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Natalie Frelin von Stackelberg, The Life of Carmen Sylva (Queen of Roumania), 1890

Page 25: During the life of the Prince of Wied she spent many months of the year at Monrepos. After his death Fräulein Lavater went to live with the Princess of Wied, where she ended her days as the beloved friend and member of the household. The great peculiarities of character of the Princess Elizabeth from earliest youth were pity, truthfulness, and great independence. Already in her childish years at her mother’s side she learnt to understand the troubles and misery of the poor people. Her heart was so much touch by all the distress she saw that she naturally gave everything away which she, in her childish mind, thought she could spare.

Page 26: During their stay in Bonn an ever-extending circle of artists and savants assembled at the house of the Prince of Wied, which increased and remained intimate with them afterwards as well at Neuwied as at Monrepos. Intellectual intercourse and exchange of thought was the delight of the princely pair.

Page 27: They were so cultivated themselves that they attracted men of art and science. We met, besides E.M. Arndt, Bunsen, Neuhomm, Clemens Perthes, Jakob Berneys, and later Lessing, Sohn, Anton Springe, etc. The present Crown Prince of Germany, the Prince of Waldeck, and the Dukes Frederick and Christian of Augustenburg, who were particular friends of the Crown Prince, were then studying at Boon. These young Princes came almost daily to the Vinea Domini, the house inhabited by the Prince of Wied. Notwithstanding her delicate state, the young Princess of Wied arranged lectures and had evenings devoted to the study of Shakespeare and acting. She and her friends gave lectures and translated and wrote poetry. At Bonn, Princess Elizabeth saw the first Roumanians. They were the brothers Sturdza, who visited the University there. From them she learnt many a Roumanian word.

In the summer of this year came the departure of the Prince of Wied, who made a journey to North America and Cuba in 1852-53 for the sake of his health. HIs brother-in-law, Prince Nicolas of Nassau, accompanied him. The interesting letters, full of ideal feelings, which he wrote to his wife were published in Gelzer’s magazine.

Page 28: Dr. Gelzer says of them: — “The Prince here describes the imposing impressions of the New World with his brilliant wit, with the deep feeling of the historian and philosophy, and with the independent thought of a great thinker.” In May 1853 the Prince of Wied returned to Germany. Shortly before his arrival he wrote to his wife: — “The advantages of this journey are still of a doubtful nature, for one should be young and fresh and well in order to find any satisfaction in traveling. But my thoughts rest in the past; my future lies in the children and in the happiness of those whom I love. The contentment that nature affords me here is limited. The internal satisfaction that is impressed on the surroundings of home is wanting. Whether my journey has ben of any definite use can only be judged with certainty hereafter. At any rate it was a great change in the ordinary course of my life, and that is a good effect.”

Page 29: In June 1854 the family of the Prince of Wied were able to return from Paris to Monrepos. The Princess of Wied was quite restored to health, and had returned with the gift of healing, as she had been healed. Many of the sick and suffering came to her, to Neuwied and Monrepos. Her gentle hand and her deep sympathy have, by this mysterious healing power, always had a blessed influence over the sufferers.

Page 38: The sojourn of the family in Monrepos was constantly lengthened because of the increasing illness of the Prince of Wied. The surroundings seemed eminently fitted for the residence of a man who was happiest in the immediate circle of his own family, and who gladly gave himself up to the study of theology and philosophy.

Page 50: Now came days and years full of sorrow. Her father was always ill, her mother occupied in absorbing duties, the sufferings of her little brother meanwhile increasing. During the long agony of this beloved son, when the Princess had to give herself entirely up to nursing him, Princess Elizabeth passed many hours in her father’s study. That a man like the Prince of Wied, in whose mind and mode of thought, mysticism and naturalism, romantic and rationalistic ideas are united in a peculiar manner, should have a great influence over the mental progress of his daughter, was very natural. Sometimes she was allowed to work with him, to copy out for him, to read to him. Then the Prince would ask many questions of the child, which had been raised through reading his book “On the Unconscious Life of the Soul.” He wished to se if she understood what he had written, and was happy in the impression made on the mind and heart of his daughter. If she could catch his train of thought he often said, “So now it is clear! then so it can remain.”

Page 57: Soon after this, in the year 1861, Professor Busch came to Neuwied for a consultation. His decision was most affecting. Not only did the state of the little Prince seem hopeless, but the health of the Prince of Wied gave rise to the greatest anxiety. Neither could recover; it was only a question of time.

