r- [ 1 ■ ; II !^ vv I U(^ PRIVATE ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS, BY THE AUTHOR OF MEMOIRS OF THE PRINCESSE DE LAIMBALLE ;" TO WHICH ARE SUBJOINED, MEMOIRS EXTRACTED FROM THE PORTEFEUILLE OF THE BARON DE M- WITH ANECDOTES OF THE FRENCH COURT BY THE PREFECT OF THE IMPERIAL PALACE. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1827. lAUK AKY DNIVERSITY OF CALIPORNi_« ■V. SANTA BAl4BAiiA fttu . EDITOR'S PREFACE. Memoir-writing is a part of history no longer confined to France. The Marchioness de S , herself an Englishwoman, to whom we are indebted for a considerable quantity of the anecdotes contained in the following Volumes, has shown in her former work, " IMemoirs of the Princesse de Lamballe," that she can relate Courtly Anecdotes with all the grace, spirit, and piquancy of the French writers of 3Iemoires ; and that production at once proved the facili- ties she enjoyed of obtaining the most secret anecdotes of the highest personages, and show- ed the familiar and confidential intercourse which their condescension permitted between themselves and the Authoress. The anecdotes vi editor's preface. in the present Volumes, derived from the same source, are likely, the Editor thinks, to excite the same attention, and to be read with the same eagerness as the " INIemoirs of the Prin- cesse de Lamballe." That a knowledge of them was acquired by means of personal introduc- tions of the highest order and value, is evident from the writer's own statement; and the living names which she cites are so illustrious in rank, as to forbid the possibiHty of a doubt of the truth of her assertions. The piquant and personal nature of many of the facts and incidents she records, sufficiently accounts for the secrecy in which they have hitlierto been buried ; the Ught and ludicrous nature of others, told of several grave and official charac- ters, would not have allowed them to be deco- rously related in the countries where the fact occurred ; and it would not, perhaps, have been safe for a native to have disclosed the hidden and trifling springs, which in foreign countries, as in our own, have produced the most impor- tant political events. EDITORS PREFACE. Vll The Northern Courts, particularly that of Russia, which seems destined to act so strikino- a part in deciding the future fate and mark- ing the future divisions of Europe and Asia, have been all visited by the Marchioness of S ; and their Sovereigns, Ministers, Gene- rals. Courtiers, Literary ]\Ien, and Artists, have all passed under a review which is no less remarkable for its freedom than its vivacity. Independently, however, of the opportu- nities which the writer of this part of the " Private Anecdotes of Foreign Courts" en- joyed, of discovering the secret history of Northern politics, it cannot but be curious to trace the effects of foreign usages, man- ners, and personal intercourse, upon the mind of an Englishwoman, transplanted from her free and native soil to a despotic Court. In this point of view the book possesses an important moral interest, joined to that which it deserves to enjoy as a repository of curious anecdote. It would be unjust, however, to omit to viii editor's preface. characterize as eminently faithful and ve- racious, and as replete with interest of the strongest kind, the anecdotes, chiefly relating to the Prussian Court, which have been con- tributed to the present work by the Baron de M * * * * From the portfolio of that di- plomatist, these Volumes have been enriched with many facts and personal sketches, equally important and curious. The Editor would have been happy to have given the name of the Author at length, which would at once have stamped this part of the book with authen- ticity ; but the writer, with a natural deli- cacy, solicited the Editor, in his case, " to preserve I'anonyme ;" and respect for the feel- ings of a disgraced Minister, at once decided him to grant the request, even at the hazard of diminishing the authority of the Volumes. The very curious and amusing anecdotes of the Court of Naples, will present perpetual subjects of interest to English readers, inde- pendent of their own intrinsic value. In a Court influenced by two personages so mar- editor's preface. ix quans as T^ord Nelson and Lady Hamilton, and about whom so much has been said, the writer would necessarily find much to tell : and accordingly some very strange particulars in the lives of both are in this department of the " Private Anecdotes" unfolded. The romantic story of Murat, the frequent insur- rections of the rebel chiefs, the characteristic sketches of cruel and profligate ministers, com- bine with its peculiar English interest, to ren- der the Italian Anecdotes not the least piquant portion of these various and amusing volumes. The second division of the work is con- fined to the Court of Napoleon ; and contains perhaps more facts tending to throw a strong light upon the mysterious character of that illustrious Individual, than even the more elaborate and pretending compositions to which his death has given rise. Some of the facts relative to the secret history of the divorce of Josephine, are now for the first time given to English readers; the personal habits and manners of Bonaparte are un- X editor's preface. veiled witliout extenuation or malice ; his private conversations and remarks are faith- fullv recorded bv a kind of Court Boswell, who relates even his own disgraces; and the authority of w^hose work is guaranteed, not only by tlie tone of frankness, fidelity, and naivete, whicli characterize it, but by the fact that he held the situation of Prefect of the Palace from 1805 till the period of the Em- peror's abdication of the throne of France. The EnnoR. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. COURT OF RUSSIA. Origin of the marriage of the Princess Sophia of Anhalt- zerbst, afterwards Catherine II. to Peter III. — Intrigues of* the Princess Anhaltzerbst to secure the match for her daughter. — Friendly conduct of EHzabeth. — The negotia- tion aided by Frederick the Great. — Mutual attachment of Peter and the Princess Sophia. — Sudden malady of the former. — Its effects. — Dissimulation of Catherine. — The marriage takes place. — Prudent conduct of Catherine. — The arrogance and intrigues of the Princess of Anhalt causes her banishment from Russia. — The first amour of Catherine with SaltikofF. — Amusements at PeterhofF. — Declaration of SaltikofF. — His departure to, and return from Moscow. — Address and presence of mind of Cathe- rine. — Her interview with the Empress. — Confidence restored on the part of Elizabeth and the Grand-duke. Page 1—27. Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER II. Rivalry between the Empress and Catherine. — Dissolute character of the former. — Her accession to power through crime. — Abolition of capital punishment. — Caprice and extravagance of Elizabeth on the subject of dress. — Cha- racter of Catherine. — Reply of Princess DaschkofF to the Empress. — Birth of Paul, and hatred of Catherine towards the infant. — Humane conduct of the Princess Daschkoff. — Military innovations of Peter III. — They furnish the party of Catherine with a pretext for dethroning him. — The plan adopted for this purpose — Project formed by the Emperor. — His visit to Prince Ivan. — The conspira- tors, headed by the Princess DaschkofF, gain over the troops at Saint Petersburgh, and proclaim Catherine. — Degradation and sufferings of the dethroned Emperor. — His assassination. — Hypocrisy of Catherine on that oc- casion. — Reflections on the conduct of the Empress.— The Princess Daschkoff exonerated from any share in the murder of Peter III. Page 28—51. CHAPTER III. The licentious gallantries of Catherine II. — Her mode of selecting new lovers. — Etiquette observed on these occa- sions. — Obligations imposed on the favourites of the Em- press. — Abruptness of their dismissal, — Catherine's libe- rality. — Anecdote of MomonofF and his wife. — Power and influence of Prince Potemkin. — Anecdote of Marchesi, the opera singer. — Conduct of the Empress on the occasion. — Violent cApduct of Potemkin towards Catherine. — They live on terms of harmony after their separation. — Anomaly in the character of the Empress. — Her attention to public affairs. — -The famous domestic edict. — Its salutary efFect. — Brutal conduct of the Duke of Wurtemburg to his wife. — Encouragement given to foreigners by Catherine. Page 52 — 70. CONTENTS. Xlll CHAPTER IV. Accession of Paul.— Reciprocal hatred between him and Catherine. — He rejects the whole of her household. — Pre- cautions adopted to prevent himself from being poisoned. — Eccentricities which marked the first days of his reign. — Singular address to the murderers of his father. — Treat- ment of Platon ZoubofF.— The part which this favourite of Catherine is supposed to have taken in the assassination of Paul. — Exile of the Princess DaschkofF. — Character of the Princess. — System of Catherine with regard to the children of Paul. — Some account of his first wife, the Princess of Hesse Darmstadt. — Cruel conduct of Catherine towards the Princess. - Page 71— 82. CHAPTER V. Introduction of Stanislaus Poniatowsky at the Court of Saint Petersburgh. — He attracts the notice of Catherine. — Their intimacy promoted by the Princess Daschkoff. — Stanislaus excites the jealousy of the courtiers, and is ordered to quit the capital. — Intrigue to bring him back. — He is named Plenipotentiary, and returns. — Farther observations on the abandoned character of the Empress Elizabeth. — Conduct of the Grand-duke Peter. — Adventure at Oranienbaum. — Statements of Dalolio relative to the birth of Paul and the Princess Anne. — Conduct of Catherine towards her former lover. — Contrasted with that of Paul. — Death of Stanis- laus. — Honour paid to his memory. — Character and vir- tues of the last King of Poland. — Partition Scheme. — Its retroactive effect. — Anecdote relative to the last partition of Poland. — Secret motives of Catherine. — Declaration of Stanislaus to the patriot Kosciusko. — Prince Radzivil's opinion of Mr. Gardiner. — Brutal conduct of Stackelberg towards Stanislaus. Page 83 — 112. XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. COURT OF DENMARK. Arrival at Copenhagen. — Reception by the Crown Prince and royal family. — Amusements and society of the Danish capital. — Details relative to the persecution of Queen Caroline Matilda. — Character of the Queen Dowager Juhana Maria. — Marriage of Matilda to the Crown Prince, — Attachment of the latter for his wife. — Measures taken by Juliana to separate them. — The Crown Prince is re- commended to travel. — His sudden return to the capital. — New machinations of Juliana Maria. — Their effect on the health and feelings of the royal couple. — The mind of the Crown Prince poisoned against his wife. — He is in- duced to sign an order for the arrest of traitors ; the name of Matilda is included. — Plan of the Queen Dowager and Goldberg to prevent an interview between Matilda and her husband. — Trial and condemnation of the Queen and her alleged paramour. — She is divorced and banished from Denmark. — Cruelty and injustice of the trial. — Extra- ordinary policy of George HI. — Statement of Sarti, the Composer. — Usurpation of all the power by Juliana and her satellites. — Death of Matilda Christian VH. — Admi- rable conduct of the Crown Prince, now Frederick VI.- — Juliana and her accomplices removed from power. — Depar- ture for Stockholm. — Singular conversation with an old seaman. Page 113 — 138. CHAPTER VII. COURT OF SWEDEN. Journey from Helsenburg to Stockholm. — Face of the coun- try. — Arrival in the Swedish capital. — Count Erval Fersen. — Drottingholm and review. — Gustavus III. — The Princess Sophia Albertina. — Court drawing-room. — Introduction to the Princess Frederica of Baden. — Her Highness' Dame (lildiiueur. — Royal marriage, and splendid banquet at the CONTENTS. XV Vicks Saal. — Ludicrous incident The Takel Tanse. — Magnificent representation of the celebrated drama of " Gustavus Vasa." Page 139 — 155. CHAPTER VIII. Natural characteristics of the Swedish territory. — Its expor- tation of dried fish. — Relative modes of preparing it prac- tised in Sweden and in Scotland. — Preference of the latter. — Successive territorial losses. — Personal peculiarities of the Swedes. — Swedish inns, and hospitality. — Gustavus III. and the Empress Catherine of Russia. — Committee of dress. — The Princesses DaschcofF and Baratinzky Lally, the violinist. — His dismay on receiving a compliment from Gustavus. — Explanation of the Abbe Vogler. — Marriage of Gustavus. — His singular conduct towards his wife. —The Count de Munck. — Alleged illegitimacy of the heir to the throne. — Ulrica, the Queen Mother. — Her sedulous cspi- onnage of the proceedings of the King and his confidential servant. — Ambitious and vindictive character of this Prin- cess. — Atrocious reports disseminated by her, respecting the morals of her two eldest sons. Page 156 — 171. CHAPTER IX. The authoress encounters, at the baths of Carlsbad, in Bo- hemia, the Duchess of Mecklenburgh Schwerin and her suite. — Arrival of a courier from the Duke. — Contents of the despatches. — Invitation of the Duchess. — Character of Gustavus Adolphus, successor of Gustavus HI. — His pro- jected marriage with the Princess of Mecklenburgh pro- hibited by Catherine the Great. — Departure of the King for St. Petersburgh, with his uncle, the Duke of Suder- mania. — The Empress proposes her niece to Gustavus Adolphus. — Mutual affection of the parties. — Attempted treachery of Catherine, and restraint of the King of Swe- den. — He refuses to sign the marriage contract, and de- Xvi CONTENTS. parts for Stockholm Astonishment and dismay of the Courtiers. — Surreptitious treaty between Catherine and Gustavus III.— Intrigues of the Duke of Sudermania, afterwards Charles XIII. Page 172—182. CHAPTER X. The British Army at Bremen. — Extortion and insolence of an innkeeper and a magistrate. — Disorderly conduct, and disasters of the English troops. — High-road to Hamburgh and Hanover. — Advantages of Macadamization. — Lud- wigslust and its ceremonials. — Etiquette in the minor German States.— The Red Deer at Munich. — Method of ablution there. — Hotels of Vienna. — A German bed, and one of its occupants. Page 183 — 192. CHAPTER XI. Further particulars relative to the Court of Stockholm. — Influence of Frederick the Great in regulating the succes- sion to the Swedish throne. — The Princess Ulrica, sister to Frederick ; her personal deformity, and how occasion- ed. — Advice of Louis XW to the Duchess of Parma. — Intrigues of Ulrica after the death of her husband, Adol- phus Frederick. — Sterility of the Duchess of Sudermania, and fruitfulness of the Princess Sophia Albertina. — A stratagem and a disappointment. — The woolly-headed in- truder, and the cushion-baby Reconciliation of Gustavus in. to his bride, and consequent birth of Gustavus Adol- phus. — Behaviour of the Queen-dowager on the occasion. — The Duke of Austragozia in the South of France. — His communication to the Authoress. — Baron d'Armfeldt and the Princess De Rohan. — Interesting facts gathered from a correspondence between the Baron and Count Fersen, &c. Page 193— 212. CONTENTS. XVll CHAPTER XII. Characteristic Sketch of Count Erval Fersen, — His dis- interested attachment to Gustavus III. — Accompanies that Monarch to the various Courts of Europe. — His eclat at Versailles. — The King of Sweden and Marie An- toinette. — Defeated manoeuvre of Gustavus. — Count Fer- sen left behind, as ambassador to the French Court. — Confidence reposed in him by Louis XVI. — Glance at the earlier days of the French Revolution. — Specimens of the vacillating character of Louis. — The Queen at the Opera. — Prompt behaviour of Fersen. — Her Majesty accomplishes her retreat from the theatre. — Plot of the Crown Monopoly. — Real intentions of Louis in quitting France. — Scheme projected for that purpose by Fersen. — Frustrated by the violence of the mob. — Count Mirabeau. — Fersen partakes the flight and return of the Royal Family, and afterwards escapes from France. — Previous quarrel on his account, between the Princess de Lamballe and the Duchess d'Or- leans. — Fersen nominated by his Sovereign Governor of Upsal. — His mission to Carlsbad, and its results. — Murder of a Republican emissary, and accusation of the Count. — His innocence manifested. — Congress at Rastadt, and po- licy of Sweden at that period. — Conduct of Fersen re- lative to the disputes between Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XIII. — Dethronement of the former. — Fersea's spirited remonstrance and subsequent insurrection.— His death, and that of the Prince of Augustenberg. Page 213—241. CHAPTER XIII. COURT OF PRUSSIA. Axiom of Frederick the Great.— The appeal of General Swieten, and its reception — The old Widow and her Se- venteen sons. — ^The veteran malcontent, and his flight. — Vol. I. b Xvill CONTENTS. Frederick and Marshal Loudon at Potsdam. — The sign of " the Prasrue." — The Countess de Vosse and the Baroness de Knoblsdroff.— Frederick I. and Charles VI.— A true Prophecy.— The Page and the cherries. — The Jew Banker. — A certificate for " value received." — Prussian coinage during the Seven Years' War. — A royal method of " Rais- ing the Wind." Page 242—257. CHAPTER XIV. COURT OF PRUSSIA continued by BARON DE M. Intrigues of the Baron de Stein in 1808. — ^The Embassy of the Assessor Hope. — Imprudent conduct of that individual. — His arrest, and seizure of his despatches. — Curious let- ter to Prince Wittgenstein from Baron de Stein and the Countess Voss. — ^Trepidation of Marshal Soult's inter- preter. — Behaviour of the Marshal. — The anti-Gallican parrot. — Colonel de Gautherot's embassy to Paris, and re- turn to Berlin. — His interview with Napoleon to transmit the substance of the intercepted letters. — Deportment of the French Emperor. — Soult's remarks thereupon. — The " Delicate Investigation." — Disavowal of the King and Queen of Prussia. — Disgrace of the Baron de Stein, and his outlawry by Napoleon. — He subsequently enters into the service of Russia. Page 258 — 269. CHAPTER XV. Marshal Soult's administration at Berlin. — His popularity with all classes. — His gentleness and generosity as con- trasted to the severity of his predecessor, Victor. — The House of Cadets. — The inspector of this Institution, and Colonel L. — Their reception by Marshal Soult. — A whole estal)lishment on the point of perishing from hunger. — The Marshal's bounty, and the singular expression of gra- titude produced by it. — Acknowledgments on the part of CONTENTS. Xix the King of Prussia of the Marshal's benevolence. — His recal and the appointment of Marshal Davoust. — ^That Commander detects a correspondence between the Prince of Orange and Major Schill. — His considerate conduct. — Hostile preparations of Austria. — General Andreossi ; and his dispatches. — Conference between Marshal Davoust and the author. — General St. Hilaire. — Count de St. Marsan — His liberal behaviour and its happy result. Page 270 — 282. CHAPTER XVI. Justus Gruner, President of the Prussian Police. — His aug- mented powers, and the confidence placed in him by the King. — His treacherous proposal to Frederick-William and Alexander. — His consequent disgrace. — He is found upon the Austrian territory and imprisoned. — His release demanded by the monarchs of Russia and Prussia. — His restoration to the favour of Alexander. — His rigorous con- duct as Civil Governor of Berg. — Counsellor Bein. — Gru- ner at the head of the Secret Police in Paris, during its occupation by the Allied Sovereigns. — His rejection by the King of Saxony as Ambassador from Prussia. — His death. — Character, both public and private. — Marshal Blucher and the Prince de Hardenberg. — ^The Marshal's passion for gambling. — " A New Way to Pay Old Debts.'' — Blu- cher's opinion as to who won the battle of Waterloo. — Counts Haugwitz and Schullenbourg. — Corruption and manoeuvring of the former. — Policy of Napoleon. — Count SchuUenbourg's perfidy and ingratitude. Page 283 — 300. CHAPTER XVH. Prince Eugene of Wurtemberg. — His conferences at Stut- gard, with the Emperor Napoleon. — Mission of the Prince to his relative and Sovereign, the King of Prussia. — His interview with that Monarch, and the Emperor Alexander XX CONTENTS. at Potsdam. — Indignation of the latter. — Departure of Eu- gene for Berlin. — His explanation to the Author. — He ad- dresses a letter and memorial to Frederick-William. — His recall. — Fatal results of the battle of Jena. — Memoir of Duke Louis of Wurtemberg. — His brother Henry. — That Prince's lavish expenditure upon his regiment. — Breach of promise on the part of the King of Prussia. — Quarrel between his Majesty and Duke Henry. — Their recon- ciliation. — Mademoiselle Caroline Alexi, daughter of the director of the theatre at Oels. Page 301 — SI 2. CHAPTER XVHI. Apologetic Mission of Marshal Duroc. — -Influence of theQueen of Prussia over her husband. — Her attachment to the Rus- sian Imperial Family. — Manoeuvres of Duroc and the . French ambassador at Berlin, to counteract the influence of the Queen. — Mademoiselle Augusta Schultz. — Plot formed against her by the Prussian officers of the garrison. — Interposition of the King in her favour. — Intrigues found- ed upon the latter circumstance. — Interview between the King and Augusta in the gardens of Charlottenbourg. — Rumours consequent thereupon. — Remonstrance of the Queen. — Her Majesty's precipitate departure for Pyrmont. — Personal sketches of the Prussian Royal Family. — Prince Louis Ferdinand, and his fate. — Prince Augustus and Madame Wichman. — Napoleon and the Duchess of Saxe Weimar.— Mission of the Canon Tam First entry of Bonaparte into Berlin.— His reception of the Prussian ministers. — Cause of the rupture between France and Prussia, which was followed by these events. — Unrelent- ing hatred of Frederick William to Napoleon, and his equally earnest affection for the Emperor Alexander. Page 3 13— -334. CONTENTS. XXI CHAPTER XIX. Misrepresentations respecting the death of the Queen of Prussia. — Authentic account of her indisposition, and its fatal result. — Her Majesty's last moments. — Her inter- ment in a Chapel built for the purpose at Charlottenbourg. — The Grand-duke Constantine of Russia. — His popu- larity at the Court of Berlin. — A scene at the Opera. — Mademoiselle Hentchel. — Her beauty, and the intimation of a visit to her from Constantine. — Preparations for his Imperial Highness's reception. — The Grand-duke's disappointment, and precipitate retreat. — Departure of Major Schill from Berlin in 1805. — Interviews between him and the Author. — His presage of his own fate. — ^The female patriot, Madame Obermann. — Biographical sketch of her Royal Highness the present Duchess of Cumber- land. Page 335—350. CHAPTER XX. Farther anecdotes relative to the Grand-duke Constantine. — The famous Russian General Souwarrow. — His peculiari- ties on the field of battle. — His treatment of a Secretary of Legation. — Scene on parade between him and the Empe- ror Paul. — The Emperor Napoleon and Count Mankow. — An evening party at St. Petersburgh. — Prince Lapuchin. — Klopstock the poet. — His eulogiums of the Emperor Alex- ander. — His disinterested spirit. — Feodora, the fair exile of Siberia. — Her journey to St. Petersburgh. — Alexander's generous behaviour. Page 351 — 364. CHAPTER XXI. Rupture between the King of Prussia and Gustavus Adol- phus, thedeposed King of Sweden. — Martial Despatches. — Order of the Black Eagle. — Interposition of the Emperor Alexander. — Manoeuvres of his Envoy. — Amicable Ar- rangement. — Causes of Bonaparte's Indignation at Gusta- XXil CONTENTS. vus Adolphus. — Intrigues of his Agents at Stockholm. — Abdicatiou of theKing. — Personal description of the famous Count de Munck. — Interview and Treaty between him and his reputed Son, Gustavus. — Conference on the Tilsit Raft. — Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia. — Origin of Bona- parte's choice of Maria Louisa. — Extracts from a Letter of that Princess to Count Edling. — Marshal Loudon at the Siege of Belgrade. — Sketch of the Marshal's early life. Page 365—384. CHAPTER XXII. COURT OF NAPLES, &c. Character and Memoir of Alviso Mocenigo. — Journey of the Authoress to the Tyrol. — ^The Archduchess Marianna, and Marchesi the castrato. — Chagrin of the latter at his cold reception at Inspruck. — Pacchierotti at a private concert of the Queen of France. — Observations on the style of that celebrated Soprano. — The Elector of Bavaria, Charles Theodore. — Incidents met with by the Authoress at his Court. — The Count de Sahano. — Compliment paid by Haydn to the Authoress. — ^The late King and Queen of Bavaria. — Biographical Sketch of his Majesty. — Presump- tuous conduct of Madame Catalani. Page 384—404. CHAPTER XXIII. Marriage of Ferdinand IV., late King of Naples, with the Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. — Sinister policy of the Austrian Cabinet. — Ineflfectual chagrin and dismis- sal of Tanucci. — His successor, the Marquis de Sambuca. — Introduction of Acton, the favourite of the Queen. — Breaking out of the French Revolution. — Conduct pursued by Caroline. — Singular condition of the Court of Naples at CONTENTS. XXIU the period. — The Junta of State. — Its incarceration of several unoffending youths, and its abolition. — Another sanguinary tribunal established. — Vanni, its president, and his retributive fate. — General Mack, and his conduct when prisoner of war in France. — Assassination of a messenger despatched by the Queen to Nelson. — Retirement of the Court to "Sicily. — Imputed orders of her Majesty. — Con- flagration of the Neapolitan fleet. Page 405—419. o CHAPTER XXIV. Remarks on the emigration of the Court to Sicily. — The " Parthenopean Republic." — Roger de Damas and the Cardinal de RufFo. — The cruelties of Mammone Gaetano, a Royalist chieftain. — Sketch of the belligerent Cardinal. — Atrocities perpetrated on the delivery of Naples into the hands of the Royalists. — Capitulation of Chateau Neuf. — The violation by Caroline and her creature Acton. — Observations on the conduct of Lord Nelson. — ^Treachery of the Commander of the French troops. — Characteristic sketches of Queen Caroline, of Lady Hamilton, and of Acton. — The principal victims to the violation of the treaty. Page 420 — 441. CHAPTER XXV. Nomination of Joseph Bonaparte to the throne of Naples. — Description of this Prince. — His favourite ministers, Sali- cetti and Roederer. — Arrival of Joseph's Family. — Surprise of the Neapolitans at his recall. — Nomination of Joachim Murat. — ^Thoughts on certain portions of the policy of Napoleon. — Murat's peculiar character and talents.— He entertains all his poor relations at a banquet, upon his XXiv CONTENTS. being invested with the title of Prince of the French Em- pire-General characteristics and mistakes of Bonaparte s kinc^s-Joachim's love of personal display-Predomi- nance of the military during his reign-Caroline Murat. -Opinion entertained of her by Talleyrand.-Murat s de- termination to hold himself independent of Napoleon.- Bad faith evinced towards him by the French Emperor.- Retort of Joachim.-Mock invasion of Sicdy by Murat.- Unfortunate piece of neglect, compromising the safety ot the Neapolitan army.-Sir Hudson Lowe.-The Pnnce of Canisa -Death of Murat.-Latter days of Carohne Murat at Naples.-Her conciliating and admirable behaviour- Temporary incredulity of the Neapolitans as to Joachim s fate.-Explanatory sketch of the sect of the Carbonari. Page 44-2 — 469 PRIVATE ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. COURT OF RUSSIA. CHAPTER I. Origin of the marriage of the Princess Sophia of Anhalt- zerbst, afterwards Catherine II. to Peter III. — Intrigues of the Princess Anhaltzerbst to secure the match for her daughter. — Friendly conduct of Elizabeth. — The negotia- tion aided by Frederick the Great. — IMutual attachment of Peter and the Princess Sophia. — Sudden malady of the former. — Its effects. — Dissimulation of Catherine. — The marriage takes place. — Prudent conduct of Catherine. — The arrogance and intrigues of the Princess of Anhalt causes her banishment from Russia. — The first amour of Catherine with SaltikofF. — Amusements at Peterhoff — De- claration of Saltikoff. — His departure to, and return from Moscow.— Address and presence of mind of Ca,therine. — Her interview with the Empress. — Confidence restored on the part of Elizabeth and the Grand-duke. I INTRODUCE my Anecdotes by several curi- ous particulars relative to the intrigues, private VOL. I. li • 2 ANECDOTES OF 1 OllEIGN COURTS. and political, of the Court of Russia, at which I was for some time resident. All Europe has been deceived as to the real cause of the matrimonial alliance which took place between Peter the Third, while he was Grand-duke, and the Princess Sophia of An- haltzerbst. It has been attributed to the great influence which Frederick, King of Prussia, exercised over the mind of Peter. That the Prussian monarch was anxious for their union there is no doubt ; yet it will be proved that this marriage, which originated in a sentiment of mutual affection, almost conceived at first sight by both parties, and which ended so tra- gically to the one, and triumpliantly to the other, did not, as Tsome writers have asserted, take i)lace in consequence of the supposed in- trigues of Frederick. The truth is, that the Empress Elizabeth, long before she had been raised to the sove- reignty, had, during her father's life, been pro- mised in marriage to the Prince of Holstein Eutin, brother to the reigning Princess of An- haltzerbst, the mother of Princess Sophia. This jirince, whom she tenderly loved, was unfortu- nately carried off' by sudden death, on the very eve of their intended union. Tims cruelly dis- appuintid in all her hopes, Elizabeth made a THE EMPRESS ELIZABETH. 3 VOW of never after entering into the matrimo- nial state, a resolution which she kept publicly, though it did not prevent her from a more than ordinary indulgence in those excesses for which so many of her contemporaries w^ere celebrated. Indeed, ill-nature has gone so far as to assimilate her habits and character to one of the wives of the Emperor Clodius, adding, that, like another Messalina, the gratification of her passions knew no bounds. Notwithstand- ing the amorous predilections of Elizabeth, she always looked back with the fondest recol- lection on the object of her first attachment, and never spoke of him without shedding tears, even to the last days of her life. The Princess of Anhalt w^as, therefore, well aware of Elizabeth's attachment to the memory of her late brother ; and when she became Em- press, resolved to profit by the circumstance, in securing the Imperial crown for her daughter. This project being communicated to the great Frederick, he applauded the scheme, and pro- mised to aid her with all his influence. The Princess of Anhalt soon after took her daugh- ter to the court of Saint Petersburgh, where they were received with open arms, and treat- ed in the most friendly manner by Elizabeth. The young stranger, who was then considered B 2 4 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. handsome, and adorned with all those graces of art so interesting in early life, did not fail to make the desired impression on the mind and heart of the Grand-duke, this being indeed the great object in view, and sole motive of the visit to the court of Elizabeth, Peter, the presumptive heir, though without any graces of person, was a fine well-grown young man, with a good figure, to which he added amiable manners and a pleasing address ; so that the attachment thus formed was soon observed by the court, and, to the satisfaction of the two mothers, it seemed to be reciprocal. Agreeably to the part she had proposed to her- self, no sooner had the Princess of Anhalt perceived the effect produced on the Grand- duke by the society of her daughter, than she seized the first favourable moment of throwing herself at the feet of Elizabeth, and imploring her protection for the two lovers ; taking care to remind the Empress of the passion for the late Prince of Holstein, which she herself had never been able to conquer, and entreating her Imperial Majesty to complete the happiness of the niece of him w^hose loss she still so bitterly deplored. Whether it arose from a sentiment of grati- tude toAvards the memory of her departed lover, or some other motive connected with the poll MALADY OF THE GRAND-DUKE. 5 tical intrigues of the day, Elizabeth appeared to have anticipated the wishes of the Princess ; for she not only heard the proposal with plea- sure, but mingled her tears with those of the suppliant, embraced her, and terminated the in- terview by promising that her daughter should be Grand-duchess of Russia. On the following day, the Empress being at- tired in her imperial robes, announced to the senate and council of state, as well as to the Princes and nobles of the empire, the choice she had made for the future consort of her nephew, and presenting Catherine as Grand- duchess of Russia, invited the foreign ambas- sadors to sanction the marriage by their pre- sence at the approaching ceremonies. This being determined, and a day fixed for carrying the same into effect with all that Eastern pomp and magnificence which Elizabeth was so fond of displaying on such occasions, the whole court was filled with joy and gaiety at the pro- mised felicity of the Imperial couple, as the natural result of mutual affection so rarely combined in royal marriages ; when all parties were suddenly thrown into the greatest alarm for the life of the Grand-duke, who was attacked with a violent fever, the precursor of a still more dangerous disease — the small-pox ; so that Ca- therine, like Elizabeth, was also on the point of 6 ANECDOTES ()F FOREIGN COURTS. losing her lover. He, however, recovered : but the malady had left such cruel traces, as to cause the most disagreeable metamorphosis* leaving Peter not merely a wreck of what he had lately been, but almost hideous to the sight. During the Grand-duke's illness, his intend- ed bride was not allowed to approach the apart- ment ; but she was regularly informed of the progress of the malady by her mother, who, perceiving the extraordinary change effected by the disease, became so much alarmed at the pro- bable consequences on the mind of the young Princess, whenever they should meet, that she determined to prepare her for the first interview, by telling her that the Grand-duke had become the most frightful and ugly being she ever be- held. This repulsive intimation was accom- panied by an urgent recommendation that she would dissimulate her disgust, and not betray any JD STANISLAUS. 97 title of ambassador^ but virtually to govern his kingdom until the plan of spoliation and par- tition should be finally ripened, are considered, it is impossible to acquit the Empress of hav- ing been at once the most consummate hypo- crite and unprincipled woman ever entrusted with political power. If the conduct of Catherine towards her early friend and lover has tended to cover her me- mory with opprobrium, that of Paul, as regards the same individual, really displays his charac- ter, otherwise so repulsive, in a most favour- able point of view. There was something so truly noble and generous in his inviting the dethroned monarch to St. Petersburgh, and not only allotting a palace for his future residence, but showing Stanislaus all the respect due to a sovereign, that it is scarcely possible to recon- cile it with the various follies of his reign. It was this treatment, on the part of Paul, which induced the dethroned monarch to tell his friends that he felt himself more a king at St. Petersburgh, than he had ever done while at Warsaw. The demeanour of Stanislaus on his arrival in the Russian capital, and that affability of man- ner which he manifested towards all those who approached him, soon endeared the dethroned VOL. I. H 98 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. monarch to the public, and greatly tended to increase tiieir sympathy in his favour. Hap- pening to be at St. Petersburg!! soon after the arrival of Stanislaus, I frequently saw him in public, and was particularly struck by the dig- nity of his appearance. He still possessed a most imposing figure, while his countenance retained a great portion of that expression which had formerly caused him to be regarded as one of the handsomest men in Europe. Naturally anxious to know more of a prince who had experienced such trying vicissitudes, 1 gladly availed myself of the kind offer of an introduction made me by Lord Whitworth, to whom I had brought letters of introduction from INIr. Hailes, our ambassador at the court of Stockholm, and had been invited to accom- pany his lordship to the first party given by Stanislaus, who was passionately fond of music. It was on the morning of the day on which I anticipated this treat, and when preparing to go to the Catholic church to hear mass, that the Duke de Sera Capriola, the Neapolitan am- bassador, came to inform me that the King of Poland had been attacked during the night with a fit of apoplexy, that he was quite speechless, and not expected to survive twen- ty-four hours. Having accompanied the Duke THE DEATH OF STANISLAUS. 99 to the house of Princess Narishkin in the even- ing, we found nearly all those who were invited to visit the unfortunate King deploring the un- looked-for malady of a Prince who, but a few hours before, had been busily occupied in giving directions relative to the approaching soiree ! As generally occurs on such occasions, the virtues of Poniatowsky, and the persecutions he had ex- perienced, became the general theme of conver- sation ; and when at a later hour Lord Whit- worth entered to announce his death, it was instantly buzzed about the rooms that he must have been poisoned, an insinuation upon which every body expatiated according to his own way of thinking. The reasonings on this sub- ject had not however proceeded far, before the British ambassador, who had been the constant companion of Stanislaus, ever since his arrival at St. Petersburgh, declared there was no foun- dation whatever for such a report, and that the Monarch's decease was alone caused by the attack of apoplexy, to which I have already alluded. The death of Stanislaus afforded Paul a fresh opportunity of showing his respect for the un- fortunate Prince. No sooner was the melan- choly event announced, than orders were issued to pay all the honours of royalty to the re- H 2 100 ANFXDOTES OF FOUEIGN COURTS. mains of the deceased monarch. The corpse, having been accordingly placed in a coffin orna- mented with the insignia of royalty, remained the usual number of days laid out in the state apartments, which were magnificently hung with tlie richest black velvet curtains, and lighted with a profusion of wax tapers. When these preparations were completed, Paul, ac- companied by Prince Narishkin, proceeded to the scene of mourning, and, kneeling close to the coffin, prayed very fervently for some time ; after which he directed that the rooms should be thrown open to the public })revious to the final ceremony. After being exposed the usual number of days, the body was removed on a splendid hearse, constructed for the purpose, to the cathedral, where a solemn requiem, composed by Sarti for the occasion, was chanted. Mi- nute guns were heard from without, and shook the roof of the edifice, which was thronged with persons of every rank and condition. In- deed, the universal and ardent sympathy mani- fested at the funeral of Stanislaus was of itself an unequivocal testimony in favour of the cha- racter and virtues of the departed monarch. It was remarked as a singular coincidence, that the circumstances attendino; the death of Stanislaus were very similar to those of Catlie- STANISLAUS. 101 rine herself. Their age was nearly the same ; he also was attacked by apoplexy, and Imgered about the same number of hours before his dis- solution. Although there can be little doubt but that the ambitious views of Russia, with regard to Poland, might be traced to a much earlier date than the election of Stanislaus ; he possessed qualities of the head and heart which would have made him very popular with his new subjects ;* but from the system of intrigue pursued by Russian agents, who were constant- ly occupied in fomenting internal dissensions, by which the life of the monarch was fre- quently exposed to the greatest danger, and a species of perpetual civil war kept up, his title of king was a mere mockery from the be- ginning. The apathy with which those powers who did not join in the partition scheme witnessed the extinction of a monarchy, whose existence * Stanislaus is said to have excited a great deal of discon- tent, in consequence of his having been the first Sarmatian that caused himself to be crowned in the French royal robes, in- stead of the ancient Polish dress previously used on such occasions. As this was considered as an indication of still greater changes, it created the utmost jealousy among the principal nobility, not excepting some of the King's own re- lations. 102 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. was SO necessary for maintaining the balance of power in Europe, has been, as it ever must be, a just source of astonishment and indignation with the patriots and politicians of every coun- try. But the almost inevitable consequences of political innovations, founded on injustice, were perhaps never so strongly exemplified as in the case of this ill-fated nation. Scarcely had the crime been perpetrated, when the colonists of North America, as if roused to avenge its enor- mity,* shook off the yoke of the mother coun- try ; hence a sanguinary war, in which immense blood and treasures were sacrificed. The French Revolution followed soon after : it is needless to dwell on the result of a struggle so unex- ampled in the history of mankind, to which that event gave rise. None, however, but those who are determined to shut their eyes to the lessons of history, will deny the analogy wliich exists between an act that seemed at once to destroy all confidence between the rulers and the governed, and the subsequent efforts made by almost every people in Europe to obtain guarantees which might secure them against both foreign and domestic aggressions. * It has been truly observed, that the resistance to a trifling tax levied at a single sea-port, was rather the pretext than the real cause of the American Revolution. KOSCIUSKO, ETC. 103 During my stay in the Russian capital I was confidently informed, that from the gene- ral spirit which pervaded the Poles, the slight- est demonstration of physical aid and co-opera- tion from France or England, would have pro- duced such an effect in uniting them, that they might have easily resisted all the power of Russia; but seeing themselves abandoned, their spirits naturally flagged and were soon broken; though the efforts of Kosciusko, Zajonerek and their friends, are on record to prove that Po- land was not sacrificed without a struggle on the part of her brave but unfortunate sons. The only manifestation of sympathy towards the Poles consisted in the authority received by Tapper, the banker of Warsaw, from a fo- reign cabinet, to advance whatever sums Sta- nislaus might require for carrying on a defen- sive war. From what quarter this authority was derived has never transpired, as on its reaching the knowledge of the Russian ambas- sador, Tapper was murdered by a party of as- sassins, who waylaid him as he was coming out of his own house. With respect to the motives which actuated the conduct of Catherine towards her former paramour, they were variously stated to me while at Saint Petersburgh. Among others, 104 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the Princess Dasclikoff told Mr. Gardiner, who was for many years British ambassador in Po- land, and the intimate friend of Stanislaus, that, independent of her well-known views of am- bition, the Empress was stimulated to the first partition by her desire to humble the pride of Poniatowsky, in consequence of his refusal to consent to a private marriage ; adding, that she would have most probably dethroned him then, had not the Count de Vergennes, French minister at Warsaw, induced the Porte to take up the cause of Poland, and march a large body of troops towards the Crimea. Some threatening movements made by Gustavus III. of Sweden, on the side of Finland, at the same time, and also the interference of France, in- duced Catherine to suspend her project till a more favourable opportunity. On coming to this determination, the Empress observed to her confidant,— " Well, since he will not be my husband, he shall never be at peace till he has become my prisoner. He may then per- haps change his mind." That the reported anxiety of Catherine to marry Poniatowsky was believed by Kosciusko, 1 have reason to know from the Patriot him- self. Happening to meet him at Paris, while ANECDOTE OF STANISLAUS. 