CHAPTER VI.

THE NEW GOVERNMENT.

THE TE DEUM--A WARNING VOICE--HITTING A FALLEN MAN--A GOOD HATER--COURT FESTIVITIES--THE ALARM AT THE THEATRE--BANISHMENT OF BERINGSKJOLD--RETIREMENT OF REVERDIL--THE TWO COUNTS--STRUENSEE'S DESPAIR--ATTEMPTED SUICIDE--THE COMMISSION--THE CABINET COUNCIL--THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF STATE.

The next care of the new government was the amusement of the weak-minded king, who was now a helpless tool in all matters connected with the administration. Juliana Maria proposed to him, in turn, various persons to take Brandt's place; but he continually answered "No" to all the names mentioned, until the queen dowager at last came to Von der Osten, the minister of foreign affairs. At this name the king exclaimed with pleasure, "Yes: I will have him." As this gentleman, however, did not feel at all disposed to exchange his pleasant post for the dignity of a companion to a half-childish monarch, but preferred the comforts of his own palace, Lieut.-General von Köller, Queen Juliana Maria's declared favourite, was appointed to the office. We do not know how the poor king liked this coarse soldier in the place of the polished Brandt, so intimate as he was with all the details of court life.

In order to acquire the best men of business for the new government, one of the nocturnal accomplices, Major Malleville, was sent to Privy Councillor Count Thott to invite him to take part once more in the business of the state, and a similar invitation was forwarded to Privy Councillor Schack-Rathlau and the Stifts-amtmann Scheel, who had both been removed by Struensee. The ex-premier, Count John Hartwig von Bernstorff, was also thought of: Carstens and Schumacher spoke in his favour, but Von der Osten and Rantzau were opposed to it, because both hated him. The matter was disposed of, however, by the two royal personages, who did not particularly like the count, and by Guldberg, who feared a dangerous rival in the practised statesman. Hence, neither Bernstorff nor Moltke was recalled; although among all the remaining candidates for office there was not one who possessed Bernstorff's experience in affairs of state. Conferenz-rath Shumacher was also reappointed private secretary to the king, while retaining his post as deputy in the Chancery.

On January 19, the first Sunday after Struensee's downfall, thanks were offered to Heaven from all the pulpits in Copenhagen and the vicinity for what had happened; and, of course, the sermons were filled with all kinds of allusions to the overthrown godless government. On the following Sunday, the third after Epiphany, there was, in obedience to a royal circular, a general Te Deum in the churches of the capital, and this afforded another excellent opportunity for again insulting the fallen. Instead of offering up a prayer of love and charity for the sinner, the clergymen only spoke of the "fearful vengeance of the Lord upon the godless people, as a cause for rejoicing and thanks-giving." Nor did they even spare her Majesty, who was still reigning, but poured out the vials of their wrath upon her, and were not ashamed to urge their congregations "to hate and execrate the queen."

How great the bitterness of the clergy at the freedom of religion granted in the hitherto strictly Lutheran country by Struensee must have been, is proved more clearly by the fact, that even the celebrated theologian and converter, Dr. Münter, joined in their cry. "Godless men ruled over us," he said from the pulpit of the palace chapel, "and openly defied God. They, to whom nothing was sacred, either in heaven or on earth, despised, ridiculed, and mocked the creed to which we belong. They, doubtless, were meditating violent measures, in order to secure themselves for ever. But thanks be to God, that He did not yield us up as a prey to their teeth: that He overthrew their faithless and blood-thirsty schemes (for they could not have been otherwise), and gave us tranquillity and peace again, at the moment when murder and rebellion were close at hand. Our king, to whom access was entirely precluded; for whose sacred person we often felt anxious, because we knew in what hands he was; our king is once more ours: we are again his people."[48]

It was in all probability this sermon which caused Münter to be selected to hear Struensee's last confessions and attempt his conversion.

Still, almost immediately after the catastrophe, there were respectable authors who dared unhesitatingly to oppose the zealotry of the clergy, although this was accompanied by double danger at the time. "Religion," so wrote one of them, "is employed as a cloak, for the purpose of deceiving the nation about the events that have occurred. The bought voices of clergymen who deserve punishment, mix up with praises of the Supreme Being the evident lies of calumny. Struensee was to be held up as a regicide, and the deluded people were expected to thank Heaven for saving the king from a peril which had never existed."