Page 62: In January 1862 the Prince of Wied became so dangerously ill that he could not leave his bed. Princess Elizabeth nurse her father, whose sufferings were added to by increasing deafness. The mother sat day and night by the couch of her courageous son, who was so strong in faith, and saw her child slowly dying, under the most dreadful sufferings. Prince Otto had an ardent wish to se his beloved brother William once more. A telegram was sent to Basle. But the answer was that the Prince had the measles and could not travel. At first the Princess did not dare to communicate this answer to Prince Otto. But in the night he asked again after his brother, and had to learn the truth. He cried out: “My William! My William, is he to be taken from me too?” After that he was quiet and said, “If it is not to be, it is well.” And then he kept repeating, “Send him my blessing.”

Page 63: Extract from a letter from the Prince of Wied. “According to his wish, Prince Otto was buried on a hill not far from Monrepos, under the shade of high lime trees. His memory will be glorified in our recollections, and this holy memory, this communion with the dead, is all that remains to us. An incorruptible legacy, which makes us rich, notwithstanding our endless loss.”

Page 69: The state of health of the Prince of Wied necessitated another sojourn in Baden-Baden. Then the winter of 1862-1863 was passed. In order to introduce Princess Elizabeth to society their house was opened to a larger circle.

Page 85: Princess Elizabeth now felt stronger, and began her life with the Grand Duchess again. She was, however, suddenly seized by a relapse of the illness she had just had. It was a sad and anxious time for the Princess of Wied, and the days of trial were almost more than she could bear, for the Prince of Wied lay on his deathbed, and his strength was slowly ebbing away. She writes: — “My child is ill at a great distance from me, and, for the first time, I am not there to nurse her. I know she is in God’s care, and nursed by loving and faithful people. But that does not take the load of anxiety off my heart.”

Page 87: It seemed as if Princess Elizabeth would now soon get strong. But the news of her father’s death reached her in a few days. The Prince of Wied had passed a winter of acute suffering at Baden. When free from pain he had dictated an essay “On the Mystery of Human Individualities.” He had written to his daughter for the last time shortly before his death, and answered some questions she had made about his book, “The Unconscious Life of the Soul.” His strength was waning slowly, and on the 5th of March 1865 he had ceased to suffer. The mortal remains were brought up to Monrepos, a large procession following, and lie under the lime trees, beside those of his son, who died so early. The Princess of Wid wrote his epitaph in the following words: — “Made perfect through Suffering, and patient in Hope, Of a fearless Spirit and strong in Faith, His mind turn towards Heavenly things, He serrated for truth and a knowledge of God. What he humbly sought in Life He, being set free, has now found in the Light.”

Page 99: Meanwhile the widow Princess of Wied made use of her practical talents by attending to the affairs of her son, who had not yet attained his majority. Prince William had left the College at Basle, and was now to start on a journey to the East (1865-1866). His mother had asked the Crown Prince of Prussia to recommend a military gentleman to her to accompany the Prince on his travels. He named his friend and playfellow, General Mischke, who was then a captain. The architect, Professor Rachel, who afterwards became Director of the Schools of Art in Karlsruhe, was the Prince’s scientific companion. Accompanied by these two gentlemen the Prince traveled through Italy to Egypt. There he met Prince Anton of Hohenzollern, and they proceeded together on their journey through Syria and Palestine, Constantinople and Greece. In Athens, however, they received orders to join the army, and hurried back to Germany, where the Prince of Wied was attached to the staff of the Crown Prince. The war with Austria was soon over, but Prince Anton of Hohenzollern was not to see his country again. He died of his wounds soon after the battle of Königgratz.

Page 169: The Princess of Wied no longer lived at Monrepos with Fräulein Lavater. The Prince of Wied and his bride had made their home there. Only ten minutes’ distance from there, and nearly on the same height, the Princess had had a house built for herself. It is surrounded by woods, and has a beautiful view on the Rhine, the mountains, towns, and villages. After the village of Segendorf, which lies at the foot of the hill, the house of the Princess was called Segen House. By means of the silent, all-pervading spirit of love that reigns there, and the loving and active sympathy of the Princess for all suffering and those who were in need of help, the house soon became a real “Segenhaus” (House of blessing) to all who cross its hospitable threshold. The current of intellectual life has also accompanied the Princess of Wied to her new home.

