And what did Caroline Matilda think of her reception? An opinion can be formed from the following interesting letter which she wrote home, describing her voyage and arrival in Copenhagen, to her brother the Duke of York:—

Copenhagen, December 25, 1766.
Sir and dear Brother,

As this epistle will exceed the bounds of a common letter, you may call it Travels through part of Germany and Denmark, with some cursory remarks on the genius and manners of the people.

Our navigation, though fortunate enough, seemed to me tedious and uncomfortable. I almost wished a contrary wind had driven me back to that coast from which I had sailed with so much regret. Were I a man, I do not think I should envy you the mighty post of admiral, as I am a true coward on the main. Though I found the opposite shore very different from that of England, in regard to populousness, agriculture, roads and conveniences for travelling, I was glad to be safely landed, and vowed to Neptune never to invade his empire; only wishing that he would be graciously pleased to let me have another passage to the Queen of the Isles. What I have seen of Germany exhibits a contrast of barren lands and some few cultivated spots; here and there some emaciated cattle, inhospitable forests, castles with turrets and battlements out of repair, half inhabited by counts and barons of the Holy Empire, wretched cottages, multitudes of soldiers, and a few husbandmen; pride and ceremonial on one side, slavery and abjection on the other.

As for principalities, every two or three hours I entered the dominions of a new sovereign; and, indeed, often I passed through the place of their highnesses' residence without being able to guess that it was the seat of these little potentates; I only judged by the antiquity of their palaces, falling to ruins, that these princes may justly boast of a race of illustrious progenitors, as it seemed they had lived there from time immemorial. As we judge of everything by comparison, I observed that there is more comfort, more elegance, more conveniency, in the villa of a citizen of London than in these gloomy mansions, hung up with rotten tapestries, where a serene highness meurt d'ennui, in all the state of a monarch, amongst a few attendants, called master of the horse, grand ecuyer, grand chamberlain, without appointments. There is no such thing here as a middle class of people living in affluence and independence.

Both men and women of fashion affect to dress more rich than elegant. The female part of the burghers' families at Hamburg and Altona dress inconceivably fantastic. The most unhappy part of the Germans are the tenants of the little needy princes, who squeeze them to keep up their own grandeur. These petty sovereigns, ridiculously proud of titles, ancestry, and show, give no sort of encouragement to the useful arts, though industry, application, and perseverance, are the characteristics of the German nation, especially the mechanical part of it.

The roads are almost impassable. The carriages of the nobility and gentry infinitely worse than the stage-coaches in England; and the inns want all the accommodations they are intended for.

You may easily imagine that the sight of a new queen, from the position of the kingdom to the capital, brought upon my passage great crowds of people from the adjacent towns and villages, yet I believe you may see more on a fair day from Charing Cross to the Royal Exchange than I have met upon the road from Altona to Copenhagen. The gentlemen and ladies who were sent to compliment me, and increased my retinue, made no addition to my entertainment. Besides the reservedness and gravity peculiar to their nation, they thought it was a mark of respect and submission never to presume to answer me but by monosyllables.

What I have seen of Danish Holstein and of the duchy of Schleswig, is well watered, and produces plenty of corn. The inhabitants of those countries differ little or nothing from other Germans. Some parts of Jutland consist of barren mountains; but the valleys are, in general, well inhabited and fruitful. The face of the country presents a number of large forests, but I did not see a river navigable for a barge of the same burden as those that come up the river Thames to London. Spring and autumn are seasons scarcely known here; to the sultry heat of August succeeds a severe winter, and the frost continues for eight months, and with little alteration. It seems as if the soil were unfavourable to vegetable productions, for those that have been procured for my table, at a great expense, were unsavoury, and of the worst kind. As game is here in plenty, and the coasts are generally well supplied with fish, I could have lived very well on these two articles had they been better dressed, but their cookery, which is a mixture of Danish and German ingredients, cannot be agreeable to an English palate.

I shall not attempt to learn the language of the country, which is a harsh dialect of the Teutonic. The little French and High-Dutch I know will be of great service to me at court, where they are generally spoken with a bad accent and a vicious pronunciation. The peasants, as to property, are still in a state of vassalage; and the nobility, who are slaves at court, tyrannize over their inferiors and tenants in their dominions. These poor husbandmen, with such discouragements to industry, are obliged to maintain the cavalry in victuals and lodgings; likewise to furnish them with money. These disadvantages, added to their natural indolence, make this valuable class of people less useful and more needy than in free states, where they enjoy, in common with other subjects, that freedom which is a spur to industry. You must not expect any conveniency and accommodation in their inns; all those I found upon the road had been provided by the court.

Copenhagen, though a small capital, makes no contemptible appearance at a distance. All the artillery of the castles and forts, with the warlike music of the guards and divers companies of burghers, in rich uniforms, announced my entry into this royal residence. I was conducted, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants, to the palace, when the king, the queen dowager, and Prince Frederick, her son, with the nobility of both sexes, who had, on this occasion, displayed all their finery, received me with extraordinary honours, according to the etiquette. The king's youth, good nature, and levity, require no great penetration to be discerned in his taste, amusements, and his favourites. He seems all submission to the queen, who has got over him such an ascendancy as her arts and ambition seem likely to preserve. Her darling son, whom she wished not to be removed a step farther from the throne, is already proud and aspiring like herself.

I have been more than once mortified with the superior knowledge and experience for which the queen takes care to praise herself, and offended at the want of respect and attention in the prince. As such unmerited slights cannot be resented without an open rupture, I rather bear with them than disunite the royal family, and appear the cause of court cabals, by showing my displeasure. It seems the king teaches his subjects, by example, the doctrine of passive obedience. Few of the courtiers look like gentlemen; and their ladies appear, in the circle, inanimate, like the wax figures in Westminster Abbey.

