STRUENSEE.
1737-1769.
John Frederick Struensee was born at Halle, an old town in northern
Germany, on August 5, 1737. His father, Adam Struensee, was a
zealous Lutheran minister; his mother was the daughter of a doctor
named Carl, a clever man, much given to mysticism, who had been
physician-in-ordinary to King Christian VI. of Denmark. The Struensee
family was of obscure origin. The first Struensee of whom anything is
known began life under a different name. He was a pilot at Lubeck,
and during a terrible storm, in which no other man dared venture out
to sea, he brought into port a richly laden vessel. In honour of his
courageous deed he received from the corporation of Lubeck the name
of Strouvensee, which means a dark, stormy sea--a fit emblem of his
descendant's troubled career.
John Frederick Struensee received his early education at the grammar
school of his native town. It was not a good education, for the
masters were imperfectly educated themselves, but the boy was so
extraordinarily precocious, and had such a thirst for knowledge, that
he soon absorbed all that his tutors could teach him, and began to
educate himself. The wave of mysticism was then passing over northern
Germany, and Struensee's teachers were infected with it, and no doubt
communicated their views to their pupil, for Struensee was all his life
something of a mystic, or, to speak more correctly, a fatalist. Despite
the orthodox Protestantism of his parents, the younger Struensee's
eager and inquiring mind had always an inclination to scepticism, and
before he had attained man's estate he was already a freethinker on
most matters of religion. He seems always to have retained a belief in
God, or a First Cause, but he never had the conviction that man enjoyed
a future life: he held that his existence was bounded by this life, and
always acted on that assumption. Side by side with the mysticism which
was permeating northern Germany there existed a religious revival.
The theory of conversion, whereby a man was suddenly and miraculously
converted from his evil ways and made sure of future salvation, was
peculiarly acceptable to many, and amongst Struensee's companions were
youths of notoriously loose morals who declared that they had suddenly
"found salvation". As this declaration was not always accompanied by
a corresponding change of life, Struensee hastily and unjustly came
to the conclusion that all religion was little more than an organised
hypocrisy. His father's long sermons, to which he was compelled to
listen Sunday after Sunday, left no impression on his heart, and his
sire's private exhortations to his son to change his life, and flee
from the wrath to come, wearied him. His mother, who had inherited
her father's mystical views, and supplemented them with her husband's
hard and uncompromising evangelicalism, also lectured her son until
the limits of his patience were exhausted, and he resolved as soon as
possible to quit a home where he was unhappy.
Struensee exhibited remarkable abilities at an early age; he
matriculated at the university of Halle in his fourteenth year, and he
had not completed his twentieth when he received the degree of doctor.
Notwithstanding these academic distinctions, he was unable at first to
earn money, and his means were so limited that he was forced to remain,
an unwilling dweller, in the house of his parents. Even at that early
age his enterprising and restless mind and his unbridled ambition began
to make themselves manifest; his academic successes he considered
merely as steps towards further greatness. His father used to warn him
against worldly ambition and intellectual pride, but his exhortations
fell on deaf ears.
In 1757, when Struensee was twenty years old, his father received "a
call" to become chief preacher of the principal church of Altona, a
city situated on the northern bank of the Elbe, within the kingdom of
Denmark. This change in the family fortunes was destined to exercise a
material influence on Struensee's future. The young doctor accompanied
his father to Altona, and in a few months was appointed town physician,
and country physician of the adjacent lordship of Pinneberg and the
county of Rantzau. The elder Struensee did not remain long at Altona,
for the fervour of his eloquence soon brought him preferment, and he
was appointed by the Danish Government superintendent-general of the
clergy of the duchy of Holstein, an office equivalent, in influence and
importance, to that of bishop. Left to himself, the young doctor bought
a house in Altona, and set up his own establishment. He entertained
freely some of the principal people in Altona. Struensee was a pleasant
host and clever conversationalist, and early gave evidence of those
social qualities which afterwards proved useful to him. But his polish
was superficial, and concealed his natural roughness and lack of
refinement. He would do anything to gain notoriety, and to this end
affected the bizarre; for instance, he had two skeletons with candles
in their hands placed one on either side of his bed, and by the light
of these weird candelabra he read himself to sleep.
