CHRISTIAN IN ENGLAND.
GEORGE III.--THE JOURNEY TO TOWN--THE STABLE YARD--HORACE
WALPOLE--THE FIRST MEETING OF THE KINGS--THE PRINCESS OF
WALES--FESTIVITIES--CHRISTIAN MADE A D.C.L.--THE CITY BANQUET--THE
BILL OF FARE--THE BALL IN THE HAYMARKET--CHRISTIAN TAKES
LEAVE--ANECDOTES.
The visit of Christian VII. to England was not particularly agreeable to
George III. The English monarch, who had no taste for show and amusement,
tried to get off under pretext of the national confusions; but Christian,
who, as Walpole says, had both the obstinacy and caprices of youth, had
persisted, and came to England as a very unwelcome guest.
It cannot be doubted, too, but that George III. had been apprised of his
sister's critical and unhappy situation, of Mariana Julia's treatment of
her, and of the king's culpable neglect and forbearance.[62] Moreover,
Christian's licentious conduct, both at home and abroad, was necessarily
a horror to so good a man as his brother-in-law. Add to this, that the
king of England had recently suffered a severe domestic affliction in the
death of his second sister, H.R.H. Louisa Anne, and we shall not feel
surprised that he was unable to dissimulate his feelings toward his royal
guest.
At the outset, a marked discourtesy was shown Christian; no royal
carriages were in waiting at Dover to receive him, and he had to come
to town in hired coaches. Walpole explains in this way. "Somehow or
another, the Master of the Horse happened to be in Lincolnshire, and
the king's horses having received no orders, were too good subjects to
go and fetch a stranger king of their own heads. However, as his Danish
Majesty travels to improve himself for the good of his people, he will
go back extremely enlightened in the arts of government and morality,
by having learned that crowned heads may be reduced to ride in hackney
coaches." The official excuse for this neglect was, that Christian was so
impatient to see the famed metropolis of Great Britain, that he declined
the sumptuous state coaches, and travelled in a post-chaise.
Hearing that the clergy and corporation of Canterbury and Rochester
intended to receive him with all possible pomp, the king was almost
thrown into a passion, as he detested formalities of any sort, and was
disposed to consider the clergy, as a body, with profligate contempt.
He said to Count Bernstorff: "The last King of Denmark who entered
Canterbury laid that city in ashes, and massacred its inhabitants. Would
to Heaven they had recollected this, and let me pass quietly through
their venerable town, where our ancestors committed so many crimes!" The
count told Christian, with a smile, that the good citizens of Canterbury
would find less difficulty in forgetting the outrages suffered by their
forefathers, than in being deprived of the honour of making a speech and
kissing his royal hand.[63]
The only mark of attention shown Christian by his brother-in-law, was
in re-furnishing his suite of rooms in the Stable Yard of St. James's
Palace, at an expense of £3,000. When Count Holck first saw the palace,
he exclaimed: "By God, this will never do; it is not fit to lodge a
Christian in." According to the official report of the "Annual Register,"
the royal suite consisted of,--Count von Bernstorff, his principal
secretary of state; Baron von Schimmelmann, treasurer; Count von Moltke,
grand marshal; Count von Holck, grand master of the wardrobe; Baron von
Bülow, one of the lords of the bed-chamber; Mr. Schumacher, councillor
of conferences, private secretary; Baron von Düring, aide-de-camp; MM.
Temmler and Sturtz, councillors of embassy of the foreign office; Dr.
Struensee, physician; and several officers and servants.
So soon as Christian arrived in London he was waited on by the Earl
of Hertford and Lord Falmouth, who complimented him on his arrival.
George III., however, displayed no _empressement_ to greet his guest;
on the contrary, he behaved with a sullenness which, though it might be
justifiable, was certainly impolitic, considering the connection between
France and Denmark, which England considered as of such vital importance
to break off. As usual, Horace Walpole the indefatigable supplies the
best account of this fresh piece of scandal:--
"By another mistake, King George happened to go to Richmond about an hour
before King Christian arrived in London. An hour is exceedingly long,
and the distance to Richmond still longer; so, with all the despatch
which could possibly be made, King George could not get to his capital
till next day at noon. Then, as the road from his closet at St. James's,
to the King of Denmark's apartments on the other side of the palace,
is about thirty miles (which posterity, having no conceptions of the
prodigious extent and magnificence of St. James's, will never believe),
it was half an hour after three before his Danish Majesty's cousin could
go and return to let him know that his good brother and ally was leaving
the palace (in which they both were) to receive him at the queen's
palace, which, you know, is about a million of snail's paces from St.
