But this is not sufficient. There is the very strongest presumption that Count Struensee in this traffic committed an impudent, disgraceful, and highly criminal fraud. When the account found among Count Struensee's papers, and approved by his Majesty, of the income and expenditure of the special treasury for the months of April and May, was laid before his Majesty, as it was considered suspicious, the king at once declared that he perfectly well remembered having at that time given 10,000 dollars to the queen, 6,000 to Count Brandt, and other 6,000 to Count Struensee, but no more. Just as these sums amount to 22,000 dollars, it is on an inspection of the document as clear as the sun that the addition was in the first instance 22,000 dollars, but the first figure two was converted into a three—a change which is so visible that it is at once noticed—and that a one was afterwards added, for which there was no other room but in front of the line drawn underneath, which is quite contrary to the practice in the other accounts, and in this very one on the preceding page, where the in-comings are calculated. Hence, then, the said sum of 22,000 dollars became 132,000, which is proved by the fact that the two sums of 6,000 dollars for Struensee and Brandt were converted into 60,000 by the addition of a cipher, and 2,000 dollars were added for Falckenskjold. This last sum seems to have been added, in order not to be obliged to convert the second two into a cipher in the sum of 22,000 dollars, which had become 130,000.
These suppositions, the real strength of which only that man can comprehend who has the document in question before him, is also confirmed by other concurrent circumstances—as, for instance, that the account for April and May is written by Struensee himself, while the other extracts and calculations are written by the secretary of the cabinet, which probably occurred because Count Struensee wished no one to be cognizant of the embezzlement effected by him, and further by the fact that, from this time, Count Struensee laid no account of the treasury before the king until the end of October, although in June there was an out-going of 2,000 dollars, which were given to Justiz-rath Struensee.[11]
This negligence or omission appears to have taken place purposely, so that his Majesty, after so long an interval, might not thoroughly remember the real state of the treasury. To this must be added his Majesty's own alleged and very natural conjecture that it cannot be credited that he gave Counts Struensee and Brandt 50,000 or 60,000 dollars apiece, while he only made the queen a present of 10,000.
Count Struensee, who is obliged to confess the selfishness of having requested this money of the king, will not, however, acknowledge this embezzlement, but asserts that his Majesty at that time, on his request, gave him 50,000 dollars, and Count Brandt the same sum, and that, as the 10,000 dollars previously given had not been taken to account, they were included in this amount. On the document being produced before the commission, however, he was obliged to allow that all the facts concurred against him to arouse such a presumption, which he had no evidence to refute, while at the same time, he regretted his want of accuracy and his negligence.
That Count Struensee's ambition was not less than his avidity, and that his "moderation," as regards honours and titles, was in no way inferior to that for money and resources, is equally self-evident.
Within two years he made such progress as others of greater nobility and higher merit hardly make in thirty years and more. According to the position which he occupied, he could not fail to stand in great honour both at court and in the city. But all this was not enough for him.
Through constant persuasion he brought it about that his Majesty appointed him on July 14, 1771, privy cabinet minister, which design he contrived to conceal up to the last moment, even from his most intimate friends, just as he, and Chamberlain Brandt were a few days later raised to the rank of counts.[12]
Although as privy cabinet minister he regarded himself as the first private person in the whole kingdom, still, the title and the authority he had hitherto possessed did not suffice him; but he wished to have prerogatives connected with them which were not at all seemly for a subject, and involved a portion of the sovereign authority which belonged to the king alone.
Count Struensee had already seized on all the power, and as those persons who were about the king spoke in Struensee's behalf, and his Majesty thus only heard praises of his minister, it was perfectly natural that he should have a certain liking for him, and as he was nearly the only person who discussed the affairs with his Majesty, it could not fail that the latter should consent to everything he proposed. Thus he had everything that he could crave; but this was not sufficient to satisfy his immoderate ambition, as the colleges refused to obey unless they saw the king's signature.
This did not suit Struensee, and there are grounds for believing that it did not agree with his secret designs, and his wish that his signature should be worth as much as the king's, and that the persons concerned should obey both signatures.