THE HIGH COMMISSION.
THE TEN PRISONERS--THE REPORT--LIEUT.-COLONEL VON
HESSELBERG--ETATS-RATH WILLEBRANDT--PROFESSOR BERGER--UNJUST
SENTENCES--VON GAHLER--FALCKENSKJOLD AND STRUENSEE--SERIOUS
CRIMES--THE SENTENCE--THE ROYAL APPROVAL--THE FORTRESS OF
MUNKHOLM--THE COMMANDANT--RESIGNATION--THE ORDER OF RELEASE--CURIOUS
CONDITIONS--DEATH OF FALCKENSKJOLD.
After the execution of the two counts, the turn came for the other ten
prisoners of state to be disposed of. In order to justify in the sight
of Europe the sanguinary treatment of the two principal victims, these
prisoners must also appear in the light of state criminals, although no
actual offence could be proved against a single one of them. Although
the grounds for their sentences are of the most paltry description,
it is easy to discover in them that, after the removal of their real
enemies, the dominant faction wished to affect a display of mercy,
probably through fear of public opinion, which was beginning to be loudly
expressed both at home and abroad, about the cruel fate of the two
counts.
The court believed it necessary to lay before the nation in print the
sentences of Counts Struensee and Brandt, and with them a list of
the crimes for which they were tried. This measure, however, had the
contrary effect to what was expected. Nothing was seen in this sentence
but a desire to prove the counts guilty, and a long series of absurd
conclusions, by which it was sought to attain this object: the sentence
on Count Brandt, more especially, revolted every one, and the general
dissatisfaction was unmistakable.[25] Hence, although it was proposed in
the council to lop off one or two more heads, one of the judges, Kofod
Ancher, thought it was time to say to the king, as was said to Augustus,
_siste carnifex_. It was therefore decided that the only victim of
judicial vengeance should be Falckenskjold, who had dared to be an honest
admirer of Struensee, and was really at the same time an enlightened
statesman and politician.
On April 21 a royal command was sent to the commissioners to hand in an
accurate representation of the offences of all the other persons arrested
on January 17, and more especially those who had been guilty of minor
crimes. This order was executed in a "most humble" report, dated May
5. The poor wretches had been allowed to pass all this time in prison,
suffering from the most painful uncertainty.
Frau von Gähler was placed at the head of the list as the least guilty
sinner. She had attracted suspicion--so it was stated in the report--by
her intercourse with Struensee, by an uninterrupted correspondence
during the Holstein progress with her husband in Copenhagen, by her
being selected to be constantly in attendance on the queen, by her and
her husband's decoration with the queen's Order of Matilda; and lastly,
by the rumour that important papers had been entrusted to her care. As,
however, the closest investigation had not produced a tittle of proof
against her, and her correspondence with her husband proved to be of the
most innocent nature, while other ladies who stood under no suspicion had
enjoyed equal favour at court, the commission had discovered nothing that
could be brought as a charge against her.
A similar declaration was issued by the commission in the matter of
Lieutenant-Colonel von Hesselberg. This officer who--on account of the
acquirements he had gained on foreign service, and the intelligence
displayed by him while holding an appointment at the Academy of Military
Cadets, had been proposed by Falckenskjold as lieutenant-colonel of
the king's regiment, because the latter wished to have an efficient
representative, while he went on diplomatic business to Russia--had
received orders to have an eye on Struensee's youngest brother, who was
appointed to his regiment. Such was the state crime brought against this
man of honour by the exalted commissioners.
As an example of the condition of the Danish army at that day, the
circumstances connected with Hesselberg's appointment will be perused
with interest. When Falckenskjold, shortly after his arrival from Russia,
was appointed colonel of the king's regiment, the quartermaster delivered
to him an account of the state of the regimental chest, according to
which there ought to be 25,000 dollars in it. Falckenskjold replied, that
he would take over the chest after a committee of inquiry had sat. The
quartermaster objected that this was displaying an unusual suspicion,
but Falckenskjold stuck to his text, and lo and behold! there were
but 95 dollars in the chest. On his threatening to report the affair,
5,000 dollars were produced, and the quartermaster bolted. A close
investigation proved that the missing sum had been stolen by frauds, in
which the officers were mixed up, and Falckenskjold was at last obliged
to let the matter drop, but for this very reason selected Hesselberg, in
whom he could trust, as his second in command.
The third ill-used man, against whom the commission could not produce a
_scintilla_ of evidence either, was Rear-Admiral Hansen. He had first
formed Struensee's acquaintance when he received orders to join the
Algerine Committee, and afterwards assumed a special command in the
expedition. He had never spoken on any matters but those connected
with the navy to Struensee, and yet was kept for months in prison as a
dangerous criminal.
Equally little could be alleged against Councillor of Legation
Sturtz. His connection with Struensee had never possessed an intimate
character, which was proved by the fact, that he had remained attached
to Bernstorff. The sole reason for his lengthened residence at
Hirschholm, in the summer of 1771, was, that he, as a clever amateur in
portrait-painting, had received a commission to take the likeness of
the queen and prince royal, and the diamond ring presented to him by
the queen for his bride, was only an acknowledgment given him for these
works of art, which are still in existence, and said to be excellent
likenesses. Nor was anything in the slightest degree incriminating found
among his papers.
Lieutenant Aboe, of the navy, was the next prisoner declared to be
innocent. When a cadet he had formed the acquaintance of Brandt, and
became intimate with him, partly on account of the pecuniary assistance
the latter gave him, partly to be recommended to Chamberlain Struensee,
through whose application he obtained the interim post of master of the
crews at the navy docks, and of adjutant to the Algerine expedition. In
the latter capacity he frequently waited on Struensee, and handed in
some pretended ameliorations in the administration of the navy, which,
however, only proved his ignorance. He had no further connection with
Struensee, and was, indeed, offended with the cabinet minister, because
the latter did not sufficiently recognise his merits.
