wished her to leave secretly. The traitor Braten told her that he
thought it best that she should disguise herself as a man. She said
that there was no necessity she should disguise herself; that no one
would pursue her; and even if it were so, that she would not go in
disguise with any man who was not her husband. After having been
detained seventeen days at Dover, she allowed herself to be conducted
by Braten, at night, towards the ramparts, descended by a high ladder
which broke during her descent, passed the fosse, which was not
difficult; on the other side there was a horse waiting for her, but
the nobleman, her attendant, and the nobleman's valet, went on foot;
they would not allow her valet to go with them; Braten made an excuse
of not being able to find him, and that time pressed; it was because
they were afraid that there would be an effort at defence.
When she arrived where the traitors were, her guide gave a signal by
knocking two stones one against another. At this, four armed men
advanced; Petkum and Dreyer were a little way off; one held a pistol
to her breast, the other a sword, and said, 'I take you prisoner.'
The other two traitors said, 'We will conduct you to Ostend.' She had
always suspected treachery, and had spoken with her companion, in
case it happened, what it would be best to do, to give herself up or
to defend herself? She decided on allowing herself to be betrayed
without a struggle, since she had no reason to fear that her life
would be attempted because her son had avenged the wrong done to his
parents. Thus she made no resistance, begged them not to take so much
trouble, that she would go of herself; for two men held her with so
much force that they hurt her arm. They came with a bottle of dry
wine to quench her thirst, but she would not drink; she had a good
way to go on foot, for she would not again mount the horse.
She showed some anger towards her guide, begged him in English to
give her respects to the governor,[52] but to convey to the traitor
Braten all the abuse that she could hurriedly call to mind in this
language, which was not quite familiar to her. She advanced towards
the boat; the vessel which was to convey her was in the roads, near
the Downs. She bade farewell to the nobleman. She had two bracelets
with diamonds which she wished to give him to convey to her children;
but as he feared they would be taken from him, she replaced them
without troubling him with them. She gave a pistol to her servant,
and a mariner then carried her to the boat; she was placed in an
English frigate that Petkum had hired, and Dreyer went with her.[53]
She was thirteen days on the road, and arrived near the Custom-house
pier on August 8, 1663, at nine o'clock in the morning.
[52] Leonora did not know that the governor of the castle was in
the plot.
[53] Additional light is thrown on the arrest of Leonora Christina
at Dover by the following extracts in the _Calendar of State
Papers_, p. 224, 225:--
_August 1_, _Whitehall_.--(Sec. Bennet) to Capt. Strode. The King is
satisfied with his account of the lady's escape and his own
behaviour; continue the same mask, of publishing His Majesty's
displeasure against all who contributed to it, especially his
lieutenant, and this more particularly in presence of M. Cassett,
lest he may suspect connivance. Cassett is to continue prisoner some
time. The Danish Resident is satisfied with the discretion used, but
says his point would not have been secured had the lady gone to sea
without interruption.
_August 1_?--Account (proposed to be sent to the Gazette?) relative
to Count Uhlfeldt--recording his submission in 1661, the present
sentence against him, his further relapse into crime after a solemn
recantation, also signed by his wife who was his accomplice, though
her blood saved her from sharing his sentence, but who has now
betrayed herself into the hands of the King of Denmark. She was in
England when the conspiracy against the King of Denmark's life was
detected. The King of England had her movements watched, when she
suddenly went off without a pass, for want of which she was stayed
by the Governor of Dover Castle, who accommodated her in the castle.
The Resident of Denmark posted to Dover, and secured the master of a
ship then in the road, with whom he expected her to tamper, which
she did, escaped through the castle window, and entering a shallop
to go on board, was seized and conveyed to Denmark. With note (by
Lord Chancellor Clarendon) that he is not satisfied with this
account, but will prepare a better for another week.
[The remaining part of the Autobiography treats of the commencement
of her imprisonment in the Blue Tower, which forms the subject of the
following Memoir.]
A RECORD
OF
THE SUFFERINGS OF THE IMPRISONED COUNTESS
LEONORA CHRISTINA.
PREFACE.