But what could these isolated protests effect against the fanatical fury of the priests in a time of universal excitement, when not only the new governing party gave their protection to the worst zealotry, but even other respected men took the part of the revolution in word and writing? Among all these men, none carried matters so far as the well-known historian, Suhm, who was chamberlain to the queen dowager. He published an open letter to the king, whose contents are an everlasting brand on the name of an otherwise esteemed literary man:--

"Long enough," we read in the beginning of this pamphlet, "have religion and virtue been trampled under foot among us; long enough have honesty and integrity been turned away from our frontiers. A disgraceful mob of low people had seized on the person of the king and rendered access to him impossible for every honourable man. He only saw and heard with their eyes and ears--while the country swam in tears, while the Danish land had become a name of shame, and men, when abroad, did not dare express that they belonged to it; while the rich were plundered, the sun of the royal house turned pale, and everything was given up to ignominious robbers, blasphemers, and enemies of humanity. And while all this was going on the king was cheerful and happy, in the belief that the welfare of his subjects was being promoted."

After a fulsome panegyric of the queen dowager and her son (of whom Suhm says in a foot-note: "Theologians will decide whether these names designate glorified angels or angels still living on earth"), the writer proceeds to thank all the patriots "who with firm intention helped to tear the bandage from the king's eyes which prevented him from seeing, who raised up the king and country again, risked their lives to save the land, and restored the king his true and legitimate power." After which effusion of gratitude the zealous chamberlain burst into fresh assertions: that it was the highest time for the work of salvation to be carried out, for the capital would perhaps have become within a few days the prey of the flames--one immense ruin; while Denmark and Norway might have been happy under a king who entertained the most fervent wishes for their welfare.

This famous rubbish terminated with a warning appeal to the king, "to let the blood of so many kings that flowed in his veins warm his heart, and make him look at his people himself. Thus Christian IV. and Frederick IV. had acted. But he must not allow himself to be persuaded by flatterers that he was already what those kings had been, but strive to become as they." Then came a tremendous flourish. "From God and your nation you have received the autocracy: you are, therefore, also responsible to God and the nation for the use you have made of this power. You must set bounds on your own might, by regarding God as possessing a higher authority than your own, and by choosing the worthiest man for your government: the most worthy you have in your brother.[49] You must mercifully chastise those who have some claim to be treated graciously, but punish justly and without mercy the men who have dishonoured the king and the country.... You ought to fear God, love your people, take the government into your own hands, and believe your brother."

One more passage, and I will close this pamphlet.

"Who would not praise and esteem that dangerous but honourable night! Future Homers and Virgils will sing its praises, and so long as there are any Danish and Norwegian heroes left, the glory of Juliana Maria and Frederick will endure, but cannot be augmented, as that is impossible. Sooner shall the world fall into nothingness than their glory pass away."

In such a fashion as this, an otherwise honourable and educated man ventured to address his monarch, to heap up the heaviest charges and most manifest insults on men who were imprisoned but not yet sentenced, and even went so far as to urge on the sovereign who would decide their fate the inhuman request that he should mercilessly punish them. For all that, this public letter was praised by the majority as a proof of patriotic zeal, and of worthy liberality; and Counts Bernstorff and Von Reventlow even thanked the author in writing for his patriotic deed.

Probably encouraged by praise from such high quarters, the same author issued shortly after a second pamphlet, bearing the title, "To my Countrymen: Danes, Norwegians, and Holsteiners." In it he declared that it was only a reasonable feeling "if every body hated Struensee and desired vengeance upon him; for all the nations of Europe would regard a people that allowed itself to be governed by a Struensee, as a vile and cowardly people, and not call the man a barbarian who removed such a monster."

Justiz-rath Langebeck, keeper of the archives, a well-known historian, also accused Struensee in a pamphlet, "Liberal Thoughts on the Day of Requital," of the most scandalous things, and at the same time abused the fallen party in a truly Danish fashion, selecting his complimentary titles from the infernal regions and the entire animal kingdom, calling them sometimes murder-fiends and firebrands of hell; at others, goats, apes, brute beasts, wolves, tigers, &c. "But Juliana Maria's renown would last to the end of time, and far, far surpass that of Semiramis."

