CHAPTER XI.

THE WOLF AND THE LAMB.

THE INDICTMENT OF STRUENSEE--HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION--COARSE JESTS--THE LIAISON WITH THE QUEEN--THE EVIDENCE--BRANDT'S ASSAULT ON THE KING--TREATMENT OF THE PRINCE ROYAL--THE MINISTER OF STATE--ABOLITION OF THE COUNCIL--DISBANDMENT OF THE GUARDS--ALLEGED FORGERY--THE QUEEN'S BOUQUET--THE SENTENCE DEMANDED.

In the meanwhile, Fiscal-General Wiwet received the king's orders on April 2 to indict Counts Struensee and Brandt before the appointed tribunal. As defenders of the accused, Uldall was selected for Struensee, and Bang for Brandt. The Fiscal-General appointed April 10 for the opening of the trial. As, however, some preliminary investigations had to be made, the trial was deferred till April 21, on which day the Fiscal produced his proofs, and the sentence he demanded in writing.

WIWET'S INDICTMENT OF COUNT STRUENSEE.[84]

High and well born, highly noble and well born, gentlemen: most graciously appointed commissioners in the charges against Counts Struensee and Brandt.

I laid before this exalted commission on the 10th of the present month his royal Majesty's most gracious commands to me, to proceed against Counts Struensee and Brandt for their crimes. Hence it is only necessary to deduce, prove, and hand in the indictment for sentence; and as such deduction, proof, and demand of sentence, I most submissively deliver this my memorial.

* * * * *

So certain and true as the proverb generally is, "that severe lords do not reign long," it is equally certain that such severe lords, during their brief authority, can produce as much harm as cannot be redressed in double the length of time.

The Danish and Norwegian subjects have been for many hundred years accustomed to be treated mercifully, as their fidelity and sincerity deserves. The affection and veneration which they feel for their king cannot be described, and they are in return beloved by their regent. They generally feel a deep reverence for the Supreme Being and God's word, are all sensible, and have a feeling of shame for sins committed: they are quiet, and everybody lives securely in the country, so that foreigners said: "It is pleasant to live here," and built themselves all sorts of abodes among us, though without despising and offending the nation. But, during the last few years, this has become quite different, and has assumed a strange and confused aspect. Attempts have been made to render the king--that dearest part of everything temporal to his people--odious to his subjects, and the latter in turn to him. No one could obtain access to his Majesty unless he belonged to the party which did not mean well with him. Impudence and contempt were emboldened to rise against so highly venerable a royal house. The Almighty and His word were rendered ridiculous. People strove to drive away virtue and honour, and to open a gate to immorality, seeing no shame in it, but evidently seeking honour in it. The audacity was carried so far that the authority which the nation voluntarily committed to Frederick III. and his descendants, was solely exercised by a subject, and was even about to be extended, so that the man who exercised it might be absolute.

Like the nation, their language was despised. It was heart-torture for every honest man and lover of honour to see and hear all that which can be read in printed documents.

The ruin of families was like the deed of a fallen angel. But who was this fallen angel? It was John Frederick Struensee, the most foolhardy person who can be imagined, and who for this reason deserves the name of more than _vir unius seculi_, formerly a doctor, up to the present time a count, but of whom (as I hope), before I let him go, nothing will be left but horror, condemnation, and punishment.

Count Struensee was born at Halle, in 1737. His father is the present superintendent in Holstein. He studied medicine at Halle, passed his examination there, and lived at Gundern with his uncle, who was the private physician of Prince von Stolberg. A year later, 1758, he became city physician of Altona, where he received, as is said, _veniam occidendi per totam urbem_, which liberty he afterwards employed as cabinet minister, _per utrumque regnum_. After he had been physician for ten years at Altona, he became, in the year 1768, physician in ordinary to his royal Majesty, when his Majesty travelled abroad, as may be seen from his statement of February 25.

It required either a supernatural intellect or great daring and foolhardiness to undertake, in his twenty-first year, to be city physician and surgeon in Altona; but I believe the latter, because at the expiration of a short period he also took on himself to be the state physician; and we must consequently conclude from this, that he was as good a doctor for the city as he was in the state, and that the number of deaths in Altona, in his times, necessarily exceeded the births, unless the number of the latter was augmented by him in another way.[85] The reputation follows the man. I derive everything from documentary evidence, and in this his most intimate friend, Count Enevold Brandt, said, in his reply to question 122, "That seven or eight years ago it was generally known of Struensee that he had no religion, and that he had intercourse with women at an early age, which was reproved by many respectable people."

This "medicus," of whom common report says that he was not particularly well provided with his father's blessing, and hence could found no hopes on the promises of the fifth commandment, formed the acquaintance of Count Enevold Brandt, at the time he was attending the late Privy Councillor Söhlenthal, Brandt's step-father. He revealed to Count Brandt that he should like to be a physician in ordinary at the Danish court, just as if Denmark had a want of clever doctors, and required them as much as France did the Danish Winslöw.[86] Count Brandt promised him his good offices. Count Struensee was therefore engaged to travel with his Majesty abroad, not because his royal Majesty's health required this, but in order that he might be at hand in any unforeseen emergency, and because a physician fills up the number of the suite of such exalted personages, without being exactly regarded as superfluous. I have credible information that during the journey, when he found time heavy on his hands, he mocked at religion and the word of God (just as at a later date people mocked at his and his partisans' regulations, projects, and ridiculous enterprises), and would celebrate his pretended victory by a contemptuous laugh. I should be able to prove this, and mention it here, partly because in a criminal case nothing must be forgotten that throws light on the character or conduct of the culprit, and partly to contradict Struensee's excuse, that it was not his intention to inflict any injury on religion.