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Lucchesini, History of the Causes and Effects of the Confederation of the Rhine, 1821

By Nassau. Their Most Serene Highnesses the Dukes of Nassau Usingen and Nassau-Weilbourg, over the bailiwicks of Dierdorf, Altenwied, Neuenbourg, that part of the county of Isenbourg appertaining to the Prince of Wied-Runkel, the counties of Wied-Neuwied and of Holzapfel, the seigniory of Schaumbourg, the county of Diez and its dependencies, that part of the village of Munzfalden appertaining to the Prince of Nassau-Fould, the bailiwick of Wehrheim and Bourbach, that part of the seigniory of Runkel situated to the left of the Lahn, the equestrian lands of Krausberg; and lastly, the bailiwicks of Hohen-Solms, Solms-Braunfels, and Greifenstein.

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The Annual Register for the year 1806, 1808

Art. XXIV. The members of the confederation shall exercise all the rights of sovereignty henceforward as follow: ….. Nassau Using and Nassau Weilburg, over the manors of Diersdorf, Altenwied, Neursburg, and the part of the county of Bassenbprg, which belongs to the prince of Wied Runkel, over the counties of Nouwied and Holzapsel, the lordship of Schomburg, the county of Diez and its dependencies, over that part of the village of Metzfelden, which appertains to the prince of Nassau Fulda, the manors of Werham and Balbach, that part o the lordship of Runkel, situate on the left bank of the Dalur, over the equestrian possessions of Kransberg, and, lastly, over the manors of Solms Braunfels, Hohen Solms, and Greifenstein.

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Henry Robert Addison, The Rhine: Its Banks and Environs, 1839

Neuwied is built in a delightful situation, and in the midst of the most beautiful scenery. It is one of the most modern towns in Germany, having been built in 1737. Before the recent modifications of the Rhenish provinces, Neuwied was the capital of a sovereign prince of the name of Wied, whose family, which still exists, is one of the most ancient in Germany, and has furnished several electoral princes to the Empire. The present prince is no longer a sovereign, but a dependant of the king of Prussia, and Neuwied forms part of the GrandDuchy of the Lower Rhine. The town is remarkable for the neatness and regularity of its streets, which are 35 or 40 feet in breadth, and cross each other at right angles: presenting a striking contrast with the venerable and ruinous appearance of Andernach. The house of the prince of Wied, situated at the extremity of the town, near the Rhine, is a handsome building, and contains an interesting collection of Roman antiquities, discovered in the neighbourhood. To this must be added the rich cabinet of natural history, composed chiefly of the articles brought over from Brazil by prince Maximilian Alexander of Neuwied.

But the most remarkable feature of Neuwied, is the harmony in which sectarians of every religion reside. This happy fraternity is due to the exertions of the prince Alexander, a man whose liberal mind was superior to vulgar prejudice. By a decree issued in 1762 he offered an asylum to persons of every religious denomination, on the simple condition of living on amicable terms one with another, and banishing all theological discussions. The result of this truly enlightened offer was, that Lutherans, Calvinists, Moravians, Catholics, Jews, etc. crowded to Neuwied, where they erected places of worship, and gave to this little town the interesting spectacle of perfect concord and harmony between persons of such different religious opinions.

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Cobbett’s Political Register, 1802

In consequence, after having examined with the most scrupulous care all the memorials, both upon the value of the losses, and upon the demand of indemnities presented by the parties interested, it has been agreed to propose, that the indemnities shall be distributed in the following manner …… To the Prince of Wied-Runkel — For the county of Creang, the county of Altwied, with the reservation of the bailiwicks of Linz and Unkel.

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Truth: Entre Nous, 1907

The Prince of Wied, who died at Neuwied last week, was one of the richest of the German mediatised Princes. He inherited very large and valuable family estates in the Rhine provinces, and he married the only daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands, who had an immense fortune. The Prince of Wied, who was a persona grata at the Court of Berlin, was for many years President of the Upper House of the Prussian Diet. He was a brother of the Queen of Roumania, and a first cousin of the Duchess of Albany. The new Prince of Wied is married to the only child of the King of Wurttemberg, and the Princess, though her mother, is a niece of the Duchess of Albany.

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Cobbett’s Weekly Political Register: Confederation of the Rhine, 1806

Nassau Usingen, and Nassau Wilbur, over the Manors of Diersdorf, Atenwied, Neursburgh, and the part of the county of Bassenburgh, which belongs to the prince of Wied Runkel, over the counties of Neuwied and Holzap el, the lordship of Schomburg, the county of Diez and its dependencies, over that part of the village of Metzfelden, which appertains to the prince of Nassau Fulda, the Manors of Werhem and Balbech, that part of the lordship of Runkel, situate on the left bank of the Dalur, over the equestrian possessions of Kransberg, and, lastly, over the manors of Solms Braunfels, Hohen Solms, and Greifenstein.