I have been lately at Frederiksborg. It is a magnificent house, built in the modern taste, but ill-contrived, and situated in the most unhealthy soil, in the middle of a lake. The paintings and furniture are truly royal.

To remind me that I am mortal, I have visited the cathedral church of Roeskilde, where the kings and queens of Denmark were formerly buried. Several of their monuments still exist, which are, as well as this ancient structure, of a Gothic taste.

As you flatter me with the pleasure of seeing you soon in Copenhagen, I postpone mentioning other particulars till this agreeable interview, and remain, with British sincerity,

Sir, and dear brother,
Your most affectionate sister,
Matilda Caroline.

If any differences subsisted between the couple at this time, they did not reach the public knowledge; and the conduct of Caroline Matilda was that of a most devoted wife. Thus, when Christian was attacked in April, 1767, by a scarlet fever, which was thought infectious, the queen assiduously attended him; nor would she leave him, day or night, till his life was out of danger. On the following May 1, their Majesties' coronation was performed in the chapel of the Christiansborg Palace, by the Bishop of Seeland. On this occasion, his Majesty assumed the motto of Gloria ex amore patriæ. As the kings of Denmark do not receive the crown from any other hands than their own, the ceremony of putting it on is performed by themselves.[49] It was about this time that Prince Charles first entertained doubts as to Christian's sanity. He imparted his suspicions to Bernstorff, who acknowledged the truth of his remark, for Count de St. Germain had spoken to him about it, and said: "The king has a singular and very rare malady; in France we call it fou de cœur."

And yet a cloud was gathering, at first no bigger than a man's hand, which would soon overcast this apparently happy life. Frau von Plessen strove for influence and power. If she could so contrive that Caroline Matilda should attain as much mastery over Christian VII. as Sophia Magdalena had held over Christian VI., she, as her confidante, would easily be able to direct matters as she pleased. The speculating lady, unfortunately, fancied she had discovered the best way of effecting this, by advising the young queen to behave more reservedly towards her husband, who—so the clever lady-in-waiting calculated—would become all the more in love with his beautiful wife, and more indulgent to her wishes.

The inexperienced Caroline Matilda but too readily followed the advice of her grand mistress, and hence-forward behaved with coy reserve and assumed coldness toward her hot-blooded husband. When he wished to pay the queen an evening visit, he was put off with various excuses, and it was not till he had repeatedly requested an interview with his wife that he was admitted.

Christian, whom any opposition drove to a state bordering on madness, determined to make a tour in Holstein, where he could give way to his propensities unchecked. The queen greatly wished to accompany her husband, which he declined, and the first serious quarrel took place. She was the more to be pitied, honest Reverdil tells us, because she was enceinte, and, through an instinct common to nearly all wives, had grown into an inclination for the father of her child. She attributed her disgrace to Count von Holck, who very probably strengthened the king in his resolution. Consequently, she insisted that he should be left behind as well, and it was not without difficulty that she obtained so weak and humiliating a vengeance.

Reverdil did his best to patch up this quarrel. He urged the king to write his wife the most affectionate letters, and, as Reverdil composed them himself, the queen was to some degree pacified. The account which Reverdil gives us of the royal tour is very lamentable. Christian offended the old Danish nobility by his frivolity and recklessness, while his amusements were so puerile, and the courtiers whom he appeared to prefer so unfitted, that very unfavourable judgments were formed of him.

While staying at Traventhal, the king talked a great deal about the travelling scheme, which he carried out soon after. He wanted it to be different, however, from what it really became. He would have liked to forget business and etiquette, become a private person, and try what success his personal qualities would obtain him in society. He strove very hard to persuade Reverdil to accompany him across the frontier with one valet, and it was not till the Swiss refused point blank to go that the king gave up his design.

During Christian's absence, Caroline Matilda received a terrible shock from the death of her beloved brother, the Duke of York. The young prince left England in August, and proceeded to Paris, where he was magnificently fêted. While he was in France, the Queen of Denmark wrote him the following letter:—

To H.R.H. Edward, Duke of York.

Sir and dear Brother,

You are now in a kingdom that I should like to see in preference to all the countries in Europe, though I am sure my curiosity will never be gratified in that respect. You may, perhaps, attribute this desire to the levity of our sex, which has a strong analogy to the volatile genius of the French. No,—my motive is, that I should be glad to see at home those people who have been for so many centuries past our rivals in arts and army. Pray write to me a good account of Paris, which, I am informed, must yield the precedency to modern London. When you go to the south of France, I am so unreasonable as to expect another account of the provinces. Take care of your health, and let not all the princesses of Europe make you forget.

Your most affectionate
Caroline.

The duke had reached Monaco in his travels, and died there on Sept. 17, after a malignant fever which lasted fourteen days. The blow, so unexpected, was severely felt by the whole family, and by none more than Caroline Matilda, who had been keeping her own troubles locked in her bosom, till she could impart them to an affectionate brother, whose arrival she so fully expected. In the first outburst of her sorrow, she wrote the following touching letter to her mother, the Princess Dowager of Wales:—

Madam and revered Mother,

Give me leave to condole with your royal highness in the loss of your dutiful son, and my beloved brother, the Duke of York. I feel, with my own grief, your sorrow. I beg you will convey the same sentiments to his Majesty the King, my brother. When I reflect on the circumstances of the untimely death of this amiable prince in a foreign land, and perhaps deprived of the comfort and assistance he should have found in his native country, I still more lament his fate. I am extremely concerned for your royal highness's indisposition; but I hope this melancholy event, which maternal tenderness cannot but severely feel, as it was ordered by the unfathomable decrees of Providence, will be so far reconciled to your superior understanding and piety, as to adore and to submit.

