"On September 8 our little Marie will be two years old, but she might easily pass for three, for her mental and physical development is far more mature than that of most children of two years old. You ought to see my little daughter now, my dear parents. You would certainly take as great a pleasure in her as we do ourselves; she already speaks three languages—Roumanian, German, and, above all, English; is very independent, runs about alone, calls everybody by his proper name, and on Sundays goes to the chapel of the Monastery, where she keeps quite quiet during the service. Her character is amiable and gentle; she obeys every order, and gives up all her little possessions with pleasure."
The birthday of the little Princess was celebrated in the same way as the year before, with the ceremony of breaking a cake over her little fair head, and with serenades, and fireworks. The childlike grace and charm with which her Serene Highness accepted the homage captivated all hearts.
To the German Crown Prince, October 8th, 1872.
"We have been permitted, after many storms, to spend a quiet and happy summer, admiring nature and art, and visited by people of all kinds and of all nationalities—mutable and merry, despite the stillness of the cloister surrounded by giant mountains. Even a few Englishmen put in an appearance, and I gave them the heartier welcome for the hope that they will now spread healthier ideas about Oriental countries amongst their fellow countrymen. Unfortunately the shade of Palmerston still moves amongst England's diplomatists, and her inhabitants are more Turkish than the Turks themselves, which fact you will be able to estimate correctly, as you are acquainted with Turkish rule. I have said this to all who came, and I hope that the Foreign Office will acquire a more just appreciation, particularly of the territories of the Danube."
From the German Crown Prince, October 28th, 1872.
"We fared very well during the summer; my wife and I and our two youngest children enjoyed the Alps in Berchtesgaden and Salzburg, a region which we find extraordinarily attractive.
"There, as in the whole of South Germany, where later on I inspected troops, a reception was prepared for me as hearty and brilliant as any in the old Mother Country. The feeling of cohesion amongst all German races since the re-establishment of the German Empire has spread in those parts extraordinarily, broadly, and quickly. All feel themselves elevated and strengthened; they see themselves as members of a nation which commands a respect such as the former thirty Fatherlands could never have commanded. The enemies of our union, against whom we struggle, cannot prevail in face of this political power, but they will leave no means of damaging it untried. Only we must not make a mistake in our choice of weapons, for otherwise we shall make martyrs of our opponents, and shall reap neither thanks nor advantage."
From Prince Charles Anthony, November 26th, 1872.
"The burning question in the new German Empire is the Church. This question is making a great stir and embittering family life; it undoubtedly points to future danger, since the Ultramontane Party will use it as a lever to intrigue against the new German Empire and the Protestant Emperor. Simply to oppose Germany, France is highly in favour of Rome and everything connected with it, and so she is enlisting the sympathies of our Ultras, who believe, or wish to have it believed, that France is the only sanctuary of Catholicism, and that Prussia's policy is universal evangelisation. This tendency in France is at present a means of agitation, inspired by revenge and not by the glorification of the Church.