As Struensee's establishment was expensive and his means limited,
he invited a literary man named Penning to live with him and share
expenses. In 1763 the two started a magazine called _The Monthly
Journal of Instruction and Amusement_. The magazine was not a financial
success, and at the end of six months ceased to exist. It did not
contain anything very wonderful; perhaps the most remarkable article
was one headed "Thoughts of a Surgeon about the Causes of Depopulation
in a given country," which was written by Struensee, and contained
ideas on population which he afterwards put in practice. Struensee
also published some medico-scientific treatises, but nothing of any
great merit. He did not distinguish himself as a writer, but he was
without doubt a widely read man; his favourite author was Voltaire,
and next to him he placed Rousseau. He was also much influenced by the
writings of Helvetius. Struensee was a deep, if not always an original,
thinker, and his ideas generally were in advance of his time.
In Altona Struensee soon won a reputation as a successful doctor,
and his handsome person and agreeable manners made him very popular,
especially with women. The good-looking young physician gained through
his lady patients (and it was his boast that women were his best
friends) access to the best houses in, and around, Altona. He made the
acquaintance of Count Schack Karl Rantzau, the eldest son of Count
Rantzau-Ascheberg, one of the most considerable noblemen in Holstein,
the owner of vast estates, a Danish privy councillor, and a Count of
the Holy Roman Empire. Of Count Schack Karl Rantzau we shall have
occasion to write at length later; suffice it here to say that he was
already middle-aged when Struensee met him, and had led a wild and
disreputable life. Struensee was useful to him in no creditable way,
and before long the two became very intimate. They made an informal
covenant that if either attained power he should help the other. But
at present nothing seemed more unlikely, and Rantzau gave Struensee
only promises and flattery, which, however, were enough, for the young
doctor was very vain, and moreover exceedingly fond of the society of
titled and highly placed personages.
Struensee also visited the house of the Baron Söhlenthal, who was
the stepfather of Enevold Brandt, and thus became acquainted with
Christian VII.'s one-time favourite. Struensee had also attended, in a
professional capacity, Madame von Berkentin, who was later appointed
chief lady to the Crown Prince Frederick; and it was at her house that
he said, half in jest and half in earnest: "If my lady patronesses will
only contrive to get me to Copenhagen, then I will carry all before me".
But for a long time he remained at Altona and all these fine
acquaintances had no other effect than making his scale of living
much higher than his circumstances warranted. He became considerably
in debt, and this, added to dislike of his calling, for his ambition
soared high above the position of a country doctor, made him restless
and discontented. He was on the point of resigning his post, and
taking a voyage to Malaga and the East Indies, partly to escape his
difficulties, partly on account of his health, when a very different
prospect revealed itself to him. The night is darkest before the dawn,
and dark though Struensee's fortunes were at this moment, the gloom
soon vanished in the dawn of a golden future.
Christian VII., with a numerous suite, was then passing through
Holstein, preparatory to starting on his prolonged tour in England and
France. The King's health was far from strong, and it was necessary
that he should have a physician to accompany him on his travels; for
this purpose a young and active man who could adapt himself readily to
the King's eccentricities was preferable to the older and staider court
physicians, who indeed showed no inclination to undertake the task.
Struensee strained every nerve to obtain the post, and was strongly
recommended by Rantzau and Madame von Berkentin. The King had heard of
the young physician of Altona through Brandt, before the latter had
fallen into disgrace. Holck also knew something of him, and said that
he would serve. As Holck's slightest recommendation carried weight
with the King, Struensee obtained the coveted post, and was appointed
travelling physician. On June 6, 1768, he joined the King's suite near
Hamburg, and entered at once upon his duties.
