FOOTNOTES:
[1] This and the following letter were found in Brandt's pocket-book when he was arrested, and were first published by Dr. Jörgen Hee, in his account of his penitent's conversion.
[2] An allusion to Brandt's letter to the king, intended to overthrow Holck.
[3] The original is preserved in the Royal Library at Copenhagen.
[4] Reverdil, p. 283.
[5] "Mémoires de Falckenskjold," pp. 151-2.
[6] Reverdil, p. 287.
[7] Reverdil, p. 290. Though these details may appear trivial, they are worth notice, because Brandt's caustic manner procured him many enemies, and rendered the efforts made to save him of no effect.
[8] "Mémoires de Falckenskjold."
[9] The uncle of Dieveke, the mistress of Christian II., who induced the king to commit the massacre of Stockholm, under circumstances of the greatest treachery and barbarity.
[10] The letters contained in the following chapter, the originals of which are in the Copenhagen secret archives, have not been published before. Only some passages of them were quoted by Fiscal General Wiwet in his prosecution of Brandt. Hence it is probable that Struensee returned them as requested, and that the letters were found among Brandt's sealed-up papers.
[11] Moranti, a negro boy from the Danish colony existing at that day on the Gold Coast, who, with another lad and Chamberlain Brandt, had to dress and undress the king, and a negro girl of ten years of age, formed the daily society of the autocrat Christian VII., who, according to the anonymous correspondent just quoted, was so inexpressibly beloved by the whole nation. He and his two playmates led so wild a life, that there was not a bust or statue in the palace or the gardens, which they had not converted into a target, or was safe from being destroyed, or, at least, mutilated by them.
[12] Or about £5,000 a year. It must be confessed that the count wished to live "decently," especially when we take the value of money at that day into consideration.
[13] Brandt's stepfather.
[14] Struensee was thrown from his horse in September, and confined to his room for some time.
[15] Reverdil tells us, in confirmation of this, that Brandt had thought of giving Struensee a successor in the queen's favour, as he believed that the minister's power and place depended on her, and he had turned his attention to those courtiers whom he considered most seductive, through their face or other advantages; but, in the end, his imagination growing more exalted, he conceived the plan of pleasing the queen himself.
[16] Reverdil, p. 295.
[17] "Mémoires de Falckenskjold," p. 156.
[18] The original decrees will be found in Höst, vol. iii.
[19] As an instance of this, take the questions proposed for solution in the "Magazine of Periodical Literature"—Is it possible that the lover of a woman can be her husband's sincere friend and faithful adviser? And if the husband accepts him as his confidant, what consequences will result from it for all three and for the children?
[20] The reader is aware that the king was already quite imbecile, and had frequent attacks of mania. But, in order to remove the slightest doubts about Christian VII.'s condition of mind at this time, I will quote the following instances from Molbeck's "Historic Journal for 1852:"—
"One Sunday, during divine service, when the queen was diverting herself in the riding-house in the rear of Christiansborg Palace, the king was standing on the balcony over the gateway with his black and his white boys, and threw from thence logs of fire-wood, tongs, shovels, books, papers, and entire drawers, down into the court-yard, and at last wanted to hurl his favourite Gourmand and the negro boy over the balustrade. Among the papers thrown down was a secret list of the fleet and the condition of each ship, which the lackey of a foreign minister found and carried to his master. In the following June the king broke all the windows in his own and the queen's apartments at Hirschholm, smashed looking-glasses, chairs, tables, and costly china vases, and threw the fragments through the windows into the yard, in which his playmates helped him with all their might. At first such amusements on the part of the sovereign excited great surprise among the public, but they soon grew accustomed to them through their frequent repetition."
[21] One of the king's amusements was to fight with his young companions, and as he himself tried to hurt and even kill them, they generally leagued against him; but he was never beaten, except by his own express wish.—Reverdil.
[22] It is rather difficult to decide about this old soldier's character. According to Reverdil and other authorities, he was a regular old woman, and was solely appointed as a cover for Falckenskjold, who was the real commander. Still, Wiwet, in his indictment of Struensee, states that Gude was a man "who could frighten the whole city by his loud voice and savage looks."