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Maximilian Wied, Travels in the Interior of North America, 1843

IMMENSE additions have been made of late years to our knowledge of the extensive continent of North America. A large portion of that country, which, only a few years ago, was covered with almost uninterrupted primeval forests, and a scanty, scattered population of rude barbarians, has been converted, by the influx of emigrants from the Old World, into a rich and flourishing State, for the most part civilized, and almost as well known and cultivated as Europe itself. Large and flourishing towns, with fine public institutions of every kind, have risen rapidly, and every year adds to their number. Animated commerce, unfettered, unlimited industry, have caused this astonishing advance of civilization in the United States. The tide of emigration is impelled onwards, wave upon wave, and it is only the sterility of the North-west that can check the advancing torrent.

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Archibald Alison, History of Europe, 1843

Roused, at length, from his ruinous inactivity at Lyons by the repeated exhortations of the emperor, Augereau, in the beginning of March, put himself in motion in the direction evidently pointed out by the strategical operations going forward on the banks of the Seine. Dessaix and Marchand made a combined attack on the Austrian positions in front of Geneva; and, after a series of obstinate engagements, drove them back into that town, with the loss of a thousand men. Fort Ecluse was captured next day; and the victorious French, of following up their successes by the capture of Geneva, or extending themselves along the margin of the Leman Lake, were directed by Jourdan to attack the corps of Lichtenstein, which lay in the neighborhood of Besançon. This diversion of force saved Geneva, and extricated Bubna from great difficulties. Meanwhile, the powerful reserves which the allies were directing towards the Saone, under Bianchi, from the rear of the Grand Army, compelled Augereau to concentrate his forces, and direct them to the right bank of the Rhone, in order to make head against them and cover Lyons. With this view, he collected the bulk of his forces from both banks of the river at Lons-le-Saulnier, and gradually fell back towards Lyons, which he reentered on the 9th of March. The exposed situation of an Austrian detachment at Maçon induced him, two days afterward, to order an attack by Musnier on that town; but Bianchi, advancing in person to its support, opened a warm fire from thirty pieces of artillery on the attacking column, and they were defeated with the loss of seven hundred men and two cannon. Disconcerted by this check, the French forces fell back towards Lyons, closely followed by the allied troops, as well in the Jura as in the valley of the Saone; and on the 18th, the Austrians, under Prince Hesse-Homburg, thirty thousand strong, made a general attack on the French line. Bianchi and Wimpffen assailed their right, while the Prince of Wied-Runcket turned their left by the road of Beaugiu. The French combated with great bravery, and in some points, particularly Lage-Longhart, gained, in the first instance, considerable advantages; but Wimpffen restored the combat, and Wied-Runcket having threatened their left, Augereau retreated to Limonet, on the road to Lyons, with hardly any hope of preserving that city from the enemy.

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Ben van Doren Fisher, The Runkle Family: Being an Account of the Runkels in Europe, 1899

Page 7: That which he has given concerning the European family has been very largely taken from a “History of the Earls of Isenburg, Runnel, and Wied,” published in 1825 by T. St. Reck, evangelical pastor at Neuwied, who prepared his work under the patronage of the then Prince of Wied. This now very rare book was most generously presented to the writer by Mr. John C. Runkle of Paris, France, through home, also, he received a full and remarkably clear translation of those parts therein relating to the Runnels, most kindly made by the Countess de Laune of the same city. To Mr. Runkle the writer is likewise indebted for researches which, through his generous instigation, were earnestly but unsuccessfully made among the archives of the House of Wied, and by different agents, in church records, etc., in Germany, for that elusive link necessary to connect the Old World Runnels with the Runkles of the New.

Page 12: The Castle of Runkel continued to be the home and residence of the Lords of Runkel until 1825, when, at the death of the last in the direct line, it passed into the possession of another branch of the family, and became the property of the Princes of Wied-Neuwied. The Wied-Neuwieds, called now simply Princes of Wied, have their palace at Neuwid on the Rhine, and have never used the old home of the Runkels as a residence. Since the personal oversight of the owners has been removed the downward progress of the old castle has been more rapid. A considerable portion of the ancient structure is now in ruins, and the remainder is, with the permission of the Prince of Wied, used by the municipal authorities of the Town of Runkel as a city or town hall. The description we have given of this early home of the Runkels is merely preliminary to an outline sketch of those who from the darkest Middle Ages there lived their lives of peace and strife, of love and hate, of holiness or sin.

