Early on the following morning the baron entered Mr. Wraxall's room, and informed him, to his no small satisfaction, that the Princess of Brunswick was not then in Celle. Mr. Wraxall delivered his letters for the queen, which the baron went immediately to the castle to deliver. About four hours after he returned, and desired Mr. Wraxall to go without the loss of a moment to the Jardin François, a large garden without the city belonging to the Elector of Hanover, where her Majesty would go to meet him. He had not arrived there more than ten minutes when the queen drove up in her coach. She sent away the carriage and all her attendants, except one lady, who remained the whole time. The interview lasted about an hour, during the greater part of which they walked in one of the private vistas of the garden. Toward the end of it, the queen took Mr. Wraxall into a pavilion where a dessert of fruit was laid, and he then withdrew by her Majesty's permission.[50] The substance of the conversation was of so important a nature that I feel bound to quote it in extenso.
Having attentively perused the letter which I had written to her in the name and by order of the Danish nobility, she was perfectly satisfied with it in every particular. That the persons named as engaged in the cause were sufficient to inspire confidence, and that, relying in a special manner on the attachment, zeal, and talents of Baron von Bülow, she would dispense with his divulging the names of any more of his associates. That in compliance equally with their desire and with her own wishes, she would, without loss of time, write to her brother. That, if the time permitted, she would readily give in a copy of her intended letter to be shown Baron von Bülow for his satisfaction, and that of his friends; but that, as my interview with him in the wood of Zährendorf was to take place on the following day, and could not be postponed, she must of necessity delay writing the letter. That she would, therefore, send it by the royal Hanoverian courier, who would set out for London in two days, a conveyance, the expedition and safety of which might be relied on.
That, by so doing, his Britannic Majesty would not only be apprised of my intended arrival, but also of my errand, and, as she hoped, be disposed to give me a prompt and favourable reply. That Baron von Bülow might trust to her for writing with energy and earnestness. That she would press her brother to send a minister to Copenhagen without delay, and would, in a peculiar manner, urge the necessity of advancing to the party engaged in her restoration a sum of money. That she thought Baron von Bülow must know her well enough to be convinced that she was ready to repair to her friends in any disguise that could be pointed out; but she was persuaded the king her brother would never permit it. Still, she added, could I come, or did I come disguised, nobody would know me, as I am much altered since I was in Denmark.
Her Majesty entered on the state of her own finances, and lamented to me that the limited nature of her income, as well as some debts which she had contracted in Holland, rendered it impossible for her to contribute herself toward a cause in which she was so deeply interested. That she had not any jewels, the Danes having taken from her everything of that kind on her quitting Denmark. She was pleased to express her regret at not having it in her power to give me any testimony of her approbation, but she assured me of her future protection and recommendation to the King of Great Britain. "You must," she said, "go very quietly to work with my brother; if we manage with address, he will favour the attempt; but it will be tacitly, not openly."
Her Majesty gave me very minute instructions for my conduct, in case I should have the honour to be admitted by the king to an audience in London. She moreover charged me with some private and confidential things relative to her sister, the Princess of Brunswick, which she enjoined me, on no consideration, to impart to any one, except to the king himself, and not even to him, unless I should see an opening to do it with a prospect of good.
On the mode and channel by which I should approach his Britannic Majesty, she told me she had reflected seriously, and, after mature deliberation, had determined on the following course:—That by the Hanoverian courier she would write to Lord Suffolk, then secretary of state for the northern department, and whose conduct toward her at the time of the revolution in Denmark, she said, merited her utmost regard. That she would only say in her letter to him, that "a gentleman, Mr. Wraxall, would shortly wait on him, charged, on her part, with a very secret and important commission. That she requested him to give credit to everything communicated to him by Mr. Wraxall, and, above all, to aid and accelerate by every means in his power the object of that commission."
As, however, it might be, she conceived, more grateful to the king, her brother, that a negotiation so delicate and so peculiar should be transacted through a private, rather than through a public, channel; she likewise determined to write, by the Hanoverian courier, to the Baron von Lichtenstein. That nobleman, who occupied the post of marshal of the court of Hanover, was, she said, then on a visit to England. He had the honour to be much distinguished by the king, and he had given many proofs of his devotion to her interests; she, therefore, would write to him to the same effect as to Lord Suffolk, leaving me at liberty, according to my discretion, to apply to either on my arrival in London, but preferring, as far as regarded her own predilection, the medium of Lord Suffolk. She enjoined me, further, to write to her after I had met Baron von Bülow, and likewise from England, only observing, in both cases, the precaution of enclosing my letters, under cover, to Baron von Seckendorf.