CHAPTER IX.

THE COURT DOCTOR.

THE QUEEN'S ILLNESS--THE NEW DOCTOR--THE FAVOURITE--COURT REVELS--THE SMALL-POX--THE QUEEN'S FRIEND--A TRIP TO HOLSTEIN--RECALL OF BRANDT--SAD SCENES AT COURT--DOWNFALL OF HOLCK--RANTZAU-ASCHEBERG--THE FOREIGN ENVOYS--PRESENTATION OF COLOURS.

Various stories are current as to the way in which Caroline Matilda and Struensee first became acquainted. Her enemies assert that she was guilty of dissimulation from the outset, and that, for some time after she had chosen the doctor as her partisan, she feigned an aversion for him; but there appears to be no foundation for this report beyond that of party spirit. After well weighing the various accounts, I am disposed to accept, in preference, the one given in Mr. N. W. Wraxall's private journal, because he had it from one of the principal actors while the events were fresh in his memory.[101]

About this time, Struensee became intimate with a lady whose sentiments seemed to harmonize with his own. This was Frau von Gabel, wife of the admiral, and _née_ Countess Rosenkrantz, of Willestrup, in Jütland. This lady, who was at the time only twenty-three years of age, had formerly repulsed the king's coarse advances. Struensee, in order to secure the king's favour, thought it advisable, so it was said, to give him an ostensible mistress, of whom he himself would be the real lover.[102] He chose for this purpose Frau von Gabel, a very young and charming woman, animated with a real patriotism, but too much of a republican to live at court. Struensee began by persuading her that the king had been entirely changed during his tour; he had grown affable and attentive, and capable of devoting his attention to governing. He added, that he flattered himself with having greatly contributed to this change; that the patriots ought to thank him for it, but that the work was still imperfect, and could only be completed by a woman of sense and honest character undertaking to arouse in the sovereign a moral feeling, which had been blunted by his debauchery and the vices of his favourites.

Frau von Gabel, on hearing this, desired to become better acquainted with the king, and to please him. She received repeated visits from Christian during the early part of the year, though she lived some distance from court. The clever lady strove to employ the impression she produced on the king's mind in dragging him out of the inaction which degraded him, and helping him to cast off his inglorious bonds. Still Struensee did not agree with her on two points. The first was, that she and the Moltke party insisted on removing Holck from the king's person, which Struensee considered unnecessary, because an old favourite was less injurious than a new one. The other was, that she did not, like the doctor, regard a reconciliation between the royal husband and wife as absolutely necessary for the king's happiness.

Frau von Gabel soon discovered, however, that she had been deceived as to the king's pretended amendment. In proportion as he spoke with less reserve, he displayed the same vices she had known in him formerly, and, in addition, the mania which formed their basis. She fell into a state of profound melancholy, and died in the following August, showing, in her last moments, that Struensee, far from having been her lover, had only attracted her hatred.[103]

Caroline Matilda had discovered Frau von Gabel's desire of pleasing the king, and, as a woman, naturally placed a false construction on it. She regarded Struensee as an accomplice; hated them both; and always spoke of the doctor with the most supreme contempt. Holck behaved like the engineer who hoisted himself with his own petard. Seeing the queen's detestation of the doctor, he did his utmost to force the latter upon her, and revelled in the idea of causing her increased annoyance. Caroline Matilda was, at this time, melancholy and ill, and was supposed to be affected with symptoms of dropsy. The remedies she took had no effect either on her malady or her temper, and hence the king proposed to her to consult his young doctor; and, on her refusal, insisted on it. Struensee had even more knowledge of the human heart, the world, and women, than of his profession. After observing and questioning the queen, he assured her that she was not dropsical; that her illness was not serious; and pledged himself to cure her in a short time. His treatment was as agreeable as his diagnosis; and his promises were consolatory.

"Chagrin," he said, "_ennui_, and a sedentary life, have produced all the mischief; your Majesty does not want medicine so much as plenty of exercise, amusements, and distractions. _Ennui_, which dwells in courts, principally arises from etiquette; the latter must be proscribed, or, at least, restricted to certain days, which are specially consecrated to it. Danish ladies do not ride on horseback; but your Majesty must give them the example. They may be scandalised at the outset, but the fashion and custom will make them regard the thing with more favour."

The queen took riding lessons, and became, in a short time, a good and indefatigable horsewoman. The obstructions were soon dispersed, and gaiety, recalled to court in proportion as etiquette was banished from it, caused no apprehension of a relapse being entertained. This happy cure acquired confidence and easy access for the doctor. The queen soon saw that she had been unfairly prejudiced against Struensee. On conversing him on various subjects, she found him better informed and more agreeable company than the swarm of idlers and empty-headed fops who surrounded her. She liked the doctor the more on discovering that he was thoroughly informed of the cause of her sorrow. Nothing affected her so much as the indifference of the king and the insolence of his favourites. Holck had certainly tried to gain her favour; but whether he set to work awkwardly, or that the aversion was invincible, he had only irritated her the more by his tentatives. He was reported to have boasted that he could have gained the queen's favour by rendering homage to her charms, and his indifference was the cause of her ill-will. This boast, of which he was accused, justly or unjustly, had left ineffaceable traces, and convinced the queen that all the other accusations brought against the favourite were true.

