mistress supplied me with more money than I could expend; and I was
presently the best equipped, and made the greatest figure, of any
officer in the whole corps. The style in which I lived was
remarked, for I had only received from my father's heritage the
estate of Great Scharlach; the rent of which was eight hundred
dollars a year, which was far from sufficient to supply my then
expenses. My amour, in the meantime, remained a secret from my best
and most intimate friends. Twice was my absence from Potzdam and
Charlottenberg discovered, and I was put under arrest; but the King
seemed satisfied with the excuse I made, under the pretext of having
been hunting, and smiled as he granted my pardon.

Never did the days of youth glide away with more apparent success
and pleasure than during these my first years at Berlin. This good
fortune was, alas, of short duration. Many are the incidents I
might relate, but which I shall omit. My other adventures are
sufficiently numerous, without mingling such as may any way seem
foreign to the subject. In this gloomy history of my life, I wish
to paint myself such as I am; and, by the recital of my sufferings,
afford a memorable example to the world, and interest the heart of
sensibility. I would also show how my fatal destiny has deprived my
children of an immense fortune; and, though I want a hundred
thousand men to enforce and ensure my rights, I will leave
demonstration to my heirs that they are incontestable.



CHAPTER II.