es you know; Oranienburg
and worse!"

Here is a crisis. But her Majesty did not want firmness. "Write to
England? Yes, willingly. But as to Weissenfels and Schwedt, whatever
answer come from England,--Impossible!" steadily answers her Majesty.
There was much discourse, suasive, argumentative; Grumkow "quoting
Scripture on her Majesty, as the Devil can on occasion," says
Wilhelmina. Express Scriptures, _Wives, be obedient to your husbands,_
and the like texts: but her Majesty, on the Scripture side too, gave
him as good as he brought. "Did not Bethuel the son of Milcah, [Genesis
xxiv. 14-58.] when Abraham's servant asked his daughter in marriage for
young Isaac, answer, _We will call the damsel and inquire of her mouth.
And they called Rebecca, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this
man? And she said, I will go."_ Scripture for Scripture, Herr von
Grumkow! "Wives must obey their husbands; surely yes. But the husbands
are to command things just and reasonable. The King's procedure is
not accordant with that law. He is for doing violence to my Daughter's
inclination, and rendering her unhappy for the rest of her days;--will
give her a brutal debauchee," fat Weissenfels, so describable in strong
language; "a younger brother, who is nothing but the King of Poland's
Officer; landless, and without means to live according to his rank. Or
can it be the State that will profit from such a marriage? If they have
a Household, the King will have to support it.--Write to England; Yes;
but whatever the answer of England, Weissenfels never! A thousand times
sooner see my child in her grave than hopelessly miserable!" Here a
qualm overtook her Majesty; for in fact she is in an interesting state,
third month of her time: "I am not well; You should spare me, Gentlemen,
in the state I am in.--I do not accuse the King," concluded she: "I
know," hurling a glance at Grumkow, "to whom I owe all this;"--and
withdrew to her interior privacies; reading there with Wilhelmina "the
King's cruel Letter," and weeping largely, though firm to the death.
[Wilhelmina, i. 179-182. Dubourgay has nothing,--probably had heard
nothing, there being "silence under pain of death" for the moment.]

What to do in such a crisis? Assemble the Female Parliament, for one
thing: good Madam Finkenstein (old Tutor's wife), good Mamsell
Bulow, Mamsell Sonsfeld (Wilhelmina's Governess), and other faithful
women:--well if we can keep away traitresses, female spies that ar