I am, with great deference,
Your Royal Highness's
Respectful daughter,
Caroline.

When the king returned from his Holstein tour, it was arranged that the queen should drive seven or eight leagues from Copenhagen to meet him. He received her with all the empressement of which he was capable; he got into her carriage, and those who were only imperfectly acquainted with the state of things might imagine that he was resuming his true place.

But the conduct which the queen had before assumed in the hope of entirely winning her husband's affection, was now dictated by resentment. The party of Juliana Maria, who desired a separation between the couple, had informed Caroline Matilda of her husband's conduct while absent, and the result was a decided coldness. This produced such savageness in the king, and he was so dissatisfied, that he complained about his consort in the presence of his domestics. This was a famous opening for these creatures, who took all possible trouble to direct Christian's attention to other ladies. One of the royal runners, of the name of Hjorth, hence said to the king one day that it would be easy to avenge himself for the queen's coldness, as there were plenty of fair dames who would accept the king's visits more than willingly. His Majesty only required to keep a mistress, and such a person his most gracious master could find at any moment. Hjorth proposed to the king a well-known Hetæra, called "Stiefelett-Kathrine," on account of her beautiful feet, whose acquaintance the pander had, probably, made beforehand.[50] Christian willingly assented, saw the girl, found her pretty and insinuating, and entered into the unfortunate connexion with her, by which he was led into the most horrible and open profligacy.

The leader of these orgies was Count Conrad von Holck, a scampish and good-tempered young fellow, of the same age as the king. The ministers, who should have kept a watchful eye on everything that might have an injurious effect on the character of the young king, were not sorry to see the autocrat yielding to the seductive influences of his loose favourite. But Count Conrad in no way betrayed the slightest desire to interfere in the business of the state, and was consequently harmless.

The growing influence of this minion drove from court the only honest man remaining at it. One evening, Holck promised Milady a box at the theatre, and Reverdil saw her sitting above the maids of honour, who were facing the queen. Being at the time close to Holck, the virtuous Swiss could not refrain from speaking out. "Sir," he said, "though you may turn into ridicule a hundred times an expression which I have frequent occasion to repeat, I say again, that a man can be neither a good subject, nor a good servant, who does not weep to see such a creature thus defy the queen, and the king make himself, to the great peril of the state, the greluchon of a foreign minister." The next day Reverdil received a written order from the king to leave Copenhagen in twenty-four hours.

The first important sign of the king's most favourable sentiments toward the young protégé was Holck's appointment, on December 21, 1767, as Court Marshal. From this time Count Holck managed all the festivities at court, where comedies, balls, masquerades, and excursions followed each other uninterruptedly. The king, however, preferred, to all these distractions, any opportunity of yielding to his temperament without the trammels of a court. Holck frequently gave brilliant luncheons at the Blaagard, a castellated building outside the north gate, used at that time for all sorts of festivities, and Christian took much pleasure in them. At night, however, Holck accompanied the king on his visits to Milady and back again, during which, street riots were but too frequent.

It has been urged in apology for Holck, that he did not really lead the king into these excesses, but could not refrain from sharing in them, through fear of incurring the king's displeasure. Moreover, he considered his presence at these extravagances necessary, partly because he at times succeeded in moderating the intended outrages, partly because he was able to give the people offended by the damage sustained a secret hint that the doer of the mischief was his most sacred Majesty the King. Only in that way was it possible to save the king from abuse, or even from personal violence. Holck, it is further said, did the reckless young king a real service, because, in the end, he induced him to give up his connexion with the notorious Milady, who had not only led the king into illicit amours, but had also persuaded him to make nocturnal sallies in the streets, to fight with the watchmen, and force his way into low houses whose keepers had given her cause of offence, to break glasses, bottles, and windows, and commit similar acts of folly. In truth, it may have appeared evident to Holck that such almost incredible behaviour would eventually rob the king of all respect, and expose him to the ridicule of the nation.

It is not my intention to bring before the reader the lengthened chronique scandaleuse which I have been compelled to wade through. In giving what I have, it was rather my purpose to offer a sketch of court life a hundred years ago, as an introduction to an historical drama which may seek its counterpart in vain in the world's annals.

Before concluding this chapter, space may be granted to a small paragraph from the "Annual Register," which offers a further sign of the times:—

"Within the last few years a set of people have been discovered in Denmark seized with a disorder of mind which is extremely dangerous to society. This is an imagination that by committing murder, and being afterwards condemned to die for it, they are the better able, by public marks of repentance and conversion as they go to the scaffold, to prepare themselves for death, and work out their own salvation. A little while ago one of these wretches murdered a child out of the same principle. In order, however, to take from these wretches all hope of obtaining their end, and to extirpate the evil, the king has issued an ordinance, by which his Majesty forbids the punishing them with death; and enacts, that they shall be branded in the forehead with a hot iron and whipped; that they shall afterwards be confined, for the rest of their days, in a house of correction, in order to be kept there to hard labour; and, lastly, that every year, on the day of their crime, they shall be whipped anew in public."

In order to remove the bitter taste which the perusal of the above paragraph has doubtless left in the mouth of the reader, let me add another of a pleasanter nature:—

"Another mark of paternal goodness of his Danish Majesty to his subjects has appeared in the encouragement and protection extended to the Society of Artists lately established at Copenhagen, to which he has ordered a yearly pension of 10,000 crowns, to be issued from the royal treasury, to be applied in supporting the necessitous, and in rewarding those who distinguish themselves by their merit."

CHAPTER V.

