Life and Times of Her Majesty Caroline Matilda, Vol. I (of III)

OF THE GRANDE MAITRESSE-BARON SCHIMMELMANN-BRANDT'S ATTACK ON HOLCK-HIS BANISHMENT-THE KI

e was a double festivity. All the foreign ministers waited on the king to offer their felicitations; and two days after, the little prince was christened; having as sponsors Queen Juliana Maria, the hereditary prince, and Frau von Berkentin, as proxy for the babe's ailing great-aunt. The queen was attended day and night in turn by the grand mistress, a lady-in-waiting, and the wife

, the perceptible injury he had done his health, his dislike of any employment, the slight respect his people displayed toward him,-might have fostered, in the heart of this far-sighted woman, a h

rigues of the two Russian envoys, Saldern and Filosofow, who had a support in Bernstorff, because with their assistance the latter had paved the way for the exchange of the Gottorp portion of Holstein for the countie

er Mar

directoire. Vous auriez tort de regarder ceci comme une disgrace: Je désire que vous soyez persuadé de

e, &c

t, as he did not seem pleased in Copenhagen, he had better go and live elsewhere. By his own proposal, he received, instead of his annual pay of 14,000 dollars,

sequence was, that Bernstorff induced the king, without any great difficulty, to deprive Reventlow, for whom Christian had a well-founded hatred, of his post, and recall his

ff of Hütten, in Schleswig, retaining his former salary of 1,800 thalers, but with an order to proceed to his new post at once. On the next day he quitted the capital, and never appeared at court again

commission for agriculture," which would be dependent on himself. Count Moltke was nominated president of this commission; and though the old gentleman never regained the power he had possessed under Frederick V., still he became once more one of

. Milady heightened his incipient mania by the excesses into which she led him. He was seen returning one morning, in broad daylight, from her house in a state of intoxication. The people soon recognised him, and pursued him with hootings and insults, until the guards at the palace gates, by presenting arms, offered a melancholy contrast with the preceding scene. This woman led the king on the following nights into the streets, accompanied by one or two persons,-valets or disguised courtiers. They insulted passers-by, and w

distinctions as so many mistresses of his august predecessors had enjoyed. The ministers, at length, resolved to arrest her, and implored the assistance of Schimmelmann and Saldern. The latter ac

gth, and thus obtained presents for himself or appointments for his friends. At other times, his Majesty, lying on the ground, represented a criminal on the wheel; one of his favourites wa

ventlow and Moltke stood to each other; and the fourth minister, Count Rosenkrantz, though in his heart an enemy of Bernstorff, did not dare to openly oppose the premier. Bernstorff had two powerful supporters in the Got

of the Chamber Enevold Brandt was the deliverer of this order from the royal cabinet. The hatred of the Russian ambassadors against Rantzau was aroused by the circumstance that he had taken part in the conspiracy against the life of Peter

little Holck, who, in truth, is also a scoundrel, but better at heart than Sperling. When the king goes to the queen, she tells him he ought to be ashamed; the whole town says that he lets himself be governed by me. She only acts thus out of revenge, because I sent away her flea-catcher. The king tells me all this,

court-marshal for the sake of retaining the king's favour; and, in fact, she strove hard to remove this dangerous young man from court. On the other hand, Holck was no less desirous of getting rid of her constant preaching and reproof. Still the count, powerful though he was, did not succeed in overthrowing Frau von Plessen, for she possessed the queen's entire confidence and affection, and her Majesty had a will of her own. At leng

In obedience to the order, the grande ma?tresse proceeded on the same day to her estate of Kokkedal, situated on the Sound. When the queen heard of the removal of the >grande ma?tresse, she opposed it, but all her objections were unheeded, and sh

estowed on the wife of Privy Councillor von der Lühe, who did not succeed, however, in gaining the affections of her royal mistress, probably because she was the sister of the detested Count Holck. For a long time past, the queen had been very angry with the court-marshal as the king's

rendered himself equally formidable by his imperious disposition. In that country, so says Reverdil, he continued to receive bribes from all parties, as he had always done. He was afterwards mixed up in a conspiracy formed by the grand duchess of Russia against the empress, her mother-in-law. The latter took a noble revenge by dismissing him from her service. He still remain

by employing all his influence to bring about the next episode in the life o

entourage, who led him into incessant follies and extravagance. It was Von Saldern who first discussed this plan with Bernstorff, and when the other ministers were consulted and reluctantly agreed that the king might be induced to live more reputably through an acquaintance with other riders and courts, Von Saldern and Bernsto

being afraid lest the King of Prussia might learn what profits he had made, and "squeeze" him, he retired to Altona. Denmark has always given a hearty welcome to moneyed immigrants. Schimmelmann, moreover, possessed financial ability, and made himself useful in a moment of distress. He made a deal of money out of government, and bought two estates near Hamburg of the crown, and that of Lin

to place in his suite, as a spy and confidential agent, a Major Düring, who had passed from the service of Russia into that of Christian, as aide-de-camp. Saldern's real motive for urging the tour appears

for his young bride, or her fortune-which he very quickly spent, by the way-was so great, however, that he obtained an order from the king to the bishop of the diocese, in which the latter was requested, himself, to examine and confirm the young lady,

the county of Rantzau, in Holstein. Young Brandt was brought up in his step-father's house, and at an early age went to Copenhagen, in order to attend the lectures of the celebrated jurisconsult Kofod Ancher. In July 18, 1755, he was nominated court page,[56] and afterwards studied at the noble academy of Soroe, where he passed a brilliant examination in law, on September 26, 1756. On May 12, 1759, he was appointed an assessor auscultans in the Danish Chancery; on May 26, 1760, a page of the bed-chamber; and on February 24, 1767, an assessor of the supreme court. In Septemb

