Here was a field for the enemies of Trenck to incite the people against him. They accused him of having made the King of Prussia a prisoner in his tent; that he also pillaged the camp instead of attacking the rear of the army. After having ended the campaign, he returned to Vienna to defend himself. Here he found twenty-three officers, whom he expelled his regiment, most of them for cowardice or mean actions. They were ready to bear false testimony. Counsellor Weber and Gen. Loewenwalde, had sworn his downfall, which they effected. Trenck despised their attacks. While things remained thus, they instructed one of the Empress’s attendants to profit by every opportunity to deprive him of her confidence. It was affirmed, Trenck is an atheist! who never prayed to the holy Virgin! The officers, whom he had broken, whispered it in coffee-houses, that Trenck had taken and set free the King of Prussia! This raised the cry among the fanatical mob of Vienna. Teased by their complaints, and at the requisition of Trenck himself, the Empress commanded that examination should be undertaken of these accusations. Field-marshal Cordova was chosen to preside over this inquiry. He spoke the truth, and drew up a statement of the case; it was presented to the Court, and which I shall here insert.
“The complaints brought against him did not require a court-martial. Trenck had broken some officers by his own authority; their demands ought to be satisfied by the payment of 12,000 florins. The remaining accusations were all the attempts of revenge and calumny, and were insufficient to detain at Vienna, entangled in law-suits, a man so necessary to the army. Moreover, it would be prudent not to inquire into trifles, in consideration of his important services.”
Trenck, dissatisfied by this sentence, and animated by avarice and pride, refused to pay a single florin, and returned to Sclavonia. His presence was necessary at Vienna, to obtain other advantages against his enemies. They gave the Empress to understand, that being a man excessively dangerous, whenever he supposed himself injured, Trenck had spread pernicious views in Sclavonia, where all men were dependent on him. He raised six hundred more men, with whom he made a campaign in the Netherlands, and in October, 1746, returned to Vienna. After the peace of Dresden, his regiment was incorporated among the regulars, and served against France.
Scarcely had he arrived at Vienna, before an order came from the Empress that he must remain under arrest in his chamber. Here he rendered himself guilty by the most imprudent action of his whole life. He ordered his carriage and horses, despising the imperial mandate, went to the theatre, when the Empress was present. In one of the boxes he saw Count Gossau, in company with a comrade of his own, whom he had cashiered: these persons were among the foremost of his accusers. Inflamed with the desire of revenge, he entered the box, seized Count Gossau, and would have thrown him into the pit in the presence of the Sovereign herself. Gossau drew his sword, and tried to run him through, but the latter seizing it, wounded himself in the hand. Everybody ran to save Gossau, who was unable to defend himself. After this exploit, the colonel of the pandours returned foaming home.
Such an action rendered it impossible for Maria Theresa to declare herself the protectress of a man so rash. Sentinels were placed over him, and his enemies profiting by his imprudence and passion, he was ordered to be tried by a court-martial. General Loewenwalde intrigued so successfully, that he procured himself to be named, by the Hofkriegsrath, president of the court-martial, and to be charged with the sequestration of the property of Trenck. In vain did the latter protest against his judge. The very man, whom the year before he had kicked out of the ante-chamber of Prince Charles, received full power to denounce him guilty. Then was it that public notice was given that all those who would prefer complaints against Colonel Baron Trenck should receive a ducat per day while the council continued to sit. They soon amounted to fifty-four, who, in a space of four months, received 15,000 florins from the property of Trenck. The judge himself purchased the depositions of false witnesses; and Count Loewenwalde offered me one thousand ducats, if I would betray the secrets of my cousin, and promised me I should be put in possession of my confiscated estates in Prussia, and have a company in a regiment.
