Chapter XIII: Struensee's Apology (2)

As regards the alleged forgery of the document to prove the receipt of the 60,000 dollars from the king, I declare most sacredly that I intended no fraud in drawing it up, and was not guilty of forgery; that, before his Majesty signed the document, I wrote the whole account in his presence, and that I expressly asked the king for 50,000 dollars for Count Brandt and for myself, and his Majesty granted them; and that I could not notice at this time, nor when he signed the document, the slightest disinclination on the part of the king to our receiving such a sum. With the same certainty I can declare that everything which this memoir contains relating to the motives and inducements of my actions, and the occurrences in which I took part, has been most conscientiously recorded by me, as well as my memory enabled me to recall it. This was not the place to speak about morality, hence I shall not be suspected of having wished to bring forward anything in my excuse in this respect.

_Postscript._

Perhaps it will not be superfluous to add an accurate and definite explanation of my sentiments with regard to the Russian alliance. I was ever of opinion that the king ought to maintain it, and although I was not at first so convinced as I afterwards was of the advantage of the Holstein negociation, still my advice was not to listen to any other propositions in this matter, and to carefully avoid arousing any suspicion of the sort at the Russian court. The insinuations and opinions of others, especially of Count Rantzau, produced but slight impression on me, and much less did I follow them. They were to the effect that we ought not to trust solely to the Russian court, but draw nearer to others, especially the Swedish.

I never noticed any inclination of the sort in Lieutenant-General von Gähler. Since Easter of last year I have never spoken on the subject with any one but the minister of foreign affairs. As regards the Swedish alliance, I believed that it was advantageous, if the king only took that part which the treaty with Russia obliged him to do, but not seek any other influence, especially the influence of money.

These are the true principles on which I acted, although I at times thought and said that the Russian alliance is not the only resource for Denmark, and that it was not well to sacrifice all other considerations to it.

STRUENSEE.

_April 14, 1772._

This apology, though obscure in some parts, is decidedly clever and modest. In any ordinary court of justice it ought to have produced its effect, and the minister who could not be condemned for mere errors of judgment, ought to have been acquitted. But it was the old story of the wolf and the lamb, and the bought judges were of opinion that any rope was good enough to hang a dog.

END OF VOL. II.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 93: Moltke, elder son of the favourite of Frederick V., had but little ambition, but he was ruled by Mademoiselle d'Eyben, first lady-in-waiting on the queen, and this lady was not without ambition, or sense, or disposition for intrigue. Moltke died suddenly, which disconcerted this party: for Mademoiselle d'Eyben, being ugly, could not easily fill up his place.--_Mémoires de Falckenskjold_, p. 181.]

[Footnote 94: The repetition was unavoidable here without breaking the entire sequence of the report of this remarkable trial. I was obliged partly to incorporate Struensee's apology with my text in the first instance, and now find that I am compelled to make room for it here again. I hope my readers will forgive me, in consideration that I have really made very few attempts at "padding" throughout my narrative, and have rather let facts speak for themselves than take advantage of the constant opportunities for fine writing which have presented themselves.]

INDEX TO VOL. II., HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.

A.

Administration, the new one, and its members, 129.

Adeler, major von, 56.

Adultery, on the law of, 237, 250.

Ahrenfeld, major von, a favourite of the guards, 74.

Army, changes in the, 55.

"Atticus," his libellous attacks on the British ministry, 172;
his condemnation of Caroline Matilda and Struensee, 172, 173;
his scandalous charges, 175.

B.

Bang, lawyer in the exchequer court, engaged against the queen, 213;
his indictment and recapitulation of charges, 214-229;
selected for defending Brandt, 255.

Berger, professor, his attendance on the king, 59;
his arrest, 112;
his treatment in prison, and his examination before the privy
council, 201.

Bering, Magnus (_see_ BERINGSKJOLD).

Beringskjold, von, joins in a conspiracy against Struensee, 84-102;
his position and character, 90;
his baptismal name, _ib._;
his rewards, 125;
his punishment, 142.

Bernstorff, count von, his opposition to count Rantzau, 345.

Biälke, von, marshal of the court, 16, 139.

Body guard, its dismissal justified, 307.

