The defence was certainly clever, and merited the applause with which it is said to have been greeted in foreign countries. But, on reflection, it seems as if the counsel did not touch on the best argument in the cause: that the law refuses a divorce to the husband of a woman guilty of adultery if he has been the seducer; and if, while cognizant of her infidelity, he has continued to cohabit with her. It would have been easy to render this palpable to the king, if he had retained even a remnant of feeling and conscience. Reverdil, who, though he was fully convinced of Caroline Matilda's guilt, felt the most sincere compassion for her, supplies us with an argument which might have been used to the king:—
"Is it not true, Sire, that from the commencement of your marriage up to the moment when the party now in power seized on you and your ministers, you had not the slightest respect for the marriage tie, and that you ever testified to the queen that you dispensed with her fidelity? Did you not invite all your successive favourites to pay their court to her? Did you not say, and prove in a thousand ways, that her affection was troublesome to you, and that your greatest misfortune was in paying attention to her? Your commissioners had the effrontery to ask the queen and Struensee who their accomplices were; in prison and in chains the accused have had the generosity to be silent on your account; but what they have not done your conscience will do, and will tell you that you were the real seducer.
"Remember, Sire, the moment when this princess, whom they wish to make you condemn to-day, was confided to your love and generosity. The English left her without any adviser, or a single companion, on your shores. Hardly emerged from childhood, she retained its graces, innocence, and naïveté; but her mind was more cultivated and mature than you expected; you were astonished at it; hearts flew to meet her; her affability and beneficence captivated all classes of the nation. When you had the misfortune to give yourself up to a frivolous and reckless favourite, and to vile companions, who led you into libertinism, she saw herself neglected. You displayed more than indifference toward her. She loved you; she was silent, and maintaining her serenity in public, contented herself with lamenting in private with the grand mistress, whom you had yourself given her as a confidante. Ere long, you envied her even her sole consolation; and this lady, whose sole crime consisted in displaying conduct and principles too austere to please you, was dismissed with the most signal mark of disgrace. Frau von der Lühe, who took her place, was the sister of your favourite. You, doubtless, supposed that this lady would have as much levity and as few principles as her brother; but she foiled your expectations. Without expressly disgracing her, you had her duties performed by women of the most equivocal reputation. What more could a consummate seducer have done? This man, with whom the queen is accused of being too intimate, yourself forced on her when she repulsed him. It was the hope of avoiding the annoyances which your favourites caused her that led her to connect herself with a man who offered his services in drawing you back to her; it was you who removed all the barriers that separated her from him, who diminished the distance, who desired what is now called your disgrace, who have excused and tolerated this liaison; and who, lastly, up to January 17, talked of it as a good joke.
"Your cause is inseparable from that of your wife, and even should the whole world condemn her, you ought to revoke this condemnation through a feeling of self-respect, if not through natural equity."
It is impossible to say whether any one of the thirty-four judges raised his voice in favour of a princess whom they were absolutely obliged to condemn, or whether not one of them dared to touch on so delicate a matter: but the sentence of divorce was pronounced after two sessions of seven hours each. It was not made public, but a rescript was sent to the provincial governors and bailiffs, in which the king informed them that he had repudiated his consort, after a solemn inquiry, in order to repair the honour of his house, and for motives of public welfare. The same tribunal pronounced that the Princess Louisa Augusta should retain the honour due to the daughters of kings. A sealed and secret document was handed at the same time to the Chanceries, which was to be read at the king's death. It doubtless regulated the regency in the event of a minority. Some persons believed that in this will the princess was disinherited: but how could that be so?[82]
The queen's confession was dated March 9: the king's counsel handed in his indictment on the 24th: Uldall's reply was made on April 2: and the sentence was passed on the 6th of the same month. Matters were certainly done very quickly. Baron Juel-Wind, Justiciary of the Supreme Court, received orders to inform the queen of the sentence, which he did on April 9, in the presence of Lieutenant-General von Hauch, commandant of Kronborg.
The original intention was to exile the unfortunate queen to Aalborg, in Jütland, where she was not to be imprisoned, but to have certain restrictions placed on her liberty. As early as February,[83] Colonel Pentz had been sent to examine the castle, and order the necessary repairs. We shall see hereafter how a change in the arrangements was made.