Struensee at first did not occupy a prominent place in the King's
suite. His profession of itself did not entitle him to be a member
of the first three classes who were received at court. His position
was a middle one, between the lackeys and those members of the King's
suite who ranked as gentlemen, and it must have been uncomfortable.
Some little difficulty arose as to with whom he should travel, but
he was finally given a seat in the coach of Bernstorff's secretary.
Struensee was not a man to be content to remain long in an anomalous
position, and he proceeded, very cautiously at first, to make his
situation better. As the King's physician he had unique opportunities,
and made the most of them. Christian was a hypochondriac, who imagined
himself ill when he was not, and often made himself really ill from his
excesses; he loved to talk about his ailments, and Struensee listened
with sympathetic deference. The King, who was always wanting to be
amused, found the doctor a pleasant companion. He discovered that he
could talk on a great many matters besides his profession, that he
was widely read, and had a considerable knowledge of philosophy and
French literature, in which Christian was genuinely interested. He
supplied a void which could not be filled by Holck, who cared nothing
for literature or abstruse speculations, and whose tastes were purely
material.
The King's suite soon began to remark the pleasure which the King took
in conversing with his doctor, but Struensee was so modest, so anxious
to please every one, that he did not arouse feelings of jealousy. He
was especially careful to avoid political discussions, and never made
the slightest allusion to affairs at home. He was also very discreet,
and never spoke about his royal master, or his ailments, or made
any allusion to the escapades in which the King and his favourites
indulged. So far did Struensee carry this caution, that during the
King's tour he rarely wrote home to his parents and friends, and when
he did, he restricted himself to indifferent topics. His father thought
this apparent forgetfulness was because his son had lost his head
in consequence of his good fortune. "I knew," he said to a friend,
"that John would not be able to bear the favour of his monarch." But
Struensee had intuitively learned the lesson that the word written
over the gateway of all kings' palaces is "silence!" His position,
though pleasant, was precarious; he was only the travelling physician,
and his appointment would come to an end when the King returned home.
It was Struensee's object to change this temporary appointment into
a permanent one, and from the first moment he entered the King's
service he kept this end steadily in view. Struensee had another
characteristic, which in the end proved fatal to him, but which at
first helped him with both the King and Holck. Side by side with his
undoubted brain power, there existed a strong vein of sensuality, and
he readily lent himself to pandering to the King's weaknesses in this
respect. Struensee had no sense of morality; he was a law unto himself,
and his freethinking views on this and other questions were peculiarly
acceptable to his royal master.
Struensee had a certain measure of success in England, and through
the King of Denmark's favour, he was invited to many entertainments
to which his position would not otherwise have entitled him. His
reputation for gallantry was hardly inferior to that of Holck. It is
stated that Struensee fell violently in love with an English lady of
beauty and fortune, and his passion was returned. He wore her miniature
next his heart, and it was found upon him after his death--but this
rests on hearsay. What is certain, during his sojourn in England, is
that he received honorary degrees, from the universities of Oxford and
Cambridge; and he took riding lessons at Astley's, and became an expert
horseman.
Struensee accompanied the King to Paris, and took part in the pleasures
of that gay capital. Struensee visited the gallery at Fontainebleau
where Queen Christina of Sweden, after her abdication, had her
secretary and favourite Monaldeschi murdered, or, as she regarded it,
executed. Soon after he returned to Denmark Struensee told his brother
that he had been induced to visit the gallery by a dream, in which
there appeared before him the vision of an exalted lady whose name
he hardly dared to mention. He meant, of course, Queen Matilda. His
brother heard him in ominous silence, and Struensee, after waiting
some time for an answer, quoted his favourite maxim: "Everything is
possible".