[23] I give this anecdote on the authority of a pamphlet published in Amsterdam in 1773, under the title of "Die Struensee und Brandtische Kriminalsache," a translation of a pamphlet published on behalf of the British ministry in Copenhagen during the previous year.
[24] Reverdil, p. 307.
[25] Reverdil, p. 312.
[26] Reverdil, p. 314. During Struensee's trial much use was made of the form of this order and the absence of the king's signature. The order in itself was most imprudent, for the queen dowager and her son were living in the palace which it was proposed to storm.
[27] Reverdil, p. 309.
[28] That Sir R. M. Keith was strongly prejudiced against Struensee is seen in his Memoirs. After expressing his dissatisfaction at remaining at a post when he was prohibited from mixing himself up in the internal administration, he adds, "If I am ordered to grapple with these gentry, I already feel (thank God) the superiority which honesty has over low cunning. I am sure, if I had carte blanche, I could already have dismissed half a dozen of the most worthless fellows alive."
[29] In order to gain the confidence of the queen dowager and her party, Rantzau had taken formal leave of the royal family while at Hirschholm, and was living in quasi retirement. At the same time he quieted his creditors by assuring them that, so soon as Struensee was overthrown, he intended to pay off all his debts.—Reverdil, p. 326.
[30] "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 150.
[31] "Mémoires de Falckenskjold," p. 157.
[32] When the well-known Baron Grimm, some years after the palace revolution of 1772, requested Reverdil to give him a description of Struensee, he answered him: "Tacitus has drawn it for us," and read the baron the following passage from the Annals:—"Poor, unknown, and restless, he managed by secret machinations to satisfy the malicious temper of the prince, and ere long he brought every celebrated man into danger. Thus he attained power with one but hatred with all, and furnished an example how rich men are made poor, and despised men grand, by which he entailed first the ruin of others and then his own."
[33] Reverdil, p. 329.
[34] By Jörgensen Jomton, a well-known literary man, and confidant of Christian VIII.
[35] Struensee is reported to have said of Köller: "He looks as if he had no mother, but was brought into the world by a man. Something innate in him stamps him ruffian."
[36] "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 152.
[37] "One Beringskjold, an infamous, abandoned wretch, capable of every crime or villany, and whom fame declares to be the man who put Peter, the late Emperor of Russia, to death."—N. W. Wraxall's Private Journal.
[38] "Mémoires de mon Temps," p. 60.
[39] Reverdil, p. 336.
[40] In giving the above account, I have principally followed the reports of the party favourable to the queen dowager, except in those cases where a bias was evident. The fullest account will be found in the "Memoiren von Köller Banner;" but I have also inserted numerous bits from pamphlets, though I did not deem it necessary to quote my authority in each case.
[41] These curious details are derived from a scarce pamphlet, "Leben, Begebenheiten und unglückliches Ende der beiden Grafen Struensee und Brandt, 1772" (no imprint).
[42] "Mémoires de Falckenskjold," p. 238.
[43] There are as many variations in the account of Caroline Matilda's arrest as there are writers on it, but I have mainly followed that of Prince Charles of Hesse, even passing over the "Private Journal" in its favour, for the following reasons:—First, Prince Charles was a friend of the queen dowager, and continued in the Danish service: hence he had every opportunity of hearing the correct details from some of the principal actors. On the other hand, Mr. Wraxall's informants were friends of the queen, and both already under arrest, so they could only repeat the affair at second-hand: and even though Mr. Wraxall was in Copenhagen so shortly after the occurrence, all Englishmen were regarded as spies, and I do not think he found any opportunity of hearing the exact facts from the chief conspirators. The two narratives, however, differ very slightly, and this is a confirmation of the correctness of the Landgrave's story, because Mr. Wraxall was informed by the queen herself of the whole details. Unfortunately, he delivered to George III. all the confidential papers and letters connected with the affair, and from this cause I am unable to say with certainty whether the "Private Journal" is based on the story of Caroline Matilda herself. Still, my grandfather was not the man to give up important papers and keep a copy of them, and I therefore believe that the narrative I have before me is drawn up from the statements of Bülow and Le Texier.