The examination had thus proved that five innocent persons had been
kept in a state of torturing uncertainty as to their fate, and in cruel
imprisonment for four months and a half, while their relatives were
exposed to public contumely.
Of Etats-rath Willebrandt it was alleged that he had been so simple and
bold as to wish to reform the Admiralty College, without having gained
a proper insight of the administration of the navy, much less of the
difference in the business of the department during peace and war, as
he had solely obeyed the order given him to establish the Admiralty
College after the pattern of that of the Generalty. The commissioners,
it is true, declared that it was not within their competence to judge
the value of a plan which in any case had been approved by his Majesty,
and for this reason did not dare to express dissatisfaction with it.
Still they thought themselves at liberty to state that which the result
proved, that a portion of the plan, owing to Willebrandt's ignorance,
produced irregularity and inconveniences, which could only be prevented
by alterations and fresh expenses for the king's treasury. After this, an
allusion was made to the affair with the enrolled sailors, who marched
on Hirschholm in 1771. Willebrandt's offence, therefore--the report
went on to say--consisted in his having undertaken to reform things of
which he had no thorough knowledge, and he thus produced scenes which
might easily have had dangerous consequences. It was not mentioned in
the report, however, that the king had given him this order, that Count
Haxthausen took part in it, and that both, when they drew up the plan,
expressly requested that the new scheme might be previously examined by
professional men.
Professor Berger, the physician in ordinary, also appeared to the
commission to have committed an offence. It was true that all the
medicines found in his house proved to be innocuous; there was no proof
that the steel cure attempted on his Majesty was improper; in the matter
of the rearing of the crown prince he had not agreed in all points with
Struensee, but rather had been the cause that warmer clothing and better
food were granted his royal highness toward the close: it was also true
that he expressed his anger at Struensee having acquired a power which he
considered prejudicial to the nation; but he had given serious offence
by concurring with Struensee, and giving his advice and propositions in
reforms of which he probably knew nothing, more especially in things
which did not concern his trade as physician, or the _res literariæ_
generally. As a proof of this, it was alleged that he had proposed some
persons to fill the places of the dismissed members of the magistracy,
and that Struensee requested him to mention a person who would be
suitable for the chief post in the navy yards. Still the commission would
not venture to judge of the use or disadvantage of such propositions, as
the papers found on the accused and the other prisoners, on which their
argument must be founded, contained no information about them.
This was everything that could be brought against a professional man,
who, in spite of his zealous attention to the king's health, and his
well-earned reputation, was dragged to the fortress, and, like a
murderer, prohibited the use of knife and fork, and was not allowed to
shave himself, or sleep on his own mattress.
If the conduct of the commission had hitherto retained a varnish of
justice, the royal resolution, minuted by Councillor of Conference
Schumacher, and issued on May 18, was a strange proof of tyranny, which
smote truth on the face with open falsehoods. For it was stated in this
resolution, that the persons who had been guilty of the "smallest crimes"
should be punished in the following way:--
Frau von Gähler would be set at liberty, but must refrain from appearing
at court so long as her husband's affair was not concluded.
Rear-Admiral Hansen and Lieutenant Aboe would be discharged from arrest,
and report themselves to the Admiralty College, where they would learn
the king's commands with respect to them.
Legations-rath Sturtz would also be released from arrest, and ordered to
proceed to Holstein. He would retain his pension of 500 dollars, which
had been granted him by the royal resolution of January 26, but must
expend it away from the court.
Etats-rath Willebrandt, after being discharged, would proceed to one of
the small towns in Seeland, where an annual pension of 300 dollars would
be paid him.
Professor Berger, lastly, after being set at liberty, would go to
Aalborg, in northern Jütland, where a pension of 300 dollars would be
paid him, until a post of provincial surgeon became vacant in Jütland.
These decisions the commissioners made known to the persons concerned
with the solemn warning that, after the king had pardoned them this time,
through special mercy, for their incautious, thoughtless, and criminal
conduct, they must be very careful not to give rise to greater suspicion
by word or writing, as, in that case, they would be subjected to a
further examination, and might expect the king's most serious displeasure.
The sovereign lord over the life and death of his subjects was
consequently of a different opinion from the commissioners, who had found
the accused guilty of no offence. But it was considered desirable to get
rid of those persons most hated, and, in order to convict them, it was
requisite to accuse them of offences at the expense of truth.
Lieutenant-Colonel von Hesselberg, who was referred to the Commissariat
College, learnt there that the king had appointed him Commander of the
2nd National Battalion of Schleswig-Holstein. This distinguished officer
afterwards became colonel of an infantry regiment in Norway, where he
died in 1808, a lieutenant-general, and commandant of the fortress of
Bergenhuus.
Rear-Admiral Hansen was informed by the Admiralty that he had forfeited
his post as deputy of the latter college, but would continue to serve the
state. He died a few years after the catastrophe.
Lieutenant Aboe, who also learnt his future fate from the Admiralty,
received orders to pass two years abroad, but retained his commission and
pay. Eventually, he left the service with the rank of captain, set up as
a merchant in Copenhagen, failed, made voyages to the East Indies, and
died after many hard adventures in Copenhagen.