A third sample of the literary cynicism prevailing at that time in Denmark was supplied by Etats-rath Tyge Rothe, ex-tutor of the hereditary prince, whom Struensee had appointed, in the first place, burgo-master, and then deputy of the finances. In a poem, bearing the title of "On the Day of January 17, 1772," which was published by order of the government, we read: "In later times the fury against divinity had been truly Pharaonic, and persons wallowed in Capreæan pleasure;" but "those men of fine mind and cool courage, possessed of strength and fiery souls--they, O people, prepared this festival for you." By such flattering terms the writer alluded to men like Rantzau, Eickstedt, Köller, and Beringskjold.

A multitude of anonymous pamphlets flooded town and country, such as "Thanksgiving of the twin Kingdoms," "Evening Thoughts upon the 17th of January--a Day so memorable for both Kingdoms," "The Hymn of Victory of the Copenhagen Citizens," "The Joy of the Israelites at their Liberation from the Claws of Haman," &c. In all these miserable pamphlets Struensee was represented as "the great northern thief," "Apollyon, or the great dragon," "the ex-barber and traitor," whose crimes and misdeeds were so horrible that they "could not be sufficiently punished by blows, or by sulphur, tar, or the executioner's sword."[50]

The amusements of the court were in no way interrupted by the events that had occurred, although the previous behaviour had been discovered to be so godless. Accompanied by his brother, or, speaking correctly, under his charge, the weak-minded king took frequent drives through the streets of the capital to Frederiksberg, and to the island of Amack; and as a great deal of snow had just fallen, sleighing parties were got up. The queen dowager, also, often drove to Frederiksberg, in order to enjoy her authority in the apartments of her overthrown rival.

As early as January 23, there was a state dinner and ball at the Christiansborg, and a _Cour_ on the following day. These festivals were numerously attended, but especially that on January 29, the anniversary of the king's twenty-third birthday. In addition to the three royal personages, only twelve selected guests sat down to the banquet in the Rittersaal. After dinner the king proceeded with his suite to the palace theatre, where two new French vaudevilles[51] and a ballet were performed. At night there was a grand supper of seventy-five covers in the Rittersaal, to which the foreign envoys and the most distinguished of the nobility were invited. On the following day there was a masked ball at the palace, and three days after a _bal paré_. The royal party did not stay away from any festivity, and it was evident that they wished, by these uninterrupted revelries, to convince the king of the universal feeling of joy at what had happened. For not only did the newspapers contain frequent accounts of the amusements at court, but the king appeared at the great city theatre to witness Danish performances, which was a most unusual event.

The two boys and the young negro girl, who had formerly constituted the domestic amusements of his most gracious Majesty, were, however, removed from the palace immediately after the downfall of Struensee and Brandt. Even the king's favourite dog, Gourmand, who had a carriage for his sole use when the king travelled and a lackey to attend him; who was served with food from the king's table, and was often fed by his royal master's hand--even this dog shared the fate of the favourites, and was returned to the nobleman who had presented him to the king.

Although there was an attempt at court to lead to the belief that nothing had happened, a certain uneasy apprehension began to be felt, when it was rumoured that the lower classes were beginning to grow dissatisfied, and an almost ludicrous occurrence at the royal theatre revealed to the public the fact, that at times a guilty conscience can induce even great personages to lose their countenance.

A few evenings after the eventful January 17, while the whole court were at the French play, there was a disturbance in the upper boxes, which continually increased, and was only augmented by those who tried to restore peace. One rumour followed the other, and in the end it was even stated that the convicts had broken prison and joined their friends and the sailors, for the purpose of creating a riot and an opportunity for plundering. This news ran like wildfire from box to box, through the pit and gallery, and all the audience, royal personages and court included, were in a fearful state of excitement. All began running to the doors, in order to get out and save themselves. The king, too, rushed from his box with wild looks, the hereditary prince followed his example, and the queen-mother tried in vain to keep them back, until she, overcome by terror, fell in a fainting fit. Similar scenes took place in the other boxes, and fainting ladies might be seen everywhere. The news of the affair had reached the city by this time, and curious persons collected round the theatre and tried to force their way in against those who were pouring out, until some cooler men discovered the origin of the whole business. A woman had taken her child with her into the gallery, and the latter disturbed the more immediate spectators by crying. They began quarrelling in consequence with the nurse, and in this way a general disturbance was brought about in the upper part of the playhouse.[52]

The confusion produced by this interlude caused Biälke, the marshal of the court, to issue an order on January 23, by which, in future, children would not be allowed to be present at performances in the royal theatre, and grown-up persons would only be admitted on showing their tickets, to the amphitheatre, the pit-boxes, and the second tier. At the same time, he warned all those who wished to visit the theatre to behave themselves in the way which the presence of the royal family dictated, and not to disturb the performances by loud talking or noise. Any one who did so must expect to be refused admission to the theatre in future.

