THE COURT DOCTOR.
THE QUEEN'S ILLNESS--THE NEW DOCTOR--THE FAVOURITE--COURT
REVELS--THE SMALL-POX--THE QUEEN'S FRIEND--A TRIP TO
HOLSTEIN--RECALL OF BRANDT--SAD SCENES AT COURT--DOWNFALL OF
HOLCK--RANTZAU-ASCHEBERG--THE FOREIGN ENVOYS--PRESENTATION OF
COLOURS.
Various stories are current as to the way in which Caroline Matilda
and Struensee first became acquainted. Her enemies assert that she was
guilty of dissimulation from the outset, and that, for some time after
she had chosen the doctor as her partisan, she feigned an aversion for
him; but there appears to be no foundation for this report beyond that
of party spirit. After well weighing the various accounts, I am disposed
to accept, in preference, the one given in Mr. N. W. Wraxall's private
journal, because he had it from one of the principal actors while the
events were fresh in his memory.[101]
About this time, Struensee became intimate with a lady whose sentiments
seemed to harmonize with his own. This was Frau von Gabel, wife of the
admiral, and _née_ Countess Rosenkrantz, of Willestrup, in Jütland. This
lady, who was at the time only twenty-three years of age, had formerly
repulsed the king's coarse advances. Struensee, in order to secure the
king's favour, thought it advisable, so it was said, to give him an
ostensible mistress, of whom he himself would be the real lover.[102]
He chose for this purpose Frau von Gabel, a very young and charming
woman, animated with a real patriotism, but too much of a republican to
live at court. Struensee began by persuading her that the king had been
entirely changed during his tour; he had grown affable and attentive,
and capable of devoting his attention to governing. He added, that he
flattered himself with having greatly contributed to this change; that
the patriots ought to thank him for it, but that the work was still
imperfect, and could only be completed by a woman of sense and honest
character undertaking to arouse in the sovereign a moral feeling, which
had been blunted by his debauchery and the vices of his favourites.
Frau von Gabel, on hearing this, desired to become better acquainted
with the king, and to please him. She received repeated visits from
Christian during the early part of the year, though she lived some
distance from court. The clever lady strove to employ the impression she
produced on the king's mind in dragging him out of the inaction which
degraded him, and helping him to cast off his inglorious bonds. Still
Struensee did not agree with her on two points. The first was, that she
and the Moltke party insisted on removing Holck from the king's person,
which Struensee considered unnecessary, because an old favourite was
less injurious than a new one. The other was, that she did not, like the
doctor, regard a reconciliation between the royal husband and wife as
absolutely necessary for the king's happiness.
Frau von Gabel soon discovered, however, that she had been deceived as
to the king's pretended amendment. In proportion as he spoke with less
reserve, he displayed the same vices she had known in him formerly, and,
in addition, the mania which formed their basis. She fell into a state of
profound melancholy, and died in the following August, showing, in her
last moments, that Struensee, far from having been her lover, had only
attracted her hatred.[103]
Caroline Matilda had discovered Frau von Gabel's desire of pleasing the
king, and, as a woman, naturally placed a false construction on it. She
regarded Struensee as an accomplice; hated them both; and always spoke
of the doctor with the most supreme contempt. Holck behaved like the
engineer who hoisted himself with his own petard. Seeing the queen's
detestation of the doctor, he did his utmost to force the latter upon
her, and revelled in the idea of causing her increased annoyance.
Caroline Matilda was, at this time, melancholy and ill, and was supposed
to be affected with symptoms of dropsy. The remedies she took had no
effect either on her malady or her temper, and hence the king proposed
to her to consult his young doctor; and, on her refusal, insisted on it.
Struensee had even more knowledge of the human heart, the world, and
women, than of his profession. After observing and questioning the queen,
he assured her that she was not dropsical; that her illness was not
serious; and pledged himself to cure her in a short time. His treatment
was as agreeable as his diagnosis; and his promises were consolatory.
"Chagrin," he said, "_ennui_, and a sedentary life, have produced all
the mischief; your Majesty does not want medicine so much as plenty of
exercise, amusements, and distractions. _Ennui_, which dwells in courts,
principally arises from etiquette; the latter must be proscribed, or, at
least, restricted to certain days, which are specially consecrated to it.
Danish ladies do not ride on horseback; but your Majesty must give them
the example. They may be scandalised at the outset, but the fashion and
custom will make them regard the thing with more favour."
The queen took riding lessons, and became, in a short time, a good and
indefatigable horsewoman. The obstructions were soon dispersed, and
gaiety, recalled to court in proportion as etiquette was banished from
it, caused no apprehension of a relapse being entertained. This happy
cure acquired confidence and easy access for the doctor. The queen
soon saw that she had been unfairly prejudiced against Struensee. On
conversing him on various subjects, she found him better informed and
more agreeable company than the swarm of idlers and empty-headed fops who
surrounded her. She liked the doctor the more on discovering that he was
thoroughly informed of the cause of her sorrow. Nothing affected her so
much as the indifference of the king and the insolence of his favourites.