105 attaclied to the regiment of Prince Joseph Po- niatowsky, he related, among other anecdotes connected with the last king of Poland, a con- versation which took place soon after his de- thronement, in the presence of Count Macro- nosko and his father-in-law, Prince Sanguska, and on the estate of the latter. Having al- luded to the unhappy fate which had befallen their common country, and sympathized with the sufferings of his master, the indignant Pa- triot said; — "But, Sire, had you played your cards as you might have done, your Majesty would have long since been Emperor of Russia as well as King of Poland, in which case the forces of one country would have always sup- ported your throne in the other." — " That may be," replied Stanislaus ; " but I had promised Catherine never to marry if she was assured of a legitimate heir to the crown of Russia. There being soon after no doubt of the Grand- duke Paul succeeding to it, I had no idea of changing my sentiments on the subject. Be- sides, from the capricious character of the Em- press, and disposition of those around her, I felt convinced that I should soon have shared the fate of her first husband ; whereas, by de- clining the marriage, I gave no immediate 106 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. cause of jealousy to her courtiers, being so far removed from the intrigues and cabals which constantly occupied their time." Both the Princess Daschkoff and Narishkin have often assured me that, notwithstanding the persecution experienced by Poniatowsky from his mistress and her agents, Catherine never felt so much attached to any of her favourites ex- cept Lanskoi. There is, however, no doubt but that the first named of the above ladies, aided by OrlofF, warmly encouraged the elevation of Stanislaus, as the only means of destroying his growing influence over the Empress. Aware of her love of novelty, they knew that it was only necessary to remove him from the scene of his triumph, in order to fill his place with some person who would be less likely to interfere with their own views. INIadame Narishkin once told me, that hap- pening to be closeted with Catherine, soon after she had decided the fate of Stanislaus, the Em- press dc})lored the necessity of dethroning him in the most feeling terms, and even shed tears, as if she could not have adopted a different line of policy. She at the same time expressed a wish that he would soon make some over- tures relative to their former intimacy : on ano- ther occasion, and when there had been suffi- CATHEEINE AND STANISLAUS. 107 cient time for the expected communications, Catherine spoke in a totally different tone, and, after reproaching the fallen monarch with his indifference and pride, she exclaimed — " Be it so ! if he is as headstrong as Essex, he shall find me as determined as Elizabeth !" On perceiving the effect produced by the silence of Stanislaus, and being anxious to meet the wishes of her mistress, the Princess Narishkin despatched her husband in all haste to Grodno, with a view of persuading the dethroned King to propitiate the Empress by a more conciliatory line of con- duct; but, whether it arose from the resent- ment excited by the injuries he had akeady experienced, or his want of confidence in Ca- therine, Stanislaus could never be persuaded to make the smallest concession. It was this dig- nified conduct which induced one of his friends to say, " that he was a real king when dethroned, and a slave vmder a diadem." As T have already observed, though his last residence at Saint Petersburgh was so short, his aimable manners, good humour, and philoso- phic resignation to his situation, had endeared Stanislaus to all those who approached his person; while his humanity and numerous charities ren- dered him extremely popular with the public. In speaking of the dethroned King, Mr. Gar- 108 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. diner used to say, that he " was grand in his de- portment ; handsome and manly in his person ; accompUshed and elegant in conversation ; di- vested of pride or ostentation ;" adding, " that he invariably conducted himself towards indivi- duals of every rank with the dignity which became a king." Stanislaus seldom assumed the Polish cos- tume, except to gratify the wishes of some favourite lady. I was informed by the Princess Radzivill, that on his first entering into society, and when thus dressed, he was by far the hand- somest man she ever beheld. It was in his national dress and fur cap that Sir Hanbury Williams first presented Poniatowsky at the court of Elizabeth. His fine person and fasci- nating manners made such an impression on the old Empress, that she immediately offered to give him a place at court ; and if the reports I heard were true, lie might have aspired to still more flattering proofs of regard.* * I heard from the Princess Narishkin, that at a mask- ed ball given soon after Poniatowsky*s presentation, on which occasion lie again appeared in his Polish costnme, the Empress said to Sir Hanbury Williams, loud enough to be heard by the young stranger, " I should like, above all things, to have such a dress as that," pointing to Stanislaus ; upon which Poniatowsky went up and replied, " Your Ma- jesty's wish shall be instantly gratified." " Then I will re- \ ANECDOTES OF STANISLAUS. 109 Madame Radzivill,* who seemed to be inti- mately acquainted with the private history of Stanislaus, assured me, that, had he lived, it was his intention to have married a lady named tire, and prepare to put on the dress at once," rejoined Elizabeth. It was probably expected that Stanislaus should have attended to present the suit in person ; instead, how- ever, of this, he merely sent it by an attendant, and conti- nued to amuse himself in dancing or walking with Cathe- rine and the ladies of the court. JMadame Narishkin added, that the Empress was so disappointed at Poniatowsky's want of gallantry, that she did not make her appearance any more during the remainder of the evening, and that the dress was returned the next day, as being too large ! * This lady was the mother of Prince Radzivill, who mar- ried a daughter of Prince Ferdinand of Prussia, and who is said to be very nearly related, on the maternal side, to the late King of Poland. On the birth of the above Prince, Sta- nislaus is said to have signified his joy by conferring a title, with the revenue of twelve villages, on the mother, with whom he had been on terms of close intimacy for some years before. It is certain that, after the death of Poniatowsky at the battle of Leipsic, Napoleon directed his attention to Prince Radzivill, as being the most proper person to succeed him, in the event of his famous plan with regard to the re-estab- lishment of Poland being realized. The motives of Napo- leon for this choice, which he imagined would be highly ac- ceptable to the Poles, who still venerate the memory of the Prince's reputed father, was communicated to several of the Patriots in the late French Emperor's visit to Wilna, during the disastrous campaign of 1812. 110 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Sebrosky, by wliom he had ah-eady had several children, and that she would have been ac- knowledfjed as his wife at the court of Paul. Indeed Madame Radzivill one day pointed out to me, among the guests who dined at her own Palace, a very fine-looking young man, as the son of Poniatowsky by the above-named lady. I have since heard, on the French army enter- ing Poland, a number of his friends made every effort to persuade this individual to present himself before Napoleon ; but he could not be prevailed on to do so, and is, I believe, stiU in the Russian service. I understand that, during the pleasure of the Emperor Paul, he was al- lowed a liberal pension ; for it is among the most admirable traits in the character of his re- puted father, that though more than thirty years a king, with the revenue of a great king- dom at his disposal, he arrived at Saint Peters- burgh in very straitened circumstances, and left no worldly inheritance, save an inconsidera- ble quantity of plate and jewels !* • One of the biographers of Catherine II. has erroneously styled the fatlier of Poniatowsky an adventurer. He cer- tainly held a situation in the house of Count IMizielky, but he was not the less distinguished in his own country, where his talents might have made him a second Napoleon, had he Ijeen equally ambitious. Besides his intimacy witli Charles ANECDOTES OF STANISLAUS. Ill In speaking of the humiliations to which Stanislaus had been exposed while a monarch, Madame Radzivill stated, that during the em- bassy of Stackelberg, he has been known to enter the theatre when the performance was almost concluded, and although the sovereign was present, he would order the recommence- ment of the piece. Mr. Gardiner being in the royal box on one of these occasions, was so shocked with the brutal conduct of Stackel- berg, that he quitted the house, determined never to remain in it again when the Russian agent was there. Although the British envoy resented this gross outrage, and pointed it out to the other ambassadors resident at Warsaw as an insult to the whole diplomatic body, it does not appear that Stanislaus, or his minis- ters, attempted to remonstrate against such barbarous conduct. The above story of Stackelberg's brutality was afterwards fully confirmed to me by Mr. XII. of Sweden, the elder Poniatowsky was the confidential adviser of the unfortunate Leczinsky. He subsequently be- came the friend of Augustus;, who gave him the Princess Czartorinski in marriage a proof that he was neither re- garded as an adventurer, nor of low extraction. Stanislaus was only one of a numerous progeny, to which this marriage gave rise. 112 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Gardiner himself, whom I met at Warsaw living as a private gentleman. He spoke in terms of the warmest admiration of the unfor- tunate Stanislaus, and regretted that he had been ever induced to oppose the only party in Poland which could have enabled him to de- feat the Machiavelian intrigues of the Russian court, where the plan of partition and spolia- tion alone originated, as neither Austria nor Prussia would have dared to move in such a nefarious transaction, unless urged on by Russia. INIr. Gardiner added his conviction, that, if Stanislaus had acted with more decision, and openly declared against the interference of Catherine, before matters had been carried to the last extremity, England and France would have made any sacrifice in his favour, since it was evidently the interest of those two powers to preserve the integrity of the Polish territory inviolate. ARRIVAL AT COPENHAGEN. 113 CHAPTER VI. COURT OF DENMARK. Arrival at Copenhagen. — Reception by the Crown Prince and royal family. — Amusements and society of the Danish capital. — Details relative to the persecution of Queen Caroline Matilda. — Character of the Queen Dowager Juliana Maria. — Marriage of Matilda to the Crown Prince. — Attachment of the latter for his wife. — Measures taken by Juliana to separate them. — The Crown Prince is recommended to travel. — His sudden return to the capi- tal. — New machinations of Juliana Maria. — Their effect on the health and feelings of the royal couple. — The mind of the Crown Prince poisoned against his wife. — He is in- duced to sign an order for the arrest of traitors ; the name of Matilda is included. — Plan of the Queen Dowager and Goldberg to prevent an interview between Matilda and her husband. — Trial and condemnation of the Queen and her alleged paramour. — She is divorced and banished from Denmark. — Cruelty and injustice of the trial. — Extra- ordinary policy of George HI. — Statement of Sarti, the Composer. — Usurpation of all the power by Juliana and her satellites. — Death of Matilda. — Christian VII.— Admir- able conduct of the Crown Prince, now Frederick VI. — Ju- liana and her accomplices removed from power. — Departure for Stockholm. — Singular conversation with an old seaman. There are very few events in the domestic annals of Europe, which have attracted more VOL. I. I 114 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. attention, or excited more sympathy, than the treatment experienced by Caroline Ma- tilda, Queen of Denmark, and sister to George III. The following details, relative to that atro- cious persecution, were collected from contem- poraries and eye-witnesses of all that occurred, during a residence of some months at Copen- hagen in the year 1796, while the subject was still a frequent topic of conversation in that city. Previously to commencing these details, it may be necessary to state, that before my visit, there had been scarcely any friendly inter- course between the courts for many years. Having been honoured with letters of intro- duction from the late lamented Duchess of York, and his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, I am induced to believe, from the very flattering reception I experienced from the Crown Prince, his sister, and indeed all the other members of the royal family, that I had some share in renewing a correspondence which the treatment of the unfortunate Caroline had so long interrupted. On the other hand, the ea- gerness with which I was interrogated on every point connected with tlie British royal family, convinced me of the high estimation in which all its members were held by that of Denmark, as well as their anxiety to cultivate the closest AMUSEMENTS AT COPENHAGEN. 115 friendship and intimacy with the court of Saint James's. Soon after my arrival, the Grand-chamber- lain, Houch, sent me a general invitation to visit all the places of public amusement, as well as the royal palaces : I was also favoured with the use of a box at the theatre. These privileges, together with the various other acts of hospitality so peculiar to the Northern courts, rendered my stay at Copenhagen truly agree- able ; nor, on my arrival, had I any idea of the taste and elegance which prevailed in the va- rious societies of the Danish capital, to which I had the honour of being invited. Though necessarily on a smaller scale than those of Ber- lin and Saint Petersburgh, the balls, concerts, and masquerades given by the Crown Prince and his royal sister, were conducted in a very splendid style and numerously attended. Both Sabieno and Sarti, two of the most celebrated composers of the day, had resided at this court. The last named, whom I afterwards met in the Russian capital, had been the instructor of Queen Matilda, and would probably have been sacrificed to the implacable vengeance of Maria Juliana, had he not been apprised of the danger and made his escape. Of all the domestic calamities which can befall 1 2 IIG ANECDOTES OF FOUEIGN COURTS. a court or a nation, it would be difficult to name any so great, as that of an intriguing and ambitious princess, whose ruling passion is to- tally unchecked by virtue, and, if entrusted with power, does not hesitate to commit the greatest crimes, when they are likely to pro- mote the objects of her wishes. Such a wo- man was Juliana Maria, the late Queen Dow- ager of Denmark, who, like her prototype, Catherine de Medicis, never seemed happy ex- cept while occupied in destroying the peace and happiness of others, more especially the members of her own family. Juliana was a princess of the house of Bruns- wick, a family with which the sovereigns of Denmark had been long in the habit of form- ing matrimonial alliances before her marriage to the King, Frederick V. Scarcely had she given birth to her first child, the crook-backed Richard of the North, as he was styled from his deformity, when she resorted to the most diabolical means, in order to ruin the Crown Prince in the estimation of the King his father. Unable to alienate the affections of a parent from a son, who was the hope of his country, she surrounded the young Prince with the most abandoned and dissipated individuals, who led him into every vice, and, owing to his MARRIAGE OF THE CROWN PRINCE. 117 inexperience, succeeded but too well in cor- rupting his morals and undermining his health. — It was in that state he first saw the Princess Caroline Matilda of England, who was, on her arrival in Denmark, young, handsome, sprightly and accomplished, possessing all those amiable qualities which were calculated to win the heart of her intended husband ; and from the sudden change produced in the manners and habits of the Crown Prince after their marriage, there is no doubt but that the union would have been blessed with happiness, had not the machina- tions of Juliana frustrated this hope, and ren- dered the future life of both one continued scene of sufi^ering and sorrow. Aware, therefore, of the consequences which must result from allowing the young couple to remain together, the Queen-dowager and her emissaries determined to bring about a tempo- rary separation, as the only means of carrying their final plan into effect. To accomplish this object, the court physician was bribed by Ju- liana to advise the king to travel for the benefit of his health, which she herself had used every art to destroy ; and his departure was hastened, when she heard, contrary to her hopes, that the Queen had become pregnant. This event, so gratifying to the nation, as might well be ex- 118 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. pected, filled Juliana with rage and disappoint- ment, more especially as she had fully cal- culated, that the excesses into which the mo- narch liad been formerly led by her directions, would have effectually removed the possibility of his becoming a father ! The appalling prospect of an heir to the throne determined Juliana to change her sys- tem, and she accordingly began to take mea- sures for depreciating and blackening the cha- racter of the young Queen, in the hope that matters would be sufficiently matured on his return to bring forward charges, which, if not substantiated, might at least create an irrecon- cileable breach between them. It occurred to her, on the other hand, that, if unsuccessful in this new project, and the expected child proved a boy, the King might be easily put out of the way, in which case she coidd take advantage of Matilda's youth, and get herself declared Regent, as being the elder branch of the royal family, and jointly with her own son. Those who knew the character of Juliana, assured me that the above project, had it been successful, was closely connected with another, — that of hatching up a plot by which the minor should be excluded from the throne on some plea of MACHINATIONS OF JULIANA. 119 ineligibility, to be invented by the Queen- dowager herself. All these plans were, however, interrupted by the sudden return of the King from his travels, when he found Matilda greatly im- proved in mind and person, while the attach- ment of the people towards himself and the Queen was greatly increased by the birth of a son during his absence. The young couple continued to live on terms of the utmost har- mony, when the birth of a Princess* greatly added to their popularity, and rendered them still more dear to each other. It is scarcely ne- cessary to say, that this state of things was inexpressibly galling to the Queen-dowager, who had never for a moment relinquished her dreams of ambition or hopes of success. Hav- ing failed in producing the effect she had anti- cipated on the mind of the King, who became daily more attached to his wife, Juliana deter- mined to try whether she could not excite the jealousy and resentment of Caroline Matilda, by recounting all the early amours and excesses * This was the beautiful Louisa Augusta, now Duchess of Augustenburg, mother to the wife of the Crown Prince, and who visited England some time ago in company with her husband. 120 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. of her husband, mstigated by Juliana herself, to which more recent acts of infidelity were of course added. While this plan was pursued with regard to Matilda, similar calumnies were industriously communicated to the King. Every effort being thus made to create jea- lousy and disgust between the Crown Prince and his wife, the Queen -dowager took care to surround both with emissaries, who were in- structed to poison their minds against each other, and, if possible, persuade them that re- taliation was perfectly justifiable in such cases ! Such were the arts by which Juliana Maria hoped to effect her nefarious designs, and, as the sequel unhappily proved, they were but too successful ; for while the unsuspecting INIa- tilda imagined that the insinuations relative to the conduct of her husband proceeded from pure friendship, and that Juliana's apparent commiseration was merely the effect of sym- pathy, the efforts used to poison the King's mind were not less calculated to excite suspi- cion, which it only required a little additional fanning to swell into that violent flame of jealousy that ultimately deprived him of reason, and drove his Queen into exile. In thus call- ing the most powerful passions of the human heart into action, Juliana was aware that the JEALOUSY OF THE CROWN PRINCE. 121 feelings of the young King and Queen would be acute in proportion to their natural suscep- tibility, and the warmth of attachment for each other ; so that, Avhile the former became a prey to melancholy and grief, the King's health and spirits were soon affected to such a degree, that Juliana already began to calculate either on his falling a victim to his wounded feelings, or such an alienation of mind, as would afford an opening for carrying her ultimate designs into speedy execution. Various circumstances rendered it necessary for Juliana to hasten the cUnouemefit of her in- fernal drama. The growing popularity of the Queen might soon excite a party in her favour that would for ever destroy the hopes of her enemies, and even involve the Queen-dowager in destruction, while it was of infinite importance to make use of the King's authority in bringing about the disgrace of Caroline Matilda. Pur- suant to these notions, fresh plans were adopted, and new calumnies invented, until the mind of the King was worked up to such a pitch of jea- lousy and indignation, that he seemed prepared to adopt any measure that should be proposed. Availing themselves of this propitious moment, Juliana Maria and her confidential agent, the minister Goldberg, having made out a list 122 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. of those whom they intended to proscribe, and drawn up an act of accusation, seized the first favourable opportunity to induce his Majesty, who had already betrayed frequent symptoms of derangement, solely caused by the doubts which had been raised in his mind as to the conduct of the Queen, to sign a general order for the arrest of all persons suspected of trea- sonable practices against the State. Once in possession of this document, no time was lost in commencing the work of proscription. A list of the intended victims had been akeady prepared, though never presented to the King. One of these, which was intended to accompany the warrant of arrest, in addition to the names of Brandt, the Court Physician, and the JNIinister Struensee, contained that of the Queen ! The mode adopted for carrying the first act meditated against Caroline Matilda into effect, was aggravated by all the cruelty and barbarity which persecution could devise. The order for arrest had been confided to Count de Shack, a creature of the Queen-dowager, and carried into execution in the dead of night, to prevent the consequences which might have attended such an outrage in open day. The minister of vengeance, accompanied by a party of soldiers, entered the apartments of Matilda's female atten- THE QUEEN ACCUSED OF ADULTERY. 123 dants, and told them that they must immedi- ately awake the Queen, as he had a communi- cation to make from his JNIajesty : on their show- ing some hesitation, and alleging that their mistress had retired very much fatigued, for she had been at a party that very night, where Juli- ana was also present, and familiarly conversing with her, — the Count rushed forward, forced the door, and, on entering the royal chamber, saw Matilda lying in bed, with the young Princess Louisa lying in her arms. This did not, how- ever, prevent him from signifying to the affright- ed Queen, that she was his prisoner, and instantly ordering his myrmidons to seize her as guilty of high treason, in having had an adulterous intercourse with Brandt and Struensee. On the Queen's remonstrating against this unex- pected outrage on her honour, and loudly pro- testing her innocence of the charge. Shack said, — " It is useless, INIadam, to deny the fact, as Struensee has not only confessed his crime with regard to your Majesty, but also asserted that you are engaged in a conspiracy against the life of the King !" — " That is im- possible, Count Shack," replied Matilda : " I know that Struensee is too loyal towards his master, and jealous of my honour, to confess a falsehood so glaring." — " But Struensee will 124 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. forfeit his life, JNIadam,'' rejoined the Count, " if you persist in refusing the King's autho- rity." The unfortunate Queen had by this time fallen into the arms of one of her attend- ants quite senseless ; and, on recovering, she said to Shack, — " If I confess myself the cause of his misfortune, will that save the life of Struensee ?" " Undoubtedly, Madam," was the reply. " Then draw up a paper to this effect," rejoined the Queen, " and I will take the whole charge on myself, conscious that I shall be able to confound my enemies by fully proving my innocence before the King and the nation." Shack, who came prepared with the necessary document, drew it from his pocket and presented it to Matilda, who could scarcely sustain herself while she looked over its horrid contents ; and it was in a state bor- dering on mental derangement, produced by the perusal, that Shack, faithful to his orders, took the hand of the Queen and guided it in signing the fatal instrument ; upon which the mock tribunal, summoned to try the accused, founded the legality of Matilda's divorce, and sent tl)e alleged traitors to a scaffold. It will scarcely be credited, that the whole of these cruel sentences were decided on and pro- nounced, without the Queen being either in- BANISHMENT OF THE QUEEN. 125 terrogated personally or heard by counsel ; so that her signature, obtained in a moment of terror and mental distraction, was not only considered as sufficient to condemn herself, but operated as incontestable evidence against the lives she wished to save. The only cir- cumstance, from which the guilt of Struensee could be inferred, was that of his cloak being found in the Queen's apartment, and which had been lent to Matilda on the eveninsr of her arrest, in order to be thrown over her masquerade dress. With respect to Brandt, the physician and friend of Struensee, the Queen dowager knew that, unless implicated with the other victims, he was, from his influence and character, in a situation to expose the whole of her machinations, and turn them agfainst her own guilty head. This is said to have been her principal motive for sacrificing Brandt. ^No sooner had the unhappy Matilda's hand been affixed to the document produced by Shack, than she was hurried off to the Castle of Cronenberg, on the coast of Denmark, some leagues from the capital. Not a soul except those who were concerned in the arrest knew any thing of it till next day ; even the King himself was kept in total ignorance of the proceedings till he was called upon to sign 126 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the act of accusation and order for lier trial, as well as that of the other victims. I was cre- dibly informed, that, before he could be pre- vailed on to give his sanction to the foul per- secution which had been thus so nefariously commenced, the vmfortunate monarch expressed his conviction .that the Queen was innocent, and declared his determination to have a per- sonal interview, and interrogate her on every point, previous to sanctioning the proceedings. Having, accordingly, given orders to his at- tendants to prepare for the intended journey, the effect of this determination on the mind of Juliana JNlaria and her accomplices may be readily imagined : they were aware of the Queen's innocence, and knew how easy it would be to convince her husband, if they were permitted to meet ; they therefore trembled for the consequences, and resolved at all hazards to prevent the interview. The stratagem em- ployed for this purpose was quite worthy of the actors in this atrocious drama. AVhile Juliana assented, with the greatest apparent deference, to the wishes of the King, Goldberg was sent off post haste to Cronenberg, for the purpose of immediately transferring Matilda to another prison, while all those who kept houses on the road ^vere arrested ; so that on reaching CONDEMNATION OF BRANDT, &C. 127 the first stage, the monarch found it impossible to proceed, and was persuaded to return by his attendants, who represented that there might be still greater inconvenience, if not positive danger, in going any farther. The above circumstance proved to the ene- mies of Matilda, that there was no time to be lost ; new efforts were therefore made to over- come the scruples of the King ; and no sooner had his consent been given, or rather extorted, than the trial was concluded with the greatest precipitation. In a process where all the forms of equity and justice were set at defiance, there could be no difficulty in obtaining whatever sentence the persecuting party thought proper to suggest. Thus it was, that while Brandt and Struensee were condemned to lose their heads, the judges of this mock tribunal con- tented themselves with divorcing the unhappy JNIatilda, and banishing her for ever from the kingdom. The only motive Juliana Maria had for not attempting to bastardize the children of Ma- tilda, is said to have originated in her being apprised, that such a step would rouse the people, and lead to a discovery of the persecu- tion. She may have also been deterred from a fear of the result in England, where, notwith- 128 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Standing the passive manner in which the treat- ment of Matilda was regarded at court, the sympathy of the public was loudly expressed in her favour. It is said that his late INIajesty had, on this melancholy occasion, sacrificed his fraternal feelings to motives of state policy, and pre- vented the return of his royal sister to Eng- land, lest her presence, for she was still young and fascinating, might have excited the indig- nation of a people who have ever been remark- able for their readiness to come forward in support of oppressed innocence, more especially when the object is a woman ! Whatever may have led to a line of policy which must ever be regarded as most extraordinary, under all the circumstances of the case, it is certain that the only boon poor Queen Matilda could obtain, was the permission to reside at Zell, a town which belonged to her brother's Hanoverian dominions. It may not be irrelevant to observe, that every thing connected with the persecution of Queen Matilda, which I heard at Copenhagen, was fully confirmed to me by Sarti the com- poser, whom I met in the following year at Saint Petersburgh. After having recounted all the foregoing facts, he added, that the cir- STATEMENT OF SAUTI. 129 cumstance of Juliana Maria's attempt to impli- cate him in the affair, not less than the course of his own observations, convinced him that all the charges, whether relating to his royal pupil or the other victims, were entirely groundless, and invented for the sole purpose of gratifying the vindictive passions and insatiable ambition of the Queen-dowager. Previous to his being named as one of the alleged conspirators, Sarti told me that he had been frequently tam- pered with by Juliana and Goldberg, as to the Queen's conduct ; and that from their general mode of interrogation, he saw that it was mere- ly necessary to meet their wishes in criminating her Majesty, in order to escape all farther mo- lestation, if not to be handsomely rewarded. But so far from admitting that he ever ob- served the smallest irregularity, he invariably maintained that nothing could be more deco- rous or correct than the conduct of his royal mistress, who, he said, had always treated him with the greatest kindness and generosity. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the same system of subornation and perjury, from which scarcely any state-persecution recorded in his- tory is exempt, was resorted to throughout the proceedings against Queen Matilda and the un- fortunate individuals who were proscribed by VOL. I. K 130 ANFXDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Juliana Maria. Nor need it be matter of sur- prise, if tliose who lent themselves to her ma- chinations met witli the usual reward of perfi- dy. Some were requited with secret assassina- tion, while others fled to avoid a similar fate, and many went into voluntary exile until the first authors of the villany had ceased to exist. Whenever the Queen-dowager and her princi- pal accomplice, Goldberg, found any difficulty in getting rid of a troublesome satellite, it was easy to make a fictitious charge, upon which they could be arraigned and transferred to the gallies, or some distant colony. With respect to the fate of poor Queen Ma- tilda, she had not been long at the scene of exile, before her affable manners and numerous charities endeared her to the whole country. It would appear from various reports circu- lated at the time, as well as what I heard dur- ing my visit to the Danish capital, that the spirit of persecution which caused her fall did not cease on her departure from Cronenberg; and there were many who entertained a belief that Juliana Maria was not unacquainted with the causes of her premature death, while others fully accused her of having contributed to it by the foulest means. This event, which took placo wliile tlie unfortunate Queen was still in AXFCDOTE OF CHRISTIAN. 131 the prime of life, was deeply lamented by all those who had the honour of approaching her while at Zell, and more especially by the indi- gent and helpless, to whom she had been a steady and munificent benefactress. The exile of Caroline Matilda, and execution of Brandt and Struensee, having removed the obstacles which had hitherto impeded the wishes of the Queen-dowager, she lost no time in usurping all the authority of the state, tak- ing care to exclude her son-in-law from all share in the administration, and, as may be imagined, ruling with an iron and despotic hand, till the Crown Prince became of age, and was enabled to assert his rights. I was told by persons who had been eye- witnesses to the events of this period, that when Juliana first seized the reins of power, while they were yet nominally in the hands of the late King, she would, for form's sake, sometimes send a portion of the decrees and other public documents to him for the sign manual ; and that on one of these occasions, his signature was given as follows : — " Christian VII. by the grace of God, King of Denmark, &c. in company with Juliana Maria and others, by the grace of the Devil /" Goldberg, w ho pre- sented these papers, having remonstrated on K 2 132 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the impossibility of issuing them in this state, and requested that his JNlajesty would adopt the usual method, the enraged INIonarch re- plied, " Nothing but the devil could have formed her ; and I tell you, whom I look upon as one of his imps, that I wish the world to know from whence she derives her authority ; I shall therefore make no alteration whatever." It is needless to add, that his Majesty's sig- nature was dispensed with ever after. Although incapable of governing when I visited Copenhagen, Christian VII. had fre- quent lucid intervals, and even held courts occasionally ; for the Crown Prince, who was then Regent, paid every attention which filial affection could dictate, to the wants and wishes of his parent. I had the honour of being pre- sent at one of these levees, and was much struck by the venerable appearance of the monarch, as well as the marked homage and respect with which he was treated by the whole court. The return of his malady evinced itself in a singu- lar manner. While in the midst of the most cheerful conversation, and when quite collected, he would suddenly run across the apartment and salute the first person he met with a vio- lent slap on the face, so that it was necessary for the courtiers and ministers, for he made no CONDUCT OF THE CROWN PRINCE. 133 distinction of rank or person, to be constantly on their guard. Notwithstanding the crimes of Juliana Ma- ria and her continued persecution of himself and his sister the Princess Louisa, nothing could exceed the moderation and forbearance with which the Crown Prince treated her, even after his assuming the reins of government. Both the Queen-dowager and her favourite Goldberg had totally mistaken the character of the young Prince ; for while they considered him, from the apparently circumscribed state of his intellect, as totally unfit to govern, he was, from a very early age, deeply impressed with a sense of their iniquitous conduct, and did not lose a moment, on coming of age, in taking such steps as should for ever exclude them from any farther share in the govern- ment. As one of the first measures of the Crown Prince was a decree to exclude the Queen- dowager, and all her creatures, from power, it appeared so unexpectedly, and while she had no conception of what was preparing, that she attempted to resist the Prince's orders ; nor was it until a demonstration of military inter- ference was made, that Juliana would recog- nise the new authority. When once stripped 134 ANECDOTES OF FOIIEIGN COURTS. of iier usurped and ill-gotten influence, she could hardly persuade herself, that the person who an hour before held the power of life and death in her hands, and made thousands trem- ble, could, in her turn, be thus suddenly re- duced to the condition of a private individual. The removal of the detestable cabal, formed by this woman, and which had exercised an iron sway over Denmark for so many years, was followed by several other salutary measures, which equally proved how mifch Juliana and her accomplices had mistaken the character of the Crown Prince. Besides a general amnesty in favour of those who had been objects of per- secution since the exile of his mother, and an act of oblivion with regard to political opinions, whether they regarded his own person or the state, Count Bernsdorff, one of the most dis- tinguished victims of the Queen-dowager's re- sentment, justly celebrated for his patriotism, was recalled, and reinstated in all his honours. Such was the nature of the measures which first distinguished the early administration of the Crown Prince's power, and a continuance of which has justly endeared him to all classes of his subjects as Frederick VI.* * Frederick succeeded to the throne of Denmark on the death of his father Christian VII. which took place in 1H08. IIETIREMENT OF JULIANA. 135 Though excluded from power, Juliana Maria, and even her favourite Goldberg, were allowed to remain quietly in the capital. Unable how- ever to bear the pang attendant on her fall from power, or the disappointment of her cri- minal hopes, perhaps some remorse for her crimes, and, above all, the detestation of the public, of which she could not entertain any doubt, induced this abhorred character to quit Copenhagen, and take up her abode in a dis- tant province, where the remainder of her days were passed in such bitter reflections as never fail to attend the victims of ambition and abettors of crime. I have omitted to state, that when Frederick V. brother to the present king, married Juliana Maria, he had been left a ^widower by his first wife, an admirable princess, daughter of George II. by whom he had three children — the Crown Prince, afterwards Christian VI., and two Princesses, one of whom* was married to the late unfortunate Gustavus III. of Sweden, and the other to the Landgrave of Hesse Cas- * This was the mother of the scarcely less fortunate Gusta- vus, whose opposition to Napoleon led to his dethronement, to give place to Bernadotte, and whose eccentricities^ under the assumed title of Count Gottorp, are well known to the Eu- ropean public. 136 ANECDOTES OF EOllEIGN COUllTS, sel, SO famous for supplying mercenaries to all the sovereigns of Europe, as well as the United States of North America. On my leaving Copenhagen for Stockholm, I was accompanied by the two Dutch envoys, Huygens and Duden, who were going to com- pliment the young King Gustavus Adolphus, on his marriage to the Princess Frederica of Baden Durlach ; having been also furnished with letters of introduction to the Princess So- phia Albertina, aunt to the King, from her Royal Highness the Duchess of York, who had been co-abbess of Gutemberg with her highness. On our arrival at Elsineur, we hired two boats, one for the conveyance of our car- riages, servants, and luggage, and the other for ourselves. AYe had scarcely set sail from Hel- senburg, on tlie opposite coast of the Sound, the usual landing-place in Sweden, when one of the sailors, hearing us converse in the Eng- lish language, thus addressed us with all tlie frankness of his profession: — "There," said he, pointing to the castle of Cronenberg, which was distinctly seen as we cleared the port, " is the fortress in which tlie unfortunate and per- secuted Queen INIatilda was shut up by tliat infernal old beldame Juliana Maria. I hope she is now in a ])lacc where all the water in RECITAL OF AN OLD SAILOR. 137 this world cannot quench the fire which sur- rounds the execrable old wretch ! Poor Queen Matilda ! God rest her soul ! she educated three of my sons, and one of my daughters, for whom she had the condescension to become godmother, and who died of grief when her benefactress was exiled. I have since that time," continued the old man, "entered the Swedish service, determined never to set a foot in a land which I detest ; since it has been so cruel and unjust towards the poor departed Queen, who was condemned on the false evi- dence of individuals under the horrors of the rack, because they were persuaded that if they criminated her Majesty, their own lives would be saved ! Poor Brandt ! poor Struensee ! they little thought that while compelled to accuse their generous Queen, they were only sealing their own destruction ! I never think of those dreadful times with a dry eye, though it is now near thirty years since that horrid transaction degraded and disgraced the national character of the Danes." And indeed there was no hy- pocrisy in the old seaman's recital, for the tears ran copiously down his furrowed clieeks while he thus artlessly gave vent to his feelings. On reaching Helsenburg we made a point of inquiring relative to the old man's story, and 138 ANF.CDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. found that there was every reason to believe in its veracity ; as the officers of the customs were perfectly acquainted with the circumstances which led to his entering the service of Sweden, and spoke iiighly of his character. They add- ed, that though so frequently at Elsincur, he was never known to land, but always remained in his boat, firmly resolved not to break through his resolution. On taking our leave of this honest son of Neptune, to whom each of the party gave some token of remembrance, we could not help contrasting his fidelity and gra- titude with the conduct of those who have much greater reason to exercise these virtues ; or asking each other, how many of those who revel in the sunshine of royal favour would evince such sincere and heartfelt sympathy for fallen Majesty ! JOURNEY TO STOCKHOLM. 