The alarm displayed by the three royal personages and their intimate adherents in the theatre, had, however, been too great and too public for them to be satisfied with the above order. Hence, police regulations were made to prevent mobs and street riots. The masters were ordered to keep their apprentices at home at night, or otherwise be responsible that no street disturbance was produced by them. Further, it was prohibited to illuminate the houses henceforth on the birthdays of the king and the prince royal. The order against sitting in pot-houses after ten o'clock, which Struensee had revoked, was again established, and everybody was warned against letting off guns and pistols in the streets, shooting rockets, or throwing crackers. The city gates, which had been left open, were now again locked at night, and this order was soon after extended to the hours of divine service. Lastly, it was ordered that the passports of all persons leaving the city must be issued by the Danish Chancery, and all house owners were requested to give immediate notice to the police of the arrival of strangers and travellers.

The persecution of Struensee's adherents, and the distribution of rewards among near and distant participators in the _coup d'état_ were not interrupted by all these matters, and several of the deposed officials were again placed on active service.

On the days immediately following January 17th, arrests, reprimands, and dismissals occurred in rapid succession. On the 18th, Lersner, the master of the hounds, was arrested, and although he was released again soon after, it was with orders to quit Copenhagen and Danish territory within thrice twenty-four hours. He had hardly reached Roeskilde, when a government courier caught him up with orders to hurry his departure from the king's territory as much as he could.

The minister's younger brother, Lieutenant Struensee, was ordered to leave the Danish states with the same speed. As his name was his sole proven crime, and he was poor, he was given 200 dollars for his travelling expenses, and a pass as a law student, and he quitted Copenhagen at the same time as the master of the hounds. Five years after, he was permitted to reside with his parents at Schleswig, but on the condition that he must not show himself in the Danish portion of the kingdom. He afterwards received an appointment in Prussia, through the interest of his brother, the Justiz-rath, who eventually became the Prussian Minister of Finances.

Captain Charles Düval, of the Norwegian king's regiment stationed in Copenhagen, met with the same fate. As, however, he was able to prove his perfect innocence, he was recalled and given a company in the Borncholm regiment. As we have seen, Brandt employed him to engage actors in Paris for the king's playhouse; and he had been recommended to the cabinet minister as a trustworthy man. By what means the captain succeeded in cleansing himself from the stigma of trustworthiness to his late employer, is not known.

It excited attention that about the same time one of the conspirators received orders from the king to quit Copenhagen. This was the amply rewarded Beringskjold, who was commanded to select as his residence the little town of Wordingborg, at the southern extremity of Seeland, and was told that he must not leave it under the king's most serious displeasure. His offence is stated to have consisted in calling the minister of foreign affairs, Von der Osten, a rogue, because he had intrigued against Chamberlain Kragh being removed from his office of governor of Laaland, so that Beringskjold might take his place. It is probable, however, that a motive of greater weight led to his banishment from the capital. As the reward he received in cash did not satisfy him, he spread a report that he had foiled the plan of excluding the king's children from the succession to the throne, and this statement of his was repeated to the people in authority. For the fact that the queen dowager at first entertained such plans in order to elevate her beloved son to the throne, is as certain as that Guldberg opposed them, for he was sensible enough to see that such a daring scheme would be immediately followed by a protest from the nation and the foreign powers, England at their head.

Of the other arrested persons, General Gude, and the three cabinet clerks, Von Zoëga, Martini, and Panning, were soon after set at liberty, and no further measures were taken against them. Frau von Gähler, who had numerous friends, was removed from the citadel to her own house as state prisoner, while her husband remained in prison. The servants of the two counts, Struensee and Brandt, were set at liberty, as innocent creatures beneath revenge.