On January 28, 1768, the guns of the forts and fleets of Seeland announced the birth of a son and heir to Christian, in the future Frederick VI. The child was sickly and feeble; but, for all that, the public would not let themselves be robbed of an excuse for legitimate rejoicing. As this auspicious event occurred on the evening prior to the anniversary of the king's birthday, there 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 of a Knight of the Elephant; the royal babe by two other ladies, according to rank; and this continued until all the "court competent" ladies had shared the privilege. That titles and orders should be distributed on such an occasion, was but natural; but the influence of Count Holck was remarkably displayed, through the numerous marks of honour bestowed on nearly all his relations.

If Juliana Maria had formed any ambitious plans, the birth of the crown prince must have foiled them, temporarily at least. The king's weak constitution, the debauchery he indulged in in his youth, 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 hope that either the throne or the royal authority would pass to her son sooner or later. This flattering hope was now dispelled, and with it all the great expectations her ambition had fed on.[51]

The administration still remained in the same hands as before, with the exception of Count Danneskjold Samsöe. This minister had been most unexpectedly dismissed on October 26, 1767, having fallen a victim to the intrigues 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 counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. Soon after, Bernstorff and Saldern succeeded in getting rid of the second opponent of the Russian policy, General St. Germain, to whom, on November 22, the king sent the following note:—

Mon cher Maréchal,

Diverses raisons m'obligent à vous dispenser des soins et des peines qui vous causent les affaires du directoire. Vous auriez tort de regarder ceci comme une disgrâce: Je désire que vous soyez persuadé de la confiance avec la quelle je vous remettrais l'armée s'il s'agissait de la conduire contre l'ennemi.

Sur ce, &c.[52]

Though the general was at liberty to go to court, he did so but rarely, and was not particular in his remarks: hence he received a second note, to the effect that, 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, 60,000 thalers, paid once for all; but, as he lost the money a year after by the failure of a Hamburg house, the landgrave obtained him a pension of 4,000 dollars.

Bernstorff and Reventlow could now have come to an understanding to share the power between them; but the latter was so incautious as to quarrel with his old friend. The consequence 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 old opponent in his place. On February 5, 1768, Reventlow was pensioned off on 4,000 dollars, and Count Adam Gottlob von Moltke took his former seat in the council of state.

The dismissal of Reventlow was followed by that of his nephew, Von Sperling, in which the king's new favourite had a good deal to say. On the day of Reventlow's retirement, Sperling was appointed bailiff 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. His uncle, however, succeeded, by the aid of Baron von Schimmelmann, in being recalled to the council of state a fortnight after, where he was obliged to take his seat by the side of his enemy, Moltke.

About this time the king displayed a remarkable interest in the improvement of agriculture, which he justly regarded as the surest and most natural source of national prosperity. Motu proprio, he issued a decree on April 15, to appoint a "general 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 the most influential men in the kingdom. Reventlow took proper notice of this fact; and as he was experienced in court intrigues, he effected a reconciliation with his opponent, and employed his energies exclusively in securing his regained power.

Satisfactory, to some extent, though this behaviour on the part of the king was, his private life still continued to be a scandal and offence. Before Reverdil left Christian, he saw the faint traces of morality he had striven to keep up, fade away. Motives of public welfare, respect for individuals, the necessity of being beloved and deserving the love, and even a desire for glory, no longer worked on the king. So soon as Reverdil's influence had expired with his absence, the king indulged in worse extravagances than before. 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 were thrashed several times. They spent a whole night (Milady dressed as an officer, Holck and a fourth person better disguised) in destroying some wretched hovels, when they threw the furniture into the streets, after beating and driving out the nymphs with their sword blades. The watch hurried up to put a stop to it; but, on recognising the actors, they restricted themselves to preventing the mob from defending the oppressed. The crime of the inhabitants of these impure "kips," was having spoken ill of Milady, their rival.

The moment was at hand, however, when even respectable persons would not dare take this liberty. Milady induced her lover to buy her an hôtel, create her a baroness, in short, grant her the same 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 accompanied them to the king, and forced from him an order to have her removed. She was sent to Hamburg, where the obsequious senate put her in prison. Eventually, Struensee set her at liberty.[53]

Inside the palace, the orgies were of a different nature. The king took a delight in being beaten by Count Holck; and it is said that the favourite carried the correction to an extreme length, 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 was the executioner, and counterfeited his movements with a roll of paper. This amusement filled Christian's mind with gloomy ideas, and augmented his inclination for cruelty and melancholy.

The ministry was composed in the following way after the changes already referred to:—Baron Reedz Thott never interfered in any affairs of state but those connected with his department; we have seen the terms on which Reventlow 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 Gottorp envoy, Von Saldern, and the Russian Filosofow, but was compelled to buy their favour dearly, by giving his assent to all their cabals. The following may serve as an example of the omnipotence of these two gentlemen:—

When Count von Rantzau-Ascheberg, at that time commander-in-chief in Norway, came on a journey into the neighbourhood of Copenhagen, he was informed by a court courier that he must remain a Danish mile from the Residenz of the king. Page 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 III. As, however, he did not consider himself properly rewarded by the new rulers in Petersburg, he quitted Russia, and had become her most embittered foe. A letter of Saldern, quoted by Reverdil, will give an excellent idea of the man:—

"This great trouble comes from the queen; she has lost her right arm in Reventlow; she has still the left in Plessen, a wicked woman, but I will also deprive her of this arm. Sperling was her paid spy, and is a thorough scoundrel. If he had but carried on his trade with an honourable view! but it is only jealousy of 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, and we laugh at it together.... Between ourselves, Reventlow will soon be employed again, but in some place where he can be useful. It was necessary to humiliate him a little; had we not, we should not have gained our ends. He is as fit for the post of governor or for the finances as a donkey is to play the organ."