Holck had certainly tried to gain her favour; but whether he set to work
awkwardly, or that the aversion was invincible, he had only irritated her
the more by his tentatives. He was reported to have boasted that he could
have gained the queen's favour by rendering homage to her charms, and his
indifference was the cause of her ill-will. This boast, of which he was
accused, justly or unjustly, had left ineffaceable traces, and convinced
the queen that all the other accusations brought against the favourite
were true.
Struensee, on the contrary, was a servant of no consequence. He offered
his devotion; he assured the queen that he should esteem it a happiness
to employ all his credit with the king in effecting a reconciliation.
The king had treated his wife, for some time past, with a respect and a
ceremonious tone that resembled derision. Struensee promised to restore
familiarity and confidence: results followed closely on the promises; and
he attached no value to this service. It was, he said, his own interest
he was studying; he felt quite comfortable in his position; all he wanted
was to acquire consistent support and the protection of a person who
could not be turned from him. The preceding favourites had been very
blind in trying to establish their credit on the disunion of the married
couple; for, in such a struggle, they must necessarily succumb. Such
interesting conversations naturally entailed greater assiduity. The king
appeared to approve of them, because they rendered his own situation more
agreeable; and the ascendancy he allowed the queen to regain increased
his own amusements. Far from opposing Struensee's visits, he sent him to
the queen at all sorts of hours, with all sorts of messages, and invited
him to every court festivity.
Struensee zealously continued his efforts to reconcile husband and
wife, and as both placed more confidence in him daily, he was tolerably
successful: only in one thing did he fail, and that was in rendering
the queen better disposed towards Holck, whom she regarded as the cause
of all the evil, although the latter, who was beginning to feel his
influence decrease, tried, as far as lay in his power, to render himself
agreeable to her. In October their Majesties returned to the capital,
and the good understanding between them seemed continually to improve.
The influential doctor and family adviser now found an opportunity for
more extensive action, as, on January 17, 1770, a suite of rooms was
given him in Christiansborg Palace.
The usual court festivities began again in this winter season. Theatrical
performances, masquerades, balls, sleigh parties, and cavalcades,
alternated with concerts at Count Holck's palace. Although the king took
part in all these amusements, he appeared no longer to find pleasure in
them. He only went because he was requested to do so, and in most matters
let himself be guided by the will of others. Just as on his return from
abroad he gave himself up to Bernstorff's guidance, he now only listened
to what the queen or Struensee advised him. The latter had hitherto
remained in retirement, and only attended to his professional duties and
pleasure, until an unpleasant occurrence attracted general attention to
him.
Struensee was at the Opera, in the box set apart for the gentlemen of
the court, in which Filosofow also was. The unpolished Russian, however,
had a bad habit of expectorating frequently, and on this evening spat
on Struensee's coat. The latter dried it, and held his tongue; but
had scarce done so when Filosofow insulted him again in the same way.
Struensee began to murmur, but the envoy said it was a mistake, and
apologised. Struensee, not satisfied with this bare apology, demanded
satisfaction, and quitted the box. But the Russian, instead of meeting
his man, appealed to his diplomatic position, and, on his side, demanded
satisfaction of Bernstorff, who, however, would not go into the matter,
but quietly allowed it to drop. We can hardly assume that Filosofow
had merely acted in mistake in the box, and we can as little believe
that political motives caused his improper conduct, for Struensee at
this period had not mixed himself up at all in affairs of state. It is
more credible that the Russian had been cut out by the good-looking
doctor in a love affair, and wished to take his revenge in this coarse
way.[104] Owing to this occurrence, Bernstorff was warned by one of his
friends against Struensee, and advised to remove the doctor from the
king's person. The minister, however, did not listen to this advice: his
self-esteem concealed from him the true position of affairs, and his
pride despised an enemy over whom a victory would be too cheaply gained.
Such negligence is the more surprising in Bernstorff, because he had long
before spoken freely to some friends about the character of Struensee
and his plans, and sufficiently proved that he had investigated his
rival's designs with his own peculiar shrewdness, and drawn unpleasant
consequences from them.[105]
In this season Count Holck saw more and more clearly that danger
threatened him. He was only able to hold his own for awhile through
Struensee interposing on his behalf, although the latter openly reproved
his conduct, and through attaching himself to Reventlow, Schimmelmann,
and General Hauch. He regarded Struensee as his most dangerous opponent,
though, as we have seen, unjustly so. Still, the doctor was beginning to
make marked progress in his short career. He had acquired the special
favour of both their Majesties by the better understanding he had
produced between them, and the inoculation of the crown prince, which he
undertook on May 2, 1770, gained him the queen's favour in a still higher
degree.
The small-pox raged so fearfully in Zeeland in 1769, that in Copenhagen
alone twelve hundred children fell victims to it. The common people,
especially in the country, paid but little heed to the rules laid down by
the physicians, and the result of this negligence was, that frequently
more than one-half of those down with small-pox died in a village.
