from Paris. As I did not wish my "Sibyl" or the studies I had made of
the Emperor and Empress of Russia to be unrolled, my carriage was put
under seal, and at last I was able to get to bed. Early next day I
sent for M. Ranspach, my banker, who settled all my difficulties with
the custom-house.

Three days sufficed to rest me from the fatigues of my journey, and I
was feeling much better when the Queen of Prussia, who was then absent
from Berlin, was kind enough to request my presence at Potsdam, where
she desired me to do her portrait. I went. But my pen is incapable of
rendering the impression which the first sight of that Princess made
upon me. The beauty of her heavenly face, that expressed benevolence
and goodness, and whose features were so regular and delicate, the
loveliness of her figure, neck, and arms, the exquisite freshness of
her complexion--all was enchanting beyond anything imaginable. She was
in deep mourning, and wore a coronet of black jet, which, far from
being to her disadvantage, brought out the dazzling whiteness of her
skin. One must have seen the Queen of Prussia in order to understand
how bewitched I was when I first beheld her.

She made an appointment for the first sitting. "I cannot," she said,
"give it to you before noon, because the King reviews the troops at
ten every morning and likes me to attend." She wanted to lodge me in
the palace, but, knowing that this must inconvenience one of her
ladies, I declined with thanks and took quarters in a neighbouring
hotel, where I was very badly off in every way.

My stay at Potsdam was nevertheless a veritable delight to me, for the
more I saw of that charming Queen the more was I sensible to the
privilege of being in her company. She seemed to wish to see the
studies I had made of the Emperor Alexander and the Empress Elizabeth;
I promptly brought them to her, as well as my "Sibyl," which I had
stretched. I cannot say how graciously she praised this picture. She
was so friendly and so kind that the feeling she inspired was
altogether one of affection. I look back with pleasure upon all the
marks of favour that Her Majesty showered upon me, even in the
slightest matters. For instance: I was in the habit of taking coffee
of a morning, and in my hotel it was always atrocious. Somehow I told
the Queen about this, and the next day she sent me some that was
excellent. Another time, when I complimented her on her bracelets,
which were in the antique st