139 CHAPTER VII. COURT OF SWEDEN. Journey from Helsenburg to Stockholm. — Face of the country. — Arrival in the Swedish capital. — Count Erval Fersen. — Drottingholm and review. — Gustavus III. — The Princess Sophia Albertina. — • Court drawing-room. — Introduction to the Princess Frederica of Baden. — Her Highness' Dame d'Honneur. — Royal marriage, and splendid banquet at the Vicks Saal. — Ludicrous incident. — The Takel Tanse. — Magnificent representation of the celebrated drama of " Gustavus Vasa." The road from Helsenburg to Stockholm, though kept in very good order, generally runs through desolate tracts, displaying few signs of cultivation, and is very thinly inhabited. In- deed the whole country exhibited a striking and melancholy contrast to the smiling landscapes and variegated scenery of France and Italy, to which I had been hitherto accustomed. The accommodations at this period were not more in- viting than the aspect of nature; and had it not 140 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. been tliat my travelling companions had taken the precaution to provide a stock of provisions, together with some excellent wine, we should have frequently gone without our dinner. As it was, we were on one occasion obliged to sleep in our carriages, there being no beds at the wretched post-house where we halted for the night. It should, however, be observed, to the credit of the Government, that nothing can ex- ceed the security enjoyed by travellers in Savc- den,* it being exceedingly rare to hear of high- way robberies ; while the people of every class are remarkable for their kindness and urbanity to strangers. Stockholm, composed as it is of various small islands, and surrounded by the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic, presents some of the most de- lightful natural views ever seen. Owing to the nvmiber of visitors who had come from all parts of the kingdom to witness and partake of the festivities which were preparing for the ap- • Nothing can be better regulated than posting in Sweden , while the expense is incredibly moderate, when compared with the same mode of travelling in other countries. No postilion is allowed to depart without having his name and the hour of setting out registered in a book kept for the pur- pose. The distance, which is limited, except in cases of ne- cessity, must be performed within a given time, and com- plaints of travellers are always treated with immediate at- tention. STOCKHOLM. COUNT ERVAL FERSEN. 141 preaching royal nuptials, we had considerable difficulty in finding apartments at any of the hotels. Having, however, at length succeeded, my first care after the repose rendered necessary after such a fatiguing journey was to send a note to my old and particular friend. Count Erval Fersen, upon whose good offices I had fully calculated previous to my arrival. Nor was I mistaken, as he answered the note in per- son, and not only made an unlimited offer of his services, but acted with the most marked politeness towards the two envoys, to whom I introduced him as having shown me so many attentions during the whole of our journey. Under any circumstances, it would have been a great advantage to meet such a guide as the Count,* but it was rendered doubly valuable now, from his not holding any official situation, while his credit at court, and the manner in which he was looked up to by his countrymen, afforded the utmost facility for my seeing what- ever was worthy of examination, under his aus- pices. Having insisted on our dining with him the day after our arrival, he conducted us after the repast to an evening party at the house of * I shall have occasion to speak more at length of this distinguished character in a future chapter. 142 ANECDOTES 01' FOREIGN COURTS. a friend, where I had the pleasure of meeting several near relatives of the late Count d'Arm- feldt, with whom I had been acquainted at Florence and Naples. Before taking leave of our kind host, he invited us to accompany him to a review of the Royal Guards, which was to take place the following day at the palace of Drottingholm. This edifice, by far the most sumptuous in Sweden, and modelled exactly on that of Ver- sailles, is built in a very fine situation, within a short distance of the capital. We reached it in time to visit the apartments, which are on a magnificent scale. They were now preparing for the reception of the young Queen, as it was arranged that the royal couple should take up their abode here immediately after the nuptials. Having, througli the interest of our conductor, obtained a seat in one of the balconies of the grand saloon, we had an excellent sight of the review, and were much struck by the fine order in which the troops, principally cavalry, ap- peared, both as to dress, and the performance of their various evolutions. These were directed by the King in person. Gustavus had just at- tained his majority, and seemed to be very po- pular with the army. He wore the uniform of a field-marshal, was profusely decorated with PRINCESS SOPHIA AI.BERTINA. 143 orders ; and, mounted on a superb white charger, displayed great activity in superintending the various manoeuvres. Having remained to vs^it- ness the last of these, we returned to Stockholm, and passed the remainder of the evening at our hotel, where the Count favoured us with his company at dinner. My next visit was paid to the Princess Sophia Albertina, to whom I had forwarded my letters of introduction the day after our arrival. Her Highness sent one of her attend- ants soon after, to inform me that she would be glad to see me when 1 had sufficiently reco- vered from the fatigues of travelling. She re- ceived me with the greatest affability, and after inquiring very affectionately respecting the Duchess of York, as well as all the other mem- bers of the British Royal Family, her Highness expressed a hope that I intended to go to the levee, or rather court drawing-room, on the fol- lowing day, when she would feel much plea- sure in presenting me to the Queen Mother, who was to preside. On my informing her that I had met an old and intimate friend in Count Erval Fersen, her Highness paid some flattering compliments to the high character of that nobleman, adding, that I could not be in better hands. 144 ANECDOTES OF EOREIGN COURTS. There was a brilliant assemblage at court next day, the drawing-room being held for the purpose of introducing the young Queen Frede- rica to her future subjects. On being present- ed to the Queen Mother, her Majesty welcom- ed me to Stockholm, and invited me to remain for the purpose of witnessing the ensuing fetes, as she would take care that cards should be sent to me by the Grand-chamberlain. Hav- ing expressed my sense of gratitude for this gracious mark of attention, I added, that it would afford me the utmost satisfaction to avail myself of her JNIajesty's condescending and po- lite invitation. Being desirous of paying my respects to the Princess Frederica in her own apartments, I found no difficulty in gratifying this wish, through the influence of Count Fersen, who was not only well known to the Princess her- self, but the confidential friend of her father, the Grand-duke of Baden, to whom he had been frequently sent on missions during the life of the late King, her great friend and patron. Kti(iuette requiring that we should first see the dame cVhonneur^ who had ac- companied the Princess from Baden, we were ushered into her apartment, which, to my great astonishment, consisted of an entresol^ PRINCESS FREDEllICA. 145 miserably furnished with Httle more than a small bed without curtains, two or three chairs, and a deal table. It soon appeared, that her Excellency was far from being pleased with her accommodations, for the Count had scarcely time to introduce me, when she began to inveigh bitterly against the arrangements by which such a wretched place was allotted to a person of her high rank. From her own trou- bles she digressed to those which could not fail to attend her dear mistress, when left to herself in a country where there seemed to be neither sufficient attention to the comforts of life, nor adequate means of creating them. The good Count, who evidently felt the justice of these remarks, as applied to herself, sympathized warmly in the great lady's sufferings, and, after expressing his conviction that the inconveni- ence she now suffered would be merely tempo- rary, and only until a better suite of rooms could be prepared, took the liberty of remind- ing her of the object of our visit. This well- timed hint put an end to the recapitulation of grievances, and we were immediately ushered into the presence-chamber, where we found the young Queen, in an elegant undress, looking infinitely more beautiful than she had done the day before, when adorned with all the orna- VOL. I. L 146 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ments of her court-dress. She received us most graciously, and after the ceremony of kissing hands was over, her INIajesty, entering very freely into conversation, spoke of the coming fetes and the various preparations that were making, with great sprightliness ; inquii'ed whether I intended to prolong my stay at Stockholm ; and, after conversing with the Count on some matters connected with her fa- ther, the Grand-duke, as well as other members of the family, about whom she made inquiries, we retired, highly gratified with our reception, and fully convinced that the accounts which had been circulated of the amiable Princess, whether relating to the charms of her mind or person, were by no means exaggerated. On reaching the hotel I found a card of invitation from the First Chamberlain, Baron Edelcrantz, for the banquet to be given next day, in honour of the royal nuptials ; so that the remainder of the evening was devoted to preparing my dress, and making arrangements as to the best mode of witnessing the ceremo- nies of the following morning. The procession from the Palace to the Ca- thedral was an imposing and magnificent spec- tacle. The celebration of the marriage was followed by chanting Te JDenm; after which SPLENDID BANQUET. 147 the whole procession returned to the palace in the same order. A general illumination took place in the evening, while a great number of the nobility and gentry were invited to the Ric]£s Saal, or Senate House, containing one of the largest saloons in Europe. This was laid out with three long tables, and prepared for the reception of five hundred guests. They sat down at five o'clock, and consisted of the grand dignitaries of church and state, minis- ters, foreign ambassadors, naval and military officers, together with the most distinguished members of the nobility and gentry of the kingdom. At the head of the centre table a rich state canopy, with hangings of crimson velvet, and decorated with all the insignia of royalty, was prepared for the King and Queen, the remainder of the royal family being placed on each sidej according to their rank in senio- rity. All the foreign envoys, including some of the ministers, dignitaries, and their wives, were also at this table. The royal couple, re- splendent with diamonds, and surrounded on every side by an infinite variety of dresses, all remarkable for their richness and magnificence; while a numerous band of music at the lower end of the saloon, which was brilliantly lighted, continued to play during the whole repast, the L 2 148 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. whole forming by far the most striking sight I ever beheld. Previously to the commencement of dancing, a concert of vocal and instrumental music* was performed under the direction of the Abb^ * Among northern musical instruments, perhaps the most curious is the Russian horn ; the Russians call it cor or corne. Its shape resembles that of a German tobacco-pipe, and it varies in size from a moderate one to three or four feet. Each instrument is capable of one intonation only, which is either a tone or semi -tone. This instrument is generally played by Russian peasants, who are for the most part slaves. I have heard them per- form thirty notes in a bar, in proper time. One of the band professes to beat time, but in such a manner as would con- found any well-educated musician. Most of the Russian nobility have one of these bands, which generally play during dinner-time in an adjoining saloon. When I first visited St. Petersburgh, many a meal have I lost for the gratification of my curiosity. There is much singularity of natural talent attached to the character of the Russian peasants. They are purchased with the land, and are totally ignorant of every thing ex- cept the herds they feed. The proprietor, after leaving a certain number of them for the cultivation of the soil, sets aside the rest, rough and uncouth as they are, to be in- structed in the several arts and sciences ; and those of both sexes become, in a very short time, excellent in their dif- ferent vocations. In other nations, this excellence is com- monly held to be the result of genius : in Russia, it chiefly owes its existence to the knout. LUDICROUS ANECDOTE. 149 Vogler, composer to the Court, and several of his pieces were played on this occasion. I was much pleased. Here, as at the banquet, I was also indebted to the exertions of Count Fersen for an excellent seat ; but a circum- stance occurred, which made me regret its being so conspicuous. Although the robe I wore was in perfect conformity to the Swedish costume, I had inadvertently placed a profusion of ostrich feathers in my hat, this being the latest and most fashionable mode at London and Paris, without knowing, that though not absolutely prohibited, feathers were, by a well understood etiquette, never worn at court. On removing into the ball-room, where the celebrated Tackel Tance was about to be performed, a lady of our party said, " I did not like to speak to you during the banquet or concert, about your head-dress, for I hoped it would have escaped notice ; as, however, I could perceive it at- tracted the marked attention of some persons who sat near the royal family, I shall no longer conceal from you, that the use of ostrich fea- thers is contrary to the etiquette of our court. If this has not been mentioned by some one else, it is from motives of dehcacy, there being no difficulty in recognizing you to be an Eng- lishwoman." As may be easily supposed. 150 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COUKTS. I felt exceedingly embarrassed at the blunder I had thus inadvertently committed ; but being determined to remedy it at once, I gently re- proached the lady for not apprising me of the circumstance before, and instantly taking out the feathers, handed them to the Count, with a request that he would conceal them under his court dress till we retired. From what oc- curred on the following day, it would appear that the removal of my plume had not only attracted the notice of the King and Queen, but called forth their approbation ; for I re- ceived a note from the Grand Chamberlain early next morning, politely stating, that he had it in command from their Majesties, to in- vite me to a second banquet and ball, to be given that very day in the royal palace. On Count Fersen's calling at a late hour, he told me that nothing could be more flattering than the mode of sending this invitation, and that he had no doubt it arose from the promptitude with which the plume had been removed on the preceding evening, when I heard it was contrary to etiquette.* * This was the second time I had unintentionally adopted a head-dress which did not accord with etiquette or national feelings ; but the first transgression might have been at- tended with much more serious consequences than it was. THE TACKEL TANCE. 151 I had often heard of the famous Tackel Tance of Sweden, and which is also peculiar to other countries in the north of Europe. From its extreme singularity, I should imagine that this curious dance must have originated at a very remote period of civilization. The fol- lowing is the mode of performing the Tackel Tance, as nearly as I can recollect. It com- mences by a number of pages and other offi- cers of the royal household marching two and two, each bearing a large wax taper lighted in his hand. They thus march round the room to a slow and martial air, bowing to the com- pany as they pass, and followed by the dancers, It occurred at Paris, soon after the declaration of war against Austria^ and when the revolutionary frenzy was at its height. Havino; received a white satin cloak and bonnet, the latter ornamented with three feathers, (then called the Prince of Wales's plume,) I wore them for the first time at the Opera, but had not been long in the house, before the disapprobation of the audience was loudly expressed, and an officer of the municipality came to our box soon after, to ask whether I was not aware that the *' cocarde blanche" and the royal emblems had been abolished ; concluding his question with a peremptory order that I would either quit the theatre, or take off the articles of dress which gave such offence to the "citizens." It is scarcely necessary to add, that his wishes were complied with. I was then suffered quietly to witness the remainder of the performance. 152 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. who perform a species of minuet step to the same music, and also make occasional obeisances to the spectators, all of whom join in the pro- cession in their turn, as one couple resumes theh' seat each time after making the round of the saloon — thus leaving room for the next in succession. The first couple that stood up on this oc- casion was the young King, who opened the dance, or rather solemn procession, with his aunt, the Princess Sophia Albertina; next came the Queen, led by the Duke of Suder- mania, who afterwards dethroned her, and usurped the crown as Charles XIII. The royal partners closed with the Duchess of Su- dermania and Duke of Austragozia. The young Queen, who resumed her place imder the canopy after the first round, seem- ed much more weary and fatigued from the dull monotony of the Tackel Tanse, than she Avould have been by a sprightly Hungarian or German waltz. Although these were en- joyed by the rest of the company, they were considered as imsuited to the dignity neces- sary to be maintained on so solemn an occasion. The conclusion of this singular procession ap- pears to have been the signal for the royal pair to retire, as they withdrew immediately after. REPRESENTATION OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 153 and were attended to the entrance of their pri- vate apartments by a long train of the nobility of both sexes, attached to the household. The principal point of attraction on the fol- lowing evening, was the celebrated opera of " Gustavus Vasa," which had been some time in preparation, as a part of the nuptial fetes. This drama, said to have been written by Gus- tavus III. to commemorate the exploits of the hero to whom Sweden is indebted for her li- beration from the Danish yoke, is by far the most popular of the national dramas, and ge- nerally performed during all great festivals. AYhen it was first produced at Stockholm, the Abbe Vogler, who composed the music, in- formed me that Gustavus and his two royal brothers superintended the naval and military evolutions in person. On the present occasion, the house was splen- didly decorated, so as to represent as nearly as possible an amphitheatre of antiquity ; the pit being raised from the orchestra to the se- cond tier of boxes, in which a canopy of state was prepared for the King and Queen, while the others were appropriated for the recep- tion of the household, foreign ambassadors, ministers, and nobility. The remainder of the theatre was thrown open to the public, with I5i ANECDOTES OF FOKEIGN COURTS. the exception of those tickets of admission distributed by the Grand-chambeiiain. It was also arranged that an abundant supply of re- freshments should be handed round between the acts. It is quite impossible to do justice to, or con- vey an adequate notion of, the splendour and magnificence with which the celebrated spec- tacle was prepared. It far exceeded all the theatrical representations I had ever witnessed, either in France, Italy, or any of the other great capitals of Europe. Besides the efforts which were made to render the interior of the house worthy of the occasion, it must be con- fessed that a great deal of the effect was de- rived from the singular arrangement by which the fine port of Stockholm, and Gulph of Both- nia, were thrown open to the spectators in the last scene, when this extraordinary sight was rendered still more attractive by the novel ex- hibition of a mock sea-fight, performed by divisions of the Swedish fleet. The effect of such a sight as this on a stranger may well be imagined. AVhen the firing commenced, and the land and sea forces were closely engaged, several of the females uttered loud shrieks, while others, and one lady in particular, the Grande l^ame (V H.onneu}\ to whom allusion REPRESENTATION OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 155 has been already made, and with whom the Queen was conversing, threw a shawl over her head, and endeavoured to conceal herself in a corner of the box. Indeed, this example was followed by many more of the audience. The opera of " Gustavus Vasa" contains as much of the historical details upon which it is founded, as can well be represented in a melo-di'ama, aided by musical composition. Except the singing, which was execrable com- pared with what 1 had been accustomed to hear in Italy, the performance went off with great eclats and received immense plaudits from a most crowded audience. It is need- less to add, that owing to the local advantages of the theatre, there is no other in Europe that could do justice to this magnificent spectacle and truly national drama. 156 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COUllTS, CHAPTER VIII. Natural characteristics of the Swedish territory. — Its expor- tation of dried fish. — Relative modes of preparing it prac- tised in Sweden and in Scotland. — Preference of the latter — Successive territorial losses. — Personal peculiarities of the Swedes.— Swedish inns, and hospitality. — GustavusIII. and the Empress Catherine of Russia. — Committee of dress. — The Princesses DaschcofF and Baratinzky. — Lally, the violinist. — His dismay on receiving a compliment from Gus- tavus. — Explanation of the Abbe Vogler. — Marriage of Gustavus. — His singular conduct towards his wife. — The Count de Munck. — Alleged illegitimacy of the heir to the throne. — Ulrica, the Queen IMother. — Her sedulous espi- oniiage of the proceedings of the King and his confidential servant. — Ambitious and vindictive character of this Prin- cess — Atrocious reports disseminated by her, respecting the morals of her two eldest sons. Sweden is, perhaps, t\\e j)ooresi kingdom in Europe, in all substantial advantages, and the richest in barren-looking, snowy mountains, par- ticularly on the road from Stockholm through Finland, which province possesses abundant SWEDEN. 157 mines of different metals, large forests of rude timber, with plenty of water, both fresh and salt, which how^ever is not very productive of fish. Cod-fish forms, it is true, a considerable article of Swedish commerce ; but, from the way in which it is cured and dried, is found to be decidedly inferior to that prepared for ex- portation in England or Scotland ; the former is cured only with sea-w'ater, the latter with rock-salt. The Swedish sort is called schtoak fish, a very appropriate name, as it requires " much castigation" from a good stout stick, before it is tender enough to be boiled with any chance of becoming palatable. Having said that this crude and unsavoury article is a principal one in Swedish trade, it will scarcely be matter of surprise w^ien we re- peat that Sw^eden is, when regarded as a Mng- dom, the most unimportant and destitute of resources of all the sovereignties of the Conti- nent; especially since the loss it sustained in the time of Charles XII., of Courland, Carlia, and other provinces, which, during a course of two centuries, have been ravished from the Swedish territories by Russia ; and more par- ticularly still, since the loss of the entire pro- vince of Finland, the richest of its possessions in point of population, navigation, inland 158 ANFX'DOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. trade, and, the greatest is behind, of industry and enterprize. Finland, too, was one of the strongest natural barriers that Sweden formerly- presented against the encroachments of her powerful and ambitious neighbour ; and its cession, consequently, tends to endanger the se- curity and independence of the kingdom, in- asmuch as Russia has now unimpeded access to it on all sides, and will without doubt avail herself thereof. Norway offers but a sorry in- demnity for the detachment of this most im- portant portion of the ancient domains of the Swedish monarchy. Sweden is, generally speaking, a very ro- mantic country ; and in many parts, its bare rocks, precipitous mountains, and impetuous rivulets, together with the character of the climate, remind the traveller of Swiss scenery. The natives of the land have ever been re- garded as a warlike race. They are of fair com- plexion ; yet not pallid, or of a deathy hue, like the Danes. The men are rather above the middle height, and well made, with expres- sive features : the women somewhat more in- clined to be masculine than is customary with those of the northern countries, having com- monly the high cheek bones of the Scotch mountain females ; clear, healthy con]plexions ; INNS OF SWEDEN. 159 a candid character of expression ; speaking- eyes ; and a good deal of symmetry in the figure. The personal characteristics of this nation have not been modified, like those of many others, by frequent invasion and conse- quent intermixture. The government of Sweden has undergone many changes ; — from monarchy to democracy — from aristocracy to individual despotism. At present, it is composed of four orders ; the king, the nobles, the clerg}^, and the peasant ; each of which latter three is duly represented by delegates, at the general meeting of the National Senate. I have, in the preceding chapter, taken occa- sion to commend the provisions established in this country with regard to travelling. The roads, in general, are tolerably good, and the posts well supplied w^ith cattle. The horses are sure-footed and swift, though small. But the i7ins, if so they may be called, on the whole route from Denmark to Stockholm, and even on to St. Petersburgh, are quite horrible, the rooms are complete holes ; and in Finland, have scarce elevation enough to admit of a mode- rate-sized woman standing upright. Neither the Swedes nor Danes pique themselves much on their Iwspifaliti/ : but, as we personally found 160 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. no lack of tliat virtue, the old proverb is appli- cable — " ubi bene, ibi patria." Gustavus III., King of Sweden, in one of his visits to Catherine the Second, took the liberty to observe to her Imperial Majesty, that he thought it would add much to her already high celebrity, if she made some salu- tary regulations regarding the dress of the lower orders of her subjects, particularly of the postilions and such-like, " who," said he, " ge- nerally appear, in winter, in a filthy undressed sheep-skin jacket and trowsers, wear long beards, and have their hair quite matted together, which appointments, joined to their native ugliness, give these men the appearance, to foreigners, of beasts of the wilderness rather than of human beings ;" and concluded by urging her Ma- jesty to follow up, in this instance, the plans of civilization which she had brought about in so many others. " INIy dear brother," replied the Empress, " )^our INIajesty has no idea of the bigotry of the Russian character. Tartars, Cal- mucks, Cossacks, and, indeed, all the various barbarous races of the Don, are more attached to their beastly sheep-skins and yet beastlier beards, than to their very lives ! My poor dear husband was desirous, poor soul ! (and here her Imperial Majesty tried to look sentimental,) DRESS OF THE RUSSIANS. 161 of just getting them to shave, and to shorten their exuberant hair ; and they soon shortened his days, and pkniged him into an untimely grave." The Princess Daschcoif (who was yet in the confidence of the Empress) being present, Gustavus, addressing her, said, " No doubt, Princess, you must have also been much affected, as well as the Empress, at the occur- rence of that cruel circumstance." — " II faut etre philosopJie, mon P?ince T answered she. " Yes," rejoined Gustavus, " but we manage things differently in Sweden (alluding to the bloodless revolution he had himself brought about at Stockholm) ; we strangle the regicides in the cradle, before they arrive at sufficient maturity for king-killing."* The Princess DaschcofF, leaving the apart- ment, met the Princess Baratinzky, (whose husband had been a principal agent in the horrid murder of Peter III.,) and laughing aloud, exclaimed, " I am ready to burst at * Little thought Gustavus III., when he made this ob- servation, that at Stockholm, in the very capital of his own dominions, dwelt the regicide Ankerstrom, destined so soon to put a period to his life, whilst in the midst of his subjects at a public entertainment ; and without any provocation, as the murderer confessed, except his having been refused un- merited preferment. VOL. I. M 162 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. witnessing the farce which the Empress is performing before that comical king." On their both returning to the Empress's cabinet, the name of Baratinzky being announced, Gus- tavus said to Catherine, in a jocular tone, " Well, Madam, console yourself ; for here I see is another lady, who naturally feels for the same cause which excites your Majesty's grief." But Catherine was not over fond of being rallied upon this theme, and hastily answered, " Let us change the subject." " Well then," returned Gustavus, adverting to his former suggestion ; " however difficult your Majesty may think this project of mine, as regards its adoption in Russia, I will send you, within a month after my arrival at Stock- holm, whither I am now going, the model of a national dress which I mean to introduce there — and that without the employment of force ; which will at any rate exemplify the dif- ference of national character between the two countries." In truth, this eccentric man had scarcely reached his own capital, when he himself. Count Erval Fersen, Armfeldt, Springporten, &c., all appeared at the levde in a dress dictated by the caprice of the moment, something like that commonly worn in Spain. It appears that liis THE VIOLINIST LALLY. 163 Majesty meant this only as an experiment on the spirit and disposition of the few nobles of his household, without having previously determined whether it should be a partial gala court-dress, or a general costume for all who were to be admitted at the levee. But Gus- tavus was at that period so popular, that there was not the least necessity for his commanding a change of the ancient Swedish habit. The new one became at once general, and on the next court-day, no one presented himself other- wise dressed. The renounced Swedish habit was similar to that worn by the Dutch skip- pers in North Holland, which consists of a loose, clumsy, short jacket, and veryv^idie small-clothes: a di'ess now totally obsolete in Sweden. Gustavus, on returning to Sweden after his travels in France and Italy, was anxious to promote the civilization of his subjects, by en- couraging men of genius and of moral worth to visit his capital. Among others, he invited the celebrated violinist Lally, although he knew him only by reputation. The Abb6 Vogler (at that time composer and director of the con- certs about to be established,) presented M. Lally before the commencement of his per- formance to the King, whispering to his Ma- jesty as he did so, that in order to retain a man M 2 164 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. of Lally's celebrity, it would be necessary to flatter his amour j)roprc by some direct mark of royal favour. " Lakse'^L-moi faire^ said the King. As soon, therefore, as the artist began tuning his instrument, the King and aU the royal fa- mily set up an enthusiastic acclamation; and the astonished violinist, not vmderstanding the precise meaning of this kind of compliment, in some trepidation let fall liis bow. The Abbe Vogler picked it up, and perceiving the reason of this mortification on the part of Lally, he exclaimed, standing as he did near the King and the rest of the royal connoisseurs, " Don't be surprised, M. Lally, it is the politic custom, in these remote climates, to applaud performers generally before they begin, for very few who have visited Sweden have deserved it afterwards. I say this, just to give you an idea of Northern politeness. Begin your con- certo : you cannot but succeed ! They are all higlily excited by your reputation, and the mere smell of the resin of your bow^ will intoxi- cate them quite !" Nor was Vogler wide of the mark. When Lally, who was without doubt a very great performer, had finished, the King presented MARRIAGE OF GUSTAVUS THE THIRD. l65 him with a most elegant snuff-box, set with diamonds and filled with gold. The marriage of Gustavus III. (when Crown Prince) to the Princess of Denmark, his first cousin, and sister of Christian VII., was not from choice, but in consequence of the in- fluence which his mother, Ulrica, the Queen- dowager, exercised over this prince, especially during his minority. She enforced it as neces- sary in order to strengthen the Swedish mo- narchy, by alliance with a Danish princess, against the unlimited ambitious views of the Russian autocrat; but it was pretty well known among: the ladies and gentlemen of the roval household, that, like his uncle, the great Frede- rick, he had abstained from consummating his marriage. Frederick was, from the violence of his father, compelled to marry the Princess of Brunswick, grand-aunt to the late Queen Ca- roline of England : and Gustavus is said to have imitated, from the very nuptial ceremony, the conduct observed on that occasion by his uncle — each of these curious bridegrooms po- litely conducting his bride to the door of her bedchamber, wishing her, with profound re- spect, "Good Night!" and then leaving her, un- interrupted, to her private meditations. It has 166 ANECDOTES OF FOIIEIGN COURTS. been affirmed that Frederick, during the whole course of his life, never once swerved from his first resohition, and had no interview with his Queen except in public on levde days, or in presence of his generals and household. He always treated this sacrificed Princess, however, with the greatest respect and attention, with this single exception, of not consummating the marriage — which he pertinaciously forbore to do, as it was one contrary to his inclination ; he having been long attached to the Princess Amelia, (daughter of King George li.,) who died at an advanced age, unmarried, although it is said, from living proof, not a maiden lady. But the King of Sweden neglected his young bride almost wholly from the aversion he had taken to his mother; — fearing that, as they were related, the latter might teach his consort to endeavour to thwart her husband's power. It was natural, however, that when convinced of his error, and assured that no suspicious inti- macy existed between these ladies, he should avail himself of his union with a woman whose qualities, although not brilliant, were of a na- ture to ensure the more solid comforts of con- nubial life. The admirable conduct of this youthful Queen also tended to fix the erratic regard of SCANDALOUS STORY OF GUSTAVUS. 167 Gustavus. She was unshaken in her devotion to his slightest wishes, and obedience to his most capricious injunctions, to which she sub- mitted without a murmur. It was impossible for any man, who had not the heart of a stone, to resist those sweet appeals; and penetrated at length by so much goodness, Gustavus deter- mined on becoming, though unavowedly, the real husband of the Danish princess. Such were the unfortunate circumstances which gave rise to the much-disputed question of the legitimacy of the Queen's offspring. The enemies of Gustavus assert, that he was resolved, whatever might or might not ensue from his reconciliation with his wife, to have the credity at least, of giving an heir to the Swedish monarchy ; and that, for this purpose, he was abandoned enough himself to introduce, in his nocturnal visits to the Queen, a sort of double, in the person of the Count de Munck. It was further said, that Munck had been the party who had, by certain disclosures, paved the way for this sudden and mysterious change of conduct on the part of Gustavus, toward his long-neglected and almost-forgotten bride. The intrigues of courts, if fairly and fully exposed, would, we are inclined to think, un- fold some of the most revolting and abomina- 168 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ble scenes of depravity upon record. The Queen-mother of Sweden, Uh'ica, had exer- cised over her husband, during the latter years of his reign, almost unlimited control ; and she still held the desire of domineering, in like manner, over the proceedings of her son. To this, however, Gustavus III. decidedly object- ed ; and, as it has already appeared, so jealous was he of any the least interference with his power, that he abjured even the society of his wife, fearing that she had been inoculated by her mother-in-law with rebellious principles, although in other respects he was not slow to acknowledge her estimable qualities. Ulrica was of a nature altogether base and vindictive. Havin^c conceived some resentment against her brother, the great Frederick of Prussia, on account of that prince's expostu- lations respecting her impudent attempt to ride her son as she had done his father, she propa- gated concerning him an infamous report, in which she mixed up (to her eternal disgrace be it mentioned, both as a mother, a sister, and a female,) her own royal son, and subsequently his brotlier, tlie Duke of Sudermania, who liad, on discoverino; the intrimies of his duchess (seduced by the Queen-dowager), withdrawn from her apartment, and attached himself more SCANDALOUS STORY OF GUSTAVUS. 169 closely to the society of his brother Gustavus. For this report there does not appear to have been the slightest foundation, and it doubtless had its origin in a feeling of revenge enter- tained by Ulrica, on account of her fraudulent intrigues having been discovered and defeated. These intrigues were not only directed against the King's power, but were set on foot to screen the frequent pregnancy of another branch of her family, which nevertheless was well known to many persons about the palace, whom, from their situations, it was impossible wholly to blind. The " woolly-headed intruder," and the " cushion business," are themes we shall come to anon, and the purport of whicii is sufficiently attested by individuals still residing at Stock- holm. For some of these private anecdotes we can ourselves vouch ; others we relate as an indiffer- ent traveller, merely as they have been commu- nicated to us ; whether true or false, they have gained general credence, and, from our personal experience of courts, we can testify at any rate to their verisimilitude. The reconciliation of the King and Queen of Sweden went far to crush these machinations ; but, curiously enough, the very circumstance that was meant to avert the evil of an ille- 170 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. gitimate offspring sitting upon the Swedish throne, was used to propagate the rumour that such an evil was actually impending. The King, as we have already stated, being under- stood to be accompanied in his secret visits to his consort, by Munck, the Queen-mother em- ployed spies to watch the movements of the latter, by whom he was discovered occasionally to go in and out of the Queen's apartments with- out his royal master ; a circumstance contrived, it is said, by the eccentric Gustavus, by way of a blind to his mother, of whose conduct he was well aware. Ulrica therefore entertained a conviction that there existed an amour between her daughter- in-law and her son's chamberlain, not being able to conceive that Munck was nothing more than the depositary of his royal master's se- cret ; and full of this imagined discovery, she stated her belief to Gustavus, who, far from approving her zeal, repulsed it decidedly, and enjoined upon her silence respecting her un- worthy suspicions, and deference for the cha- racter of his wife. Hence it was, that Ulrica herself originated the scandal that her son had played the pander to his own spouse; and it was even added, that in order to quiet the scruples of the young Queen, his Majesty had DETHRONEMENT OF GUSTAVUS. 171 privately divorced himself from her, and com- pelled her to contract a left-handed marriage with Count Munck — the consequence of whose nocturnal visits is said to have been Gustavus Adolphus IV., who, however strange and im- probable this story may appear, chiefly owes to its circulation his own dethronement, and the exclusion of his posterity ! 172 ANECDOTES OF FOKEIGN COURTS. CHAPTER IX. The Authoress encounters, at the baths of Carlsbad, in Bohe- mia, the Duchess of Mecklenburgh Schwerin and her suite. — Arrival of a courier from the Duke. Contents of the despatches. — Invitation of the Duchess. — Character of Gustavus Adolphus, successor of Gustavus III.- — His pro- jected marriage with the Princess of JNIecklenburgh pro- hibited by Catherine the Great. — Departure of the King for St. Petersburgh, with his uncle, the Duke of Suder- mania. — The Empress proposes her niece to Gustavus Adolphus. — iMutual affection of the parties. — Attempted treachery of Catherine, and restraint of the King of Swe- den. — He refuses to sign the marriage contract, and de- parts for Stockholm. — Astonishment and dismay of the courtiers. — Surreptitious treaty between Catherine and Gustavus III. — Intrigues of the Duke of Sudermania, afterwards Charles XIII. Being at Carlsbad, in Bohemia, on her way to Berlin, in the year 1794-5, the Authoress accidentally met there with her Serene High- ness the Duchess of Mecklenburgh Schwerin, who had been on a visit to her royal relatives THE DUCHESS OF MECKLENBURGH. 173 in England* From the reception she met with, this princess became very much attached to the manners and customs of the British nation as well as to its natives ; and the writer, being recognized by her Serene Highness as an English lady, had the honour of being dis- tinguished from the rest of the bathing and watering visitors, and of accompanying the duchess in several of her morning rambles. In one of these, her Serene Highness was accosted by a courier, who had come from the Duke of Mecklenburgh with the glad tidings that the Regent of Sweden, Charles Duke of Sudermania, had fixed on her Serene High- ness's daughter as the bride of the young King Gustavus Adolphus. This selection, although now first duly an- nounced, had been for some time anticipated in the German newspapers : but the duchess had too nice a sense of delicacy to make any public allusion to it until the intelligence was no longer doubtful. Turning to me on this occasion, she imparted the tidings with which the courier was charged, and observed, in ad- * As a Princess of Saxe-Gotha, her Serene Highness was nearly allied to the mother of George III. 174 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. dition, — " It is now almost a century since a former Princess of Mecklenburgh was elevated to the Swedish throne." As she spoke, her Serene Highness graciously handed me the packet containing both the Duke's letter and the Swedish despatch. " There," continued she, " you will see that his Majesty has been highly pleased with the picture of the Princess, my daughter, and has condescended to send her his in return." Her Serene Highness could not fail to ob- serve the sympathy which was excited in me by her communication of this pleasing news. It was, indeed, expressed, I believe, on every feature of my countenance. Before, however, I could give utterance to these feelings, she said, — " Well, if you really sympathise in the good fortune of my family, promise me that you will come to Ludwigslust and be pre- sent at the ceremony. It will not be much out of your way to England ; and I will, pre- vious to quitting this to-morrow, give you letters to the Duchess of York, the Duchess of Brunswick, and the Courts of Dresden and Berlin." 