exion was in the bloom of its exquisite beauty, painted
by nature as softly as were the roses she gathered and enjoyed. The
princess was tall and slight, and graceful in all her movements. This
grace was not merely external; it rose from the inner depths of a pure
and noble mind, and therefore was full of soul.

On their return to Darmstadt, the capital of Princess George of Hesse,
Louisa's grandmother, the princesses met the King of Prussia and his
sons at Frankfort. It was an eventful day. The crown prince, later
Frederick William III., whose "age was in sorrow, whose hope in God," as
his motto runs, was captivated by the loveliness of Louisa. Long years
after her death he revealed his feelings at that momentous hour to
Bishop Eylert, his spiritual friend and comforter in sorrow, referring
to Schiller's words in The Bride of Messina:

"So strangely, mysteriously, wonderfully
Her presence seized upon my inner life;
'Twas not the magic of that lovely smile,
'Twas not the charm which hover'd o'er her cheek,
Not yet the radiance of her sylph-like form;
It was the pure deep secret of her being
Which held and fettered me with holy might.
Like magic powers that blend mysteriously,
Our twin souls seemed without one spoken word
To spring together, spirit stirred to blend
As we together breathed the air of heaven.
Stranger to me, yet inwardly akin,
Beloved at once I felt graved on my heart
'Tis she, or none on earth."

On April 24, 1793, the double betrothals between the two royal sons of
Prussia and the two Mecklenburg princesses were celebrated at Darmstadt.
At the encampment of Mainz, Goethe saw the royal brothers and their
fiancees walking through the canvas streets. Hidden in his own tent he
was entranced by their charms: "Amid all the terrible and tumultuous
memories of the war, the recollection of those two young ladies rises up
before me like a heavenly vision, which having been once seen can never
be forgotten." Princess Louisa may not even have known of Goethe's
presence in the camp, but she knew his works well and admired especially
his shorter poems. She certainly cherished the recollection of her stay
in the great poet's house at Frankfort, in recognition of which Prince
Charles Frederick of Mecklenburg had presented to Frau Goethe, as a
token of thanks, a beautiful snuffbox which was to her almost a