The three exiles, Legations-rath Sturtz, Etats-rath Willebrandt, and
Professor Berger, in obedience to the royal commands, quitted the
capital, and proceeded to their several destinations. When Falckenskjold
was recalled from Switzerland by the crown prince in 1788, he found
Willebrandt still in exile: Berger was a practising physician at Kiel,
but Sturtz had died of grief.[26]
The public of Copenhagen were astonished at this mild treatment of
persons who had been kept in such close arrest. Much worse had been
anticipated. But three state criminals still remained in prison, and
what had been spared their associates, who were punished for having been
proved innocent, could be done to them.
Lieutenant-General von Gähler, Colonel and Chamberlain von Falckenskjold,
and Justiz-rath Struensee, were still awaiting their sentence. But on
May 10 an order had been issued to the commission to lay before the
king a full report of the crimes of these men, for his Majesty's most
gracious consideration and resolution. In obedience with this command,
the commission sent in its report on May 30.
With respect to Gähler, it was alleged that he was mixed up both in
the Traventhal league and the abolition of the council. It was true
that he had denied both, but, on the first point, the letters found
at his house contradicted him. As regards the council, he had not, as
his duty ordered, sufficiently represented the value of the council in
his answers to the questions laid before him for explanation on Sept.
24, 1770, and there were even strong reasons for conjecturing that he
proposed and promoted the abolition of the council, because he was
Struensee's principal adviser about this time. In the same way he had
recommended to his friend Struensee, the abolition of the verbal reports
of the colleges. By this, the general had helped to conceal Struensee's
audacious conduct from the king, and given him, Struensee, opportunity
for filching all the power and authority. It was allowed that Von Gähler,
by his propositions, had no intention of sustaining Struensee in his
situation and promoting his autocracy. Still, he ought, and must have
noticed Struensee's boundless ambition, when he perceived that the latter
"wished to apply the practice of his profession to the state, and began
by amputating from it so important a limb as the council was." General
von Gähler ought the less to have attempted to promote Struensee's views,
as he was not adapted either by nature or Providence to regulate or
remodel a state. He ought not to have furnished Struensee with projects,
all the consequences of which he could not foresee. More especially, he
ought not to have advised the suppression of verbal reports, but to have
always opposed it. But he appeared to have been possessed by a mania
for reformation. As a proof, it might be mentioned that he proposed the
reform for which was introduced into Norway by the regulation of January
14, 1771, that lands, after ten years' tenure, should become freehold,
which no man of perspicuity could have advised.[27] The commission found
a second instance in the reform of the two Chanceries, although the
division of business, according to provinces, had had the best results.
Before all, however, Von Gähler wished to remodel the navy. It was
quite incredible what tricks he employed to get it into his hands, and
the commission reports that the misfortune which befel the Algerine
expedition gave Von Gähler the desired opportunity for effecting it. Herr
von Gähler's crime, therefore, principally consisted in the fact, that
he interfered in everything, and wished to reform all the regulations
of the state, without possessing the requisite knowledge and insight,
without knowing the advantages or defects of what existed, and without
sufficiently pondering over the consequences of his propositions. The
commission, however, could find no excuse in the circumstance that Von
Gähler's proposed reforms only consisted of ideas and thoughts, whose
trial by experiments injured nobody, because most of the affairs in which
he interfered in no way concerned him, and the trouble he took in order
to obtain a justification for doing so, proved a greater offence; for he
had applied to Struensee, a man who was even more ignorant than himself
in such things, and blindly followed everything that was proposed to
him, especially when such propositions suggested radical changes. The
commission, however, would not omit mentioning that the general, since
May, 1771, had possessed no special influence over Struensee, because
he had joined the opposition against the reduction of the Horse Guards,
and besides, he had not commended himself to the cabinet minister, by
representing to him how little the power he had appropriated agreed
with the royal law. Lastly, the general also displayed firmness when
the Foot Guards were disbanded; he had likewise resisted the removal
of the two regiments, and in the Generalty represented to Chamberlain
von Falckenskjold how improper it was to propose the regiment of the
hereditary prince for such a dislocation, without first asking whether
this would be agreeable to the prince.
The second of the criminal three was Colonel and Chamberlain von
Falckenskjold. According to the opinion of the commission, he was the
man who, next to Brandt, stood in the closest intimacy with Struensee.
Perhaps, however, Falckenskjold's notorious dislike of the hereditary
prince, and his bold and manly behaviour in the presence of the
commission, had their share in prejudicing his judges against him, so
that they, through personal hatred, behaved in the most unscrupulous way
toward a man of honour. Professor Sevel acted as inquisitor, and seemed
to find a pleasure in insulting the fallen friend of Struensee by all
sorts of cruel questions. We can form an idea of this man's moral value
on seeing that Sevel, in his examination, so far forgot what he owed to
himself as a judge, as to express his regret that Struensee had not been
murdered by the sailors. In their report, the commissioners first made
Falckenskjold's intimacy with Struensee a capital offence, and asserted
that he had sought to maintain this intimacy so eagerly, because he and
Brandt had received the greatest benefactions from Struensee. The latter
not only conferred on him offices and honorary posts, but also gave him
money out of the royal treasury.
Thus, Falckenskjold, although on May 2, 1771, he had received from the
cabinet treasury, in payment of his travelling expenses to Petersburg,
the usual sum of 400 dollars, obtained on the 19th of the same month
2,000 dollars more, under the same excuse, from the private treasury,
and, after his return, or in a period of three months, a further sum of
3,500 dollars. Of these amounts, Struensee paid him 1,000 dollars under
the false allegation that Falckenskjold had spent them on the journey
from his private means, while the 2,000 dollars were paid him without
the king's cognizance. How he had earned these presents, neither he nor
Struensee would have been able to specify, and the assertion that the
king had promised to pay Von Falckenskjold's debts by degrees, was only
an empty pretext, for the latter had deposited 2,000 dollars with the
minister of finances, and therefore could only have had debts to the
amount of 400 dollars; and moreover, he never expressed the proper thanks
to his Majesty for such large gifts in money. The commission consequently
assumed that Struensee desired to acquire Falckenskjold's gratitude,
and declared in their report that they had strong grounds for believing
that it had been arranged between the couple, that Struensee should be
supported under all circumstances, and guarded against any possible
surprise, on which Falckenskjold's own fortunes also depended.