Jenner's mode of vaccination was but little known at the time, and the
establishment of a vaccinating dispensary was only ordered in Copenhagen
on December 1, 1769. It had not got into working order when the crown
prince was attacked by small-pox, and Struensee received orders to
vaccinate him. He undertook the task: the illness passed over without
peril, and the little patient was saved.
Caroline Matilda loved her boy most tenderly. Her good heart left her no
rest from the moment when he was attacked by a disease which was of a
very dangerous nature, in spite of all the experience of science. No one
was allowed to take the place of the affectionate mother by the boy's
bedside; she nursed him herself; she sat up with him, and awaited the
moment of his waking to hand him a draught to cool his parched lips.
Struensee assisted her in these maternal duties, for she would not permit
him to quit for a moment the darling of her heart. This gave him an
opportunity of passing many hours in the queen's presence, and she found
consolation and, ere long, pleasure in his society. Her conversations
with him became more confidential and important, and Struensee could
easily see that the time was at hand when she would seek his alliance,
and make him the confidant of all her designs.[106]
As a reward for curing the crown prince, Struensee was appointed reader
to the king, and cabinet secretary to the queen, with an annual salary
of 3,000 dollars, and, directly after, the title of Conferenzrath was
bestowed upon him. Although people were accustomed at that day to see
men who had powerful patrons overwhelmed with titles, still Struensee's
sudden elevation attracted the greater notice, because he was of
bourgeois origin, and had no noble protectors.
It has been frequently urged, though incorrectly, that the acceptance of
this title was an error on the part of Struensee. On the contrary, it was
indispensable for his object, because he derived from it the advantage
of accompanying the king on his travels, and could be admitted to the
royal table. Struensee was at this time as modest as he was cautious,
and had very wise principles as regarded his elevation. It might almost
be asserted that this caution formed part of his character, and that the
errors he eventually committed must be ascribed to the circumstances
in which he stood. The nature of the ambition that impelled Struensee
was too great and far-sighted to be satisfied with mere trifles and
insignificant privileges: he fancied he could see his way to the highest
post, and resolved to attain it. Countless obstacles rose in his path,
which must be removed; he had innumerable rivals who must be overcome.
Universal envy prepared for him the hardest struggle, and in this he must
conquer. He saw beforehand that he should never succeed in his object
unless he secured a powerful position at court.
After Struensee had been appointed reader to the king, his access to
the queen was much facilitated; for, as he had but little to do for his
master, the queen frequently employed him. His visits became so long and
assiduous, his conversation so interesting, his services so real, that
familiarity gradually sprang up between them. Ere long, all the barriers
which august rank opposes to individuals fell in turn, and at last, when
the favourite perceived that he had become necessary, and fancied that he
had inspired friendship, he ventured to pronounce that word, and was very
favourably heard.
"You require," he said to the queen, "to give your confidence; and to
whom could you better impart your sorrows than to your friends, to those
from whom you can expect succour, owing to their ascendancy over the
king? It is the misfortune of persons of your rank to have no equals, and
to live only among jealous people and valets. Mutual services establish
a species of equality between you and the persons who are able to oblige
you."
These remarks were true: they were founded on the experience of the past:
they were uttered by an amiable and insinuating man, and addressed to
a person already too persuaded; to a queen who detested her rank. She
unhesitatingly accepted the friendship offered her, and the proofs she
gave of her own became daily more marked. Conscious of her innocence,
Caroline Matilda behaved in a manner that caused people to talk, and
her conduct was certainly most imprudent. Struensee was constantly seen
in her company, and she granted him familiarities which, as Reverdil
says, "would have ruined any ordinary woman." She gave him a seat in her
carriage when they were in the country, and took solitary walks with him
in the gardens and woods. At the court balls he was her constant partner,
and when she rode out he was her favoured cavalier.[107] No wonder that
the scandal grew, and was doubtless fanned by the ever watchful Juliana
Maria. Had it been a great nobleman, it would have been different, of
course, but Struensee, doctor, reader, and even raised to the second
class by the title of councillor, was not an officer of the court, and
could hold but one position, since he showed himself everywhere.[108]
As Holck did not dare to attack Struensee, he resolved to remove
Warnstedt from the king's presence, and fancied he had discovered a good
way of doing so. He proposed to the king to undertake another pleasure
trip to the duchies. It was his intention, and that of his partisans,
that the queen should not accompany her husband, so that they might the
more easily sway the monarch when his consort was away from him. But
Caroline Matilda had now more power than before the king's first journey
abroad: she resolved to go too,--and Christian offered no objection. When
the journey was definitively arranged for the beginning of May, Holck
effected the appointment of young Herr von Hauch as page to the king,
_vice_ Warnstedt, promoted an equerry and chamberlain. But the count's
glee at this victory was of but short duration, for in a few days the new
page was obliged to quit the court again, though for what reason remained
a mystery.