A still further proof of Russian influence and Bernstorff's servility was offered in February, 1768. Frau von Plessen, the queen's first lady, though not standing very high in the king's good graces, owing to her influence over Caroline Matilda, still commanded his respect, and he patiently endured her diatribes about his licentious life. But Count Holck was her enemy, because she had openly said that the count was only so obliging a 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 length, however, the terrible Herr von Saldern came forward and interfered in the cabal. Frau von Plessen, by Caroline Matilda's instigation, urged the king to free himself from the dangerous subjection in which Saldern held him, and to treat him with greater dignity and decision; but the king betrayed her to this man, whose pride was deeply offended, and he did not rest till he obtained Christian's promise to dismiss Frau von Plessen.[54]

On February 27, the king went to the palace of Frederiksborg, five (Danish) miles from the capital, and two days after his departure Frau von Plessen received a royal order to quit the court at once, without previously taking leave of the queen. In obedience to the order, the grande maîtresse proceeded on the same day to her estate of Kokkedal, situated on the Sound. When the queen heard of the removal of the >grande maîtresse, she opposed it, but all her objections were unheeded, and she at length gave her consent, on condition that Frau von Berkentin, the governess of Prince Frederick, who entertained hopes of succeeding Frau von Plessen, and had consequently mixed herself up in the intrigue, should also be dismissed from court.

On the night of March 5, Frau von Berkentin received orders to leave the Christiansborg Palace before daybreak, and the capital within three days. Two days after, Frau von Plessen was commanded to quit the kingdom, and was not granted a pension. The vacant post of grande maîtresse was bestowed 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 seducer, and this dislike was naturally heightened when Holck played so prominent a part in the dismissal of Frau von Plessen. To these causes of dislike must be added that the young fop, puffed up with pride and importance, at times went so far as to forget the respect he owed the queen.

Count Holck's victory over Frau von Plessen was further glorified by the king investing him with the star of the Dannebrog order. With this intrigue ended the ambassadorial career of the notorious Gottorp envoy, Herr von Saldern. On March 13, 1768, he had his farewell audience of the king. His career was a curious one: he afterwards went as plenipotentiary to Poland, where he 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 remained a Knight of the Elephant, and owner of two free estates in that very province of Holstein where, as bailiff, he had been accused on sufficient evidence of peculation, embezzlement, and forgery. That Russia should select a Danish subject who had been guilty of such offences as her envoy, proves pretty clearly what respect was entertained for Denmark by her powerful neighbour.

During Saldern's further short stay at Copenhagen, he made himself remarkable by employing all his influence to bring about the next episode in the life of King Christian VII., which dealt a further blow to the embarrassed finances.

During the reign of Frederick V., it had been proposed that the crown prince should travel in foreign countries, but the design was not carried out for various reasons. It is very probable that the king's increasing libertinism suggested to the advisers of the crown a resumption of this plan, so as to withdraw Christian from an 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 Bernstorff proposed to let him make a tour through Germany, Holland, England, and France. As, however, the ministers were afraid of the king's propensities, they urged him to take with him Count von Bernstorff to manage affairs, and in order that money might not run short, they appointed Baron von Schimmelmann treasurer for the journey.

This gentleman was a perfect type of the adventurer of those days. He was a Saxon (according to others, a native of Stettin), who had first been a lighterman on the Elbe, conveying merchandise between Dresden and Hamburg. Eventually, he set up in business on his own account, and became bankrupt; after awhile he managed to pay off his debts, and turned purveyor to the Prussian armies, but, 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 Lindenburg, in Jütland, which was raised into a barony. He spent the summer at Hamburg, with the title of plenipo. to the states of Lower Saxony, and in winter went to Copenhagen, where he dabbled in financial operations. In addition to the title of Baron, he had that of Grand Treasurer, and the ribbon of the Dannebrog. He stood very well with the Russians, who frequently made use of him.[55]

When the proposal to travel was laid before Christian, he accepted it with delight, and Holck was no less pleased at the opportunity of showing off. As Saldern was unable to accompany the king, he contrived 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 to have been that, in this case, the King of Denmark could not well avoid paying a visit to Petersburg, and complimenting the empress on the ratification of the exchange. This hope, however, was not realized.

In the meantime, Holck continued to revel in his good fortune. He was betrothed to Fräulein von Stockfleth, step-daughter of the bailiff of Aggerhuus, although the young lady had not yet attained the legal age for confirmation. The bridegroom's longing 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, and so soon as this was done, her step-father brought the girl, who was not fifteen years of age, to Copenhagen, in April, for the purpose of being married to the count. But a menacing story was gathering on the favourite's hitherto cloudless horizon.

Christian VII. found pleasure in the society of Page of the Chamber Enevold Brandt, as well as in that of Count Conrad von Holck. This man, who plays a principal part in the tragedy which will be presented to the reader hereafter, was born at Copenhagen in 1738, and was consequently thirty years of age at this time. His father was Conferenzrath Brandt, private secretary and intendant of Queen Sophia Magdalena, and his mother a daughter of Conferenzrath Berregaard. The father died before his son's birth, and his mother afterwards married Baron von Söhlenthal, administrator of 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 September of the same year he made a tour on the Continent, and on his return met with a favourable reception at court. Brandt was anything but good looking, and Falskenskjold describes him to us as positively ugly. There was something repellent in his face, which was pitted with small-pox, and his physical constitution was as ruined as his morals. Although he could not be denied talent, his behaviour often rendered him ridiculous. Thus, for instance, he was fond of singing in public, though he had a weak voice; and he was equally fond of dancing, though he cut a very awkward figure.