Braëm, Conferenz-rath, sends anonymous admonitory letters to Brandt,
3, 17;
one of the judges for the trial of Struensee, 179;
his threats and abuse, _ib._

Brandt, count, anonymous warning letter sent to, 3;
his levities, 15, 16;
receives a second anonymous letter, 17;
his letter of complaint to Struensee, 27;
Struensee's letter to, 34;
his treacherous proposals for arresting Struensee, 47-49;
his duty to find the king amusement, 60;
exposed to his Majesty's mad freaks, 61;
his personal conflict with the king, 62;
appointed master of the wardrobe, 63;
his arrest, 109;
his wretched cell, 110;
cruelly treated in prison, 148;
his conduct, 150;
his curiosity about matters of gallantry, 182, _note_;
his examination before the privy council of state, 184;
his character, 185;
his apparent conversion, _ib._;
was he a hypocrite? 186;
Dr. Hee's character of him, 187;
the Fiscal General's statements respecting, 261, 262;
account of his fight with the king, 278.

Bruhn, the queen's maid, 218, 219.

Budget, the, 349.

Bülow, baron von, 15, 53, 97, 123;
expelled the kingdom, 143;
his opinion of Struensee's confession, 181.

Bute, earl of, libellous attack on, 173, 174.

C.

Cabinet, business of the departments under the king's supervision,
according to Struensee's statement, 346 _et seq._;
plan of conducting the business, 353;
its orders emanated from the king, 355.

CAROLINE MATILDA, the ladies of her court, and her court amusements,
64, 65;
conspiracy against, 84-104; her arrest, 113;
her firmness and desperate courage, 114, 115;
variations in the accounts of her arrest, and the different
authorities, 116, _note_;
committed to the fortress of Kronborg, 117;
her profound grief and despair, 117, 118;
her harsh treatment, 118;
her miserable apartments at Kronborg, 119 _et note_;
persecution and arrests of her friends and adherents, 141 _et seq._;
her two maids of honour expatriated, 143;
sensation caused in England by her arrest, 158 _et seq._;
her defence, 162;
vigorous appeal by Junius on behalf of, 171;
attacks on, and defence of, 175;
her treatment fiendish and cruel, 177;
her trial, 203 _et seq._;
her suite composed of spies and gaolers, 203;
her letters to Sir R. Keith, 205;
letter to the king, 206;
commission appointed to examine her, 207;
her fatal confession, 211;
Lawyer Bang's indictment of, 213 _et seq._;
his recapitulation of charges and accusations against her, and
prayer for a divorce, 214-229;
her advocate Uldall, 231;
and his defence, 233-250;
appeal to the king in her favour, 251;
the sentence passed upon her, 254.

Carstenskjold, major von, 56;
his rewards, 126.

Charles, prince of Hesse, his account of Caroline Matilda's
arrest, 116 _note_.

Chemnitz, the preacher, insults the imprisoned queen, 203, 204.

CHRISTIAN VII., his insane amusement, 59, 60;
his pugnacious propensities, 60-62;
surprised by the conspirators, who compel him to
sign orders for the arrest of Struensee and others, 103, 104;
the conspiracy having succeeded, he makes his appearance in state,
drawn by eight white horses, 120;
a helpless tool in the hands of the new government, 128;
his pretended indictment of the queen, and suit for a divorce,
213-229;
had no idea of the value of money, 319;
his cabinet regulations, and the general rules laid down by
him, 346 _et seq._

Christiansborg palace, commission of inquisition sit daily for the
trial of state prisoners, 152.

Christianity, beneficial effects of, 199.

Clergy, their bitterness against the fallen ministry, 130.

Coffee-house scandal, 161.

Commission of Inquisition, appointed to try the state prisoners,
151, 152.

Commission, general, appointed as a supreme court to try the cause of
the king against the queen, and pass sentence, 212;
members of the court, _ib._;
appoint lawyer Bang to undertake the king's cause, and Uldall, of
the supreme council, the cause of the queen, 213.

Conspiracy, secretly brooding, 81;
leaders found in the higher circles, 84;
their names, _ib._;
forged document employed, 85;
preparations of the conspirators, 98 _et seq._;
the conspirators surprise the king in his bed, 102;
compel him to sign orders for arresting Struensee and others,
103, 104;
completely successful, the principal officers of state having been
arrested and imprisoned, 119.