In understanding with Struensee, he proposed the abolition of the
Chevalier guard, and no other had been more busy than Falckenskjold in
setting at work the cabinet order of December 21. If any event occurred,
and Struensee believed himself in danger, Falckenskjold was immediately
at hand; he had not merely proved his devotedness to Struensee in this
way, but also, for the sake of pleasing the minister, had neglected the
reverence due to the hereditary prince, and in this had gone so far that
he had furnished proofs of it in the presence of the entire public.
Two facts had convinced the commission of this daring sentiment of
Falckenskjold, which was based on affection for Struensee, namely, the
removal of the prince's regiment, and more especially the occurrence on
the walls. The latter event, the commission represented as follows:--
In the spring of 1771, the prince was, one day, riding along the walls
at the moment when Colonel Falckenskjold was "exercising" his band,
composed of hautboists and fifers; the colonel blocked the road, and
marched straight upon the prince. Both majors of the regiment called
his attention to the fact, that the prince was coming toward them; but
Falckenskjold let his men march on. A groom of the prince's now rode
up, and requested room for his royal highness to pass. The adjutant
reported it to the colonel, and asked whether the band should not leave
off playing, and room be made for the prince? but Falckenskjold answered:
"No, not even if the good God were to come along Himself." He allowed the
band to continue playing, and the prince, in order to pass, was compelled
to ride close to the parapet.
Falckenskjold alleged, in his excuse, that he had orders to let the band
play in public places, especially when the king came past, and for this
reason there would have been an impropriety in his stopping the band on
the arrival of the prince. The colonel also observed that, in France,
where he had served a long time, an officer was rarely on guard without
hearing the sentinel shout, "_Aux armes! le bon Dieu arrive!_" when the
Catholic priests passed with the host, and hence it had grown into a
habit to confirm a negative by saying, "No, I would not do it, even if
_le bon Dieu_ were to come." The commission, however, considered that
this sort of defence contradicted itself, and the colonel ought certainly
to have made way for the prince.
Colonel Falckenskjold's crime, consequently, consisted in his having
sold himself to Struensee, in having always had an understanding with
him, in having advised the reduction of both Guards, in having expressed
himself for Struensee's conservation, in having given proofs, on every
occasion, how anxious he was that Struensee should escape a surprise, and
lastly, in having tried, for the sake of pleasing Struensee, to cause
annoyance to his Royal Highness Prince Frederick, and, for this object,
having been so audacious as to neglect the respect due to his royal
highness. Without dwelling on Falckenskjold's numerous and high services
to the king and country, the commission concluded their report with the
disgraceful statement, that they could not refrain from seeing in Colonel
and Chamberlain von Falckenskjold a foolhardy, detrimental, and the more
dangerous man, because he would do anything for money.
The third and last upon whom the commission had to express an opinion
was Justiz-rath Struensee. As he had only been released from his chains
by special favour, after his brother's execution, it might have been
expected that the commission would depict him as a great criminal. It was
quite different, however, though through no love of truth and justice on
the part of the Inquisition, but in consequence of commands from higher
quarters. For Frederick II. of Prussia, who had kept Struensee's place,
as professor at Liegnitz, open for him, while he went to try his luck,
allowed his minister, Herr von Arnim, whose tutor Struensee had been, to
employ his master's name in claiming him.[28]
The report on this prisoner of state, after opening with the statement
that Justiz-rath Struensee, though he only possessed a theoretical
knowledge of the laws and constitution of Denmark, readily accepted
a seat as deputy in the Financial Department, and had the special
inspection of the Mint, the Bank, and the course of Exchange--in the hope
of obtaining a better knowledge of these branches of the administration
by industry and work--acknowledged his irreproachable conduct in the
latter respect, and added the remark, that the commission could express
this with the greater confidence, as the College of Finances, at their
request, had had the matter examined by an authority on the subject.
As concerned his functions as deputy of the finances generally,
however, the commission must blame Justiz-rath Struensee for a tendency
to foolhardy boasting about services which he had not rendered, and
arbitrariness in financial matters, as he wrote to a friend that all the
others in the Financial College understood nothing, and eventually strove
to become _Contrôleur Général des Finances_.
Although, as regarded his official administration as deputy, there were
no positive proofs that he had abused his charge to the injury of the
king and country for his own interest, yet there was a tolerably strong
presumption that, with the help of his brother and his office, he wished
to render all the subjects in Denmark tributary to a few Brandenburg
partners, who were to hold the salt and tobacco monopolies, in exchange
for profits promised to him and his brother. As regards the salt-farming,
the commission allowed that the Justiz-rath had accepted no benefit
for himself, but annually paid over to the king the 10,000 dollars
intended for himself. In the matter of the tobacco-farming, however,
some suspicion clung to him that he, contrary to his brother's advice,
accepted the two shares offered him to promote the affair. But although,
in spite of all Justiz-rath Struensee's allegations to the contrary,
the strongest presumptions existed against him and his integrity,
the commissioners felt themselves bound to state that it was not his
intention to deprive the Danish tobacco-planters and spinners of their
livelihood, as the farming proposition was not carried into effect.[29]
However--thus runs the forced conclusion of the report:--the reports as
to the Justiz-rath's former life in Prussia are generally satisfactory,
and he is honoured with the distinguished favour of Prince Henry, the
brother of Frederick II., who takes a lively interest in him, and
considers him incapable of any serious crime. Besides, no traces had been
found that the Justiz-rath had intrigued with his brother, and just as
few that he had interfered in things that did not concern him. Finally,
it could not be alleged as an offence that he received 4,000 dollars
from the private treasury, under the title of gratifications, because
the first 2,000 were given him with the king's assent, and there was no
evidence of his being aware that the other 2,000 were paid him without
the cognizance of the king.
