dying man, sang with him the
evening song and the penitential hymn, and passed the night, armed with
pistols and other weapons, in the castle. As soon as the vassal had
closed his eyes, he entered the room, and according to the old usage
took possession of the vacant fief, and seating himself in a red velvet
arm-chair, said: "I hereby take possession of my third share, without
prejudice to the two-thirds of my brothers." He then called in his
attendants as witnesses, and according to the prescribed usage, struck
his hand forcibly on the table, so that a jug upset, symbolical of the
moveable property, and caused a chip to be cut out of the door of the
chamber of death, and of the dining-room. After this he swore into his
service all who had not fled; he then rode out, cut splinters from the
oak wood, and bits of turf from the meadows, as further tokens of
having taken possession, and went back to Meiningen. But when he
returned to the castle, he found the gates closed and guarded by
grenadiers, and all his threats and protestations were of no avail.

He afterwards wished to take his wife and children to one of his own
possessions, and lead a peaceable life at home. But such was not his
happy lot. His brothers obtained a decision from the Imperial high
court of judicature, according to which he was not to take his wife and
children into the country of his fathers, and if he should venture to
do so, he was never to usurp for them the title of princes. He now
however went himself to Vienna and so worked there, with the help of
large sums of money, and through the medium of his military
acquaintances--the Spanish minister, the Marquis of Perlas was his
supporter--that the Emperor Charles VI. raised his wife Philippine to
the dignity of Princess of the holy Roman Empire, and her sons and
daughters to be dukes and duchesses of Saxony, with all the privileges
and rights, _i.e_. those of the succession.

Against this, the whole house of Saxony, and those of Hohenzollen and
Hesse, who were interested by the settlement of succession, rose in
opposition. At first, however, Anthony Ulrich was victor. His eldest
brother died, and the second was a weak man. So he became in 1729, the
real ruler of the country. Then he brought his wife and eldest son
under the ducal roof at Meiningen. For eleven years the stubborn prince
rejoiced in having established his own will. But the struggle with his
house had embittered him; and added to restle