Page 15: European Family of Runkel. The history of the House of Runkel may very properly be divided into five periods: …… Fourth. From 1696 to 1825, at which date, through the extinction of the Wied-Runkels, the properties again became united in the Wied-Neuwied branch, whose head became known as the Prince of Wied. Fifth. From 1825 to the present.

Page 25: Dietrich IV of Runkel married Anastasia, only child and heiress of John II, Prince of Wied and Lord of Isenburg. He had four sons, Frederick IV, William, Dietrich V, and John, and one daughter, Agnes. The dower of Anastasia, wife of Dietrich, consisted of her father’s inheritance of the castles, strongholds, and Lordships of Isenburg, Grenzhausen, Alsbach, and the Wieds’ share of the Axenfels country. Through the death of her uncle, William II, Count of Isenburg-Wied, the extinction of male heirs of that family, and by the will of the late Count, Frederick, her eldest son in 1462 became Count of Wied, Upon the death of his father, Dietrich IV, he also became Lord of Runkel, and thus Wied, Isenburg, and Runkel became united in the line of Runkel.

Page 34: Christian Ludwig also died in 1791, in the same month with his brother, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Charles Ludwig Frederick Alexander, who began to reign with the titles of Prince of Wied, Earl of Isenburg, Lord of Runkel and Neuerburg, Hereditary Marshal of the Duchy of Luxembourg, and of the Earldom of Chiny and Knight of the Polish Order of the White Eagle.

Page 36: Prince Frederick Ludwig, having won distinction in the German War of Independence, had indulged in his favorite scientific tastes, and was living at Prague when the news of his brother’s death reached him. He started immediately for Runkel, but had no sooner arrived there than he as taken ill, probably having contracted the disease before starting on his journey, and in his turn expired. He also having died with no direct heirs, the line of Wied-Runkel, which began at the end of the 17th century, with Maximilian Henry, became extinct, and the two lines of Wied-Neuwied and Wied-Runkel, with all the estates and titles attached to them, were reunited under the then reigning Prince of Wied-Neuwied, August Charles.

Page 37: The successor of Prince William Hermann Charles, and present head of the Houses of Wied and Runkel, is his son William Adolphus Maximilian Charles, Prince of Wied. This Prince, who is a general in the Prussian army and President of the Prussian House of Lords, was born at Neuwied, August 22, 1845.

Page 38: He married, July 18, 1871, Marie, Princess of Holland, born July 5, 1841, who brought to her husband an immense fortune. The sister of the Prince of Wied, Pauline Elizabeth Odile Louise, is the present Queen of Roumania, and a woman of much literary ability. Her writings appear under the nom-de-plume, “Carmen Sylva.”

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Chambers’s Journal: A Few Weeks on the Continent, 1839

A beautiful green plain, fringed and intersected with trees, and bordering on the Rhine, conducts from Iriich to Neuwied. The hills at this part of the river recede to a greater distance than usual, and in the center of the extensive basin stands Neuwied, one of the most elegant groups of buildings on the Rhine. Neuwied consists of a number of tall white structures of dignified aspect, with acute sloping roofs, and a neat regularly built town stretching along the margin of the stream. The chief edifices were originally the seat of the prince of the independent territory of Wied, and now belong to the royal family of Prussia, who have engrossed the district into their overgrown kingdom. The town was built about a century ago under the auspices of the prince of Wied; it was established on the principle of giving a home to persons of all religions — Jew as well as Christian, Protestant as well as Roman Catholic — and hence became the resort of industrious and intelligent individuals from all parts of the continent. This character, under a new dynasty, still adhere to it; and here the persecuted for conscience sake will be sure to fine repose. Neuwied has for some years been celebrated for a large educational establishment belonging to the society of Moravians, who at present amount to four hundred and eighty individuals of both sexes. Besides the educational establishment, the brethren possess manufactories of stoves, tiles, soap, gloves, etc., and in the town there are manufactories of toys, hardware, leather, beer, and other articles — the whole place, in fact, is a hive of industry, and is thriving accordingly. Neuwied is one of those charming places where a citizen of the world, unhampered by ties, would choose to set up his staff of rest. The noble Rhine in front, with its flying bridge, and its constantly passing steamers — the secluded mountain walks in the neighborhood — and the clear sunny atmosphere overhead — appear things of which it would be impossible ever to tire. Those who delight in exploring antiquities would have an additional gratification; for at the distance of three miles on the river Wied, is the site of the Roman city of Victoria, destroyed by the Germans in the fourth century. The ruins or rubbish of this city, like those of Herculaneum, have lately been explored and sift, and the result of the labor has been the collection of a vast quantity of curiosities, comprising armor, weapons, coins, tools, pottery, and other articles, which are now placed in a museum in the palace, open to the free inspection of strangers. Immediately above Neuwied lies a beautiful woody island in the Rhine, and opposite it on the left bank is the small town of Weissenthurm.