_TO MY CHILDREN._
Beloved children, I may indeed say with Job, 'Oh, that my grief were
thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea.' My sufferings
are indeed great and many; they are heavy and innumerable. My mind
has long been uncertain with regard to this history of my sufferings,
as I could not decide whether I ought not rather to endeavour to
forget them than to bear them in memory. At length, however, certain
reasons have induced me, not only to preserve my sorrow in my own
memory, but to compose a record of it, and to direct it to you, my
dear children.[54]
[54] In the margin is added: 'As I now hope that what I write may
come into your hands, my captivity during the last three years also
having been much lightened.'
The first of these reasons is the remembrance of the omnipotence of
God; for I cannot recall to mind my sorrow and grief, my fears and
distresses, without at the same time remembering the almighty power
of God, who in all my sufferings, my misery, my affliction, and
anxiety, has been my strength and help, my consolation and
assistance; for never has God laid a burden upon me, without at the
same time giving me strength in proportion, so that the burden,
though it has weighed me down and heavily oppressed me, has not
overwhelmed me and crushed me; for which I praise and extol through
eternity the almighty power of the incomprehensible God.
I wish, therefore, not alone to record my troubles and to thank God
for His gracious support in all the misfortunes that have befallen
me, but also to declare to you, my dear children, God's goodness to
me, that you may not only admire with me the inconceivable help of
the Almighty, but that you may be able to join with me in rendering
Him thanks. For you may say with reason that God has dealt
wonderfully with me; that He was mighty in my weakness and has shown
His power in me, the frailest of His instruments. For how would it
have been possible for me to resist such great, sudden, and
unexpected misfortunes, had not His spirit imparted to me strength?
It was God who Himself entered with me into the Tower-gate; it was He
who extended to me His hand, and wrestled for me in that prison cell
for malefactors, which is called 'the Dark Church.'
Since then, now for almost eleven years, He has always been within
the gate of my prison as well as of my heart; He has strengthened me,
comforted me, refreshed me, and often even cheered me. God has done
wonderful things in me, for it is more than inconceivable that I
should have been able to survive the great misfortunes that have
befallen me, and at the same time should have retained my reason,
sense, and understanding. It is a matter of the greatest wonder that
my limbs are not distorted and contracted from lying and sitting,
that my eyes are not dim and even wholly blind from weeping, and from
smoke and soot; that I am not short-breathed from candle smoke and
exhalation, from stench and close air. To God alone be the honour!
The other cause that impels me is the consolation it will be to you,
my dear children, to be assured through this account of my sufferings
that I suffer innocently; that nothing whatever has been imputed to
me, nor have I been accused of anything for which you, my dear
children, should blush or cast down your eyes in shame. I suffer for
having loved a virtuous lord and husband, and for not having
abandoned him in misfortune. I was suspected of being privy to an act
of treason for which he has never been prosecuted according to law,
much less convicted of it, and the cause of the accusation was never
explained to me, humbly and sorrowfully as I desired that it should
be. Let it be your consolation, my dear children, that I have a
gracious God, a good conscience, and can boldly maintain that I have
never committed a dishonourable act. 'This is thankworthy,' says the
apostle St. Peter, 'if a man for conscience toward God endure grief,
suffering wrongfully.' I suffer, thank God, not for my misdeeds, for
that were no glory to me; yet I can boast that from my youth up I
have been a bearer of the cross of Christ, and had incredibly secret
sufferings, which were very heavy to endure at such an early age.
Although this record of my sufferings contains and reveals nothing
more than what has occurred to me in this prison, where I have now
been for eleven years, I must not neglect in this preface briefly to
recall to your minds, my dear children, my earlier misfortunes,
thanking God at the same time that I have overcome them.
Not only you, my dear children, know, but it is known throughout the
whole country, what great sorrow and misfortune Dina and Walter, with
their powerful adherents, inflicted on our house in the year 1651.
Although I will not mention the many fatiguing and difficult
journeys, the perils by sea, and various dangers which I have endured
in foreign countries, I will only remind you of that journey which my
lord requested me to undertake to Denmark, contrary to my wish, in
the year 1657.[E01] It was winter time, and therefore difficult and
dangerous. I endured scorn and persecution; and had not God given me
courage and taken it from him who was to have arrested me, I should
not at that time have escaped the misery of captivity.