. In it, he first accused the favourite of ingratitude; "for Count Holck leaves your Majesty at all moments, in order to amuse himself on his own account." Not long before, his Majesty had given up a beloved object with forced resignation, and felt deep sorrow at doing so.[57] He (Brandt) had hurried to Schimmelmann and Holck, for the purpose of describing to them his Majesty's great grief; which, however, had not made the slightest impression on Holck, although his Majesty frequent

nly pursues his own pleasure, and wishes me to sacrifice my name and money. Though I have been so attached to this my favourite, yet he, whose friendship and devotion I purchase with money, whose relations I overwhelm with honours and lustre, and whom I have raised to a position which no other man ever reached

connected with the king by a close friendship. But then the favourite would be put on his trial; he would be judged; and what an opinion would be entertained about his Majesty! The point now was not a sacrifice to be made, but solely to regard matters as they really were. He (Brandt) implored his Majesty not to punish Holck for his audacity. Equally incapable of thinking as of blushing at his bad thou

ually worthless parody of the denunciation, which he handed to the king. In this we find as conclusion, that Count Holck was a young man, according to the laws of nature given to pleasure; but he had never appealed to the king's privy purse to defray his expenses. He had, on many occasions, aided most zealously in executing his commissions. Brandt, however, had offended against the duties of g

ten in French, and signed by the king, was handed to him. It was to the effect, that the atrocious conduct of which he had been guilty, the step he had dared to take, and the object of which was plain to everybody, naturally drew down on him the king's deepest contempt. His Majesty, therefore, ordered him t

in Frau von der Lühe, who took her place, she only saw a guardian and spy. Hence it is not surprising that Caroline Matilda acted on the wise resolution of living in the strictest retirement during her husband's absence. How could she, a girl of seventeen, sympathise with the ladies who graced o

ourt, had been appointed customs inspector at Nyborg, and to whom Christian gave the title of Councillor of Justice, in his delight at seeing a face he knew. From here the journey was continued through the islands, Jütland and Schleswig to Gottorp, where the king paid a visit to the Dowager Margravine of Brandenburg Kulmbach,[58] widow of the late viceroy, as whose successor the king had nominated Landgra

ncesses, had entailed great expenses on the royal treasury. Notwithstanding that the country had been spared the customary princess tax, raised on the marriage of princesses belonging to the royal family, there was a great difficulty in raising the funds for the royal tour. At first 64,000 species a month were granted for it, but this sum was not nearly sufficient for the numerous suite, and it came out eventually that more than thrice the amount was expended monthly. Hence an addition of 20,000 thalers a month was demanded from Copenhagen, an

ompanied by the two Russian envoys, proceeded to Kiel, where the Prince-Bishop of Lübeck paid his respects to him, and Von Saldern took leave for the very last time. In order to give this important Gottorp minister a pro

of his states, and had himself recognised as legitimate owner of them in the treaty which he concluded, in 1720, with Sweden; but the Duke of Holstein protested against that portion of the treaty which despoiled him; and though that prince was at the time very feeble, the King of Denmark in vain offered him a million of crowns to give up his rights. The house of Holstein-Gottorp even

inant influence in Denmark. There is reason for believing that Saldern caused Christian VII. to be regarded as a member of the reigning house of Russia who must be treated generously; so that, feeling himself under the beneficent influence of the imperial family to which he belonged by blo

burg, near Hamburg, where John Frederick Struensee, hitherto physician of Altona, and of

ell-known defence of Jean Calas, King Christian had sent the poet, through Reverdil, a handsome sum of money for the family of the victim of French justice, and their renowned protector had sung the

parts. Still, it was neither these presents nor the lustre of the throne that produced a pleasant impression on foreigners; it was, on the contrary, the king's personal appearance. At this period Christian see

gave the king a hearty welcome; and they all went to Philipsruhe, where Christian spent a week in feasting, dancing, and all sorts of amusement. With his natural expansiveness, the king blurted out to his brother-in-law all he had on his heart. At the first town ball Christian sate down by his side, and said to him: "Listen to me, my dear prince, I have something to say to you. You will hear all sorts of things that have been said about you; I must tell you can

tein and Rheinfels, and travelled on land from Bonn to Cologne and Wesel. After staying two days in the latter town, he accepted an invita

t Brussels, being everywhere received by an enormous crowd, and honoured

ere Captain Campbell was awaiting the brother-in-law of George III. with the Mary yacht, and he landed safely at Dover late on the evening of August 10. His Danish