"I don't fancy he will like that—coming from me," she said, "but it was the only thing I could think of doing."
I asked Count Blücher when he thought the war would end, and he said: "When Russia is spent." I said that sounded rather pessimistic.
"No," he said. "I think we can wear her out and then get a port on the Baltic...."
Dined last night with Countess Götzen. I sat between a Spaniard and Prince Christian of Hesse. The Spaniard was a detestable little thing, and Prince Christian had tonsilitis and thought he was going to die, so I didn't get much entertainment out of him, either. Later on we changed seats and I drew a fat and pleasant Bavarian, who had known my aunt in America. I asked him what his name was and he said they called him "Booby." I said I might get to that in time but I had to have something else to tide me over. After a few Christian names, I ran him down to his visiting card and Baron von Papius.
Had tea with Countess Sehr-Thoss, an American. She is charming. When I admired an old painting on her drawing-room wall, she said: "Yes. I bought that with 2,000 marks sent me by my old uncle to buy eggs. He wrote he heard in America we were paying five dollars apiece for eggs and thought I might not be able to afford them!"
The Duchess of Croy came bounding in, looking most exuberant and American. I liked her, she is so unaffected....
VII—WHEN THE CZARINA BURST INTO TEARS
June 10th.
Saw Fräulein Marelle and Fräulein Schulhoff, of the Lyceum Club, this morning. They were telling us stories of the invasion of East Prussia.... One lady, whom Fräulein Marelle knows, a Frau von Bieberstein, had her château cut to ribbons. Her tapestry chairs were sliced up with knives, her china and mirrors broken, her beautiful chapel knocked to pieces, her bed ripped up and the feathers scattered from garret to cellar. It was rather queer to hear this tale from a German woman after Mme. Huard's tale of the wreck of her château in northern France by the Germans.