When he returned home he remained with his most gracious Majesty as physician, and to read to his Majesty whatever his Majesty might order him to read; and for this purpose waited on the king every morning, mid-day, and evening, as will be seen from his answer to question 1. Count Struensee, who had already determined to acquire honour and wealth, no matter in what way, from the "respect and purse" of the Danish and Norwegian nation, clearly saw that it would not do to serve two masters in the way he intended, and that he, as a foreigner, who had just come into a country where he had no connexions, would be unable to sustain himself. He easily perceived that, while he secured his fortunes on one side, his misfortune could be founded on the other. To be constantly about his Majesty, would be so much as to neglect those plans which must remain hidden from the king. Nor could the duty of being constantly about the king's person be safely entrusted to any one. It must be some one, in whose care he could trust as fully as in Count Brandt, who, as he was compelled by command to keep away from court, would be attached to him if he again procured him admission to it. Thus it came about that Count Brandt received leave to return to court, though he did not occupy any permanent post till the departure of Chamberlain Warnstedt, when he was attached to his Majesty, and the duty was imposed on him of so watching the king that no one reached him, and if any one came, of reporting to Struensee who it was and what was said, which Brandt faithfully carried out. All this is to be seen in Brandt's statements before the commission on March 2, to question 8.

I will now submissively proceed to prove the nature of both Count Struensee and Count Brandt's behaviour in their intercourse with his most gracious Majesty.

After Count Struensee had, in this way, secured his position--for up to then this had not been fully the case--he writes about it in his reply to Count Brandt's warnings: "Après avoir gagné la confiance, la faveur du roi et de la reine et le crédit dans le public, et cela par mes propres forces, avec tout le risque et toutes les peines attachées à une telle entreprise que vous n'auriez certainement pas supporté: et laquelle, j'ose l'assurer, vous n'auriez pas fini, je vous appelle et je partage avec vous l'effet, et tout les agréments qui en pouvaient resulter." But what could have induced him, when Count Brandt, in his aforesaid warning, gave him to understand his annoyance in a rather harsh way, to urge the said Count Brandt to remain at his post, when he writes in the following terms: "Examinez votre position et les motifs qui vous y tiennent! Rangez d'un côté les agréments et de l'autre les désagréments et comparez cela avec vos situations passées et avec celles auxquelles vous pouvez attendre et faites alors la conclusion." When he was certain of a friend who would watch the king and pay attention to everything that happened or was said, who was to take care that none should reach the king who might repeat the general dissatisfaction at a report which wounded every honest heart, and other things which it would lead me too far to mention, he began very seriously to play the master and prove how it was his intention to become the first man, if not nominally and in respect, still in might and authority. He filched the greatest power in the most impudent way, as I shall presently prove, and he also acquired adherents, not substantial ones, but men who wished to make their fortune, and obtain something through this omnipotent _maître des requêtes_.

There was one thing, however, that prevented him from acting as he wished, namely, the High Royal Council, which was composed of respectable men, most of whom were children of the country, and all, from youth up, educated and instructed in state science, and knew the constitution, the laws, and the nation. This college must consequently be abolished; and it was done under the excuse that his Majesty was impeded by it, and could not exercise his sovereign power with perfect liberty. But the meaning of this and other things was speedily detected when the _maître des requêtes_ presented himself as privy cabinet minister, and the man whom all the king's subjects, high or low, or whosoever they might be, must obey as the king's representative, and whose orders, with his signature, must be as much respected as the king's. Thus this ambitious man, through greed for gain and that he might fully satisfy his pleasures, dared to undertake the affairs of two kingdoms, and, though inexperienced in the language and laws of the country, alone do that which so many worthy men had divided among them, and had found plenty to do in managing the business of their respective departments. Under the pretext that the council impeded the king, he had the audacity to abolish it, but to assume greater authority than the council ever possessed, as I shall more fully prove.

This daring measure taken by him was regarded as the second which would, some day, break his neck, and, by his ruin, put an end to that of the country. A privy cabinet minister was seen to choose people as his advisers from whom not much good could be expected,--partly because they had been educated like him, and understood nothing about what they undertook as statesmen, or in other qualities; partly, because they were selfish projectors and persons who wished to be fattened like him, though not to so great a degree. He regarded himself as the person who was summoned to promote the prosperity of Denmark and Norway and the welfare of the king; but everything must be altered, no matter whether the changes were useful or not, so long as they were made. He and his adherents tried to turn everything topsy-turvy. The official, when he rose in the morning, did not know whether he would not lose bread and office before evening. A proof of his foolhardiness, but also of his intention to strengthen his position, is, that he proposed his brother, who was "Professor Matheseos" at Liegnitz, in Silesia, as a deputy of finances in Denmark and Sweden, a man who may be good enough as a mathematician, though there is no want of natives possessed of the science, but must be as experienced in the management of the finances as a blind man in astronomy. Hence his summons here could have had no other object but, with united strength, to attack and conquer the royal exchequer, in which Struensee made various large and important grasps for himself and his adherents. He did not forget himself and his companions. Many thousand rix-dollars, even whole sums of 60,000 dollars, were, with false cunning and impudence, stolen from the royal exchequer against his Majesty's will and pleasure, solely to enrich himself and his adherents, so that they might be in a good humour with him. On the other hand, he never hesitated to rob other people of their income; and, in order to make it the more painful, it was generally done in a jeering manner. With the cabinet orders he behaved dishonestly; he issued them without the king's permission; and he did not bring them forward in the order that his duty commanded, as I shall most submissively prove. As he showed by his acts, his resolution was to treat the nation with harshness, with contempt, and as a people that had no "sentiments." His own words, in the answer to Count Brandt's warnings, are as follow: "Vous me reprochez que j'inspire la peur à tout le monde, et vous m'en deviez faire compliment parce que c'est la seule ressource pour un état énervé, affaibli, avec une cour et tout un public intriguant et un maître faible par respect et qui a le même penchant pour le changement que son peuple;" and in another passage: "Le conte et la complaisance ont été la source du malheur de Danemarc." But is it surprising that he should treat the people with contempt, when he ventured to do the same to its head, as I shall prove?