1 received these gracious offers with due respect, but under the condition that I should not find it necessary immediately to embark for England. Her Serene Highness, CHARACTER OF CUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 175 however, would hear of no conditional pro- mise ; and it was agreed that I should be present at the royal nuptials. I cannot avoid, here, exhibiting a slight sketch of the true character of that dethroned monarch and singular man, Gustavus Adol- phus, which, I trust, Avill tend in some mea- sure to give the reader a very different opinion of him from that under which he has hitherto laboured. He will hence appear to have been almost a voluntary and devoted victim to the love and attachment which he bore to the country over which he reigned ; — not like several other modern princes, whom I could name, who have certainly forfeited their rights, in running from the scene of action, abandon- ing their subjects, and conceiving nothing wor- thy of regard but the preservation of their own precious and most holy persons. Every thing had been settled for the Prin- cess of Mecklenburgh to take her departure from Schwerin for her new residence at Stock- holm ; and while preparations were making for her long journey, the contemplated nup- tials were announced at the Court of Saint Petersburgh, and were there immediately in- terdicted, as will hereafter be more fully shown. Gustavus had no power to dispute 176 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the imperial mandate ; but was, on the con- trary, compelled, in order to avert from Swe- den the threatened horrors of a Russian in- vasion, to quit his own independent domi- nions, and repair, in propria persona, to Saint Petersburgh, accompanied by his uncle, the Duke of Sudermania, then Regent and the King's tutor. At Saint Peter.'^burgh, all the requisite dis- positions had been made, and it was determin- ed that Gustavus should espouse the Grand- duchess, sister to his present Majesty the Em- peror Nicholas ; but "though a mere boy at the time, and under the despotic influence of his royal uncle, and the still more compulsory dic- tation of Catherine II., finding some articles inserted in the marriage contract which were in opposition to the spirit of the Swedish laws, Gustavus manfully renounced his second be- trothed and her awakening regard, rather than compromise or endanger the national weal. To the present object, too, he was himself warmly attached, which was not the case as respected the Princess of Mecklenburffh, whom he had never seen. His heart had been, so far, disen- gaged, and it was the feelings of the indepen- dent sovereign alone that had been outraged : but here, the matter was different. — The Grand- ANECDOTE OF GUSTAVUS. 177 duchess luid excited his love, and he was most anxious to become the possessor of so much youth, amiabiUty, and beauty ; yet all these fascinations Gustavus was content to sacrifice for the peace of his conscience, and the good of his country. We will relate the circumstances attending this renunciation a little more parti- cularly. The capital of Saint Petersburgh resounded with the news of these illustrious nuptials, and nothing else indeed had been tlie subject of conversation in that dissolute city for a long- time past. The King had consented that his future Queen should be fully at liberty to pur- sue her own religious exercises : a draught was therefore ordered to be drawn up of these ar- ticles, and presented to Gustavus; but the con- tract itself was not to be laid before the royal Swede, until the moment when it was to be signed at the altar. Catherine, in this arrange- ment, had estimated the probable unwilling- ness which " the boy" (as she was wont to dis- tinguish him) would feel, to interrupt a mar- riage so much desired by all parties, at the very instant when the Imperial bride stood in rea- diness to complete it. She reckoned wholly on the rashness and thoughtlessness of his cha- racter ; and thus confiding, insidiously dictated VOL. I. N 1/ 178 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the insertion of a fresh article. But she was, in this instance, deceived: when the proper officers of the Imperial Palace, waited by the command of her Majesty upon Gustavus, to an- nounce that his presence was expected ^thereat, he requested that the marriage contract might first be sent him for perusal. At sight of the article surreptitiously introduced, he declined to sign the instrument ; and while the Empress, the Grand-duke and Duchess, and the bride, ^ere anxiously awaiting his arrival, surrounded by all the flower of the Russian empire, Gusta- vus was coolly employed in taking notes of his marriage contract ! Indeed, so disgusted was he at the trick thus attempted to be played off upon his youth, that he intimated to her Im- perial Majesty, without delay, his absolute re- fusal to attend her summons unless the obnox- ious articles were expunged. At this unexpected rebellion against the mandate of the all-powerful Catherine, (who had never before experienced a negative) the whole court became alarmed for probable con- sequences : her Imperial Majesty lost the power of speech ; the bride went into violent hyste- rics ; the Grand-duke and Duchess stared at each other with petrified looks ; the popes and ANECDOTE OF GUSTAVUS. 179 priests who were collected to officiate, trembled at the altar ; the ministers were at a loss how to negotiate ; whilst the grandees and princes of the empire, with chattering teeth and qui- vering lips, stood in awful expectation of what might ensue. A faithful picture of this curious scene was repeatedly exhibited to Gustavus, but without the least effect ; all which the successive mes- sengers could obtain, was the following reply : " That the contract contained clauses he was not prepared to meet, nor could he sign them with- out the consent of his senate, they being un- constitutional and against the laws of the Swe- dish nation. Catherine now despatched a whole troop of ambassadors, to endeavour to gain over this restive king, but to no better pur- pose ; and it is believed she was on the point of ordering her body guard to surround his apartment, and compel him to obedience. In making this tardy resolution, however, her Im- perial Majesty was too late : for even while the question was deliberating, the bird had flown ! Gustavus set off, accompanied by his uncle, the Duke of Sudermania, with all speed, for Fin- land, and thus terminated this famous second betrothal of Gustavus Adolphus, from the happy N 2 180 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. conclusion of which, the Empress had promis- ed lierself so many advantages over the " boy king," and the whole Swedish nation. This circumstance undoubtedly hastened her death. The shock which her pride had under- gone on being thus foiled by a stripling, and the fatigue she encountered in attending, at her advanced age, all the previous fetes and en- tertainments, contributed to bring on a fixed melancholy, which nothing could divert. In public, it is true, every nerve was strained in order to enable this haughty woman to mask and conceal the feelings which in reality op- pressed her; but the consequent reaction in her more retired hours was extremely violent. Her private reflections must, indeed, have been bitter enough, on many accounts ; and she at length fell vmder the weight in a fit of apo- plexy. To justify " Catherine the Great" in the eyes of Europe, for her conduct towards the Swedish sovereign, a treaty was hatched up, and promulgated by her ministers, purporting to have been formerly set on foot between her Imperial Majesty and Gustavus the Third ; but which, in fact, never had any absolute exis- tence, save in the intrigues of the King's unna- tiual uncle and guardian^ the Duke of Suder- rOLlCV OF THE DUKE OF SUDERMANIA. 181 mania, who was constantly plotting against him. The motives of this Prince for objecting, as he did, to his nephew's union with the Prin- cess of JNIecklenburgh, arose from the popula- rity into which the anticipation of that match had brought the youthful monarch — the peo- ple being instinctively averse to a matrimonial alliance with Russia. Now, the popularity of Gustavus Adolphus was exceedingly prejudi- cial to the sinister designs of his ambitious uncle; and to counteract it, he fabricated this treaty, with which he despatched General Springporten to Saint Petersburg!!, calculating on the well-known policy of the Russian Auto- crat to second his machinations. Thus he pro- posed to himself a double chance ; either to in- cense the Empress against Gustavus, and win her to his individual interests, should the King persist in his choice ; or to alienate from him the affections of his people, in case he should intermarry with a Grand-duchess of Russia. Catherine, as we have seen, summoning both luicle and nephew to her capital, started the alliance with her grand-daughter, which was so abruptly terminated. Can there, we would ask, be a more grati- fying, a more noble spectacle, than that of a young prince subjecting himself from patriotic 182 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. motives, to the hostile caprices of a despot, far more powerful than himself; and not only do- ing this, but — harder task ! controlling and subduing his own passions — all ranged on that despot's side ! THE BRITISH ARMY AT BREMEN. 183 CHAPTER X. The British Army at Bremen. — Extortion and insolence of an innkeeper and a magistrate. — Disorderly conduct, and dis- asters of the English troops. — High-road to Hamburgh and Hanover. — Advantages of Macadamization — Ludwigs- lust and its ceremonials. — Etiquette in the minor Ger- man States. — The Red Deer at Munich — Method of ablu- tion there. — Hotels of Vienna. — A German bed, and one of its occupants. About the time we left Carlsbad, or shortly after, General Brune invaded Holland, and compelled the British army to retreat to Bre- men. General Motz, a most worthy Hessian gentleman, who was one of the commissaries- general, and a very particular friend of mine, seeing our arrival from Italy notified in the German papers, apprised several old English friends thereof, whom we had not met for some years, and whom we were urgently invited to visit in their military quarters ; and we had 184- ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. scarcely, in consequence of this invitation, ar- rived at Bremen, when we received from the Duchess of JNIecklenburgh a despatch, where- in her Serene Highness specified the time at whicli she should expect the fulfilment of our promise made at the Baths. I will take the present opportunity of communicating some curious anecdotes respect- ing the ingratitude of the magistrates of Bre- men towards our countrymen, when travel- ling there, in consequence of the reverses of the British army and the successes of the French. Our tavern-keeper having sent in an exor- bitant bill, we requested the commissary -gene- ral, Motz, our particular friend, to make a suit- able remonstrance. No redress, however, was procured, an attempt being made, in answer, to justify the demand. The commissary-general, not feeling by any means satisfied, requested that every item should be distinctly set down. So far, however, from this producing the de- sired effect, the landlord, with inconceivable as- svirance, protested that the sum, when reckoned in detail, would amount to at least twenty crowns more. Upon this, ^I. JNlotz imme- diately represented the matter to General Dundas ; and tlie general, without loss of time, sent for a magistrate, who positively de- DISASTERS OF THE ENGLISH. 185 dined interfering, saying that he had no autho- rity to do so, unless there had been a written agreement. " AVhy," exclaimed the astonished general, " if this extortion should become known amongst the British army, they will set fire to your town." — " Well," answered the other quite coolly, *' the French are at hand, and will soon put it out again!" We were ultimately obliged to make a merit of neces- sity, and paid about fifty crowns for what, on the Bath-road, in the height of the season, would not have cost ten ! The immense loss sustained by the British armament on this occasion, both in men and baggage, is pretty generally known. We were informed on the spot, that it arose almost wholly from their own careless and disorderly conduct. The INIoor-Dyke was covered with ice, and fairs held thereupon ; and large parties of English, not clearly comprehending the in- structions given them by the Dutch, strayed out of their way upwards of fifty miles. Being very much attached, also, to the Dutch gin, they took it by wholesale, and getting so in- toxicated as to fall asleep, perished in that state by hundreds, in consequence of the intense cold. Those who were sufficiently wary to avoid paying these profuse libations 186 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. to the rosy god, arrived safe and sound at Bremen. The high way from Bremen to Hamburgh, and from Hamburgh to Hanover, is of a nature to beggar all description ! The barbarians of the country call it a road, but as the Irish soldiers said, " 'Tis no road at all, at all ! ex- cept to an witimely grave /" At that season of the year, it must, indeed, have been truly horrible : to do it strict justice, it can only be compared to those mountains of loose stones which we now see heaped up together by the Macadamizing gentry, in the streets of London. Louis the XIV. obtained fame, and properly too, by making all the high roads out of Paris streets ; whilst our authorities are, vice ve^'sa, seeking renown by turning the streets of the metropolis into high roads. Old women and children are, it is true, owing to the greater swiftness and lesser noise of the vehicles, con- stantly run over ; but, yiimporte ! it is perhaps considered, that this, as we shall never have another war, is a good and effectual means of checking the superabundant population. To return to our delightful journey. From Bremen, in a light phaeton and four, Avithout any luggage, we travelled at the rate of twenty miles per day in twelve hours. When it pleased NUPTIAL CEREMONY. 187 Providence, we arrived at Ludwigslust, with sound bones, it is true, but not with whole skins, which were most unmercifully bruised, scratched, and discoloured, in this our peni- tential pilgrimage. All these inconveniences were, however, amply compensated by the polite and gracious reception we experienced from their Serene Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburgh, their illustrious family, and, in a word, from the whole Court. We had, therefore, the honour of being pre- sent at the nuptial ceremony, which took place at the palace of Ludwigslust, between the Princess of Mecklenburgh and the Count de Morner, as proxy for the young King, Gus- tavus Adolphus. The sequel of this story has already been laid before the reader. Notwithstanding the youth- ful King of Sweden had fully compromised himself in this matter, by causing his union to be solemnized in the face of all Europe ; he was compelled^ although professing to be So- vereign of an independent state, to bend the knee before a foreign power, and recall his own acts of declaration. In all probability, Gusta- vus Adolphus retained the recollection of this galling necessity at the moment in which he flatly refused to conclude the marriage treaty. 188 ANF.CDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. (on the Empress's own terms,) with the grand- daughter of Catherine. Ludwigslust is the only village we met Avith, in all our travels through Europe, south, east, west, and north, where money had no value. Being nothing more, in fact, than the country residence of the Duke of JNlecklen- burgh, there was no public inn in the place ; nor could any thing be procured, either to eat or drink, except in the few private houses of those attached to the Court. We alighted at the hotel of one of the court musicians, called Celestini, who lodged us hos- pitably for the night; and would have kept us longer, had not we been removed by order of the duchess, and supplied with every re- quisite. Notwithstanding the smallness of its terri- tory, and consequent narrowness of its revenue, every thing about this Court is found, thougli in miniature, the same as about those of Vi- enna or St. Petersburgh. In some of the minor states of Germany — Hanover for instance, the inhabitants of which are perhaps at once prouder and poorer than any of their fellow-countrymen — there are no less than six classes or orders of nobility ; and the females uniformly enjoy the titles of their ABLUTION AT MUNICH. 189 husbands, not only in these ranks, as is com- mon, but in the other grades of society : — thus, for example, the wife of a parson is called Frau Prediger ; of a physician, Frau INIedicus ; a tailor's lady is Frau Schneiderin ; a cobler's, Frau Schumacherin ; a general's, Frau Gene- ralin; and all these J'rmis feel themselves highly offended if not duly distinguished according to their husband's vocation ! In some of the most refined cities of Ger- many, civilization does not seem to have made the slightest progress during the last seven centuries. At Munich, for instance, the ca- pital of Bavaria, at the principal hotel (The Red Deer) frequented by citizens of the first respectability, as well as by officers, both civil and military, of his Majesty's household, they bring you, if you ask for a towel in the morn- ing, a piece of linen fit only for a razor-rag ; if you require water to wash yourself, a small wine-glass full is presented on a saucer ! An Italian gentleman, who had been accustomed in his own country to wash in a Christianlike manner, with a sufficiency of water, having de- sired the waiter at the said hotel to bring him some, and seeing the man approach with a glass and saucer, very innocently said, " I don't want it to drinle, but to wash with." " Well !" 190 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. answered the fellow, pertly enough, " and there it is /" " Why ! how the deuce," rejoined the other, " is a man to wash himself in a spoonful of water ?" " Lord bless you !" exclaimed the waiter, taking the fluid into his mouth, and then spitting it on his hands and rubbing his face therewith, *' That's the way for any man to wash his face !" In the chief inns of Vienna — and, in short, throughout Austria generally — instead of a bolster at the head of a bed, you find a sack, either of oats, corn, or chopped hay. The bedstead itself is not unlike the boxes wherein the poor are conveyed, when dead, to be bu- ried by the parish — just big enough to hold one small-sized person, and certainly not suf- ficiently large to accommodate a moderately- sized man. The consequence is, that an indi- vidual of six feet or so, must knock out the foot-board, and place the half of his legs upon a chair, in order to stretch himself at his ease, which the savages of the country say is only necessary after a man is dead. The coverlid of this horror, which they absurdly term a bed- stead, is only large and long enough to lay upon the surface of the machine, and the upper sheet is commonly sewed all round it ; so that, BRITISH OFFICER AND HIS BED. 191 when inside this bed, the air obtrudes itself on all sides, unless you have a pair of sheets of your own to wrap round you. At Hanover, the coverlid is a linen bag filled with feathers, sufficient to smother those who have not been used to such a thing ; and the sight of it re- minds one of the cruel operation formerly prac- tised upon poor wretches in the last stage of hydrophobia. A curious circumstance fell under the writer's personal observation at the hotel wherein we were lodged at Hanover. Just about the time that the Marquis of Huntley was returning from Corsica to England, a British officer, who wished to go thither, was desirous of joining his lordship's party. Understanding that they were gone to Cuxhaven, and not speaking a single word of German, he was obhged to wait for some companion who might serve him as interpreter. He was shown, at night, into an apartment adjoining ours, in tlie hotel in ques- tion ; and our door happening to be ajar at the moment, we became auditors of the following curious address to the waiter : — " I say, mv man, I see you sleep here as we do aboard ship — one above the other ; but I don't relish the fashion. I'll pay for the two beds ; and here's 192 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. a half-crown for yourself. So take care that no big fellow of a German comes tumbling over me in the nic^ht !" The war continuing, instead of returning to Italy, as was intended, we took our route toward the North, and arrived just in time to be present at the third, and only real marriage of Gustavus Adolphus ; a full description of which we have given in Chapter VII. COURT OF STOCKHOLM. 19^ CHAPTER XL Further particulars relative to the Court of Stockholm. — Influence of Frederick the Great in rea-ulating the succes- sion to the Swedish throne. — The Princess Ulrica, sister to Frederick ; her personal deformity, and how occasioned. — Advice of Louis XV. to the Duchess of Parma.— Intrigues of Ulrica after the death of her husband, Adolphus Fre- derick. — Sterility of the Duchess of Sudermania, and fruit- fulness of the Princess Sophia Albertina. — A stratagem and a disappointment. — The woolly-headed intruder, and the cushion-baby. — Reconciliation of Gustavus III. to his bride, and consequent birth of Gustavus Adolphus. — Behaviour of the Queen-dowager on the occasion. — The Duke of Austragozia in the South of France. — His com- munication to the Authoress. — Baron d'Armfeidt and the Princess De Rohan. — Interesting facts gathered from a correspondence between the Baron and Count Fersen, &c. We have introduced our readers to some of the principal personages who figured in recent dates at the court of Stockhohn. That they are not of a more amiable nature, is no VOL. T. O 194 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. fault of ours ; but the truth is, and experience has abundantly proved it to the writer of these pages, that the atmosphere of a court is the least calculated of any to foster the growth of estimable feelings or qualities. A number of royal persons connected with Sweden have briefly passed in review before us, and we will now turn back, and add such other anecdotes and data of various kinds, as have come to our knowledge, and may serve to illustrate and bring into stronger re- lief the different characters of whom we have treated. Adolphus Frederick, King of Sweden, was exalted to the throne of the ancient Vasas, merely through the preponderating influence of Frederick II. of Prussia, — having been previovisly a Prince of Holstein. It is not perhaps generally known, that, at the precise juncture at which Elizabeth of Russia consti- tuted her nephew, Peter III. her heir, that Prince was called on to take possession of the crown and sceptre of Sweden. These he renounced for the imperial diadem, and by that renunciation made room for his uncle, the Bi- sliop of Liiback, who was elected, as observed above, through the influence of the King of Prussia, on condition tliat he (Adolphus Fre- DEFORMITY OF PRINCESS ULRICA. 195 derick) should marry Ulrica, Frederick the Great's favourite sister. The overture of a crown is seldom met by obstacles on the part of him to whom it is made; and accordingly, Adolphus readily complied with this proviso, notwithstanding the princess in question was afflicted with lameness, — a mis- fortune entailed on her through the violence of her own father. It is notorious to all readers of modern history, that the Great Frederick was at one time sentenced by his sire to the prison of Spandau ; and it is said that, owing to her interference on her brother's behalf, Ulrica in- curred the hot displeasure of the king. Ano- ther story attributes her losing the parental af- fection, to her having entertained a strong par- tiality for. the famous Baron Trenck; others, again, to her being privy to an intrigue her sister, the Margravine of Anspach, had with the Baron. Be this, however, as it may, certain it is that Ulrica bore undoubted marks of her father's resentment to the grave ; and the pre- valent account is, that these marks were got in being thrown out of the window of her apart- ment, after which she was taken up lifeless, and remained defective in shape to her dying day. This lady was married in the year 1751, to the before-mentioned monarch, Adolphus Fre- o 2 196 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. derick of Sweden, and by him she had four children: — Giistaviis, who succeeded his father, and was treacherously murdered at a masque- rade at the theatre of Stockholm, by the regi- cide Ankerstrom ; Charles, Duke of Suderma- nia, who, having dethroned his nephew, reigned under the usurped title of Charles XIII. ; Fre- derick, Duke of Austragozia, who died at Mont- pelier, in France ; and a princess called Sophia Albertina, who was co-abbess with her late royal cousin, the Duchess of York. In the year 1796, when I was about making my northern tour, her Royal Highness the Duchess of York, as I have before stated, ho- noured me with letters for the Princess Sophia, Avliich procured me at the Court of Sweden a most gracious reception, and much informa- tion, the substance whereof is thus desultorily communicated. The eldest son of Adolphus Frederick and Ulrica, Gustavus III., having in his turn in- termarried with a Danish princess, abstained, as we have already seen, from the chaste bed of his newly married Queen, and hence, after a considerable la])se of time, it appeared that there was a small cliance of lieirs to the royal house of Sweden — tlie young bride not choosing to adopt the suggestion of Louis ^Y. who, on DUCHESS OF SUDERMANIA's STERILITY. 197 receiving from his sister, the Duchess of Parma, a complaint that her husband had acted in a similar respectful manner, told her Highness that a prudent princess could never stand in need of an heir. It is true, the maternal solicitude of Ulrica was not bounded by the achievements or defal- cations of her eldest son. Prince Charles, his brother, had likewise entered the '' holy" state of matrimony. But, alas ! here was little ac- cession of comfort ! for the Duke and Duchess of Sudermania had no better fortune than the King and Queen ; whilst the youngest, the Duke of Austragozia, exhibited a frail and delicate constitution, from which nothing de- sirable could be anticipated, even had he as- sumed the bands of wedlock. This deficiency of successors in the male line of the Swedish Royal Family, was however abundantly compensated, as far as numbers went, by the prolific qualities of that tender- hearted lady, Sophia Albertina. The Queen Dowager, grown hopeless at length of any heirs on the part of her sons, and naturally desirous to prevent the crown from lapsing into the hands of a stranger, sagaciously turned her thoughts towards this fruitful quarter. The lady abbess had, according to report, been 198 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. privately married to an officer in the King's Guards, and, whether this on dit be correct or not, a becoming and courtier-like faith in the matter will be at any rate most charitable. Ulrica therefore, perfectly well aware of the exactitude of her daughter's rehgious observ- ance of the sacred command " Increase and multiply," prevailed on the princess no longer to destine the fruits of her labours to her bro- ther's army, but to set aside the next comer as a future candidate for his throne. This ad- vice she urged the rather, perceiving the Lady Abbess to be then in a promising way ; and to insure success, she persuaded her daughter-in- law, the Duchess of Sudermania, to affect a virtue which she had not, and counterfeit both the appearance and conceits of pregnancy, a manoeuvre which the pride and vanity of this young princess, excited on the prospect of be- ing believed to bear a successor to the throne, induced her to give in to. Readily, therefore, did she sustain the dead weight of hidden cushions until the living substitute should be brought to light. All went on precisely as might be wished. The important fact of the duchess being en- ceinte was hailed by the rejoicing populace with every demonstration of satisfaction. The no- FRUITFULNESS OF SOPHIA ALBERTINA. 199 bility were on the alert. Prayers were offered up in every temple throughout the Swedish dominions, for the personal safety and prospe- rous delivery of the siiffeting princess ; and, in a word, the entire kingdom resounded with joyful acclamations. Meanwhile, *' the real Simon Pure" lived in complete retirement, totally secluded from the prying eye of impertinent curiosity. And now it becomes necessary for me to allude to a circumstance which must be known in order to understand what follows. Among the gen- tlemen whom Sophia had occasionalhj honoured with her favourable notice, was one of African origin. It may be thought strange by some that the princess should have exhibited this specimen of bad taste, and still stranger that she should not have been aware that the result of such a liaison could not possibly answer the end proposed by the Queen. She might pro- bably have placed small confidence in what blind Chance might effect. Certain, at any rate, it is, that while the anticipative fetes and prayers were going on, while the Queen-mo- ther was lauding her two obedient children, and while the sick duchess was assiduously fainting in public places, as becomes ladies in her supposed condition, an event occurred of 200 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. a nature to overthrow all the plans of the con- spirators. The Princess Sophia was rather pre- maturely brought to bed of — a black child ! a complete woolly-headed monster ! What was to be done ? This, as was plain, could never be attempted to be palmed upon the Swedish na- tion, however passive and complying ; and in a fit of absolute despair the enraged mother, who had calculated on giving birth to a future mo- narch, is said to have got rid both of the ob- ject of her own shame and her mother's disap- pointment, by consigning the unlooked-for in- truder to the flames ! Thus terminated the princess's actual and the duchess's feigned pregnancy. But to keep up the farce to the last, prayers were now offered up in the churches for the restoration of her, whose life, it was said, had been endangered by giving birth to a still-born child. AVhether Gustavus and his brother, or either of them was aware of this scheme on the part of their royal mother, to introduce contraband goods, and save them the trouble of provid- ing lieirs from their own loins, has never been clearly demonstrated. The circumstances, how- ever, are no secret at Stockliolm, and were communicated to the writer by a relation of THE QUEEN ENCEINTE. 201 the late Baron d'Armfeldt, whilst she was pre- sent upon the scene of action. yVe have previously touched upon the cir- cumstances attending the reconciliation of Gustavus III. to his unoffending bride, and his mysterious visits to her chamber. We have seen how tlie Count de JMunck, then per- haps the handsomest young man about court, was implicated by the emissaries of the Queen- mother, in consequence of his constant atten- dance upon his royal master on these nightly excursions. The reports she caused to be cir- culated regarding this subject have been abun- dantly disproved, and that by the authority of those whose knowledge of the facts cannot be questioned, from their having been in the perfect confidence of Gustavus — namely, the Duke of Austragozia and others. On receiving from his Queen an intimation that her INIajesty felt herself in that state wherein " all ladies wish to be who love their lords," Gustavus lost no time in communicating the important intelligence to the Queen-dow- ager, his other royal relatives, the courtiers, and, in fact, by proclamation, to the king- dom at large. He would even at reviews tell his guards, the common soldiers, of his 202 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. good luck, which, although tardy, seemed at length certain. His enthusiasm and joy on the occasion was commensurate, indeed, in its ex- travagance, with the eccentricity of his pre- vious conduct. It resembled somewhat that of the unfortunate Queen of France, Marie An- toinette, who, after having waited in fond ex- pectation for some time, when she really found herself about to become a mother, was anxious that the very stones in the street should know that she was no longer to be numbered among the sterile and barren of the earth. She said to Mad. de Noailles, " Now I shall die happy, since I have given an heir to France !" It is melancholy to reflect on the fate of this long- wished-for son ; who, poor child ! had no soon- er passed his infancy, than, after seeing both his parents brought to the scaffold, and his family dispersed and proscribed, perished in a loathsome dungeon, surrounded by those who mocked, instead of sympathising with his misery. When the spouse of our Swedish monarch drew near her accouchement^ he requested his mother. Queen Ulrica, to be present, with the rest of the royal family, at the labour of her Majesty, in order that she, the Queen-dowager, might be the first to present him with his child. CONDUCT or THE DOWAGER. 203 This, however, she peremptorily refused in the following words, addressed to Count Fersen and Baron d'Armfeldt, who w^ere the King's messengers on the occasion : — " I shall not sanc- tion with my presence the birth of a spurious heir, who has no affinity to the royal house of Sweden. I am too well acquainted with the constitutional defects of the King to be thus imposed on !" As this reply was given before several others of the courtiers, besides those two already mentioned, it did not long remain a secret. This extraordinary fancy on the part of a mother to blacken the characters of two of her children, (for, as before hinted, the Duke of Sudermania had his share of the scandal,) broke off, as a matter of course, all further cor- respondence between them and Ulrica. It gave rise to a vast number of floating rumours, each of a darker tint than the former, which were industriously promulgated against the two princes ; while, in the judgment of all fair-minded persons whom the author has ever heard advert to the topic, these rumours had no better foundation than the groundless aver- sion of the amiable dowager, who would fain have exercised over Gustavus III. and his brothers, the same authority by which she em- 204 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. bittered her liiisbancrs life, and wliich the superaniuiated in years and intellect are too often fond of striving to fasten upon those still in the prime and vigour of life and thought. We have already observed, that it is not ac- curatelv known whether or not Gustavus was aware, at the time, of the scheme manufactured by the Queen-dowager to introduce the off- spring of her daughter Sophia. The great pre- sumption is, that he v/as. Most certainly he instituted, directly after, a strict system of espionnage, both over the conduct of his mother and the lady abbess. The Duke of Austragozia, who was one of the best-bred princes and most gentlemanly men of his time, and whom the Authoress met many years after these disgraceful family broils, while his Royal Highness was stopping for his health in the South of France, assured her that his brother, the Duke of Sudermania (the late Charles XIII.) was so disgusted with the du- chess his wife, when the knowlege readied him of her having connived at the nefarious prac- tices of Ulrica and Sophia, that he was desirous of being divorced, and having her confined for life. The King, however, objected to any pub- lic investigation of tlie suspected fraud ; for, altlioiigh wishing so far to prove the intrigues LETTER OF FREDEKICK THE GREAT. 205 of his mother, as to feel justified in dooming her' to a constant residence at her country seat, he was unwilling to press a charge of conspiracy, which would have seriously implicated all three of the princesses. This moderation on the part of Gustavus was highly approved of, when made known to his royal uncle, the Great Frederick of Prussia, who wrote to Queen Ulrica, recommending her to live in harmony with her children, and par- ticularly with Gustavus himself, telling her, at the same time, that she could have no claim in the sympathies or services of a brother, if she overlooked the duty owed by her, both as mother and subject, to the King of Sweden. " This letter," added the Duke of Austragozia, " had a powerful effect on the futvire conduct of her Majesty the Queen Ulrica," who, having presumed that Frederick would protect her against Gustavus, became, when she discovered her error, less intriguing and more cautious, howbeit she was never thoroughly reconciled to either of her calumniated sons. Aware that she was watched in all her movements, she now rarely came, even on a visit, to the royal palace at Stockholm ; and her indulgent son, requiring nothing more than this reasonable forbearance, continued to allow her, during the 206 ANF.CDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. remainder of her life, every privilege appertain- ing to her royal birth and station. In short, the dark and foul miscellaneous in- trigues of a court can scarcely be credited but by such as have mixed in the crowd and bustle thereof. That most diabolical of passions, am- bition to rule, poisons all the sources of gene- rous or virtuous feeling, chills the kindly cha- rities of kindred, and places the heart of a de- mon within the bosom which should enshrine humanity. In the year 1803, being at Paris, and, dining at a French banker's, T encountered there my old acquaintance. General Baron d'Armfeldt, at that time the clier ami of the Princess de Rohan, better known by her own title, the Duchess of Sagan. This accomplished and beautiful lady, daughter of the last Duke of Courland, and to whom also I was well known, sent me an invitation to dine with them at their magnificent hotel in the Rue Royale, and I went rather early, in order to have a long conversation, we not having met since the year 1794, at Naples. The Duchess not having returned from her morning ride, the Baron proposed to take a drive before dinner as far as tlie Bois de Bou- logne. After having discussed at full the se- BARON d'armfeldt. 207 vera! merits and fortunes of our Italian ac- quaintances, (the topic generally uppermost in the Baron's mind,) the affairs of Sweden na- turally suggested themselves. D'Armfeldt, as might have been anticipated, inveighed most strongly against the treatment he had expe- rienced at the hands of the Duke of Suder- mania, who, whilst Regent of Sweden, had banished him, confiscated a considerable por- tion of his estate, and forbidden him, on pain of death, to return to his native country. Pro- clamations to this effect were issued by the go- vernment at Stockholm, and posted at various places on the confines of the kingdom, where he was obliged to separate from his wife, the Countess Delagardi, and their family. Having discoursed of his own affairs. Baron d'Armfeldt adverted to others of a more gene- ral nature, which he prefaced by producing cer- tain letters from Count Erval Fersen and others, in one of which, Fersen observes, "Armfeldt will one day be sacrificed to this man's thirst for power," (meaning the Duke of Sudermania) " as well as myself." These letters described in detail the intrigues instituted by Charles, for thwarting the marriage of his nephew with the Princess of Mecklenburgh, as has hereto- fore been explained, and add that, at first the 208 ANKCDOTES OF FOKEIGN COUKTS. Empress Catherine, whilst she thanked the Duke for his friendly zeal, declined acting upon it, alleging as her reason, that the Rus- sian Grand-duchess was not yet of a marriage- able age. JNIeanwhile, the contract with the Princess of Mecklenburgh arrived at the Swedish capital, to the great joy of its inhabitants, who viewed in the proposed match a union conso- nant to the true interests of Sweden as an in- dependent state, since a connexion with Meck- lenburgh could not, in all probability, be sad- dled with any injurious influences, such as those had been with Prussia and Denmark. As for Russia, the people combined to view an alliance with that overgrown empire with the most jealous eyes, as calculated to interfere with, and ultimately perhaps to annihilate, the independence of their country. The process of this business has already been laid before the reader in a straight-forward way. What we are aiming at here, is to give him the advantage of such side-winds as may waft a more complete and intimate acquaintance with the less obvious circumstances attendant on it. The character of Charles, Duke of Suder- mania, subsequently Charles XIII., will hence be more clearly developed, and stand up, as is fit, to public execration. It might surely have been CATHERINE OF RUSSIA. 209 expected that, after suffering himself through the artful intrigues of a near relative, he would abstain from visiting upon his comparatively- helpless charge a similar course of evils. But no ! from the very commencement of the ex- ercise of his delegated functions, to the mo- ment when he gained the summit of his am- bition by ascending the throne of Sweden, he was the constant, unvarying, and unrelenting enemy of the nephew whom he was bound by every law, human and divine, to protect, but whom, on the other hand, he never ceased to vilify, to persecute, and defame. Having failed in his first overture to the great Autocrat of Russia, Charles, fearing the completion of the agitated nuptials, (so well calculated to enhance the growing popularity of the young king,) made a second effort, in which he artfully excited the ambition of Ca- therine, by representing how much the project- ed union would tend to annul, or at least ren- der ineffectual, that authority " which," said he, " your Imperial Majesty has a right to ex- ercise over the affairs of Sweden." Catherine took fire at the voluntary concession of this imaginary right, by the Regent, who professed, in explanation thereof, to have discovered a document signed by his late royal brother, vol.. I. p 210 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Gustavus III., wherein he expresses in une- quivocal terms, his will that his son and heir should not intermarry with any other Princess until the Empress had formally refused to give him the Russian Grand-duchess. This pre- tended document has been since proved to be a mere forgery of Charles. Catherine, as we have seen, now thought proper to interfere. Gustavus repaired to the Russian capital, and the charms of his new mistress, together with the caresses lavished on him by the Empress, soon induced him to merge every other consideration in that of the indulgence of his choice. The Duke now began to breathe freely, un- der the firm persuasion that his nephew had swallowed the bait, and entangled himself in the meshes of that net which was to draw him on to his destruction. Well convinced of the odium which Gustavus would incur by prose- cuting this Russian alliance, he wrote secretly to Stockholm, intimating his apprehension that the King had become so infatuated with the Empress's grand-daughter, as not only to have compromised the established religion of Swe- den, but to have actually apostatized to the Greek Church ; concluding by an entreaty to his friends, to exert all their influence over MACHINATIONS OF CHARLES. 211 the clergy of Sweden, for the purpose of op- posing this violation, on the part of his Ma- jesty, of their ancient laws and worship. To Catherine herself he held out language very different. When she wished to be in- formed how far she might enforce the interest of the bride-elect in matters of rehgion, the crafty Duke advised her to say nothing to Gustavus on the subject, but (as has been seen) to get a clause to that effect subsequently and surreptitiously introduced, hoping that the king might thus be overreached ; in which event this Richard of the North would doubt- less himself have protested against his nephew, and proclaimed him to have vacated the throne. He ultimately obtained what he sought for, but not in this instance, wherein his machina- tions were frustrated by the spirit and promp- titude of Gustavus, whose hasty flight from Saint Petersburgh appears to have been stimu- lated by certain unguarded expressions that dropped from one of the courtiers, whereby he was led to believe that his uncle purposed leav- ing him as a hostage in the hands of the Russian Government, should he persevere in resisting the Empress. The Duke had indeed previ- ously offered to cede to Catherine perpetually, the entire province of Finland, in case any p 2 212 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. unforeseen accident happening to Gustavus, should place it in the power of the Empress to guarantee him (Charles) quiet possession of the remaining dominions of Sweden. Such was the substance of these interesting communications, from which the Baron d'Arm- feldt politely suffered the Authoress to make such extracts as she deemed, coming from so undeniable a source, likely to prove interesting to the general reader. COUNT ERVAL FERSEN. 