[E01] This journey really took place in November and December,
1656.
You will remember, my dear children, what I suffered and endured
during fourteen months in custody at Malmoe; how the greatest favour
which His Majesty, King Charles X. of Sweden, at that time showed me,
was that he left it to my free will, either to remain at liberty,
taking care of our property, or to be in prison with my lord. I
acknowledged the favour, and chose the latter as my duty, esteeming
it a happiness to be allowed to console and to serve my anxious
husband, afflicted as he subsequently was by illness. I accepted it
also as a favour that I was allowed (when my lord could not do it
himself on account of illness) to appear before the tribunal in his
stead. What anxiety and sorrow I had for my sick lord, what trouble,
annoyance and distress, the trial caused me (it was carried on daily
for more than nine weeks), is known to the most high God, who was my
consolation, assistance, and strength, and who inspired me with
heart and courage to defend the honour of my lord in the presence of
his judges.
You will probably not have forgotten how quickly one misfortune
followed another, how one sorrow was scarcely past when a greater one
followed in its track; we fared, according to the words of the poet:
Incidit in Scyllam, qui vult vitare Charibdin.
We escaped custody and then fell into strict captivity, without doubt
by the dispensation of God, who inspired my lord with the idea of
repairing, contrary to our agreement, to Copenhagen instead of
Luebeck. No pen can describe how sorrowful I was when, contrary to all
expectation, I met my lord in Copenhagen, when I had imagined him
escaped from the power and violence of all his enemies. I expected
just that which my lord did not believe would happen, but which
followed immediately--namely, our arrest. The second day after my
arrival (which they had waited for) we were apprehended and conveyed
to Bornholm, where we were in close imprisonment for seventeen
months. I have given a full description of what I suffered, and this
I imagine is in your keeping, my dear children; and from it you see
what I and my sick lord endured; how often I warded off greater
misery, because my lord could not always brook patiently the bad
treatment of the governor, Adolf Foss, who called himself Fux.
It was hard and bitter indeed to be scorned and scoffed at by a
peasant's son; to have to suffer hunger at his will, and to be
threatened and harassed by him; but still harder and more bitter was
it to be sick beneath his power, and to hear from him the words that
even if death were on my lips no minister of God's word should come
to me. Oh monstrous tyranny! His malice was so thoroughly beyond all
bounds, that he could not endure that we should lighten each other's
cross; and for this reason he contrived, after the lapse of eleven
months, to have us separated from each other, and to place us each in
the hardest confinement.
My husband (at that time already advancing in years) without a
servant, and I without an attendant, was only allowed a light so long
as the evening meal lasted. I cannot forbear bitterly recalling to
mind the six months of long and hard separation, and the sad farewell
which we took of each other; for to all human sight there was no
other prospect than that which the governor announced to us--namely,
that we were seeing and speaking with each other for the last time in
this world. God knows best how hard our sufferings were, for it was
He who consoled us, who gave us hope contrary to all expectation, and
who inspired me with courage when the governor visited me and
endeavoured to fill me with despair.
God confirmed my hope. Money and property loosened the bonds of our
captivity, and we were allowed to see and speak with each other once
more. Sad as my lord had been when we were separated at Borringholm,
he was joyous when two years afterwards he persuaded me to undertake
the English journey, not imagining that this was to part us for ever.
My lord, who entertained too good an opinion of the King of England,
thought that now that he had come to the throne he would remember not
only his great written and spoken promises, but that he would also
bear in mind how, at the time of his need and exile, I had drawn the
rings from my fingers and had pawned them for meals for him and his
servants. But how unwillingly I undertook this journey is well known
to some of you, my dear children, as I was well aware that from an
ungrateful person there is nothing else to be expected but
ingratitude. I had the example of others by whom to take warning; but
it was thus destined to be.
