I remember him very vividly as a very tall man going with rapid steps through the courtyard and mounting a horse, which was trying to rear.

He died before I was five years old, and I have often heard my father say to my mother that it was a great misfortune for the two sons to have lost their father.

I felt so sorry for them that I would often stop in the middle of play to ask her, 'Oh, mother, can nobody help them ?' To comfort me she would tell me that God alone could help.

For a long time I prayed every night before going to sleep: 'Dear God, please help them in their trouble!' Both were always very kind and friendly with me.

I was up at the castle a great deal, because the Baroness Maximiliana of Wallerstaetten was my godmother.