It might have been supposed that the affairs of the kingdom would have given him enough to do: but he still thought proper to play the doctor, by his own explanation, through affection for the royal family. His Royal Highness the Prince Royal was to be educated in accordance with his (here the right expression fails me) sentiments. I shall return to this presently, for which reason I will mention it now as shortly as possible, but no man of sense could understand how this could go on well for any time, for it seemed as if the doctor first wished to deprive the prince of his health, in order to show that he was capable of restoring it,--an attempt by which the two kingdoms could not be benefited. The other amiable royal personages, whom his craft and power could not prevent from being an obstruction to him in his undertakings, he was seen to treat with a certain degree of indifference. The exalted commissioners know as well as I that I am speaking the language of truth: for I could prove by many thousands of witnesses, the universal sorrow which was felt at seeing the king's brother, who was certainly the king's best friend, separated from him in a very marked way. The king's servants trembled at Struensee; he was so harsh to his own servants, that he threatened them with the "Blue Tower:" he reproved them because they were not used to wait on great people, by which he alluded to himself, which he could do the more safely, as these people either were not aware of his former servitude, or did not dare remind him of it, and which had been a service with honest men, it is true, but not with great persons. From these facts, however, his audacity and extraordinary foolhardiness can be seen, for he was not only harsh to his servants, (who, according to his principles, could not expect a government post, but must live on the means which they had saved up after years of extraordinary roguery,) but was even so impudent as to reprimand the servants in the presence of the exalted person whose subject and fellow-servant of servants he was. He not only interfered in things which he did not understand, but also appointed persons to offices in colleges of whose duties they were ignorant, from which many people concluded that he wished to convert everything into a chaos, or perform some extraordinary feat as a physician--as, for instance, prove that land animals were best fitted to the sea; as otherwise, this man's enterprises cannot be comprehended, and as they are mad things, I can only represent them in this ridiculous manner, in which I employ his own expression which he used against his king: "that is ridiculous." He despised the language and laws of the country. Everything must be translated for him into German, by which the work was doubled for others, and affairs could not be expedited so quickly, although it seemed in other respects as if he wished everything to be done at the double.

He overturned the laws which served to maintain honesty and respectability, but after his fall they regained their old validity, which is a sufficient proof for me in this respect.

In addition to the exalted ministers, other persons of noble birth and rank were treated by him with contumely, whence they could not remain at court, but retired to their estates and retrenched their expenses, by which the city of Copenhagen lost considerably through the reduced value of house property, and the inhabitants through the loss of the custom of the nobles. He did not like Copenhagen: it seemed to him too large for a city in Denmark. Consequently, he wished to weaken its power and prestige, and he was so daring as to take away the privileges accorded to its citizens, which they gained by risking their life and blood for their king, the royal family, and the Fatherland. On the other hand, he sought to amuse the mob by various displays of fireworks, free night toping and other jollities and carnal pleasures, which, however, he wished so contrived that they could be carried on without infection.[87]

It would surely lead too far to reckon up all the follies which were set in work by this foolhardy person. And in the midst of all this he believed he had _de Daniâ bené meritus_, so it was no excessive honour for him to become a Danish count.

Foolhardiness is seen in all his undertakings. He considers himself worthy of so great an honour, because he has had for two years an opportunity of leading a horrible life in Denmark. To be raised to this height has always been reckoned a proof of worthiness, and services rendered to the king and the kingdoms. In this instance, however, it is quite the contrary. Count Struensee regarded all that which is called rank or title as something which must not be sought after, but be bestowed on specially distinguished men, who have rendered themselves worthy of it through their services,--_Exempli gratiâ_, his brother, who was made Councillor of Justice, on account of his knowledge of finances. If he became a count, therefore, it must be assumed how great his services had been. The only humility he displayed in the receipt of this dignity was, that he procured his friend, Chamberlain Brandt, the same honour, although the latter had not taken such interest in the prosperity of the country as Count Struensee. But as we may say of him and Struensee, _vivimus ex rapto_, they must be equal in the honours as in the plunder. Though the Order (of Matilda) was so innocent when received from the exalted hand which founded it, Count Struensee entertained the daring design of being honoured immediately after with the Order of the Elephant.

All this impudence, in the midst of his most brilliant and powerful position, lowered him in the eyes of all people: his recipes for the state were regarded as quacksalvery; his services as dead flies in an apothecary's gallipot. Both himself and his adherents could not hold their tongues; partly, because they wished to know beforehand what people would say about this or the other design which was going to be carried out; partly, because in case of need they wished to be able to place themselves in a position of defence, or fly to Kronborg; for in Copenhagen they had nothing good to expect. But the discontent increased so greatly, that as many "one thousand million execrations" were heaped upon him, as there were brilliants in the golden shield which his running footman wears in his cap. This discontent with his conduct could not remain hidden from him. Count Brandt, who is to some extent to be pitied, on account of the friendship which he formed with Count Struensee, but cannot be excused, warned him: the daily pasquinades published about the count and his band, and of which he was informed every morning, at length disquieted him. The Horse Guards were abolished, and no longer stood in his way. The Foot Guards must also be got rid of. This was effected; but in a way which proves that Count Struensee in this affair also behaved like a villain to his king and benefactor.

The _émeute_ which took place on the Christmas eve rendered him equally attentive and timid. I shall revert to the proofs of this. When the royal family, with whom he lived, came to town, such precautions were taken that people must believe that the king was afraid of his subjects; but Count Struensee, with his fellow-conspirators, intended to make himself Protector, even if he did not at once take the king's life.

The gates of Copenhagen were ordered always to stand open, so that if necessary it might be a refuge for those outside the city.

When his royal Majesty came to the capital, he drove through the streets as if flying before an enemy, so that no one might approach the king, and impart to him his well-meant thoughts.