In January, 1769, Struensee returned to Altona in the King's suite. The
place and time had now come for him to take leave of his royal master,
and retire once more into the obscurity of a country doctor--a prospect
which, after his sojourn at glittering courts, filled him with dismay.
But Bernstorff and Schimmelmann, whose good offices he had assiduously
courted during the tour, spoke on his behalf to the King, and Christian
appointed Struensee his surgeon-in-ordinary, with a salary of a
thousand dollars a year, and as a mark of his royal esteem gave him a
further five hundred dollars. Struensee remained at Altona for a few
weeks after the King had left for Copenhagen to sell his house, pay his
debts and wind up his affairs. He visited his parents at Schleswig to
receive their congratulations and take leave of them. His father shook
his head doubtfully over his godless son's rapid rise in the world,
and his mother warned him against the perils and temptations of the
wicked court. But Struensee, flushed with his success, was in no mood
to listen to their croakings. He believed in himself, and he believed
in his destiny. "Everything is possible," he said. The desire of his
youth was gratified before he had arrived at middle age. He was going
to Copenhagen, and what was more, to court; the future was in his own
hands.
Struensee arrived at Copenhagen in February, 1769, and at first
seemed to occupy himself only with his duties as the King's
surgeon-in-ordinary. But all the while he was feeling his way, and
every week he strengthened his position with the King. It was not long
before Struensee set himself to undermine the influence of Holck. He
first frightened the King about the state of his health, and then
diplomatically represented to him that the immoderate dissipation,
in which he had been in the habit of indulging with Holck, was bad
for him, and should be avoided. Struensee did not take a high moral
ground; on the contrary, he pointed out that greater pleasure might be
obtained by moderation than by excess. He also counselled the King to
occupy himself with public affairs, and so keep his mind from brooding
upon his ailments, and to take outdoor exercise. All this advice was
good, and the King followed it with manifest benefit to his health.
He stayed less indoors, and drove out frequently, accompanied by the
Queen, to the chase, until one day the horses got restive and the
carriage was overturned, and threw both the King and the Queen on the
ground. Fortunately, they both escaped unhurt, but after this incident
Christian became nervous and would not hunt any more.
In May, 1769, the King was pleased to show his appreciation of
Struensee by making him an actual councillor of state, which admitted
the doctor to the third class, or order of rank,[119] and thus
permitted him to attend the court festivities. During the summer
Christian's health became more feeble, in consequence of his epileptic
seizures, and Struensee became resident physician. He made use of this
privilege to observe more closely the state of affairs in the royal
household, seeking always to turn things to his own benefit. He formed
the acquaintance of every member of the household, not despising even
the valets, and studied their character and peculiarities.
[119] To the first class belonged the privy councillors of state, the
generals and lieutenant-generals, admirals and vice-admirals, and the
Counts of Danneskjold-Samsöe (by reason of birth); to the second class
the councillors of conference, major-generals and rear-admirals; and to
the third, actual councillors of state, colonels and commanders. These
three classes only had the right to attend court.
Struensee found that the conflicting elements at the Danish court
might be roughly divided into two parties. The party in the ascendant
was that of Holck, or rather of Bernstorff, for Holck took no part
in politics. But he was supported by the ministers in power, with
Bernstorff at their head, who made use of his influence with the King.
Behind Bernstorff again was the power and favour of Russia. The other
party was nominally that of the Queen-Dowager, Juliana Maria, and
Prince Frederick, the King's brother. This, owing to the unpopularity
of the Queen-Dowager, was small, and included chiefly malcontents, who
were opposed, either to the policy of the Government, or to the new
order of things at court. It was supported, however, by many of the
Danish nobility, men of considerable weight and influence in their
provinces, and the great body of the clergy, who were a power in the
state. In short, it represented the forces of reaction, which had
gathered around the Queen-Mother, Sophia Magdalena, before she retired
from public affairs. It was also supported by French influence which,
since the rise of Bernstorff, had declined in Copenhagen.