James's. Notwithstanding these difficulties and unavoidable delays,
Woden, Thor, Frigga, and all the gods that watch over the kings of the
north, did bring these two invincible monarchs to each other's embraces
about half an hour after four on the same evening. They passed an hour
in projecting a royal compact, that will regulate the destiny of Europe
to latest posterity; and then, the fates so willing it, the British
prince departed for Richmond, and the Danish potentate repaired to the
widowed mansion of his royal mother-in-law, where he poured forth the
fulness of his heart in praises of the lovely bride she had bestowed upon
him, from whom nothing but the benefit of his subjects would have torn
him." Another passage from the same letter is in Horace's finest vein of
sarcasm:--
"And here let calumny blush, who has aspersed so chaste and faithful a
monarch with low amours; pretending that he has raised to a seat in his
sublime council an artisan of Hamburg, known only by repairing the soles
of buskins, because that mechanic would on no other terms consent to his
fair daughter's being honoured with majestic embraces.[64] So victorious
over his passions is this Scipio from the pole, that though on Shooter's
Hill he fell into an ambuscade, laid for him by an illustrious countess,
of blood royal herself, his Majesty, after descending from his car and
courteously greeting her, again mounted his vehicle, without being one
moment eclipsed from the eyes of the surrounding multitude."[65]
The princess dowager so overwhelmed Christian with inquiries about her
daughter, that her wearied son-in-law could not refrain from whispering
to his favourite, Holck: "Cette chère maman m'embête terriblement."
Finally, when she begged Christian to restore Frau von Plessen to the
post of grande maîtresse, the king replied, that he would not oppose it,
but would leave the court himself, as he was resolved never to live under
the same roof with Frau von Plessen again. After leaving the Princess
of Wales, the royal party attended Lady Hertford's assembly. Walpole,
who was present, says: "He only takes the title of _Altesse_ (an absurd
mezzo termine), but acts king accordingly, struts in the circle like a
cock sparrow, and does the honours of himself very civilly." But the
thing that seems to have struck Walpole most, was the subserviency of
Christian's ministers and attendants, who (as we shall see presently)
bowed as low to him at every word as if he were a Sultan Amurath.
Severest are his strictures on Bernstorff, of whom he says: "A grave old
man, running round Europe after a chit, for the sake of domineering over
a parcel of beggar Danes, when he himself is a Hanoverian, and might live
at ease on an estate he has at Mecklenburg."
On the 19th, the king had a heavy day of it, visiting Westminster Abbey,
the Tower, the Armoury, the Bank, the Mint, and St. Paul's Cathedral,
where he ascended to the golden gallery. On the same evening, H.R.H. the
Princess Amelia entertained the King of Denmark, the Duke of Gloucester,
and upwards of three hundred of the nobility, with a grand supper, after
which was a ball,[66] at Gunnersbury House. The supper consisted of one
hundred and twenty dishes; a grand firework was played off; and the ball,
which was very splendid, ended at about three o'clock A.M. The beautiful
Lady Talbot, who was supposed to have made a great impression on
Christian's susceptible heart, wore at this ball a diamond coronet which
was estimated to be worth £80,000. It appears, from Walpole, that the
Princess Amelia felt hurt at the treatment of her nephew, and determined
to mark her sense of it by this entertainment. The king and the princess
dowager were then, in courtesy, obliged to follow her example; but, to
show how much they disliked the precedent, they left the Princess Amelia
out of their entertainments. The King of England, however, did not behave
so badly to his brother-in-law after all. He paid for his table at the
rate of £84 a day, without wines,--and that bill, we may be sure, was a
heavy one,--and supplied his sideboard with the original plate of Henry
VIII., which was always deposited in the jewel office in the Tower, and
never made use of but at a coronation. Though George disliked the man, he
respected the king.
Walpole gives us a graphic account of Christian at this time, in a letter
to George Montagu:--
"I came to town to see the Danish king. He is as diminutive as if he
came out of a kernel in the fairy tales. He is not ill made, nor weakly
made, though so small; and though his face is pale and delicate, it is
not at all ugly. Still, he has more royalty than folly in his air; and
considering he is not hearty, is as well as any one expects a king in a
puppet-show to be."
