This morning Humboldt came of his own accord to suggest that before going to lunch with the Princess of Prussia I should see the Island of the Peacocks, with its beautiful conservatories and curious menagerie. The King's boatmen and the overseers of the botanical gardens waited on me, and I brought back some splendid flowers. We reached the Princess of Prussia a little late. After lunch she took me in the pony chaise to see Glinicke, the pretty villa of Prince Charles, who is at this moment at the baths of Kreuznach with his wife. Thence I returned to Potsdam and to Berlin by the railway.
Berlin, July 3, 1840.—Madame de Perponcher came for me to-day at four o'clock. She took me through the rooms of her mother, the Countess of Reede, so that we avoided the crowd and were the first to reach the Court of Condolence which was held by the Queen at Berlin. She was seated on her throne in a room hung with black; the shutters were closed, and the room was lighted only by four large candles, according to old etiquette. The Queen wore a double veil, one streaming behind and the other lowered before her face; all the ladies were dressed in the same way, and it was impossible to distinguish faces. Each made a silent bow before the throne, and that was all. It was strangely sad and lugubrious, but a very noble and imposing ceremony. The men who passed before the throne were in uniform, with their faces uncovered, but any gold or silver on their uniforms was covered with black crape.
Berlin, July 5, 1840.—My stay at Berlin has now come to an end. I went to high mass this morning, a less meritorious act here than elsewhere, on account of the admirable music.
Herzberg, July 6, 1840.—I started this morning from Berlin by railway as far as Potsdam, where I stayed for lunch. When I got out of the train I found a footman with a very affectionate farewell letter from the Princess of Prussia. I have been spoilt to the last moment. I feel most deeply grateful, for every one has shown me a kindness and a cordiality which I had only experienced in England before now.
I have finished the Stories of the Merovingian Age, by M. Augustin Thierry. The book is not without interest or originality; as a picture of strange and unknown customs, it is valuable. I have begun the Dialogues of Fénelon on Jansenism, a book which is little known and almost forgotten, though admirably written, and sometimes as striking as the Provincial Letters.
Königsbruck, July 8, 1840.—I came here yesterday at six o'clock in the evening to see my niece, the Countess of Hohenthal. The lady of the place is taller, fairer, more intelligent, quite as pleasant, and in my opinion prettier and kinder than her sister, Frau von Lazareff. Her other sister, Fanny, is an excellent and cheerful character, and if her health were better she would be pretty. The Count of Hohenthal is a thorough gentleman who admires and adores his wife. Miss Harrison, once the governess of these ladies, is a prudent and loyal person who has acted as their mother, and is respected as such in the household. Königsbruck is a great house, rather vast than beautiful, at the entrance to a small town. Its position would be picturesque and the view agreeable if it were not almost choked by the outbuildings, which, in the German style, are placed far too near the castle. The country is a transition-point between the barrenness and flatness of Prussia and the rich productivity of Saxony.
The following is an extract from a letter from M. Royer-Collard, written from Paris when he was about to start for the Blésois: "Thiers came even to-day to sit down here in silence with M. Cousin, who represented the companion brother of the Jesuit. Thiers speaks very disdainfully of the Ministries which preceded his own, and modestly of his successes as Minister of the Interior; in any case, he is very kind to me."
Königsbruck, July 9, 1840.—To-day I went over the castle in detail. It might afford opportunity for beautification in several directions; but such is not the local taste, as the lords work their estates themselves and prefer the useful to the agreeable.
My niece had told me that the King and Queen of Saxony had expressed a wish to see me; I therefore wrote yesterday to Pillnitz, where the Court now is, to ask their Majesties for an interview. When the answer arrives I shall arrange for my departure.
My nieces generally spend their winters at Dresden, and told me that the French Minister, M. de Bussières, was in very bad odour there. He is regarded as an unpleasant character and in bad style. He has introduced some disagreeable customs, and deeply wounded the Queen by various tactless remarks concerning her. There is a general wish for his removal to some other diplomatic post.