),
who had the key of her cassette, and carried every one of these epistles
to Geldern.

'With the exception that no public receptions were held, the ceremony of
the Princess's establishment went on as before. Her ladies were allowed
to wait upon her and perform their usual duties about her person.
The only men admitted were, however, her servants, her physician and
chaplain; and one day when she wished to go into the garden, a heyduc,
who kept the door, intimated to her Highness that the Prince's orders
were that she should keep her apartments.

'They abut, as you remember, upon the landing of the marble staircase
of Schloss X----; the entrance to Prince Victor's suite of rooms being
opposite the Princess's on the same landing. This space is large, filled
with sofas and benches, and the gentlemen and officers who waited upon
the Duke used to make a sort of antechamber of the landing-place, and
pay their court to his Highness there, as he passed out, at eleven
o'clock, to parade. At such a time, the heyducs within the Princess's
suite of rooms used to turn out with their halberts and present to
Prince Victor--the same ceremony being performed on his own side, when
pages came out and announced the approach of his Highness. The pages
used to come out and say, "The Prince, gentlemen!" and the drums beat in
the hall, and the gentlemen rose, who were waiting on the benches that
ran along the balustrade.

'As if fate impelled her to her death, one day the Princess, as her
guards turned out, and she was aware that the Prince was standing, as
was his wont, on the landing, conversing with his gentlemen (in the
old days he used to cross to the Princess's apartment and kiss her
hand)--the Princess, who had been anxious all the morning, complaining
of heat, insisting that all the doors of the apartments should be left
open; and giving tokens of an insanity which I think was now evident,
rushed wildly at the doors when the guards passed out, flung them open,
and before a word could be said, or her ladies could follow her, was
in presence of Duke Victor, who was talking as usual on the landing:
placing herself between him and the stair, she began apostrophising him
with frantic vehemence:--

'"Take notice, gentlemen!" she screamed out, "that this man is a
murderer and a liar; that he lays plots for honourable gentlemen, and
kills them in prison! Take notice, that I too am in prison, and fear the
same fate: the same butcher who k