Struensee, on the contrary, was a servant of no consequence. He offered his devotion; he assured the queen that he should esteem it a happiness to employ all his credit with the king in effecting a reconciliation. The king had treated his wife, for some time past, with a respect and a ceremonious tone that resembled derision. Struensee promised to restore familiarity and confidence: results followed closely on the promises; and he attached no value to this service. It was, he said, his own interest he was studying; he felt quite comfortable in his position; all he wanted was to acquire consistent support and the protection of a person who could not be turned from him. The preceding favourites had been very blind in trying to establish their credit on the disunion of the married couple; for, in such a struggle, they must necessarily succumb. Such interesting conversations naturally entailed greater assiduity. The king appeared to approve of them, because they rendered his own situation more agreeable; and the ascendancy he allowed the queen to regain increased his own amusements. Far from opposing Struensee's visits, he sent him to the queen at all sorts of hours, with all sorts of messages, and invited him to every court festivity.

Struensee zealously continued his efforts to reconcile husband and wife, and as both placed more confidence in him daily, he was tolerably successful: only in one thing did he fail, and that was in rendering the queen better disposed towards Holck, whom she regarded as the cause of all the evil, although the latter, who was beginning to feel his influence decrease, tried, as far as lay in his power, to render himself agreeable to her. In October their Majesties returned to the capital, and the good understanding between them seemed continually to improve. The influential doctor and family adviser now found an opportunity for more extensive action, as, on January 17, 1770, a suite of rooms was given him in Christiansborg Palace.

The usual court festivities began again in this winter season. Theatrical performances, masquerades, balls, sleigh parties, and cavalcades, alternated with concerts at Count Holck's palace. Although the king took part in all these amusements, he appeared no longer to find pleasure in them. He only went because he was requested to do so, and in most matters let himself be guided by the will of others. Just as on his return from abroad he gave himself up to Bernstorff's guidance, he now only listened to what the queen or Struensee advised him. The latter had hitherto remained in retirement, and only attended to his professional duties and pleasure, until an unpleasant occurrence attracted general attention to him.

Struensee was at the Opera, in the box set apart for the gentlemen of the court, in which Filosofow also was. The unpolished Russian, however, had a bad habit of expectorating frequently, and on this evening spat on Struensee's coat. The latter dried it, and held his tongue; but had scarce done so when Filosofow insulted him again in the same way. Struensee began to murmur, but the envoy said it was a mistake, and apologised. Struensee, not satisfied with this bare apology, demanded satisfaction, and quitted the box. But the Russian, instead of meeting his man, appealed to his diplomatic position, and, on his side, demanded satisfaction of Bernstorff, who, however, would not go into the matter, but quietly allowed it to drop. We can hardly assume that Filosofow had merely acted in mistake in the box, and we can as little believe that political motives caused his improper conduct, for Struensee at this period had not mixed himself up at all in affairs of state. It is more credible that the Russian had been cut out by the good-looking doctor in a love affair, and wished to take his revenge in this coarse way.[104] Owing to this occurrence, Bernstorff was warned by one of his friends against Struensee, and advised to remove the doctor from the king's person. The minister, however, did not listen to this advice: his self-esteem concealed from him the true position of affairs, and his pride despised an enemy over whom a victory would be too cheaply gained. Such negligence is the more surprising in Bernstorff, because he had long before spoken freely to some friends about the character of Struensee and his plans, and sufficiently proved that he had investigated his rival's designs with his own peculiar shrewdness, and drawn unpleasant consequences from them.[105]

In this season Count Holck saw more and more clearly that danger threatened him. He was only able to hold his own for awhile through Struensee interposing on his behalf, although the latter openly reproved his conduct, and through attaching himself to Reventlow, Schimmelmann, and General Hauch. He regarded Struensee as his most dangerous opponent, though, as we have seen, unjustly so. Still, the doctor was beginning to make marked progress in his short career. He had acquired the special favour of both their Majesties by the better understanding he had produced between them, and the inoculation of the crown prince, which he undertook on May 2, 1770, gained him the queen's favour in a still higher degree.

