THE DANISH COURT.
BIRTH OF CHRISTIAN VII.--DEATH OF HIS MOTHER--JULIANA MARIA--THE
CHRONIQUE SCANDALEUSE--A SEVERE TASKMASTER--THE PRINCE'S
EDUCATION--REVERDIL--CURIOUS DELUSIONS--THE KING'S ILLNESS
AND DEATH--ACCESSION OF CHRISTIAN--COURT INTRIGUES--THE
TRIUMVIRATE--ROYAL MARRIAGES.
On January 29, 1749, an heir to the united kingdoms of Denmark and
Norway, the equally united duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, (with
the exception of that portion of the latter country which was still
Russian,) and to the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, first saw
the light of the world in the person of the future Christian VII. Great
was the delight of the royal parents at the birth of this son, because
it prevented the possibility of any dispute about the succession on the
death of the reigning monarch. In the duchies and counties the agnatic
line alone was able to succeed, while in the two kingdoms the cognate
line was competent to ascend the throne. This requires a few words of
explanation, as the whole Schleswig-Holstein embroglio is based on it.
In 1460, after the expiration of the Schauenburg race, the estates of
Schleswig-Holstein elected as their prince the same Count Christian of
Oldenburg, who twelve years previously had been elected King of Denmark,
and bears in history the name of Christian I. At this election, among
other regulations, were two, to the effect that, first, Schleswig
should never be reunited to Denmark, but that Schleswig and Holstein
"should remain eternally undivided and together;" and, secondly, as
regarded the succession, it was established that, by virtue of the law
of succession prevailing in the German empire from the oldest times, in
Schleswig-Holstein only the male branch of the House of Oldenburg should
succeed by right of primogeniture. The female line was thus excluded,
while, on the other hand, it was admitted to succession in Denmark. In
the event of the male line expiring, therefore, the same thing would
occur in respect to the united kingdoms of Denmark as happened, in 1837,
with regard to the united kingdoms of Hanover and Great Britain. In
England the female line was capable of succeeding to the throne, while
in Hanover, by virtue of the old imperial law, only the male branch was
admitted. When William IV. died, in 1837, the nearest female collateral
succeeded him in Queen Victoria, while Hanover fell to the nearest male
agnate, the Duke of Cumberland.[21]
Frederick V. received from his subjects the honourable surname of "the
good," as did his grandson, Frederick VI., after him. Judging from
contemporary records, he hardly earned the title, toward the close of
his reign at any rate. Queen Louisa, a daughter of our George II.,
was literally adored for her goodness of heart and beauty by all her
subjects, whether Danes, Norwegians, or Germans.[22] Hence great pity was
felt when the young prince lost this tender mother in his third year, for
she died in 1751.[23]
The blow was so terrible to the king that he was inconsolable. Sir C.
Hanbury Williams, arriving three weeks afterwards to deliver a letter
of condolence from King George II., still found the royal widower in
tears; not only was court mourning ordered for a year, but every public
amusement in the whole kingdom was prohibited for the same period.
Notwithstanding this order, when a few months had passed, the easy and
feeble nature of Frederick V. made him forget the great loss he had
sustained, and he looked out for another queen.
Scarce six months of the twelve had elapsed, during which his subjects
were to mourn for him, when the king cast off gloom and fond remembrance
by marrying the Princess Juliana Maria of Wolfenbüttel. This princess,
the youngest of six daughters, had been educated so carefully as to
enjoy the reputation of being one of the most accomplished, princely
daughters of the time, while the fame of her beauty equalled that of her
other brilliant qualities. Her eldest and second sisters were married
respectively to Frederick the Great, and Prince Augustus William, the
heir presumptive to the Prussian throne. But this step-mother was less
able to play the part of a true mother to the bereaved royal children,
because she was the exact opposite of the departed queen in disposition.
According to the author of "Northern Courts,"[24] the new queen was
a little more than kin and less than kind. She hated the late queen's
children, and, if she had dared, would have sent them to follow their
mother to the grave. At an early age, in her father's petty court,
she was a great dabbler in political intrigues; in her temper, she
was sullen, cruel, and vindictive; extremely penurious, forgetful of
benefits, but never failing to avenge an injury tenfold; above all, a
most profound dissembler, and able to wear a smile on her face and show
all manner of civilities to the person most mortally hated, and whose
destruction, at that very moment, she might be planning.
After giving birth to a weak, deformed son, who offered a striking
contrast to Louisa's fair and white-haired boy, there is a dark rumour
that Juliana Maria so far gave way to her fury as to attempt to remove
the future heir to the throne by poison. The story is told with much
circumstantiality in the "Northern Courts," but we need not dwell on the
painful details. Suffice it for our purpose to say, that the design was
detected by Christian's faithful Norwegian nurse, and the secret was
revealed to the omnipotent minister, Count Moltke. The affair, of course,
reached the king's ears, whose feelings, from this moment, revolted
against his guilty consort. Unfortunately, for the sake of drowning his
sorrow, he fell into habits of intoxication, and the government entirely
passed into the hands of Count Moltke, who was generally known in public
by the ironical title of "King Moltke."