Bitter bread was in store for me, and bitter gall was to fill my cup
in the Blue Tower of Copenhagen Castle; thither was I to go to eat it
and drink it out. It is not unknown to you how falsely the King of
England acted towards me; how well he received me on my arrival; how
he welcomed me with a Judas kiss and addressed me as his cousin; and
how both he himself and all his high ministers assured me of the
royal favour, and promised me payment of the money advanced. You know
how cunningly (at the desire of His Majesty the King of Denmark) he
had me arrested at Dover, and subsequently sent me word through the
traitor Lieutenant Braten that he would let me escape secretly, at
the same time delivering me into the hand of the Danish Minister
Simon Petcon, who had me arrested by eight armed men; keeping aloof,
however, himself, and never venturing to come near me. They held
sword and pistol to my breast, and two of them took me between them
and placed me in a boat, which conveyed me to a vessel held in
readiness by the said Minister; a man of the name of Peter Dreyer
having received orders to conduct me to Copenhagen.
From this period this record of my suffering begins. It contains all
that happened to me within the gates of the Blue Tower. Reflect, my
dear children, on these hard sufferings; but remember also God's
great goodness towards me. Verily, He has freed me from six
calamities; rest assured that He will not leave me to perish in the
seventh. No! for the honour of His name, He will mightily deliver me.
The narrative of my sufferings is sad to hear, and must move the
hardest heart to pity; yet in reading it, do not be more saddened
than can be counterbalanced by joy. Consider my innocence, courage,
and patience; rejoice over these.
I have passed over various petty vexations and many daily annoyances
for the sake of brevity, although the smallest of them rankled sore
in the wounds of my bitter sorrow.
I acknowledge my weaknesses, and do not shrink from confessing them
to you. I am a human being, and am full of human imperfections. Our
first emotions are not under our own power; we are often overhasty
before we are able to reflect. God knows that I have often made
myself deaf and blind, in order not to be carried away by passion. I
am ashamed to mention and to enumerate the unchaste language, bad
words and coarse invectives, of the prison governor Johan Jaeger, of
Kresten Maansen, the tower warder, of Karen the daughter of Ole, and
of Catharina Wolff; they would offend courtly ears. Yet I can assure
you they surpass everything that can be imagined as indecent, ugly,
churlish and unbecoming; for coarse words and foul language were the
tokens of their friendliness and clemency, and disgusting oaths were
the ornament and embellishment of their untruthfulness; so that their
intercourse was most disagreeable to me. I was never more glad than
when the gates were closed between me and those who were to guard me.
Then I had only the woman alone, whom I brought to silence,
sometimes amicably, and at others angrily and with threats.
I have also had, and have still, pleasant intercourse with persons
whose services and courtesies I shall remember as long as I live.
You, my dear children, will also repay them to every one as far as
you are able.
You will find also in this record of my sufferings two of the chief
foes of our house, namely Jorgen Walter and Jorgen Skroder,[E02] with
regard to whom God has revenged me, and decreed that they should have
need of me, and that I should comfort them. Walter gives me cause to
state more respecting him than was my intention.
[E02] This man was a German by birth, but settled in Denmark, where
he was nobilitated under the name of Loevenklau. His bad conduct
obliged him to leave the country, and he went to Sweden, where he
had lived before he came to Denmark, and where Ulfeldt, then in
Sweden, procured him an appointment as a colonel in the army. This
kindness he repaid by informing the Danish Government against
Ulfeldt in 1654, in consequence of which he was not only allowed to
return to Denmark, but even obtained a lucrative office in Norway.
Here he quarrelled with the viceroy, Niels Trolle, and tried to
serve him as he had served Ulfeldt; but he failed to establish his
accusations against Trolle, and was condemned into the forfeiture
of his office and of his patent of nobility. He then left Denmark
at least for a season, and how he came to apply to Leonora
Christina for assistance is not known, as she has omitted to
mention it in the Memoir itself, though she evidently intended to
do so.
Of the psalms and hymns which I have composed and translated, I only
insert a few, in order that you, my dear children, may see and know
how I have ever clung steadfastly to God, who has been and still is
my wall of defence against every attack, and my refuge in every kind
of misfortune and adversity. Do not regard the rhymes; they are not
according to the rules which poets make; but regard the matter, the
sense, and the purport. Nor have I left my other small pastime
unmentioned, for you may perceive the repose of my mind from the fact
that I have had no unemployed hours; even a rat, a creature so
abominable to others, affording me amusement.