As page of the bed-chamber, Brandt took part in all the court festivities. He was one of the performers in Zaire, and was a good deal about the king's person; but, like all the courtiers, he was eclipsed in the autocrat's favour by Count Holck. Either through envy, or because he really considered the count's conduct worthy of blame, Brandt ventured to write, on May 2, a letter of accusation to the king, in which he very evidently displayed the intention of overthrowing the favourite. 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 frequently sacrificed his own amusements for Holck's sake. Hardly three months before, Holck had said to him (Brandt) that he was terribly tired of the king, who constantly repeated the same ideas; in short, his Majesty was unsupportable. If Danneskjold came, the king yielded to his will, and revoked what he had just sanctioned, and was so weak as to allow the person who last spoke to him to be in the right. Thus Holck had expressed himself to him (Brandt), of whom he was in his heart afraid.

This was nothing, however, in comparison with the contemptuous terms the count employed to others about his Majesty. So long as the king remained in his own country, a single moment would suffice to reveal everything to his most gracious master, who would say to himself: "This man was never devoted to me: he only 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 at his age; yet this man, who pretends to be faithfully attached to me, who assumes a character which is beyond his abilities, has only served me with feigned love and falsehood. He has employed me to distinguish all his friends, and I have thus given a public testimony of the power which he exercises over me."

Assuredly his Majesty, like so many other enlightened persons, would have made such reflections; and he (Brandt) would have awaited their result, had his most gracious king remained in Denmark. But now the moment had arrived to ring the alarm bell, for the king, in his impending tour, would certainly present Count von Holck to all the nations of Europe as the most distinguished man in Denmark, and as 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 thoughts, Holck would seek a support in his worthlessness. "But, dearest, best of kings," Brandt concluded his charge, "be free, and do not stake your own respect before the greatest part of Europe! Your star announces to you the admiration of the whole world: my predictions will be fulfilled, for my head gives me the most varied assurances of it; and, I may add, that my heart gives me still sweeter ones."

This wretched twaddle, which Suhm has before me quoted as a moderate proof of the mental qualities of the usually so talented Brandt, may serve here as a specimen of the cabals and miserable intrigues that went on at the Danish court in the reign of Christian VII. When the king had informed his favourite of the contents of Brandt's letter, Count Holck's papa-in-law attempted a defence in an equally 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 gratitude, friendship, and virtue; and the king's sharp eye would be able to estimate this black conduct at its true value. Brandt had assailed his friend, but the weapons which he employed had turned against himself, for he had called in question his Majesty's power of judgment. Still, it would become his Majesty to forgive the offence, for Brandt's moderate abilities must serve as his excuse.

It is true that Brandt had as many powerful friends at court as Hoick had enemies, for even Caroline Matilda was regarded as his protectress. But the ministers were on Holck's side, and hence he succeeded in retaining his master's favour. On May 4, just as Brandt was leaving the Supreme Court, a letter written 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 to quit the capital within twenty-four hours, and the states of the realm in eight days, under penalty of the severest displeasure if he dared ever to return. The next day Brandt left Copenhagen in a melancholy mood, for he had spent his own fortune in Paris, and his step-father, Von Söhlenthal, had just died.

On the day after this court interlude King Christian quitted the capital, in order to commence his travels in foreign parts. The queen had desired to accompany him, but this was refused her, and she wept bitterly when he took leave of her. In Frau von Plessen she had lost a maternal friend, and 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 or disgraced the court at that day? Among these were, in addition to Frau von der Lühe and the maid of honour, Von Eyben, Frau von Gähler, the Baroness von Bülow, the Melleville, and a number of other ladies, none of whom, however, had an unsullied reputation, but all their cavaliers and adorers.

The suite accompanying the king when he left Copenhagen consisted of no less than fifty-six persons, among them being Von Bernstorff, the premier, the supreme Court-Marshal Frederick von Moltke, Court-Marshal Count Holck, and many other gentlemen of position. From Korsöer the party sailed across the Great Belt to the island of Fühnen, where the king met his ex-valet Kirchhoff, who, on his dismissal from court, 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 Landgrave Charles, his brother-in-law, prior to leaving Copenhagen. Here he remained till May 28. At the village of Bau, before Flensburg, the two Russian envoys, Von Saldern and Filosofow, received the king, and accompanied him to the city of Schleswig, where numerous festivities took place in honour of the exalted guest, while diplomatic affairs were being discussed which grew into such importance for Denmark.

When Christian VII. ascended the throne the entire kingdom was oppressed by heavy debts, entailed by the impending war with Russia, in 1762, about the duchies, and by the extravagance of the two last kings. Reventlow, as first deputy of the College of Finances strove gradually to liquidate these debts, and at first met with some success, partly by raising a new tax, partly by employing the £100,000 which the British parliament granted Caroline Matilda as dower. On the other hand, however, the burial of Frederick V., and the marriage of the princesses, 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, and the deficiency was covered by the excessively wealthy Baron von Schimmelmann, who made a temporary advance of 400,000 species, and afterwards paid a similar amount for presents made by the king abroad, taking as security the import dues of the kingdom of Norway. If we add to this sum the king's private outlay, we may, without fear of exaggeration, assume the total expenditure on the tour at one million and a half of dollars, or £225,000, which the indebted states of Denmark had to pay for the unsuccessful attempt to improve the king's morals.

In Schleswig, the king's suite was slightly reduced, as the chief page, Von der Lühe, Count Gustavus von Holck, and the physician in ordinary, Etats-rath von Berger, returned hence to Copenhagen. On May 29, the king, accompanied 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 proof of his special satisfaction for the zeal which he had displayed in the exchange, the king raised him and his son here to the rank of count, under the name of Saldern Gunderoth. Bernstorff also received the same honour.