The small-pox raged so fearfully in Zeeland in 1769, that in Copenhagen alone twelve hundred children fell victims to it. The common people, especially in the country, paid but little heed to the rules laid down by the physicians, and the result of this negligence was, that frequently more than one-half of those down with small-pox died in a village. Jenner's mode of vaccination was but little known at the time, and the establishment of a vaccinating dispensary was only ordered in Copenhagen on December 1, 1769. It had not got into working order when the crown prince was attacked by small-pox, and Struensee received orders to vaccinate him. He undertook the task: the illness passed over without peril, and the little patient was saved.

Caroline Matilda loved her boy most tenderly. Her good heart left her no rest from the moment when he was attacked by a disease which was of a very dangerous nature, in spite of all the experience of science. No one was allowed to take the place of the affectionate mother by the boy's bedside; she nursed him herself; she sat up with him, and awaited the moment of his waking to hand him a draught to cool his parched lips. Struensee assisted her in these maternal duties, for she would not permit him to quit for a moment the darling of her heart. This gave him an opportunity of passing many hours in the queen's presence, and she found consolation and, ere long, pleasure in his society. Her conversations with him became more confidential and important, and Struensee could easily see that the time was at hand when she would seek his alliance, and make him the confidant of all her designs.[106]

As a reward for curing the crown prince, Struensee was appointed reader to the king, and cabinet secretary to the queen, with an annual salary of 3,000 dollars, and, directly after, the title of Conferenzrath was bestowed upon him. Although people were accustomed at that day to see men who had powerful patrons overwhelmed with titles, still Struensee's sudden elevation attracted the greater notice, because he was of bourgeois origin, and had no noble protectors.

It has been frequently urged, though incorrectly, that the acceptance of this title was an error on the part of Struensee. On the contrary, it was indispensable for his object, because he derived from it the advantage of accompanying the king on his travels, and could be admitted to the royal table. Struensee was at this time as modest as he was cautious, and had very wise principles as regarded his elevation. It might almost be asserted that this caution formed part of his character, and that the errors he eventually committed must be ascribed to the circumstances in which he stood. The nature of the ambition that impelled Struensee was too great and far-sighted to be satisfied with mere trifles and insignificant privileges: he fancied he could see his way to the highest post, and resolved to attain it. Countless obstacles rose in his path, which must be removed; he had innumerable rivals who must be overcome. Universal envy prepared for him the hardest struggle, and in this he must conquer. He saw beforehand that he should never succeed in his object unless he secured a powerful position at court.

After Struensee had been appointed reader to the king, his access to the queen was much facilitated; for, as he had but little to do for his master, the queen frequently employed him. His visits became so long and assiduous, his conversation so interesting, his services so real, that familiarity gradually sprang up between them. Ere long, all the barriers which august rank opposes to individuals fell in turn, and at last, when the favourite perceived that he had become necessary, and fancied that he had inspired friendship, he ventured to pronounce that word, and was very favourably heard.

"You require," he said to the queen, "to give your confidence; and to whom could you better impart your sorrows than to your friends, to those from whom you can expect succour, owing to their ascendancy over the king? It is the misfortune of persons of your rank to have no equals, and to live only among jealous people and valets. Mutual services establish a species of equality between you and the persons who are able to oblige you."

These remarks were true: they were founded on the experience of the past: they were uttered by an amiable and insinuating man, and addressed to a person already too persuaded; to a queen who detested her rank. She unhesitatingly accepted the friendship offered her, and the proofs she gave of her own became daily more marked. Conscious of her innocence, Caroline Matilda behaved in a manner that caused people to talk, and her conduct was certainly most imprudent. Struensee was constantly seen in her company, and she granted him familiarities which, as Reverdil says, "would have ruined any ordinary woman." She gave him a seat in her carriage when they were in the country, and took solitary walks with him in the gardens and woods. At the court balls he was her constant partner, and when she rode out he was her favoured cavalier.[107] No wonder that the scandal grew, and was doubtless fanned by the ever watchful Juliana Maria. Had it been a great nobleman, it would have been different, of course, but Struensee, doctor, reader, and even raised to the second class by the title of councillor, was not an officer of the court, and could hold but one position, since he showed himself everywhere.[108]

As Holck did not dare to attack Struensee, he resolved to remove Warnstedt from the king's presence, and fancied he had discovered a good way of doing so. He proposed to the king to undertake another pleasure trip to the duchies. It was his intention, and that of his partisans, that the queen should not accompany her husband, so that they might the more easily sway the monarch when his consort was away from him. But Caroline Matilda had now more power than before the king's first journey abroad: she resolved to go too,--and Christian offered no objection. When the journey was definitively arranged for the beginning of May, Holck effected the appointment of young Herr von Hauch as page to the king, _vice_ Warnstedt, promoted an equerry and chamberlain. But the count's glee at this victory was of but short duration, for in a few days the new page was obliged to quit the court again, though for what reason remained a mystery.

