’As if fate impelled her to her death, one day the Princess, as her guards turned out, and she was aware that the Prince was standing, as was his wont, on the landing, conversing with his gentlemen (in the old days he used to cross to the Princess’s apartment and kiss her hand)—­the Princess, who had been anxious all the morning, complaining of heat, insisting that all the doors of the apartments should be left open; and giving tokens of an insanity which I think was now evident, rushed wildly at the doors when the guards passed out, flung them open, and before a word could be said, or her ladies could follow her, was in presence of Duke Victor, who was talking as usual on the landing:  placing herself between him and the stair, she began apostrophising him with frantic vehemence:—­

’"Take notice, gentlemen!” she screamed out, “that this man is a murderer and a liar; that he lays plots for honourable gentlemen, and kills them in prison!  Take notice, that I too am in prison, and fear the same fate:  the same butcher who killed Maxime de Magny, may, any night, put the knife to my throat.  I appeal to you, and to all the kings of Europe, my Royal kinsmen.  I demand to be set free from this tyrant and villain, this liar and traitor!  I adjure you all, as gentlemen of honour, to carry these letters to my relatives, and say from whom you had them!” and with this the unhappy lady began scattering letters about among the astonished crowd.

’"Let no man Stoop!” cried the Prince, in a voice of thunder.  “Madame de Gleim, you should have watched your patient better.  Call the Princess’s physicians:  her Highness’s brain is affected.  Gentlemen, have the goodness to retire.”  And the Prince stood on the landing as the gentlemen went down the stairs, saying fiercely to the guard, “Soldier, if she moves, strike with your halbert!” on which the man brought the point of his weapon to the Princess’s breast; and the lady, frightened, shrank back and re-entered her apartments.  “Now, Monsieur de Weissenborn,” said the Prince, “pick up all those papers;” and the Prince went into his own apartments, preceded by his pages, and never quitted them until he had seen every one of the papers burnt.

’The next day the court Gazette contained a bulletin signed by the three physicians, stating that “her Highness the Hereditary Princess laboured under inflammation of the brain, and had passed a restless and disturbed night.”  Similar notices were issued day after day.  The services of all her ladies, except two, were dispensed with.  Guards were placed within and without her doors; her windows were secured, so that escape from them was impossible:  and you know what took place ten days after.  The church-bells were ringing all night, and the prayers of the faithful asked for a person in extremis.  A Gazette appeared in the morning, edged with black, and stating that the high and mighty Princess Olivia Maria Ferdinanda, consort of His Serene Highness Victor Louis Emanuel, Hereditary Prince of X——­, had died in the evening of the 24th of January 1769.