The journey was appointed for June 6, at the latest, but the old queen
dowager, Sophia Magdalena, was taken ill on May 18, and died on the
27th. During the last few years she had not exercised any influence over
her grandson, Christian, who was now doing his hardest to break through
all his old connections in the capital. Hence, the mourning for the
deceased queen was limited to the extraordinarily short period of six
weeks, and to the capital, while the court retired to Frederiksberg, to
escape the troublesome restraint. The departure for the duchies, however,
was, for the sake of propriety, deferred till the funeral was over. The
preparations were consequently hastened, and on June 13 the corpse was
deposited in the royal vault of the Roeskilde Cathedral. On the 18th,
their Majesties commenced their journey to their German subjects.
I need hardly say that Struensee and Warnstedt were in waiting, and Count
Holck also accompanied the king. Of the members of the privy council
of state, only Bernstorff was present. Reventlow paid a visit to his
estates; while Thott, Moltke, and Rosenkrantz, remained in Copenhagen
to attend to current business, but with express orders not to have any
dealings with the foreign envoys during the king's absence; and the
latter were requested, in the event of any pressing matter, to apply in
writing to Count Bernstorff. The tour was in truth only a little change
for the king, who was growing daily more imbecile; but it was employed
by the queen, Struensee, and their partisans, to introduce the reforms
they had secretly planned into the government.
Not one of the courtiers on whom Holck could reckon was in the suite.
It is true that his brother, Gustavus, his brother-in-law and sister,
the Von der Lühes, and his cousin, Von Lüttichau, were attached to the
court; but all these were only kept in place by his influence, so that
Count Bernstorff was the sole member of the Holck party left. But the
count himself was beginning to totter, so that he could only keep his own
position with difficulty, and was quite unable to support others.
For some time past it had grown quite clear to Bernstorff that the king
did not regard him so kindly as formerly. He had drawn the queen's
displeasure on himself by aiding in the dismissal of Frau von Plessen,
and he justly regarded his colleague, Rosenkrantz, as an enemy, because
that intriguing gentleman had first aroused the queen's anger against
him. Lastly, Bernstorff was growing seriously alarmed about Struensee's
increasing influence and rapid advancement. Latterly, Filosofow,
probably instigated by revenge, had repeatedly urged him to remove this
dangerous man from court, and offered the assistance of the empress in
effecting it. But Bernstorff declined the offer, as he did not consider
the opposite party would be so bold as to attack a minister of his
reputation, whom even a Danneskjold Samsöe had been unable to overthrow.
Still, he requested Filosofow, who was on the point of visiting the
baths of Aix-la-Chapelle, to go only as far as Pyrmont, so that he might
be at hand should his assistance be required.[109]
Among Struensee's partisans, Von Warnstedt appeared to have the greatest
influence over the king. Chamberlain von Bülow also seemed to have some
power over him, but not nearly so much as his colleague. But on this
occasion Caroline Matilda had joined the travelling party, and had become
the chief personage, through the king's growing weakness. She was also of
opinion that no peace could be thought of so long as Holck was suffered
in the king's presence. Although Struensee no longer regarded the king's
former intimate as dangerous, still, to pacify the queen, he proposed
to her to recall two gentlemen from banishment who had formerly been
esteemed by the monarch.
On June 13, the count arrived at Gottorp Castle, in the town of
Schleswig, which had been occupied since 1769 by the king's favourite
sister and her husband, the viceroy of the duchies, Landgrave Charles.
The latter drove out a league to meet their royal relations; and
the meeting was most cordial, especially between the queen and her
sister-in-law, who had not met since Caroline Matilda's marriage. The
king, too, seemed at first greatly pleased at the meeting; spoke a good
deal with the landgrave, and at dinner invited him to come as soon as he
could to Copenhagen, as many of the Holsteiners would follow the example
of their viceroy. But the court soon assumed a more earnest character
during the few days they remained at Gottorp. Weighty changes were
preparing; the ground was shaking under the feet of many great gentlemen;
and Struensee's power had already grown so great, that he was able to
carry out the recall of Brandt to court, which took place here.
We have seen that page Enevold Brandt, after his banishment from court
and the country, paid his respects to the king in Paris, but derived no
particular advantage from the step. In the next year, 1769, however, on
the queen's birthday, he was nominated titular chamberlain, and soon
after received a post and a vote in the Oldenburg government.[110]
Bernstorff and Schimmelmann, who had always favoured Struensee, took
Brandt's part too; and even Holck is said to have solicited his
appointment in a distant land. But he was not prepared for Brandt's
return to court circles, and he was greatly surprised on unexpectedly
coming across his old opponent at Gottorp. Brandt, noticing this, turned
to Holck with the sharp remark: "I fancy, my lord count, that you are
afraid of ghosts (_des spectres_)?" To which Holck gave him the bitterly
true answer: "Oh non, monsieur le chambellan, je ne crains pas les
spectres mais les revenants."