Nor does it appear that Juliana Maria gave up her machinations. We have
it on the highest authority[25] that she strove by gold and promises
to seduce the attendants of the child. Excursions were frequently
made on the lake behind the castle of Fredensborg, to amuse the royal
family. Christian, during one of these excursions, was more restless and
troublesome than usual; entreaties and reproaches could not make him be
quiet. A chamberlain of the name of Brockdorf, who was somewhat rough and
unpolished in his actions, threatened to throw the young prince into the
water if he would not be quiet; he really seized him by the arm, and was
so awkward and unlucky as to give the prince such a push that he fell
overboard, but was immediately saved. He never forgot this moment, and
imputed the accident to a design on his life, made by his step-mother,
that she might raise Prince Frederick to the throne. This suspicion grew
up with him, and no one was ever able to eradicate it.[26]
Far be it from my wish to condemn the queen dowager on this evidence. I
prefer to employ it in confirmation of the generally-expressed opinion
that she detested her step-children, and would have gladly secured the
throne for her own son. In any case, it is quite certain that, from the
outset, Christian's education was entrusted to improper hands. After all,
though, can we blame a mother because she anxiously interests herself
in the welfare of her own son? It is probable that many of the stories
connected with Juliana Maria rest on _ex post facto_ evidence; and though
I adhere to my opinion that she behaved with unnecessary cruelty to
Caroline Matilda when she held the latter in her power, I do not believe
that the stories which I have been compelled to bring forward against her
are more than the natural exaggerations of party spirit. For instance,
in the case of the accident in the water, how easily might that have
occurred without the slightest premeditation?
On attaining his sixth birthday, on March 31, 1755, the prince was given
his own household,--Privy Councillor von Berkentin being appointed
principal governor. He was an old gentleman fond of peace and comfort
in the highest degree, and hence the education of the prince was left
entirely to Chamberlain Detlev von Reventlow, who was appointed his
tutor. This gentleman, unfortunately, however, was an ignorant, arrogant,
ambitious, and coarse man, and treated the young and promising prince
with great harshness. He often punished his royal pupil, for trifling
offences, so inhumanly, that the foam gathered on the delicate lad's
lips; and when the poor little fellow, writhing with pain, sought help
and mercy from the wife of his torturer, he was no better treated by her.
Reventlow used to order very elegant clothes for his pupil from Paris;
he presided at his toilet, and decided on his shoes and lace; then the
austere Mentor would lead him into the court circle, saying, "I will go
and show my doll."
If we may regard it as fortunate that the prince, under such
circumstances, did not lose all inclination for learning, or sink into
a state of imbecility, the results of this treatment were not the
less injurious to him. He was endowed with wit and sense, but these
qualities soon assumed a dangerous satirical tendency, from his hearing
the incessant sarcastic observations which his tutor made about nearly
everybody else. Reventlow had a habit of speaking most irreverently of
the clergy and the Bible, though, at the same time, he was very strict
about the prince regularly attending service, and when he came out of
church, made him repeat the entire argument of the sermon. Afterwards,
Christian stated that Sunday was his greatest day of torment; and he
avenged himself, in his governor's absence, by giving extremely buffoon
parodies of some of the sermons he heard in church. Reventlow had an
amiable way of pinching him in church when his attention appeared to flag.
As an instance of Christian's sarcasm, take the following anecdotes. In
one of Frederick V.'s dipsomaniac fits, he made Count Moltke a present of
the magnificent palace of Hirschholm and all its costly furniture. The
crown prince, hearing of this lavish act, went to his study, and taking
in his hand a plan of the palace, carried it to Count Moltke, saying:
"Content yourself with this, I beseech your excellency; and believe me,
unless you possess the crown, Hirschholm shall never be yours." The
second incident displays even greater sarcasm. On another occasion,
the king desired Prince Christian to fill the glasses for himself and
the count. The prince coloured, and hesitated. The king repeated his
commands, telling him to fill for himself also; upon which, the spirited
youth just filled to the brim the glass that stood before the count, the
king's glass only half full, and into his own he poured scarce any wine.
"Heyday! what do you mean by this, Christian?" said the king. "I mean,
sire," he said, "to denote hereby our relative consequence in the state.
Count Moltke, being king and minister, I filled the glass commensurate
with his authority; you, my father, being the next person in the state
to the count, I half-filled your glass; as for myself, being of no
consequence whatever, I took no wine."[27]
"His Royal Highness," as the young prince was now addressed, received as
his instructor Nielsen, ex-governor of the pages. Bernstorff had tried
to acquire the German poet Gellert as tutor for the prince, but to the
regret of all right-minded Danes, he declined the offer, and the man
then selected for the post was very little fitted to educate a future
autocrat. According to the instructions drawn up for his guidance,
Nielsen was ordered to strive to gain his pupil's affection, so that the
latter might find pleasure in his teacher's company. He was to begin
with teaching him the Christian religion, and thus arouse in the prince
a resolution to lead a virtuous course of life. The teacher must not
strive to attain this object by making the prince learn a number of texts
by heart, but by frequent repetition of those rules of life on which
salvation and the fulfilment of Christian duties depend. The teacher must
be equally careful that the prince should be accustomed from his youth up
to pray morning and evening, and display love, obedience, and confidence
toward the Supreme Being. In all these matters the teacher would offer
his pupil a good example through the propriety of his own words and
conduct.