A few days after, Horace appears to have modified his opinion. I wonder
whether the corns of his self-esteem had been trodden on in the interim?
"Well then, this great king is a very little one. He has the sublime
strut of his grandfather (or a cock-sparrow), and the divine white eyes
of all his family on the mother's side. His curiosity seems to have
consisted in the original plan of travelling, for I cannot say he takes
notice of anything in particular. The mob adore and huzza him, and so
they did at the first instant. They now begin to know why, for he flings
money to them out of the window; and by the end of the week, I do not
doubt they will want to choose him for Middlesex. His court is extremely
well ordered, for they bow as low to him at every word as if his name
were Sultan Amurath. You would take his first minister for only the first
of his slaves. I hope this example, which they have been good enough to
exhibit at the Opera, will civilize us. There is, indeed, a pert young
gentleman who a little discomposes this august ceremonial; his name is
Count Holck; his age, three-and-twenty; and his post answers to one
that we had formerly in England ages ago, called in our tongue, a royal
favourite."
On August 30, his Majesty arrived at Cambridge, _en route_ for York
races. The vice-chancellor at once waited on the king with the heads of
houses, and "showed him the elephant." After walking wearily through the
town and its sights, Christian got off by inviting the vice-chancellor
to supper. He arrived at York the next day with a retinue of one
hundred and twenty persons, and shirked a grand entertainment which the
mayor and corporation insisted on giving him. He returned to London
_viâ_ Manchester, where "he was particularly gratified by viewing the
stupendous works of the Duke of Bridgewater, at which he expressed both
astonishment and pleasure."
On September 4, Christian returned to town, after performing the great
feat of travelling nearly six hundred miles in seven days. On September
8, we find him, after the Opera, going to take a view of the house of
Mrs. Cornelis, in Soho Square, of which Casanova gives us such fragrant
details. The rooms had been got up "regardless of expense," more than
two thousand wax candles being lighted; and the king opened the ball
with the Duchess of Lancaster. Among the persons present, I notice the
Russian General Filosofow, but am unable to discover what had brought
that arch-intriguer to England.
On September 12, a magnificent entertainment was given Christian at Sion
House, by the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. The account of the
festivities reminds us of the later days of Vauxhall, for there were
fifteen thousand coloured lamps; and the temple erected in the inner
court was ornamented with transparent paintings that had a very happy
effect. Among the company were their royal highnesses the Princess Amelia
and the Dukes of Gloucester and Cumberland.
On September 17, Christian arrived in Oxford with the principal
members of his suite, and was received in great pomp by Dr. Durell,
the vice-chancellor. After seeing all the sights, he was taken to the
theatre, where, in full convocation, the king had the honorary degree
of D.C.L. conferred upon him. The same honour befell Bernstorff,
Schimmelmann, Holck, Düring, and Bülow, while Struensee had the honorary
degree of Doctor of Physic conferred upon him, being the second foreigner
to whom this honour had been granted. I wonder how much Christian
understood of the elegant Latin speech in which Dr. Vansittart, Regius
Professor of Law, presented him? From Oxford, Christian visited Ditchley
Park, Blenheim, Buckingham, and Stow; and we can quite agree with the
polite writer in the "Annual Register," who says: "His journeyings are
so rapid, and his stay at places so short, that if he is not a youth of
more than common talents, he must have a very confused idea of what he
sees." Horace Walpole, writing to Sir H. Mann, under date September 22,
speaks very severely on this head, but, I am afraid, with more justice
than usual:
"I can tell you nothing but what you know already about the King of
Denmark hurrying from one corner of England to the other, without seeing
anything distinctly, fatiguing himself, breaking his chaise, going tired
to bed in inns, and getting up to show himself to the mob at the window.
I believe that he is a very silly lad; but the mob adore him, though he
has neither done nor said anything worth repeating; but he gives them
an opportunity of getting together, of staring, and of making foolish
observations. Then the news papers talk their own language, and call
him _a great personage_; and a great personage that comes so often in
their way seems almost one of themselves raised to the throne. At the
play of the _Provoked Wife_, he clapped whenever there was a sentence
against matrimony,--a very civil proceeding when his wife is an English
princess!"[67]
On the 19th, a very grand entertainment was given by their Majesties to
the King of Denmark at the queen's house, at which the Princess Dowager
of Wales, the Duke of Gloucester, and a great number of the nobility,
were present. Covers were laid for one hundred and seventy; and after the
entertainment there was a ball, which Christian opened at nine o'clock
with the queen; after which, George III. walked a minuet with the Duchess
of Ancaster. The King of Denmark, who always kept it up to the last, did
not retire till half-past four in the morning.