213 CHAPTER XII. Characteristic Sketch of Count Erval Fersen. — His dis- interested attachment to Gustavus III. — Accompanies that Monarch to the various Courts of Europe. — His eclat at Versailles. — The King of Sweden and Marie An- toinette. — Defeated manoeuvre of Gustavus. — Count Fer- sen left behind, as ambassador to the French Court. — Confidence reposed in him by Louis XVI. — Glance at the earlier days of the French Revolution. — Specimens of the vacillating character of Louis. — The Queen at the Opera. — Prompt behaviour of Fersen. — Her Majesty accomplishes her retreat from the theatre. — Plot of the Crown Monopoly. — Real intentions of Louis in quitting France. — Scheme projected for that purpose by Fersen. — Frustrated by the violence of the mob. — Count ]\Iirabeau. — Fersen partakes the flight and return of the Royal Family, and afterwards escapes from France. — Previous quarrel on his account, between the Princess de Lamballe and the Duchess d'Or- leans. — Fersen nominated by his Sovereign Governor of Upsal. — His mission to Carlsbad, and its results. — Murder of a Republican emissary, and accusation of the Count. — His innocence manifested — Congress at Rastadt, and po- licy of Sweden at that period. — Conduct of Fersen re- lative to the disputes between Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XIII. — Dethronement of the former. — Fersen's spirited remonstrance and subsequent insurrection. — His death, and that of the Prince of Augustenberg. Before we quit the present division of our subject, I will give a brief sketch of the life 214 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. and character of an individual who figured in a most prominent manner on the scene of the French Revolution — Count Erval Fersen, whose name has already occurred in these pages, and of whom so mucli has been said, both of good and evil. It seems to be the inevitable lot of distin- guished men to excite in others some of the worst passions of our common nature — misre- presentation and slander. " Be thou as pure as snow," says Hamlet to Ophelia, " thou shalt not escape calumny." If, therefore, " these things be so," it is at once the privilege and duty of the honest biographer to strip off the veil wherewith the hand of malice may have obscured the good qualities of a man, and set them forth as conspicuously as a due regard to the dictates of immortal truth may sanction. Count Erval Fersen was the confidential companion and sincere friend of Gustavus III. We are aware that to apply the name of friend to the attendant of a king is hazard- ous. Princes seldom attract sufficient sympa- thy to give rise to the genuine feehngs of friendship, a sentiment of tender growth, and wliich requires, in its cultivation, a degree of affectionate familiarity incompatible with the COUNT ERVAL FERSEN. 215 relative situations of sovereign and subject. Kings too are apt to resent any thing at all resembling in its nature the levelling principle ; and hence it is at once singular and agreeable to reflect on the unremitting assiduity where- with Fersen attended the fortunes of his royal master, whom he accompanied in all his travels through Germany, France, and Italy : his po- lished manners, affkbility, and general know- ledge of mankind, added to his great erudition, soon becoming the theme of every cultivated and fashionable circle. It is therefore not to be wondered at, that a man adorned with these qualifications, to which were superadded all the graces of person, should be received with pecu- liar complacency at the sparkling and luxurious Court of Versailles. Gustavus, though apparently flattered and pleased at the reception of his favourite, was notwithstanding somewhat mortified on ob- serving the marked preference shown to that favourite in his own royal presence. He had, besides, (for kings are no more exempted from the frailties of nature than meaner men,) con- tracted a sort of tender liaison for the capti- vating Queen of Louis XVI., and found it pe- culiarly inconvenient to be constantly accom- 216 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. panied by a man whose personal and mental accomplishments were decidedly superior to his own. One day, therefore, he contrived some mes- sage wherewith to despatch Fersen to the Duke de Penthievre, and, in the Count's ab- sence, screwed up his courage to the sticking- place, and made immediate way, unaccom- panied and uninvited, from the French metro- polis to Versailles. He knew that I^ouis was gone to RambouUet, and buoyed up his imagi- nation with hopes of tete-a-tete dinner with the then all-fascinating Marie Antoinette. " No- thing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice," should be the imvarying motto of historians, whether great or little. It is impossible we should determine what the precise views of this northern aspirant were ; but certain it is, that he was received with as much coldness and austerity as the sweet nature of JNIarie An- toinette would permit her to exercise toward her equal in rank ; and the intrusive monarch exhibited evident marks of confusion when Madame dc Lamballe was commanded by the Queen to make one of the party. (See Mar- dame de Campan's work on tliis subject.) Gustavus ap])ears to have felt too nmch re- buked on this occasion to hazard the presenting COUNT ERVAL FERSEN. 217 himself a second time in this particular manner, and he seems subsequently to have contentedly witnessed the preference almost universally awarded to his elegant courtier. When his Ma- jesty was on the point of quitting Paris, on his return to Stockholm, Count Erval Fersen was left behind, at the especial instance of Louis XVI., as Swedish Ambassador of the French court, and hence it was that he became mixed up in those portentous events which shortly after shook to its basis the whole fabric of civi- lized society in our quarter of the globe, and which have undoubtedly (however much it may be to the interest of the members of the Holy Alliance to conceal the fact,) operated, like a thunder-storm in the natural world, to clear the political atmosphere of Europe. Count Fersen had not resided long at Paris, in his new capacity, before his characteristic foresight enabled him to perceive the coming tempests, and he enlisted himself among the most confidential and ardent friends of the royal family. Happy had it been for that fa- mily, (perhaps for France,) had Louis been as ready to adopt the advice of his best and most sensible adherents as he was to apply for it; but his general want of vigour and promptitude, joined to his inherent aversion to reform abuses 218 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. sanctioned by long- usage, prevented any chance of salutary effects springing from those sugges- tions which were kindly meant, and evinced both the wisdom and zeal of the advisers. He was in the habit, unfortunate man ! of seeking counsel from persons of different interests, by which he was of course impelled opposite ways, perplexed, confused, and rendered more inde- cisive than he was by natural constitution. He had at no period confidence in his own judg- ment ; and through another modification of the same weakness, he did not hesitate to compro- mise his real friends and advisers, by betraying their counsels, not with malice prepense, but in- advertently. Louis XVI., born and bred in the most despotic principles, and surrounded by all the splendour and aristocracy of la Grande Nation, was, at the period when he first conceded to all Frenchmen the right of liberty, himself the only Frenchman in a state of bondage. A great deal of allowance must be made on ac- coimt of the jealousy wherewith all his actions were scrutinized, although it must be admitted that this very jealousy sprang from the know- ledge so universally imbibed of the King's va- cillation. Thus, on the occasion of his Majesty accepting and signing the constitution, the COUNT ERVAL FERSEN. 219 Parisians were loud in expressing their doubts of the King's sincerity, nor would they be sa- tisfied of the adhesion of the Royal Family, unless they, as usual, showed themselves at the theatres and other places of public amusement. On the intimation of this wish on the part of the citizens of Paris, the courtiers were all taken aback, not knowing what to advise, and fearful of committing the royal family to the doubtful emotions of an excited populace. In the midst of this uncertainty, the Count Erval Fersen had the firmness to step forward from among those whose stations or sentiments at- tached them to the court, and boldly recom- mended the Queen to brave the possible danger, in the hope of allaying the obvious ferment. He expatiated on the evident ill consequences of a protracted refusal, and enforced his argu- ment with so much earnestness and good sense, that it was triumphant. I am desirous to lay the more stress on this circumstance, inasmuch as it proves, that while Fersen was in his inmost heart devoted to the interests and safety of the Royal Family of France, he was not the less anxious to conciliate the esteem of the people, and to ensure general peace and harmony. The Queen, therefore, was at his instance prevailed on ; and yielding, though contrary 220 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. to her own wishes and feelmgs, to the sound- ness of Count Fersen's reasoning, went one night to the Opera. She was dressed in a sim- ple white robe, trimmed with deep red ribbons, and ornaments of a similar colour decorated her head-dress. Scarcely had she entered her box, when a universal cry arose from all quar- ters of the house, of " Down with the bloody colours ! Down with her who is decorated with the emblem of the blood of Frenchmen !" Fersen, who, with some other gentlemen of the co7ys diplomatique, was stationed behind her Majesty in the same box, assisted Marie An- toinette in divesting herself of these offensive ornaments, and laid them aside. His fii'st im- pulse was, indeed, to throw them into the pit among the malcontents ; but the Queen, lay- ing her hand upon his arm, exclaimed, — " For Heaven's sake, Sir, abstain ! They would then be still more vociferous, and say / tread under foot the blood of the nation." On the royal party leaving the theatre, after having supported the most scurrilous abuse to the end of the performance, the National Guards, in order to prevent the brutal mob from committing still farther outrage, formed, with their drawn swords, a complete arch, be- neath whicli the unfortunate Queen passed on COUNT ERVAL FERSEN. 221 to her carriage. Fersen, having been near her Majesty the whole of the evening, and being much mortified and extremely indignant at what he had witnessed, was unable to conceal his chagrin. He spake not with words, it is true ; but his expressive countenance suffi- ciently demonstrated the state of his feelings. " I hope now. Count," observed Marie An- toinette, in a sad voice, " you will be convinced that I can no longer appear in public with any safety." — " I am grieved," replied he, " in being compelled to admit that your Majesty is right. Nevertheless, I feel equally certain, that had your Majesty not appeared at the theatre, the ferment would have been still more dangerous. The insults you have received to-night, how- ever galling and unprovoked, are at the same time, only transitory, and your good sense will teach you to despise them. The torrent, if further dammed up, might have forced a vent, fatal, perhaps, instead of annoying, to you and your family." This scene at the theatre had, I have reason to know, a considerable influence in deciding the French King to withdraw from his capital. In taking that step, the Count Erval Fersen was the individual to whom Louis applied to procure him the necessary passports. The 222 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Count, who was at the time in the fullest con- fidence of the ill-fated monarch, has repeat- edly declared, that whatever might be the ge- neral impression, it was by no means Louis's intention to quit France altogether, but merely to place his wife and family out of danger. His Excellency often, subsequently, in the most solemn manner, affirmed, that had the King succeeded in conducting his beloved cliarge safely to Brussels or Vienna, his purpose was firmly bent to return ; and, as he would then have had nothing to fear but for him- self,— to march, at the head of his army, against both foreign and domestic foes ; against all those whose views were directed to the disturb- ance of the internal tranquillity of France. Fersen, therefore, to avoid giving any cause of suspicion to the National Assembly, and at the same time better to serve the Royal Fa- mily, carefully abstained from publicly joining any of the Queen's parties, whilst, however, he became assiduous in his attendance on another illustrious victim, the late Princess de Lam- balle. This lady might really have been termed the very shadow of the Queen, or rather the life and soul of every thing affecting the interest or comfort of her royal ])atroness. Slie may indeed be said to have been the only true COUNT ERVAL FERSEN. 223 female friend that daughter of Imperial Austria ever had. Fersen's attentions to her must not be misconstrued. They partook not of the cha- racter so common to the regards of courtiers ; they wore not the impress of idle gallantry. They were sacred to disinterested friendsliip ; to heroic endeavours for the service of a help- less, persecuted Queen : a solicitude greatly in- creased on the discovery of the Palais lloyal con- spiracy, levelled especially at Marie Antoinette, and a knowledge of which was sufficient to prompt any really humane man to oppose with all his might the machinations of those who abused the term of Liberty, by making it a cover for the most atrocious licence. In order to obtain as much information as possible, tlie Count expended considerable sums upon several subordinate members of that un- holy plot, and through their agency discovered the details of the infamous scheme. It appears that the object was, to reduce to starvation the whole population of Paris, by a scandalous mo- nopoly of corn, which monopoly they imputed to tlic Queen, causing their emissaries to as- sume her liveries. This plan was defeated by Fersen, who communicated it to all the minis- ters residing in Paris, both French and foreign. Disappointed in their views, these wretches, 224 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. in revenge propagated a report that Fersen had become the received paramour both of the Queen and Madame de Lamballe, while in honest truth he was nothing more than the common impartial friend of humanity, in ex- posing to public scorn and ignominy the real projectors of the abominable crime of starv- ing, for vile party purposes, the inhabitants of a great capital. By his prompt, energetic, and fearless conduct, he, in fact, was the instru- ment of preventing much suffering, and of saving an almost incalculable number of vic- tims, who would otherwise have perished for want of bread. Ill-founded as it was, however, this report touching the gallantry between Madame de Lamballe and the Count de Fersen, occasioned an open rupture between that lady and her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Orleans, two prin- cesses who had been warmly attached to each other. So offended was the formei* at the countenance given by her relative to these un- just insinuations, that she absolutely forbade the visits of the children of Madame d'Orleans, who up to that time had been in the constant liabit of visiting their aunt. Fersen himself, the Queen, and the Duke de Penthievre, father-in-law to Madame de MADAME DE LAMBALLE. 225 Lamballe, all of them opposed this sudden re- solution on her part ; the latter, in particular, who loved the princess as though she were his own child, and by whom he was beloved with similar earnestness. Indeed, Madame de Lam- balle never, after the untimely death of her young husband, quitted the duke, his father, (except to do her duty at court,) until that fatal 10th of August 1792, when they were separated to meet no more in this sublunary state. Fersen foresaw all the scandal and evil consequences likely to result from this obvious breach between the sisters, both of whom stood so forward in the public eye — a breach which certainly was one of the chief causes and pre- tences for the barbarous murder of the princess. The Duchess of Orleans had, it is true, been from the first no less apprehensive of evil, and implored the Queen's mediation : but Madame de Lamballe persisted, and told the Queen that her motives were prudential and not vindictive. Be this as it may, however, the anti-royal party from that time threw aside all reserve, and openly studied every description of insult which they could accumulate upon the unfortunate Royal Family whenever either of its members appear- ed at the windows, or in the garden of the Tuileries. VOL. I. Q 226 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Under these circumstances, therefore, Louis renewed his entreaties to the Swedish ambas- sador, to procure the passports; and Fersen himself, persuaded that no time was to be lost in the present critical situation of things, readily undertook to make the necessary arrangements for the Royal Family to quit the metropolis. This, it is true, was not very easily to be exe- cuted ; but when a man's interest is truly awa- kened, particularly if he is a man of energy, and if his best feelings are enlisted in the cause, his courage and resolution are likely to increase with increasing difficulty. And these difficulties were neither few nor slight. General de la Fayette was then in com- mand of the National Guards, who, by virtue of an ordinance of the Assembly, were changed every hour. No plan of assistance could there- fore be trusted to them, since, if the universal agent, gold, had been put freely into action, there was no time for it to work. The scru- ples of Mirabeau were, it is pretty generally understood, overcome by such means, and, on the payment of a considerable sum, he entered into the project of their escape. Aware that this fact has been often disputed, I am ready to vouch for its accuracy ; and were M. La- borde living, he could name the exact amount, PLAN FOR THE ROYAL FAMILY'S ESCAPE. 227 since it passed through that gentleman's hands. Mirabeau cared not, abstractedly, a single franc for the safety of either member of the Royal Family at that period, although he afterwards became so much interested for the person of the Queen, merely that through her Majesty he might influence the measures of the King, in case his plans had succeeded for the overthrow of the National Assembly. I do not here ad- vance a single syllable which I have not heard from the mouths of parties who actually treated with Count Mirabeau for the price of his ab- juration. A nobleman called Pisani, ambassador from the Venetian republic to the court of Versailles, had a town house, the gardens of which com- municated with those of the Tuileries. With this man Fersen was extremely intimate, and without stating his motives, he reqviested the loan of the residence in question during Pisani's absence in the country. The wish was no sooner expressed than it was conceded, and a garden key handed to the Count, by means of which egress and ingress might be commanded to and from the gardens of the palace. This was precisely what Fersen wanted. The Royal Family, grown timid and nervous in consequence of the repeated cruel persecutions Q 2 228 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. to which they had been exposed by the hired bravoes of the factious parties, and the wretches of sans culottes, had latterly abstained from walking in the gardens until the hour had ar- rived at which they were cleared and the gates shut. Fersen had taken eare to provide car- riages to go and come to and from the house of Pisani for several preceding days, in order that there should be no singularity apparent when these vehicles were really put in requisition for the meditated purpose. Indeed, every precau- tion that thoughtfulness or prudence could dic- tate was adopted, for the Swedish nobleman was not a man to engage hotly in any measure, and to cool as quickly as he had been ignited. Through the house of Pisani, it was ar- ranged that Louis, Marie Antoinette, and their family, were to pass to the carriages in wait- ing, instead of returning from their evening promenade into the apartments of the palace. Every thing w^as prepared, and the time fixed ; but, unfortunately, the whole scheme was frus- trated in the following manner. On the very day agreed upon, the mob had been so violently exasperated against Monsieur and INladame VetOy as they denominated the royal couple, that the Queen was obliged to have her bed-chamber surrounded by National Guards, and dared not ROYAL FAMILY LEAVE THE TUILERIES. 229 leave its sanctuary from fear of assassination, much less was she in a condition to take her customary exercise for three or four days fol- lowing. The weak-minded and unfortunate King was now so thoroughly terrified, that he lost all power of judgment or discretion. Impelled by his fears, he no sooner found his wife at all able to join the expedition, than he determined on hazarding it. The necessary arrangements were this time planned by himself, and were characterized by no one principle of caution or foresight. The carriages were ordered to at- tend at a given hour, at one of the gates of the palace itself, and their preparation and arri- val were thus known to at least fifteen or six- teen individuals. Through the apartments of the Duke de Villequier the sad party proceeded to embark on their fatal purpose, and took their seats in the several carriages with little more secrecy than if they had been going to the Opera ! We have no intention to expatiate on scenes which, it may be fairly supposed, are already familiar to our readers. The French Revolu- tion, in all its stages, is now pretty well under- stood, at all events with regard to its general features, although the filling-up of the picture 230 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. has given rise to a huge mass of misrepresenta- tion and prejudiced mistake. It is only so far as the hero of the present sketch is involved in its early progress, that we are desirous of re- verting to circumstances which a well-regu- lated mind cannot fail to think of with regret and indignation. Fersen, then, had only been apprised of the second meditated escape of the Royal Family, in sufficient time to enable him to take his seat on the coach -box and drive them out of Paris. In short, so ill-concerted was the whole affair, as to render it by no means a subject of wonder, that the fugitives were stopped before they could cross the French frontier. When the Royal Family were confusedly making their way through the long gallery of the Tuileries^ it was past ten ; ere the carriages had cleared off, it was near eleven ; and a very little after midnight, all the bells of Paris were set in motion to give the alarm of the flight of the descendant of St. Louis from the capital of his forefathers, to which he was shortly after re- conducted, like a vanquished prisoner ; while Fersen thought himself happy in effecting his own retreat from a country wherein his royal friends were captives, subjected to every species of insult ; and a dungeon would soon have JACOBIN HATllED OF COUNT FERSEN. 231 been considered the only fitting receptacle for himself. I shall never forget that night on which Louis XVI., his wife, and children, were brought back to Paris. Several confidential friends of Fersen, Madame de Stael, Monsieur de Chenon, the late Duke of Richlieu, and myself, all witnessed the melancholy scene. Fallen majesty has been proverbially held to excite compassion and respect ; but, alas ! in the present instance, the stern and unrelenting fury of the populace was but too sure a prog- nostic of the approaching destruction of its victims. It became now almost universally known to the heads of the revolutionary faction, that Count Erval Fersen was one of their most active, as well as most determined opponents ; that it was by his means the plot respecting the corn monopoly was detected and defeated ; that he had been the principal agent in drawing over Mirabeau to the royal interest ; and, finally, that he was prominently instrumental in aiding the projected flight of the King and his family. It will not, therefore, appear singular that he should be regarded by the Jacobins with a vin- dictive eye. It has been commonly affirmed, that the 232 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS, passports provided by the Count were made out in the name of a Madame Scabrasky. That lady, however, was herself never in France ; she was the last favourite of Stanislaus Ponia- towski, and known to Fersen, at whose request an English lady assumed her title, and applied for the passports. All these circumstances combined, as I be- fore stated, to induce the Swedish ambassador to withdraw himself, as soon as he possibly could, from the French territory. Pisani, the Venetian ambassador, Madame de Stael, Mon- sieur de Chenon, and the fictitious Madame de Scabrasky, were the only persons who saw him after his fatal return from Varennes to Paris, which latter place he left on foot, to travel to St. Denis, whence, changing his route, he journeyed on to join the late King, Louis XVIIl., and his present Majesty, Charles X. This most interesting period of the event- ful life of Fersen exhibits many other circum- stances of moment, which, " if I list to speak," might, witli considerable effect, be placed be- fore the reader. But they are so mixed up with matters relating to the royal branch of Orleans, that I forbear, from a feeling of grati- tude and respect for its existing members. Mine is not a disposition to forget any acts of ESCAPE OF FERSEN FROM FRANCE. 233 kindness extended to me, whether from the exalted in rank, or from those " of low estate ;" and the cordial hospitality I experienced at the hands of the Orleans family, during my resi- dence at Palermo, renders me anxious to avoid giving them the slightest ground of offence* By this feeling I was influenced in repressing many parts and softening others, of the MS. of my ever-to-be-lamented friend and bene- factress, their late aunt, the Princesse de Lam- balle, to whose virtuous memory I am proud to attribute the attentions with which I was honoured. Fersen's figure was calculated to strike any body who had once seen it, he being remarkably handsome, and upwards of six feet high. To conceal it, therefore, when accomplishing his escape from France, he assumed the disguise of a beggar, wearing a bandage over one eye, and having a wooden leg fastened to one of his knees. Thus, lame and blind, he was engaged for several days in traversing the country, un- til, finding himself out of danger, he procured a carriage, and was safely conducted to Stock- holm. Pisani, thinking himself in some de- gree compromised, lost no time in departing from Paris for the coast, where, with his three children, he embarked for London. A" 234 ANECDOTES OF FOKEIGN COURTS. Fersen, on arriving at his birth-place, was received by the King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus, in the most gracious and distin- guished manner, and soon after appointed to the government of Upsal. Here he resided until, for the benefit of his health, he came to Carlsbad in Bohemia, and thence proceeded on a private mission from his sovereign to the Duke and Duchess of Baden, the Queen's fa- ther and mother.* By mere accident he found himself at the country residence of these po- tentates, where was carried on the first famous mock congress between the French Republic and the German Princes. It is well known that one of the democratical envoys of the Re- public was, doubtless from some political mo- tive, waylaid and murdered on his return from Radstadt to Paris ; but it is perhaps not so generally understood, that this abominable crime was perpetrated by his own partisans, * Frederica, formerly Princess of Baden, and now Queen de jure of Sweden, is sister to the Empress-consort of Russia, (widow of the late Alexander) and also to the existing Queen of Bavaria. Her brother was first Grand-duke of Baden, which augmentation of title he received at the hands of Na- poleon, in consequence of his having assisted in the arrest of the Duke d'Enghien, and married a niece of Josephine. — Queen Frederica is now living, with the Princesses her daughters, at Carlsruhe, her birth-place. CHARGES AGAINST FERSEN. 235 who were probably of opinion that he had scrutinised too much, and become acquainted with more than it was intended he should learn. The hatred felt by the French Revolutionists to all kingly governments, and to all subjects who retained their allegiance, induced them to charge the commission of this murder upon the other members of the corps diplomatique generally, and upon their old enemy. Count Erval Fersen, in particular, although that no- bleman was at the time exercising no public function, and could not, therefore, be imagined to feel any lively interest in the hfe or death of the whole diplomatic body; and although his character for honour and humanity was high even amongst his political opponents. Yet, though his innocence, and indeed that of the entire body of plenipotentiaries, was clearly established by the subsequent arrest of the real hired assassin, this circumstance, together with his proved friendship for the late unfortunate family of Louis XVI. has frequently since given cause for Count Fersen to be accused of some conspiracy or other, of which he had never even dreamt ! — As soon as his freedom from the foul charge before alluded to was sa- tisfactorily shown, he departed from Baden for 236 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Stockholm, and then resumed his station as governor of Upsal. On the second congress being assembled at Radstadt, Count Fersen was prevailed on by his sovereign, Gustavus, to represent that monarch. He was charged not only to exert all his diplo- matic ability for the preservation of the King's German provinces, but also to use the strongest endeavours to secure the independence of Italy ; Gustavus Adolphus perceiving that the subju- gation and parcelling out of that fine coun- try, either by France or Austria, would tend materially to affect the balance of power in Europe, and give an unjust preponderance to whichever of these great powers should succeed in obtaining the desired prize. He had compared and deduced, and from that pro- cess saw, from these evils entailed on the North of Europe by the partition of Poland, that a similar train would be attendant in the South, on the division of Italy. Fersen, having submitted these considera- tions, went on to show, by means of the sound- est logic, how pernicious must be the result to all Europe, if either Austria or France were allowed to wield exclusive sovereignty over the Italian States, demonstrating how beneficial the freedom and independence of those States CONGRESS OF RADSTADT. 237 would be to every trading nation of Europe. He enlarged on the commercial value of their ports, especially those of the Adriatic, of the Grecian Islands belonging to the Venetian States, and that of Genoa in the Mediterra- nean. He called particularly on the British Govern- ment to consider the situation and facilities of those ports ; which facilities, he observed, would, under Austria, be entirely engrossed by the plodding inhabitants of Trieste, to the utter loss of the merchants of the United King- dom. Finding all the influence of his disinterested sovereign, together with his own arguments, unavailing, in consequence of the powerful po- litical majority enrolled against him, he left the Congress, disgusted with the opposition he had encountered to the politics of the North : and on his return to Sweden, reassumed his post at Upsal, where he quietly continued to the great advantage of the King's service. His enlarged experience, benignant disposition, and general knowledge of men and things, afforded to those under his management the most solid benefit, until he was once more called upon to take part in a more active scene, on account of the differences which began to manifest them- 238 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. selves between Gustavus Adolphus and his un- cle, the Duke of Sudermania. Every tie of personal attachment, regard for the memory of the King's father, his ancient friend, and conviction that the cause of Gus- tavus Adolphus was that of justice, combined to induce Count Fersen to adopt the royal in- terest. He knew the manner in which Charles had tyrannised over his nephew's boyhood, and the unfounded rumours that he had never scru- pled to disseminate, even from the moment of the late King's death, against the character of his unoffending charge — exaggerating every trifling fault, and stamping the overboilings of youth with the character of confirmed depravity. When arrived at the scene of action, how- ever, Fersen soon perceived that the party en- listed under the banners of the ambitious Duke against the King's authority, was too powerful for him to entertain any hope of overcoming it. He therefore calmly submitted to the circum- stances of the times with the philosophical re- signation natural to a man whose experience had been so great in the vicissitudes of human affairs. No sooner had the Duke of Sudermania, un- der the title of Charles XIII. obtained supreme power in Sweden, than, not content with de- PATRIOTISM OF FERSEN. 239 throning his nephew, he abused the authority he had usurped, by excluding the innocent issue of that nephew from succeeding, at any future day, to their father's lost inheritance ; for which purpose he nominated, as his son-in-law and heir, the Prince of Augustenberg. Had not this atrocious and wanton wrong been perpetrated, it is most possible that Fersen would never have taken an active part against the usurper. He thought that Charles would have limited his wishes to the sphere of his own personal enjoyment, and left the succession to the children of Gustavus ; flattering himself, too, perhaps, that, as the uncle was much the older man, Gustavus Adolphus himself might, on his death, reascend his forfeited throne, pu- rified by adversity, and summoned by the ac- clamations of the people. As it was, soon after this exclusion was pro- claimed. Count Erval Fersen entered the royal palace, and on his knees implored Charles XIII. not to obscure the first moments of his reign by an act of such glaring injustice, in thus set- ting aside the son of Gustavus Adolphus : for which act of spirited benevolence (miserable presumption !) he was severely repulsed, and even threatened with the punishment of instant death. 240 ANFXDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Fired with indignation, and animated by the justice of his cause, he quitted the palace, and aware, in these circumstances, of the imminent danger of delay, proceeded to summon such of his friends as he had reason to think still pre- served in their hearts fidelity to their rightful sovereign. A party was in this way soon form- ed, to save their country from the dishonour of concurring in so cruel an act as setting aside the legitimate prince to exalt a foreigner. This band of loyal subjects was however soon over- powered by a mercenary troop brought over through means of that all-powerful argument, an increase of pay ; Fersen himself falling in the contest at Stockholm, and thus closing a life of honour and generous self-devotion by a death truly consistent, and a sacrifice to the principles of good faith. And, as if so ordained by the Supreme Be- ing, on the same day, and in that very contest, fell also the Prince of Augustenberg, who had been destined to succeed, in the honours he had rifled from another, this unnatural uncle — this " cutpurse of the empire and the rule !" Nor should we stop here in our reflections, but to call to mind that John Charles Bernadotte, the man who, by French influence, was appointed to stand in place of this same Prince of Angus- JOHN CHAELES BERNADOTTE. 241 tenberg, ungratefully contributed, by joining, from selfish motives, the Allied Princes, to root out the main stock of usurpers, his own patron. Napoleon Bonaparte, whose once pow- erful hand had raised him to the throne of Sweden. VOT I. R 242 ANECDOTES OF FOEEIGN COURTS. CHAPTER XIII. COURT OF PRUSSIA, Axiom of Frederick the Great. — The appeal of General Swieten, and its reception. — The old Widow and her Se- venteen sons. — The veteran malcontent and his flight. — Frederick and Marshal Lowden at Potsdam. — The sign of " the Prasue." — The Countess de Vasse and the Baroness de Knoblsdroff. — Frederick I. and Charles VI, — A true Proi)hecy. — The Page and the cherries. — The Jew Banker. — A certificate for " value received." — Prussian coinage during the Seven Years' War. — A royal method of " Raising the Wind." Frederick of Prussia, commonly called the Great, was wont to say, " No war was ever carried on without spies, and no administration without corruption ;" and he certainly evinced his faith in this doctrine, by the measures he pursued. His favourite, General Swieten, who used to take considerable liberties on the strength of his favouritism, was bold enough to observe to the King one day, when the troops were in OLD WIDOW AND HER SONS. 243 want of necessaries, and complaining,^ — that his Majesty spent more money in spies than he did in bread and clothing for his army. " You are a fool !" answered the King ; " a downright fool ! One piece of information, of the worth of 500 rix-doUars, has saved me a million of money and 10,000 men ! Don't talk to me of bread and clothing! — talk to me of advancing without bloodshed, and of saving my men. Their wants will be easily supplied when I know where the enemy's magazines are. My death's heads will soon fill their empty stomachs and purses too. You great fool ! how did I take possession of Saxony ? Not with my army, but with a gold cabinet-key." During the Seven Years' War, an old widow- woman came to Frederick to beg alms, telling him she had had twenty-four children, seven- teen of them sons, many of whom had served, and were then serving, in his Majesty's army. — "There's fifty dollars," said the King; "and come to Berlin, where you shall be well pro- vided for." The anecdotes of this powerful monarch and singular man are extremely numerous, and scattered through a great variety of works. In adding her little quota, the Authoress will scrupulously confine herself to such as she has R 2 244 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. pretty good reason to believe have not hitherto been made public. When the King was besieging Prague, after having been repulsed in several successive en- gagements by Marshal Lowden, and compelled to make a very precipitate retreat, one of his old generals told him, one day, that the troops were murmuring, and beginning to be extremely restless. Frederick made no reply, as was cus- tomary with him when in any kind of uncer- tainty ; but scarcely had the sincere general taken his departure, than, disguising himself as effectually as possible, the eccentric monarch sallied out among his forces, to satisfy him- self if the report was correct. He found that it was but too true; and interrogating one of the soldiers as to the cause of this discontent, — " Why," replied the man, " the cause is pretty plain. We were beaten on Monday, on Tues- day, and again to-day ! By my soul ! if the same thing happen to-morrow, 1 11 fly the camp ! For old Frederick is no more to be seen, and some young booby of an ensign commands us." Frederick threw open his cloak, and, show- ing who he was, said, "Give me your hand, my I good fellow! only wait till Friday, and if we are beaten — egad ! we '11 fly the camp togetlier.' VETERAN MALCONTENT. 245 And, sure enough, they were beaten again, and Frederick was compelled to sound a retreat in the greatest possible disorder. As soon as the army was out of reach of the Austrians, Frederick inquired after the indivi- dual whose escape he had promised to partici- pate, and found that he had been killed in the hottest of the engagement, after dealing out death to several of the enemy. " Poor fellow !" exclaimed the King ; " he has fled farther than I, although I have ridden hard. I envy him so glorious an exit, and fear a similar one will never be mine ! Besides, what is worse, he has made me out a liar, for I promised him that we would fly together." " What !" said Swie- ten, " did your Majesty encourage desertion ?" " Why," rejoined Frederick, " when a common soldier had knowledge enough to tell me that my army was commanded by a parcel of boobies, it was time for me to take to my heels. Had a general told me as much, I would have had him shot !" " In that case," said Swieten, " pray place me for the future in the ranks, that I may find myself at liberty to tell you of your faults." " Go to the devil !" replied Fre- derick ; " I see them now myself. My promise to my poor soldier was but indifferently kept ; to his family I have made no promise, and 246 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. therefore will endeavour to keep it.'' And he lost no time in providing for the veteran's sur- vivors. When the Seven Years' War was ended, and peace had been concluded, signed, and ratified between the great contracting powers of Aus- tria, France, and Prussia, the King invited Marshal Lowden to pass some time in his com- pany at Potsdam, where he was received with all the honours due to his rank and merits. On the King entering the banqueting-room the first day they dined together, the JNIarshal made a retrograde movement, to allow his Ma- jesty to pass. — " No ! no !" exclaimed Frede- rick, " I have had you too often akeady at my heels. Take your seat opposite me, that we may look one another in the face, like honest men. I like to have the enemy in front.'" While Frederick's army Avas in Silesia, his INIajesty would often go and chat with the common peasants, as well for entertainment as information, for he was of a disposition to ex- tract both the one and the other from whatever materials lay within his reach ; and at the first grand review which took place at Berlin, ob- serving one of his soldiers, whom he knew to be a brave man, but who, as Cowslip says in the " Agreeable Surprise," " would go any SIGN OF "THE PRAGUE." 247 lengths for beer or ale," — to be very much slash- ed and cut in different parts of his body : " I say," asked the King, " at what tavern did you get those beautiful marks ?" — " At the sign of the Prague,'' answered the man, nothing daunt- ed, " where your Majesty paid the reckoning." — (It was at this city that Frederick was so signally defeated by Marshal Lowden.) — *' Bravo ! 3Ir. Captain /" replied Frederick, whose humour led him to approve of these sallies in the privates, although one of higher rank would have been most unceremoniously checked ; " Bravo ! M7\ Captain /" — And he did not use the term idly, for a commission was actually prepared in compliment at once, to the services and wit of his interlocutor. The Countess de Vasse and the Baroness de KnoblsdrofF, when his INIajesty was at Berlin, were in habits of great familiarity at Court. One morning they met in the King's ante- room, when his Majesty was somewhat out of humour, in consequence of receiving intelli- gence that the Empress of Russia had declared war against him, he being at the same time embroiled with the Empress Maria Theresa. ** Lord ! Fritz !"* exclaimed the Countess, on * The familiar abbreviation of Frederick, in the German language. 248 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. his INIajesty's issuing from his cabinet, " how you are altered!" — "I declare," echoed the Baroness, *' you look quite shockingly this morning." — " How the devil should I look otherwise ?" replied Frederick ; " I defy any man either to look or to feel well, bothered as I am between two ivomenr The father of the Great Frederick compelled him to marry a princess of Brunswick against his inclination, and to which he only consented through the mediation of the Emperor Charles VL, who interfered on finding that Frede- rick was about to be confined in the fortress of Spandau, which, as the prince was then in a state of ill health, might have been fatal to him. " Take care," said the father, on receiv- ing his Imperial Majesty's remonstrance, " that you do not one day or other repent of this in- tercession." And, sure enough, could Charles have lived to witness the inveterate opposition raised against his daughter, INIaria Theresa, by the prince he had probably saved, he would doubtless have recollected, with some bitter- ness, the half-prophecy of Frederick I. Frederick II. used frequently to tell his fa- ther — " You may compel me to marry, it is true, but it is out of your power to ensure the consummation of this marriage, and therefore THE PAGE AND THE CHERRIES. 