The journey was appointed for June 6, at the latest, but the old queen dowager, Sophia Magdalena, was taken ill on May 18, and died on the 27th. During the last few years she had not exercised any influence over her grandson, Christian, who was now doing his hardest to break through all his old connections in the capital. Hence, the mourning for the deceased queen was limited to the extraordinarily short period of six weeks, and to the capital, while the court retired to Frederiksberg, to escape the troublesome restraint. The departure for the duchies, however, was, for the sake of propriety, deferred till the funeral was over. The preparations were consequently hastened, and on June 13 the corpse was deposited in the royal vault of the Roeskilde Cathedral. On the 18th, their Majesties commenced their journey to their German subjects.

I need hardly say that Struensee and Warnstedt were in waiting, and Count Holck also accompanied the king. Of the members of the privy council of state, only Bernstorff was present. Reventlow paid a visit to his estates; while Thott, Moltke, and Rosenkrantz, remained in Copenhagen to attend to current business, but with express orders not to have any dealings with the foreign envoys during the king's absence; and the latter were requested, in the event of any pressing matter, to apply in writing to Count Bernstorff. The tour was in truth only a little change for the king, who was growing daily more imbecile; but it was employed by the queen, Struensee, and their partisans, to introduce the reforms they had secretly planned into the government.

Not one of the courtiers on whom Holck could reckon was in the suite. It is true that his brother, Gustavus, his brother-in-law and sister, the Von der Lühes, and his cousin, Von Lüttichau, were attached to the court; but all these were only kept in place by his influence, so that Count Bernstorff was the sole member of the Holck party left. But the count himself was beginning to totter, so that he could only keep his own position with difficulty, and was quite unable to support others.

For some time past it had grown quite clear to Bernstorff that the king did not regard him so kindly as formerly. He had drawn the queen's displeasure on himself by aiding in the dismissal of Frau von Plessen, and he justly regarded his colleague, Rosenkrantz, as an enemy, because that intriguing gentleman had first aroused the queen's anger against him. Lastly, Bernstorff was growing seriously alarmed about Struensee's increasing influence and rapid advancement. Latterly, Filosofow, probably instigated by revenge, had repeatedly urged him to remove this dangerous man from court, and offered the assistance of the empress in effecting it. But Bernstorff declined the offer, as he did not consider the opposite party would be so bold as to attack a minister of his reputation, whom even a Danneskjold Samsöe had been unable to overthrow. Still, he requested Filosofow, who was on the point of visiting the baths of Aix-la-Chapelle, to go only as far as Pyrmont, so that he might be at hand should his assistance be required.[109]

Among Struensee's partisans, Von Warnstedt appeared to have the greatest influence over the king. Chamberlain von Bülow also seemed to have some power over him, but not nearly so much as his colleague. But on this occasion Caroline Matilda had joined the travelling party, and had become the chief personage, through the king's growing weakness. She was also of opinion that no peace could be thought of so long as Holck was suffered in the king's presence. Although Struensee no longer regarded the king's former intimate as dangerous, still, to pacify the queen, he proposed to her to recall two gentlemen from banishment who had formerly been esteemed by the monarch.

On June 13, the count arrived at Gottorp Castle, in the town of Schleswig, which had been occupied since 1769 by the king's favourite sister and her husband, the viceroy of the duchies, Landgrave Charles. The latter drove out a league to meet their royal relations; and the meeting was most cordial, especially between the queen and her sister-in-law, who had not met since Caroline Matilda's marriage. The king, too, seemed at first greatly pleased at the meeting; spoke a good deal with the landgrave, and at dinner invited him to come as soon as he could to Copenhagen, as many of the Holsteiners would follow the example of their viceroy. But the court soon assumed a more earnest character during the few days they remained at Gottorp. Weighty changes were preparing; the ground was shaking under the feet of many great gentlemen; and Struensee's power had already grown so great, that he was able to carry out the recall of Brandt to court, which took place here.

We have seen that page Enevold Brandt, after his banishment from court and the country, paid his respects to the king in Paris, but derived no particular advantage from the step. In the next year, 1769, however, on the queen's birthday, he was nominated titular chamberlain, and soon after received a post and a vote in the Oldenburg government.[110] Bernstorff and Schimmelmann, who had always favoured Struensee, took Brandt's part too; and even Holck is said to have solicited his appointment in a distant land. But he was not prepared for Brandt's return to court circles, and he was greatly surprised on unexpectedly coming across his old opponent at Gottorp. Brandt, noticing this, turned to Holck with the sharp remark: "I fancy, my lord count, that you are afraid of ghosts (_des spectres_)?" To which Holck gave him the bitterly true answer: "Oh non, monsieur le chambellan, je ne crains pas les spectres mais les revenants."