Copenhagen, dissatisfaction of the people at, 8 _et seq._
(see DENMARK, and STRUENSEE).

Council of State, Struensee's abolition of the, 282.

Court, amusements of the, 64, 65, 83, 136, 137;
great changes at, 138;
rules to be observed at, 350, 351.

Court parties, Struensee's notices of, 333.

Crown Prince, Struensee's treatment of the, 279.

D.

D'Alembert's admiration of Voltaire, 200.

De Flaux's account of Caroline Matilda's apartments at Kronborg, 119.

DENMARK, alarming preparations against insurrection, 67;
public dissatisfaction, 68;
meeting of the royal guards, 73;
behaviour of the citizens, 75;
a formidable conspiracy against Struensee and his government, which
terminates with the arrest and imprisonment of the queen, 84,
107, 120;
tumultuous proceedings, 121, 122;
the new administration, 129;
public thanks offered in all the churches, 130;
police regulations for preventing mobs and street riots, 140;
violent persecutions and punishments, 148;
the _Lex Regia_, 155, 156;
state trials of the queen, Struensee, and others, 178 _et seq._;
sentence passed upon the queen, 254;
state of the kingdom, 257;
and of parties, 341, 342;
general dissatisfaction in, 344.

Dieden, baron, the Danish envoy at St. James's, 168.

Dockyard men, of Copenhagen, their complaints, 11, 12.

Doctrinaire school, Struensee's state paper on the, 34-47.

Düval, captain C., 141.

E.

Eickstedt, colonel von., joins in a conspiracy against Struensee,
84-102;
his position and character, 89;
appointed commandant of the city, 104;
arrests his brother officers, colonels Falckenskjold and
Hesselberg, 110;
arrests Justiz-rath Struensee and Professor Berger, 112;
his promotions, 125.

England, sensation caused in, by the arrest of Queen Caroline
Matilda, 158 _et seq._

Eyben, Fräulein von, the queen's lady in waiting, 220, 221, 243.

F.

Falckenskjold, colonel von, his advice
to Struensee, 13, 14, 51, 52;
his conversation with Brandt, 17;
arrested, 110;
transferred to the navy prison, 111;
his treatment in prison, and his examination before the privy
council, 201;
his opinion of Struensee's trial, 318.

Falckenskjold, Captain von, his rewards, 125.

Fanatical preachers, 204.

Finances, Struensee's alleged malversation of the, 289, 308;
his brother appointed deputy of the, 290;
the forgery, 291, 308, 309, 319;
general rules for conducting the, 348.

Flying corps, disbandment of the, 55.

Foot guards, disbandment of the, 69;
mutiny of the, 71.

Foreign affairs, Struensee's view of, 365.

Foreign department, rules for conducting the, 347.

Forgery, attributed to Struensee, 291, 308, 309;
Reverdil's evidence on, 319;
Struensee's explanation, 364.

Frederick, prince, joins in a conspiracy against Struensee, 84-102;
incident connected with, 95.

Frederick III., of Denmark, 325.

Frederiksberg, residence of the Danish court, 66;
march of the mutinous guards to, 73.

G.

Gabel, Esther, her father's house destroyed by the populace, 121, 122.

Gabel, Frau von, her influential position at court, 334, 335.

Gähler, Frau von, arrested, 143.

Gähler, general von, refuses to join in the disbandment of the foot
guards, 70;
brings a written discharge for the guards, 74;
his arrest, 112.

George III., Von der Osten's insidious communication to, 166;
his reply to King Christian's letter, 167;
declines to interfere actively on behalf of the Queen of Denmark,
168;
attacked by Junius, 169, 170.

Grimm, baron, 83, _note_.

Guards, mutiny of the, 71;
march to Frederiksberg, 73;
discharged, 74;
supplied with provisions by the citizens, 75;
disbanded, 77;
mutiny caused by Struensee's disbandment of the, 287, 288.

Gude, general von, commander of the garrison, 67;
his character, 67 _note_;
arrested, but afterwards set at liberty, 143.