When Count Struensee's conscience (for that is always found in a man) convinced him that his actions, judging from the value which the inhabitants of the land, high and low, attached to them, would be but badly rewarded, he resolved to venture on extremities. I must most submissively and conscientiously assert, that I do not know what his motto was; but judging from his conduct, it must be believed that it agreed with the character which is given of the Greek robbers, in the words:--

"Fidens animi atque in utrumque paratus, Seu versare dolos seu certæ occumbere morti."

After the return to Copenhagen, after the body-guard had been dismissed, and the guard of the palace confided to other troops, the latter received rations in addition to their pay, and contrary to all custom, which reminds me of the answer given to the thief in the fable:--"Ita subita me jubet benignitas vigilare, facias ne meâ culpâ lucrum."

When the report spread in the city that the count was meditating dangerous designs, because the inhabitants were annoyed at being ruled by a _doctor medicinæ_, and as, too, the doctor was afraid of being dissected by the populace, though not _secundum artem_, and for the benefit of his colleagues, he chose another town commandant, who could terrify the whole city with his voice and gestures, and the cannon were also to be loaded for the same purpose. It may be supposed what was intended to take place at the palace. I do not believe there was any intention to lay hands on the person of his royal Majesty and take his life. But suppose an insurrection had broken out, not against the king--for everybody knows that he is innocent--but against this impudent count, this foolhardy person, it is only a necessary consequence that he and his partisans must have audaciously attacked the king in order to save themselves, and in such an event Count Struensee knew himself to be secure, as may be seen from his answer to Count Brandt.

It is certainly a proof of the peculiar consciousness which Count Struensee possessed about his conduct in Denmark being that of the most foolhardy and contemptible person conceivable, when he fears the people, among whom he tried to insinuate himself. But, on the other hand, it is also a proof that the Danish and Norwegian nation, although they at times endure what cannot be offered to any other, still love God, the king, the royal family, and good manners. Hence their wishes and sighs were raised to Him, through whom kings reign, who did not forget the prayers of Christian III. when the land was groaning in the days of a former Count, and who with a mighty arm and in an instant, put an end to the shame which the king, the royal house, and the kingdoms, had been compelled to endure.[88]

How great the joy of the people was when the change took place, and how great its dissatisfaction at the preceding state of things had been, was seen on January 17, whence the count might have learned _quam caduca sit ista felicitas_. And how excessively great the joy at this change was in other circles also, was seen at the court held on the birthday of his royal Majesty, where sincere anxiety for the country and affection for the king met, and where the oppressed man greeted the liberated man with a loving kiss, and forgot his own wretched position in his love for the royal family.

For the sake of future ages, when my present indictment may perhaps be seen by many, I must remark, that it is only a short narrative of all that has happened, but, as I think, it will suffice to give a perfect explanation of the misdeeds of this count, and show that the sentence I demand is in conformity with the law, and adapted to his crimes. I must not, therefore, be reproached with having attempted to render him ridiculous, especially in an action which demands the utmost earnestness, for a distinction must be drawn between a minister who may have committed an error, and a mountebank who wishes to be a minister, and, as such, was an enemy of the country, and must therefore be treated with the same harshness as he displayed to others. But, in order that Count Struensee and every one may thoroughly learn that nothing is brought forward which might be regarded as a charge without proof, I will now, in accordance with the most gracious command given me, proceed to bring my charges against him, together with the evidence.

To reckon up all the crimes committed by him would be a most useless task, the more so when we reflect that the count has only one head, and that when that is lost by a crime, the other offences would be superfluous. I will hence close my deduction with the words--

"----Longa est injuria, longæ Ambages, sed summa sequar fastigia rerum."

_First._

"Count Struensee crept into the familiarity of the highest lady in the land, to such a degree that it went beyond the limits that are drawn between persons of different sexes, who cannot and must not be connected."

As I am commanded to indict Count Struensee--and I regard the above as one of the greatest crimes committed by him, and as the first which hurled him into the others--I bring it forward first: for it is certainly the most foolhardy one, which no one forgives him, and for which he cannot be excused.

I here produce the testimony on oath of Fräulein von Eyben, not in order to prove what is sufficiently explained, but only to request it may be remarked how Struensee strove to be present at places when there was an opportunity for him to acquire what he desired, and how the indifference with which he was at first regarded by the person whose confidence he afterwards gained, proves that it was not he who was tempted, but that his "inhuman" impudence, his bold, crafty, and villanous conduct, were powerful enough to attain that which virtue and education never grant, and that he is the more criminal, because he brought others into despair, in order to acquire honours himself.[89]

As proofs of this most audacious deed committed by Count Struensee, I produce--(1) The examination of Counts Struensee and Brandt and Professor Berger, made on February 20. The first two hundred and eighteen questions, and the twenty asked him on the 21st, contain Count Struensee's explanations of his intercourse with the exalted lady, and her intimacy with him, but all of which he reckons among the things she would have so. That he could be excused as a doctor, and she also, as there is in this no confession of the crime, I need not stay to disprove, as there is better evidence. (Here follow five passages from the report of the examination.) In these passages, Count Struensee, voluntarily and with great emotion, publicly confessed the most audacious crime committed by him. The commissioners possess his signature, as well as this most important document. (2) The said Count Struensee's confession signed with his own hand. (3) Her royal Majesty Caroline Matilda's declaration of the truth of Struensee's confession, dated Kronborg, March 9, 1772. (4) Fräulein von Eyben's deposition. (5) Count Brandt's statement of February 22. These statements are confirmed by Professor Berger's deposition. From all these documents we perceive Count Struensee's atrocious conduct; how, without shame he advanced with the greatest security in his crimes, and especially in the one which can only be thought of with horror, when we look at the person hurled into shame by him, and notice how he behaved, as if he wished the whole world to learn his deeds.

His frequent unannounced running in to the queen: his lengthened stay: his riding and driving out with her: the giving and receiving of presents--all this confirms the truth of the evidence, and shows that he has not spoken falsely.

