A Trace of Royalty

by Gregory Kopp

  Chapter Five

  The impressive Schlosskirche (palace church) is in the north wing of the Mannheim Palace, where the wedding ceremony was being held in the early evening of February 23, 1843.

  The Dowager Duchess Stéphanie was beaming as her daughter walked down the candlelit aisle arm and arm with the Grand Duke, Grand Duchess, and the groom, impressive as always in his new uniform adorned with ribbons and medals especially for the occasion. The bride was resplendent in the same gown, her mother wore when she married the late Grand Duke of Baden. She also wore the jewels and tiara given to her mother by Napoleon Bonaparte himself when she became the Grand Duchess. The Dowager Duchess knew her daughter would officially be a member of royalty and her daughter’s children would then have a royal bloodline. She turned to look and smiled at the Countess of Hochberg, her chief rival, sitting several rows behind her in the church. The Countess always claimed Stéphanie and her family only had a trace of royalty when she married her late husband’s grandson and became Grand Duchess of Baden.

  The Dowager Duchess and the Countess of Hochberg were bitter rivals from the first time Stéphanie arrived in Baden from France. The Countess was the second wife of Stéphanie’s husband’s grandfather, the very first Grand Duke of Baden. She was quite jealous and upset when Stéphanie’s husband became the Grand Duke upon her husband’s death and not one of her own two sons. She continued to plot her revenge during the entire of Stéphanie’s husband’s reign and eventually achieved it when she successfully forced Stéphanie’s dying husband to sign over the right of royal succession to her sons, effectively ending Stéphanie’s family claim to the throne because there was not a male heir.

  Her oldest son was now the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Baden and Stéphanie and her family were forced to leave the royal palace in the capital city of Karlsruhe and move to Mannheim. Their anger and resentment for each other continued to run deep over the years as Stéphanie’s children grew to adulthood.

  On the other side of the aisle in the church, the Duke of Hamilton watched carefully to make sure Princess Marie did not change her mind at the altar. He relaxed as the bride and groom said their wedding vows in front of the priest and all the Baden royalty.

  After the ceremony was over, the bride and groom, Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Baden and the Dowager Duchess Stéphanie stood in the back of the church and received congratulations from their guests except for the Countess of Hochberg who hurriedly left the church. The Dowager Duchess encouraged all of her guests to come back to her private quarters in the palace for the wedding banquet. The Grand Duke of Baden spotted the British Chargé d'affaires and beamed happily at him.

  Later, at the banquet, the bride and groom were still nervous as all eyes turned on the newly married couple as they ate and drank while the European nobility discussed their future children’s prospects. The wedding banquet table settings were perfect and the Dowager Duchess received many compliments from her guests as she nodded and smiled at Theresia in recognition for her hard work earlier that day.

  The Grand Duke of Baden spared no expense as his servants placed upon the table, large quantities of Siberian caviar and many bottles of the finest French champagne from his private wine cellar. Karolina and Theresia sat in the back of the dining room at a small table reserved for other lesser known nobles and guests awed by the abundance and variety of the rich food and drink.

  During the wedding banquet, each of the royal guests made congratulatory toasts to the bride and groom. The Duke of Hamilton stood and welcomed his son’s new bride into his family and spoke of his intention to build a new Bavarian styled castle in Scotland for the couple. All of the wedding guests clapped loudly at the news and the old Duke was beaming as he sat down.

  The Grand Duke of Baden pronounced the wedding banquet a success much to the relief of the Dowager Duchess and invited the older men to retire to the drawing room for brandy and cigars. The Dowager Duchess, in turn, encouraged the young men and women to join the bride and groom in the Knight’s Hall for music and dancing. She had secured a local orchestra to play music for the occasion.

  Chapter Six

  Mannheim’s citizens celebrated the joyous occasion of the marriage of Princess Marie to the Marquess of Hamilton when the palace gates were thrown open by the Grand Duke’s soldiers and they were invited in to eat, drink and dance in the square in front of the palace all the while bells tolled in the Jesuit Church.