Guldberg, Owe Hörg, secretary to Prince Frederick, 84;
biographical notices of, 86;
his person and character, 87;
leader of a conspiracy against Struensee, 84, 88, 92;
surprises the king in his palace, 102;
his drawn up orders for the arrest of seventeen persons, 104;
chief councillor of the conspirators, 127;
the most influential man in the government, 157.

H.

Hansen, admiral, his examination before the privy council, 202.

Hansen, the preacher, insults the imprisoned queen, 204.

Hee, rev. Dr., 185, 186;
his character of Count Brandt, 187.

Hesselberg, colonel von, arrested, 110;
treatment of in prison, and his examination before the privy
council, 201.

Hirschholm, royal breakfasts at, 321.

Hobe, lieutenant-general von, commandant of the citadel, 178;
examination of state prisoners taken before him, 178 _et seq._

Holck, count, present to, 321;
frequently opposed by Struensee, 331;
intrigues against, 334, 335;
the queen's aversion to, 337, 338.

Holstein, countess von, 97, 98.

Horn, the queen's maid, 218, 219.

Horse guards, disbandment of the, 69.

Huth, von, his reward, 126.

I.

Incendiary placards at Copenhagen, 8.

Italian actresses, their house destroyed by the mob, 123.

J.

Jacobi, appointed reader to the king, 146.

Jessen, Jacob, joins in the conspiracy against Struensee, 92, 94, 102;
his rewards, 126.

Juliana Maria, dowager queen, her plot for overthrowing Struensee,
7, 52;
conspiracy formed by, 14;
heads the conspiracy, 84-104;
causes which induced her to undertake it, 85;
surprises the king in his bed, 102;
induces him to sign the orders for arresting Struensee and others,
103;
fulsome laudations of, 132, 135;
Reverdil's interview with, 145;
her insults to the queen, 203.

Junius, his attack on Lord North and George III., 169;
his denunciation of the Danes, 170, 171;
his vigorous appeal on behalf of Caroline Matilda, 171.

Justice, general rules for the administration of, as laid down by
Struensee, 350.

K.

Kaas, admiral, 53.

Keith, col. Sir R. M., English envoy at Copenhagen, remonstrates with
Struensee on his public conduct, 78, 79;
denounces war against Denmark if the queen were injured, 158;
demands a private audience of the king, 167;
the proposed interview defeated by the Danish ministers, _ib._;
reveals the jugglery practised to deceive the British court, 168;
Caroline Matilda's letter to, 205;
he warns her of the arrival of the Commission, and advises her as
to her conduct, 208.

King's prerogative, 154;
and supremacy, 306.

Köller, von, joins in a conspiracy against Struensee, 84-102;
his position and character, 88;
incident connected with, 96;
vested with full powers for preserving order, 104;
arrests Struensee, 106, 107;
arrests General Gähler, 112;
his
promotions, 125;
to be henceforth distinguished as Köller-Banner, _ib._;
chosen as companion for amusing the sovereign, 128.

Kronberg, fortress of, 117;
the queen committed to the, _ib._;
her miserable apartments, 119, _note_.

L.

Langebeck, Justiz-rath, the historian, his pamphlets against
Struensee, 50, 135.

Law, immutability of the, 286.

Le Texier, master of the revels, 97.

Lersker, chamberlain, assaulted by the mutineers, 71.

Lersner, master of the hounds, arrested, 141.

Lex Regia, of Denmark, 155, 156;
concedes sovereignty but not despotism to the king, 285;
laws of the, 305, 306.

Lühe, Frau von der, favourite of the queen, 252.

Lüxdorph, Conferenz-rath, 8.

M.

Man, is he a machine?, 192.

Materialism, 190.

Matilda, Order of, 269.

Minister of state, duty of the, 283.

Moltke, elder son of the favourite of Frederick V., 333, _note_.

Münter, rev. Dr., his bitterness against Struensee and the fallen
ministry, 130, 131;
his visit to Struensee, 187;
his theologico-philosophical conversations with Struensee in
prison, 188 _et seq._

Mutiny of the guards, 73.

N.

Nobility of Denmark, their lukewarmness, 342.

North, lord, Junius's bitter attack on, 171;
his indecisive conduct, 176.

