But there were too many in the secret, Sophia Dorothea got wind of it and remained at home, though she sent her lady of honor, the Countess von Knesebeck, to make her apologies on the score of illness. It need scarcely be said that this lady reported all that happened at the ball, and that the neglected wife was not less miserable because she had not been an eye-witness to it. Before we can tell more about her it is necessary to speak of others whose lives were connected with hers, and we will begin with her playmate of early days, Philip von Kônigsmark. After his departure from Zell he lived with various members of his family, travelled about with them, and returned at intervals to reside with his mother, who lived to witness the many misfortunes that overtook her children. Charles John was Philip's older brother, and often visited at the Court of England, where his brilliant qualities rendered him a welcome guest. In course of time Philip joined him in that country, and was placed at college to complete his education. Leaving him there, Charles John visited at the various courts of Europe, where he excited the admiration of the women and the envy of the men. At the age of twenty-two he joined an expedition against Tangier, {038}distinguished himself on the battle-field, and return to to England a hero. This young man was, like his brother, a beauty, but he was also a worthless, wicked scoundrel. He did not excel Philip in crime, however, for he was one of the greatest scamps of the seventeenth century, and the two brothers assassinated Tom Thynne of Longleat, one Sunday evening when he was riding along in his carriage, though the poor man had given them no provocation. This was in 1682, and the dreadful deed created great excitement for a time. Philip von Kônigsmark managed to make his escape, but the bolder Charles John pleaded his own cause before a jury and was acquitted, only because he was in favor at court, while his assistants were executed. He knew that a stigma rested on his name, but he was too barefaced to care for that. "Tut," he said, "it will all be wiped out by some dazzling action in war," and so he went to France and joined a regiment, and during the next few years he was frequently heard of on the various battle-fields. The blot on the name of Kônigsmark remained, but Charles John was sent out of the world by a bullet that put an end to his existence in 1686 when he was in the service of the Venetians.