After this had been effected, the prince would be taught to read and
understand a book, and to write a legible hand. The teacher would also
try to give him a knowledge of Latin, but before all the prince must
learn the history of the neighbouring states. The prince would make
himself acquainted with the topography of the countries from the latest
maps, as well as with the genealogy and family trees of the princes,
especially of his own ancestors, whose glorious exploits must be
frequently recited to the prince, in order to encourage him in taking
their virtuous and noble lives for his model. All this must be brought
before the young prince in amusing narratives, so that he might acquire
a taste for them. In all other matters connected with the prince's
education, however, the teacher must consult with the tutor, Herr von
Reventlow.
These general instructions certainly contained much that was excellent,
but of what avail are the best regulations, if they are not followed?
Nielsen troubled himself but little about gaining his royal pupil's
affection, and only too willingly had recourse to Reventlow's _argumentum
baculinum_. The prince's education was neglected: he learned but
little history and philosophy, and was left in complete ignorance
of the principles of political economy. He was actually taught the
history of Denmark from a French work written by Mallet. One step in
the right direction, however, was that the Danish language, spoken in
both kingdoms, was not so neglected as it had formerly been, for the
whole _entourage_ of the prince, with the exception of the foreign
teachers, were prohibited from employing any other language than Danish
in conversing with Christian;--a rule which was carried out as well upon
Prince Frederick's birth, and was also pursued in the case of his young
sister, who was afterwards Duchess of Augustenburg.
In 1760 a change for the better was effected, by Reverdil being appointed
to instruct the prince in the French language and literature. This most
upright Vaudois, of whom even carping Voltaire was obliged to say, "On
peut avoir autant d'esprit que Reverdil, mais pas davantage," left
behind him a very valuable MS. relating to Christian VII. and his court,
which was published in 1858,[28] and throws an entirely different light
on affairs. From him we have the following account of Christian when
twelve years of age.
"The prince had a charming face: happy sallies of his were quoted: in
his education, he succeeded in all the exercises for which he felt
an interest; he spoke very pleasantly, and even elegantly, the three
languages necessary at his court:--Danish, German, and French: and he was
already a brilliant dancer. No one, in a word, even among his familiars,
saw in him aught but an amiable lad, from whom great things might be
expected, when age had slightly calmed his first impetuosity." Still,
in a very few days Reverdil perceived that if the prince was superior
to the common herd through his graces and talents, he was not the less
extraordinary in his faults. One of the most curious traits about the
prince was to desire to become strong, vigorous, and "hard," and he
imagined that he was much more favoured by nature in this respect than he
really was. Reverdil has no doubt but that this was a sign of incipient
insanity. Christian looked at his hands, and felt his stomach to discover
whether he was advancing, that is to say, whether he was progressing
toward a state of perfection which he vaguely imagined, and about which
his ideas often varied. The following explanation Christian himself
gave Reverdil some twelve years later, at the period when his mind was
completely deranged.
The king remembered that, at the age of five years, he was taken to an
Italian play, and that, struck by the stature and dress of the actors,
he had regarded them as beings of a superior species, whom he would some
day come to resemble, after undergoing numerous trials and metamorphoses.
From that time he always desired to advance: but after a while supreme
perfection appeared to him to be the possession of a perfectly hard
body,[29] a quality which was connected in his mind with the idea of
strength, at the time when Reverdil entered on his duties: for, with
strength, he could have resisted his governor, while with insensibility
he could have been pinched and beaten, without feeling pain. When in this
state of mind, the unhappy boy set but slight value on his princely rank.
He envied the lot of the shepherds whom he saw in the country, or the
gamins in the streets. He frequently imagined that he had been changed at
nurse by Frau von Schmettau, or at least that he should some day escape
the misfortune of reigning.
The utter want of tact which Reventlow displayed in the treatment of
his princely pupil, would be incredible, if we did not have it on the
authority of Reverdil. When the governor was more annoyed than usual,
he would shout through the apartments for a rod, for though its use had
almost entirely ceased, the threat of it lasted some time longer. These
wretched scenes were public, for they could be heard from the palace
yard, and were frequently continued outside the school-room. The crowd,
who came to worship the rising sun, had the object of their homage
presented to them in the shape of a very handsome and graceful boy with
tear-swollen eyes, who tried to read in his tyrant's face whom he should
address. When the circle was ended, chosen courtiers were invited to
dinner. The Mentor seized on the conversation, or at times continued his
questioning and rough treatment. The lad was thus exposed before his own
servants, and grew familiarised with shame.
We can quite understand how the poor little fellow said once to Reverdil,
"The amusements of yesterday considerably wearied my Royal Highness,"
for never did a child of such illustrious rank enjoy his privileges so
little. One day, when Count Moltke gave him a party, the governor did
not allow him to be informed of it. He feared lest the thought of the
pleasure might distract the prince's mind during lessons. The day was a
stormy one; the prince was scolded and beaten, and cried up to the hour
for the ball. All at once he was led away, without being told whither.
Fear seized on him, and was connected in his brain with his secret
manias: he imagined that he was being taken to prison. The military
honours paid him at the door, the beating of the drum, the guards round
his carriage, everything that could recall his courage, only terrified
him; his mind was disturbed for the whole night, he took no pleasure in
dancing, and several years after he reminded Reverdil of the affair with
positive terror.
The prince also made some progress in the arts. He played the piano, and
drew and danced a minuet with admirable grace. Proper attention was also
paid to his military education, according to the custom of the day, for,
in 1755, or when he was seven years old, the prince commanded a regiment
at a review.