I have said so much about this exchange and yet so little, that I will venture on one political paragraph, especially as the matter crops up every now and then in the papers. Charles Frederick, sovereign duke of Holstein Gottorp, threw in his fortunes with those of Charles XII. of Sweden, his relation, and shared his disasters. Frederick IV., king of Denmark, robbed him of a portion 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 eventually acquired a formidable power in the north: a younger branch ascended the Swedish throne, and the head of the elder branch became Emperor of Russia, under the title of Peter III., in 1762. Peter made a claim to his hereditary states, and was preparing to enforce it, when he was got rid of, and Catharine, his successor, agreed to an amicable settlement of the affair by an exchange.

It is difficult to understand why Russia gave up so magnificent a chance of founding a maritime power as she would have had by the possession of Holstein. So long as she held it, it would have been a tête du pont by which to enter Germany, and she would not have failed to exercise a predominant 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 blood, he might become entirely devoted to it. In any case, the treaty by which Russia exchanged her claims on ducal Schleswig and Holstein for the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, which were intended to form an appanage for a junior branch of the Holstein family, was signed in 1768.[59]

From Kiel the king went, on the following day, to Traventhal Castle, and thence to Ahrensburg, near Hamburg, where John Frederick Struensee, hitherto physician of Altona, and of the lordship of Pinneberg, was appointed surgeon in ordinary, and joined the king's suite.

On June 6, Christian VII. left his own states and sailed across the Elbe at Zollenspicker, under the incognito of Count von Traventhal. His reputation preceded him.[60] In consequence of Voltaire's well-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 praises of the benefactor in a poem which "went the round" of the press. It was stated in it that King Christian sought unhappy persons in foreign parts because there were none such in his own country.

It might really be believed that there were no poor in Denmark, when we notice the abundant proofs of charity and special favour which the King of the Danes everywhere left behind him during his tour in foreign 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 seemed to have shaken off his natural gloom, and was remarkably witty; at the same time, he was extremely gallant and easy in his manners. Travelling evidently had its ordinary effect on him, at least temporarily.

While his suite were sent on to Amsterdam viâ Osnabrück and Münster, the king resolved to make a détour to Hanau with Bernstorff and Holck, and surprise his brother-in-law, Landgrave Charles, whom he had recently appointed viceroy of the duchies, and his own dearly-beloved sister Louise, who had just given birth to a daughter, afterwards known as the lovely Maria, Queen of Denmark, wife of Frederick VI. Landgrave Charles, though greatly surprised at the visit, 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 candidly I was angry with you at that time, I really do not know why, and so I told a frightful lot of falsehoods about you to everybody; but you must not take any notice of them, for I am now very fond of you again." The prince, while thanking his brother-in-law for this confidence, naturally asked, "But how was it possible that you, who knew me so well, could act thus toward me?" to which the king replied, "Oh! I do not know; but I was very savage with you."[61]

From Hanau the king went through Frankfort to Mainz, sailed on the following day in a yacht down the Rhine to Coblenz, visited Ehrenbreitstein and Rheinfels, and travelled on land from Bonn to Cologne and Wesel. After staying two days in the latter town, he accepted an invitation from the Hereditary Stadtholder, the Prince of Orange, to St. Loo, and thence went straight to Amsterdam, where he rejoined his suite.

The king remained six days in Amsterdam, thirteen at the Hague, and ten at Brussels, being everywhere received by an enormous crowd, and honoured by grand banquets, for which he evinced his gratitude by costly presents.

From Brussels the journey was continued viâ Ghent, Bruges, and Ostend, to Dunkirk, from which town the Princes of Croy and Robecq accompanied the king to Calais. Here 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 Majesty, we read, was saluted by the cannon of the castle, forts, and vessels of the harbour, and was received with every possible mark of distinction and respect.

CHAPTER VI.

It cannot be doubted, too, but that George III. had been apprised of his sister's critical and unhappy situation, of Mariana Julia's treatment of her, and of the king's culpable neglect and forbearance.[62] Moreover, Christian's licentious conduct, both at home and abroad, was necessarily a horror to so good a man as his brother-in-law. Add to this, that the king of England had recently suffered a severe domestic affliction in the death of his second sister, H.R.H. Louisa Anne, and we shall not feel surprised that he was unable to dissimulate his feelings toward his royal guest.

At the outset, a marked discourtesy was shown Christian; no royal carriages were in waiting at Dover to receive him, and he had to come to town in hired coaches. Walpole explains in this way. "Somehow or another, the Master of the Horse happened to be in Lincolnshire, and the king's horses having received no orders, were too good subjects to go and fetch a stranger king of their own heads. However, as his Danish Majesty travels to improve himself for the good of his people, he will go back extremely enlightened in the arts of government and morality, by having learned that crowned heads may be reduced to ride in hackney coaches." The official excuse for this neglect was, that Christian was so impatient to see the famed metropolis of Great Britain, that he declined the sumptuous state coaches, and travelled in a post-chaise.

Hearing that the clergy and corporation of Canterbury and Rochester intended to receive him with all possible pomp, the king was almost thrown into a passion, as he detested formalities of any sort, and was disposed to consider the clergy, as a body, with profligate contempt. He said to Count Bernstorff: "The last King of Denmark who entered Canterbury laid that city in ashes, and massacred its inhabitants. Would to Heaven they had recollected this, and let me pass quietly through their venerable town, where our ancestors committed so many crimes!" The count told Christian, with a smile, that the good citizens of Canterbury would find less difficulty in forgetting the outrages suffered by their forefathers, than in being deprived of the honour of making a speech and kissing his royal hand.[63]

The only mark of attention shown Christian by his brother-in-law, was in re-furnishing his suite of rooms in the Stable Yard of St. James's Palace, at an expense of £3,000. When Count Holck first saw the palace, he exclaimed: "By God, this will never do; it is not fit to lodge a Christian in." According to the official report of the "Annual Register," the royal suite consisted of,—Count von Bernstorff, his principal secretary of state; Baron von Schimmelmann, treasurer; Count von Moltke, grand marshal; Count von Holck, grand master of the wardrobe; Baron von Bülow, one of the lords of the bed-chamber; Mr. Schumacher, councillor of conferences, private secretary; Baron von Düring, aide-de-camp; MM. Temmler and Sturtz, councillors of embassy of the foreign office; Dr. Struensee, physician; and several officers and servants.

