The girl was illegitimate, but proud—she insisted on the examination: let everyone know! The court ladies who used to look down their noses at her and gossip nonsense would now have to lower their eyes in shame. In the autumn of 1710, a simple maid was about to astonish a prince.
…Chancellor Gottlieb Nüssler was confident that his high position at the court of the Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode would ensure a secure life for his family. When his wife gave birth to a daughter in May 1683, the prince himself offered to be the godfather. And the baby was held over the baptismal font by a duchess… Alas. The rise did not last long.
First, the chancellor made disapproving remarks about the prince’s extravagant spending. Then, his stern and strict nature didn’t sit well with the princess. To top it off, Gottlieb’s wife fell ill… Little Wilhelmina Charlotte—called Mina at home—barely remembered her mother. Mrs. Nüssler died when Mina was three. By age six, she was a full orphan.
“Poor Gottlieb,” said the Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode, shaking his head.
But it wasn’t the deceased man to be pitied—it was his orphaned daughter. At first, Mina was taken in by relatives on her father’s side. They had hoped Gottlieb had left a good inheritance… When it turned out that Nüssler had saved almost nothing, her uncle and aunt quickly passed Mina on to relatives on her mother’s side. That household already had fourteen children! One more mouth to feed was clearly too much.
Did her godfather remember the poor girl? Sadly, no. The beautiful, haughty duchess who was Mina’s godmother didn’t lift a finger to help her either.
But the little girl turned out to be as strong as a diamond. Confident and very clever.
She knew she had nothing—except perhaps a good name. She saw how she was a burden, always getting the worst food and poorest clothes… So when she turned fifteen, Mina raised her head proudly and declared:
“I will earn my own bread!”
Only in youth can one show such confidence. Mina began to look for work—and found it. Forester Christian von Buttlar needed a quick, capable maid. And the chancellor’s daughter, baptized by a prince, didn’t object. She would be a maid!
She rose at 4:30 a.m. to light the fireplace. She brewed the forester’s coffee herself, then started cleaning and doing laundry. Her pay was small, but this was just the beginning. Mina had no doubt. She also surprised von Buttlar’s footmen and guests by being completely untouchable.
Any attempt to get closer was cut off. Any hint of a romantic relationship was met with a sharp “No.” And she was very attractive!
“Well, that’s foolish,” the housekeeper said one day, munching an apple. “If you cozied up to the master, he might slip you some money.”
“And then what?” Mina shrugged. “Would he marry me?”
The housekeeper burst out laughing.
“Marry you? A girl with no dowry? No chance—no one will marry you!”
But Mina kept doing her job and remained just as unapproachable.
Then, in 1710, something unexpected happened. Prince Karl Friedrich of Anhalt-Bernburg stopped at the forester’s house on his way home. He was a widower with five children, fifteen years older than Mina… And this maid with the manners of an aristocrat astonished and captivated him.
The girl didn’t respond to his attention. She was proud! The prince had to continue on his way, but he couldn’t get Mina out of his mind…
So he came back.
And then returned again.
Mina remained as she always was—polite but distant. Still, she liked Karl Friedrich too! But she couldn’t sacrifice her dignity. Only when the prince brought her a ring and gave his word that he would marry her did she agree to leave her job and go with him.
News spread quickly through the region. People said all sorts of things—that Mina had laid a trap, that everyone in the forester’s house had already “entered the forbidden garden.” Outraged, Mina insisted on an examination: let the prince see for himself that she was completely pure! In autumn 1710, a midwife examined Mina and gave her verdict: “She has never been touched.”
Karl Friedrich was overjoyed
The marriage, as it turned out, was a happy one. And when Mina’s husband departed from this world, he made sure to provide for his wife—she was to receive an annual pension of 5,000 thalers, and each of their children was also to receive the same amount. The title of prince passed to Karl Friedrich’s son from his first marriage, but the Counts of Ballenstadt—Mina and her children—were not wronged in any way.
Mina closed her eyes forever on May 30, 1740. She always said she had lived a very good life and never regretted a single moment of it…