But the grandest affair of all was the dinner given to Christian by the
City. The lord mayor and aldermen proceeded in their state barges to
fetch the king from the Stairs, at New Palace Yard, and conveyed him to
Temple Stairs, where he landed, and took some refreshments offered by the
Benchers. Judging from an engraving in the "Gentleman's Magazine," the
scene on the river must have been very gay; and in those days, when the
Thames still possessed some claim to the epithet of silvery, the king
doubtless enjoyed the animated scene.
From the Temple, the king proceeded in the City state coach to the
Mansion House, preceded by the Honourable Artillery Company, and the
Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, the freedom of which Christian had
deigned to accept. On arrival, there was the inevitable address read by
Mr. Recorder, from which it is worth while to extract one passage, which
seems to show that the force of lying could no further go:--
"The many endearing ties which happily connect you, sir, with our most
gracious sovereign, justly entitle you to the respect and veneration
of all his Majesty's faithful subjects; but your affability and other
princely virtues, so eminently displayed during the whole course of your
residence among us, have, in a particular manner, charmed the citizens
of London, who reflect with admiration on your early and uncommon
thirst of knowledge, and your indefatigable pursuit of it by travel and
observation; the happy fruits of which, they doubt not, will be long
employed, and acknowledged within the whole extent of your influence and
command."
Christian--I hope blushing as he did so--returned a most polite answer
in Danish, and then, no doubt, was very glad to hear dinner announced.
In the Egyptian Gallery, we read, that "His Majesty condescended to walk
quite round, so that the ladies (who made a most brilliant appearance in
the galleries) might have a full view of his royal person: and all the
gentlemen of the common council below an opportunity of personally paying
him their respects." Surely this was a heavy price to pay even for a lord
mayor's feed!
As history--at any rate since Macaulay's example--condescends, like
the elephant's trunk, to take notice of the smallest things, I may be
forgiven for quoting here the _menu_ of the remarkable dinner which took
place in honour of the occasion, which has been duly enshrined in the
"Annual Register":--
=O=
Chickens. Harrico.
Spanish Olia. Turtle. Mullets, removes.
Venison.
=O= =O=
Tongue. Collops of Larded 4 Vegetables.
Sweetbreads.
=O=
Quails.
Ortolans.
Pheasants.
Notts.
Tourt.
Green Peas.
Artichokes.
Ragou Royal.
Green Truffles.
Mushrooms.
EPERGNE.
8 cold plates round.
Shell-fish in Jelly.
Chickens.
Fillets of Hare. Olia. Harrico.
Turbots. Venison.
Small Westphalian Hams. 4 Vegetables.
Peachicks.
Partridges.
Pheasants.
Quails.
Perigo Pie.
Artichokes.
Cardoons.
Ragou.
Green Truffles.
Green Peas.
EPERGNE.
8 cold plates round.
Aspects, of sorts.
Chickens.
Collops of Leveret. Turtle. Tongue removes.
Dories. Venison.
Tendrons. 4 Vegetables.
Quails.
Ortolans.
Notts.
Wheat Ears.
Godiveu Pie.
Ragou.
Green Morells.
Peas.
Combs.
Fat Livers.
EPERGNE.
8 cold plates round.
Shell-fish in Marinade.
Collops of Turkey.
Fillets of Lamb. Terene. Chickens. Soles. Venison. Westphalia Ham.
Partridge.
Leveret.
Ruffes and Rees.
Wheat Ears.
French Pie.
Mushrooms.
Green Morells.
Fat Livers.
Combs.
Notts.
8 grand ornamental dishes, sweet and savoury.
8 dishes of fine Pastry.
At eight o'clock, after the usual loyal toasts, and taking tea and coffee
in the great parlour, his Majesty and retinue took coach, and returned
to St. James's Palace amid the same crowd and acclamations, with the
addition of illuminations in almost every window, so that the people
might have the pleasure of seeing his Majesty as much as possible.
On the 24th, the poor king, who could hardly have digested the good
things of which I have just given a list, was entertained at Richmond
Lodge, by order of his Majesty King George. Some attempt at taste seems
to have been made on this occasion, for we read of a splendid temple
with festoons of flowers and emblematical pictures alluding to the arts
and sciences. The fireworks were the finest ever exhibited, and "their
Majesties and the nobility present were pleased to express their entire
satisfaction." The whole road from London to the Lodge was illuminated by
upwards of fifteen thousand Italian lamps, from three in the afternoon
till the next morning.