It was noticed with regret by the queen's friends during this journey, that she seemed to forget the noble self-respect and attractive modesty which adorned her even more than her beauty; and that she indulged in sports and amusements which only too easily thrust those virtues in the background. Her youth knew no caution, her good heart rendered her careless of the opinion of the world, and her lively temper made her leap over barriers which she ought never to have crossed, if her reputation had been dear to her.[111] Prince Charles, her brother-in-law, gives us a melancholy account, in his "Mémoires de mon Temps," of the deleterious influence Struensee was already beginning to exercise over her. Still, it is only fair to remember, in quoting the landgrave, that he was a bitter enemy of Struensee:--

"After an hour's conversation (on arriving at Gottorp), in which we recalled anecdotes of past times, the queen took me by the arm and said: 'Lead me to the cabinet of Princess Louisa, but do not make me pass through the ante-chamber in which the court is.' We almost ran along the corridor to the back door by the side of the staircase, when we saw some of the suite coming up the stairs. The queen noticed Struensee, and said to me before the door: 'No, no, no; I must return; do not keep me.' I remarked to her, that I could not leave her alone in the passage. 'No, no, no; return to the princess:' and she fled along the passage. This struck me greatly; but I obeyed. She was always embarrassed with me when Struensee was present. At table he was always seated opposite to her."

Further on, we read of another humiliating scene:--

"The king's dinner was dull. The queen afterwards played at quinze. I was placed on her right, Struensee on her left; Brandt, a new arrival, and Warnstedt, a chamberlain, completed the party. I hardly like to describe Struensee's behaviour and the remarks he openly dared address to the queen while leaning his arm on the table, close to her. 'Well, why don't you play? can't you hear?' (Nun, spielen Sie doch, haben Sie nicht gehört?) I confess my heart was broken to see this princess, endowed with so much sense and good qualities, fallen to such a point, and into such bad hands.... The king and queen went to Traventhal with the whole court, who had followed them to Gottorp. My wife and I did not join the party, nor was it proposed to us to do so, for Traventhal was chosen for the least decent orgies. They had only been there a few days, when the whole court was dismissed."

At Traventhal the king and queen remained a month; and it was here that the foundation was laid of the state edifice which Struensee had resolved to raise. He believed that he possessed the requisite ability to do so; and he was supported by the favour of his royal patrons. But he was deficient in two most important qualities,--the necessary caution to be observed in such daring designs, and personal courage in carrying them out.

Brandt's appearance at Gottorp was merely the introduction to his brilliant career of two short years, for he was soon after re-appointed to the Supreme Court, and, at the same time, made director of the French plays, the Academy, and the picture gallery. Struensee, Von Warnstedt, and Brandt, had, from this time, a decided influence over the king. The only thing remaining to do was to recall to court Count Rantzau-Ascheberg, the second of the two men upon whose assistance Struensee specially calculated to carry out his reforms, and whose recall he had proposed to Caroline Matilda, for the queen was afraid lest the ministry might attempt to restore Holck in the king's favour, by removing those persons who now stood in the favourite's way.

But it did not even need Rantzau's assistance to overthrow Holck; for, in addition to the queen's dislike, he had to contend against Brandt and Warnstedt's open hostility; and even Struensee, who had, on two occasions, induced the king to make his extravagant favourite a gift of 10,000 dollars, was obliged to join in the cabal. But what dealt the final blow in Holck's downfall was the fact that the king was tired of his former favourite, because his weak state of health did not allow him to take part in the pleasures usually arranged by Holck. At the same time, Holck had taken Brandt's letter but little to heart, and constantly neglected his duties, especially in the summer of 1769, when he spent several days at his summer house, revelling with actors and actresses, without thinking of his functions as marshal of the court.

Toward the end of July, Count Conrad von Holck was dismissed from his office with a pension of 2,000 dollars, and his fall was followed by the removal of his sister, Frau von der Lühe, from her post as first lady-in-waiting on the queen. At the same time, Conferenzrath von der Lühe, Privy-Councillor von Holstein, Gustavus von Holck, Chamberlain von Lüttichau, Lady-in-waiting von Eyben, and the Maids of Honour von Trolle and Von Wedel, were ordered to return to Copenhagen. This order attracted considerable attention, though it was stated that the royal family intended to stay some time in the duchies, and the castle was not large enough for a numerous suite. Still, these were merely court incidents, which could have no effect on the state, but ere long other occurrences happened which related to public affairs. The first of these was the appearance of Count Shack zu Rantzau-Ascheberg on the political scene.

This gentleman, one of the principal performers in the coming tragedy, was descended from the oldest family in Holstein. His father, who had been raised to the dignity of Count of the Empire, in 1728, by the Emperor Charles VII., possessed the large estates of Ascheberg and Breitenburg in Holstein, Lindau and others in Schleswig. His son, Shack Karl, was born on March 11, 1717. At the age of eighteen, he was captain in an infantry regiment, and afterwards removed to the Grenadiers. In 1746, he became a chamberlain; and after being attached, in 1750, to the crown prince's regiment as brevet colonel, he was promoted to be full colonel of the regiment in 1752. In the following July he was appointed a major-general, but dismissed two days after.