On attaining his twelfth year, Christian passed an examination in the
presence of the ministers of state, the Bishop of Copenhagen, one of
the chaplains, and the attorney-general. In their presence the prince
answered questions, and discharged his memory of everything that blows
had accumulated in it. Every one went away satisfied: the governor was
overwhelmed with praise, the witnesses dined at court, and fancied the
prince a prodigy. Christian himself was rewarded by three days' holiday.
During the next few years Reverdil suffered a martyrdom, for he saw that
incessant efforts were made to destroy his pupil's faculties, while the
latter learned nothing that appertained to his duties as sovereign. Not
only was Christian taught nothing concerning the relations of Denmark
with foreign countries, or the mode of government employed in his own,
but he never even learned to manage his own expenses. When he ascended
the throne, he had never spent a ducat for himself. Some years previously
the king had given him a country seat: the prince had not appointed
a gardener or porter of his own, or planted a single tree. Reventlow
managed everything, and spoke very justly about "my melons and my
peaches."
On March 31, 1765, Christian, after due preparation by the orthodox
Bishop Harboe, publicly made his confession of faith at confirmation,
and his behaviour and sensible answers produced a very good impression.
But for all that he was still treated as a boy, even after he had been
declared of age by the Emperor of Germany as Duke of Holstein.[30]
This was the more inexcusable, because, by the _Lex Regia_ of Denmark
the heir-apparent was declared competent to reign when he attained his
fourteenth year; and, moreover, the king's failing health promised the
latter no lengthened life. In 1757 or 1758 Frederick V. had suffered
an attack of pleurisy, the natural consequence of his excesses. The
ministers consulted clever physicians on his behalf, under an assumed
name. The reply was, that if the convalescent did not change his mode
of life, he ran a risk of a relapse, and a dropsy would end his days.
The council of state laid this consultation before the king, who was
greatly affected by it, and regretted that he had allowed his passion
to gain such a mastery over him. But those who were acquainted with the
palace secrets foresaw that the monarch would soon fall a victim to
his intemperance, and leave the throne to his son. In December, 1765,
the dropsy made such progress that the king's death appeared close
at hand. His intellectual faculties were also attacked; the monarch,
though naturally kind and affectionate, became difficult and violent.
He constantly talked about augmenting his army, and placing it on the
Prussian footing.
It is very probable that the insult offered the crown prince by keeping
him aloof from the government emanated from the king's favourite, Count
Adam Gottlob von Moltke, who would not let the reins of government out
of his hands. On the other hand, the premier had no objection to the
proposed marriage with an English princess, and the affair was taken
in hand by Count Bernstorff. The English envoy thus reported to his
court about the prince: "He has a pleasant and masculine appearance,
a distinguished and attractive form, and graciousness and affability
combined with dignity." In July, 1765, the portrait of Caroline Matilda
arrived in Copenhagen from London, and was hung up over the writing-table
of the crown prince. He gazed at it with pleasure, and evinced his
satisfaction "by expressions of delight."[31]
On the night of January 13, 1766, King Frederick V. died. It is reported
that about an hour before his death he called the prince royal to his
bedside, and, taking him by the hand, said, "My dear son, you will
soon be king of a flourishing people; but remember, that to be a great
monarch it is absolutely necessary to be a good man. Have justice and
mercy, therefore, constantly before your eyes; and, above all things,
reflect that you were born for the welfare of your country, and not your
country created for your mere emolument. In short, keep to the golden
rule of doing as you would be done by; and whenever you issue an order
as a sovereign, examine how far you would be willing to obey such an
order were you a subject yourself."[32] A more than ordinary flourish of
trumpets was raised in the English papers on the death of this monarch:
the following may serve as a sample:--
"There never appeared in any kingdom more deep and affecting sorrow for
the loss of a sovereign than now in Denmark on the death of their late
king: his reign was a perfect model for all future reigns; his lenity was
the more commendable, as the form of government gave him absolute power:
he preferred the happiness of his subjects to all the considerations
which ambition and vainglory could inspire: he was quick to reward, and
slow to punish: his bounties were royal, and his chastisements paternal:
in private life he ever appeared the true friend, the dutiful son, the
tender husband, the good father, and the generous master."
The real truth of matters was, that during the last years of Frederick's
reign, the foreign envoys had been by turns the _de facto_ rulers of
Denmark. In March, 1759, France signed a convention, by which she assured
Denmark an annual subsidy of 2,000,000 francs. These subsidies were
not paid with due punctuality during the Seven Years' War, and hence,
in the year 1763, there were arrears amounting to 2,388,897 thalers,
or about 10,400,000 livres. Gleichen, who was appointed Danish envoy
to France in that year, received instructions to effect the settlement
of the arrears, and we find, from his "Notices Biographiques," that he
succeeded in procuring the Danish court six millions of the arrears.[33]
These subsidies were paid Denmark to raise a fleet with which to protect
the Danish ships conveying munitions of war to France; but Denmark was a
heavy loser by the bargain, for the expenses not only greatly exceeded
the receipts, but the affair also rendered England very dissatisfied.[34]
According as the representatives of foreign courts had at their command
more diplomatic brutality, finesse, or money, the power was in turn
with the Russian or French envoy, at times with the English, and they
guided or ordered the Danish ministers, and through them the king. How
matters went on is seen from the fact that about fourteen hundred French
adventurers, mostly of the lowest stamp, were appointed in the Danish
civil and military service. The French envoy had recommended, among
other excellent Frenchmen, a sculptor, who set to work on a statue of
the king, which gradually cost 700,000 dollars, but was not finished.