On the other hand, the Chief Equerry Baron von Bülow, whose pretty wife was regarded as an intriguing lady, received peremptory orders to quit the capital at once, and as the couple were compelled to stay on the road in Seeland, in order that the lady might get over her accouchement, a second order was sent after them to hurry their journey to Holstein. Herr von Bülow had drawn the hatred of the hereditary prince on himself, by giving the prince's horses a stall separated from the royal stables.

Queen Matilda's two maids of honour, Von Kalkreuth and Von Thienen, who were so devoted to their mistress, were sent off to the German duchies, and even the queen's hairdresser was compelled to quit the capital. Chamberlain von Warnstedt voluntarily went out of the way of the storm; returned to Schleswig, and was eventually appointed chief forester there.

The next man who fell under proscription was excellent Reverdil, who has supplied so much curious information about the court of Christian VII. If he had not believed in the guilt of Caroline Matilda, I should have liked him better; but as it is, I will not let him drop out of this history without giving some account of his overthrow.

At six o'clock on the morning of January 17, Reverdil heard a knocking at his door, and a voice exclaiming, "Do not be frightened; no harm will be done you; it is I, your friend, Colonel Köller." When Reverdil let him in, he handed him a note from the king to the following effect: "I shall not see you for the next few days; circumstances oblige me to this." Reverdil spent the day among his friends, picking up information, and went that night to the French play, where the royal family were present. The next morning, Köller came from the king to arrest him for disobedience of orders. The conversation between the two was capital.

"May I know what procures this arrest?"

"I do not know. How do you stand with Count Osten?"

"Neither well nor ill."

"It was he who gave me this message, as he came out of the king's cabinet."

"But what have I done since yesterday morning?"

"You went to the play; and the king, who wrote to you that he did not wish to see you, saw you there,----or might have seen you."

"Oh, come, that is impossible; he is too short-sighted; and then I was under his box; besides, I could not give that meaning to the order you brought me."

It was all of no use; Reverdil remained under arrest, in his rooms, till the 23rd, when the cabinet secretary, Shumacher, set him at liberty, and said that the king, presuming he would prefer living in his own country, was willing to pay him 1,000 dollars for his travelling expenses. Shortly after, the queen dowager requested an audience of Reverdil. When he entered the room, she said:

"I cannot tell by what mistake you were arrested. I only heard of it yesterday. I had given orders that you should not be; and last Friday, when you came to see me, I said to myself, 'At any rate, he will not be disturbed.' I only wish I could have spared the rest. But the queen had forgotten everything that she owed to her sex, birth, and rank. Still, my son and I should have refrained, had not these irregularities affected the state. The kingdom was in trouble, and going to ruin. God supported me; I felt neither alarm nor terror."

The queen dowager then spoke with some detail about her son's grievances; the insolence the favourites displayed toward him; the impenetrable secrecy he kept before the 17th; and the courage he showed in the execution. Reverdil heard from the queen one of the instances of harsh behaviour toward her son. He was fond of riding on horseback, and this exercise was necessary for his health. In rainy and snowy weather he could only satisfy this taste in the riding school. The palace one was an academy three days in the week; on the other three days it was reserved for the royal family. Queen Matilda and Struensee, since their return to Copenhagen, occupied it on these three days, and had the entrance closed against the king's brother.

Still Reverdil's liberty caused Osten and Rantzau some alarm. They both feared lest, by regaining his intimacy with the king, he might employ his credit on behalf of the prisoners. Count von der Osten, whose principal talent was espionage in the palace and intriguing with the pages and valets, was informed of Reverdil's interview with the queen dowager, and was afraid that he might re-suggest the plan of recalling to court Count von Bernstorff or Prince Charles of Hesse, with whom he maintained a correspondence. Hence Von der Osten advised Reverdil to leave "for his own sake;" and the Swiss, who was only too glad to shake off the dust of a palace, left Copenhagen about a week after.

For a while, Reverdil resided at Nyon, but eventually entered the service of the Helvetic Republic, and died in 1808, the same year when Christian VII., driven by the English out of his capital, ended his wretched existence in Rendsburg. After Reverdil's dismissal, Jacobi, whose mother was bed-chamber woman to the queen dowager, was appointed reader to the king, and Nielsen director of the king's private library.

