A Glimpse of Three Crowned Heads [pp. 446-452]

448 XA GLIMPSE OF THREE CROWNED HEADS. [MAY,
and holding the highest places under
their respective Princes.
I had once heard Madame describe
how George IV., of England, had been
received in Hanover by "twelve maid ens, dressed in spotless white," the fair est of whom had presented, on bended
knee, some address or other, on a white
satin cushion, to his Majesty. So I
ventured to suggest that on this occasion three dozen white-clad females
might have met the princely visitors at
the entrance of the allde leading to Wilhelmsbad.
"But, my dear child," spoke Madame,
a little loftily, "am I not trying to impress
on your mind that this was only a friendly
meeting-a family-gathering, you might
say of these monarchs? There was
no particularly important political question on the tafis just then; perhaps the
crowned heads composing the Holy Alliance barely whispered to each other
congratulations on the successful banishment of Napoleon to St. Helena. At
least, ostensibly, it was merely a family
reunion, and the visitors went their respective ways the next day. The son
and heir-apparent of our Elector, you
must know- the Kur-Prinz, afterward
William II. -was married to a sister of
Frederick William III., of Prussia; and
the Kitr-Prinzessint was present at
Wilhelmsbad, with the two flax-headed
little princesses and the princeling, Frederick William I.
"After the review had been held at
Wilhelmsbad, the visitors withdrew to
their private apartments; and at three
o'clock dinner was served in the great
Kur-saal. Only the immediate members of the Elector's family dined at the
same table with the royal guests; all
others, whose rank or position in the
service entitled them to an occasional
invitation to the Elector's table, were on
this day seated at the Marschalls-tafel
a table spread in a room adjoining the
Kur-saal. The etiquette obs~erved at a
dinner like this would seem ridiculous
to an American. Of course, no one can
sit opposite to a crowned head-they
occupy seats on one side of the table
only-and such a thing as passing in
front of them is simply impossible. I
have told you that to my brother was
assigned the duty of acting as page to
the Czar of Russia; but you must not
imagine that he was allowed the honor
of setting a single dish before his Majesty. Behind the chair of each potentate stood a Court Chamberlain-the
Chamberlain's key attached to his coatbutton; behind him stood the page;
next came a valet de chiambre, and then
a lackey. Through all these hands -
gloved, and armed with a napkin-did
every plate, every platter, every dish
pass, before reaching the diner. And
still they could eat with a hearty appetite, and even talked and laughed, just
as common mortals would have done at
the table.
"After dinner they went into an adjoining room, where the guests from the
Aarschalls-tafel were admitted, and introduced to the visitors. Not in an official, ceremonious way, by any means,
but while the servants were moving
through the rooms, presenting coffee to
the assembled guests. I have forgotten
to say that King Frederick William III.
had with him his Crown Prince, the
brother of the present King of Prussia.
Let me tell you a little instance that occurred, right here, to show you that they
are always glad to step down from the
throne, lay aside the sceptre, and give
expression to the feelings and emotions
they have in common with other men.
The Chamberlain announced that the
son of a well-to-do peasant from the
neighborhood was anxious to be led before the King of Prussia. The man had
served in the'German Army of Liberation' against Napoleon, and had returned to his native village after the close of
the war. He was at once admitted, and