We met in the salon of Countess Brockdorf on the day appointed, and, preceded by her, went together to the salon of the Empress, where we found Her Highness already waiting.  We sat about in a circle.  The Empress talked French with us and was most gracious.  She has a wonderful figure; her white hair and youthful face and her lovely, kind smile make her very beautiful.  She said that the Emperor remembered me from Rome and Prince Henry (her brother-in-law) recollected having met me at Monza.

I went in company with these same two ladies at an audience to the Princess Henry, who lives in the pretty pavilion on the left of the palace, overlooking the canal.  She only comes to Berlin when there are fetes at court, otherwise she and the Prince live at Kiel.

Our next visit was to Princess Friedric-Leopold, the Empress’s sister.  She lives in a palace in Wilhelm-strasse when in Berlin.  She is very lively, talkative, and extremely natural in conversation.  She has a beautiful country place near Potsdam.

The Schleppenkur is a great event in Berlin.  It takes place before the birthday of the Emperor.  I had never seen anything like this ceremony, and it interested me very much.  Perhaps it will you.  It takes place at a very early hour in the evening—­eight o’clock.  This makes it necessary for one to begin to dress at six.  Naturally, you go without any dinner—­a cup of bouillon is considered sufficient to keep you alive.

It is the custom for diplomats to engage for the evening a Schutzmann—­a heavy mounted policeman.  Our particular one was waiting for us before our house and rode by the side of our carriage until we arrived at the entrance of the Schloss.  He looked very important, but I do not think he was of much use.  However, it seems that a Schutzmann comes under the chapter of Noblesse oblige, and we took him.  He did a great deal of horsemanship, but never dared to disobey the chief policeman’s orders, and when we arrived at Portal 4 we had to wait for the file like other people.  He did not call up our carriage at the end, but had to be called up himself by the police force; then he appeared, bristling with energy, and galloped at our horses’ heads to our door, where we laid our offering in his hand and bade him good night.  The Schutzmann is one of our privileges and nuisances.  I felt sorry for people who had been standing in the cold street for hours to watch the procession of carriages and the gala coaches (which the Ambassadors use on this occasion), because they only get a glimpse through the frost-covered windows of glittering uniforms and dazzling diamonds.  Your dress (instructions as to which are printed even to the smallest detail on the back of your invitation) must be a ball-dress, with a train four meters long, short sleeves, and a decolletage of the Victorian period, and white kid (glace) gloves.