When Frederick V. died, the country was in a hopeless state of ruin. The
army and navy were neglected, the state debt was frightfully swollen, the
taxing power of the country was exhausted, and the morals of the higher
classes were utterly corrupted, while the lower classes were sullenly
murmuring. Into this chaos of poverty, necessity, and discontent, the
youthful king, it was expected, would introduce order, and hopes were
entertained of him as the regenerator of Denmark.
On the morning of January 14, Privy Councillor von Bernstorff appeared
on the balcony of the Christiansborg palace, and declared, in the
traditional manner and with the words: "King Frederick V. is dead; King
Christian VII. is living;" the late crown prince ruler of the united
kingdoms. To which the people replied: "May he not only live long, but
reign well, like his father."
During the late king's illness, the crown prince had been very sad,
which the courtiers had regarded as a sign of sensibility; but those
who were intimate with him were aware that he was oppressed by the fear
of reigning. Reverdil inspired him with some degree of courage; and he
went through the ceremonial receptions with a grace that charmed the
entire court. No immediate change occurred in the ministry; but, for all
that, the supreme power passed into other hands. The son did not inherit
the father's great predilection for minister Moltke. On the contrary,
the young king regarded the minister as a man who had misapplied his
influence over the late king to his own selfish ends. These notions were
suggested to him by Reventlow, who, though he deserved reproach in other
respects, was honest, and hence not well disposed toward Moltke, whom he
considered the fosterer of the great extravagance which had been carried
on with the finances of the state under Frederick V.
Reventlow was so assured of his unbounded influence over the king, as to
feel convinced that he would govern the kingdom in future. In pursuance
of this, he had the drawers in his office endorsed--Denmark, Norway, the
Duchies; and showed the king this arrangement, with the remark: "Here I
shall keep the papers of the two kingdoms; and there those belonging to
the duchy." The king smiled at the impertinence, and said nothing. At
any rate, it did not cause him anger; for, ere long, he lavished marks
of favour on Reventlow and his relations. On the day of his succession,
he nominated his ex-governor chief gentleman of the bed-chamber; and a
fortnight later, on the occasion of the king's birthday, the insignia
of the Order of the Elephant, the highest in Denmark, were bestowed on
Reventlow. On the same day, the king also appointed Von Sperling, his
former page of the chamber, and a nephew of Reventlow, his third equerry.
This young gentleman possessed considerable influence over the king.
Though not distinguished by any great ability, he was a handsome man,
with an agreeable temper. From the day when the crown prince had an
establishment of his own, he had been his page, and had cleverly
contrived to acquire the friendship of his master, which he now intended
to _exploiter_ for his own advantage. According to Reverdil, this
intimacy had a very deleterious effect on the crown prince; for Sperling
was older than his master, and a thorough debauchee. He filled the
prince's mind with dangerous knowledge, and contrived to influence his
imagination and corrupt his heart.[35]
The country had no cause, either, to rejoice at the intimacy; for
Sperling, through his indulgence in sensual pleasures, offered a bad
example to the king, who, as it was, did not require example. The result
of his strict education was, that he determined, so soon as he became his
own master, to indulge in every form of vice, out of sheer obstinacy.
A more dangerous man in this respect, however, was the king's valet,
John Kirchoff. Reventlow did a real service, by removing this man from
the presence of the king. On February 11, the valet was dismissed with
a pension of 1,200 dollars, and his debts, amounting to 3,000 dollars,
were paid by the treasury. But Reventlow, hearing that Kirchoff, instead
of being grateful, was conspiring against him, ordered him to leave
Copenhagen in a week; and he proceeded to Norway.
Shortly after his accession, Christian had an idea of becoming a great
general, and imagined that he would surpass Frederick the Great. He
often regretted to his cousin, Prince Charles of Hesse, that he was
born on a throne, and believed that he could have raised himself to it
by his talents and deserts, if he had been born in the lowest class. He
had an unbridled passion for female society, but had not, as yet, found
an object on which to fix his affections. He had been imbued with very
strict religious principles, which he could not combat, and which he
consequently wished to destroy. He and Prince Charles frequently spoke
about religion; and the latter strove to soften the severity of the
king's views, by leading him back to the love of God. One afternoon, when
the prince went to Christian, he found him greatly troubled in mind,
because he had to take the communion the next morning. The prince spoke
about it as the most blessed and significant of religious rites. They
conversed for a long time, and the king was greatly affected; saying, of
his own accord, that it was impossible for Christ not to have existed,
and fulfilled, by His sacrifice, the very words of the institution of the
holy supper, for ever since Christianity had been known, every sect,
whatever might be its doctrine and heresy, had retained the sacrament.
The two young men then prayed together, and the king was greatly moved.
Going up soon after to the queen-mother, he went into her room, saying:
"Grandmamma cannot guess what we have been doing?" The queen being unable
to do so, Christian added: "We have been praying together, and were very
pious;" and then almost died of laughing.