  Meanwhile, back in the Knight’s Hall in the palace, Karolina did not even notice that the nobility was dancing on a raised platform separated at one end of the great hall while she and the other guests were relegated to the floor. In fact, she did not even care. This was her first royal invitation and she fully intended to take advantage of the opportunity given to her and enjoy the evening regardless of her social class or place.

  Several of the Grand Duke’s soldiers spotted Karolina in the corner of the great hall, sitting next to her mother and they hurried over to meet her. Karolina smiled as a handsome soldier strode up to her, bowed and asked her to dance. She looked at her mother and her mother nodded “Yes”, so Karolina stood up and put her arm on the offered arm of the soldier and went to the dance floor. The soldier tried as hard as he could, but he began to trip over his feet as he danced. Karolina giggled and waited patiently for him to regain his balance and then they continued to dance.

  As the evening wore on, Karolina danced with more and more partners. When she would grow thirsty, several young men would run towards the refreshment table, pick up a drink and race back to her to beat the others to ask her to dance. As a result, Karolina would choose a dance partner while the others would groan and sit in anticipation for another opportunity to ask her to dance. She thoroughly enjoyed playing this game as she waltzed around the room.

  At the same time, Princess Marie was searching for Karolina. She spotted her on the dance floor, dancing with a handsome officer of the Grand Duke’s Guard. She rushed up to her and stopped her from dancing. She apologized to the alarmed officer. “Excuse me”, she said, “I have to talk with Karolina for a moment.”

  The officer bowed low and retreated across the dance floor in the great hall. Karolina was smiling and perspiring after all the dancing and asked the Princess what she needed of her.

  The princess steered Karolina into a corner of the great hall. She had changed into traveling clothes and mentioned she only had a few moments before the Marquess would spot her and take her to his waiting carriage and they would be off on their honeymoon. “Karolina, I am afraid.” She said seriously.

  Instantly Karolina became serious as she looked at the princess with a worried look on her face.

  The princess said “I may never return to Baden. I may never see my mother and family again. William said he was building a new palace and we would make our home in Scotland!” She began to cry. Karolina held her and soothed her.

  “Don’t worry”, she said. “Send for us when you get settled in Scotland and we will visit you in your new home. My mother will help your mother when she travels to visit you and I will bring many presents from your family and the people of Baden.” She smiled at the princess.

  The princess wiped her eyes and thanked her and said urgently. “Now, promise me. You will visit when I send for you?” Karolina nodded her head and said “Yes”.

  The princess spotted her new husband coming toward her and gave Karolina one last big hug and told her goodbye. Princess Marie turned and went out of the doorway of the great hall with a flourish recovering her regal air and trailed by the Marquess of Hamilton and his trusty valet. Karolina watched her walk away with a sadness in her heart.

  Her dance partner, the officer in the Grand Duke’s Guard, came up to her and asked if anything was wrong. Karolina shook her head and said she was thirsty and would like something to drink while wiping her tears away. Immediately, the officer turned around and requested the nearest servant bring drinks for himself and Karolina.

  Karolina foun
d herself falling in love with the tall and handsome soldier during the course of the evening as she listened to his many exploits on the battlefield. His family served in many of the Grand Duke’s regiments and in fact, his father guarded the Dowager Duchess Stéphanie’s husband before his untimely death. He noted how he traveled to the Grand Duke’s palace in his early years to visit his father and would happen to see the Dowager Duchess Stéphanie talking with Karolina’s mother during those visits. Karolina said she would go with her mother to the palace and visit with Princess Marie.

  The couple sat next to Karolina’s mother as they talked about growing up in the Grand Duchy of Baden. Karolina looked over to see her mother smiling at her as it seemed the handsome officer met her mother’s approval for a potential suitor for Karolina.