The number of prisoners was augmented by a few other disagreeable persons, who, however, were nearly all set at liberty again. Among the latter were Gabel, the owner of the destroyed hotel, and his step-daughter. The brother of Chamberlain Falckenskjold, though he had been asleep during the revolution, and was promoted like his comrades, was obliged to put up with several days' arrest at the main guard, because he ventured to make some harsh remarks about his brother's treatment. However, he was soon after set at liberty again, and eventually rose to the rank of colonel in the army.

Legations-rath Sturtz was at first left untroubled. He had lately drawn away from Struensee, and written the latter, shortly before his arrest, a letter, in which he reproached the minister for meditating the recall of Bernstorff's pension, and pointed at the great services of the discharged minister. That Sturtz felt no apprehension on his own account upon Struensee's fall, is proved by the fact that he arranged for his marriage with the daughter of Major Mazar de la Garde to take place on January 24, and placed none of his papers in safety. But as he ventured to suggest the recall of Bernstorff to the new holders of power, he had ere long to pay dearly for this want of caution. On January 20 he was dismissed from his post with a pension of 500 dollars, and ordered to live in a small town of Seeland.

Unfortunately for Sturtz, one of the officers watching Falckenskjold happened to mention his name to the prisoner. The latter asked eagerly, had he been arrested too? No more was required: the question was reported, and armed men were at once sent to Sturtz's house. His door was burst open, his papers were sealed up, and he was himself removed to the main guard, in default of another prison, on the very day of his intended marriage. His father-in-law having been seen under the windows of his prison, bars were placed on it so brutally that Sturtz was attacked by convulsive fits, and became dangerously ill.[53]

I have already mentioned the removal of Colonel von Falckenskjold from the barracks to the Navy prison, only intended for vulgar criminals. This was but a counterpart of the inhuman treatment of the two chief culprits, and a further proof of the revengeful sentiments of the party in power.

On the evening of January 17 the fetters were brought from the forge with which Counts Struensee and Brandt and Justiz-rath Struensee were to be chained. The fetters of the two counts weighed eighteen pounds apiece, ran from a manacle on the right hand to a similar one on the left leg, and thence with a length of three yards to the wall, in which they were fixed. The furniture of the close, gloomy cells consisted of a night-stool and a settle; but afterwards a chair and a small table were added. After the prisoners had been deprived of everything that might be considered dangerous, strait-waistcoats were put on them. They were not entrusted with knives and forks to eat with, but the turnkeys were ordered to cut up their food and carry it to their mouths. They were not allowed to be shaved, even when they offered to let their hands be held. At first only half a dollar per diem was allowed them for food; but it was afterwards increased to one dollar.

A curious circumstance, which I find only in one pamphlet,[54] is, that the smith at the citadel was a slave whom, about a year before, Struensee had seen in the streets of the capital chained. This man had asked him for alms, and begged him to intercede with the king to procure his liberty. At that time the minister gave him alms, and said to him, "You do not wear this chain on account of your virtue." When this fellow put the chain on his prisoner, he remarked: "Your excellency, I do not put this chain on you on account of your virtue."

Shut up in this awful dungeon, Struensee, who had so suddenly been hurled from power into the lowest state of misery, and was unable to endure the contrast between the past and present, revolved means for putting an end to his existence. Pretending to be suffering from toothache, he begged the turnkey to send some one to his cabinet, where he would find some tooth-powder in paper, which would lull the pain. This powder, on being examined by Von Berger the physician, proved to be a dangerous poison, and hence it was not given to the prisoner.

Struensee then resolved to starve himself to death; for three days he was allowed to do as he pleased; but on the fourth the commandant gave orders that he was to eat and drink, and unless he did so of his own accord, he was to be thrashed until his appetite returned. Certainly, a very Danish mode of creating an appetite; but this desperate conduct on the part of the prisoner was a natural result of his insupportable arrest; for had it been rendered more humane, it would not have been necessary to threaten him with such barbarity.

After awhile, Struensee promised to behave himself better, and a bed was given him on which he could lie down. But all the buttons were cut off his clothes, because he had twisted off and swallowed a couple of them. His shoe and knee buckles were also removed, and he was made to wear an iron cap, so that he could not dash his brains out against the wall. At last the hope of saving his life gained the victory over the prisoner's desperation; he began to occupy himself with reading, and thus calmed his outraged feelings.