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Indians Hunting the Bison. Engraving after a drawing by Charles Bodmer, in ‘Travels in the Interior of North America in 1832-3-4, by Maximilian, Prince of Wied Neu-Wied. Copy in the New York Public Library. 

Fort Clark, on the Missouri. Engraving after a drawing from nature by Charles Bodmer, in ‘Travels,’ by Maximilian, Prince of Wied Neu-Wied. Boomer was the artist who accompanied Maximilian’s expedition. His pictures possess great artistic merit, and give a vivid and detailed representation of the country and of the Indians as they appeared at that period. 

Mandan Village, on the Missouri. Engraving after a drawing from nature by Charles Bodmer, in ‘Travels,’ by Maximilian, Prince of Wied Neu-Wied. Copy in the New York Public Library. The picture shows the sod-covered lodges of an Indian village perched on a river bluff. Squaws are gathering driftwood from the river, by means of boats made of a wicker frame, over which is stretched buffalo hide. 

Sioux Indian Horse Race. Engraving after a drawing from nature by Charles Bodmer, in ‘Travels,’ by Maximilian, Prince of Wied Neu-Wied. Copy in the New York Public Library. 

Reprinted in “The Passing of the Frontier: A Chronicle of the Old West,” by Emerson Hough, 1921

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From Memory’s Shrine: The Reminiscences of Carmen Sylva, 1911

Page 204: As far back as my recollections go, Weizchen was always an inmate of my paternal home, having very soon followed my mother there after the latter’s marriage. From the very first my mother was accompanied by Louise von Preen, as lady-in-waiting, and very amusing tales were told afterwards of the home-sickness of the two young things — barely eighteen years of age either of them — in their new surroundings. When my mother in a moment of loneliness rushed to Louise’s room for comfort, she found the poor girl seated among her boxes, which she had not yet had the heart to have unpacked, crying her eyes out. They sobbed together, sighing as they gazed at the distant hills, beyond which lay their old home. And yet that home was not in reality so very far away, and at the present day could easily be reached in a couple of hours, though to their romantic feelings they seem to be pining for it in distant exile! Very soon, however, the young bride was cheered by a visit from her brothers, and after that gay days began for Neuwied, the castle often resounding with the happy voices and ringing laughter of the merry young people assembled within its walls.

Page 208: The idolizing affection my mother bestowed on her elder brother, was felt for her in turn by her younger brothers and sisters. She was never tired of playing with them and of telling them the wonderful stories which she made up for their amusement. The announcement of their stepsister’s engagement and approaching marriage was received with characteristic comments by these little ones. The nine-year-old Helene wept bitterly, affirming that it was utterly impossible for her to live without Marie; Nicholas, a year younger, but always practical and reasonable, consoled himself with the thought of the beautiful gardens and fine collection of stuffed animals of which his sister would become possessor by her marriage to a Prince of Wied; and little Sophie, frankly indignant, exclaimed: — “It is too bad! I will tell mamma at once, and see if she will allow such a thing!”

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Maria R. Audubon, Audubon and his Journals, 1898

Page 471, footnote 1: Black Snake Hills (in the vicinity of St. Joseph Mo.). “On the 24th we saw the chain of the Blacksnake Hills, but we met with so many obstacles in the river that we did not reach them till towards evening. They are moderate eminences, with many singular forms, with an alternation of open green and wooded spots.” (Maximilian, Prince of Wied, “Travels in North America,” p. 123.)

Page 486, footnote: “The 7th of May (1833) we reached the chain of hills on the left bank; … these are called Wood’s Hills, and do not extend very far. On one of them we saw a small conical mound, which is the grave of the celebrated Omaha chief Washinga-Sabba (the Blackbird). In James’ ‘Narrative of Major Long’s Expedition,’ is a circumstantial account of this remarkable and powerful chief, who was a friend to the white man; he contribed, by means of arsenic, to make himself feared and dreaded, and passed for a magician. …. An epidemical smallpox carried him off, with a great part of his nation, in 1800, and he was buried, sitting upright, upon a live ruled, at the top of a green hill on Wakonda Creek. When dying he gave orders they should bury him on that hill, with his face turned to the country of the whites.” (“Travels in North America,” Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)

Page 488, footnote 1: ….. “On the following day [May 8, 1833] we came to Floyd’s grave, where the sergeant of that name was buried by Lewis and Clark. The bank on either side is low. The left is covered with poplars; on the right, behind the wood, rises a hill like the roof of a building, at the top of which Floyd is buried. A short stick marks the place where he is laid, and has often been renewed by travelers, when the fires in the prairie have destroyed it.” (“Travels in North America,” p. 134, Maximilian, Prince of Wied.) — M.R.A.