After the commissioners, probably with a heavy heart, had closed their
report in so mild a way, there followed, on June 12, 1772, a royal
resolution, containing his Majesty's "will and commands" respecting the
crimes of Lieutenant-General von Gähler, Colonel and Chamberlain von
Falckenskjold, and Justiz-rath and Deputy of Finances Struensee. The king
had learned from the report of the commissioners that--
Von Gähler generally undertook to remodel and reform the whole
arrangements of the state, though he possessed no vocation or knowledge
for it; further, that Von Falckenskjold devoted himself entirely to
Struensee, was joined with him in a portion of his injurious enterprises,
and declared himself in favour of his conservation, and on all occasions
furnished proof of this, and displayed a further audacious mode of
behaviour; and that, lastly,
Strong presumptions existed against Justiz-rath Struensee and his honest
performance of his duties, and that he had not fully consulted with
the other persons concerned on matters that came before the College of
Finances.
For this reason, the commission would make known to Lieutenant-General
von Gähler, that, on account of his thoughtless and improper undertaking,
he was dismissed from the king's service, had forfeited the royal favour
granted him in the decree of March 26, 1767,[30] and must at once
select a spot in the Danish monarchy--Seeland, Fühnen, and Schleswig
excepted--where he would permanently reside, and commence his journey to
it immediately after leaving the castle. At the same time, the commission
would seriously warn him, under threats of the royal displeasure, not to
speak or to write about public affairs, as his Majesty, through special
clemency, granted him a pension of 500 dollars, and the same to his wife.
The commission would demand of Colonel von Falckenskjold the
chamberlain's key and the Russian order, and announce to him that, in
consequence of his audacious and detrimental behaviour, he would be
conveyed to the fortress of Munkholm, and be imprisoned there for life,
half a dollar a day being allowed him from the treasury for his support.
Lastly, the commission would announce to Justiz-rath Struensee that, as
he had caused his arrest by his own suspicious behaviour, he was now
released from it, but he must leave the country at once, after making a
promise, on oath, to reveal neither in writing nor verbally anything he
knew about the Danish state affairs, and neither to write nor to speak
about the events which had lately occurred in Copenhagen, and he would
also begin his journey immediately he was released from the castle.
The fate of the three men was very different. Poor Von Gähler died in
exile; Justiz-rath Struensee became Minister of State in Prussia, where
he acquired a considerable fortune; he was ennobled in 1789 by the same
court of Copenhagen which had his brother's escutcheon broken by the
executioner.[31]
As for the third person, he shall tell us his story himself, as it throws
such an extraordinary light on the treatment of state prisoners at a
period within a hundred years of our own.
FALCKENSKJOLD'S ABODE AT MUNKHOLM.
On June 12, 1772, Sevel, accompanied by the commandant of the marines and
several officers, entered my prison and told me that the king stripped me
of all my offices and the military order of Russia, and that I should be
transported to a rock and be detained there for the rest of my days.
The crowd of people who entered with Sevel had so deafened me, that a
portion of what he said escaped me.
I begged him to repeat how long I was to remain in detention.
_For your whole life_, he replied, with a grin which I fancy I can still
see.
The commission had doubtless made a report. I requested the communication
of it--it was refused me. I was promised a copy of my examination, but
was unable to obtain it.
Thus I was deprived of every document that might one day be useful in
proving my innocence.
On June 26, I was taken on board a merchant vessel the Admiralty had
freighted in order to go to Munkholm, my place of destination; a sergeant
and four grenadiers of Prince Frederick's regiment, chosen by Eickstedt,
were ordered to guard me on board the vessel; two grenadiers with drawn
sabres were to watch me and prevent me from speaking.
I have since learned that the sergeant commanding this guard, had a
promise of being made lieutenant if he could induce me to take any step
which would cause me to be landed at Munkholm in chains. But the skipper
had declared to the Admiralty that he would not allow any one but himself
to give orders, and that if he required the guard, he would summon it.
This worthy man contrived to make himself respected, and to protect me
from ill treatment.
The vessel touched at Christiansund, where a part of its cargo was to be
delivered. A custom-house clerk came on board and wanted to speak with
me. He wished to insult me, as he had been dismissed in 1763 from his
rank of lieutenant; observe, that I had no part in military affairs till
1771. I heard his conversation on this subject with the master, who saved
me this annoyance.
The vessel arrived at Munkholm on August 4th, and I parted, not without
regret, from this honest skipper, who had so generously protected me.
The fort of Munkholm is situated on a barren rock four hundred paces
in circumference, in the middle of the sea, half a league from
Trondhjem,[32] toward the 64° of northern latitude. During the winter it
is covered with an almost continual fog; the snow hardly remains there
eight days in succession; but it freezes there from the beginning of
September, and snow falls in the month of June.
The only inhabitants of this place consisted of a detachment of the
garrison of Trondhjem, the fort commandant, the officers under him, and
the prisoners guarded there.
I was lodged in a low room a little above the ground-floor. Its planks
and walls were damp, and the snow fell into it in a fine rain when it
thawed. Under the window was a cistern of stagnant water; this lodging,
which was also surrounded by the quarters of the soldiers and the
prisoners, whose cries stunned me, was assuredly not good; but I was
alone in it, had plenty of books, enjoyed the liberty of walking on the
ramparts when I pleased, and I felt much less unhappy than in Copenhagen;
everything is relative.