The young king had scarce taken up his residence at Christiansborg ere
he had an affair of honour, if it may be so called, with a page of his
chamber. The latter was a very honest and good youth. The king, before
going to bed, maintained the opinion, that a king, who was at the same
time a great general, was more than another king. The other, doubtless,
willing to check the king's military ambition, thought himself obliged to
defend the contrary view. Christian became very angry; and the reasonings
of the page at length rendered the monarch so wild, that he gave his
opponent a box on the ears. The latter went the next morning to complain
to the grand chamberlain, Count Reventlow. The count was of opinion that
the affair could not be passed over in silence; and made the page write
a letter, in which he spoke strongly about the honour of a gentleman.
The letter was dated from Kiöge, to which place the page pretended that
he had retired. The king took the matter in very ill part; and Count
Reventlow coming soon after to scold him, the king was not particularly
pleased with him either. The matter ended here, and the page came back
from the room in which he was hidden,--the king having stated that he
bore no malice against the man, and that it was merely an outbreak of
vivacity against an opposition which had displeased him.
These little scenes happened daily, and aided no little in causing the
king to assume a higher tone. One day he had such a quarrel with the
grand chamberlain, that the latter almost fainted. The king then became
alarmed, and fetched a glass of water for him to drink: the chamberlain
recovered, but insisted on retiring from his post. Queen Sophia
Magdalena, who was Reventlow's great protector, sent for Prince Charles,
and begged him, on every account, to patch up this affair, which had been
carried too far on both sides. When the prince proceeded to the king, the
latter spoke first about the affair, and gave his cousin an opportunity
for representing the injury he did himself in the eyes of the public by
dismissing his old governor. The king yielded; sent for Reventlow, spoke
to him kindly, and begged him to forget the affair.
The representations which the prince was frequently obliged to make to
the king against his decided opinions, naturally rendered their daily
conversations less agreeable than at the outset. However, everything
still went on tolerably well; and the king felt that his cousin had
no other interest in what he said than the welfare of the kingdom.
But gradually disputes about religion began. The king's desire for the
society of females, and the strictness of his religious principles, were
constantly in opposition. After speaking to his dangerous friends, who
inspired him with the most relaxed principles about religion, Christian
only saw one way of escape--by breaking with his own convictions. Prince
Charles noticed this in Christian's dark humour: his love of gaiety
changed to bitter remarks, and a desire to find occasions to quarrel
about trifles. Seeing this almost insurmountable wish to break out in
debauchery, Prince Charles thought it his duty to tell the king frankly
that he could not do better than conclude, as soon as possible, his
marriage with the princess who had been promised him. Christian regarded
marriage as the greatest possible bore; but Charles, who was then engaged
to the king's sister, looked at it very differently. The king, however,
told his cousin to speak to Bernstorff on the subject; and the latter,
understanding the state of matters, resolved to hurry the royal marriage
on.[36]
A man, who distinguished himself in the naval history of the north,
Count Frederick von Danneskjold Samsöe,[37] a grandson of King Christian
V. and the Countess von Samsöe, who had been in the service of the
state during the early years of Frederick V.'s reign, happened to be in
Copenhagen at this time; and the young monarch ordered him to draw up a
general survey of the condition of the kingdom. The count had performed
the task by January 23. Danneskjold was a sincere friend of his country,
but of a reckless and violent character. In his exposé, he threw the
fault of the numerous defects and the mismanagement which he discovered
in the administration, upon Bernstorff, and accused that minister of
increasing the national debt. He declared that the marriage arranged with
an English princess was displeasing to the nation. Bernstorff despised
the Danes, and only appointed foreigners as officials. He favoured
luxury by protection, and had allowed the army to fall into decay. The
commercial treaty with Morocco had done the country the greatest injury;
and finally, Bernstorff had revoked a royal decree about embroidery on
clothes, and thus insulted the hereditary sovereign.
Although Count Danneskjold stood in high favour with the Queen Dowager
Sophia Magdalena, who during the early part of the new reign had great
power over the king, he was unable to overthrow Bernstorff. On the
contrary, there were many signs that Bernstorff's influence had grown
under the new king. Count St. Germain, however, was dismissed from the
presidency of the War Ministry, which he had himself established, and
Privy Councillor von Rosenkranz took his place.[38]
Bernstorff, Reventlow, and Moltke, formed from this time a triumvirate.
Twice a week the privy council of state attended the king, but rarely
left him a choice between two opinions. If the king expressed an idea
that varied from theirs, they looked serious, and offered a protest, upon
which the timid Christian at once held his tongue, and sanctioned the
measure. Of course this conduct on the part of the gentlemen displeased
the king, the more so because he had no very high opinion of them. That
he did not love Reventlow, whose rough mode of education he had not yet
forgotten, is only natural; Moltke he knew to be a man who only regarded
his own interests, while Bernstorff's vanity and cringing subserviency
were repulsive to him. To this must be added, that the wearisome way in
which the discussions were carried on horribly bored the young king; and
many were of opinion that this was purposely done by the triumvirate,
in order to disgust the king with governing. They cared very little
how Christian spent his time, or what associates he selected, so long
as there was no evident attempt to tear the power from them. For this
reason, several men of talent, whom they feared, were removed from the
king's person.