Rantzau went to France, and served under Maréchal de Löwendal; but, one fine day, he left his regiment in order to attach himself to the car of an Italian singing woman. During his amorous odyssey, he passed through all sorts of adventures, and assumed all sorts of shapes, like a veritable Proteus. At one time, he appeared with all the splendour becoming his birth and condition; at another, he lived at Rome in a monk's gown. For some time, he remained _incognito_ with a troupe of comedians. During this career he often ran short of money, and at times procured it how he could. He was tried criminally in Sicily for swindling; and, at Naples, the French envoy had to hush up an ugly matter in consideration of his family. At Genoa, he impudently drew a bill on his father, "the Viceroy of Norway," though his father was only a plain country gentleman, and had turned him up long before.

In 1761, on the death of Elizabeth, when a war was anticipated between Russia and Denmark, Rantzau had the impudence to offer his services to Peter III. as a Holstein gentleman who had a right to serve his duke. His offer was spurned, and Rantzau swore revenge. He wormed himself into the confidence of the Empress Catharine and Count Orloff; and was mixed up in the conspiracy against Peter III. As he was coldly treated, and passed over instead of being rewarded when Catharine ascended the throne, he returned to Holstein very angry, and brooding over revenge. It was at this period that his fatal connection with Struensee commenced, as we have seen.

Soon after the death of Frederick V., Rantzau acquired the favour of Count St. Germain, who was omnipotent at court; and the latter procured him the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1766, and, in the following year, the chief command of the Norwegian army. He behaved in a very reckless manner, and was suddenly dismissed from active service in 1768, after Bernstorff and Saldern had succeeded in removing St. Germain from his post as generalissimo of the army and head of the War Office.[112] After this, Rantzau returned to Holstein, where he inherited the family estates, on the death of his father, in 1769.

Through his marriage with the eldest daughter of his uncle, Count Rantzau Oppendorf, Count Shack had taken a step by which to unite the estates of the two families; but he led a most licentious life, which resulted in a divorce, and his poor wife fell into a state of melancholy bordering on mania. All sorts of gallant adventures had entangled him in duels, and he had killed several of his opponents. A respected man, whose daughter he seduced, also challenged him, and was shot by him. Rantzau was inconsolable at this, begged the widow's forgiveness on his knees, married her seduced daughter with the left hand, and settled a large annuity on the mother and her remaining children. But time and fresh love affairs removed the impression which this sad event had made on the gay gentleman, and he soon returned to his former licentious life. His extravagance was so great that he was said to have lit his pipe with 10-dollar notes at some gay parties. But he was a very kindly landlord to his serfs, so that they positively adored him, and venerated him as a father.[113]

Though the negotiations for this man's return to court were kept very secret by the queen's party, they did not escape Bernstorff, who saw the black clouds that announced his fall continually drawing nearer. The premier was sincerely attached to the Russian court, and had in his day effected Rantzau's downfall. Hence he addressed the king in writing, and called his attention to the displeasure which Rantzau's recall would arouse in Petersburg. The contents of the letter were imparted to Rantzau, who, in consequence, promised not to interfere in the negotiations with the Russian court about the exchange of provinces. As Bernstorff could no longer prevent the count's return to the service of the state, he exerted himself to reduce the ill-impression it must produce in Russia, and thus the last obstacle was removed from Rantzau's path.[114]

Unfortunately, Rantzau, during his residence at Petersburg, and through the part he played there, had an opportunity to learn secrets and witness actions which enabled him to regard the Russian court from a point of view which it desired to conceal eternally from the sight of the world. This was the reason why the Russian empress could never forgive Caroline Matilda and her adviser Struensee for recalling this man to favour.[115]

While the king and queen were at Traventhal, Rantzau was introduced to them, and had the honour of receiving a visit from them at Ascheberg, where he did everything in his power to divert his exalted guests. Each day had its special festivities and amusements: music, hunting, fishing, sailing on the lake, and rustic sports, which, more than any other pastime, pleased the imbecile king. The queen, fully satisfied with the respect that Count Rantzau had shown her, and little dreaming of the share her attentive host was to have in her fall, gave him a superb snuff-box set with brilliants, which had cost her husband a thousand guineas in London.