I had been warned that the water of the fort was unhealthy, and produced
gravel. I asked if I could have any other, and they offered me spirits,
the beverage _par excellence_ at this spot, but it was worse for me than
bad water.
I could not procure good bread; old bread, partly spoiled, was purchased
for the prisoners, which cost 12 per cent. less than the ordinary bread.
Though the government had confiscated 8,000 crowns belonging to me, it
only allowed me half-a-crown a day for my subsistence.
A battalion of the Delmenhorst regiment was in garrison at Trondhjem; I
had served in this regiment, and found at Munkholm soldiers of a company
I had formerly commanded. They formed a plan for carrying me off and
deserting, but not having been able to communicate their plan to me, they
deserted without me, and tried to reach Sweden overland; a detachment,
sent in pursuit, caught them and brought them back.
The solders, generally, were in a profound state of wretchedness and
demoralisation; the spirits and herrings on which they lived diffused a
frightful stench, and I had a difficulty in protecting myself against
their uncleanliness.
Everything here depended on Lieut.-General von der Osten, grand bailiff
and governor of Trondhjem: he was said to be fond of presents, and did
not hesitate to ask them, and I had none to offer him. The commandant
of Munkholm, on my arrival, had been a servant and woodcutter to a
Copenhagen tradesman. He was first a gunner, then non-commissioned
officer in the militia, afterwards a spy, captain of a company of guides,
inspector of an hospital, and, lastly, commandant of Munkholm. This
man, who was extremely brutal and coarse, was frequently intoxicated;
he called himself an atheist, believed himself an engineer, astronomer,
tactician, and decided on everything without allowing an answer; he
declaimed a great deal, though I could not learn why, against Counts von
Bernstorff and St. Germain.
A poor author, a very pious man, who was placed here because he had the
simplicity to believe in the freedom of the press, had become, on account
of his devotion, odious to the commandant, who used to beat him. He also
treated very badly another person who had held a post at court, although
the latter made him presents.
The other officers were given up to the most disgusting intoxication.
I took great care to avoid these gentlemen, and only spoke to them when
I could not help it. I do not believe it would have been very difficult
for me to escape from this fortress, and, perhaps, Guldberg offered me
the means by proposing to me a retreat at Vardohuus,[33] under the polar
circle. But, I said to myself, what should I go so far to seek? more
injustice and persecution!
What had been done to me gave me a sort of disgust for human society. I
had wished to render myself illustrious by arms--the perusal of the lives
of celebrated warriors had inflamed my imagination at an early age. I
aspired to become one day the rival of the Löwendahls and the Münnichs.
My studies, my reflections, were all directed to this object. On emerging
from childhood I took up arms and sought combats--I followed this career
successfully. I was summoned to aid in the reformation of my country and
the amelioration of its condition. I quit with regret the mode of life I
had chosen and loved; I arrive, I consecrate my efforts, all my thoughts
to this new task, and persecution, exile and contumely are my reward! No,
I will not take a single step to return to society; I was never a man of
pleasures, though not at all insensible to the enjoyments designated by
that name; I shall, doubtless, learn to forget them. Society has rejected
me; they refuse to allow me any part in its joys and honours, and I have
been relegated to this rock. Well, then, let us perform our task apart,
let us work to render this state supportable, and to depend on others as
little as possible.
I daily confirmed myself in these thoughts--a favourite and habitual
subject of my reveries--and this has decided the rest of my life.
I should be satisfied if I had a healthy lodging, good water, and if I
were not obliged to speak to the people who surround me.
The taste for study is a great resource for me. I read a great deal with
a pen in my hand; on the margin of my books I note my souvenirs, my
reflections, and trace the details of the campaigns I have been through,
and develope the considerations I had sketched about the military
condition of Denmark. I still like to occupy myself with society as a
simple spectator, though I have no desire to act a part in it. I like
to dream awake while walking. The ramparts are the ordinary scene of my
promenades.
Thence, when the weather is fine, I perceive the mountainous coasts of
the mainland, the rocks, the valleys, the forests, the habitations,
which form varied scenes, the islets and shoals with which the coast
is studded. Sometimes I discern in the distance a vessel which is,
perhaps, bringing me books; more frequently I watch the departure of the
fishermen's boats, or else see them return, uttering shouts of joy and
triumph, with the booty they have gained by so much fatigue and boldness
in the dangerous Northern Seas.
I also take pleasure in contemplating the fury of the waves raised by
storms, and which break against the rock on which I am a captive.
In the months of July and August the coast of Norway offers an aspect
of magnificent vegetation; the navigation is active; clouds of birds
appear to animate the rocks that border the shore; the sky is pure, and
the view enjoyed from Munkholm is enchanting. The nights, especially,
have a peculiar charm; the air has something unctuous and _suave_, which
seems to soften my melancholy reveries; the nights at this period are a
species of twilight, for at midnight it is clear enough to read even the
finest type.
I have found in an external staircase a spot which has grown my favourite
asylum, even when winter has commenced. There I am sheltered against the
north winds; there, and in the company of my books, wrapped up in an old
bearskin coat, I feel less a prisoner than elsewhere; though the eyes of
the sentry plunge into the spot, my presence in it could not be suspected.
Since the commencement of my stay on the island, I have regulated the
employment of my time. I rise in summer at daybreak, and in winter at
eight o'clock. I employ the first hour of the day in pious meditations;
I then occupy myself with readings that require some mental effort; a
short walk precedes my dinner; I take a longer walk after the meal.