249 you will be disappointed with respect to the royal heir you so anxiously look for." And he kept his word, though in all other respects he treated his virgin- wife with every mark of distinction and solicitude, never addressino- her vrithout taking off his hat, and remaining uncovered all the time they were conversing, even though this should be in the open air and under the most inclement winter sky. The first fruits from the royal conserves, and indeed a part of the greatest delicacies brought to his IMajesty's table, were generally sent to his consort every day. But she is universally held to have lived and died, (some years after her husband,) as she originally came to Berlin, a virgin-queen. And when the tongue of scan- dal is silent regarding a woman of her high rank, and under her peculiar circumstances, it may fairly be inferred that there is really no ground even for suspicion. The following little story was communicated to me by the Countess de Vasse. Some fine cherries had been brought, unusually early in the season, from the hot-house at Potsdam ; and the King, upon their being served in the dessert, took a few from the plate, and directed the late General Clist (at that time one of the royal pages) to carry them, with his Majesty's 250 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. respects, to the apartments of the Queen. The thoughtless youth, strongly tempted by the look of the glowing fruit before him, and never contem])lating the possibility of the circum- stance reaching the King's ear, diminished half of them before he reached the landing-place leading to her Majesty's suite ; and then, half ashamed of presenting so scanty a number, and powerfully urged by the imp of mischief, he scrupled not to consume the remainder. But, alas ! unluckily for the page, it was customary for his Majesty to receive the Queen's grateful acknowledgments on every occasion whereon he had shown her any mark of politeness ; and this had been so uniformly the case, that Frederick at length naturally looked for its occurrence. In the present in- stance, his Majesty having met his spouse two or three times without the slightest mention of the cherries, he began to think the omission rather strange, and the next time they encoun- tered each other, said, " I fear your JMajesty did not find the cherries to your liking, as 1 had hoped ?" Upon this, the Queen expressed her surprise, saying she had received none. " What !" rejoined the impatient monarch, " did you not get the plate-full I sent you the other day, through Clist ?"— " No, Sire !" THE PAGE AND THE JEW. 251 — " Well, well," said the King, " that rogue of a page shall get something for dinner to-day more substantial than fruit ;" and on his return to his cabinet, he wrote as follows to the Ser- jeant of the royal guard : — " Give the bearer twenty-five lashes." The note being duly sealed and directed, Clist was summoned to take it just as his Majesty was about to sit down to dinner ; but the shrewd page, guess- ing (perhaps from the King's manner) that all was not right, and most likely a little con- science-stricken or so, determined that he would despatch the suspicious mandate in some other way ; a resolution in which he was fortified by the consideration that Frederick generally chose the dinner-hour to correct a disorderly page, thereby furnishing additional mortifica- tion to the culprit, and amusement to his com- panions. Scarcely had Clist reached the gate of the palace, before one of the King's rich Jew bankers di'ove by. Struck with a sudden no- tion of the probable humour of the thing, he determined on making this man his substitute ; and, beckoning to him to stop, handed the letter, requesting that it might be forthwith delivered, and urging the matter as a private favour, alleging that he ought to have deli- 252 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. vered it before, and was now prevented from doing so, as he was necessitated to attend the King at table. The unsuspecting Jew, always eager to curry favour with those immediately about the royal person, readily took the letter, and assured Chst, to the no small gratification of the mali- cious youth, that he would not fail to deliver it in person on his way home. " By the bye," added Clist, " pray don't say ant/ thing about it ; indeed, I think I may trust you ?" — " Oh, never fear," exclaimed the honest Israelite; " you know I am so fond of you devils of pages, that I would do any thing to oblige you — except, indeed, taking the flogging with which you are sometimes visited for your wild freaks among the women ;" and giving the nod to his coachman, off flew the banker with his whij)ping mandamus. On his arrival at the guard-house, the Ser- jeant having read the King's orders, imme- diately called out the guard, who presented arms. The banker, tiiinking it a mark of dis- tinction, said, '* Bah ! bah ! I don't want all this." " Very probably not," returned the pre- cise officer ; " nevertheless, his Majesty's com- mands must be obeyed." The carriage was surrounded in a twinkling, CERTIFICATE FOR VALUE RECEIVED. 253 and its astonished inmate speedily taken out and tied to the whipping-post, where execution was done upon him with true military exact- ness. On the conclusion of this unwelcome operation, not knowing whether he was most terrified or hurt, he was hobbling with all pos- sible speed to his carriage, when the serjeant cried out, " I must trouble you a little farther, Sir." " Oh, for Heaven's sake, let me off!" ex- claimed the Jew, fearful of some additional infliction, and handing, at the same time, his purse to the officer. " No, no," answered the other, " it is not that we want. You must give us a receipt for what you have taken, which I must register in a book we keep for the purpose, and send the original to-morrow to his Majesty, who accumulates all such, and has them bound every year in a portfolio, from which, when in a good humour, and among his old comrades, he reads after dinner, for their entertainment and his own. Among the many receipts thus collected, we have one from no less a personage than the celebrated ]M. de Voltaire, who was whipped for having written some poetical lampoon upon his Majesty.' There was no appeal, and the poor banker, having w4th a grave face made the requisite testimonial, was suffered to depart. 254 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. The consequences, however, were like to have been of a less laughable nature. This man was extremely rich, and in the habit of making advances to the Government, with which it could scarcely dispense. Upon the matter coming to Frederick's ears, although the whimsicality of the thing struck him so forcibly that he professed himself unable to punish the planner, yet the danger immedi- ately occurred to him, that the Jew might, in the heat of his exasperation, leave the Prussian dominions. This was a contingency which the King could not endure to contemplate; and it is confidently asserted that he found him- self compelled to wait in person on tlie of- fended Israelite, and employ his own royal rhetoric in order to bring him to terms. Whe- ther or not the mischievous page was ulti- mately punished, does not clearly appear. In truth, the Prussian Cabinet was often hard pushed for money, particularly during the Seven Years' War. So immense were the sums required at that period, both for domes- tic and foreign purposes, that the royal mint found it convenient to issue very questionable money ; and malicious persons have said that the value of a silver spoon was sometimes held sufficient to lacker a whole boiler of base coin. ROYAL " RAISING THE WIND.'' 255 The circulation of this dross was stopped by Frederick, on the conclusion of peace, nearly to the ruin of most of his Majesty's loving subjects, who had been accustomed to pass it as current, to its full nominal amount. In- deed, the whole of Germany would have suf- fered severely, had not the Confederation of German Princes started another description of coin to supply its loss. By the edict which authorised this substitution, all Prussian coins were strictly excluded : time, however, increas- ing influence, and a purer composition, have combined to enable Prussia again to dissemi- nate freely her silver currency, — though at its ifitrinsic value, the alloy being deducted. Whilst the war lasted, Frederick was con- stantly making important promotions in the army ; but, on the return of peace, he dis- covered his treasury to be so completely ex- hausted, and that his subjects had suffered so much privation from excess of taxation, from external invasions, and internal plunder, that it would be highly impolitic to add to the weight of the public burden for the purpose of providing for the individuals promoted. In this dilemma, Frederick hit upon the following curious expedient. He issued a circular to all the wealthy Jews 256 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. residing in his capital, (and they were nume- rous,) whereirj he stated, that in order to re- ward them for their proved fidehty and at- tachment to his person, it was his purpose to en- noble their posterity, by marrying their daugh- ters to the several valiant general-officers of his army, yet in a state of " single blessedness," who had so well merited his Majesty's best remuneration : still, however, that those fa- thers who might be averse, from religious or other scruples, to contracting such an alliance, were fully at liberty to declare their senti- ments, and might exempt themselves from conforming to the royal will in this case ex- pressed, on giving the respective officers an equivalent, in cash, to the daughter's fair and proper dowry. " Thus," said the circular, " both parties will, in either way, have reason to feel themselves satisfied, whether by intermarrying or desisting therefrom." I need not add, that this alternative was embraced without hesita- tion by most of the Israelites, who, driven to choose between two evils, submitted to sacri- fice a portion of their wealth rather than to renounce at once their children's society, and endanger their integrity regarding matters of faith. The King laid them accordingly under pretty heavy contributions, and was quite de- ROYAL "RAISING THE WIND.' 257 lighted at the success of his stratagem, where- by the fortunes of several of his favourites were amply made, without the expenditure of a single shilling from the royal treasury. Such was the wanton violence exercised over the property of a certain class of his subjects, by the philosophical and " Great" Frederick. The warm admirers of his conduct will per- haps scarcely think it credible ; but " facts are stubborn things." VOL. I. 258 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. CHAPTER XIV. COURT OF PRUSSIA CONTINUED. FROM THE PORTFOLIO OF THE BARON DE M * * * Intrigues of the Baron de Stein in 1808. — The Embassy of the Assessor Hope. — Imprudent conduct of that individual. — His arrest, and seizure of his dispatches. — Curious let- ters to Prince Wittgenstein from Baron de Stein and the Countess Voss. — Trepidation of Marshal Soult's inter- preter. — Behaviour of the INIarshal. — The anti-Gallican parrot. — Colonel de Gautherot's embassy to Paris, and re- turn to Berlin. — His interview with Napoleon to transmit the substance of the intercepted letters. — Deportment of the French Emperor. — Soult's remarks thereupon. — The "Delicate Investigation." — Disavowal of the King and Queen of Prussia. — Disgrace of the Baron de Stein, and his outlawry by Napoleon. — He subsequently enters into the service of Russia. It was in the month of August, 1808, that the Baron de Stein, Minister of State to the King of Prussia, sent from Konigsberg, where lie was stopping with the royal family, M. ARREST OF M. HOPE. 259 Hope, a young assessor, with important dis- patches addressed to the Prince de Wittgen- stein, who was then at Hamburgh, busied in certain matters connected with the Prussian Court. The courier, either ill instructed or ill advised, instead of taking the road through Prussian Pomerania, Colberg, and Schwerin, took that of Berlin ; and on his arrival in that city, (occupied at the time by the 4th division of the French army, commanded by Marshal Soult,) so far from behaving with the circum- spection which a due regard to the trust con- fided to him required, he lodged under the linden-trees in a grand hotel partly occupied by persons attached to the staff of the Com- mandant-general, St. Hilaire. Here he com- mitted sundry vagaries, and, in short, behaved so imprudently altogether, that his dispatches, which formed a thick folio, were taken from him and placed at the direction of the Com- mandant-general, who hastened to transmit them to Marshal Soult, governor of Berlin. The courier himself was thrown into prison, where he was denied communication with any other individual, and treated not as a simple bearer of letters, but with all possible care and secrecy. The next day, the 30th of August, the Mar- s 2 260 ANECDOTES OF FOllEIGN COURTS. shal, at 6 o'clock in the morning, summoned his confidential interpreter, and handed to him all these letters, which were written in German. On opening that of Baron de Stein to the Prince de Wittgenstein, which took up four pages, written closely, and duly signed, the Marshal said to him : — " Stop, let us begin with this." The interpreter, who was at heart great- ly attached to the royal family of Prussia, on first rapidly casting his eye over the paper, turned pale, and betrayed such evident marks of embarrassment, that it could not fail to attract the attention of the Marshal, who ex- claimed briskly, " Come, am I to hear the con- tents of this pretty epistle ?" — The secretary replied, trembling, " Pardon me, your Excel- lency ! I was certainly both surprised and confused : — I could never have believed that a INImister of State would have the audacity to write such a letter ; and, if I did not know the Baron's hand, should have hesitated long before supposing him capable of so much perfidy at once toward his own sovereign and the Em- peror Napoleon." — " I will dispense with your comments. Sir," interrupted the Marshal ; " in- form me of the contents of the letter, and that quickly : we have no time to lose." The secretary obeyed ; and the verbal trans- BARON DE stein's LETTER. 261 lation being completed, the Marshal, opening the door of his cabinet, said " Go, Sir, and with- out delay render this letter into French : but," added he, " in the name of God ! abstain from the least amplification : rather modify the ex- pressions, for otherwise the Emperor will be furious, and this same royal family of Prussia is already sufficiently unfortunate. Heavens ! what will become of it, should it be unable to exculpate itself from taking a share in this shameful conspiracy !" This letter of the Baron de Stein was in sub- stance as follows : — • " My dear Prince, " I have received all your letters by B ^ and hasten to answer them through a confiden- tial man, the assessor Hope, whom I have dis- patched in order to secure the due and faithful delivery of my packet. " The news which we have received from Prince William at Paris affords no consolation. Notwithstanding his amiable character, and all the efforts he has used to obtain from Napo- leon some decrease of the exorbitant contribu- tion for which he has stipulated, both in the treaty of Tilsit and the succeeding conventions, this prince has been able to effect nothing, and we are under the horrible necessity of submit- 262 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ting, without appeal, to all which Napoleon has arranged and concluded with respect to us. ** As we see, from the last advices, that no- thing is to be hoped from this man, it appears necessary to send to Prince William at Paris, a confidential servant, for the purpose of ap- prising his Highness, that the King's intentions are, that he should quit France as secretly as possible, and return to Konigsberg, in order, that having heard him personally, we may con- sult upon taking other measures for our re- demption. " All my hopes and all my anxiety are now turned upon the affairs of Spain. It is certain that Napoleon is about to repair thither, and in that country the grand blow will undoubtedly be struck. In Spain I have many friends, men of enterprise and capability : let your connex- ions be joined to mine ; and, in one way or ano- ther, we may yet accomplish our end. " You will find, my Prince, in the packet, two blank drafts, signed by the King. The Elector of Hesse writes us from Prague, that he has given orders to his bankers at Ham- burgh to advance such funds as we may stand in need of, for the execution uf our projects in Spain. Use your utmost endeavours to pro- cure as much as possible, and send it to us COUNTESS DE VOSS'S LETTER. 263 by Hope, for we are destitute in this place of all means whatsoever. " Adieu, dear Prince ; be guarded and at the same time active ; and believe that I am Your very devoted servant, (Signed) The Baron de Stein." " Konigsberg, August, 1808." This letter having been disposed of, Marshal Soult drew another from the same packet, which was from the Countess Voss, first lady of honour to the Queen of Prussia. This epistle was, in its nature, still more offensive than that of the minister ; it ran as follows : — " My dear Prince, *' The Queen commands me to write and inform you, that she has received all your let- ters ; and to thank you for the care and pains you have taken to ameliorate, so far as possible, our unfortunate destiny. You will learn from the Baron de Stein, that Prince William has been able to obtain nothing at Paris from this fellow, Napoleon ; and that our affairs are con- sequently not in the least advanced. We are all desirous of seeing this amiable Prince again as speedily as possible ; he may otherwise be exposed to some danger. Our hopes are at present founded upon the 264 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. state of things in Spain ; if at length these, as well as other things, should Tail us, we must have recourse to our chocolat de Sante, to re- cruit our nerves. " The Prince of Hesse, our friend at all times, will furnish the means necessary to af- ford you a chance of success in the enterprises we meditate. " I salute you, dear Prince, with all my heart, and am " Your very devoted friend, (Signed) The Countess de Voss." " Konigsberg, August, 1808." P. S. " Apropos, my dear Prince ! I forgot to tell you that the Queen has very recently re- ceived from an English officer, who comes from the Indies, a most beautiful parrot who prattles to admiration. He amuses us greatly with his " God-dam Napoleon !" which he repeats (as if to prevent mistake) fifty times a-day. — Oh, the charming parrot ! — Adieu, Prince !" The above little epistle, written with the Countess's own hand, was, hke the preceding, translated into French, as was also another from the Privy-counsellor Hacke; and the same evening, as soon as Marshal Soult had finished GAUTHEROT'S embassy to PARIS. ii65 his dispatch to the Emperor, he sent his Aid- du-camp, Colonel Gautherot, with the whole to Paris. An individual in the service of a neighbour- ing Prince, but greatly attached to the royal family of Prussia, having been apprised of all that had occurred to the courier Hope, hastened to find a sure hand by which to transmit to the King at Konigsberg an account of these pro- ceedings. After long seeking, he found a fe- male, the widow Obermann, of Berlin, who, full of patriotism and attachment towards her sove- reign, engaged to provide a confidential person (Captain A.) who would carry to the royal family a letter containing information of the foregoing untoward events. One may readily conceive the consternation of the Court on the receipt of this intelligence ; and their fears acquired additional earnestness from the consideration that, in all probability. Prince William was still in the French capital. Captain A. was at length secretly sent back from Konigsberg to Berlin, to conjure the ge- nerous personage before alluded to, to continue his friendly zeal, and to inform the King of every thing calculated to affect the lot of his family. At the expiration of ten days. Colonel de 5,66 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Gautherot returned to Berlin from Paris ; and on their first meeting. Marshal Soult said to him hastily, " Ah, you are here ! hand me over the dispatches !" The Colonel answered, " I have none : I was presented to the Emperor by INIarshal Berthier, and had the honour of deli- vering your letter personally. His Majesty, on reading it, showed evident tokens of wrath, cursed and swore, and in short seemed almost beside himself. For the first time in my life, I underwent the sensation of fear. The Em- peror directed Marshal Berthier to command the immediate presence of Prince William, but that personage had already departed." Soult observed : — " The Emperor, then, was exceedingly annoyed on reading the contents of my dispatch ?" " Oh, yes," replied Gautherot ; " I never saw his Majesty evince so much agitation. He tore the papers, stamped with his foot, and swore." " Did he strike you ?" " No, your Excellency ; I was kept both by respect and fear, at too great a distance." " Ah ! then lie was not so much disturbed as you imagine. Go and refresh yourself." Fifteen days subsequently to this, M. de Bausset, and another individual, arrived at Berlin from Paris, with orders and instructions THE DELICATE INVESTIGATION. 267 from the Emperor Napoleon to seek, both at Ko- nigsberg and BerUn, mformation touching the affair of the courier Hope and his dispatches. A Council was accordingly formed, consist- ing of Marshal Soult, Count Daru, General St. Hilaire, General Compan, and M. de Bausset. It was decided that the latter should repair to Konigsberg, to trace the matter to its founda- tion, and discover whether the dispatches of Hope had been written and sent by the Baron de Stein and the Countess de Voss, with the consent of the King and Queen. The result of these investigations was some- what in favour of their Majesties, who both declared, in the most solemn manner, that they had no knowledge whatever of the contents of the letters in question. The King, on his part, offered abundant proof that, in signing the carte blanchey he had no other view but to procure, in the most open manner, a sum for his own purposes, upon credit from the old Prince of Hesse-Cassel at his Hamburgh ban- kers. Beyond this, he protested entire igno- rance as to the mission of the courier Hope. To give more force to this protestation on his part, his Majesty on the instant dismissed the Minister Stein, ordering him to return his porte-feuille to Count Goltz, and to quit Ko- 268 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. nigsberg. The Queen, at the same time, took measures of a severe kind against the Coun- tess Voss, punishing her for her imprudence — I should rather say for her perfidy — by banish- ment from Court. The French Commissioners returned to Berlin, where they renewed their investigations. Nevertheless, although there existed sundry malignant enemies of the royal family, who had put into requisition all sorts of intrigues, to make it believed that the King was in reality an accomplice, although counterfeit letters were fabricated from Stein and the Countess to Prince Wittgenstein, inculpating their Majes- ties—in spite, I say, of all these perfidious machinations. Marshal Soult and the Count Daru preserved an undeviating confidence in the sincerity and innocence of Frederic- Wil- liam and his consort, and a detailed report was transmitted, to this effect, to the Emperor at Paris. Napoleon did not hesitate to follow up the vigorous measures which had been instituted by the King of Prussia against the transgress- ing minister, whom he outlawed, confiscating all his estates situated upon the Rhine. The Baron took refuge in some secluded spot in the neighbourhood of Memel ; but no sooner had STEIN ENTERS THE RUSSIAN SERVICE. 269 hostilities been declared between Napoleon and Alexander, than, emerging from his hiding- place, he entered into the service of Russia, and was made a counsellor of state. The journals of the time made sufficient mention of the conduct of this same Stein, as well during his ministry as during his provi- sional administration in the Duchy of Berg, and likewise when he was chief of the order of the Tugenbund. It will not, therefore, be necessary for me to retrace those steps. The foregoing circumstances, however, are by no means generally understood. 270 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COUHTS. CHAPTER XV. IMarshal Soult's administration at Berlin. — His popularity with all classes. — His gentleness and generosity as con- trasted to the severity of his predecessor, Victor. — The House of Cadets. — The Inspector of this Institution, and Colonel L. — Their reception by Marshal Soult. — A whole establishment on the point of perishing from hunger. — The Marshal's bounty, and the singular expression of gra- titude produced by it. — Acknowledgments on the part of the King of Prussia of the IMarshal's benevolence. — His recal and the appointment of JMarshal Davoust. — That Commander detects a correspondence between the Prince of Orange and ]\Iajor Schill. — His considerate conduct. — Hostile preparations of Austria. — General Andreossi ; and his dispatches. — Conference between Marshal Davoust and the author. — General St. Hilaire. — Count de St. Marsan. — His liberal behaviour and its happy result. The writer of these memoirs, having en- joyed the esteem and full confidence of the French chiefs of the provisional government established at Berlin, was enabled to see that nothing could be more fortunate for the in- habitants of the Prussian capital, at that ])eriod, soult's administration at berijn. 271 than the nomination of IMarshal Soult as Go- vernor-general ; since, without forgetting his duty toward his sovereign, he always extended to the people of the subjected country as much indulgent and generous treatment as he could. Amidst a whole multitude of generous traits which signalized Marshal Soult's short adminis- tration in the Prussian capital, I shall content myself with specifying one only which will serve to exemplify the Marshal's feeling and grandeur of soul, even toward his enemies. At the end of the month of August, 1808, a number of unfortunate persons who had suf- fered under the rigorous administration of his predecessor, IMarshal Victor, presented them- selves one morning at his levee, to supplicate him for some alleviation of their unhappy cir- cumstances. Among them, appeared Colonel L., and another officer. Inspector of the Esta- blishment of Cadets. Both these men were advanced in years, and had grown grey under the weight of their services in the wars of Frederick the Great. The Marshal distin- guished them from the crowd, arose, and going to meet them, took each by the hand, and in the most gracious manner made them sit by him, whilst with winning kindness he demand- ed the nature of their solicitations. 272 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Col. L. handed the Marshal a memoir, writ- ten in German, which Soult immediately or- dered his translating secretary would construe verbally. It set forth that the administration of the House of Cadets had been so overlooked and neglected by his Excellency's predecessor. Marshal Victor, that its inmates found them- selves on the point of famishing with hunger, — including four or five hundred children whose fathers had perished for their king and country. They had received nothing by way of provi- sion, on the part of the Prussian government, except certain sums in a species of assignats, payment of which had been refused. No sooner had this memorial been duly translated, than these veteran soldiers (as if to heighten the force of their appeal) exclaimed, in as good French as they were masters of, their eyes meanwhile swimming in tears, — " Ah, Marshal ! have pity on us ! We shall perish with hunger, — we, and our poor infants, if you abandon us." INIarshal Soult, extremely touched at the hard situation of these respect- able officers, cried with the deepest emotion — " No, no ! my dear comrades ! you shall never die of hunger whilst 1 have bread. Wait here a moment." HIS POPULARITY WITH ALL CLASSES. 273 He passed into his cabinet, and shortly re- turned, bringing with him two rouleaux of fifty louis-cVor each. He then anew summon- ed his translating secretary, and said in a tone of sensibility, " Tell these two worthy officers that, in the course of the day, I will take measures for the due supply of the House of Cadets with every requisite, including both money and provisions ; and that meanwhile I beg them to accept, at the hands of a comrade, this little sum for their immediate wants : and let them never hesitate to apply directly to me when they wish either my ad- vice or assistance." Having shaken hands with these same officers, he desired the present writer to accompany them to the gate of the mansion, which he did with the greatest plea- sure. No sooner had they left the audience hall, than the two veterans, turning both towards the author, exclaimed with emotion : " And is this governor a Frenchman, and a general of Napoleon ?" — " Assuredly," replied he, smil- ing at their earnestness : — " May Heaven pro- tect and preserve him !" responded they : " we were never so well treated in our misfortunes by one of our own generals, as we have been VOL. 1. T 27']- ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. by the Marslial ; God bless him ! This is the first time we Iiave offered prayers for an ene- my, but they are not the less sincere." The Governor-general strictly fulfilled his promises, and the same day arranged matters with the [ntendant-general. Count Daru, and the other proper authorities, for a due provi- sion in every way for the House of Cadets. Unfortunately for the inhabitants of Berlin, and to their great regret. Marshal Soult was summoned by Napoleon to Erfurt, from whence he was sent into Spain to take the chief com- mand of the French army in that country. The King of Prussia, who always remain- ed at Konigsberg, was faithfully informed of all which the IVIarshal Duke of Dalmatia had done to lighten the hardships of his suffering people. He was extremely touched by so many proofs of generosity ; and on several oc- casions testified to the Marshal his sense there, of; more especially in 1815; for when Soult was included in the lists of the proscription, he received from the royal family of Prussia an invitation to fix upon Berlin, or some other town in his IMajesty's dominions, as a place of residence ; together with assurances that no pains should be spared to soften the rigour of his exile. MAJOR SCHILL's COllRESPONDENCE. 275 Some weeks after the departure of Marshal Soiilt, Marshal Davoust arrived at Berlin to replace him. Although the administration of this officer was not quite so gentle as that of his worthy predecessor, it was nevertheless far from rigorous ; for several circumstances oc- curred so as to warrant the exercise, on the part of the Marshal, of a good deal more se- verity than was absolutely used by him ; as, for example, in the following instance : The French police established at Berlin, was not ignorant that a certain dangerous connexion existed between the family of the Prince of Orange, which was residing in that capital, and the brave and celebrated INIajor Schill, v/ho oc- cupied Colberg and its environs with a small corps d'armde consisting of about 6000 men, with which he distinguished himself in sundry engagements with the French, who were block- ading the town above-mentioned. It was made clear to Marshal Davoust, by means of certain letters that had been intercepted in the lit- tle town of Stargard, that this understanding really existed. The Marshal, however, took no other steps in consequence, than to go with these letters to the palace of the Prince of Orange's mother, to whom he made known what he had learnt on the subject of this clan- T 2 276 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. destine correspondence, promising, that if the Princess would engage, on the part of her chil- dren, that it should be immediately disconti- nued, he would take no farther notice of the affair, notwithstanding his instructions warrant- ed him in visiting the parties with measures of severity : but that if, on the other hand, any fresh instance of such perfidy came to his knowledge, he should not hesitate to act in full conformity to those instrvictions, however great the rank or distinction of the persons offending. This remonstrance had the desired effect, for the communications were at once almost wholly dropped ; indeed, to all appearance, they ceased entirely ; and were kept up, if at all, only in an indirect manner, and through the me- dium, principally, of the Prussian officers, Ch— t, A , M g, and H g, who successively repaired from Berlin to Konigs- berg. This kind of communication, there is reason to believe, lasted even until the moment in which the French forces evacuated the capi- tal, whereupon Major S chill entered it with the Prussian troops in the month of December, 1809. It is well known, that towards the end of 1808, Austria made preparations for recom- MARSHAL DAVOUST AND THE AUTHOR. 277 mencing hostilities against France. JNlarshal Davoust, who was then in communication with General An dreossi, Ambassador from France to the Court of Vienna, contented himself with the intelligence that came officially from the general, and paid no attention whatsoever to the rumours wherewith the Prussian metropo- lis was filled on the subject of the movements of Austria. The author having been one day summoned by the INIarshal to Charlottenburg, repaired thi- ther with all speed; and, after the customary compliments had passed, was asked — if he had received no news from Vienna. He replied, that he had — as well from a brother of his who was there, as from the Prince de L. ; who had both informed him, that the preparations making in all the Austrian States, especially at Vienna, Prague, Presbourg, Pest, &c., were so active, and on so large a scale, that nobody could longer doubt of the renewal of war in the beginning of the year 1809 ; that, in all probability, the Archduke Charles would take the command of the Emperor's forces, which were likely to amount to 400,000 men, com- prehending the landwehr; and that the Princes, Counts, &c., possessing wealth, were about to raise, at their own proper cost, several corps in 278 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Austria, in Bohemia in Hungary, and in Sty- ria: in a word, every thing presaged a, war against France, and one too of tlie most ter- rific description. The Marshal, on hearing this, entered into many details with the author : he told him that he knew not what to think ; that, in truth, the Ambassador Andreossi had apprised him of these grand preparations, but had added that they were merely demonstrations ; that Avistria was, in fact, in no state to undertake a new war ; that, besides this, he had received official assurances, on the part of the Austrian Govern- ment, that the peace should not be disturbed, and that whatever was in course, of a military nature, was solely intended to complete regi- ments. The author nevertheless, feeling that he went upon sure grounds, persisted in maintaining his opinion, and assured the Marshal that he did not in the least think with General Andre- ossi, an individual who appeared to him either deaf, blind, utterly incapable, or — a traitor. AVhilst this conversation was going forward, and to throv/ farther light on the discussion, which passed in the garden of the chateau, the commandant of the toAvn, General St. Hilaire, with several officers attached to the Marshal's MARSHAL DAVOUST AND THE AUTHOR. 279 staff, entered to pay their respects to his Ex- cellency ; who, as soon as he saw them ap- proach, said, " Ma foi. Messieurs ! you arrive extremely apropos ; a full hour have I spent in endeavouring to dissuade M. de , who will have it that Austria is determined, on the ensuing spring, to wage against us a war of the most terrible nature ; and that the prepa- rations which are this moment making in all the Austrian States, are pushed forward with the utmost rapidity, and with a direct, although unavowed, purpose." General St. Hilaire, who was in complete amity with the author, replied laughing ; " It is quite useless for your Excellency to perplex yourself with all that INI. de has told you on this subject ; he was brought up at the court of Vienna ; all his relations reside there ; and although he may neither be an Austrian by birth, nor even in the service of the Em- peror of Austria, he is not the less interested at such a season as the present, in every thing which concerns the honour and welfare of that power ; and hence his proneness to give cre- dence to whatsoever is rumoured on the sub- ject." " But," interrupted the Marshal, " you seem to overlook, General, that it is not in this case. 280 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the effect of prejudice on the mind of M. de ; it is by facts he has supported his assertions ; so far as my Avishes go, I should be glad to think otherwise ; but as it is, notwith- standing the pacific assurances held out by our ambassador, I much fear that the opinions of M. de — ■ have too sure a foundation." General St. Hilaire upon this, putting his hand upon the shoulder of the author, said ; " Is it not true, my dear friend, that you are in the habit of placing faith in almost every pass- ing rumour ?" and was answered, " General, from the attachment which I bear you, I heart- ily hope that you may not pay with your life, at the first battle, for the incredulity manifest- ed by you on this occasion." The sequel but too fatallv illustrated the reasonableness of the speaker's deprecations ; for this most intrepid officer was mortally wounded at the battle of Aspern, on the 22nd of May, 1809. The consequence of the above discussion was, that IMarshal Davoust, struck by the force of the author's information and remarks, chang- ed all his previous dispositions, and instead of conducting his army into Hanover, took up at Erfurt a most advantageous position. It will not be out of place here, to say a >• * COUNT DE ST. MARSAN. 281 word or two respecting the Count de St. Mar- san, Ambassador from Paris to Berlin, during all the time that Prussia was occupied by the French armies, and even after the return of the Royal Family ; that is to say, from October 1806, to the end of 1809. The conduct of the Count throughout this period was so honest, generous, and high-minded, that it acquired for him at once the esteem of the Royal Family, the consideration of the ministry, and the love of the whole population of Berlin. This am- bassador presented to Europe the rare instance of a man enabled, throughout a diplomatic career, to acquire and preserve, without losing sight of the interests of his sovereign, both attachment and respect in a court, the con- nexion whereof with the power which he re- presented was altogether suspended. M. de St. Marsan was, however, on two oc- casions exposed to imminent peril. The first time was when IMajor Schill quitted Berlin with his troops, and involved himself in a kind of guerilla warfare against the subjects of Na- poleon. There was, at that juncture, for the moment, such an effervescence in the Prussian capital, that Count de St. Marsan and M. Cail- lard, his secretary of legation, were both so 282 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. terrified, as to be induced to take the resolu- tion of departing for Stettin, which was oc- cupied by the French. The second time that the life of this valu- able man was put in jeopardy, was when intelli- gence arrived at Berlin that the Ai'chduke Charles, at the head of the Austrian army, had completely defeated the French at Aspern ; on receiving which news, the inhabitants of Berlin seemed disposed to manifest their ani- mosity in no gentle manner against all the French subjects who remained in that metro- polis. In this instance, however, the Count St. Marsan continued firm, reposing upon the con- sciousness that he could not reproach himself with doing any thing calculated to draw down on him personally the hate or vengeance of the citizens. He therefore remained where he was, receiving, besides, an assurance from the Prus- sian Marshal Lestocq, and the President of Police, that his person and office should be respected. EVACUATION OF BERLIN. 283 CHAPTER XVI. Justus Gruner, President of the Prussian Police. — His aug- mented powers, and the confidence placed in him by the King. — His treacherous proposal to Frederick- William and Alexander. — His consequent disgrace. — He is found upon the Austrian territory and imprisoned. — His release demanded by the monarchs of Russia and Prussia. — His restoration to the favour of Alexander. — His rigorous con- duct as Civil Governor of Berg. — Counsellor Bein. — Gru- ner at the head of the Secret Police in Paris, during its occupation by the Allied Sovereigns. — His rejection by the King of Saxony as Ambassador from Prussia. — His death. — Character, both public and private. — Marshal Blucher and the Prince de Hardenberg. — The Marshal's passion for gambling. — " A New Way to Pay Old Debts." — Blu- cher's opinion as to who won the battle of Waterloo. — Counts Haugwitz and Schullenbourg. — Corruption and manoeuvring of the former. — Policy of Napoleon. — Count SchuUenbourg's perfidy and ingratitude. Immediately on the evacuation of Ber- lin by the French army, and of the three Marches of Brandenburgh, the old Marslial de Lestocq took upon himself the functions of 284 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Governor of the French capital ; Colonel Ches- sot, those of Commandant ; and the famous Justus Gruner, those of President of Police. These three personages had previously been named by the King of Prussia, and had been already at Berlin several months previous to the evacuation. We shall pass over in silence all the transac- tions of these three chiefs up to the period of the royal family's arrival, the journals of the time having made sufficient mention of them, and proceed to notice, that the king had in- vested the President of Police with a degree of power considerably greater than was ever wielded by his predecessors. Frederick-M^il- liam had, in fact, so full a confidence in this man, that he was in the habit of approving all his acts, however despotic they might be. He was, in the sequel, nominated Counsellor of State, and became the colleague of the grand- Chancellor, Baron de Hardenberg; and when the royal family and the government were a second time obliged to qidt Berlin, and re- paired to Breslau, Justus Gruner still follow- ed his Majesty, with whom he continued up to the moment in which he forfeited the royal confidence, by making a proposal to his sove- reign and the Emperor of Russia, the nature of PROPOSAL OF JUSTUS GRUNER. 285 which is now for the first time laid open, and which, although neither avowed nor known at the period, is not the less true. After the rout of the Russian and Prussian forces in 1813, the two sovereigns, who were at the time in Prussian Silesia with the wreck of their armies, strained every nerve to engage the Emperor of Austria (then at Top- litz, in Bohemia) in a new coalition against Napoleon. His Imperial Majesty, however, re- jected all their propositions, not wishing to enter so precipitately into a state of warfare with his son-in-law. Such was the state of things, when this same Justus Gruner, in a conference whereto he was admitted with the two sovereigns, said that he had still means reserved by which to ensure the adherence of the Emperor Francis, notwithstanding his for- mal rejection of their overtures. " Well !" said the Emperor Alexander, " let us hear these means." Justus Gruner replied : — " If your Majesties will only give me your consent, and a sufficient armed force, I will pledge myself to make the Emperor of Austria accept your propositions, in spite of his Aulic counsellors." In a word, this loyal and worthy counsellor of state, Justus Gruner, offered to kidnap his Majesty the Emperor of the French, from the « 286 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. chateau which he inhabited at Toplitz, and bring him to the Prussian head-quarters, which were estabhshed upon the frontier, and where Napoleon might be compelled to sign what- ever their Majesties chose to dictate. The Russian Emperor was greatly offended at this audacity, and the proposed breach of ho- nourable warfare, and he dismissed the propo- ser without hearing his plan to an end. The King of Prussia likewise expressed his great dissatisfaction at the liberty which Gruner had taken, and enjoined him on no account to re- peat any thing of the same kind. However confidential the above conference was intended to be, the Emperor of Austria, or his ministers were put in possession of this fine project of Justus Gruner ; and the first time, subsequently, that he dared to set his foot upon the Austrian territory, he was arrested, thrown into prison, and afterwards conducted to the nearest fortress in Hungary, where he was treated not as the counsellor of a friendly court, but as a criminal. In this state of du- rance, he remained up to the very moment when the Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia combined to demand his liberation, which they obtained ; but upon the express ENTEES THE RUSSIAN SEIIVICE. 