Page 498, footnote 1: “The Puncas, as they are now universally called, or as some travelers formerly called them, Poncaras, or Pouncers, the Pons of the French, were originally a branch of the Omahas, and speak nearly the same language. They have, however, long been separated from them, and dwell on both sides of Running-water River (L’Eeau qui Court) and on Punca Creek, which Lews and Clark call Poncara. they are said to have been brave warriors, but have been greatly reduced by war and the smallpox. According to Dr. Morse’s report, they numbered in 1822 1,750 in all; at present the number is estimated at about 300.” (“Travels in North America,” Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 137.)

Page 503, footnote 2: L’Eau qui Court River has ben called Rapid River, Spreading Water, Running Water, and Quicourt. “This river rises in the Black Hills near the sources of Tongue River, and discharges itself into the Missouri about 1,000 miles from its mouth. The mouth is said to be 150 paces broad, and its current very rapid. There are said to be hot springs in this neighborhood, such as are known to exist in several places on the banks of the Missouri.” (“Travels in North America,” Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 141.)

Page 505, footnote 1: ….. “Cedar Island is said to be 1075 miles from the mouth of the Missouri. On the steep banks of this long, narrow island which lies near the southwest bank, there were thickets of poplars, willows, and buffalo-berry; the rest of the island is covered with a dark forest of red cedars, of which we immediately felled a goodly number. The notes of numerous birds were heard in the gloom of the cedar forest, into which no ray of sun could penetrate. Here, too, we found everywhere traces of the elks and stags, and saw where they had rubbed off the bark with their antlers.” (“Travels in North America,” Maximilian, Prince of Wied, p. 144.)

Page 525, footnote 2: The old fort of this name [Fort Pierre] was three miles above the mouth of the Teton River; this was abandoned, and another fort built, higher up, on the west bank of the Missouri. The Prince of Wied reached this fort on the fifty-first day of his voyage up the Missouri, and Audubon on the thirty-third of his; a gain in time which may possibly be attributed both to better weather and to the improvement in steamboats during ten years. The Prince says: “Fort Pierre is one of the most considerable settlements of the Fur Company on the Missouri, and forms a large quadrangle surrounded by pickets. Seven thousand buffalo skins and other hrs were put on board our boat to take to St. Louis. ….. The leather tents of the Sioux Indians, the most distinguished being that of the old interpreter, Dorion (or Durion), a half Sioux, who is mentioned by many travelers, and resides here with his Indian family. His tent was large, and painted red; at the top of the poles composing the frame, several scalps hung.” (“Travels in North America,” p. 156, Maximilian, Prince of Wied.)

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Agnes Ethel Conway, A Ride Through the Balkans: On Classic Ground with a Camera, 1917

Page 167: We left Corfu in the ‘Baron Bruck,’ a palace of a boat belonging to the Austrian Lloyd, but so high for its beam that, although the night was calm, it rolled uncomfortably. We were anxious to see as much of Albania as possible, but without spending too long at Corfu it was not practicable to time our arrival at Avlona and Durazzo by daylight. The boat reached Avlona at 10 p.m., and there the Albanian coast looked magnificent. For miles huge black mountains came sheer down to the coast with no foreshore at all, and villages were perched on seemingly inaccessible ledges of rock halfway up. We halted at Durazzo from 4 to 6 a.m., and I infinitely regret not having made a colossal effort to conquer the effects of the voyage and go on shore; for it was May 21, the day after the deportation of Essad Pasha by the Prince of Wied. Durazzo was in a panic, and we might have seen something of it, had we known. Of course it was too soon for anybody on board to have heard the news. We stopped at Medua, the port of Scutari, in the morning, and might have landed and gone to Scutari that way; as it was, we went on to Cattaro.