It was noticed with regret by the queen's friends during this journey,
that she seemed to forget the noble self-respect and attractive modesty
which adorned her even more than her beauty; and that she indulged in
sports and amusements which only too easily thrust those virtues in
the background. Her youth knew no caution, her good heart rendered her
careless of the opinion of the world, and her lively temper made her leap
over barriers which she ought never to have crossed, if her reputation
had been dear to her.[111] Prince Charles, her brother-in-law, gives us
a melancholy account, in his "Mémoires de mon Temps," of the deleterious
influence Struensee was already beginning to exercise over her. Still, it
is only fair to remember, in quoting the landgrave, that he was a bitter
enemy of Struensee:--
"After an hour's conversation (on arriving at Gottorp), in which we
recalled anecdotes of past times, the queen took me by the arm and said:
'Lead me to the cabinet of Princess Louisa, but do not make me pass
through the ante-chamber in which the court is.' We almost ran along the
corridor to the back door by the side of the staircase, when we saw some
of the suite coming up the stairs. The queen noticed Struensee, and said
to me before the door: 'No, no, no; I must return; do not keep me.' I
remarked to her, that I could not leave her alone in the passage. 'No,
no, no; return to the princess:' and she fled along the passage. This
struck me greatly; but I obeyed. She was always embarrassed with me when
Struensee was present. At table he was always seated opposite to her."
Further on, we read of another humiliating scene:--
"The king's dinner was dull. The queen afterwards played at quinze. I
was placed on her right, Struensee on her left; Brandt, a new arrival,
and Warnstedt, a chamberlain, completed the party. I hardly like to
describe Struensee's behaviour and the remarks he openly dared address to
the queen while leaning his arm on the table, close to her. 'Well, why
don't you play? can't you hear?' (Nun, spielen Sie doch, haben Sie nicht
gehört?) I confess my heart was broken to see this princess, endowed with
so much sense and good qualities, fallen to such a point, and into such
bad hands.... The king and queen went to Traventhal with the whole court,
who had followed them to Gottorp. My wife and I did not join the party,
nor was it proposed to us to do so, for Traventhal was chosen for the
least decent orgies. They had only been there a few days, when the whole
court was dismissed."
At Traventhal the king and queen remained a month; and it was here that
the foundation was laid of the state edifice which Struensee had resolved
to raise. He believed that he possessed the requisite ability to do so;
and he was supported by the favour of his royal patrons. But he was
deficient in two most important qualities,--the necessary caution to be
observed in such daring designs, and personal courage in carrying them
out.
Brandt's appearance at Gottorp was merely the introduction to his
brilliant career of two short years, for he was soon after re-appointed
to the Supreme Court, and, at the same time, made director of the
French plays, the Academy, and the picture gallery. Struensee, Von
Warnstedt, and Brandt, had, from this time, a decided influence over
the king. The only thing remaining to do was to recall to court Count
Rantzau-Ascheberg, the second of the two men upon whose assistance
Struensee specially calculated to carry out his reforms, and whose recall
he had proposed to Caroline Matilda, for the queen was afraid lest the
ministry might attempt to restore Holck in the king's favour, by removing
those persons who now stood in the favourite's way.
But it did not even need Rantzau's assistance to overthrow Holck; for,
in addition to the queen's dislike, he had to contend against Brandt
and Warnstedt's open hostility; and even Struensee, who had, on two
occasions, induced the king to make his extravagant favourite a gift of
10,000 dollars, was obliged to join in the cabal. But what dealt the
final blow in Holck's downfall was the fact that the king was tired of
his former favourite, because his weak state of health did not allow
him to take part in the pleasures usually arranged by Holck. At the
same time, Holck had taken Brandt's letter but little to heart, and
constantly neglected his duties, especially in the summer of 1769, when
he spent several days at his summer house, revelling with actors and
actresses, without thinking of his functions as marshal of the court.
Toward the end of July, Count Conrad von Holck was dismissed from his
office with a pension of 2,000 dollars, and his fall was followed by
the removal of his sister, Frau von der Lühe, from her post as first
lady-in-waiting on the queen. At the same time, Conferenzrath von der
Lühe, Privy-Councillor von Holstein, Gustavus von Holck, Chamberlain von
Lüttichau, Lady-in-waiting von Eyben, and the Maids of Honour von Trolle
and Von Wedel, were ordered to return to Copenhagen. This order attracted
considerable attention, though it was stated that the royal family
intended to stay some time in the duchies, and the castle was not large
enough for a numerous suite. Still, these were merely court incidents,
which could have no effect on the state, but ere long other occurrences
happened which related to public affairs. The first of these was the
appearance of Count Shack zu Rantzau-Ascheberg on the political scene.
This gentleman, one of the principal performers in the coming tragedy,
was descended from the oldest family in Holstein. His father, who had
been raised to the dignity of Count of the Empire, in 1728, by the
Emperor Charles VII., possessed the large estates of Ascheberg and
Breitenburg in Holstein, Lindau and others in Schleswig. His son, Shack
Karl, was born on March 11, 1717. At the age of eighteen, he was captain
in an infantry regiment, and afterwards removed to the Grenadiers. In
1746, he became a chamberlain; and after being attached, in 1750, to the
crown prince's regiment as brevet colonel, he was promoted to be full
colonel of the regiment in 1752. In the following July he was appointed
a major-general, but dismissed two days after.