  The Knight’s Hall clock struck ten o’clock and the music stopped. The handsome officer bowed low to Karolina and her mother and went to help gather the Baden soldiers and march them out the door of the palace. Many promises were being made by these men to their female dancing partners in the crowd as they said their goodbyes. Theresia turned to her daughter and the other young ladies sitting in the hall and requested they gather their belongings. They walked out the door of the great Knight’s Hall toward their bedrooms in the dark cold palace.

  Later that night, Karolina hummed the beautiful waltz music she heard earlier that evening to herself as she settled into bed. Karolina would sleep little that night as she dreamed of the tall and handsome soldier. Her mother covered her with a thick down-filled comforter blanket to ward off the cold in the palace, kissed Karolina good night and blew out the candles. Theresia was already developing a plan for her daughter to meet the handsome officer of the Grand Duke’s Guard in the capital city of Karlsruhe, the following day.

  Chapter Seven

  April 28, 1853, New York City, 10 years later.

  “Karolina, wake up. We must go! The carriage is waiting!” Stanislaus shouted at her as he turned and saw his wife daydreaming as she stared back into the windows of the St. Nicholas Hotel. “Hurry, they are waiting for us,” he repeated.

  Karolina turned quickly and saw her oldest son already in the carriage as her husband was climbing in. She was holding her other son who was fast asleep in her arms, wrapped in a blanket for protection against the late April cold wind. Her family had been promised a tour of New York City and she did not want to keep them waiting. Her husband scolded her a second time to hurry. She picked up her belongings on the sidewalk in front of the hotel and joined them in the carriage. Her husband looked back in awe at the front of the St. Nicholas Hotel as the carriage began to move. The hotel, built in the Italian style of architecture contained an impressive white marble front facade and rose six stories high. He marveled at how many bricklayers must have worked on the construction of the hotel.

  Two days ago, Karolina and her family planned to travel to Ohio the same day they arrived in New York City. Her Ohio cousin and his family met them when they disembarked and he told them he arranged for rooms at the Schaffts Hotel, where they sold for only one dollar per week. Her cousin, not having been to New York since he immigrated in 1834 had recommended the hotel to his family, but unbeknownst to him the neighborhood had deteriorated rather rapidly over the years and now was the home of ruffians, prostitutes, and other assorted low life characters.

  After the reunion of the Ohio and the Baden immigrant families on the South Street docks, they began walking through the filthy winding streets to their hotel on Chatham Street. They walked past women of ill repute standing in the doorways mocking them and street vendors hawking trinkets and selling worthless train tickets to the western frontier.

  The two families walked more quickly as they got further and further from the docks, and Karolina held her youngest son as tight as she could to shield him from the filth and the smell of the streets.

  Stanislaus, Karolina, and their children hadn’t eaten very much after their ship had docked and their oldest son kept complaining about being hungry. Karolina was growing tired as she carried her child back to the hotel.

  “Stop,” A roughly dressed man and his partner stepped out of an alley and shouted at them. The two men were dirty and wearing sailor’s clothing having come off one of the docked ships. The entire party was startled and Karolina’s youngest child began to cry. Stanislaus and Karolina’s cousin reached out for their son’s hands who were walking ahead of the group and pulled them close.

  “Give me your money right now!” The same man demanded with a growl. “Be careful, I won’t let you go unless I get it.” He brandished a wooden club and his partner took out a long knife from his belt, stepping toward the group while waving their weapons in a threatening manner. The two families shrank back in fear from the angry men for fear they would hurt them.

  Suddenly, both of the dangerous looking men dropped their weapons, turned around and begin to run as fast as they could down the street. Stanislaus looked at his wife with a quizzical look on his face and then behind him to see another man with a dark hat and a coat draped over his shoulders, shouting, and running toward them with a pistol pointed straight ahead at the would-be robbers.