For this reason, he has in this matter committed the crime of high treason in the highest degree. He has openly acted against the fidelity which he owed the king his master, and the reverence he should have displayed toward their Majesties. He has deprived the king of the confidence, love, and personal security (_i.e._ the certainty of alone possessing the queen's person) which his Majesty had a right to expect after so sacred a promise, entered into in the sight of God; he has tried to affix a stain on the royal family, in order thus to attain dignities and power.

What honest man in the country, however mean he may be, would not feel most highly insulted by such a thing! But how awful is the thought of such an insult offered to the highest persons! a crime which the legislator has not even supposed, and which it would be improper to mention. But if a verbal insult of the king is bad, how much greater is the crime of disgracing the king and queen by an action! I do not, therefore, require to dwell longer on this head; for the facts and the confession of the deed cannot be denied, and ere I end, Count Struensee can peruse his crime and its well-merited punishment in 6--4--1 of the law. I therefore refer him to this passage of the law.

_Secondly._

"Count Struensee was not only informed that his royal Majesty was ill-treated by Count Brandt, and even assaulted, but he also advised it; hence he neither prevented it, nor took measures to prevent it, and he himself also treated his royal Majesty in a contemptuous way."

From my deduction, the evidence and the indictment of Count Brandt, the court will learn how the affair happened: how his Majesty was attacked by the aforesaid Count Brandt in his cabinet, abused, and treated in an unexampled manner. As far as I am aware, there is no instance of such a thing in history--there is, unfortunately, of royal murders; but none of such treatment. That Count Struensee was not only aware of this fact, but urged Count Brandt to commit it, and approved of the crime, is proved by the following:--

Count Brandt declares that after his Majesty had threatened to beat him with a stick, Count Struensee said to him, at six o'clock on the same evening, "I have reproved the king, and he answered me, 'Brandt is a coward; he has no courage, and I will fight with him.'" Struensee then said further to Brandt, "What will you do? You must go to the king one evening and say, 'You insist upon fighting with me: here I am; if you want anything, come on;'" and he added, that this had repeatedly occurred with Count Holck. When Brandt returned from the king, the queen had begun her game of cards, and, when it was ended, Struensee stood by the stove, where Brandt told him what had occurred; to which Struensee answered, "That is right: now you will have peace; but not a soul must know it." Count Struensee not only confesses that he had spoken about it previously with Count Brandt, but also that he was informed by him of what had happened, as will be seen from Struensee's answer to quest. 402-412.

That the count himself also forgot the respect he owed the king, is further proved by his addressing him harshly, as is seen by the evidence of the witness Detlev Christopher Aabyn: "If he will not bathe, he shall be beaten;" and the other statements of the same witness.

In the same way, then, as Count Brandt, as I have shown, has rendered himself guilty of the crime of high treason by his audacious deed and harsh treatment of the king--for which Count Struensee even promises him a reward, as we read in his reply to Count Brandt's warnings concerning the harshness with which he is obliged to treat the king: "la reconnaissance que la reine vous aura, si vous reussissiez, et les marques incontestables que vous en avez dejà reçu, vous en recompenseront"--Count Struensee, as adviser, seducer, and accomplice, has been guilty of the same crime, and must be punished for it by the same penalty.

_Thirdly._

"Count Struensee harshly treated the king's son, his Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederick, so that it seems as if it had been his sole intention to remove the crown prince from the world, or, at least, to bring him up so that he would be incapable of reigning."

In addition to all that is known, and has been seen, by so many persons, the exalted commission learns from Hans Heinrich Majoll's declaration and Gündel Marie Schönberg's evidence, that this treatment applied to a tender child was a fruit of the brain of this impudent and foolhardy man. Had he not found it to his advantage to remain a doctor, if he had not given orders in this affair, it might be said in his excuse that the education of the crown prince in no way concerned the _maître des requêtes_ or the cabinet minister. But everything was done by his orders, although he, as a doctor, must have been aware that it is utterly impossible to rear children in such a way. I am convinced Count Struensee will be unable to mention any instance of such a way of child-rearing as he recommended. He therefore ordered it thus through special malice against the innocent prince, in order, as I have already said, to get him out of the way, or try what results such a training would have. But, in either case, he offends most grievously against the royal personage, as the crown prince could not be allowed to be his "testing rag."

I will not say any more about this matter, for which there is no apology, even though Count Struensee were to appeal--as his remarks seem to indicate--to the training or keep of irrational animals. Count Struensee, who was not trained in this way, has as fat a paunch as if he were Vitellius. There is a difference between pampering children so that not a breath of air may reach them, and giving them too little food, and making them endure hunger and cold. Animals have more care for their young, and Count Struensee will not attain the honour of being placed in the same class with them. As he asserts that he possesses intelligence, all this was done by him through sheer arrogance and malice against the king's son, whose life was endangered by his advice given as doctor; and as God has hitherto held His hand over him, it is no merit of Struensee that he is still alive. But I am of opinion that any man who endangers the life of royal children, is fully as worthy of punishment as one who tries to take their life; and hence deserves to be sentenced in accordance with the law 6--4--1.

_Fourthly._

"Count Struensee has grievously offended, and committed the crime of high treason, by usurping the royal authority, passing resolutions in the place of his royal Majesty, and attaching his own signature to these resolutions."