On October 1, the Princess of Wales gave a grand entertainment at Carlton
House in honour of Christian. It consisted of three tables, one for their
Majesties and the Princess Dowager of Wales; a second for the King of
Denmark: and fifty of the nobility; and the third for H.R.H. the Prince
of Wales and his attendants, &c. The princess dowager and the King of
Denmark had not got on at all well together, and he entirely lost her
good graces by the following piece of impertinence. The princess was
amusing herself one day with a lady of her court, to whom the King of
Denmark had presented a superb set of jewels, with telling fortunes
by the cards, and Christian said to her, "My dear mother, how do you
designate my Majesty in your pasteboard court?" "Lady ----," said the
princess with an arch smile, "calls you the King of Diamonds." "And
what do you call Holck?" Christian continued. "Oh, by a title far more
flattering; that rake is called the King of Hearts." "Then pray, my dear
mamma," said Christian, piqued by her ironical allusions, "under which of
the suits do you designate Lord Bute?" This repartee, severe as it was
unexpected, crimsoned the face of the princess, who rallied soon after,
evidently offended with her incorrigible son-in-law.[68]
While Christian was at Newmarket races, a deputation arrived from
Cambridge, begging him and his suite to accept the same degrees from
that university as from Oxford. On October 10, Christian gave a superb
masked ball at the Opera House in the Haymarket, at which no less than
two thousand five hundred of the nobility and gentry were present.
Even staid George III. could not resist the temptation, but remained
in a private box with transparent shutters. The Princess Amelia also
sat the whole time in one of the boxes, masked. Christian opened the
ball with the Duchess of Ancaster, and any one who wishes to know what
characters were represented, I can refer to the "Gentleman's Magazine,"
which contains an engraving of the ball. There was an awful squeeze
and a magnificent supper, and the value of the jewels worn on this
occasion amounted to upwards of £2,000,000. Still, the company must have
been rather mixed, for a noble duke lost his snuff-box, on which was
a portrait of the King of France, set with brilliants. The ball cost
Christian £3,000.
On the 11th, Christian held a levee at St. James's, when the nobility
took leave of him, and on the following day he bade farewell to the
royal family. On the evening before his departure, the king made a
present to the Earl of Hertford, Lord Chamberlain, and to Lord Talbot,
Lord Steward, of a ring each, valued at £1,500, and left 1,000 guineas
to be distributed among the domestics of the king's palace. The Earl
of Holderness, Constable of Dover Castle, was appointed to attend his
Majesty until his embarkation. As a pleasing relief to this royal
extravagance, we read that just before Christian's departure, Garrick had
the honour of an interview, when the king gave him a very elegant gold
box studded with diamonds, begging him to receive it as a small mark of
the regard he had for his extraordinary talents.
On October 13, Christian went up the Medway to Chatham in the Victory,
man-of-war, and inspected the British fleet. Chance decreed that the
young officer who commanded the ship was the same Gambier who, in
1807, as Admiral of the Blue, commanded the English fleet with thirty
thousand men aboard, who landed in Zealand, carried off the Danish fleet,
plundered the arsenals, and laid one-seventh of Copenhagen in ashes.
On October 14, the king again went on board the Mary yacht at Dover,
which was to convey him to Calais. Just as he was escaping, a parting
shot was fired at him by an officer on board, in the shape of the most
execrable and mendacious verses ever written, and that is saying a good
deal. For that reason I shall quote them:--
"The mighty Peter as the public cause
Pursu'd with zeal, arts, sciences and laws,
In search of knowledge travell'd Europe round,
And carried home the treasures that he found
His country's sire--the instrument of fate
In giving form to a chaotic state.
DENMARK'S young monarch, with a taste refin'd,
Studies no less the manners of mankind;
And while at large, he gratifies his view,
Displays his genius and politeness too.
Happy the people in a prince approved,
Happy the monarch, loving and belov'd.
Tho' fair Astræa has regained the sky,
Her parting steps still strike the conscious eye:
If you, like her (great prince) must disappear,
Like her, too, leave your bright impression here.
