A GERMAN POMPADOUR.
A German Pompadour : being the Extraordinary History of Wilhelmine von Gravenitz, Landhofineisterin of Wirtemberg. A Narrative of the Eighteenth Century. By Marie Hay. (A. Con- stable and Co. 12s. 6d. net.)—This is the curious story of the woman who for many years ruled Wirtemberg as the adored mistress of its Duke, Eberhard Ludwig. She was accused of many crimes, including witchcraft, and terribly hated by the people of the country, who saw nothing in this beautiful woman, with all her charm, but a sinful, selfish robber and tyrant. The history, half forgotten except in its main lines, has been unearthed from the old archives of Stuttgart, and makes indeed an extra- ordinary romance, which would be both more valuable and more interesting if the author (or editor) had not cast it into the shape of something like an historical novel. Scenes and conversations which must, we suppose, be imaginary, somewhat spoil the book's vraisemblance as a record of a real and remarkable life. Like Madame de Pompadour in her selfishness and her love of ruling, the Countess Griivenitz was even less fortunate in her end. Eberhard Ludwig deserted her, under the influence of Frederick William of Prussia, and her later days, deprived of power and property, were chiefly spent in a melancholy exile.
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