Count Struensee's evil intentions against the king and his subjects are especially displayed in this matter, even though he and some of his defenders (if he really have any) may regard it as perfectly innocent. Count Struensee considers that, as he only intended to undertake things which would prove advantageous, there was no harm in it. But the contrary has been shown; and it would be something incredible if a person who knew nothing previously of state affairs, should become competent, in a period of two years, to govern two kingdoms. Who can believe that a person who considers himself the most honourable man in the country, entertaining the best intentions for the king and the state, but who possesses no religion, and consequently can have no other intentions but the satisfaction of his desires,--that such a man should try to persuade a nation like the Danish and Norwegian that he is the man who will promote everybody's fortunes in the kingdom? I here write what must be regarded as incredible, if we were not so perfectly convinced of it. Count Struensee has committed crimes which the meanest man in the kingdom, who has but the most general ideas about morality and the reverence he owes his king, will regard as the most detestable. It is true that an evident crime entails on the culprit the extremest public contumely,--as, for instance, robbing one's neighbour; seducing his wife, &c. But it is unanswerable, under the appearance of friendship, fidelity, true love of the welfare of the country, disinterestedness, and sparing the royal treasury, for a man to strive to put his fingers into everything, and to rule with unbounded authority instead of the regent,--in a word, to make a brilliant display of his villany (I call things by their right names). Count Struensee alleges that the cause of the abolition of the council of state was partly that his royal Majesty was not satisfied with the condition of the country and the indebtedness in which the kingdom was; partly, that he was impeded by the council. If his Majesty himself had the idea of abolishing the council, Count Struensee ought to have opposed it in a different way from that which he employed in coercing the king to bathe. But it was his duty to represent to the king his master that his royal Majesty, having only recently ascended the throne, required advice; and if among the councillors there were some who did not possess his Majesty's confidence, others could be found to fill their place; that a monarch, however wise he may be, still remains a man; that, although the King of Denmark was not bound to retain advisers, still it was to his honour and profit to have them; and that he who was instructed in medical science was not fitted to undertake the management of such affairs. Everybody knows that a king should never love hypocrisy. But truth can be expressed in various ways. A truth urged in a coarse manner is an insult; an attempt to apply it sarcastically is a mockery; but when expressed with honourable straightforwardness, it is useful, and the latter is the duty of an honest subject. Count Struensee, however, was so daring as to take on himself the functions of many men.

In my historical preface, I have called attention to the fact, how strange it appeared to all who are aware that a knowledge of the welfare of kingdoms cannot be acquired by whistling or dancing, when he attained the most gracious royal order and instruction of July 14, 1771, to be privy cabinet minister. From this instruction, which was communicated to the colleges, we learn that Count Struensee not only exercised a power which not even the great chancellor of the kingdom possessed in former times, but exercised it as fully as only his royal Majesty could do himself. It is true there was an appearance as if everything still depended on his Majesty's approbation; but if the matter is looked into more closely, this is only delusion and juggling. For if everything in the cabinet is decided by Count Struensee, and his orders and regulations are to have the same value as the king's commands, it is clear that if anything was issued from the cabinet which opposed existing regulations and resolutions, and that this should be returned to the cabinet for alteration, the eventual decision depended on the count himself. And what assurance was given the king and his subjects that nothing wrong would be done by the cabinet minister when he possessed the power himself to examine, defend, and approve everything he had resolved on?

When Count Struensee had the fortune, favour, and honour to come to the Danish court and stand well there, he probably took the Danish and Norwegian subjects for such cattle, that they might be called together and led to the shambles by a cabinet resolution of his, without being allowed to murmur, for in no other way can we explain his daring to undertake such an enterprise. Any man who presumes to manage the affairs of a kingdom, and direct them instead of the king, must be acquainted with the duties of the king to his subjects, and the duties of the subjects to the king. He must be a simple doctor who merely knows that there is a heart in the human body, but not where it is seated, and what parts are connected with it or have influence over it. Any man who did not wish merely to play the harlequin, but maintain his honour, ought to be acquainted with the duties of the regent and the people. Struensee could have seen in the Danish and Norwegian code, and in the _Lex Regia_ of Frederick III. of blessed memory, signed on November 14, 1665, that sovereignty, but not despotism, is granted to the king. There is not a subject of his Majesty who would feel offended because the king rules with unlimited power, for that is his right. Any one who asserts that the king can alter the _Lex Regia_ without the assent of the nation, and against the will of all classes, is a traitor, hypocrite, and scoundrel. The royal law, which the kings must obey, and which is a _sine quâ non_ on their part and that of their subjects, cannot be altered by the king, without at once overthrowing and restricting his rule, for it is ordered (as Frederick III. could order his descendants as _primus adquirens_), that the royal law shall not be altered, and the right to the monarchy is solely derived from this supreme royal law, as an immutable fundamental law for both kingdoms.

(Wiwet here quotes the two passages of the _Lex Regia_, 3 and 26, referring to this. As I have given them already literally, they may be omitted here.)

If Count Struensee was so stupid that he knew nothing about the royal law, although he undertook to be director of the kingdom, his audacity might perhaps be expiated in prison, in a mad-house, or on the pillory. But as he has declared that he was acquainted with the contents and prescriptions of the royal law, but is at the same time of opinion that there is no harm in appropriating the king's authority for the purpose of pulling the skin of the subjects over their ears, he has on this point been guilty of the crime of high treason in a high degree. Just as little as an alteration can be effected in the king's hereditary government, which insults the king, can this be done in another way, even though it might appear as if it were done in favour of the king. The royal law must so remain unchanged that Count Struensee can introduce no other form of government but that prescribed by it. The apology with which Count Struensee tries to excuse his enterprise I need not contradict, for the king cannot forgive his audacity. The honour, life, and property of the people, were entrusted to the autocracy of the descendants of Frederick III., but to no one else. Any one, therefore, who attempts to appropriate this power, offends against the reverence which he owes the king.

_Fifthly._

Even if Count Struensee could be for a moment excused for acquiring, in contradiction to the royal law, such authority as was granted him in the cabinet decree of July 14, 1771, he still remains criminal, because he did not behave honestly after the contents of this instruction, from which it is plainly seen that he did not employ this power to relieve his royal Majesty, but merely to play the part which he had invented for himself and his colleagues. To mention all the intrigues of which he was guilty in this respect, is superfluous, and would lead me too far. I consider, therefore, that one example will be sufficient. Should it appear to the count, however, that I have not sufficiently convicted him of being a clumsy criminal, I have various further proofs at his service.