Reading the newspapers, romances, or theatrical pieces, generally ends my
evenings. The days on which the public papers arrive are holidays with
me. The fort chaplain pays me a visit now and then: the one who held this
office on my arrival has been removed to Bergen. His conversation caused
me pleasure, and that of his successor pleases me no less; I have found
them both enlightened, charitable, disposed to relieve me by consolatory
discourses, and by procuring me books. The Danish clergy, generally,
are distinguished from the rest of the nation by their virtues and
information.
When the weather is bad, I walk in a large room in the tower of the
fortress; this room served as a lodging for Count von Griffenfeldt. He
was the son of a wine-merchant, and rose by his merit to the place of
grand chancellor of the kingdom and the dignity of count. He governed
the state wisely; if he had retained the power, he would have prevented
the wars that ruined Denmark under Christian V. His enemies had him
condemned to the punishment which the unhappy Struensee underwent; but
on the scaffold itself the penalty of death, which had been too hasty,
was commuted, as if by mercy, into a confinement on this rock, where he
prolonged his wretchedness for nineteen years, and died of the gravel.
"Such," I said to myself, "is the fate which menaces me; but I shall
not wait so long for it, for I believe that I can already feel the same
malady."
In October, 1774, the marriage festival of Prince Frederick was
celebrated, and at this very period a despatch arrived for the commandant
of Munkholm. He was recommended greater severity with his prisoners, and
especially with me. This letter of General Hauch's was certainly not
written with the intention of my seeing it, but it was shown me by the
commandant. His attentions to me did not escape my notice; he, doubtless,
wished to make me feel them; what did he expect from me?
On March 1, 1775, a lodging was assigned me in another house, which
had just been finished. I was given two rooms, but did not gain by the
change. The other buildings of the fort, and in particular the one I
had inhabited, were sheltered by the ramparts, while the new house,
built in the angle of a lofty rock, was exposed to the north, east, and
west winds. The beams that formed the walls did not join, any more than
the planks of the floor; under my lodging a cellar seemed to breathe an
icy blast through the openings in the flooring. The stove intended to
heat the room could not protect me from the cold; yet its effect was
sufficient when the snow fell to dissolve it into rain in the apartment;
and it is in such a habitation, under the 64° of northern latitude, that
I write this description, which is not exaggerated.
In November, 1775, I was attacked by an hemorrhoidal colic, which caused
me such pain as to draw shrieks from me. The surgeon who attended me
evidently thought my condition desperate. The pain grew less, however;
I needed rest, and begged the sentry not to let any one enter. I was
beginning to sleep, when the commandant arrived; he entered in defiance
of my orders, woke me, and said that as I was on the point of death, I
ought to make haste, and leave a will in his favour; I evaded this by
answering him that I did not intend dying yet. He assured me again that
I must believe him, because he was commandant: I made no answer, and he
went off growling, and soon after made a frightful disturbance, alleging
that an attempt was going to be made to carry me off, and that a boat had
been noticed in the neighbourhood.
Early in 1776, the commandant of Munkholm was removed, and Major Colin
took his place.
This new commandant, two days after his arrival, sent me a bottle of good
water, bread, and fresh butter; this procured me the best meal I had yet
had. Under this commandant I enjoyed great tranquility and greater ease.
I relieved myself by writing these memoirs, and I fancied that I felt
less resentment at the evil that had been done me, in proportion as I
wrote the narrative of it.
It is certain that fate has been very contrary to me. I joined to the
passion of arms a taste for meditation, study, and retirement. I eagerly
desired to acquire glory, but an independence would have been sufficient
for me: I could not hope for either now.
Some one once said to Count de St. Germain, that it was surprising he
should resolve to quit the service of France, when he had 60,000 livres a
year from the king's bounty; he answered, that 100 crowns a year composed
his whole patrimony, but he would sooner live on that than endure
affronts.
This answer struck me, and I resolved to save all I could, so as to
acquire an independence. I possessed, in 1771, 8,000 crowns, which I had
entrusted to Schimmelmann, while awaiting the opportunity to sink them
in an annuity. If I did not succeed in a military career, I hoped with
this resource to procure a retreat in an agreeable country, and in a warm
climate.
Now, my money is lost, I have no longer a career to follow, and I am a
prisoner for life on a rock in 64° of northern latitude: but how great
was my folly in leaving the service of Russia to come to Denmark!
I was making these sad reflections when, on September 25, 1776, I was
informed by a note from Lieutenant-General von der Osten, grand bailiff
and commandant of Trondhjem, that I should receive a visit from him. I
had not recovered from the surprise this note caused me, when Von der
Osten himself appeared, followed by the commandant, a surgeon, and his
valet. He hurriedly entered my room, shouting, _Pardon, pardon, in the
king's name!_ He held in his hand a portfolio full of papers, among which
were--
1. An order for my release, addressed to General Hauch, in his quality of
first deputy of the College of War: this order was signed by the king,
and countersigned by Guldberg, under date, Frederiksborg, August 21, 1776.
2. An order to the same effect, addressed to the commandant of Munkholm.
3. An instruction referring to the engagement I was to sign and seal
before obtaining my release.
These three documents were to the effect that his Majesty, on the
intercession of his Royal Highness Prince Frederick, his beloved brother,
consented to pardon me by liberating me from the captivity in which I
was at Munkholm, upon the following conditions:--
I. That I should leave Trondhjem by sea, to proceed to the northern coast
of France, and thence directly and immediately either to Provence or
Languedoc, at my choice.
II. That I would pledge myself never to return to Copenhagen, or the
king's states.
III. That I would not leave the country to which I was sent without the
king's permission, and that I would not make frequent journeys.