So soon as Christian arrived in London he was waited on by the Earl of Hertford and Lord Falmouth, who complimented him on his arrival. George III., however, displayed no empressement to greet his guest; on the contrary, he behaved with a sullenness which, though it might be justifiable, was certainly impolitic, considering the connection between France and Denmark, which England considered as of such vital importance to break off. As usual, Horace Walpole the indefatigable supplies the best account of this fresh piece of scandal:—

"By another mistake, King George happened to go to Richmond about an hour before King Christian arrived in London. An hour is exceedingly long, and the distance to Richmond still longer; so, with all the despatch which could possibly be made, King George could not get to his capital till next day at noon. Then, as the road from his closet at St. James's, to the King of Denmark's apartments on the other side of the palace, is about thirty miles (which posterity, having no conceptions of the prodigious extent and magnificence of St. James's, will never believe), it was half an hour after three before his Danish Majesty's cousin could go and return to let him know that his good brother and ally was leaving the palace (in which they both were) to receive him at the queen's palace, which, you know, is about a million of snail's paces from St. James's. Notwithstanding these difficulties and unavoidable delays, Woden, Thor, Frigga, and all the gods that watch over the kings of the north, did bring these two invincible monarchs to each other's embraces about half an hour after four on the same evening. They passed an hour in projecting a royal compact, that will regulate the destiny of Europe to latest posterity; and then, the fates so willing it, the British prince departed for Richmond, and the Danish potentate repaired to the widowed mansion of his royal mother-in-law, where he poured forth the fulness of his heart in praises of the lovely bride she had bestowed upon him, from whom nothing but the benefit of his subjects would have torn him." Another passage from the same letter is in Horace's finest vein of sarcasm:—

"And here let calumny blush, who has aspersed so chaste and faithful a monarch with low amours; pretending that he has raised to a seat in his sublime council an artisan of Hamburg, known only by repairing the soles of buskins, because that mechanic would on no other terms consent to his fair daughter's being honoured with majestic embraces.[64] So victorious over his passions is this Scipio from the pole, that though on Shooter's Hill he fell into an ambuscade, laid for him by an illustrious countess, of blood royal herself, his Majesty, after descending from his car and courteously greeting her, again mounted his vehicle, without being one moment eclipsed from the eyes of the surrounding multitude."[65]

The princess dowager so overwhelmed Christian with inquiries about her daughter, that her wearied son-in-law could not refrain from whispering to his favourite, Holck: "Cette chère maman m'embête terriblement." Finally, when she begged Christian to restore Frau von Plessen to the post of grande maîtresse, the king replied, that he would not oppose it, but would leave the court himself, as he was resolved never to live under the same roof with Frau von Plessen again. After leaving the Princess of Wales, the royal party attended Lady Hertford's assembly. Walpole, who was present, says: "He only takes the title of Altesse (an absurd mezzo termine), but acts king accordingly, struts in the circle like a cock sparrow, and does the honours of himself very civilly." But the thing that seems to have struck Walpole most, was the subserviency of Christian's ministers and attendants, who (as we shall see presently) bowed as low to him at every word as if he were a Sultan Amurath. Severest are his strictures on Bernstorff, of whom he says: "A grave old man, running round Europe after a chit, for the sake of domineering over a parcel of beggar Danes, when he himself is a Hanoverian, and might live at ease on an estate he has at Mecklenburg."

On the 19th, the king had a heavy day of it, visiting Westminster Abbey, the Tower, the Armoury, the Bank, the Mint, and St. Paul's Cathedral, where he ascended to the golden gallery. On the same evening, H.R.H. the Princess Amelia entertained the King of Denmark, the Duke of Gloucester, and upwards of three hundred of the nobility, with a grand supper, after which was a ball,[66] at Gunnersbury House. The supper consisted of one hundred and twenty dishes; a grand firework was played off; and the ball, which was very splendid, ended at about three o'clock A.M. The beautiful Lady Talbot, who was supposed to have made a great impression on Christian's susceptible heart, wore at this ball a diamond coronet which was estimated to be worth £80,000. It appears, from Walpole, that the Princess Amelia felt hurt at the treatment of her nephew, and determined to mark her sense of it by this entertainment. The king and the princess dowager were then, in courtesy, obliged to follow her example; but, to show how much they disliked the precedent, they left the Princess Amelia out of their entertainments. The King of England, however, did not behave so badly to his brother-in-law after all. He paid for his table at the rate of £84 a day, without wines,—and that bill, we may be sure, was a heavy one,—and supplied his sideboard with the original plate of Henry VIII., which was always deposited in the jewel office in the Tower, and never made use of but at a coronation. Though George disliked the man, he respected the king.

Walpole gives us a graphic account of Christian at this time, in a letter to George Montagu:—

"I came to town to see the Danish king. He is as diminutive as if he came out of a kernel in the fairy tales. He is not ill made, nor weakly made, though so small; and though his face is pale and delicate, it is not at all ugly. Still, he has more royalty than folly in his air; and considering he is not hearty, is as well as any one expects a king in a puppet-show to be."

A few days after, Horace appears to have modified his opinion. I wonder whether the corns of his self-esteem had been trodden on in the interim?