When Count Struensee had effected the dismissal of the Horse Guards, the Foot Guards were also to be dismissed from their duty at the palace. The matter was connected in this way: Count Struensee apprehended that he might some day receive the reward of his crimes, and therefore he must see to his precautions. The natives of the country, as a wall of defence round the royal house, were a thorn in his eye, and hence such obstacles must be removed for coming events. Consequently, he drew up a cabinet decree of December 21, 1771, concerning the disbandment of the Foot Guards, of which his royal Majesty was not informed. These men were to be placed in other regiments, because, as the count alleges, equality ought to prevail among all officers and soldiers, as they all served the same king; while the true reason was, that the count, in the event of ill-success, did not wish to have them against him, as they might assist in seizing him by the ear. But when this order became known, and the Guards refused to obey it, he procured a royal order of December 24, by which his Majesty most graciously granted discharges to those Guards, who would not perform duty at the palace with the grenadiers. This was an extraordinarily foolhardy action, as will be seen from the following facts:--

_First._ His Majesty never knew anything about such a dismissal of the body-guard: for this reason it has been re-embodied, which proves that the disbandment took place against the king's will. _Secondly._ His Majesty did not sign the said order. _Thirdly._ Count Struensee, when he extorted his royal Majesty's approbation for the disbandment of the Guards, represented that they refused to do duty at the palace with the grenadiers, which was an evident falsehood, as the Guards only refused to enter other regiments. _Fourthly._ Although, from December 21 to 24, there were various resolutions which ought to have been approved by the king, Struensee did not lay them before his Majesty, solely from the motive of having the former orders of December 21 confirmed by the approbation of the last. He therefore acted falsely as regards the commands and resolutions, the drawing-up of which, and laying before the king for approbation, depended on him as privy cabinet minister, and thus acted contrary to the law I--I--I.

_Sixthly._

After Count Struensee had acquired the mastery over his Majesty's treasury, both the private and the special cabinet treasury, he contrived to turn it to his own advantage. It would lead me too far if I mentioned all the cunning tricks done by him, and the commission will pardon me if I do not lay all the instances before it. Count Struensee has, therefore, no reason to complain, for all his malversations are not mentioned, and, indeed, they are countless. He takes 10,000 dollars, and 3,000 at the new year, procures Count Brandt 3,000, so that he may not overthrow and betray him, and the Countess Holstein a gratification of 3,000 dollars, because she has lost her money at play, although her royal Majesty graciously and justly refuses it, for the earnings of 3,000 poor women by spinning pay for her extravagance. One gratification after the other is granted to Falckenskjold,[90] that chosen instrument for all events, that sheet-anchor on which the whole machine (so Count Struensee calls his arrangements) depended, and who was well aware that, if the count's rule broke up, he (the colonel) would also lose his regiment. For his brother he procures money from the king's treasury, on the grounds that a financier must have money to prevent him from stealing; for such is the right conclusion that should be drawn from his defence.

That Count Struensee is as great a villain as was ever rung in and out of a German fair, any one can see from the fact that he obtained money and office for his brother. I will not refer to the circumstance that the king was obliged to pay for the journey of a person to an office of which the person summoned had no knowledge. My God, what a mockery of so many worthy men, who meant sincerely by the king and country! But to propose his brother as deputy of finances, and to give him 3,000 dollars so that he might not plunder the king in other ways of an equal sum, is so extraordinarily audacious and foolhardy, that it renders Count Struensee most excessively contemptible. Who could invent such motives without prostituting himself, and revealing that in such dealing no true honour was intended!

In the same way as Count Struensee managed to procure his brother money, he also continued to obtain considerable sums for himself and his confidants. When he acquired full authority over the king's treasury, on learning that it was by no means a matter of indifference to his Majesty whether there was money in the treasury or not, he requested his Majesty, upon some money being paid in, most graciously to give him and Brandt a trifle, probably under the same pretext as he afterwards employed for his brother. His Majesty therefore gave--

To the Queen 10,000 dollars. To Count Brandt 6,000 " and To him, Count Struensee 6,000 " ------ Making a total of 22,000 dollars,

which is perfectly correct. But after his Majesty's approval of the donations had been obtained, Count Struensee, who was able to take the money out of the king's special treasury--for he cannot prove that he took it from anywhere else--hit on the idea of adding a 0, so that the document now reads

To the Queen 10,000 dollars. To Count Brandt 60,000 " and To him, Count Struensee 60,000 " ------- Together 130,000 dollars.

As in reckoning up this did not agree with the 22,000 dollars, in order to avoid an alteration of both the figures 2, the matter was thus arranged:

To the Queen 10,000 dollars. To Count Brandt 60,000 " To Count Struensee 60,000 " and To Falckenskjold 2,000 " ------- Total 132,000 dollars.

Apart from the fact that any one can easily detect how the two ciphers were added, and also that a figure 2 has been altered into a 3, it is clear, as Counts Brandt and Struensee themselves, will be obliged to confess, that there is the greatest reason for regarding the affair with suspicion; and it will be proved an evident forgery, when we take into consideration the following facts:--1. His royal Majesty has himself declared that he did not give them 60,000 dollars. 2. It is remarkable that in the same document by which the king gave his two subjects and servants 60,000 dollars apiece, he granted his consort only 10,000; and 3. All the proofs brought forward by the count in this matter, hobble.

He has, therefore, in addition to the insult offered his Majesty by robbing him of so large a capital, been guilty of peculation in this instance also, and offended against the regulations of the law 6--4--10.