Rantzau went to France, and served under Maréchal de Löwendal; but,
one fine day, he left his regiment in order to attach himself to the
car of an Italian singing woman. During his amorous odyssey, he passed
through all sorts of adventures, and assumed all sorts of shapes, like
a veritable Proteus. At one time, he appeared with all the splendour
becoming his birth and condition; at another, he lived at Rome in a
monk's gown. For some time, he remained _incognito_ with a troupe of
comedians. During this career he often ran short of money, and at
times procured it how he could. He was tried criminally in Sicily for
swindling; and, at Naples, the French envoy had to hush up an ugly matter
in consideration of his family. At Genoa, he impudently drew a bill on
his father, "the Viceroy of Norway," though his father was only a plain
country gentleman, and had turned him up long before.
In 1761, on the death of Elizabeth, when a war was anticipated between
Russia and Denmark, Rantzau had the impudence to offer his services to
Peter III. as a Holstein gentleman who had a right to serve his duke.
His offer was spurned, and Rantzau swore revenge. He wormed himself into
the confidence of the Empress Catharine and Count Orloff; and was mixed
up in the conspiracy against Peter III. As he was coldly treated, and
passed over instead of being rewarded when Catharine ascended the throne,
he returned to Holstein very angry, and brooding over revenge. It was at
this period that his fatal connection with Struensee commenced, as we
have seen.
Soon after the death of Frederick V., Rantzau acquired the favour of
Count St. Germain, who was omnipotent at court; and the latter procured
him the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1766, and, in the following year,
the chief command of the Norwegian army. He behaved in a very reckless
manner, and was suddenly dismissed from active service in 1768, after
Bernstorff and Saldern had succeeded in removing St. Germain from his
post as generalissimo of the army and head of the War Office.[112]
After this, Rantzau returned to Holstein, where he inherited the family
estates, on the death of his father, in 1769.
Through his marriage with the eldest daughter of his uncle, Count Rantzau
Oppendorf, Count Shack had taken a step by which to unite the estates of
the two families; but he led a most licentious life, which resulted in
a divorce, and his poor wife fell into a state of melancholy bordering
on mania. All sorts of gallant adventures had entangled him in duels,
and he had killed several of his opponents. A respected man, whose
daughter he seduced, also challenged him, and was shot by him. Rantzau
was inconsolable at this, begged the widow's forgiveness on his knees,
married her seduced daughter with the left hand, and settled a large
annuity on the mother and her remaining children. But time and fresh
love affairs removed the impression which this sad event had made on the
gay gentleman, and he soon returned to his former licentious life. His
extravagance was so great that he was said to have lit his pipe with
10-dollar notes at some gay parties. But he was a very kindly landlord
to his serfs, so that they positively adored him, and venerated him as a
father.[113]
Though the negotiations for this man's return to court were kept very
secret by the queen's party, they did not escape Bernstorff, who saw
the black clouds that announced his fall continually drawing nearer.
The premier was sincerely attached to the Russian court, and had in
his day effected Rantzau's downfall. Hence he addressed the king in
writing, and called his attention to the displeasure which Rantzau's
recall would arouse in Petersburg. The contents of the letter were
imparted to Rantzau, who, in consequence, promised not to interfere in
the negotiations with the Russian court about the exchange of provinces.
As Bernstorff could no longer prevent the count's return to the service
of the state, he exerted himself to reduce the ill-impression it must
produce in Russia, and thus the last obstacle was removed from Rantzau's
path.[114]
Unfortunately, Rantzau, during his residence at Petersburg, and through
the part he played there, had an opportunity to learn secrets and witness
actions which enabled him to regard the Russian court from a point of
view which it desired to conceal eternally from the sight of the world.
This was the reason why the Russian empress could never forgive Caroline
Matilda and her adviser Struensee for recalling this man to favour.[115]
While the king and queen were at Traventhal, Rantzau was introduced to
them, and had the honour of receiving a visit from them at Ascheberg,
where he did everything in his power to divert his exalted guests.
Each day had its special festivities and amusements: music, hunting,
fishing, sailing on the lake, and rustic sports, which, more than any
other pastime, pleased the imbecile king. The queen, fully satisfied with
the respect that Count Rantzau had shown her, and little dreaming of
the share her attentive host was to have in her fall, gave him a superb
snuff-box set with brilliants, which had cost her husband a thousand
guineas in London.