I have recorded two observations, which though they treat of small
and contemptible animals, yet are remarkable, and I doubt whether any
naturalist hitherto has observed them. For I do not think it has been
recorded hitherto that there exists a kind of caterpillar which
brings forth small living grubs like itself, nor either that a flea
gives birth to a fully-formed flea, and not that a nit comes from a
nit.[55]
[55] A pen has afterwards been drawn through this paragraph, but
the observations occur in the manuscript.
In conclusion, I beg you, my dear children, not to let it astonish
you that I would not avail myself of the opportunity by which I might
have gained my freedom. If you rightly consider it, it would not have
been expedient either for you or me. I confess that if my deceased
lord had been alive, I should not only have accepted the proposal,
but I should have done my utmost to have escaped from my captivity,
in order to go in quest of him, and to wait on him and serve him till
his last breath; my duty would have required this. But since he was
at that time in rest and peace with God, and needed no longer any
human service, I have with reason felt that self-obtained liberty
would have been in every respect more prejudicial than useful to us,
and that this would not be the way to gain the possessions taken from
us, for which reason I refused it and endeavoured instead to seek
repose of mind and to bear patiently the cross laid upon me. If God
so ordains it, and it is His divine will that through royal mercy I
should obtain my freedom, I will joyfully exert myself for you, my
beloved children, to the utmost of my ability, and prove in deed that
I have never deviated from my duty, and that I am no less a good and
right-minded mother than I have been a faithful wife. Meanwhile let
God's will be your will. He will turn and govern all things so that
they may benefit you and me in soul and body, to whose safe keeping I
confidently recommend you all, praying that He will be your father
and mother, your counsellor and guide. Pray in return for me, that
God may direct me by His good spirit, and grant me patience in the
future as heretofore. This is all that is requested from you by,
My dearly beloved children, your affectionate mother,
LEONORA CHRISTINA, V.E.G.
Written in the Blue Tower, anno 1674, the 18th of July, the eleventh
year of imprisonment, my birthday, and fifty-third year of my
age.[56]
[56] The conclusion of the Preface, from the words 'Meanwhile let
the will of God,' etc. has afterwards been erased, when the
manuscript was continued beyond the date assigned in the Preface;
and the following paragraphs, 'I bear also in mind,' etc. were
intended to form a new conclusion, but do not seem to have been
properly worked in.
* * * * *
I bear also in mind, with the greatest humility and gratitude, our
gracious hereditary King's favour towards me, immediately after His
Majesty came to the throne. I remember also the sympathy of our most
gracious Queen Regent, and of Her Highness the Electoral Princess of
Saxony in my unfortunate fate; also the special favour of Her Majesty
the Queen.
I have also not forgotten to bear duly in mind the favour shown
towards me by Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the virtuous Landgravine
of Hesse.
I have also recorded various things which occurred in my imprisonment
during the period from the year 1663 to the year 1674, intending with
these to conclude the record of my sufferings; as I experienced a
pleasure, and often consoled myself, in feeling that it is better to
remain innocently in captivity than to be free and to have deserved
imprisonment. I remember having read that captivity has served many
as a protection from greater dangers, and has guarded them from
falling into the hands of their enemies. There have been some who
have escaped from their prison and immediately after have been
murdered. There have also been some who have had a competence in
prison and afterwards have suffered want in freedom. Innocent
imprisonment does not diminish honour, but rather increases it. Many
a one has acquired great learning in captivity, and has gained a
knowledge of things which he could not master before. Yes,
imprisonment leads to heaven. I have often said to myself: 'Comfort
thyself, thou captive one, thou art happy.'
Since the year 1674 constituted only half the period of my captivity,
I have added in this record of my sufferings some facts that occurred
since that time within my prison-gates. I am on the eve of my
liberty, May 19, 1685. To God alone be the honour, who has moved His
Royal Majesty to justice! I will here mention those of whose death I
have been informed during my captivity.
1. The Prime Minister of His Majesty, Count Christian of
Rantzow[E03], died in the month of September, 1663. He did not live
to drink the health of our Princess and of the Electoral Prince of
Saxony at the feast of their betrothal. Still less did he live long
enough to see a wooden effigy quartered in mockery of my lord,
according to his suggestion. Death was very bitter to him.