[44] A descendant of this officer accompanied the Princess Alexandra in her triumphal entrance into London. But this is only a further proof of the well-established fact that the whirligigs of time bring strange revenges.
[45] The latest traveller in Denmark, De Flaux, gives us the following account of Caroline Matilda's apartments at Kronborg:—"In a tower is a small oval room, the windows of which are still lined with iron bars. It was here that the queen was confined. I was shown the prie-dieu used by this unfortunate princess. It was on the faded velvet that covered it that she rested her beautiful head. Who knows whether the spots on it were not produced by the tears of despair she shed. Was it not while kneeling on this chair that she heard the terrible sentence that sent her two friends to the scaffold, and herself dishonoured to the Castle of Aalborg?" Mr. N. W. Wraxall, describing his visit to Kronborg, says that the rooms which the commandant had the mercy to give his prisoner were vast, unfurnished, hideous, bare walls; never warm in July.
[46] Reverdil adds to this fearful picture: "There was another house let to the Italian actresses, and doubtless more impure than the others; but the people behaved more civilly here, and, wishing to treat it like the rest, ordered the girls to leave it first, respecting in their persons the amusements of the king."
[47] Reverdil, p. 343.
[48] This grand sermon was duly printed, and is lying before me, but I mercifully spare the reader further extracts. I may mention, however, that the text was taken from St. Matthew, chap. viii. 1-13.
[49] This lad was but seventeen years of age, and nothing was known as yet of his capacity.
[50] Among other insults to Struensee, may be mentioned his portrait being placed in the shops, with the following couplet, containing a reference to his name, beneath it:—
"Sic regi mala multa Struens se perdidit ipse,
Jam victus claustris, qui modo victor erat."
Which, for the benefit of the ladies, may be translated: "Thus the man who prepared much evil for the king destroyed himself; and he now lies in prison, who was shortly ago lord of all."
[51] The titles were L'Ambilieux and L'Indiscret, either by accident or through a vile eagerness on the part of the comedians.
[52] "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 271.
[53] Reverdil, p. 363. Sturtz wrote to him afterwards that this affair had seriously injured his health; and, in fact, he died at the early age of forty years.
[54] "Gespräch im Reiche der Todten," a very virulent Danish pamphlet, with the motto,
"Aude aliquid brevibus gyaris et carcere dignum,
Si vis esse aliquid; probitas laudatur et alget."
[55] "Die Struensee und Brandtische Kriminalsache".
[56] Walpole's "Journal of the Reign of George III."
[57] "Annual Register, 1772."
[58] Walpole's "Journal of the Reign of George III.," to which we are indebted for another anecdote. About a week after the account came, Count Maltzahn, the Prussian envoy, asked Mr. Dayrolles, with a sneer, "Qu'est devenu votre Reine de Danemarc?" Dayrolles replied, with spirit, "Apparement qu'elle est à Spandau avec votre Princesse de Prusse,"—who had been divorced for adultery.
[59] It is amusing to notice the transparent cloak employed by public writers even when bespattering their political foes the most fiercely. Thus Junius invariably addresses Lord N—, alludes to his M—y, and tells the premier, not that he shall be accursed, but a—d. It reminds me of the rule that only allows boxing matches in France with the gloves on, though the latter may be made of the thinnest silk.
[60] I have allowed this revolting passage to stand, as it exemplifies the language which a subject dared to use about the reigning family in those days. It is not surprising that a nation, which could tolerate language of this nature in the public press, should be ready to credit the Queen of Denmark's guilt.
[61] Reverdil, p. 396.
[62] A French petit maître, who protested against this weakness of Struensee, and in whose presence the discretion of his own countrymen in such matters was called in question, retorted: "Un Français l'aurait dit à tout le monde, et ne l'aurait avoué à personne."
[63] That Struensee's contemporaries were of the same opinion, will be seen from what Baron von Bülow said to Mr. Wraxall on the subject:—"Had Struensee persisted pertinaciously in disclaiming any sort of criminal intimacy with the queen, should a contrary declaration have afterwards been made by him under torture, all the world would have said that such a confession was worth nothing; as having been extorted by the rack—as being the mere effect of pain. He would probably have then been put out of the way in prison, but to latest ages he would have been called a great man: nor could they then have touched Queen Matilda. She denied everything till she was shown Struensee's confession."