All the efforts made to amuse Christian met with but slight success, for he seemed to be sunk in thought, and everything that went on around him, the numerous changes of situation and persons, no longer produced any interest for him. The effects of former excesses on his frail constitution became but too evident, while his mental abilities only shone forth now and then in the shape of satire. One day, at Traventhal, when Christian had been bothered with signing the commissions of a number of new conference councillors, and the matter was talked about at dinner, the king turned to his favourite dog, Gourmand, lying at his feet, and said, "Can you bark?" And when the dog, on whose paws Christian trod, began barking and growling, his master said, "Well, as you can bark, you can be a conference councillor too;" after which he rose from his seat, and proposed the health of the new Councillor Gourmand, to which the whole court responded, in accordance with etiquette. Not satisfied with this, the king insisted on the same salary being paid Gourmand as his human colleagues. This joke was a bitter pill for Struensee's pride, for the Holck faction continually addressed the dog as _Conferentie Raad_, in mockery of the favourite's new-horn honours.

The recall of Count Rantzau-Ascheberg to court on the part of the queen and Struensee was only carried out, in all probability, in order to secure their own position and that of the new household. According to Reverdil, the latter was very badly selected; two ladies of notorious gallantry, Von Bülow and Von Gähler, were appointed in waiting, and the manners of the court were of such a free and easy nature, that even old Rantzau was surprised at it. "When I was extravagant," he said, "everybody else was respectable; now that age has regulated my heart and my conduct, everybody has gone mad. I fell with a great man, and return with a few scamps." Struensee had, in truth, already commenced his deplorable system of rendering the court bourgeoise, and keeping the nobility aloof. He forgot that in this way he increased the number of his enemies. Up to this time, however, the favourite had formed no settled plan of action against the ministry. The queen herself had not the slightest wish to mix herself up in the affairs of government, and even though Struensee possessed sufficient self-confidence, and felt himself strong enough to overthrow Bernstorff and the old noble party in the council of state, he was still uncertain about the consequences of Rantzau's return, as he was well acquainted with his ambition. But long before his appointment at court, Struensee had been prejudiced against the government, and had probably just heard from Rantzau and Brandt reports, in whose trustworthiness he could rely. What he afterwards witnessed in Copenhagen only confirmed what he had heard. The principal charge he brought against the ministers was, that they purposely sought to turn the king against any participation in government business, by producing unnecessarily dry and formal documents, and drawing up the papers laid before him for decision in a diffuse and perplexing manner. They rarely left the king a choice between two alternatives; but persuaded him to sanction the resolution on which they had decided beforehand.

All those persons who took an interest in the king and gained his confidence and attachment, were systematically removed from him, and only those whom he disliked retained their posts. The highest offices were given through favour and intrigues to courtiers, whose sole merit consisted in the fact that they had been pages, while appointments of less value were bestowed on the lackeys and domestics of those in authority.[116]

The whole condition of the kingdom was becoming an anarchy; for no one dared to exert his authority through the fear of injuring himself. Every official strove to gain influence beyond his own sphere, and subordination hardly existed. The state finances were ruined, mostly through want of order in the administration and improper use of the revenues of the state. For many years past, the influence which foreign powers had exerted over the government through their envoys, had been excessively great and oppressively felt, although a counter pressure had been attempted by costly Danish embassies. Lastly, public affairs and the general welfare suffered from the great number of large and small officials, and a regular trade was carried on in titles of honour and distinctions. It was, consequently, very natural that Struensee should try to effect improvements, so soon as he felt his own position sufficiently secure to enable him to attempt the necessary reforms.

It is equally certain that similar ideas were entertained in another quarter; for, during the king's journey, general plans for reforming the administration, and the necessary steps for overthrowing the present council of state, were discussed by General von Gähler, who had a seat in the College of War, and Count Rantzau. The private correspondence carried on between them contained some thirty feigned titles for persons mentioned in it; for instance, _le silencieux, la bête_, and so on. Holck was probably meant by the last honourable title. General St. Germain, who was living in retirement at Worms, was also let into the secret, as the common friend of Rantzau and Gähler, and informed of the state of the secret negotiations. Struensee, it is true, did not consider any one of the ministers as specially to blame for the bad administration; but Bernstorff was universally regarded as the most powerful man in the state, and was personally detested by Rantzau. That Bernstorff, after the return of the royal pair from Ascheberg to Traventhal, was not invited to dinner, was doubtless done with the object of irritating him, and urging him to send in his resignation. This hope, however, was not fulfilled.