287 condition that he should never again appear in the Austrian territory. Some time after, Gruner entered in Hke manner, as Counsellor of State, into the service of Russia; a pretty evident proof that, how- ever sharp the anger of Alexander, it was by no means of an enduring character. He was now sent, (under the orders of his intimate friend. Baron de Stein,) as Civil Governor, into the States of Berg, which were provisionally occupied and ruled by the Russian Govern- ment. Notwithstanding Justus Gruner was a native of this country, he ruled in it with more rigour than the most bitter enemy would have done. He levied, during his adminis- tration, upward of four millions of florins, ex- clusive of contributions both of food and cloth- ing for the Russian troops. The Emperor Alexander, who, like most other politicians, considered the exigencies of his service as superior to all natural or social ties, felt called upon to recompense this faith- ful civil governor, gave him, at the end of the year 1814, a considerable sum of money, toge- ther with the Order of St. Anne, which was conveyed to him by one of his counsellors, Counsellor Bein, another sanguinary instru- 288 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ment of the police of Berlin, who had been sent by Justus Gruner to St. Petersburgh, to render an account of his exploits and of his administration generally in the Duchy of Berg. This same Counsellor Bein, whilst on his journey to Frank fort-on-the-Maine, vaunted of having himself caused the arrest of 127 in- dividuals, all fathers of families, convicted of the crime of having been friendly to the French and to the government of the Grand-duke of Berg. Those poor people were all punished with the utmost severity. Counsellor Bein also received, in considera- tion of the services rendered by him in the Grand Duchy, the insignia of a Russian Order. He is at this day to be found in the police- department at Berlin, where he is equally known and despised. As to his worthy chief, the famous Justus Gruner, he accompanied Frederick-William to Paris, where he had the direction of the secret police during all the sojourn in that metropolis of the Allied So- vereigns. A little time after, Justus Gruner was named by his royal master, JNIinister Ple- nipotentiary to the Court of Dresden: but the King of Saxony, advised of the whole con- duct of this man, and of the various trans- actions in which he had been mixed up, abso- COUNSELLOR JUSTUS GRUNER. 289 lutely refused to receive him, whilst his Mi- nister of State expressed his astonishment in an official dispatch to Prince Hardenberg, at the selection which the King of Prussia had made, of such a man to represent him at the Court of Saxony. But as the Prince de Hardenberg had des- tined Gruner to the diplomatic career, and felt indisposed to be thwarted in this particular, he suggested to Frederick William to send Jus- tus as minister plenipotentiary into Switzer- land, where he died, to the best of the author's knowledge, a death precipitate rather than gradual. The Counsellor Justus Gruner was a man by no means destitute of merit. He was beyond dispute an excellent director or minister of police ; in fact, Prussia never possessed one more able ; and had his exertions been confined to this branch of administration, he would most probably never have had the hardihood to com- mit the extravagant and despotic acts which marked the sway of himself and his subalterns. There are many men calculated to be emi- nently useful in a certain way, who, take them out of their proper sphere, become on the other hand mischievous ; and such a one was Gru- VOL. I. u 290 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ner. He was a distinguished orator ; and his speeches delivered in the civic assemblies of Berlin, full of energetic eloquence, were highly instrumental in awakening those patriotic dis- positions manifested in all parts of the king- dom by the young people of every class. It was the addresses of Justus Gruner which pro- duced among these same youths an intermi- nable hatred of the French, together with a generous inclination to make every sacrifice for the public good. The private life of this man was, by all ac- counts, of the most depraved character. He married, in the first instance, a Bavarian female of respectable family, by whom he had four or five children, and whom he quitted in order to espouse a woman of pleasure (INIademoi- selle Claus), who died in her first confinement. Gruner then entered into the bonds of wed- lock with a lady of Coblentz, whom in turn he abandoned for the purpose of uniting him- self to a Frenchwoman. He died even under the premature age of forty. The author thinks it may not be unaccept- able, after having offered the foregoing details respecting the conduct of Justus Gruner, to subjoin a few general reflections upon two other personages, who, in those disastrous HARDENBERG AND BLUCHER. 291 times, had each of them the confidence of the King of Prussia. It is known by most of those who have had the honour of a personal acquaintance with his Majesty the King of Prussia, that this sove- reign had presented, ever since the commence- ment of his reign, the image of a human being graced with as many virtues as any man in his dominions. Within the precincts of his palace reigned the most precise order ; and there was nothing which Frederick- William more detested than men of a dissipated cast, incurrers of debt, and in general all persons who are wanting in a regular adjustment of their particular affairs. It was therefore by a singular fatality that his Majesty experienced, in this respect, from those about him the most contrary disposition possible ; even on the part of such as, from their high offices, were placed in more especial con- tact with his person. Among these, two in- dividuals stood most prominent. Prince Har- denberg, his Majesty's Chancellor, and Marshal !| Blucher. Few persons at all conversant with t affairs of this character, are ignorant that up to 1 1 the year 1814, the Prince was so embroiled with 1 respect to his finances, that he was obliged, in I order to procure a necessary supply of money, u 2 292 ANF.CDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. to have recourse to an Israelite of the name of Gans, one of the most notorious usurers then in existence. His excellency was compelled to seek the relief afforded by this man, at various times, until the year 1814, when he was gene- rously recompensed by his Sovereign, and re- ceived likewise, by way of presents, considerable sums in cash, both from the Emperor of Russia and the government of France. With respect to Prince Blucher, his circum- stances were still worse than those of Harden- berg. He was in fact almost constantly over head and ears in debt, and so enslaved by a passion for play, that he knew no higher enjoy- ment than that of remaining night and day seated at a gaming-table, either at faro^ rouge et noir, or roulette. In 1795, when he came to Frankfort-on-the-Maine with a small corps of observation, he lost at play, not only all he pos- sessed, but even the money which had been confided to him. In 1812, the author of these Memoirs, then on the eve of his departure from Schwerin, was charged by one of his friends, the Baron I^utzen de Hohentrutz, to follow Marshal Blucher to Berlin for the sum of sixty Frederics d'or, which he owed the Baron in cash, as also for a similar sum due on account of a saddle-horse which Blucher had forcibly MARSHAIi BLUCHER. 293 abstracted from Routz after his defeat at the famous affair of Liibec, in 1806. When the author arrived at Berlin, he placed an authority for the receipt of these sums in the hands of his Commissary of Justice, M. Rurcke, who, on application for payment to the Marshal, was addressed as follows: — " Write to Baron Lutzen that he had better come to Berlin in person upon this business, in order that, to satisfy fairly the pretensions of both parties, we may between us get up a raffle" In effect, the friend of Lutzen, in com- mon with many other persons similarly com- missioned, could never get a single franc of the money due to his principal. When Marshal Blucher returned from Lon- don into Germany, he made a fortnight's stay at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, where the people pressed daily to see him, as well as his carriage, a coach accommodating four persons, which had belonged to Bonaparte, and was captured with several other equipages, after the battle of Waterloo. During this fortnight, the Mar- shal was busied every evening in receiving his ancient friends of the gambling table, and par- ticularly the banker thereof, M. Kohl, with whom he generally made up a party. The author, who had known Marshal Blu- 294 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. cher for thirty years past, happening to be at Frankfort at the time of the Marshal's arrival, hastened to pay his respects to his Excellency at his hotel, the White Swan. One evening, being alone with him and conversing on seve- ral political matters, more particularly on the subject of the battle of Waterloo, " Prince," said he, " I have read not only all the offi- cial accounts, but almost every description published of that glorious affair, still I do not consider myself perfectly au fait as to the subject. Pray tell me, was it you and your brave army, my dear Prince, that gained the battle, or were Wellington and the English the conquerors ?" With the greatest affability, the Prince led his querist to a window of the sa- loon, and answered in German, " Would you, my friend, learn the fact of the case ? If so, let me tell you, that neither Wellington nor my- self gained the battle. Napoleon lost it: — and what is extraordinary, this same Napoleon, who is one of the greatest tacticians of our day, has lost it from a false step in tactics. Grouchy and Bulow, BuIoav and Grouchy, those are the wheels upon which turned the fortunes of the day." As I have spoken above of the depredations and perfidy of Justus Gruner, I ought not to PERFIDY OF COUNT HAUGWITZ. 295 omit making known likewise the conduct of the two ministers, Comit Haugwitz and Count SchuUenbourg : but I shall observe, in the first place, that it is easy for any judicious man to see how the King of Prussia must suffer, on finding himself under the necessity of being surrounded, counselled, and guided by men who, although capable of filling their several functions with ability, were so unlike himself in their personal conduct. In 1805, after the arrival of the Emperor Alexander at Berlin, in the month of Novem- ber, the King of Prussia hastened to assemble in the environs of the capital an army of sixty thousand men, who came from Eastern Prussia, and whom his Majesty had promised, in a secret convention, to join to the Russian and Austrian armies then in Moravia : but previous to taking this last step, his Majesty sent to the Emperor Napoleon at Vienna his ultimatum, which he entrusted to his INIinister of State, Count Haug- witz. This ultimatum purported, that the French armies should immediately evacuate Vienna and aU the Austrian States, and that the respective powers should nominate ple- nipotentiaries to treat respecting a definitive peace. The Emperor Napoleon, on perceiving the 296 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Count, without permitting him to say a word, addressed his Excellency thus : — " Eh hien ! your King, it appears, is sadly angry with me. I know all. I know that he talks of uniting sixty thousand men to the armies of my enemies. Be it so. I shall conquer sixty thousand men more, and my glory will be so much the greater." After a pause, he added, " I have no desire, at the same time, to go to war with your King : — I know what he wishes. There ! take an or- der to the commander of my troops in Hanover, by which he is enjoined to evacuate the Elec- torate, and place it again under the power of the King of Prussia. As to yourself. Count, I am not ignorant that you are much burdened with debt. Do me the favour to accept a draft upon my treasury for the sum of one hundred thousand crowns. Here are articles of conven- tion between your King and me, quite ready for signature ; affix yours, and all is accom- plished ; and your King shall, be assured, have every reason to feel fully satisfied." Haugwitz hesitated not : he signed the papers and quitted Vienna, after receiving his quota of cash. No sooner had he signed in duplicate this convention, which he had en- tered into with Napoleon, than the latter dis- patched one of his aides-de-camp with a copy PERFIDY OF PRINCE HAUGWITZ. 297 to the Emperor of Austria, who was residing at Brunn in Moravia, that his Imperial Ma- jesty might see what had been transacted ; and that it was in vain for him to count upon any assistance from the Prussian army. The Emperor Alexander was promptly in- formed of this perfidy of Haugwitz, by a faithful servant of his, established at Vienna. His Majesty immediately sent Prince Dolgo- rucky to Berlin, to acquaint the King with the traitorous proceedings carried on by his Minister with the French Emperor ; and to solicit, that, by way of repairing this error, the Prussian army of 60,000 men should be placed under the command of Marshal Mollendorf and Duke Eugene of Wurtemberg, and put in march to rejoin his own. He further sug- gested, that Frederick- William should send another minister to Napoleon, wherever he may be found, in Vienna or elsewhere, who should be instructed to require adherence to the King's ultimatum, which the Minister Haugwitz had so unworthily infringed. The King of Prussia, without the least delay, dispatched to Vienna General Count de Zas- trow, with instructions to annul every thing which the perfidious Haugwitz had concluded contrary to the orders of his Sovereign, and to 298 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. insist on those conditions for the continuation of the peace, which were stipulated in the ulti- matum that had been confided to Haugwitz. This new envoy. General Zastrow, repairing to Vienna with the utmost celerity, encounter- ed at Prague his predecessor Haugwitz, who was on his way back to Berlin. He commu- nicated the orders of the King, and was pro- ceeding on his route, when Haugwitz gave him to understand that this step would be absolutely useless ; that he bore in his portfolio what would thoroughly content and satisfy the King ; and that, besides, Napoleon had quitted Vienna, and was gone to rejoin his army for the purpose of giving battle to the two Em- perors, the result of which battle could scarce- ly be doubtful. The General was, in the end, persuaded by Count Haugwitz, with whom he returned in company to Berlin. Napoleon, immediately after the departure of Haugwitz, had, in point of fact, repaired to his army in Moravia, and knowing the strength of the Russian forces, as likewise the irresolu- tion which the absence of the Prussian troops would occasion in the councils of the Emperor of Austria, he fought the celebrated battle of Austerlitz, whereat the Russian army was ut- terly destroyed. TREACHERY OE SCHULLENBOURG. 299 The Minister Haugwitz was, on his arrival at Berlin, received, both by the King and the public in general, with those expressions of feeling which his conduct had so justly merited. One evening, when he was known to be in his palace near the Tribunal, called the Camerge- richt, the populace, instigated by several persons of distinction, (amongst whom were the Prince L and the Count de H ,) repaired thither in a crowd, forced the gates, pillaged, and committed every possible excess. The faithless Minister found himself compelled to seek safety in flight ; he therefore got out of the house clandestinely, through the garden, which was situated at the back of his house, and led into the open country. Thus he ma- naged to quit Berlin, where he was universally abhorred. The treason of Haugwitz was still more evi- dently proved at a later date, inasmuch as he paid his creditors in Napoleons d'or, and with the same species of coin redeemed sundry mort- gages wherewith his estates were burdened. The political culpability of the minister Count de SchuUenbourg, father-in-law of the Prince de Hartzfeldt, toward his benefactor and his king, is pretty generally understood : — not so, however, the fact that, in 1807 and 1808, he 300 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. puslied his ingratitude to so great a point as to turn informer, and denounce to the French Government in Hanover all the particular property belonging to the royal family there — especially in the environs of Magdebourg. In consequence, also, of similar pointing out by him, the estates of several Prussian gentlemen who had remained faithful to the King their master, were confiscated. His Excellency i at length, entered openly into the service of Jerome Bonaparte, then King of Westphalia, and manifested on all occasions an unaccountable antipathy to the person and family of his ancient sovereign. PRINCE EUGENE. 301 CHAPTER XVII. Prince Eugene of Wurtemberg. — His conferences at Stut- gard with the Emperor Napoleon, — Mission of the Prince to his relative and Sovereign, the King of Prussia. — His interview with that monarch and the Emperor Alexander at Potsdam. — Indignation of the latter. — Departure of Eu- gene for Berlin. — His explanation to the Author. — He ad- dresses a letter and memorial to Frederick- William. — His recall. — Fatal results of the battle of Jena. — Memoir of Duke Louis of Wurtemberg. — His brother Henry. — That Prince's lavish expenditure upon his regiment. — Breach of promise on the part of the King of Prussia. — Quarrel between his Majesty and Duke Henry. — Their recon- ciliation. — Mademoiselle Caroline Alexi, daughter of the director of the theatre at Oels. Before the battle of Austerlitz, the Em- peror Napoleon, being at that time at Stut- gard, had several conferences with Prince Eu- gene of Wurtemberg, (then a general in the service of Prussia,) relative to the views with which the King was about to enter into the coalition proposed to him by the two Em- perors, of Austria and Russia. The result of 302 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. these conferences was, that Prince Eugene was to depart in all haste for Berlin, where he would probably find also the Emperor Alexan- der, and immediately to put into action all his influence and zeal to dissuade the King from acceding to the propositions of his old allies. There can be no doubt that great promises were made by Buonaparte to the Prince, in case he should succeed in abstracting Frederick William from the cause of the coalesced mo- narchs. Eugene had no sooner arrived in Berlin, than he commenced his efforts. He went to present himself to the King, who was, together with his august friend, the Russian monarch, at Potsdam. No sooner did Frederick Wil- liam become conscious of the Prince's purpose, than he ran into Alexander's apartment to in- form him thereof. The Russian monarch was extremely surprised that his uncle. Prince Eu- gene, should suffer himself to be entangled in the meshes of Napoleon, and was in fact so much offended at his presuming to charge himself with such a commission, that he re- fused to see him, and requested the King to send him back on the instant to Custrin, the head-quarters of the Prussian army of reserve, whereof the Prince was Commander-in-chief. PRINCE EUGENE. 303 Extremely vexed at the ill success of his mission, and still more so at the bad interpre- tation which his august relatives had put upon it, the Prince returned to Berlin, and lodged under the linden-trees, at the same hotel with the author of these sketches ; who, having en- joyed for a long period the confidence of Prince Eugene, and indeed of all the Royal Family of Wurtemberg, was honoured with an immedi- ate invitation. He hastened to pay his respects to the Prince ; and having been made acquaint- ed with the motives which had brought his Se- rene Highness hither, could not help express- ing his great surprise that, as imcle of the Emperor of Russia, and brother-in-law of the Emperor of Austria, he should have charged himself so zealouslv with the interests of their common enemy, and descended into a kind of hawker of diplomacy for Napoleon. But find- ing from the explanations of the Prince, that he had undertaken this embassy with the purest intentions, in order to save his King in these ca'itical moments, wherein his throne and king- dom were so greatly endangered ; — considering that the Emperor Francis was already obliged to abandon his capital, and leave it in the power of the conqueror ; — and that the Russian army would not be in a condition sufficiently strong ,'J04 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COUllTS. to face that of Bonaparte, even in case of its reinforcement by the sixty thousand Prussian troops ; — under all these circumstances, the au- thor changed his opinion, and suggested that Prince Eugene should address a memorial to the King, which he would himself luidertake to get delivered to his Majesty. That same evening the Prince began to draw- up his memorial, to which he added a very pa- thetic letter. He detailed in it all the con- ferences which he had entered into with the French Emperor ; he exposed the views of this conqueror with respect to Austria, Russia, and Prussia; stated the strength of Napoleon's armies already in the field, and of those which were in a state of preparation to reinforce him : remarked upon the confidence entertained by that poten- tate in his good fortune, however great might be the obstacles opposed ; and added his (the Prince's) own conviction that, all things consi- dered, the star of Napoleon would undoubtedly retain the ascendancy. Under these circum- stances, he could not avoid presaging for the King, whom he considered as his master, a series of disasters, should he decide on taking part in the war ; and consequently felt it his duty, as a faithful servant, to declare the ex- tent of his apprehensions. In conclusion, the CONDUCT OF M. BEYME, 305 Prince implored his Majesty to regard this statement as proceeding from nothing but the most sincere attachment ; and to pause whilst yet there was time to avert the evils which seemed to overhang and threaten the safety and well-being of his dominions. On the ensuing morning, the author received this memorial from the hands of Prince Eu- gene, and having perused the paper, took it to the privy counsellor, M. Beyme, who, having previously been made aware of the reception his Majesty had given to his illustrious rela- tive, declined taking charge of it. The author conjured him, at any rate, to look over the document before he refused to forward it, and see if he discovered any thing which appeared improper. " Well," replied Beyme, " I have no objection to this. Leave the memorial with me ; return in two hours, and I shall mean- while have come to a decision, which I will frankly communicate to you." At the stipulated time, the author repaired again to M. Beyme, who received him with ardour, and said : — "I have read the memoir and letter of the Duke Eugene of Wurtem- berg ; both have touched me sensibly ; and I now regard it as a sacred duty which I owe to the King, to lay them before him this very VOL. I. X 306 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. night ; and have every cause to think that his JMajesty will pay attention to their contents, and appreciate duly the weighty reasons therein advanced to dissuade him from joining the proposed coalition." The memorial and letter were then sealed, and taken to the monarch without delay. Frederick William, after having perused these documents in the presence of his privy counsellor, M. Beyme, was so affected and penetrated by the motives whereby the Duke Eugene had been palpably actuated, that he summoned his Serene Highness again to Pots- dam, and expressed deep regret that he had been before so ungraciously received. In the sequel, he tranquillized his worthy general as much as possible: but nevertheless remained firm in adhering to his prior intentions, and ordered Eugene to repair immediately to his corps d'arm^e, which was stationed at Castria and its environs. Prince Eugene had given the most decided proofs of foresight, and every thing which he predicted in his memorial unfortunately came to pass. The King of Prussia, in consequence of the steps then taken by him in opposition to the counsel of his best friends, lost in one day BATTLE OF JENA. 307 at Jena, in the course of the following year, 1806, his throne and kingdom. This same Duke Eugene of Wurtemberg commanded at the battle of Jena, on the 14th of October 1806, the corps de reserve of the Prussian army. This corps was, in common with all the rest, attacked by the French cavalry with such impetuosity, tliat it was completely destroyed in the course of a few hours ; and its unfortunate leader was obliged to seek safety in flight, leaving to the French a portion of his equipage : and, to add to his chagrin, not only the officers and soldiers of the army in general, but even the hussars of his own proper regi- ment, reproached him as having betrayed his sovereign, and sold himself to Napoleon — an assertion, which, however false, when once started, irritated the troops to such a degree that they wilfully damaged and broke up the residue of his personal equipment. This prince was married to a princess of Stolberg Gedern, by whom he had several chil- dren. And at length, in 1807, he received, in common with his four brothers, the commands of Napoleon to retire into their native country of Wurtemberg — a command which was slight- ed by Duke Ferdinand, a Marshal in the Aus- X 2 308 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. trian service, and Duke Alexander, a General in that of Russia. It is singular enough, that there appears to have always been some misunderstanding exist- ing between the King of Prussia and these princes of Wurtemberg — especially those who were in that monarch's own service, namely, Louis, Eugene, and Henry. The first-men- tioned was proprietor of a regiment of cuiras- siers, and had so involved himself in debt on account of this regiment, that he was obliged to part with his land at Wallisford, in Silesia, for the satisfaction of his creditors, and to re- tire into Russia, where he obtained from his nephew, the Emperor Alexander, the most fa- vourable reception. This prince, after being separated from his first wife, (a princess Czartoriska,) married the virtuous and beauti- ful princess Henrietta, of Nassau Wuilbourg, by whom he had several children, and amongst others, the present Queen of Wurtemberg. He died some years ago in circumstances of great privation, and in a species of exile into which he professed himself to have been driven on ac- count of his debts. Prince Henry was also in the Prussian ser- vice, being colonel of an Hussar regiment can- toned at Oels, in Silesia. Like his brother PRINCE HENKY OF VVUllTEMBURG. 309 Louis, he was anxious to rival all other cavalry regiments in beauty and magnificence of equip- ment ; and in his endeavours to accomplish this object, spent not only the whole of his personal property, but likewise the sums which he had received by way of presents from his sister, the Empress-mother of Russia, and from the Emperor Alexander. Nor was all sufficient to prevent him from involving himself in pecu- niary difficulties. It is true, that he had one reasonable motive which induced him to make these outlays ; the King, at a review that took place in Silesia, was so struck with the excel- lent appearance of his kinsman's troops, that he exclaimed in a loud tone : — " My cousin, I must do you the justice to say that your regi- ment is the most beautiful, the best mounted, and the best exercised in my service ; and in order to afford you some recompense, I hereby nominate you its proprietor after the death of its actual chief. General Dolft." The Duke, full of pride and satisfaction at this public promise of his Majesty, employed all his means to embellish his corps still farther, with the full hope and confidence that, either in a few years, or in some arrangement with the present in- cumbent, he should find himself its positive ri master. 310 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Never was a wiser injunction given than " Put not your trust in princes." A few months only had elapsed, when General Dolft expired, and the King of Prussia scrupled not to bestow his regiment upon another indivi- dual, overlooking entirely the honest claim of Duke Henry, who, on receiving the intelli- gence, forgot all former relations between him- self and the oblivious monarch, and thought of nothing but the act of injustice wherewith he had been thus visited. Repairing to Berlin, he demanded an audience of the King ; but his Majesty, for reasons which the reader will not be backward in conceiving, did not judge it convenient to grant one. Not a whit intimi- dated, the Duke absolutely forced his entrance into the palace, penetrated to the royal closet, and reproaching his Majesty in no measured terms, concluded by demanding his conge, ex- claiming that he would no longer serve a sovereign who had so little respect for his pledged word. Kings cannot well brook defiance at any time, and least of all when conscious they have acted unworthily. Frederick William, there- fore, took refuge in anger from a sense of his own injustice. He retired, and gave orders for the dismissal of Prince Henry from his service; PRINCE henry's difficulties. 311 at the same time enjoining the Governor of Silesia to take measures for compelling the Prince to make good all his pecuniary engage- ments, which amounted to the sum of 30,000 or 40,000 crowns, chiefly expended in the vain labour of remounting and otherwise beautify- ing his favourite corps. These orders of Fre- derick William were so scrupulously fulfilled, that an execution was actually carried into the chateau inhabited by the Duke and his family, and levied even upon the very wardrobe of his wife. It may readily be imagined, that this Prince, of a strong, and at the same time, sensitive character, uncle of one emperor and brother-in- law of another, was quite indignant at this treatment, and no sooner became aware of it, than he gave the civil officers so smart a recep- tion as to incapacitate them from executing their purpose. An arrangement endued, by virtue whereof the debts of this Prince were gradually can- celled, being made chargeable ..upon the various branches of his estate ; and he retired, in the year 1799, to Hamburgh, with his wife and family. When, at a subsequent period, the Empress- mother of Russia conceived a wish that her brother should become reconciled to the King, 312 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. and re-enter his service, she charged the author, on his return from St. Petersburgh, with the expression of this desire to the illustrious par- ties concerned, and he is happy to say, that the result was most fortunate, and honourable to the conciliating disposition of his Prussian Ma- jesty. In the year 1805, the King invited Duke Henry to come to Berlin on the occasion of Prince Ferdinand's birth-day, and received and treated him with the same condescension and amenity as if their amicable relations had never been suspended. Prince Henry was married at Oels, in pre- sence of his two brothers, to Mademoiselle Caroline Alexi, daughter of the director of the theatre in that town, on whom he settled a pension, upon condition of his quitting the country. The Duke had, by this marriage, four or five children. In 1807, conformably to the orders of Napoleon, he retired into the king- dom of Wurtemberg, and fixed his residence in his chateau of Wiblingen, near Ulm. MISSION OF MAKSHAL DUIIOC. 313 CHAPTER XVIII. Apologetic Mission of Marshal Duroc, — Influence of the Queen of Prussia over her husband — Her attachment to the Rus- sian Imperial Family. — Manoeuvres of Duroc and theFrench ambassador at Berlin, to counteract the influence of the Queen. — Mademoiselle Augusta Schultz. — Plot formed against her by the Prussian oflicers of the garrison. — Interposition of the King in her favour. — Intrigues found- ed upon the latter circumstance. — Interview between the King and Augusta in the gardens of Charlottenbourg. — Rumours consequent thereupon, — Remonstrance of the Queen. — Her Majesty's precipitate departure for Pyrmont. — Personal sketches of the Prussian Royal Family. — Prince Louis Ferdinand, and his fate. — Prince Augustus and Madame Wichman. — Napoleon and the Duchess of Saxe Weimar. — Mission of the Canon Tam. — First entry of Bonaparte into Berlin. — His reception of the Prussian ministers. — Cause of the rupture between France and Prussia, which was followed by these events- — Unrelent- ing hatred of Frederick William to Napoleon, and his. equally earnest aflfection for the Emperor Alexander, In the year 180.5, Marshal Duroc was sent by the French Emperor to Berhn, charged with apologies for the violation of the Prussian ter- 314 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ritory by Marshal Beniadotte, who, on his way from Boulogne, had marched his corps d'armde, without permission asked, through the duchies of Anspach and Bayreuth, in order to rejoin, with greater promptitude, his Imperial master, who was with his troops in Swabia. This same Marshal Duroc, as well as the French ambassador at Berlin, perceived that Frederick- William was greatly influenced by her Majesty, the Queen, and as the latter was known to be very much attached to the Em- peror of Russia, and the whole of that august family, these two Frenchmen resolved to occa- sion, if possible, a little rupture between the King and Queen, for the purpose of counteract- ing this influence. However difficult this might seem at first sight, they had still hopes of effecting it through intrigues of some kind or other ; and after waiting some time for cir- cumstances to arise favourable to their scheme, they decided on taking advantage of the fol- lowing : Mademoiselle Augusta Schultz, daughter of the musician of that name, first-dancer at the opera of Berlin, a young female at once beauti- ful and skilful in her art, had excited the disap- probation of the officers of the garrison, in con- sequence of shutting the doors of her house MADEMOISELLE SCHULTZ. 315 against their intrusive visits. In order to re- venge this supposed affront, the high-spirited officers determined to hiss the poor girl the next time she should appear in public ; but, that every thing might proceed with due order and precision, the meditated step was prefaced by addressing a letter on the subject to Made- moiselle, in the name of the whole regiment — but without signature. The poor young woman, who was generally beloved in Berlin for her mild and respectable conduct, was so terrified at these menaces that she knew not how to act, in order to ward off an affront that seemed to her as inevitable as ruinous. On communicating with her friends, they counselled her to seek the interference of the Queen, who, they said, would doubtless ex- tend protection to an accomplished and vir- tuous female. She accordingly repaired to the royal palace : but, on presenting herself as a candidate for admission, mistook the directions that were given, and instead of pursuing her way to the apartments of the Queen, found herself suddenly in the presence of Frederick- William himself. His Majesty, after having heard her story, inquired, — " When do you next propose to perform ?" She replied, '* The day after to-morrow. Sire, in the ballet of ' Le 31() ANECDOTES OE EOREIGN COURTS. Voyage de Cyth^re.' " *' Fear nothing," re- sumed the King, " dance away ; I shall be at the theatre." Mademoiselle Schultz, perfectly tranquillized, went and commenced rehearsal and other pre- parations, to enable her to appear with more iclat than ever ; whilst, on the other hand, the gallant officers, ignorant of what had passed, and still more enraged at her neglect of their letter, resolved to pelt her with oranges and rotten apples, if she should have the audacity, as they termed it, to come forward. Next morning, the King, attending at the parade, caused all the officers to assemble, and informed them through the commandant of the town, General Gotz, that his INIajesty had been made aware of their mean plot against the opera-dancer, Mademoiselle Schultz, and that he was both surprised and ashamed at it. He ordered that all the officers who were not en- gaged upon duty, should attend the theatre in the evening, when he should himself be pre- sent; and added, that the first among them who should be guilty of interrupting public order in the slightest degree, should be arrested by the ])olice, and punished with the utmost severity. l*articular instructions were jiivcn also to the INTERPOSITION OF THE KING. 317 President of Police, and every precaution taken to prevent the least disturbance. On the night of the ballet, the King and all his family went to the theatre. The com- mandant of the town, Baron de Gotz, and Ge- neral Euslen, were in their boxes, and the chief police-officers occupied one near to that of the King. During the overture to the ballet, his Majesty, contrary to his usual custom, showed himself conspicuously to the audience; the curtain rose, and a few minutes after, Made- moiselle Schultz made her entrance : but in- stead of hisses, instead of a regular bombard- ment, she was received with universal applause, in which the King himself condescended to join. Such is the omnipotence of royalty ! The intrigue of the Prussian officers thus fell to the ground; not so, however, that of the French authorities, which arose, phcenix- like, from its ashes. They paid court to Made- moiselle Schultz, whom they instructed to think that the King was smitten with her charms, adducing as a proof of this, the ad- venture of the theatre. In short, they led this simple-minded young woman to beheve that the time was arrived when her fortune was in I her own hands, if she chose to grasp it. In a 318 ANECDOTES OF FOJIEIGN COURTS. subsequent interview, they persuaded her that she might reasonably aspire to be the King's avowed mistress, and would, in all probability, be elevated to the rank of the nobility, and created baroness, countess, or, in a word, what- ever she chose, if she would follow the advice of her friends. As she was poor, they supplied her with money, in order that she might be enabled to take an airing occasionally in the gardens of Charlottenbourg, and thence be under the eye of the King. Every thing was well arranged, and it turned out that, quite ac- cidentally, she was one day met by his Majesty, who, recognizing his old acquaintance, began to converse with her — no doubt, respecting matters of the most general and indifferent kind. The plot was now in a state to explode. Two days after, Berlin resounded with the rimiour that IVIademoiselle Augusta Schultz was declared the regular mistress of the King ; that she was to have a chateau at Charlotten- bourg and another at Potsdam, besides a town house ; and the poor girl, who was, despite her charms, a little destitute of understanding, re- . garded all as matter-of-fact, and reckoned in consequence upon future grandeur. Kumouif of tins nature soon reached tlie ears of the Queen. Her INIajesty was not slow INTRIGUES OF THE FRENCH. 319 in recollecting the interest which her consort had taken in the concerns of this poor girl, nor was she sujSered to remain ignorant of the im- portant fact, that the King had met her in his promenade, and had entered into conversation with her. Her Majesty, fully convinced that these rencontres were nothing more than accidental, and that the floating rumours were merely sup- positions destitute of any foundation, believed » nevertheless, that it was her duty to speak to her august spouse, and to warn him of what the public of every class augured respecting all these incidents. As it happened, the King, instead of being piqued at her representations, treated the Queen's story with nonchalance, laughed there- at, and appeared to regard it simply as matter of amusement. It was quite otherwise on the part of his spouse, who viewed the affair in the most serious light ; and it is generally sup- posed that this little altercation was the first which these illustrious persons had undergone since their union. The discussion, in all probability, must have been rather of a sharp nature, since the Queen, who never either travelled without the com- pany of her spouse, or abandoned her childrenj 320 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. departed alone and in haste for the baths of Pyrmont. But, contrary to all expectation, the King, getting scent of these unworthy intrigues, and thinking, in consequence, that his wife had some cause to feel hurt, proceeded in- stantly to rejoin her at Pyrmont, and brought her back again to the metropolis. The Prussian police penetrated all this scheme instituted by the French envoys, and unveiled its secret agents, several of whom were denounced by INlademoiselle Schultz her- self, who received a sharp reprimand, quitted the theatre, and some time after married a mer- chant at Hamburgh. The good understanding between this illus- trious couple was never after interrupted, until the sorrowful moment when death snatched away her JNlajesty the Queen, whose virtues and grandeur of soul would have done honour to the proudest throne in the world. It is known, that the brother of the great Frederick left two sons, the youngest of whom. Prince Ferdinand, remained with all his family at Berlin during the occupation of the king- dom by the French ; and this venerable indi- vidual deported himself the whole time in a manner so sage and circumspect, that there was PRINCE LOUIS FERDINAND. 321 never the least complaint raised against him by the French authorities. This Prince had three childi-en, Louis Fer- dinand, Augustus, and a princess, who married a member of the house of Radzivil, remarkable at once for his handsome person and his po- verty. Prince Louis Ferdinand, the first-born, was proprietor of an infantry regiment cantoned at Magdeburg and Breslau ; he was the most ac- complished of all the Royal Family, and his amiability made him beloved and admired by every one who approached him. Unfortu- nately, however, he was always backward in money matters, being kept poor by inordinate fondness for pleasures. He had five or six children by one of his mistresses ; and in the full zest of enjoyments of various kinds, he altogether overlooked the increasing demands upon his coffers. In 1798, he came to Ham- burgh, where he played sundry strange pranks with a certain Prince and Princess Poninsky. The King, informed of all, despatched Colonel de Massenbach to Hamburgh to aiTCst Louis Ferdinand and place him in confinement at Magdeburg. As the Prince was exceedingly precipitate in character, they were rather fear- VOL. I. Y 322 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ful of proceeding to extremities with him ; but at the time of Colonel Massenbach's arrival, his Serene Highness was in bed — and not alone. He received his unwelcome visitor with the greatest coolness, as he did also the commands of the King, simply requesting the Colonel to allow him two days' reprieve to arrange his affairs, at the termination of which, he followed his conductor to Magdeburg, and awaited re- signedly the ultimate orders of the King, Prince Louis Ferdinand cherished at all times the most bitter animosity against the King; and when, in September 1806, he soli- cited a command in the Prussian army, then in march, his INIajesty, acting somewhat in the spirit of David toward Uriah, attached him to the advanced-guard, where he was killed in an affair of out-posts upon the borders of the Saal, in the very flower of his age. His brother. Prince Augustus, was likewise in the military service, and lived publicly with Mademoiselle Wichman, daughter of the sculp- tor of that name, by whom he had five or six children. At the solicitation of his mother. Princess Ferdinanda, the King raised Mademoi- selle Wichman to the dignity of the peerage, under the title of Baroness, with remainder to her descendants. THE PRINCESS DE RADZIVIL. 