[64] This confession still exists: indeed, I have a copy of it. But, however anxious I may feel to arrive at the truth, it is simply impossible to republish it. The few general hints I give in the text, and further on in the indictment of the queen, will suffice to indicate its disgusting character.
[65] Reverdil makes a remark on this, which would have weight if we could believe a word that Brandt said. He observes:—"I learnt from Brandt such peculiar details, which at the same time agreed with all the rest, that I could neither doubt their truth nor their origin. Brandt was so petulant in his curiosity about matters of gallantry, that it was necessary either to deny as impudently as he questioned, or to confess everything. And as he spared nobody, and took a pride in dispensing with those reservations most commanded by decency, I do not doubt that by showing himself thoroughly acquainted with the affair, he forced the queen to speak to him as clearly as his friend did. In his examination he confessed to having been a confidant."
[66] This letter was first published in the English papers early in April, 1772.
[67] "Authentische Aufklärungen," pp. 223, 224.
[68] According to another version of the story, given by Falckenskjold and the "Authentische Aufklärungen," the queen fainted after writing the first syllable, Carol——. Schack Rathlau seized the queen's hand, forced the fallen pen into it, and guiding it, added the missing syllables ine Matilda. This statement, however, is highly improbable, and nowhere confirmed by the queen.
[69] Falckenskjold's "Memoirs," p. 232.
[70] The indictment and defence of the queen have never before been published—with the exception of a few fragments in Höst's "Grev Struensee og hans Ministerium." They are given here in full, save some passages which decency forbids being rendered public. Höst, who wrote his history in the reign of Frederick VI., was compelled to omit the passages which might compromise the memory of the queen. But historic truth urges me to publish everything that may serve to clear up this matter and enable a correct opinion to be formed.
[71] No objection can be raised against this assertion generally. But the Danish code forbade the courts from hearing charges against the domestic honour of royal persons, and decreed that the king must be sole judge in such affairs. The constitution of the commission was therefore illegal from the outset.
[72] The queen's women respected nothing, and even made their mistress's bed and linen the object of their examination.
[73] It should be mentioned that the original indictment is written in such a barbarous and illogical style that it is very difficult to make it endurable by the reader, without injuring the legal meaning.
[74] It was a scoundrel deed to bring forward this charge, as everybody knew that this took place at the time when the prince royal was attacked by the small-pox, and the anxious mother watched every night at his bedside.
[75] At the period specified, Struensee was physician in ordinary to both their Majesties. As it is well known that at the time Caroline Matilda was suffering from an odious disease communicated to her by the king, it is not surprising that her physician should remain with her till a late hour.
[76] An amulet given to the queen in England before her marriage.
[77] "Authentische Aufklärungen."
[78] This state paper has never before been published in England, and is literally translated from the original text.
[79] What Uldall wished to say, seems to be, that the queen could not be convicted on her own confession or on that of Struensee, as the law demanded that the evidence must be given by two persons who agreed in the facts as well as the motives.
[80] How could Colonel Keith allow such a trial as this to be carried on when the sister of his own king was the victim? And yet, it is said, he makes a merit of having saved her from the scaffold.—Falckenskjold's Memoirs, p. 233.
[81] Mademoiselle d'Eyben had been a lady-in-waiting on the queen, and, it is said, often twitted her with her conjugal fidelity. They had a quarrel, the nature of which is not known, and Mademoiselle d'Eyben's deposition was taken at Lübeck. This lady was not very scrupulous in matters of gallantry, and caused considerable scandal by her open liaison with a French actor of the name of Latour.—Falckenskjold's Memoirs, p. 233.
[82] According to Falckenskjold, it would have been as easy to pronounce the illegitimacy of Caroline Matilda's children, as to declare a divorce on account of adultery. Guldberg and his partisans were interested in doing so; hence it is plain that Queen Juliana Maria, and Prince Frederick would not allow it. If this be so, credit must be given them for this generosity. I fancy, however, that my earlier assertion is correct, and that Guldberg prevented a step which the queen dowager urged on behalf of the possible posterity of her beloved son.