The royal family consisted, at this time, of the widows of the two last
kings,--Sophia Magdalena and Juliana Maria, the son of the latter, the
hereditary Prince Frederick, and the three princesses--Charlotte Amelia,
a sister of Christian VI., and Sophia Magdalena, and Louisa, sisters
of Christian VII. A third sister of the king, Wilhelmina Caroline, was
married to William I., Elector of Hesse Cassel.
The old queen, Sophia Magdalena, a princess of Brandenburg Kulmbach by
birth, had exercised great influence over public affairs during the
sixteen years of her husband's reign, and would have gladly done the
same now. Juliana Maria had, as yet, not interfered at all in state
affairs, although she doubtless strove to acquire influence as much as
her mother-in-law.
Reventlow, who probably felt that he was not as securely seated in power
as he would have liked, hence looked about for a supporter, and found a
most willing one in the king's grandmother. By laying aside her former
haughty demeanour, she contrived to gain considerable influence over the
king, and gave way to all his whims, in order that she might keep him
in her leading-strings. One day, the king, who was continually playing
tricks, when dining at Hirschholm took up the sugar-dredger, slipped
behind grandmamma's chair, and began sprinkling her hair.
"What is your Majesty about?" the old lady asked.
"Do not be angry with me, dearest grandmamma," the king said; "I am your
sweetest Christian, you know."
The queen smiled, and swallowed the pill in silence.
Such jokes caused the young king, even at that time, great amusement.
Once, when he was at the theatre with a circle of brilliant courtiers,
wearing his gold-embroidered admiral's uniform, he walked up and down
the back of the royal box with a grin on his face, which was always a
sign that he was meditating some trick. In one of the _entr'actes_, when
tea was handed round, a young lady was trying to cool the hot fluid by
blowing it, when the king crept up to her and blew such a blast into the
cup that its entire contents spirted about. The king quickly turned on
his heel, and laughed so heartily and childishly that the lady could not
but forgive the trick which had procured him a few merry moments.
With the summer, fresh proofs of Sophia Magdalena's powerful influence
were given. She heartily detested Count Moltke, because he had contrived
to keep her aloof from the business of the state, and she now, after
an interval of sixteen years, wished to avenge herself on him. The
favourable moment had arrived. The king did not think that Moltke had
truly served his country. Reventlow desired nothing more than the
downfall of his brother-in-law, and Bernstorff no longer required the
powerful patron who had gained him his ministerial post.
At the beginning of summer, the king, accompanied by his relatives,
visited various public resorts,--among others, the park, on St. John's
day, when a great public festival is held there annually. During a visit
which the king paid to the convent of Wallö, which was founded by Sophia
Magdalena, the latter succeeded in overthrowing the detested premier.
The order which stripped him of all his offices, except the presidency
of the Academy, was handed to him by Privy Councillor von Plessen, whom
Moltke had previously turned out of office. Moltke was dismissed without
a pension, and retired to his estate of Bregentved, which had been given
him by Frederick V.
The old queen wished to place Danneskjold Samsöe in Moltke's place. For
this object, she persuaded the king to summon him to the privy council,
and he was soon after re-appointed to his old office of "Surintendant de
la Marine," with a salary of 8,000 dollars. Rosenkrantz was also driven
into the background at the same time as Moltke, and no one regretted his
fall.
Space fails me to record all the intrigues that went on for the next
few months, or how Bernstorff was all but overthrown by the jealousy of
Danneskjold, and only owed his salvation to the generous intercession of
Reverdil and the king's latest favourite, Prince Charles of Hesse.[39]
Bernstorff was appointed Director of the Sound Dues, the most profitable
state office, and the king imparted to him the charges which Danneskjold
had brought against him. Bernstorff triumphantly refuted them, and
appeared more secure of the royal favour than ever.
It was the usage for the kings of Denmark to visit their states during
the first two years of their reign. Christian did not devote the summer
of 1766 to any journey, as he was engaged with the marriage of his two
sisters. The younger was married to Prince Charles of Hesse; the elder to
the hereditary prince of Sweden. The latter alliance was the result of an
old engagement contracted with the Swedish nation while the prince was
still a boy. The Queen of Sweden, sister of the King of Prussia, would
have gladly broken off the marriage, and given her son a princess of her
own family; but the Estates insisted. The Danish ministers would sooner
have advised war than accept such an affront.
These marriages being satisfactorily arranged, Christian VII. bethought
himself of his own wife, for whom he did not feel so great a yearning
as he had done a year previously, ere he had become his own master, and
tasted the nocturnal delights of the capital in the far from cleanly
company of his friend Von Sperling. The marriage had been originally
arranged for 1767, but Christian's ministers and friends, seeing his
tendency to libertinism, had wisely, as they thought, hurried it on.
The sober Danes were beginning to mutter about the scandals which took
place at night in the quiet streets of the Residenz. They had probably
never heard of our Prince Hal, and hence could find no excuse for the
wild sallies of their young monarch, in which he broke glasses and
furniture, attacked watchmen, and more than once was taken into custody.