That the indictment and the examinations of the witnesses were falsified, has already been proved in the revision of the cause; but as the indictment did not contain one article that could affect his life, they invented the following stratagem. A courtesan, a mistress of Baron Rippenda, who was a member of the court-martial, was bribed, and made oath she was the daughter of Count Schwerin, Field-marshal in the Prussian service, and that she was in bed with the King of Prussia, when Trenck surprised the camp at Sorau, made her and the King prisoners, and restored them their freedom. She even ventured to name Baron Hilaire, aide-de-camp to Frederic, whom she affirmed was then present. Hilaire, who afterwards married the Baroness Tillier, and who consequently was brother-in-law to Trenck, fortunately happened to be in Vienna. He was confronted with this woman, and through her falsehoods, the gentleman was obliged to remain in prison, where they offered him bribes, which be refused to accept; and, to prevent his speaking, he continued in prison some weeks, and was not released till this shameful proceeding was made public.
Count Loewenwalde invented another artifice; he drew up a false indictment; and, that he might be prevented all means of justification, he chose a day to put it in practice, when the Emperor and Prince Charles were hunting at Holitzsch. Loewenwalde’s court-martial had already signed a sentence of death, and every preparation for the erection of a scaffold was made. His intention was then to go to the Empress and induce her to sign the sentence, under a pretence that there was some imminent peril at hand, if a man so dangerous to the state was not immediately put out of the way, and that it would be necessary to execute the sentence of death before the Emperor could return. He well knew the Emperor was better acquainted with Trenck, and had ever been his protector.
Had this succeeded, Trenck would have died like a traitor; Miss Schwerin would have espoused the aide-de-camp of Loewenwalde, with fifty thousand florins, taken from the funds of Trenck, and his property would have been divided between his judges and his accusers. As it happened, however, the valet-de-chambre of Count Loewenwalde, who was an honest man, and who had an intimacy with a former mistress of Trenck, confided the whole secret to her. She immediately flew to Colonel Baron Lopresti, who was the sincere friend of my kinsman, and, being then powerful at Court, was his deliverer. The Emperor and Prince Charles were informed of what was in agitation, but they thought proper to keep it secret. The hunting at Holitzsch took place on the appointed day. Count Loewenwalde made his appearance before the Empress, and solicited her to sign the sentence. She, however, had been pre-informed, the Emperor having returned on the same day, and their abominable project proved abortive. Miss Schwerin was imprisoned; Loewenwalde was deprived of his power, as well as of the sequestration of the effects of Trenck; a total revision of the proceedings of the court-martial, and of the prosecution of my cousin, was ordered, which was an event, that, till then, was unexampled at Vienna.
Trenck was freed from his fetters, removed to the arsenal, an officer guarded him, and he had every convenience he could wish. He was also permitted the use of a counsellor to defend his cause. I obtained by the influence of the Emperor leave to visit him and to aid him in all things. It was at this epoch that I arrived at Vienna, and, at this very instant, when the revision of the prosecution was commanded and determined on. Count Loewenwalde, supposing me a needy, thoughtless youth, endeavoured to bribe me, and prevail on me to betray my kinsman. Prince Charles of Lorraine then desired me seriously to represent to Trenck that his avarice had been the cause of all these troubles, for he hind refused to pay the paltry sum of 12,000 florins, by which he might have silenced all his accusers; but that, as at present, affairs had become so serious, he ought himself to secure his judges for the revision of the suit; to spare no money, and then he might be certain of every protection the prince could afford.
The respectable Field-marshal Konigseck, governor of Vienna, was appointed president; but, being an old man, he was unable to preside at any one sitting of the court. Count S--- was the vice-president, a subtle, insatiable judge, who never thought he had money enough. I took 3,000 ducats, which Baron Lopresti gave me, to this most worthy counsellor. The two counsellors, Komerkansquy and Zetto, each received 4,000 rix-dollars, with a promise of double the sum if Trenck were acquitted; there was a formal contract drawn up, which a certain noble lord secretly signed. Trenck was defended by the advocate Gerhauer and by Berger. They began with the self-created daughter of Marshal Schwerin; and, to conceal the iniquitous proceedings of the late court-martial, it was thought proper that she should appear insane, and return incoherent answers to the questions put by the examiners. Trenck insisted that a more severe inquiry should be instituted; but they affirmed that she had been conducted out of the Austrian territories.