[83] This circumstance, in itself, is a sufficient proof that the trial of Caroline Matilda was solely intended to throw dust in the eyes of Europe. That her place of banishment should have been selected before her trial, is of a piece with the miserable evidence produced against her.
[84] In Höst's "Struensee og hans Ministerium" this document is quoted, but with an omission of everything that proved the crime of high treason, and must entail the penalty of death. As this work, however, was published in 1824, or during the reign of the son of Caroline Matilda, everything had to be omitted which might appear offensive to the memory of the king's mother. But Höst did not inform his readers of this fact. The notorious indictment is now published for the first time, without any mutilations or suppressions, from the Danish secret archives. All honour to Frederick VII., who allowed it to be made known, although it casts such a slur on Danish justice.
[85] Well may Reverdil say about this indictment that it is impossible to read anything more flat, more clumsy, or more disgusting. It is the style of a lackey amusing himself in a tavern at the expense of a man who is about to be hung. He adds: "Ought not an unhappy man who is pining in fetters to be spared insults useless to the cause? Ought not Wiwet to have reflected that he could not insult the prisoner without failing in respect to the king, who so long honoured him with his confidence, and who signed most of the orders alleged as a crime against Struensee?"
[86] Winslöw, a celebrated anatomist, was born at Odense, in Fühnen, appointed professor at the Jardin des Plantes, in Paris, in 1742, and wrote a work that run through four editions: "Exposition Anatomique du Structure du Corps Humain." He died in 1760.
[87] I confess this sentence is quite beyond me, but it is a literal translation.
[88] An allusion to what is called the "Grafenfehde" of 1533-36.
[89] As regards this argument, Falckenskjold remarks very sensibly: "Even supposing, which I am far from admitting, that there was an illicit liaison between the queen and Struensee, the supposition that he was the seducer is absurd. Any princess who would deign thus to degrade herself with one of her subjects, is under the necessity of taking the first steps: this is one of the inconveniences of superior rank."
[90] The falsehood of this charge is best proved by Falckenskjold's own examination: "I certainly made no profit out of the 3,000 crowns given me for my journeys, made by order of the king." When he was summoned from the Turkish frontier to enter the Danish service he received 1,000 dollars, and when he was sent to Petersburg on diplomatic business he was paid 2,000 crowns for his travelling and other expenses. Little enough, when we remember that on two occasions he was obliged to stay six weeks in Petersburg.
[91] "Mémoires de Falckenskjold," p. 196.
[92] An allusion to Bernstorff as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
[93] Moltke, elder son of the favourite of Frederick V., had but little ambition, but he was ruled by Mademoiselle d'Eyben, first lady-in-waiting on the queen, and this lady was not without ambition, or sense, or disposition for intrigue. Moltke died suddenly, which disconcerted this party: for Mademoiselle d'Eyben, being ugly, could not easily fill up his place.—Mémoires de Falckenskjold, p. 181.
[94] The repetition was unavoidable here without breaking the entire sequence of the report of this remarkable trial. I was obliged partly to incorporate Struensee's apology with my text in the first instance, and now find that I am compelled to make room for it here again. I hope my readers will forgive me, in consideration that I have really made very few attempts at "padding" throughout my narrative, and have rather let facts speak for themselves than take advantage of the constant opportunities for fine writing which have presented themselves.
LONDON:
LEWIS AND SON, PRINTERS, SWAN BUILDINGS, MOORGATE STREET.
Transcriber Notes:
[P. 2.] Added missing footnote anchor to the letter.
[P. 49.] 'chesnuts' changed to 'chestnuts'.
[P. 110.] 'Hesselbberg' changed to 'Hesselberg'.
[P. 129.] 'ap-appointed' changed to appointed'.
[P. 178.] 'favourate' changed to 'favourite'.
[P. 267.] 'sufficent' changed to 'sufficient'.
[P. 368.] 'Commision' changed to 'Commission'.
[P. 369.] Falckenskjold, colonel von, his conversation with Brandt is p. 17, added to index.
[P. 373.] 'qeeen' changed to 'queen'.
Fixed various punctuation.
Added index link to table of contents in html.