_Seventhly._

Furthermore, Count Struensee was an accomplice, adviser, and helper, in selling her royal Majesty's costly bouquet, which was composed of precious stones, and taxed at the value of 40,000 dollars, for 10,000 dollars in Hamburg, and entrusting the sale to Etats-rath Waitz, although this concerned an article which served as an ornament to the queen regnant of the country, and ought not to have been taken from her. (Here come eight passages from the evidence.) In this he has not only acted faithlessly, in allowing so valuable an ornament to be sold for so ridiculous a price, but it was also quite unnecessary to dispose of a valuable in such a way "to the prostitution of its owner."

_Eighthly._

In order that this intrigue and other disgraceful undertakings might not come to the knowledge of the king, he gave orders that all letters addressed to his Majesty should be delivered in the cabinet, so that he might be the first to learn everything, and, if necessary, take those measures which his safety demanded, and be the conductor and defender of any proceedings that might be found requisite.

_Ninthly._

At length, when Struensee perceived that matters were not going on right, and that he was about to be attacked, he tried to defend himself. Those persons whom he feared were dismissed; the citizens only remained, but these he fancied he could easily terrify. Hence, after obtaining the nomination of another commandant, he gave orders to have the cannon held in readiness. It is true that he denies this, and only acknowledges that he gave Major-General Gude orders to hold everything in readiness which would serve for the maintenance of good order. But when we consider that this was not necessary, as such cases are always provided for in Copenhagen, we presume this unusual regulation was either the fruit of an apprehension that he was at length about to receive the reward of his actions, or that it had reference to a measure that was about to be taken and defended. That he intended to fly and take some one with him, in the event of his not being able to hold his ground, is seen from litt. F., pp. 33, 41, and 52.

I consider, therefore, that I have proved Count Struensee's enormous crimes against his royal Majesty, the royal family, and the kingdoms; and that he has been guilty of high treason in many ways. The punishment I demand consequently is--

"That Count John Frederick Struensee, for the crimes committed by him, be condemned to have lost his dignity of count, his honour, life, and property; and that, after his coat of arms has been broken by the executioner, his right hand be cut off while he is alive, his body quartered and exposed on a wheel, his head and hand stuck on a pole, and also that his fortune be confiscated to the king, and his heirs, if he have any, forfeit their rank and birth."

F. W. WIWET.

_Copenhagen, April 21, 1772._

I am afraid that my translation of this unexampled document will be regarded as extremely inelegant; but this could not be avoided, if the literal meaning were to be adhered to. The original itself is written in the most barbarous style; wherever the advocates Danish runs short he helps himself out with a German word, which he generally misapplies, and puts in scraps of Latin here and there, which have the most absurd counter-sense. As my object, however, was to give an exact idea of charges which would not have hung a dog in this country, I have thought it advisable to sacrifice elegance to correctness.

Ere I conclude this chapter, I may be permitted to supply one example of the way in which the judges tried to scrape up evidence against the unfortunate ex-minister. On the same day when the Russian minister, Filosofow, insulted Struensee so grossly, as has been already recorded, a report was spread that the latter had quarrelled with one of the first gentlemen in the land, and treacherously assailed him, sword in hand; but this rumour died out as rapidly as it had been propagated. After the arrest of Struensee, and the difficulty felt of proving the already resolved death-sentence by credible testimony, the president of the court, Justiciary Baron von Juel-Wind, went to this gentleman, and asked him if he were disposed to bring a charge against Struensee before the commission? The gentleman nobly rejected such a proposal, and answered, that he was accustomed to pity the unfortunate, and not increase their misery; besides, there was not the slightest truth in the rumour.

This proves that even Wiwet's diatribes were not considered sufficient evidence of Struensee's guilt, and that every opportunity was sought to bolster up the case. It is very possible, however, that the judges were more successful with other witnesses whom they tried to suborn, and therefore the evidence, such as it is, ought to be regarded with extra suspicion.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 84: In Höst's "Struensee og hans Ministerium" this document is quoted, but with an omission of everything that proved the crime of high treason, and must entail the penalty of death. As this work, however, was published in 1824, or during the reign of the son of Caroline Matilda, everything had to be omitted which might appear offensive to the memory of the king's mother. But Höst did not inform his readers of this fact. The notorious indictment is now published for the first time, without any mutilations or suppressions, from the Danish secret archives. All honour to Frederick VII., who allowed it to be made known, although it casts such a slur on Danish justice.]

[Footnote 85: Well may Reverdil say about this indictment that it is impossible to read anything more flat, more clumsy, or more disgusting. It is the style of a lackey amusing himself in a tavern at the expense of a man who is about to be hung. He adds: "Ought not an unhappy man who is pining in fetters to be spared insults useless to the cause? Ought not Wiwet to have reflected that he could not insult the prisoner without failing in respect to the king, who so long honoured him with his confidence, and who signed most of the orders alleged as a crime against Struensee?"]

[Footnote 86: Winslöw, a celebrated anatomist, was born at Odense, in Fühnen, appointed professor at the _Jardin des Plantes_, in Paris, in 1742, and wrote a work that run through four editions: "Exposition Anatomique du Structure du Corps Humain." He died in 1760.]

[Footnote 87: I confess this sentence is quite beyond me, but it is a literal translation.]

[Footnote 88: An allusion to what is called the "Grafenfehde" of 1533-36.]

[Footnote 89: As regards this argument, Falckenskjold remarks very sensibly: "Even supposing, which I am far from admitting, that there was an illicit _liaison_ between the queen and Struensee, the supposition that he was the seducer is absurd. Any princess who would deign thus to degrade herself with one of her subjects, is under the necessity of taking the first steps: this is one of the inconveniences of superior rank."]

[Footnote 90: The falsehood of this charge is best proved by Falckenskjold's own examination: "I certainly made no profit out of the 3,000 crowns given me for my journeys, made by order of the king." When he was summoned from the Turkish frontier to enter the Danish service he received 1,000 dollars, and when he was sent to Petersburg on diplomatic business he was paid 2,000 crowns for his travelling and other expenses. Little enough, when we remember that on two occasions he was obliged to stay six weeks in Petersburg.]