  Stanislaus blinked his eyes and shook his head. Karolina turned around to look at the man and instantly recognized him and let out an audible gasp. They could hardly believe their own eyes, but coming directly towards them was Franz Sigel, former General of the Baden Revolutionary Army.

  Chapter Eight

  Franz Sigel stopped running as he reached them and tried to catch his breath. They all shouted his name and rushed to him, thanking him for their miraculous escape from the thugs on Chatham Street. Everyone, except for Stanislaus, who stood at attention and saluted him. Sigel smiled, returned the salute and slapped him on the back. Karolina hugged him as her youngest child hid beneath his mother’s legs and refused to look at the former soldier.

  Sigel explained that he spotted Stanislaus and his family on the docks and was trying to catch up to them when he saw the two robbers so he pulled out his pistol to scare them away, the same pistol he carried with him ever since leaving the Grand Duke’s army.

  He asked them where they were going, and then grimaced when they told him of their planned stay at the Schaffts Hotel. He told them he could arrange better lodging for them and instructed them to follow him and he started walking quickly toward the center of Manhattan.

  Stanislaus caught up to him and asked, “Why were you at the docks today? To meet someone?”

  Sigel paused for a moment and said, “I usually wait at the docks for any passengers from Antwerp or Bremen, in case I know them. Today I saw you and your family, and I am glad I did!” he declared as he kept walking. Stanislaus agreed whole heartily and thanked him again.

  He explained further that the new nickname “48ers” was being applied to him and the soldiers like Stanislaus, as he pointed at him, by the German residents of New York City due to the Baden revolution. They were being seen as heroes and more of their fellow soldiers were arriving each day after being forced out of their homeland by the Prussians. He planned to greet them as they came ashore and welcome them to America.

  As they continued walking down Broadway Street, Karolina spotted the cross for the St. Patrick’s church in the distance.

  “Wait”, she shouted at Sigel and the rest of their party. She told her husband, “I have to give thanks for our journey!”

  Sigel, hesitating for a moment, realized the closest Catholic Church was the St. Patrick’s Church on Mulberry Street and so changing direction began to walk quickly toward the church. He was aware that it was already late in the day and he needed to deliver his friends to the hotel before dark. Karolina and her family followed Sigel as he set an even quicker pace.

  They arrived at the church and Karolina rushed in and knelt at the main altar, crossed herself and began to pray, “Lord, thank you for taking care of me and my family on our journey. Please protect us for a little while longer until we reach our new
home in Ohio.”

  She crossed herself and looked around the church at the beautiful stained glass windows and gold covered decorations and then rejoined her family outside.

  Sigel led the entire group straight to the St. Nicholas Hotel on Broadway and Spring Streets. It had just opened in January and was proclaimed to be the grandest hotel in New York City by all the newspapers and fortunately Sigel knew the proprietor of the hotel.

  As they approached the hotel, Karolina and Stanislaus explained to Sigel that they did not have enough money to pay for a stay in such a grand hotel and needed all of their money for their travel to Ohio, the next day. Sigel told both of them to never mind since he knew the hotel owner would welcome them anyway and so he beckoned for them to follow him inside.

  Sigel met the St. Nicholas Hotel proprietor at a Whig Party meeting and the owner knowing about Sigel’s standing in the New York City German-American community, encouraged him to bring as many of his friends as possible, regardless of their wealth or social standing to stay in his hotel to show the wealthy New York City residents his establishment’s popularity. In turn, these guests would be able to secure a room for very little money, usually a dollar or less, and stay in the interior rooms of the hotel next to the laundry room and other less desirable areas. These hotel guests were discouraged from gathering in the lobby and other public areas of the hotel unless they were groomed and well dressed.

  Chapter Nine

  As they entered the hotel and crossed the marble floor, Karolina heard a voice at the far end of the lobby. “Karolina, what are you doing here?” A well-dressed woman in a dark dress with a mink stole adorning her shoulders walked up to Karolina.