hard and gave me full permission to go ahead and make any arrangements
I deemed advisable. I thereupon went to the Grand Duke's bank in
London and notified them that I must have 15,000 pounds ($75,000). In
four days I had the money. The rest of the transaction was
commonplace. She handed over all the letters and documents and I gave
her the 15,000 pounds. I know to-day that her ladyship travels
extensively in a very comfortable manner on the yearly appanage
allowed her by the old Grand Duke. I do not know whether she still
goes to Carlton Terrace to eat strawberries, but I flatter myself that
her present good fortune is partially due to the fact that she once
went there.

At the time of closing our little transaction, she took the precaution
to protect adequately and seal all letters and documents from my
perusal. Of course that was a disappointment. I put the packet away
carefully, closed up my aftairs in London and went back to Germany,
going direct to Mecklenburg-Schwerein where I delivered the package to
the old Grand Duke in person. He seized it eagerly and opened it in
my presence. I noticed as he ran through the letters that he did not
stop even to glance at them. He did, however, stop and pick out from
the pile an official looking document, at the sight of which a
tremendous sigh of relief seemed to escape him. The document had a
decidedly close resemblance to a marriage license as issued in
Switzerland. Of course I only got a fleeting, cursory glance at it,
but the eagerness of the Grand Duke in pouncing upon that one document
and ignoring the letters, and hints previously dropped by her
ladyship, embellished by rumors I later heard in Switzerland, all
leave very little doubt in my mind that a clandestine marriage did
actually take place between this lady of the English nobility and the
young Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerein.