappointed ambition, who was led on by mere personal vanity to exercise his power, and that in the basest and most unjustifiable manner. When, at last, the long apprehended moment came, and the King of advanced from the other end of the room with his nobles to meet the princess and her retinue, I identified my feelings to such a degree with her's, that I half closed my eyes from dread of looking at him. When I opened them, however, I discovered a portly, good-natured looking man, with grey hair, dressed in full uniform, with some remains of a martial air; but not as the baroness had said, looking about forty, for the lines of age were very plainly marked upon his brow. His appearance was rather pleasing than otherwise, and he had a peculiarly agreeable voice. I felt disposed to love him for the soothing and courteous manner in which he spoke to the suffering Leopoldine. Far from seeming surprised or offended at her evident emotion, he only sought to relieve it by his own ease and apparent unconsciousness of the cause of it. The royal pair now walked towards the large folding door that led to the chapel; my eyes happened to meet those of Rose; they spoke as plainly as words could have done, "Now all hope is over.' The temporary office I held gave me the right of standing near the princess, and I took my station very close to the altar. She trembled violently as she kneeled down, and when I looked on that delicate frame sinking under the conflicting emotions that raged within, like a fair lily bending beneath some rude blast, it seemed to me almost impossible that her soul should not break through its earthly tenement, so much did the struggle appear to exceed her physical strength. It was a moment of painful suspense, which even now, after the long lapse of years, almost takes my breath away to think of; my eyes were rivetted upon her with an increasing anxiety, as she leaned her head upon her breast, and the death-like paleness of her face surpassed in whiteness even the white hand that hid her eyes. After a moment had been given her to compose herself, the king gently touched her arm, saying in that pleasant voice which had struck me so agreeably, " My dear Leopoldine, do look at your husband, I intreat you;" (and then in a lower voice, he added,)" in a short time you will love me as much as you now hate me." Without understanding this reasoning exactly, I turned round, as did the princess, and if astonishment could turn people to stone, I should have been long ago a statue, so great was my surprise at seeing my friend, Ernest von Hohenfels, kneeling beside the princess at the altar.

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"Good God, Ernest!" said she, in the utmost alarm, "what do I behold?"

"No, not Ernest any longer, but Prince Albert von -," said our lieutenant, with a look of transport," and here is my good father ready to give us his blessing."

Love, joy, surprise, and all their delightful train of tender emotions, seized on the heart of the fair princess in this one happy moShe rubbed her eyes to convince herself it was not a dream; but, no, there was Ernest, handsomer and tenderer than ever, before her enchanted sight, and that king, whom she had so dreaded, was

ment.

Ah! mo

smiling upon her with the most benevolent look possible. ments such as these occur but once in one's life; they are too tumultuous in their nature to admit of repetition, and happy are those who once have been permitted to taste them!

The ceremony now proceeded, and after its conclusion, as the exact march of events was not known to all those who did not immediately belong to the court, and who, from forming the outer circles, could hear nothing, the change in the princess's looks, as she walked out of the chapel, appeared truly miraculous. Those who before had whispered, "Handsome, but too pale," now gazed on her radiant countenance with the exclamation of "Beautiful! surpassingly beautiful!" And though no fairy had touched her with her wand, was it not the work of magic that had thus transformed her, through the agency of that great enchanter of all that we have surnamed Love? The good king embraced his daughter-in-law, tenderly saying, "Did I not promise you should cease to hate me?"

"Hate you!” cried Leopoldine; "your majesty could never believe me so perverse. Hate one so good-so generous !"

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Ay, so you say now that it is too late for me to profit by your kind intentions," rejoined the king smiling; "but my son has informed me to what a degree of animosity you carried your hatred. But, my dear Leopoldine, that is all as it should be, so do not look grave. I should have thought but poorly of your love for my Albert, had you come with a willing hand. Who knows if the provocation of such a proceeding might not have led me even to marry you, as punishment for such indifference?"

