poor thing! bartered away by those great-dealers in royal hearts, whose
grand calculations will not be much consolation to her if she happens to
have a taste of her own."

Little did the wise American poet guess that, away in a little fairy
principality of Deutschland, there was a beautiful young fairy prince,
being reared by benevolent fairy godmother-grandmothers, especially to
disprove all such doleful prophecies, and reverse the usual fate of
pretty young Princesses in the case of the "little English mayflower."

Greville relates a little incident which shows that the Princess, when
between sixteen and seventeen, and almost in sight of the throne, was
still amenable to discipline. He describes a reception of much pomp and
ceremony, given to the Duchess and the Princess by the Mayor and other
officers of the town of Burghley, followed by a great dinner, which "went
off well," except that an awkward waiter, in a spasm of loyal excitement,
emptied the contents of a pail of ice in the lap of the Duchess, which,
though she took it coolly, "made a great bustle." I am afraid the
Princess laughed. Then followed a magnificent ball, which was opened by
the Princess, with Lord Exeter for a partner. After that one dance she
"went to bed." Doubtless her good mother thought she had had fatigue and
excitement enough for one day; but it must have been hard for such a
dance-loving girl to take her quivering feet out of the ball-room so
early, and for such a grand personage as she already was, just referred
to in the Mayor's speech, as "destined to mount the throne of these
realms," to be sent away like a child, to mount a solemn, beplumed four-
poster, and to try to sleep, with that delicious dance-music still
ringing in her ears.

Greville also relates a sad Court story connected with the young