Thy travels o'er, renew this people's joy,
And let thy praises young and old employ;
Admir'd, ador'd--gild Denmark with thy fame,
While all enjoy the honours of thy name."[69]
The king certainly had no cause to complain of the honours and
distinctions granted him in London. Artists and sculptors strove to
immortalize his memory, and engravings of him might be seen in all the
windows. But the ladies of the nobility were the most enthusiastic about
the "northern scamp," as the lovely Lady Talbot christened the youthful
King of Denmark, and in memory of whom they brought into fashion a
head-dress which was christened the "Denmark Fly."
So far we have dealt with the king's public appearance in England. His
private amusements, unfortunately, continued of the same scandalous
nature as in Copenhagen. Night after night he and Holck passed in the
most disgusting debauchery, and these rambles were generally commenced
after midnight. The king opened the ball at Sion House with his
sister-in-law, the Queen of Great Britain; he danced with the Princess
of Saxe-Gotha and the Duchess of Ancaster; and, within an hour after
quitting these scenes of royal grandeur, he would throw off his gorgeous
dress, disguise himself as a sailor, and haunt the lowest purlieus of
St. Giles's. A volume might easily be filled with the frolics and
extravagances committed while in England by this dissipated youth, and
those servile courtiers, who, to gratify the sovereign, flattered every
folly, and sought with lamentable avidity, even in the paths of infamy
and vice, the means of making themselves agreeable or useful.[70]
On the other hand, some anecdotes have been preserved, which, while
bearing testimony to the king's profuse extravagance, throw a little more
agreeable light upon his character. It is true, that he gave without
discrimination, and acted on the impulse of the moment; but it is equally
true that, whenever he saw an object of real distress, his hand went
spontaneously to his pocket, and if that chanced to be empty, his ring,
watch, or any other valuables about him, was bestowed instead of money.
The King of Denmark, on one occasion, saw a poor tradesman put into a
hackney-coach by two bailiffs, followed by his weeping wife and family,
from whom he was about to be torn, and thrown into prison. He ordered
Count Moltke to follow the coach to the Marshalsea. He paid the debt
and costs; and, setting the poor man free from every other demand, gave
him 500 dollars to enable him to begin the world anew; and, on several
other occasions he distributed considerable sums among the poor debtors
confined in the different gaols of the metropolis.[71]
A ludicrous adventure into which the king was led by his mania for going
about _incog._ is preserved for us by the author of "Northern Courts."
For a better supply of his wants, the king had caused an unlimited credit
to be opened with a very rich but penurious City merchant, under the name
of Mr. Frederikson. Dressed as private gentlemen, the king and Count
Holck went to the merchant's counting-house, and took up £4,000. The
merchant, very desirous of knowing more of such good customers, employed
a lad to watch them. Seeing the strangers enter the palace of St. James's
by a private door, he inquired of a sentry who they were, and was told
that they must belong to the King of Denmark's suite, as no other persons
were allowed to enter that way. On telling this to his master, the latter
was delighted at the prospect of thus making a handsome profit; while
his wife, equally bent on obtaining through them a view of the King
of Denmark, or at least of his apartments, suggested the propriety of
inviting them to tea, on their next visit.
This civility was really offered on the next occasion that the king
wanted money. The merchant, leaving Count Holck with his wife, took the
supposed Mr. Frederikson by the lapel of his coat, and led him a short
distance from his companion; and, after some circumlocution, asked him
plainly if the money was not for the use of Christian VII. The king, at
first, thought he was detected; but finding that not to be the case, and
that the merchant only wanted to get a share of a good thing, he resolved
to draw him on, in the hopes of amusement, and answered his question in
the affirmative. The merchant's eyes sparkled with joy at this confession.
"I am told," he said, "that Christian VII. is one of the most extravagant
and thoughtless young dogs living, and cares no more for money than
if it could be raked out of the kennel. Of course you make him pay
handsomely--you understand me?"
It was with difficulty the king could refrain from laughter, but, as
gravely as he could, he told the money-dealer that he had drawn a correct
picture of the king's character.
"And pray, sir," the merchant said, significantly, "what is the nature of
your employment?"
"My chief employment," Christian replied, "consists in dressing the king,
and looking out for amusements."
"Just the thing!" said the merchant; "then you are more likely to have
influence."
"No man has more influence with him than I have; of that be assured."
"Then of course you make a handsome profit out of these transactions?"
"Upon my word and honour, I never made a profit on any pecuniary
transaction in my life."