Being such a roué as regards women, it appears surprising that Christian
VII. consented to marry at so early an age; but it is probable that some
latent suspicions about the designs of Juliana Maria urged him to listen
to the advice of his friends. Hence, when the news reached him that
Caroline Matilda was arriving, he hastened with a very good affectation
of lover-like eagerness to meet her.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 21: This parallel at once proves the vital importance
of Schleswig-Holstein to the Danes. England could afford to lose
Hanover, and was not sorry to do so, as she thus escaped many German
entanglements; but to Denmark the retention of the duchies is a life
question, both politically and materially. They contain the sources of
her power and prosperity; only so long as she retains Schleswig-Holstein
can she hold her ground as a second-class power; but from the moment
that she is forced to surrender the duchies, she will hopelessly sink to
the rank of a third or fourth rate power. Indeed, it is not improbable
that she would soon be absorbed altogether, for ere long, united Sweden
and Norway would annex this small isolated fraction of Scandinavian
nationality.]
[Footnote 22: During Queen Louisa's life Frederick is supposed to have
only once gone astray with an Italian prima donna, the Scalabrini. The
queen-mother, however, had him supplanted in the lady's favour by Captain
Detlev von Ahlefeldt, a groom in waiting. When the king heard of it he
was furious, kicked the singing woman out at a moment's notice, and shut
the unhappy captain up for life in the fortress of Munkholm. The queen
forgave her truant, and they lived happy ever after, as the fairy stories
say. No one cared, as it seemed, for mamma's unhappy victim.]
[Footnote 23: The queen ruptured herself by suddenly stooping down, and
concealed it for several days, until excessive pain compelled her to
summon medical aid, and necessitated a painful operation, of which she
died.]
[Footnote 24: The "Northern Courts." By Mr. T. Brown. The first volume
contains a very interesting "Secret History of the Courts of Sweden and
Denmark," copied and translated from a Danish MS. found aboard the United
States merchantman the Clyde, which ship was detained off the Start by
the Dapper gunboat, and sent into Plymouth in February, 1807. As the work
has been quoted by all writers on the subject of Caroline Matilda, the
startling revelations it contains cannot be passed over by a searcher
after the truth.]
[Footnote 25: "Authentische Aufklärungen," a work translated from the
MS. of Prince Charles of Hesse, brother-in-law of Christian VII., by
Councillor of Legation Sturtz. It was also translated into English by Mr.
Latrobe.]
[Footnote 26: "Northern Courts" adds, in confirmation of this story,
that Brockdorf, being forbidden to appear in the prince's presence, was
immediately engaged in the service of the step-queen, and placed as an
officer in her palace.]
[Footnote 27: Brown's "Northern Courts," vol. i. p. 23.]
[Footnote 28: "Struensee et la Cour de Copenhague, 1760-1772. Mémoires de
Reverdil, Conseiller d'État du Roi Chrétien VII. Paris, 1858."]
[Footnote 29: The prince had probably heard of the _Art of Passau_,
which, according to a very wide-spread superstition in Germany, consists
in rendering men hard and invulnerable by a secret incantation. Becker
alludes to it in the "Monde enchanté."]
[Footnote 30: Höst's "Udsigt over de fem forste Aar of Christian den
Syvendes Regjering."]
[Footnote 31: "Drei Hofgeschichten:" von Johann Scherr.]
[Footnote 32: "Gentleman's Magazine, February, 1766."]
[Footnote 33: "Denkwürdigkeiten des Barons Carl Heinrich von Gleichen,"
Leipzig, 1817. A very little-known book, which contains a fund of amusing
anecdotes of the eighteenth century.]
[Footnote 34: "Mémoires de Falkenskjold," p. 317.]
[Footnote 35: Reverdil adds: "Nous jetterons un voile sur les désordres
où Sperling put l'entrainer. Il en est un qui dut contribuer aux progrès
de sa démence. Dans un âge avancé il en convenait et cependant il y
retombait toujours."]
[Footnote 36: "Mémoires de mon Temps," pp. 37-38.]
[Footnote 37: The first Count of Danneskjold Samsöe was a son of
Christian V., by Sophie Amalie, daughter of Paul Mothe, a surgeon. His
daughter by his first marriage, Friderike Luise, married, on July 21,
1720, Christian Augustus, Duke of Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg, which
marriage plays an important part in the Schleswig-Holstein polemics, as
regards the legitimacy of the Pretender. Christian, the present Duke of
Augustenburg, as well as his brother, Prince Frederick, also married
Countesses of Danneskjold Samsöe. A full account of the family will
be found in vol. iv. of "Bülau's Geheime Geschichten und räthselhafte
Menschen," in _art._ Natural Children of the Kings of Denmark.]
[Footnote 38: General St. Germain had been summoned to Copenhagen by
Frederick V., in 1761, when Peter III. raised a claim to the Gottorp
portion of the duchy united with the royal part of Schleswig, and menaced
Denmark with a war afloat and ashore. Saint Germain was appointed
commander-in-chief, but Catharine made a peace with Denmark on following
her murdered husband on the throne. In after life, Saint Germain was
minister-at-war to Louis XVI., and caused general dissatisfaction, by
trying to introduce the Prussian regulations into the French army.]
[Footnote 39: Son of the Landgrave Frederick II. of Hesse and Mary,
daughter of George II. of England. When his father embraced the Catholic
faith, he, for fear of contagion, was placed with his brothers under
the guardianship of the Protestant kings of Great Britain, Denmark, and
Prussia. The county of Hanau was given to their mother for their support;
and when the war broke out in Hanover, the boys were sent for greater
security to Copenhagen, under the protection of Frederick V., who had
married Prince Charles's maternal aunt. I shall have repeated occasions
to allude to this prince.]