t was anything but attractive, but was the most valuable in the
collection. The Czar admired it very much, and insisted on the
Czarina kissing it. On her refusing, he said to her in bad German
that she should lose her head if she did not at once obey him. Being
terrified at the Czar's anger she immediately complied with his
orders without the least hesitation. The Czar asked the King to give
him this and other statues, a request which he could not refuse. The
same thing happened about a cupboard, inlaid with amber. It was the
only one of its kind, and had cost King Frederick I. an enormous sum,
and the consternation was general on its having to be sent to
Petersburg.

This barbarous Court happily left after two days. The Queen rushed
at once to Monbijou, which she found in a state resembling that of
the fall of Jerusalem. I never saw such a sight. Everything was
destroyed, so that the Queen was obliged to rebuild the whole house.

Nor are the Margravine's descriptions of her reception as a bride in the
principality of Baireuth less amusing. Hof was the first town she came
to, and a deputation of nobles was waiting there to welcome her. This is
her account of them:

Their faces would have frightened little children, and, to add to
their beauty, they had arranged their hair to resemble the wigs that
were then in fashion. Their dresses clearly denoted the antiquity of
their families, as they were composed of heirlooms, and were cut
accordingly, so that most of them did not fit. In spite of their
costumes being the 'Court Dresses,' the gold and silver trimmings
were so black that you had a difficulty in making out of what they
were made. The manners of these nobles suited their faces and their
clothes. They might have passed for peasants. I could scarcely
restrain my laughter when I first beheld these strange figures. I
spoke to each in turn, but none of them understood what I said, and
their replies sounded to me like Hebrew, because the dialect of the
Empire is quite different from that spoken in Brandenburg.

The clergy also presented themselves. These were totally different
creatures. Round their necks they wore great ruffs, which resembled
washing baskets. They spoke very slowly, so that I might be able to
understand them better. They said the most foolish things, and it