IV. That I would not approach the town of Orange (where Rantzau had taken
up his abode).
V. That I would not enter the service of any foreign power.
VI. That I would not act, write, or speak in any way against the king or
the royal family.
VII. That I would take no part in affairs of state.
If there was no vessel ready for me to embark, I was allowed to remain
at Trondhjem; but I must not leave the town without the governor's
permission, or go further than a league from it. The king granted me for
my journey 800 crowns of the money which had belonged to me, and hopes
were held out of a pension.
The instruction concerning my engagement was very long. Guldberg, who had
drawn it up, had interlarded it with a good many religious motives: he
even alluded to the efficaciousness of Christ's blood; but, after all,
it was probably to him that I owed the amelioration in my fate.
General von der Osten added to the conditions various articles, by which
he hoped to pay court to the minister.
I signed what was asked, and though I felt perfectly well the value of
an engagement imposed on a man who had not been legally convicted of any
crime, I resolved to observe it. When this act was regularly drawn up,
the general, in order to give the circumstance greater _éclat_, had me
bled by his surgeon-major, after which he proposed to me a bottle of red
wine to restore my senses.
I excused myself by observing that I did not drink, and offered him a
liqueur, of which I possessed two bottles.
"I could carry them off," he said, after examining them; "but this
commission must be worth more than that."
This was giving me to understand that he reckoned on a goodly portion of
my 800 crowns. It may be supposed that my intentions on this point did
not at all accord with his.
There was no vessel at Trondhjem destined for France, and I could not
expect one for a long time, as from the beginning of September till the
end of April the sea is very stormy in these latitudes, and hence I
should have to wait eight full months before I could depart.
In this situation I wrote to the court to offer my thanks for the mercy
shown me, and to obtain permission to proceed to my destination by land.
In the meanwhile I remained at Munkholm, hoping to be less exposed there
to the importunities of the general. The court of Copenhagen rejected my
request, but allowed me to take ship for Holland.
Three vessels were preparing to sail for Amsterdam, one of which belonged
to Trondhjem, and General von der Osten wished me to take passage in it;
but I gave the preference to a Danish ship.
The general offered me the services of his valet, to prepare a gold-laced
coat; but this offer did not tempt me. I set out with my bearskin
pelisse, which composed my wardrobe. I also carried off my 800 crowns,
without leaving one for the general.
The three vessels bound for Amsterdam set sail from Trondhjem on October
16; two perished: the one I was on board reached Christiansund, where
we remained till February 16. After a stormy navigation, we reached
Amsterdam on March 10.
On April 12, 1777, I arrived at Montpellier, where I fixed my domicile.
* * * * *
In 1780, Falckenskjold received permission to retire to the Pays de Vaud,
where his friend Reverdil invited him, and he established his home at
Lausanne. In 1787, the court of Petersburg proposed to him to re-enter
its service; he was offered the post of chief of the staff in the army
intended to act against the Turks. But, finding himself bound by the
engagements he had made, he replied, that he could not accept the offer
without the formal consent of the court of Copenhagen; and this court
refused its assent, under the pretext that it needed his services. At the
same time, it permitted Falckenskjold to return to Copenhagen, and seemed
disposed to revoke his order of banishment.
In the spring of 1788 he went to Copenhagen, but his reception there was
such that he longed to return to his retreat at Lausanne. He obtained
permission to go back, and, having recovered a portion of his property,
which the state had seized, he invested it in annuities in the French
funds. In the same year, war having broken out between Denmark and
Sweden, the Danish government recalled Falckenskjold, conferring on him
the rank and pay of a major-general; but when he was going to set out he
learned that peace was signed, and he was saved the journey.
His pay and savings enabled him to live comfortably, with such friends as
Gibbon and Reverdil; and he kept his health till the last two years of
his life, when he was attacked by a gouty rheumatism, the seeds of which
he had contracted in his Munkholm prison. He died on September 30, 1820,
at the age of eighty-two years and a few months.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 25: "Authentische Aufklärungen," p. 246.]
[Footnote 26: "Mémoires de Falckenskjold," p. 252.]
[Footnote 27: The judges could not have brought forward a greater proof
of their ill-will than this. For even the usurping faction did not
dare upset this regulation, which was so useful for the cultivation of
desolate districts in Norway.]
[Footnote 28: Reverdil, p. 437.]
[Footnote 29: The judges evidently acted on the principle that if they
threw mud enough, some of it would be sure to stick.]
[Footnote 30: The royal promise to grant him a pension of 3,000 dollars
when he retired from active service.]
[Footnote 31: Struensee's younger brother, the lieutenant in
Falckenskjold's regiment, also obtained employment in Prussia.]
[Footnote 32: Canute the Great, A.D. 1028, founded on Munkholm a
Monastery of Benedictines, the first of that order established in Norway;
a low round tower is all that remains of it, and this is within the walls
of the fortress. It was in a small gloomy chamber in this tower that the
Staats minister of Denmark, Graf von Griffenfeldt, was immured from 1680
to 1698. He was originally, Peter Schumacker. This dungeon is no longer
shown; but it is said that he had worn a deep channel in the pavement in
walking up and down, and indented the stone table where he had rested
his hand in passing it. This fortress has ceased to be used for state
prisoners, but it is still the dark and solitary rock which Victor Hugo
has described in his "Hans of Iceland," looking more like a prison-house
than a fortress.--_Murray's Handbook_ for Denmark, &c.]
[Footnote 33: A small fort built by King Christian IV., more than 200
years ago, as a protection for the Danish fisheries, and to guard against
Russian encroachments in the Varanger Fjord.--_Murray's Handbook_ for
Denmark, &c.]