Between these two factions stood the reigning Queen. She was neglected
by both of them, but, during the spring of 1769, after the King's
return, she asserted herself in a way which showed to a shrewd observer
like Struensee that she would not always submit to be treated as a
nonentity. The Queen had not yet realised the inherent strength of her
position as the wife of the reigning King and the mother of the future
one. It was a position which would grow stronger as her husband grew
weaker.
Struensee grasped the situation a few months after his arrival in
Copenhagen, and with sublime audacity resolved to turn it to his
advantage. Neither of the existing parties in the state would ever be
likely to give him what he most desired--political power. The party of
Bernstorff would help him in little things. If the doctor proved useful
to them with the King, he would be rewarded with money, a higher place
at court, a decoration, possibly a title. But that would be all. The
reactionary party of Juliana Maria would not do so much; they might
employ him in their intrigues, but the haughty Danish nobility, who
formed its backbone, would never admit a German doctor of obscure birth
to terms of equality. But Struensee's soaring ambition knew no bounds.
He determined to win both place and power, and to do this he realised
that it was necessary to form a new party--that of the Queen.
[Illustration: STRUENSEE.
_From an Engraving, 1771._]
The material was ready for the moulding. The Queen was opposed to the
party in power; she hated Holck and disliked Bernstorff; nor was she
any more well-disposed towards the party of Juliana Maria. Matilda was
young, beautiful and beloved by the people, who sympathised with her
wrongs, and would gladly see her take a more prominent position in
the state. No one knew better than Struensee, the confidential doctor,
that Christian VII. would never again be able to exercise direct power.
He was a mental and physical wreck, and it was only a question of a
year, perhaps only of a few months, before he drifted into imbecility.
But in theory, at least, he would still reign, though the government
would have to be carried on by others. On whom, then, would the regal
authority so properly devolve as upon the Queen, the mother of the
future King? The ball was at her feet if she would stoop to pick it
up. Matilda had only to assert herself to be invested with the King's
absolute power--power which, since she was a young and inexperienced
woman, she would surely delegate to other hands. And here the ambitious
adventurer saw his opportunity.
There was at first a drawback to Struensee's schemes; the Queen
would have nothing to do with him. Matilda was prejudiced against
the doctor; he was the King's favourite, and she imagined he was of
the same calibre as Holck and the rest of Christian's favourites--a
mere panderer to his vicious follies. Shortly after his arrival at
Copenhagen, before he grasped the situation at court, Struensee had
made a false step. He had sought to intrigue the King with one Madame
Gabel, a beautiful and clever woman, who was to play the part of his
Egeria--for the benefit of the doctor. But Madame Gabel died suddenly
and the plot was foiled. The Queen had heard of this episode and
disliked Struensee accordingly. She ignored him, and for nine months
after his arrival at court (from February to October, 1769), he had not
the honour of a word with her. But Struensee was by no means daunted by
the Queen's dislike of him; he regarded it as an obstacle in the path
of his ambition, which like other obstacles would have to be overcome.
He waited for an opportunity to dispel her prejudice, and it came with
the Queen's illness.
Matilda had reached the point of despair. The court physicians
could do nothing with her, she rejected their remedies and turned a
deaf ear to all remonstrances. Matters went from bad to worse until
the Queen's life was thought to be in danger. As we have seen, the
English envoy suggested that George III. should write a private letter
of remonstrance to his sister. Whether the suggestion was acted
upon or not there is no record to tell, but remonstrance came from
another quarter. Christian VII., who had grown into a liking for his
wife, became very much alarmed, and at last, perhaps at Struensee's
suggestion, commanded that the Queen should see his own private
physician, in whom he had great confidence. Matilda refused; all that
she knew of the doctor filled her with suspicion and dislike. But the
King insisted, and at last she yielded to his commands, and admitted
Struensee to her presence. It was the crisis in her destiny.