[[A.D. 1678.]] {022}The Duke of Zell had a brother, older than himself, who was married to Sophia, daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth, the short-lived King and Queen of Bohemia. This Sophia is the electress of Hanover, mentioned in Queen Anne's reign as Protestant heiress to the throne of England through her descent from James I. Ernest Augustus, first Duke of Hanover, husband to this lady, was a pompous, ostentatious man, who took Louis XIV. for his model in life, but in so doing imitated his vices rather than his virtues, and became an unfaithful, neglectful husband to a good woman. But Sophia was a person of rare intellect and common sense, and though not unmindful of the duke's neglect, she managed to forget her wrongs by occupying herself with literary and other pursuits. Ernest Augustus was almost as much under the influence of a woman as we have seen that Queen Anne was during the early part of her reign; but this one managed more adroitly than did the imperious, hot-headed Duchess of Marlborough, and so retained her position. [[A.D. 1680.]] Catherine and Elizabeth von Meissengen were two bright, lively, ambitious sisters, who made their appearance at the Court of Hanover, where they excited a great deal of curiosity and interest. Both were handsome, and dressed so well that the German ladies accepted their pretty, tasteful costumes as models for their own, while the gentlemen flocked to the drawing-room of these sisters, who gave entertainments so delightful in their character as to attract young and old, men and women. Even the members of the royal family honored these witty, fascinating ladies with their visits, and so for a time they became the lionesses of Hanover. We have said that the Von Meissengen ladies were ambitious, and so they were; they had come to court to seek {023}their fortunes, and aimed so high as the heir to the throne himself. But that young man, whose name was George Louis, was not to be won by their wiles, and so in course of time they began to look lower, and succeeded in captivating the private tutors of the Hanover princes. Everybody was astonished when, at the close of a short summer vacation, Catherine von Meissengen reappeared in society as Madame Busche, and her sister Elizabeth as Madame von Platen. [[A.D. 1681.]] Having secured these learned men for husbands was all very well so far as it went, but Elizabeth immediately began to plan and intrigue until she succeeded in getting her husband appointed prime minister to Ernest Augustus. That made her mistress of the situation, for though Von Platen was not weak-minded, his wife was strong, and not only ruled him but the sovereign besides. We have related so much about this woman, an _intriguante_ of the deepest dye, because it was she who chiefly controlled the destiny of poor Sophia Dorothea.