The merchant's face lengthened, as he turned his small eyes obliquely
towards the king. After a pause, he began on another tack.
"How does the king dispose of these sums?"
"Gives them away, sometimes in coin or bank-notes; oftener in presents of
jewellery or other precious articles."
"Hark'ee, sir," said the merchant, delighted by these confessions, "would
you not wish to make the best of your influence with the king?"
"Certainly I would."
"Then, if you will suffer me to instruct you, I will teach you how to
make fifty per cent. on the capital. Let me buy the jewels and presents."
Just at that instant one of the king's pages arrived, and desired the
clerk to call his master, who was never less disposed to be interrupted.
"Pray, sir," the messenger asked, "is not the King of Denmark in your
house?"
"The King of Denmark? No, sir, only a Mr. Frederikson."
"That is the king, the son of Frederick V. The gentleman with him is
Count Holck, master of his Majesty's wardrobe, and I am sent by the
Princess Dowager of Wales with orders to deliver this letter into his
Majesty's own hands."
The confusion of the merchant and his wife at the _dénouement_ may safely
be left to the imagination. The former disappeared, but the good-natured
king, forcing a ring on the fat finger of the latter, and desiring her to
tell her husband that Christian would never feel offended at what he had
said confidentially to Mr. Frederikson, skipped down stairs, laughing
heartily at the adventure, and regretting that it had been so suddenly
terminated. Such is the story as it is told, and I can only add, that si
non è vero, è ben trovato.
Walpole, who was prejudiced against Christian, probably because, at the
king's request, he sent him a collection of the Strawberry Hill books,
and received no answer,[72] gives a very bitter account of him in his
reign of George III., although there is a certain amount of truth in it.
He says that the Danish king was in reality an insipid boy; and there
appeared no cause for his expensive ramble, though to support it he
had laid a tax on all his placemen and pensionaries. He took notice of
nothing, took pleasure in nothing, and hurried post through most parts
of England without attention, dining and supping at seats on the road,
without giving himself time enough to remark so much of their beauties
as would flatter the great lords who treated him. This indifference was
excused in a whisper by Bernstorff, his prime minister, who attributed it
to his Majesty's extreme short sight, which Bernstorff confessed was the
great secret of the state; yet Walpole allows that the king's manner was
very civil, and though his person was diminutive and delicate, he did not
want graceful dignity.
The natural good nature of the English made them give the most favourable
construction to the motives of the king's travels, which were, in
fact, the natural consequence of his giddiness and levity. Whatever he
seemed desirous of seeing, and all the inquiries worthy of a monarch who
seeks for instruction and improvement in the arts, civilisation, and
government, were suggested by Count Bernstorff, the only man of merit
and genius in his retinue. His own inclination led him to plays, operas,
balls, and excursions of pleasure into the country, in which amusements
a sovereign may indulge occasionally, when they are intended as a
relaxation from the grand objects of useful study and information.
According to a well-informed author,[73] Christian, while in London, was
gracious and accessible, but without discernment and without dignity. The
very citizens of both sexes, who resorted daily to his apartments to see
him dine in public with his favourites, mistook him more than once for a
young girl dressed in men's clothes, whose conversation and deportment
commanded neither respect nor attention.
Really the unhappy Danes had some cause for grumbling that their
hard-earned money was squandered in so very useless a fashion.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 62: "Memoirs of an Unfortunate Queen."]
[Footnote 63: Brown's "Northern Courts," vol. i.]
[Footnote 64: There is not the least truth in this scandal, I am bound to
add, on the principle of giving even Clootie his due.]
[Footnote 65: "H. Walpole's Letters," vol. v. pp. 121-123.]
[Footnote 66: Now-a-days it is exactly _vice versâ_: first ball, and then
supper.]
[Footnote 67: "Letters of H. Walpole," vol. v. pp. 128, 129.]
[Footnote 68: Brown's "Northern Courts," vol. i. p. 62.]
[Footnote 69: I have said that these lines were the worst ever written,
but I retract. The very worst will be found in a poem called _The
Masquerade_, inscribed to the King of Denmark. Here is a specimen:--
"Reflection lent the traveller her staff,
And hospitality began to laugh."
]
[Footnote 70: "Northern Courts," vol. i.]
[Footnote 71: "Memoirs of Sir R. Murray Keith," vol. i.]
[Footnote 72: "Walpoleana," vol. ii. p. 24.]
[Footnote 73: "Memoirs of an Unfortunate Queen."]