Leopoldine, anxious to obtain an insight into the events that seemed to her so little short of marvellous, now addressed some questions to the king, to the end of knowing by whose agency they had been brought about. Then followed the explanation that I was so anxious to learn. The marriage between Leopoldine and the young Prince Albert had, it seems, long been determined upon by their respective parents as a prudent measure of state. The elector had a tender, sensitive, and timid daughter, of a character eminently calculated to be easily overruled and rendered miserable. The king of had a son very difficult to curb, and not at all of a disposition to allow himself to be made unhappy. What was to be done? Why, to conciliate all interests, the king proposed to his son a plan by which he might see his future bride and win her affections without discovering himself. The little plot had a romantic turn about it that was sure to please Albert; the disguise was resolved upon, and he assumed the name and title of Lieutenant Ernest von Hohenfels, having first obtained from his father the assurance, that if the lady charmed him not, it would still be at his option to break off the match. The king, however, felt tolerably secure that he would not be called upon to fulfil this last-mentioned article of the treaty, as the fame of Leopoldine's beauty and accomplishments had long ago reached his ears. The elector being, of course, secretly apprised of the whole plan, left the young people to manage their affairs their own way, and affected to treat the pretended lieutenant in a manner suited to the character he had assumed, lest the refractory young prince should

deem his adventure quite spoiled by its having been intrusted to his future father-in-law. It was with pleasure that he perceived their growing attachment, although with a knowledge of the world which his bonhommie hardly made one give him credit for, he took care to thwart the lovers most adroitly by some one word or look which amused Albert and terrified poor Leopoldine. He has often since confessed to me that he had the greatest difficulty in restraining himself from telling the whole history when he saw Leopoldine's despair at the projected marriage. He had promised, however, to let things go their own way, and certainly the success of the whole scheme was complete. Albert could but fall in love with the fairest and loveliest of her sex when left quite free to retreat at his will, and was besides flattered by obtaining her affections in his humble disguise; while Leopoldine loved the lieutenant with a far more genuine affection than she could ever have entertained for the prince, had she first seen him as such, and viewed him in the light of the husband that she was compelled to accept. And when the good elector embraced his daughter for the last time, if he felt distressed at her grief, he was consoled at any rate by the idea that the little drama was drawing to its close, and would end to the satisfaction of all parties. Nor were his intentions frustrated, for the prince and princess promise to continue throughout their lives most tenderly attached, and present that rare phenomenon,-a happy royal couple.

As soon as Röschen and I found means to escape from our several duties, we hastened each to congratulate the other upon the princess's happiness; for Röschen, the most unselfish of all friends, felt her heart so full of joy at the unexpected event, that, as she said, she wanted some friend with whom she could share it. And I, too, was in such buoyant spirits that in our dear princess's name I embraced Röschen in a transport of loyalty. To say the truth, ever since the princess had been promised to the king of - I had begun to think that hazel eyes were the prettiest in the world, and my admiration for fair skins and light hair had, during our journey, given way to a more serious one for the sparkling vivacity of darker beauties. And here we seemed naturally thrown together, as the two people on earth, perhaps, who had taken the most lively interest in Leopoldine's sorrows, and who, now that the lovers were made happy, had nothing left to contrive except to begin the first volume of their own little romance. So throughout all the fêtes and amusements that took place in honour of the princess's nuptials, I was secretly paying my court to Röschen, although we artfully concealed it, no doubt in imitation of our royal mistress and her lover. When, however, the expiration of my leave of absence drew nigh there was a mutual uneasiness visible, that did not escape Leopoldine's penetration, and when she had learned the secret of our hearts by repeatedly questioning her young companion, she promised that nothing on her part should remain undone to forward my wishes. As Röschen was an orphan, there was no consent necessary but her own for the disposal of her hand; but the princess could not resolve, as she said, to part with all her friends at once; besides, as she kindly expressed it, she was determined to keep a hostage that would ensure my return. It is rare that even