Towards the beginning of May, shortly after his Highness's departure, Madame de Ruth arrived one morning at the Jaegerhaus brimming over with words and gossip. 'Imagine, ma chere,' she cried, as she rustled into Wilhelmine's yellow salon, 'Osiander is in disgrace with the Duchess! I heard it was coming, but did not believe it. As you know, her Highness has given orders that, being in spiritual mourning in the absence of her dear spouse at the war, she will see none save her personal attendants and Madame de Stafforth. Well, well, it is quite contrary to every etiquette; but, indeed, the court of Stuttgart has ceased to exist nowadays, and her Highness can do as she likes.' 'Yes, yes; I know all that. Tell me what the news is!' broke in Wilhelmine impatiently. The Duchess's entire seclusion was well known to her, she heard it discussed by her friends daily. 'Let me tell you my story in my own way, or I shall not tell it at all! Well, I live in the castle.'--'I know that too,' said Wilhelmine, laughing.--'Certainly you do--I live in the castle, and really it is ridiculous if I never see the Duchess, considering that I am her resident Maitresse du Palais; so at last I wrote to the Duchess saying I begged an audience, as really being of no use to her Highness I wished for leave of absence, but must crave a moment's conversation with her before I left.' 'Are you going to leave?' said Wilhelmine anxiously. 'Jamais de la vie, ma chere! but I wanted to see the Duchess, and this was the only way. Well, she consented to see me, so I went to her yesterday evening, found her with la Stafforth sewing shirts for the poor--very estimable! She was far from amiable to me; asked me if I meant to cease being Maitresse du Palais, and become Dame de Deshonneur to Fraeulein von Graevenitz. Upon my word, I had not credited her with wit enough for so cutting a saying; then I told her I should be obliged to resign, and had written to Serenissimus saying her Highness's refusals to see me made my position ridiculous. She replied that I could do as I wished, and just as I was preparing to take leave of her Highness, Osiander was announced. It amused me to hear, so I drew back into the shadow--you know the Duchess's rooms have always much shadow. Well, Osiander declared he had given his best attention to her Highness's demand, but regretted to be unable to accede to her request. The Duchess seemed much annoyed, and said that in this case she would invite the Pietist to preach to her in the castle itself. Osiander told her that this, of course, was as her Highness willed, but that Pietists being members of a sect not recognised by the State, he could not permit a sermon to be preached in the Duke's chapel or in the Stiftskirche by a travelling Pietist preacher. The Duchess bowed to him in dismissal, and remarked that this Mueller was a saint she had heard, and inspired by God----' 'Mueller?' cried Wilhelmine--'Mueller? a preacher? Where does he come from?'