To the Queen, who had been scheming for years for this very object, Sastot could not well have brought better news.
“I shall at length see you happy and my wishes realized at the same time; how much joy at once.”
Such are the words which the Princess Wilhelmina records of her mother when breaking the news to her.
But the Princess, according to her own account, was by no means overjoyed at the intelligence:
“I kissed her hands,” says Wilhelmina, “which I covered with tears!”
“You are crying!” my mother exclaimed, “what is the matter?”
Here Wilhelmina becomes a little double-faced.
“I would not disturb her happiness,” she writes, “so I answered:
“The thought of leaving you distresses me more than all the crowns of the world could delight me.
“The Queen was only the more tender towards me in consequence, and then left me. I loved this dear mother truly, and had only spoken the truth to her,” she continues, “she left me in a terrible state of mind. I was cruelly torn between my affection for her and my repugnance for the Prince, but I determined to leave all to Providence, which should direct my ways.” Very pious of the Princess indeed!