Page 188: The situation in the new Albanian state at that moment (May 26, 1914) was becoming increasingly grave. Twenty thousand armed Mohammedans, outside the control of the Prince of Wied, were stationed near Durazzo, ready to attack the town. In the south the Greek revolution was in full progress. Only in the north, where the influence of Colonel Phillips was supreme, was there still peace. Legally he governed only Scutari and the immediately surrounding country, but in practice tribe after tribe had asked to be allowed to come in. An amusing story is told of a mountain tribe who demanded a personal interview previous to possible inclusion. Colonel Phillips rode out to meet them, and said there would have to be fewer blood-feuds in the future.

Page 189: In addition to the internal complications in Albania, the Montenegrin inclusion of the Albanian tribes of Hoti and Gruda had produced a festering sore on the northern frontier. Nineteen thousand refugees had streamed into Scutari from the north, and with no money to feed them, Colonel Phillips had been obliged to drive all but two thousand back into the mountains. The Montenegrins were perpetually raiding Albanian cattle across the frontier, but had announced that if any Albanians undertook reprisals, they would invade the country. The new state seemed about to fall around the ears of the Prince of Wied like a pack of cards, and in the process, the Colonel feared a European war.

Page 190: We had already been to see the prison, one of the buildings put up since the siege. It had a large courtyard like a Zoo, in which birds built nests and a pet stork walked about on the end of a string. When the international forces took possession of the town, much of it was a wreck, and as the Albanians have hitherto always murdered any Governor who presumed to tax them, all the rebuilding had to be done out of Customs Dues. The road-making was an even more serious item of expenditure, and the Colonel point out their well-made smooth surfaces to us with pride. A large hotel was in the act of building to house the Prince of Wied, who, but for the troubles consequent on Essad’s establishment, should have arrived at Scutari on his maiden visit the very day we did. The people, ignorant of the critical condition of affairs farther south, daily expected him to arrive, and his color photographs were being touted about the streets for sale. Needless to say, they will never see him now. The Prince of Wied has accomplished the feat of being King of Albania for six months without ever visiting its most important town.

Page 192: On returning from one of our drives, we were sitting in our favorite street café, eating the cherries so opportunely in season, our eyes concentrated on the extraordinary costumes in the streets, which never became familiar. Suddenly there was a sound of savage music, and a martial procession of Mallissors, walking behind gaudy banners, came into view amid the wild acclamations of the public. These were the 120 summoned by the Prince of Wied as an extra bodyguard, at the beginning of his troubles. They went down to Durazzo in all their finest embroidered clothes, and on arrival refused to take the initiative against the Mussulman Albanian insurgents. This was their return, but had they been victorious survivors from Marathon, their entry could not have been more triumphant. The weird music, the line of banners, the magnificent costumes, and the air with which they walked and wore them, made them seem a survival from the heroic age.

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London Society: Early Days of Carmen Silva, 1897

Page 67: The ceremony took place at Monrepos, all the sponsors of the Princess with the immediate relatives and friends being present. After this, days and years of sorrow followed. The Prince of Wied was nearly always in a state of suffering, and little Otto in an agony of pain, so that his mother could scarcely leave his bedside.

Page 68: Soon after the Princess had returned from Berlin, Professor Busch came to Neuwied for a consultation. His opinion made the mother and child’s hearts die within them. He told them the Prince of Wied and his brave little Otto were both doomed, it was merely a question of time. Of course they had known Otto’s fate before, but they hoped about the Prince, and now this plain matter of fact verdict, brought out into the light of day, seemed more than they could bear.

Page 69: In January 1862 the Prince of Wied became so increasingly ill that he could not leave his bed. The Princess Elizabeth nursed him devotedly. What a picture the Castle of Monrepos must have presented at this time! Two sick rooms, two sufferers, both supposed to be dying. The fair young Princess ministering to her father with the most tender love, and not far away the noble mother, watching night and day beside her little Otto, who was dying in frightful agonies, yet who was strong in faith and made a brave stand to the very last.

Page 70: The Prince of Wied writes: “According to his wish, Prince Otto was buried on a hill not far from Monrepos, under the shade of lime trees. His holy memory will be glorified in our recollection — an incorruptible legacy, which makes us rich, notwithstanding our endless loss.” So deeply and so tenderly was the little Prince Otto beloved, that his loss was ever present with the family. 

It was fourteen years after his death that the Princess Elizabeth at last ventured to write a short and touching history of his life for private circulation. But even then the poor bereaved mother could not bring herself to read it. After Prince Otto’s death the Prince of Wied rallied a little, and the family went to Baden for his health. In the summer, however, they returned to their lovely home at Monrepos on the heights.

Page 71: On account of the health of the Prince of Wied the winters of 1862 and 1863 were spent at Baden, and here the Princess was a little introduced into society.