Numsen, colonel von, 49;
transferred to Jütland, 55.

O.

Oboe, lieutenant, his examination before the privy council, 202.

Osten, von der, his treacherous proposals for arresting Struensee, 49;
his betrayal of the plan, 50;
persuades the queen to submission when arrested, 115, 116;
his principal talent, espionage, 146;
appointed minister for foreign affairs, 156;
his intriguing conduct, 166.

P.

Palace guard, the, 53, 76.

Pamphleteers, restrictions on, 58.

Peter III. of Russia, his overthrow, 90.

Philosophical hero, the, 189.

Press, freedom of the, 50;
restrictions on the, 59.

Prince Royal, education of the, 313, 262.

Privy Council of State, established, 152, 153;
the members, 153, 156;
Struensee's examination before the, 178 _et seq._;
Brandt's examination, 184;
examination of the different prisoners, 201, 202.

Public opinion, Struensee's indifference to, 357.

Q.

Queen Dowager. (_See_ JULIANA MARIA.)

Queen's bouquet, Struensee's sale of the, 292.

R.

Rantzau-Ascheberg, count, remonstrates with Struensee, 81;
joins in a conspiracy against him, 84-102;
his position and character, 88;
his vacillation, 99;
his intention to betray the conspiracy, 100;
pretends a fit of the gout, _ib._;
surprises the king in bed, 103;
undertakes the arrest of the queen,
Caroline Matilda, 113;
the resistance he meets with, 114, 115;
his promotions, 125;
appointed minister for the army, 156;
his opposition to Count Bernstorff, 345.

Reverdil, his character as an honest man, 50;
his political honesty, 83;
insult to, 96;
his arrest, 144;
his interview with the queen dowager, 145;
leaves Copenhagen, and enters the service of the Helvetic republic,
where he remains until his death, 146;
his visit to London, and his statement respecting the Danish envoy,
168;
his remark on Brandt, 182, _note_;
his appeal to the king in Caroline Matilda's favour, 251;
his defence of Struensee, 319.

Römeling, admiral, appointed minister for the army, 156.

Rönpstorff, major von, arrests the town commandant and Justiz-rath
Struensee, 112;
his reward, 126.

Royal family of England, their successive mortifications, 162.

Rumohr, Herr von, 11.

S.

Sailors, Norwegian, their threatening demonstration, 9;
obtain redress, 10;
sent on furlough, 56.

Sames, colonel von, 66;
arrests Count Brandt, 109;
his rewards, 126.

Schack, von, the king's page, 59-66;
appointed reporter for the treasury, 156;
selected to lay before the queen Struensee's confession, which
she precipitately signs, 209, 211.

Schimmelmann, Frau von, 97.

Schimmelmann, baron, tirade against, 163.

Schiötte, Frau, evidence of, on the queen's trial, 240.

Schlemann, lieutenant, 98.

Schulin, count, his house and library destroyed by the mob, 121, 122.

Silk weavers of Copenhagen, their complaints, 11.

Sorgenfrie police, 55.

Sprengtporten, baron von, the Swedish envoy, 80.

Staffeldt, privy councillor von, dismissed, 52, 53.

State prisoners, examination of, before the privy council of state,
178-202.

Struensee, Adam, his fatherly letter to his son, 194.