All the efforts made to amuse Christian met with but slight success,
for he seemed to be sunk in thought, and everything that went on around
him, the numerous changes of situation and persons, no longer produced
any interest for him. The effects of former excesses on his frail
constitution became but too evident, while his mental abilities only
shone forth now and then in the shape of satire. One day, at Traventhal,
when Christian had been bothered with signing the commissions of a number
of new conference councillors, and the matter was talked about at dinner,
the king turned to his favourite dog, Gourmand, lying at his feet, and
said, "Can you bark?" And when the dog, on whose paws Christian trod,
began barking and growling, his master said, "Well, as you can bark, you
can be a conference councillor too;" after which he rose from his seat,
and proposed the health of the new Councillor Gourmand, to which the
whole court responded, in accordance with etiquette. Not satisfied with
this, the king insisted on the same salary being paid Gourmand as his
human colleagues. This joke was a bitter pill for Struensee's pride, for
the Holck faction continually addressed the dog as _Conferentie Raad_,
in mockery of the favourite's new-horn honours.
The recall of Count Rantzau-Ascheberg to court on the part of the queen
and Struensee was only carried out, in all probability, in order to
secure their own position and that of the new household. According to
Reverdil, the latter was very badly selected; two ladies of notorious
gallantry, Von Bülow and Von Gähler, were appointed in waiting, and the
manners of the court were of such a free and easy nature, that even
old Rantzau was surprised at it. "When I was extravagant," he said,
"everybody else was respectable; now that age has regulated my heart
and my conduct, everybody has gone mad. I fell with a great man, and
return with a few scamps." Struensee had, in truth, already commenced
his deplorable system of rendering the court bourgeoise, and keeping
the nobility aloof. He forgot that in this way he increased the number
of his enemies. Up to this time, however, the favourite had formed no
settled plan of action against the ministry. The queen herself had not
the slightest wish to mix herself up in the affairs of government, and
even though Struensee possessed sufficient self-confidence, and felt
himself strong enough to overthrow Bernstorff and the old noble party in
the council of state, he was still uncertain about the consequences of
Rantzau's return, as he was well acquainted with his ambition. But long
before his appointment at court, Struensee had been prejudiced against
the government, and had probably just heard from Rantzau and Brandt
reports, in whose trustworthiness he could rely. What he afterwards
witnessed in Copenhagen only confirmed what he had heard. The principal
charge he brought against the ministers was, that they purposely sought
to turn the king against any participation in government business,
by producing unnecessarily dry and formal documents, and drawing up
the papers laid before him for decision in a diffuse and perplexing
manner. They rarely left the king a choice between two alternatives;
but persuaded him to sanction the resolution on which they had decided
beforehand.
All those persons who took an interest in the king and gained his
confidence and attachment, were systematically removed from him, and
only those whom he disliked retained their posts. The highest offices
were given through favour and intrigues to courtiers, whose sole merit
consisted in the fact that they had been pages, while appointments
of less value were bestowed on the lackeys and domestics of those in
authority.[116]
The whole condition of the kingdom was becoming an anarchy; for no
one dared to exert his authority through the fear of injuring himself.
Every official strove to gain influence beyond his own sphere, and
subordination hardly existed. The state finances were ruined, mostly
through want of order in the administration and improper use of the
revenues of the state. For many years past, the influence which foreign
powers had exerted over the government through their envoys, had been
excessively great and oppressively felt, although a counter pressure
had been attempted by costly Danish embassies. Lastly, public affairs
and the general welfare suffered from the great number of large and
small officials, and a regular trade was carried on in titles of honour
and distinctions. It was, consequently, very natural that Struensee
should try to effect improvements, so soon as he felt his own position
sufficiently secure to enable him to attempt the necessary reforms.
It is equally certain that similar ideas were entertained in another
quarter; for, during the king's journey, general plans for reforming the
administration, and the necessary steps for overthrowing the present
council of state, were discussed by General von Gähler, who had a seat
in the College of War, and Count Rantzau. The private correspondence
carried on between them contained some thirty feigned titles for persons
mentioned in it; for instance, _le silencieux, la bête_, and so on. Holck
was probably meant by the last honourable title. General St. Germain,
who was living in retirement at Worms, was also let into the secret,
as the common friend of Rantzau and Gähler, and informed of the state
of the secret negotiations. Struensee, it is true, did not consider any
one of the ministers as specially to blame for the bad administration;
but Bernstorff was universally regarded as the most powerful man in the
state, and was personally detested by Rantzau. That Bernstorff, after the
return of the royal pair from Ascheberg to Traventhal, was not invited to
dinner, was doubtless done with the object of irritating him, and urging
him to send in his resignation. This hope, however, was not fulfilled.