Count Brandt endured his terrible fate with a perfectly different temper. He was always cheerful, and almost merry, played the flute, his favourite air being one from the "Déserteur," beginning "Mourir c'est notre dernier ressort," and saved six schillings out of the twenty-four he received daily, which he intended as a present for his future executioner. One of his favourite expressions was, "A small mind may allow itself to be depressed by trifles, but a great one raises its head high above fate." Brandt also had a chain three yards long given him, so that he might lie down on a bed.[55]

Justiz-rath Struensee was also laid in fetters in his cell, but was not fastened to the wall. Luckily for Professor Berger, there were no more chains ready, and so he was allowed to walk about his cell at liberty till they were made. But neither of these prisoners was allowed the use of knives and forks, or of his own bed, although the barber was permitted to shave them, their hands being held the while.

On January 21, a Commission of Inquisition, consisting of eight high officials, was appointed, to whom a ninth member was eventually added, whose duty it was to conduct the investigation of the twelve prisoners, and pass sentence upon them. Still, five weeks passed ere the examination of witnesses was commenced. All Europe looked with horror on these unheard-of events at Copenhagen, and anxiously awaited the end of a state trial which had begun with the imprisonment of a young queen.

The members of the commission had the reputation of being enlightened and honourable men, but were not selected on that account to try the prisoners, but, because their sentiments, as regarded Struensee and his adherents, were perfectly well known. At the same time as this commission was established, Lieut.-General von Köller-Banner, Councillor of Conference Schumacher, Chamberlain Suhm and Guldberg, received orders to examine the papers of the prisoners, and send them to the proper quarter, but to pay over all moneys found to the Royal Exchequer. A proclamation of January 27, ordered all persons who were in possession of money, papers, and other matters belonging to the persons arrested on January 17, and the following days, to deliver up such within eight days to the Commission of Inquisition, which sat daily from 9 A.M. till 4 P.M., at the Christiansborg Palace.

During the five weeks that passed ere the Commission had made all the requisite preparations for examining the prisoners of state, the new rulers appointed the officers who would henceforth constitute the government. Immediately after Struensee's removal, a Privy Cabinet Council was instituted under the presidency of Prince Frederick. The other members of it were Count Thott, Privy Councillor Schack Rathlau, Admiral Römeling, and Lieutenant-Generals von Eickstedt and Von Köller-Banner. On January 23, this cabinet council met for the first time, but its installation was not made generally known by public proclamation. The chief president, Von Holstein, who was disliked, resigned his post, and left the capital with his wife, in order to resume his former office of bailiff.

On February 13, however, public notice was given that the king had thought proper to establish a government college under the title of the Privy Council of State. It was the king's will--so the proclamation ran--that in future all matters should be first laid before the college, which would examine them, and then have them decided by men who were well acquainted with the laws and constitution of the country. In consequence of this, he had resolved on establishing a Privy Council of State, and giving it the proper instructions. In addition to Prince Frederick, the council of state would consist of the following members: Count Thott, General Count zu Rantzau-Ascheberg, Privy Councillor Schack Rathlau, Admiral Römeling, Lieutenant-General von Eickstedt, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Count von der Osten, who would wait on the king upon certain days of the week. No other member of the council but the Minister of Foreign Affairs was allowed to be head of a department. Should the king think proper to issue resolutions otherwise than through the council of state, to prevent the confusion which would result from the colleges interested being unacquainted with the contents of such resolutions, the holder of such a resolution would be expected, ere he made use of it, to inform the college interested of it, so that a most submissive report might be drawn up by the latter, and the formal expedition take place through the Secretary of State's office. All requests, representations and reports, with the exception of those relating to the German lands, were in future to be drawn up in the Danish language, and all reports handed in by the colleges be discussed in the privy council of state, where they would receive the royal sanction.

By this restoration of the privy council of state, the at first intended institution of a cabinet council, which too much resembled Struensee's hated government, was avoided; and as the overthrown minister had drawn such odium on himself by despising the language of the country, the new ministers certainly acted prudently and wisely in restoring it. Ere long, they made a further improvement by introducing Danish instead of German in the army drill. The members of the new council of state were also all natives of the monarchy, which would not have been the case had Bernstorff and Moltke been introduced into it.

