not give up her game, but, wishing to test a
recipe in sorcery, offered the duke's valet a large
sum of money for a few drops of his master's
blood. The frightened servant denounced her,
and the duke ordered her to be arrested. A
colonel at the head of a troop of hussars
surprised her at one of her estates, and brought
her to the fortress of Urach. Here, she was
compelled to surrender all her estates but one,
for the sum of two hundred thousand florins,
and it was a particular stipulation in this treaty
that she was to give up the wedding-ring and
lock of hair that she had had from the duke. The
court was closed against her. After the death
of the duke, fearing the anger of his successor,
she went to Berlin.

During the reign of this prince, which lasted
more than half a century, the people were driven
to despair. They were plundered and oppressed
most shamefully; their despot even meddled
with their cultivation of the soil. In the year
after a famine, he compelled the farmers and
peasants to grow tobacco on a certain portion
of their land. Thousands went to America.

The son of the Duke Eberhard Lewis having
died before his father without issue, a distant
relative became Duke of Würtemberg under the
name of Charles Alexander. He was governor
of Belgrade in the Austrian service, and a
Catholic. He had been a soldier since his
fourteenth year, and was a fierce and angry man.
His government, distinguished itself by the
mischievousness of his factotum, a Jew, whom he
permitted to relieve the people of the little
that was left them by his predecessor. This
man, Joseph Levi Suess-Oppenheimer, was one of
the most remarkable upstarts of the eighteenth
century. He was born in Heidelberg, and
educated among the Jews of Frankfort. Thence he
went to Amsterdam and Vienna, making money
in both places, and then he became agent of the
commissariat during the Turkish wars under
Prince Eugene, and made the acquaintance of
the Duke of Würtemberg. The duke soon
made him agent for his court and privy-councillor
of the finances. He was an invaluable
man, who, if abused and kicked out of the room,
presented himself again, smiling, in a quarter
an hour. He was, indeed, a very able man
of business, and a very acute fellow. He looked
like a courtier who was not a Jew, lived in
splendid style, gave exquisite dinners, and
was a rake. Acting as agent to the Countess
Graevenitz, who was abroad, procured her for her
remaining landed property in Würtemberg, one
hundred and fifty thousand thalers: in which
affair he, of course, cheated her handsomely.
He set up three very profitable business offices.
In one of them, all the government places were
sold to the highest bidder. In the second,
justice was sold. By means of the third, which
was a banking and loan-office, he managed to
get hold of all the charitable and pious foundations.
Besides, he lent money on usurious terms,
and kept an extensive shop, from which the
courtiers had to take their dresses and decorations.
He also instituted a lottery, which proved
a great curse to the country. To fill the ever
empty purse of the duke, he monopolised the
coffee-houses, the trades in tobacco, grocery , and
wine, nay, even the chimney-sweeping
business. These trades he let to the best bidders,
mostly to people who lived out of Würtemberg.
He imposed a tax on property, on foreigners
living in Würtemberg, tor the protection they
enjoyed.

The duke cared only for his amusement. All
government officials were ordered to attend the
masquerades with their wives and grown-up
daughters, on pain of the loss of a quarter's
salary. The care of his soul, Duke Charles
Alexander left to the Jesuits, who proposed to
make the country Catholic, and the Jew Suess
had part in their conspiracy. This duke, who
had increased the army to ten thousand men
and two thousand horse, died suddenly, when
he was prepared to suppress the last forms of
public liberty. Amongst the people, half a
century afterwards, ghost stories, little to his
credit, frightened soldiers on guard near the
ducal tomb.

The Jew fled to the widowed duchess in
Stuttgard, but was arrested, and brought to
his own house, where rich booty was found. It
is said there were not less than three million in
gold, jewels, and other articles of virtù. Being
compelled to undress, he pulled off three shirts;
in the shirt next his skin, were found diamonds
worth ninety thousand florins; in his waistcoat,
many bills of exchange. In due time he was
hanged.

The widow of Duke Charles Alexander, was
Maria Augusta: a born princess of Thurmand
Taxis. Frederic the Great of Prussia sent her
the order of the Black Eagle as soon as he
ascended the throne; but his sister, the
Margravine of Baireuth, who has written highly
interesting memoirs, does not seem to be
delighted with her, and was probably a little
jealous. She wrote, when the gay duchess
was on a visit at her court in Baireuth: "In a
fortnight the whole court was altered. They
began to romp, to throw the napkins at each
other's heads; to run like escaped horses; and
at last they kissed each other, singing equivocal
songs.

The duchess lived for a time in Berlin, and
Baron Bielefeld gives an interesting account of
her. When he paid her his visit, he found
her lying on her bed in a most splendid
night-dress, surrounded by her three sons, some
ministers and courtiers, several chaplains and
doctors, and her lady of honour. Near her
head was standing a little golden vessel with
holy-water, and the room was decorated with
precious relics and a chaplet of the finest pearls.
Her dress and bed were trimmed with most
beautiful lace, and she wore a coquettish nightcap
of point d'Alençon, with a green and gold
ribbon. The baron remained alone with her
for a whole hour, after which she invited him to
dinner, begging his pardon in advance for dining
in her night-dress. The baron then had a
general invitation to dinner. Often the table was