The overthrow of Holck and his party was a terrible warning for the
premier, and he discovered too late how incautiously he had acted, and
how dangerous his position had become. The support of Russia appeared
to him the only chance of salvation; he therefore informed Filosofow
of all that occurred, and the latter hastened to him at once. But the
time of his prestige was gone, and he only arrived to be an humiliated
witness of the triumph of his worst enemy. Past was the time of the
Russian authority over the Danish court: when the mere threat of stopping
the territorial exchange set the king and his ministers in the greatest
alarm: when an omnipotent Saldern raised and overthrew the servants of
the Danish court in accordance with the interests of his own, enjoyed
honours which had never been granted to a foreign envoy, and carried
through the king's tour against the wishes of all his ministers. Past,
too, was the day when a haughty Filosofow wrote directly to this weak
monarch, when the latter wished to give an important command in his army
to Count von Görtz, a friend of Count St. Germain: "I have orders from
my court to quit yours, and break off all intercourse, sooner than allow
this dangerous and intriguing man to enter your service." Struensee,
whose influence was beginning to spread over all the affairs of court and
state, had inoculated the king with very different ideas.[117]
During the residence at Traventhal, Caroline Matilda presented a pair of
colours to her regiment quartered in the fortress of Glückstadt, whose
commander was Rantzau. The presentation of these colours occasioned
a military festival; and, in remembrance of it, the king ordered his
painter, Als, to paint an historical picture, representing the queen
in life-size in the uniform of a colonel of her regiment. On the 16th
June, 1771, this picture was given by the queen to Count Rantzau, and is
probably preserved by the family as an historical souvenir.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 101: This private journal was kept in 1774. In 1796, when
preparing his "Courts of Vienna, Berlin," &c., for press, my grandfather
endorsed it: "The account of the Danish revolution and of Struensee is of
the highest authenticity, and, at the same time, of the most delicate and
secret nature." A great portion of this narrative has been worked into my
text; but I have not thought it necessary, in every instance, to quote my
authority.]
[Footnote 102: There was no truth in this report, for Struensee was
devotedly attached to a Mrs. B----, whose acquaintance he had formed in
England, and wore her miniature round his neck even at his execution.]
[Footnote 103: Reverdil, pp. 147, 148.]
[Footnote 104: In "Northern Courts" it is stated that the two men were
in love with the wife of General von Gähler, and that the Russian,
knowing that an ambassador could not meet a doctor with the sword, took
the cowardly revenge of inflicting a severe castigation on Struensee
with a cane--a mode of discipline to which he had himself been often
subjected at Petersburg. It is also stated by the same author, that Frau
von Gähler's motive for dismissing the Russian was, because he refused
to join the queen's party. If this is authentic, we may conclude that
the crafty envoy, even at that time, saw in the queen an opponent of the
Philo-Russian policy of the Copenhagen cabinet.]
[Footnote 105: "Authentische Aufklärungen."]
[Footnote 106: "Authentische Aufklärungen."]
[Footnote 107: Struensee had taken riding lessons in England of Astley.]
[Footnote 108: Doctor Johann Scherr, one of the most inveterate
assailants of the queen's honour, does not hesitate to quote in
connection with the "reader," the beautiful episode of Paolo and
Francesca, in the fifth canto of the Inferno, ending with the line:
"Quel giorno più non vi legemmo avante."
]
[Footnote 109: "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 49.]
[Footnote 110: The reader will please bear in mind that the definitive
exchange of the Oldenburg counties was not carried out till after
Struensee's downfall. The original agreement was, that it should be
delayed till the Grand Duke Paul attained his majority, and then he gave
it his sanction.]
[Footnote 111: "Authentische Aufklärungen," pp. 49-50.]
[Footnote 112: According to Falckenskjold ("Mémoires sur Struensee,"
p. 109), Rantzau tried to thwart the Holstein exchange, and made
a conspiracy with Count Görtz and Borck, the Prussian minister at
Copenhagen, to overthrow the Danish government, and bring into power a
party hostile to Russia. This plot having been foiled by Saldern, Rantzau
was exiled to Glückstadt.]
[Footnote 113: Mr. N. W. Wraxall's informant did not mince matters when
alluding to Rantzau, for he said: "He is a most infamous man, a liar,
a coward, a man capable, from the meanest motives, of betraying his
longest and best friends." Cautious Sir R. M. Keith also judged Rantzau
correctly, and wrote about him in a letter to his father: "Count Rantzau,
at this moment Lieutenant-General, Confidential Councillor, Knight of
the Queen's Order, &c., would, if he had lived within reach of Justice
Fielding, have furnished matter for an Old Bailey trial any one year of
the last twenty of his life."]
[Footnote 114: According to Reverdil, Rantzau proposed at this time to
make a league with Bernstorff, the man whom he hated most in the world,
and upset the Traventhal cabal. Of course, he only meant it as a trap;
but it gives a further clue to the man's character.]
[Footnote 115: "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 263.]
[Footnote 116: In the first number of his Magazine, Struensee had
published an epigram, pointed at this state of matters in Copenhagen:--
"An die Fürsten.
Ihr heisst mit Recht die Fürsten dieser Erde,
Denn Ihr erschafft: o schöne That!
Ihr sprechet ein allmächtig: Werde!
Schnell wird aus dem Lakai ein--Rath."
(To the Princes.--You are justly called the princes of the earth, for you
create; ah! glorious deed: you utter an almighty be! and quickly a lackey
becomes a--Councillor.)]
[Footnote 117: "Authentische Aufklärungen," pp. 51, 52.]