By the last regulation of the instructions for the future course of business in the council of state, the king's signature was deprived of all force and validity, except in council. It is true that this restriction might be regarded as emanating from the king himself, and be used to avoid any possible forgery of his signature. Still, it was quite certain that, henceforth, the king could undertake no affair of state that had not previously received the sanction of the council. And yet it was regarded as a crime worthy of death in Struensee, that he issued instructions to the colleges in his Majesty's name, and his enemies appealed to paragraphs three and twenty-six of the _Lex Regia_. These may be as well quoted, once for all, as frequent reference will be made to them:--

Sec. III.--Hence the king shall have alone the highest power and authority, both to issue and explain laws and regulations according to his will, to make them invalid, to pass others in their place, and even to abrogate laws passed by himself or his ancestors (always excepting this royal law, which must always remain immutable and uninjured as the right foundation of the royal authority and a fundamental law). The king can also liberate and exempt any person he pleases from the general law.

Sec. XXVI.--... And as both daily experience, as well as the lamentable examples of other kingdoms, sufficiently prove how injurious and ruinous it is if the clemency and kindness of kings are so misused, that their power and authority are cut away from them almost invisibly by one or the other, and, at times, even by their most privy ministers; and, through this, both the commonwealth and the kings themselves suffer the greatest detriment.... We therefore wish to recommend this earnestly to our successors, the hereditary rulers in Denmark and Norway, that they should take special care to protect their hereditary right and sovereign rule; that is to say, preserve the supreme monarchical power perfect and unlessened, as we have left it to them for an eternal inheritance in this our royal law. And hence we order and decree, for its further confirmation, that if any one, no matter who, should venture to desire or appropriate anything which could be injurious to the sovereign rule and monarchical power in any way, everything obtained in this manner shall be declared null and void, and those who have got possession of such things shall be punished as insulters of majesty, because they have impudently committed the greatest crime against the supremacy of the royal monarchical power.

According to these paragraphs, the writers of the instructions for the new council of state who had extorted the king's signature, and the members of the council who obeyed the instructions, must indubitably be regarded as guilty of high treason, while the instructions, even after the king's signature had been obtained, must be considered null and void, according to the letter of the _Lex Regia_.

The members of the privy council received in their patents the title of Ministers of State and Excellencies. Count Thott became reporter for the two Chanceries; Privy Councillor Schack Rathlau for the Treasury; Count von der Osten for Foreign Affairs; Count Rantzau-Ascheberg for the Army; and Admiral Römeling for the Navy. Count Thott, as president during the king's absence, had a salary of 6,000 dollars; the other members 5,000. The question was long discussed whether a secretary should not be attached to the council in the person of Chamberlain Suhm, the writer of the famous open letter to the king; but they altered their mind at the eleventh hour, and resolved not to keep any report of the proceedings of the council.

Köller was not taken into the council, because two representatives of the army could not sit in it. On the day when the council was established, however, he was made a Danish nobleman, and an unfurled banner was given him as his coat of arms.

Guldberg, who drew up the instructions, still contented himself with the mere title of Etats-rath, but, for all that, was the most influential man in the government, and esteemed Eickstedt. Rantzau, on the other hand, soon remarked that his authority was departing.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 48: This grand sermon was duly printed, and is lying before me, but I mercifully spare the reader further extracts. I may mention, however, that the text was taken from St. Matthew, chap. viii. 1-13.]

[Footnote 49: This lad was but seventeen years of age, and nothing was known as yet of his capacity.]

[Footnote 50: Among other insults to Struensee, may be mentioned his portrait being placed in the shops, with the following couplet, containing a reference to his name, beneath it:--

"Sic regi mala multa STRUENS SE perdidit ipse, Jam victus claustris, qui modo victor erat."

Which, for the benefit of the ladies, may be translated: "Thus the man who prepared much evil for the king destroyed himself; and he now lies in prison, who was shortly ago lord of all."]

[Footnote 51: The titles were _L'Ambilieux_ and _L'Indiscret_, either by accident or through a vile eagerness on the part of the comedians.]

[Footnote 52: "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 271.]

[Footnote 53: Reverdil, p. 363. Sturtz wrote to him afterwards that this affair had seriously injured his health; and, in fact, he died at the early age of forty years.]

[Footnote 54: "Gespräch im Reiche der Todten," a very virulent Danish pamphlet, with the motto,

"Aude aliquid brevibus gyaris et carcere dignum, Si vis esse aliquid; probitas laudatur et alget." ]

[Footnote 55: "Die Struensee und Brandtische Kriminalsache".]