The overthrow of Holck and his party was a terrible warning for the premier, and he discovered too late how incautiously he had acted, and how dangerous his position had become. The support of Russia appeared to him the only chance of salvation; he therefore informed Filosofow of all that occurred, and the latter hastened to him at once. But the time of his prestige was gone, and he only arrived to be an humiliated witness of the triumph of his worst enemy. Past was the time of the Russian authority over the Danish court: when the mere threat of stopping the territorial exchange set the king and his ministers in the greatest alarm: when an omnipotent Saldern raised and overthrew the servants of the Danish court in accordance with the interests of his own, enjoyed honours which had never been granted to a foreign envoy, and carried through the king's tour against the wishes of all his ministers. Past, too, was the day when a haughty Filosofow wrote directly to this weak monarch, when the latter wished to give an important command in his army to Count von Görtz, a friend of Count St. Germain: "I have orders from my court to quit yours, and break off all intercourse, sooner than allow this dangerous and intriguing man to enter your service." Struensee, whose influence was beginning to spread over all the affairs of court and state, had inoculated the king with very different ideas.[117]

During the residence at Traventhal, Caroline Matilda presented a pair of colours to her regiment quartered in the fortress of Glückstadt, whose commander was Rantzau. The presentation of these colours occasioned a military festival; and, in remembrance of it, the king ordered his painter, Als, to paint an historical picture, representing the queen in life-size in the uniform of a colonel of her regiment. On the 16th June, 1771, this picture was given by the queen to Count Rantzau, and is probably preserved by the family as an historical souvenir.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 101: This private journal was kept in 1774. In 1796, when preparing his "Courts of Vienna, Berlin," &c., for press, my grandfather endorsed it: "The account of the Danish revolution and of Struensee is of the highest authenticity, and, at the same time, of the most delicate and secret nature." A great portion of this narrative has been worked into my text; but I have not thought it necessary, in every instance, to quote my authority.]

[Footnote 102: There was no truth in this report, for Struensee was devotedly attached to a Mrs. B----, whose acquaintance he had formed in England, and wore her miniature round his neck even at his execution.]

[Footnote 103: Reverdil, pp. 147, 148.]

[Footnote 104: In "Northern Courts" it is stated that the two men were in love with the wife of General von Gähler, and that the Russian, knowing that an ambassador could not meet a doctor with the sword, took the cowardly revenge of inflicting a severe castigation on Struensee with a cane--a mode of discipline to which he had himself been often subjected at Petersburg. It is also stated by the same author, that Frau von Gähler's motive for dismissing the Russian was, because he refused to join the queen's party. If this is authentic, we may conclude that the crafty envoy, even at that time, saw in the queen an opponent of the Philo-Russian policy of the Copenhagen cabinet.]

[Footnote 105: "Authentische Aufklärungen."]

[Footnote 106: "Authentische Aufklärungen."]

[Footnote 107: Struensee had taken riding lessons in England of Astley.]

[Footnote 108: Doctor Johann Scherr, one of the most inveterate assailants of the queen's honour, does not hesitate to quote in connection with the "reader," the beautiful episode of Paolo and Francesca, in the fifth canto of the Inferno, ending with the line:

"Quel giorno più non vi legemmo avante." ]

[Footnote 109: "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 49.]

[Footnote 110: The reader will please bear in mind that the definitive exchange of the Oldenburg counties was not carried out till after Struensee's downfall. The original agreement was, that it should be delayed till the Grand Duke Paul attained his majority, and then he gave it his sanction.]

[Footnote 111: "Authentische Aufklärungen," pp. 49-50.]

[Footnote 112: According to Falckenskjold ("Mémoires sur Struensee," p. 109), Rantzau tried to thwart the Holstein exchange, and made a conspiracy with Count Görtz and Borck, the Prussian minister at Copenhagen, to overthrow the Danish government, and bring into power a party hostile to Russia. This plot having been foiled by Saldern, Rantzau was exiled to Glückstadt.]

[Footnote 113: Mr. N. W. Wraxall's informant did not mince matters when alluding to Rantzau, for he said: "He is a most infamous man, a liar, a coward, a man capable, from the meanest motives, of betraying his longest and best friends." Cautious Sir R. M. Keith also judged Rantzau correctly, and wrote about him in a letter to his father: "Count Rantzau, at this moment Lieutenant-General, Confidential Councillor, Knight of the Queen's Order, &c., would, if he had lived within reach of Justice Fielding, have furnished matter for an Old Bailey trial any one year of the last twenty of his life."]

[Footnote 114: According to Reverdil, Rantzau proposed at this time to make a league with Bernstorff, the man whom he hated most in the world, and upset the Traventhal cabal. Of course, he only meant it as a trap; but it gives a further clue to the man's character.]

[Footnote 115: "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 263.]

[Footnote 116: In the first number of his Magazine, Struensee had published an epigram, pointed at this state of matters in Copenhagen:--

"An die Fürsten. Ihr heisst mit Recht die Fürsten dieser Erde, Denn Ihr erschafft: o schöne That! Ihr sprechet ein allmächtig: Werde! Schnell wird aus dem Lakai ein--Rath."

(To the Princes.--You are justly called the princes of the earth, for you create; ah! glorious deed: you utter an almighty be! and quickly a lackey becomes a--Councillor.)]

[Footnote 117: "Authentische Aufklärungen," pp. 51, 52.]