STRUENSEE, Count Frederick, conspiracy for effecting his overthrow,
7, 14;
his weakness, 10;
Falckenskjold's advice to, 13, 14;
Brandt's letter of complaint to, 27;
his letter to Brandt, a long state paper of the doctrinaire school,
34-47;
Brandt's treacherous proposals for arresting him, 47, 49;
anonymous attacks on, 50;
his indifference to popular clamour, 51;
dismisses several officials of high standing, 52;
adopts measures of security, 54 _et seq._;
his disbandment of the horse and foot guards, 69;
his intentions defeated, 78;
his political blindness and obstinacy, 80, 81;
all parties leagued against him, 82;
conspiracy organised for his overthrow, 84 _et seq._;
orders for his arrest, 105;
arrested, 107;
his miserable cell, 108;
bitter pamphlets published against, 132, 135, 136;
persecution and arrests of his adherents, 141 _et seq._;
cruelly treated in prison, 149;
his despair, 150;
his examination before the privy council of state, 178 _et seq._;
his firmness, 179;
his confession, 180;
his base conduct, 181;
his dishonourable disclosures, 182;
his lame defence, 183;
his habits in prison, 184;
his friends, 193;
the Rev. Dr. Münter's visit to, and their theologico-philosophical
conversations, 187 _et seq._;
a fatherly letter to, 194;
his conversion, 198, 200;
effects of Christianity on, 199;
the Fiscal General's indictment of, 256;
recapitulation of Struensee's life, character, and alleged crimes,
258-294;
his "inhuman" impudence, 275;
his treatment of the crown prince, 279;
his abolition of the council of state, 282;
his disbandment of the guards, 287;
his malversation of the finances, 289;
an accomplice in selling her Majesty's costly bouquet, 292;
the manner in which evidence was raked up
against the unfortunate ex-minister, 295;
defended by the lawyer Uldall, 298-316;
Reverdil's defence of, 319;
his written defence and apology, 329;
his auto-biographical notices, 330 _et seq._;
his position and influence at court, 337-340;
his charge of the different departments of state, 347 _et seq._;
his cabinet orders, 355;
his indifference to public opinion, 357;
a friend to the liberty of the subject, 361.

Struensee, Justiz-rath, arrested, 112;
his treatment in prison, 151;
his examination before the privy council, 201;
eventually becomes the Prussian minister of finances, 141.

Struensee, lieutenant, banished the kingdom, 141;
receives an appointment in Prussia through the interest of
his brother, _ib._

Sturtz, councillor of legation, arrested, 112, 148.

Suhm, von, the historian, drives the dowager queen into a
conspiracy, 85;
his bitterness against Struensee and the fallen ministry, 131, 132;
his fulsome panegyric on the queen dowager and her son, 132;
his warning appeal to the king, 133;
issues a violent pamphlet, 134.

T.

Tacitus, extract from his "Annals" applied to Struensee, 83, _note_.

Theatre, fearful alarm caused by the crying of a child, 138, 139.

Thott, colonel, appointed reporter for the two chanceries, 156.

Treld, the town captain, 119.

Tyge-Rothe, literary cynicism of, 135.

U.

Uldall, lawyer, of the supreme court,
appointed to defend the queen, 213;
his consultation, 229;
his defence of the queen, 233-250;
omission in the defence, 250;
selected for defence of Struensee, 255;
his defence, 298-316;
his lukewarmness, 316;
the advocate Wiwet's reply to, 322.

V.

Voltaire, D'Alembert's admiration of, 200.

W.

Wales, princess dowager of, her illness, 160;
her death, 164;
her character, 164, 165.

Walpole, Horace, his reflections on the successive mortifications of
the royal family, 160;
anecdote related by, 168, _note_.

Warnstedt, chamberlain von, recalled to court, 59.

Winslöw, the celebrated anatomist, 259, _note_.

Winterfeldt, captain, 11, 14.

Wiwet, Fiscal General, receives the king's orders to indict Struensee
and Brandt, 255;
his form of indictment, 256;
his recapitulation of Struensee's life and character, 258 _et seq._;
his ungenerous insults, 259, _note_;
his reply, lawyer Uldall, 322.

Wraxall, Mr. N., his notices respecting the arrest of Caroline
Matilda, 116, _note_.

Z.

Zeeland dragoons, take the place of the disbanded guards, 56.

LONDON:

LEWIS AND SON, PRINTERS, SWAN BUILDINGS, MOORGATE STREET.

* * * * *

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| Transcriber Notes: |
| |
| P.2. Added missing footnote anchor to the letter. |
| P.49. 'chesnuts' changed to 'chestnuts'. |
| P.110. 'Hesselbberg' changed to 'Hesselberg'. |
| P.129. 'ap-appointed' changed to appointed'. |
| P.178. 'favourate' changed to 'favourite'. |
| P.267. 'sufficent' changed to 'sufficient'. |
| P.368. 'Commision' changed to 'Commission'. |
| P.369. Falckenskjold, colonel von, his conversation with Brandt |
| is p. 17, added to index. |
| P.373. 'qeeen' changed to 'queen'. |
| Fixed various punctuation. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+