323 The Princess de Radzivil, only daughter of Prince Ferdinand, was beloved, not only by the Queen and Court, but generally by all classes of the inhabitants of Berlin. She had a large family, and her husband being poor, while, at the same time, to keep up his rank as cousin to the King, he was compelled to live in an expensive way ; he hence grew much em- barrassed in his circumstances, and it was by no means rare to encounter in his antichamber landreuters, or bailiffs. The nobility of the metropolis were accustomed to attribute this straitened condition of the Prince's pecuni- ary matters to the narrowness of his father-in- law, who would not assist him with a single crown beyond the annual sum settled in the contract of marriage, as his daughter's dowry ; whilst the King, knowing that his fair cou- sin's father was extremely rich, declined con- tributing any thing for their relief. After the battle of Jena, Napoleon proceed- ed to Weimar. Entering the palace of the reigning Duke, who was then attached to the Prussian cause, and commanding one of the corps d'arm^e of Frederick-William ; he found the Duchess, at the head of her little court, drawn out with all due ceremony to receive him. Napoleon, without exhibiting the least mark of Y 2 324 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. complaisance, said to the Grand-duchess, in a rouffh tone, " Make me some tea." Her Se- rene Highness, at once surprised and indignant at this ungallant reception, turned to one of her chamberlains, and requested him to order tea to be served to his Majesty the Emperor. Napoleon, recollecting afterwards that he had been wanting in courtesy to this lady, went to pay her a visit, and in the conversa- tion which ensued, remarked both spirit and judgment in the Duchess. Asking her how it came that her husband was so imprudent as to serve in the army of his enemy, and thereby to expose thus his family, his country, and his subjects to the evils of war, the Duchess re- plied with great candour, " Sire, my husband has been in the service of the King of Prussia ever since his infancy. We owe every thing to that sovereign : what would you have thought of the Duke, Sire, if he had aban- doned the Prussian cause at the moment when the King had most need of his services ?" The Emperor was charmed with these representa- tions. He gave orders that, as much as pos- sible, the state of Weimar, and especially the residence of its Sovereign, should be respected and spared. After having taken leave of her Serene Highness, he said to Marshal Berthier, INTERVIEW WITH THE PRINCESS. 325 " If the Duke of Saxe Weimar is animated by the same principles and sentiments as this ami- able woman, I regret deeply having given him any cause to complain of me." Soon after this same battle of Jena, the King of Prussia, being on the road from Cus- trin to Konigsberg, summoned to him the cele- brated canon Tam, who then dwelt at Pots- dam, and lived in close amity with the cabinet counsellor M. Beyme, and who, besides, had been several times introduced to the presence of the Royal Family. As the canon spoke French fluently, His Majesty charged him to go and solicit a presentation to the Emperor Napoleon, and request, in the name of the King, the victor's clemency in behalf of the Prussian capital and its unfortunate inhabit- ants. The canon accordingly sought and ob- tained an interview with the all-powerful Cor- sican, whom he came up with in a little se- cluded village near Wittenberg, in Saxony. Napoleon listened complacently to the repre- sentations of this envoy, and gave orders in his presence to Marshal Berthier, that the corps d'armee destined for the occupation of Berlin should be diminished in number, and that the commander-in-chief should be instructed to visit the necessary evils of war upon the people 326 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. of the capital as lightly as circumstances per- mitted. The canon Tam, delighted at the success of his embassy, returned in haste to communicate the same to his Prussian Majesty, who, at once affected and reassured, continued his route for Eastern Prussia, always preceded by the Queen and her children. This same diplomatist Tam has for several years past quitted the service of Prussia, and is now engaged in that of the King of Eng- land, holding a commission in the 60th re- giment. When Napoleon made his first entry into Berlin, by the Brandenburgh gate, at the head of a numerous staff, and amidst an immense crowd, which pressed forward on all sides to obtain a glance at the hero of the day ; a cry arose of " Long live the Emperor !" but Na- poleon, feeling annoyed, instead of compli- mented, by these vmmeaning acclamations, which, in truth, proceeded chiefly from the agents of the police, said aloud to one of his aides-de-camp, " Silence that man !" Arrived at his chateau, he found, amongst others, the Prussian ministers Hatzfelt, Voss, and Beyme, who had remained in Berlin, and formed, previously to the entry of the French, NAPOLEON ENTERS BERLIN. 327 a sort of provisional government. As they knew nothing of the mission, akeady alluded to, of the canon Tarn, they began sedulously to recommend to the favourable notice of the Em- peror, the " good city" and citizens of Berlin. Napoleon, having heard them out, rejoined, in a tone of severity, " It is you, gentlemen, who are the occasion of this war ; you alone do I accuse ; your King, I am persuaded, 'would never have undertaken it but for your insinua- tions. You have caused prayers to be offered in the churches, and songs to be chanted in the theatres, recommending the war with Na- poleon, and calling it a just and a proper war. Well ! you have had it, and here I am, you fools ! 40,000 French soldiers shall be quar- tered for three months at Berlin, and you Avill afterwards be able to tell me whether or not this war is proper. Hence ! begone !" This harsh reception did not well agree with the promises made by the victorious Emperor to the canon Tam, only a few days previously ; it is, however, not the less matter of fact, and can be vouched both by the canon himself, who is now in London, and by Marshal Victor, who at that moment was in the presence of Na- poleon. It is a well-established fact, familiar to all 328 ANECDOTES OE FOREIGN COURTS. who had the honour of any intercourse vvitli the Prussian King and Royal Family, or with his ministers of that period, that every effort was previously used to avert the necessity of a breach with the French government. Spite of the representations which the King often re- ceived from the English Cabinet, more particu- larly in 1804, when his Britannic Majesty sent a great Embassy to Berlin (of which, the la- mented Mr. Canning made a part) : spite of the renewed solicitations of the Emperors of Russia and Austria, who exliausted every art to win over Frederick- William ; the King re- mained thoughout firm to his pacific princi- ples, and determined not to hazard the well- being of his people, and probably the safety of his throne, to serve the views or gratify the splenetic disposition of others. Thus, notwith- standing the army of Eastern Prussia, which was on a war establishment, received orders to put itself in march for Berlin, Frederick- Wil- liam would in all probability not have depart- ed from the line of conduct he had traced out, had not the Emperor Napoleon committed the great injustice, as has already appeared, of vio- lating the Prussian territory. A dispatch announcing this circumstance was sent to the metropolis by General Tauen- CONDUCT OF EERNADOTTE. 329 zein, (commander-in-chief of the Duchies of Anspach and Bayreuth,) wherein every detail was given of the offensive transaction, which Bernadotte had considerably aggravated by his hauteur and menaces. The King was so sur- prised and so disconcerted upon receiving in- telligence of this unfair proceeding on the part of a prince avowedly his friend, that he was unwilling for some time to accord it full cre- dence : he commissioned an officer of the ord- nance to go to the spot and bring a correct account of the whole affair; but scarce had this individual departed on his mission, before a second dispatch arrived from General Tauen- zein, announcing that Bernadotte had com- pelled him to retire, and had passed with all his division to rejoin Napoleon at Augsbourg. It will be readily imagined that the two sovereigns, Alexander and Francis, as well as the English ministry, knew how to profit by this ill-timed occurrence. They blew the inci- pient sparks of anger and resentment enter- tained by Frederick- William into a flame ; they dwelt upon the perfidy of this step, and the abject spirit which would be manifested by submitting to it ; whilst, on the other hand. Napoleon, aware that this would be the policy of the coalesced monarchs, commissioned JMar- 330 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. shal Duroc, as we have already seen, to convey an autograph letter from him to the King of Prussia, to make excuses and explain the mo- tives which had induced him to commit this breach of good faith. But his Prussian IMajesty, after reading the letter, and giving audience to Marshal Duroc, instead of being satisfied thereby, became still more irritated, and commenced a reply in the following terms : " That his Majesty could not help observdng, that the motives and reasons alleged in the letter of the Emperor Napoleon to excuse his violation of the Prussian territory, in the mid- dle of peace and of a union most perfect, are still more offensive than the violation itself: that his Majesty, after experiencing such treat- ment at the hands of the French Emperor, should feel called on to renew his relations with the neighbouring powers, in order to con- cert in common measures calculated to guaran- tee his preservation in future from similar vexations ; and that he would lose no time in forwarding his ultimatum to the Emperor Na- poleon, wherein he would state on what con- ditions pacific and amicable relations may con- tinue to exist between his Majesty and the French nation." FOKMIDABLE PREPARATIONS OF PRUSSIA. 331 We have already seen the result of the mis- sion wherewith Haugwitz had been charged by the Prussian monarch ; but, notwithstand- ing the armies of the two Emperors had been completely defeated at the battle of Austerlitz, and notwithstanding the political situation of these sovereigns became daily more and more critical, the King of Prussia persisted in the sentiments of animosity which had now been awakened in his bosom against his former ally ; and, urged on by his ministers, his great ambi- tion was to bring into the field an army more formidable than any previously under the com- mand of the Prussian government, even in the days of Frederick the Great. Every prepara- tion, indeed, was made for a conflict of the most furious description. The indignation aroused in the mind of Fre- derick-William by the imprudent conduct of Bernadotte, or rather of Napoleon, was never after subdued. Neither the disastrous termi- nation of this war, nor the friendly conferences between the sovereigns at Tilsit, after the bat- tle of Friedland, nor the delicate and gene- rous behaviour of Napoleon toward the Queen ; nothing, in fact, could reproduce that sentiment of friendship which he once entertained for the Emperor of the French. All the transactions? 332 ANECDOTES OF TOREIGN COURTS. and all the measures, apparently amicable, which subsequently went on at the cabinet of Berlin ; as well as the convention of Neu- brandebourg, in the duchy of Strelitz, (in 1812,) when the French armies were making towards the frontiers of Russia, — all were the effects either of constraint or fear : for it was the uni- versal conviction in the metropolis, that in case his Prussian Majesty had not adhered at the latter epoch to the propositions of Bonaparte, Marshal Davoust would have commenced his operations by seizing upon Priegnitz and Prus- sian Pomerania, in order to reach with greater facility the frontiers of the great Northern Em- pire, whilst the grand army would in like man- ner have taken possession of the three marches of Brandenbourg, in order to penetrate through them to the borders of the Vistula. The justness of these reflections is in some measure illustrated by the exploits and conduct of General Gorck, who commanded the auxi- liary forces of Eastern Prussia, and Avho, on the occasion of Napoleon's overthrow in Russia and disastrous retreat from Moscow, ranged himself on the side of the triumphant party, and contributed with hearty zeal to destroy utterly the armies of the French emperor, with EMPEROR Alexander's conduct. 333 whom, only a few months before, an amicable convention had been concluded by his sove- reign. The Author cannot forbear remarkins" in this place, that the ultimate safety of the Prussian monarchy, and perhaps of the whole of Europe, was in a great degree owing to the friendship originated between the Emperor of Russia and Frederick- William at their interviews at Mem el, and afterwards at Berlin, in 1805. It was owing alone to the zealous interposition of the former potentate that Napoleon was prevailed on to leave his Prussian Majesty in possession of the greater part of his dominions. These affection- ate ties were also strengthened through the in- timacy which the Queen had contracted with the Emperor Alexander and the Grand-duke Constantine; and still more during the six weeks' sojourn of the Prussian Royal Family at St. Petersburgh. Finally, the two sovereigns became so fondly attached to each other, that no consideration whatever was sufficiently pow- erful to disunite them. To this may be added, that the Prince de Hardenberg likewise contributed, by his sage and prudent conduct, by his open-heartedness and persuasive manners, with various confer- 3i^'i ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ences between the sovereigns, and still more, by his eloquence at the general congress, to ameliorate on all occasions the lot of his sovereign and the august 'Royal Family, as well as to maintain the honour of the Prussian crown. DEATH OF THE QUEEN OF PRUSSIA. 335 CHAPTER XIX. Misrepresentations respecting the death of the Queen of Prussia. — Authentic account of her indisposition, and its fatal result. — Her Majesty's last moments. — Her inter- ment in a chapel built for the purpose at Charlottenbourg. — The Grand-duke Constantine of Russia. — His popu- larity at the Court of Berlin. — A scene at the Opera. — Mademoiselle Hentchel. — Her beauty, and the intimation of a visit to her from Constantine. — Preparations for his Imperial Highness's reception. — The Grand-duke's disappointment, and precipitate retreat. — Departure of Major Schill from Berlin, in 1805. — Interviews between him and the Author. — His presage of his own fate. — The female patriot, IMadame Obermann. — Biographical sketch of her Royal Highness the present Duchess of Cumber- land. The public in general, and more especially the malignant or ignorant part thereof, have attributed the fatal disorder and premature death of the late Queen of Prussia to some sinister cause. This unworthy insinuation will be sufficiently disproved by the following rela- 336 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. tion, which was comraimicated to the Author by M. Heym, physician in ordinary to her Majesty, and by whom she was never quitted during the whole course of her malady. In the month of June 1810, the Queen, finding herself a little indisposed, in order to enjoy a purer and more salubrious air, quitted Charlottenburg, and, accompanied by the King, repaired to the summer residence of her fa- ther, the Duke of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, at Hohenzieritz, one hundred and twenty miles from Berlin. The King returned to the me- tropolis, and received every day an account of the health of his august spouse, as well from herself as from the physicians in attendance. These successive tidings, although they ful- filled not the wishes and hopes of his Majesty, were, on the other hand, by no means of an alarming nature; until, on the 18th of July, a courier extraordinary arrived at Berlin, by whom M. Heym announced to his Majesty, that the illness of the Queen had assumed an alarming character, and that his Majesty was implored, if he was desirous of having a last interview with his illustrious consort, to repair with the utmost possible promptitude to Ho- henzieritz. Frederick- William, penetrated with the DEATH OF THE QUEEN. 337 most sincere and profound grief, departed from Berlin the same evening, leaving orders that his children should follow in the course of a few hours. After a very rapid journey, he ar- rived at six o'clock in the morning, at the chateau, where he was received by the Duke, his father-in-law, and the sons of that poten- tate ; all plunged in the deepest affliction. His Majesty immediately entered the apartment of the Queen, who met him with a tender and complacent smile. She expressed her surprise at his speedy arrival. " Am I then," said she, pressing his hands in her own — " am I so ill, that you have been obliged to travel all night to see me ?" The King, in order to tranquil- lize her, answered, that he had been induced to travel by night, in order to avoid the extreme heat. The august couple had been alone toge- ther for the space of an hour, when the Queen was suddenly seized with strong convulsions. Her family, and the physician in waiting, ap- proached the bed of the sufferer, to receive her last sighs ; but regaining her conscious- ness, and seeing the King, together with her father and brothers, gathered around, she took her husband's hand, and made a sign for the rest to v/ithdraw. A few minutes after, she said to his Majesty, " I am indeed very ill, VOL. I. z 338 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. and perceive that my end approaches." She then made sundry requests, all of which the King ])romised strictly to fulfil ; and scarcely had the royal patient manifested these her wishes, when the agonies of death supervened. The King called aloud for assistance : his kins- men and attendants re-entered ; and the Queen, after having earnestly pronounced the name of her beloved husband, rendered up her soul to God, in the arms of her inconsolable spouse. It is said that, among other final requests, the Queen conjured her husband not to marry a second time ; but, by abstaining from so do- ing, to honour her memory ; that she begged also not to be interred in the royal cemetery, but that a chapel might be erected over her re- mains in an alley of weeping willows, in the gardens of Charlottenburg. The King, quitting this melancholy scene, descended into the grounds attached to the chateau, in a state impossible to be described ; and while he was almost suffocated with sobs, his children arriving from Berlin, and seeing their father in the garden, requested permission of him to have access to their mother. *' You have no mother!" exclaimed the bereft hus- band, weeping hysterically : " you are orphans: FUNERAL SOLEMNITIES. 339 we have lost all that was most dear to us in the world !" Next day, after giving orders respecting the conveyance of the Queen's remains, Frederick- William departed from this place of desolation, and returned to Berlin, where he continued six days shut up with his children. Directions were issued at Berlin, not only by the military governor, but by the civil au- thorities also, respecting the arrangement of the funeral solemnities: and on the 2!8th of July, towards, two o'clock in the afternoon, the mournful procession reached the Brandenbourg gate, preceded and followed by regiments of the body-guard, and of cuirassiers. Words cannot express the deep affliction and grief wherein all the inhabitants of the metropolis appeared to be plunged, when the mortal re- mains of this adored Queen were brought amongst them. They were received by his Majesty and the royal family at the foot of the grand staircase of the palace ; and, after lying- in state three days and three nights, were transferred to the church appertaining to the court, until the chapel was completed at Char- lottenbourg, according to the last wishes of the deceased. A great deal of misrepresentation has taken z 2 340 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. place respecting the conduct of the Grand- duke Constantine, during his sojourn in Ber- lin, in the year 1805. On this subject, the Author feels himself enabled to speak with con- fidence ; inasmuch as he was witness to many of the circumstances thus mistated. The Grand-duke visited Berlin for the pur- pose of seeing if the necessary activity was on foot to prepare for the war of the coalition. Whilst there, his Imperial Highness captivated all hearts by his amiable manners, attracting particularly the esteem and good opinion of the Queen, who was delighted with his vivacity, loved his society, and appeared with him at most of the public places. One evening, these illustrious personages were at the opera together ; the Grand-duke, from respect, and according to his usual cus- tom, keeping behind the Queen's chair. Thb ballet was " Armide," in which Mademoiselle Hentchel, among the other performers, distin- guished herself so highly as to receive the loud- est acclamations. Dining the representation, some talk occurred between her INIajesty and her Imperial companion, touching the pecu- liar talent of this dancer; and as her Ma- jesty seemed to prefer Mademoiselle Augusta Schultz, (before spoken of,) the Grand-duke, MME. HENTCIIEL AND CONSTANTINE. 341 who had been much fascinated by the rival performer, took her part earnestly, and, in the little debate which ensued, used somewhat too much volubility, and elevated his voice inso- much that he became audible in the pit. Four individuals, who found or fancied themselves annoyed by this, had the indecorum to attempt, by hissing, to impose silence on the Queen and the Grand- duke. Her Majesty, indignant at this instance of presumption, communicated it to the President of Police, who immediately took steps calculated to render those fastidious persons more respectful in future towards their sovereign. Constantine, quite intoxicated v/ith the beauty of Mademoiselle Hentchel, and charmed by the talent and grace which she displayed in the i-epresentation of " Armide," sent word to the young actress that in two days he pro- posed to pay her a visit " after leaving the thea- tre." Mademoiselle Hentchel, who, although extremely handsome, had no great sharpness of apprehension, was quite in raptures at this announcement, placing the anticipated honour of the Grand-duke's visit purely to the ac- count of the ability she had manifested in her profession. She therefore made every prepa- ration to receive this instance of Imperial ho- 342 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. mage in due form. She caused a magnificent collation to be provided, and invited several persons to meet and welcome his Highness ; amonsrst others the Baron de Mertens and the Author ; and, that no portion of cere- mony should be wanting, she illuminated every step of the staircase that conducted to her apartments. At the appointed hour Constantine arrived, and nothing doubting that his intimation had been "properly understood," (although somewhat startled by the lights on the staircase,) he entered the apartments of the fair dansetise, accomipsimed by his aid-de-camp, Colonel Alexandroff, both carefully wrapped in huge cloaks. As soon as Mademoiselle Hentchel came to receive him, the Grand-duke, without the slightest cere- mony, and with his accustomed liveliness of manner, addressed to her a whole string of compliments. He then turned to a harpsicord which stood in the room, and endeavoured to draw a few notes from it ; perceiving which. Mademoiselle Hentchel asked if he would like her to play the overture of the ballet of " Armide," wherewith he had expressed himself so much pleased. Constantine answered in the affirmative ; and, charmed with her powders of execution, grew still more lavish in praise of LUDICROUS INCIDENT. 348 his fair enslaver. Indeed, he waxed warmer and warmer in his addresses, and would in all probability have swiftly manifested the real purpose of his visit, had not Mademoiselle pro- posed an adjournment into the next room, wherein refreshments were set forth. The gentlemen complied; but what was his sur- prise and disconcertment, when, on the folding doors being thrown open. Baron de Mertens presented himself, and a whole bevy of com- pany appeared ranged behind him! This re- ception was more than his Highness had bar- gained for. Hastily wishing Mademoiselle Hent- chel good-night, he summoned AlexandrofF, snatched up his cloak, and retired " in the ut- most disorder." In descending the staircase, which they did with great precipitation, the trains of their mantles caught the ropes where- to the lamps were affixed, and down came the whole apparatus ; glasses, and oil, and garlands tumbling in " confusion dire," and with no small uproar, about the feet of the adventurous pair. Having reached the street, they jumped into a coach and disappeared. This incident gave birth to a good deal of raillery, and not a little misrepresentation. The circumstances which attended, we may say occasioned, the departure of Major Schill 344 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. from Berlin, have hitherto remained undis- closed. The Author became acquainted with them in a way which will, he thinks, be admitted an authentic one, as he knew the Major inti- mately, and, in truth, took himself a part in the execution of that measure. According to the convention of 1808, it was stipulated that the French should evacuate Berlin, which was to be immediately re-occu- pied by the Prussian forces. It was JMajor Schill, who, with his little corps of from four to five thousand men, went to take possession of the capital, in the month of December 1809- Some time after, part of the city authorities, in concert with certain high persons, prevailed on the INlajor to commence a war of partisans against the French wdth his small cotys (Varmee and to march upon Magdebourg, where he was to join an Austrian corps stationed in the envi- rons of that fortress. Schill, thus excited, and stimulated moreover by daily reports, that in the country towns and villages his signal and presence were alone want- ing to urge them to insurrection ; — informed likewise that, after a very short interval, he would find himself at the head of twenty thou- sand men, and that even at Magdebourg and in the duchy of Mecklenburgh, all the population EMBARRASSMENT OF MAJOR SCHII-L. 345 was animated in his favour, — set at length, in good earnest, about making preparations for a renewal of activity. In the midst of his preparations, however, this intrepid soldier did not overlook the pru- dential point of investigating whether the re- ports that were delivered to him were correct. He accordingly despatched emissaries in the directions mentioned, and learned on their re- turn that the facts were diametrically op- posite. Surprised, disappointed, and embar- rassed, he sought the Author, and addressed him as follows : — " My dear friend, affairs are not so encouraging as we have been led to imagine. I have received precise information, and such as 1 can rely on, to the contrary ; however, the prevailing wish seems to be, that I should undertake the enterprise : but I am too sensible of the duty imposed on me, not to hazard wantonly the lives of my brave soldiers. Send me, I pray you, .under some pretext or other, to Konigsberg, where I may, before any step is taken, have an audience of the King." The Author replied, that this was beyond his power, since there were certain persons parti- cularly designated to carry communications to and from his Majesty; adding, that every thing 34-6 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. wliich regarded warlike operations was out of liis jurisdiction. He therefore advised the major to consult with the military authori- ties. " Well !" rejoined Schill : " but there is another matter equally important — I have no money." " I will do my utmost," replied his interlocutor, '* to procure a supply for you :" and, in the sequel, he succeeded in getting from Madame Obermann the sum of six thousand crowns. A few days afterwards, the major came to make his adieux. His air was gay, yet there seemed to lurk underneath an emotion of sor- row and restraint. " It is decided!" exclaimed he : " they are resolved that 1 shall depart. Farewell, my friend ! we shall see each other no more !" — Next morning, under pretext of exercising the troops — for it was necessary to use every precaution, since there was still at Berlin a French military depot — he left the capital never to return. The subsequent brief career of this courage- ous and amiable man is pretty generally known. Conducting his little troop in the direction of Magdebourg, he fell in with a Westphalian corps d'ormee : this he engaged ; but being shortly after surrounded by three divisions, 7 MADAME OBERMANN. 347 which came from three several points, he was compelled to retire in disorder to Stralsund, where he met his death. Fourteen of his of- ficers, taken prisoners in that town, were con- ducted to Wesel, and there shot. The French government was no sooner ap- prised of this event, than they instituted a com- mission to ferret out whether his Prussian Ma- jesty, or his ministers, took any part in the en- terprise of Schill : but they found means effec- tually to conceal the fact, and place the entire onus of this breach of the convention upon the shoulders of the unfortunate major. The name of JVIadame Obermann has been more than once mentioned in these Memoirs. She was one of the persons whom the King of Prussia, on his return to his capital after three years' absence, particularly took care to recom- pense. The zeal and activity of this woman, in the cause of her lawful sovereign, are worthy of the most honourable mention, and tend to prove how much an humble individual, and that a female, is able to accomplish, when actuated by pure and ardent feelings. Heed- less of the risk she ran, Madame Obermann had always sums of money ready to be ad- vanced to those who were engaged, openly or secretly, in the service of the King. Her 348 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. hotel resembled the head-quarters of an army, or an established place of conference, rather than a tavern ; and it was through means provided by this spirited woman that expresses were carried from his well-wishers at Berlin to Frederick-William, whether at Konigsberg or at Memel. So much address and cu'cum- spection characterised her proceedings, that, during the whole three years, no individual employed by her was compromised, nor any discovery made even by the watchfid secret police established by the French authorities. Frederick-\Villiam, as has been stated, was fully sensible of this bold and patriotic con- duct on the part of Madame Obermann,' and not only repaid her whatever she had advanced on account of his service, but bestowed upon her the beautiful domain of Lintz, near Bres- lau, in Silesia, of the value of near fourteen thousand pounds sterling. The Author wishes he could add, for the credit of Frederick- Wil- liam, that similar acknowledgements had been made to all those who were distinguished for undeviating zeal and fidehty in his JMajesty's service :— in saying thus much, unfortunately for himself, he speaks feelingly. He is not desirous to vaunt of services undertaken in the honourable spirit of loyalty, stiU, it is but DUCHESS OF CUMBERLAND. 349 justice to observe that, thanks to the shameful conduct of certain infamous emploijes of the Prussian police, he has been altogether unre- compensed, and worse than unrecompensed, by the Prussian government. The refusal of the late Queen Charlotte of England to receive her daughter-in-law, the spouse of the Duke of Cumberland, is univer- sally known. This princess had previously drawn on herself the dis-esteem of the King of Prussia, whose brother Louis had been her first husband. She was sister to the Queen of Prussia, by whom she appears to have been very tenderly beloved. After the decease of Prince Louis, the Princess Frederica, at a period considered somewhat early, contracted marriage with a member of the house of Solms, at that time captain of a company of Dutch guards, and a remarkably handsome man. This hasty union, from some secret cause, was urged on by the Queen herself. On the cir- cumstances of the case coming to the know- ledge of Frederick- William, he was so indig- nant that he would not consent to see the princess, and still less her new husband : but, in the course of time, the Queen found means so far to mollify his Majesty's resentment, as io procure from him a residence for her sister. 350 AN i:C DOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. together with an increase of the pension en- joyed by her as widow of one of the royal princes. By this second union, the princess had five or six children, which, as well as their mother, are said to have been recom- mended by his wife, upon her death-bed, to the protection of the Prussian monarch. After the decease of the Prince of Sohns, the Princess Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz entered, for the third time, into " the holy bands of matrimony" with his Royal High- ness the Duke of Cumberland — a union which is well known to have been offensive in the highest degree to that illustrious personage who was at once mother to the gentleman and aunt to the lady. The motives of this strongly grounded antipathy have already been alluded to, and require no farther men- tion or comment. THE GllAND-DUKE CONSTANTINE. 351 CHAPTER XX. Farther anecdotes relative to the Grand-duke Constantine. — The famous Russian General Souwarrow. — His peculiari- ties on the field |of battle. — His treatment of a Secretary of Legation. — Scene on parade between him and the Em- peror Paul. — The Emperor Napoleon and Count Mankow. An evening party at St. Petersburgh. — Prince Lapuchin. — Klopstock the poet. — His eulogiums of the Emperor Alex- ander. — His disinterested spirit. — ^Feodora, the fair exile of Siberia. — Her journey to St. Petersburgh. — Alexander's generous behaviour. The real character of the Grand- duke Con- stantine of Russia is not generally understood. He has been denominated cruel, vicious, and half-civilized — a man regardless at once of his self-respect and the esteem of others. This is not the fact. The Grand-duke is not without his failings : his nature is impetuous ; and the kind of education given to the son of a north- ern despot is not calculated to remedy the de- fect. But he has proved himself capable of the kindest and most tender-hearted, and sometimes 352 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COUilTS. of the most noble actions. The unhappy sel- dom appealed to him in vain : his own means, and his intercession with his Imperial brother, were always ready to be employed on behalf of such as advanced the double claims of merit and misfortune. The following circumstance will serve as an instance of the zeal and pains wherewith this prince sought out all those whom he consider- ed likely to contribute to the amelioration of the Russian cavalry, at the head of w^hich he had been placed by his brother. On the morning of a certain grand review of this branch of the service, the Grand-duke, who had for some time previous honoured the Au- thor with his regard, requested him to attend, in order to view the progress w^hich the Rus- sian cavalry were making in their general tac- tics. The Author accordingly went upon the ground, accompanied by one of his friends, the Baron de Hamerstein, an able officer in the Hanoverian cavalry, and son of the eminent general of that name. At the commencement of a rapid evolution, the Author found himself at some little distance from his friend, whom he therefore called in a tone of voice sufficiently loud to attract the observation of the Grand- duke, who was galloping by. His Imperial GHAND-DUKE CONSTANTINE. 353 Highness quickly returned, and demanded with the utmost eagerness : '* Whom are you call- ing? — Hamerstein? Who is this Hamerstein, and where is he ?" On being informed, he re- quested the author to wait on him at the palace next morning. On presenting himself, his Im- perial Highness made inquiries touching the way in which the Baron de Hamerstein was situated at the time. " I entreat you," said he to the author, " to engage your friend, if possible, to take a commission in my cavalry. They are of a good stock, these Hamersteins ; and to have one of them attached to my service will be most advantageous. Go, and do your best." In effect, the Baron waited upon Constantine, and received from his Imperial Highness the com- mission of Major in a regiment of Dragoons. Whenever, indeed, the author, or any other individual enjoying the Grand-duke's confi- dence, paid a visit to either part of Germany, his Highness requested them to seek out for him good cavalry officers ; and on the arrival of any such at St. Petersburgh, Constantine was never backward in making good those pro- mises by holding out which he had induced the officers to go thither. A great deal has been said about the al- leged rough treatment by Constantine of his VOL. I. 2 a 354 ANECDOTES OF lOUETGN COURTS. first wife, a Princess of Saxe Coburg : but those who were in the habit of seeing this imperial couple in their domestic hours, can bear witness that the misunderstanding which existed between them, and embittered their comfort previous to her Highness's return to her native country, was at least as much owing to the imprudent levity of the lady as to the abrupt manners of the gentleman. Among the Russian generals of the last and present age, few have attracted more notice than Souwarrow. The eccentricities of this man were very great. His first celebrity was acquired at the siege of Ismail, before which fortress he had been left by the commander-in- chief, Prince Potemkin, with express orders to undertake nothing until the Prince's return. Disliking inaction, however, and aware of the importance attached by Catherine to the cap- ture of this fortress, Souwarrow, as soon as Potemkin's back was turned, attempted its re- duction, and in succeeding, laid the foundation of his future fortunes although Potemkin ex- exerted his well-known influence with the Em- press to impede him. Had Souwarrow been unfortunate in his daring enterprise, he would no doubt have been held inexcusable for dis- obeying the commands of his superior — but suc- cess sanctions every thing. GENERAL SOUWARROW. 355 It must have been curious to see this man, in the midst of an engagement seated, as was his wont, on some little neighbouring eminence, — with a small Turkish sabre in his hand, and crying out, " Koli ! Koli !" — a Russian word signifying " kill ! kill !'' which injunction he would repeat whenever his aid-de-camp came to report movements or receive orders. When Souwarrow had surrounded and was bombarding Alexandria, in Italy, the Russian ambassador at Berlin sent him one of his secre- taries of legation with a duplicate of certain despatches received from St. Petersburgh, and which required an answer from the general. The secretary departed in all haste; and on arriving at the camp, was introduced to Sou- warrow, who, upon opening the despatch, was quite ennuy6 at its length. He treated the messenger with some incivility ; and when told that he was not a mere courier but secretary of legation to his Majesty the Emperor, — " Bah !" exclaimed Souwarrow, in evident anger : " I care not what the designation of these scribbling fellows is:" he then ordered two officers to take the secretary into the entrenchments. As it happened, on this day there was a very warm attack made upon the place : the se- cretary, quite unaccustomed to scenes of this 2 A 2 S5^ ANECDOTES OE FOREIGN COURTS. nature, remonstrated earnestly against being taken to any such position as the entrench- ments ; but his conductors told hhn that they had express orders from the Marshal to conduct him into the lines of circumvallation. " I wish you and your Marshal were at the devil toge- tlier," exclaimed the vmfortunate secretary ; " What have I to do with the lines of circum- vallation ?" All remonstrance, however, was unavailing : to the lines he was taken, and heard, to his manifest horror, a most terrible cannonading, whilst on all sides the soldiers fell even by dozens at a time. At length, the terrified young man found means to prevail on his conductors to relieve him from this distressing situation. He was led back to the camp, and taken into the Mar- shal's presence, where he protested against the violence wherewith he had been treated, and demanded a reply to his despatches. " I have something else to do," said Souwar- row, " than to write despatches like you gen- tlemen. The Minister of War sends me two secretaries within eight hours, to know what I am about ! Well, you have seen me ! You have likewise witnessed something of my pro- ceedings ; you will therefore be able to report accordingly to the Minister. Tell him that EMPEROR PAUL AND SOUWARROW. 357 Marshal Souwarrow bombards and is bombard- ed in turn, and that in three days time he will be within the fortress." Among other pranks of the Emperor Paul, he once took it into his head, to adopt the Prussian military costume, and to put every thing in his own army on a similar establish- ment to that of his neighbour. His burlesque Majesty himself dressed a-la-mode de Frede- rick the Second, and general orders were issued prohibiting any officer from coming to parade habited in any other than the new fashion. Souwarrow was not of a disposition to sacri- fice his own humour to that of any body else. He came boldly to parade, in the old costume of a general of the days of Catherine the Great, namely, without queue, without powder, and with uncurled hair. (According to court-regu- lation, the queue was to be a foot and a half in length.) Paul, seeing on his arrival that Sou- warrow and his aids- de-camp had infringed the orders respecting costume, stamped and swore, and played a hundred of those sensible tricks for which he was so eminent : whilst the of- fending general, accustomed to see the Em- peror in his moments of anger, said, nothing daunted, " Sire, these are mere trifles : a queue is not a cannon, curls are not fusils, nor hair- 358 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. powder, gun-powder : — I have beaten the Turks Avithout any such ornaments." The Emperor, however, thought the offence of a forbidden costume quite enough to outweigh the services of many campaigns, and sent Sou- warrow and his veteran aids-de-camp into Si- beria. The stern unbending character of their cli- mate seems to have communicated itself to other Russians of distinction besides Souwar- row. The behaviour of Count Markow to Napoleon Bonaparte, at whose court he was ambassador, affords a striking example of this. In the year 1803, the Marquis d'Entraigues, a French emigrant, but counsellor of state in the Russian service, was sent on a mission from St. Petersburgh to Rome, where he was arrested and thrown into prison by order of Napoleon. As soon as the Emperor Alex- ander was made aware of this circumstance, lie sent an express to Count Markow to de- mand tlie liberation of EntraiQues. The Count made official re})rcsentations accordingly ; but these where wholly disregarded. One Sunday, when there was public audience given to the diplomatic body at the Tuileries, the First Consul, addressing himself to the Marquis de COUNT MARKOAV. 359 Lucchecini, ambassador from Prussia : — " What think you, Marquis," said he ; " Russia is striving even to protect the emigrants." — Count Markow, immediately interposing, ob- served, " Sir, if his Majesty the Emperor of Russia, my august master, wills to extend pro- tection to any one, I am sure he has both right and reason." Upon this, Bonaparte, looking at Markow, with an air of extreme disdain, said, *' It was not to you. Count, I spoke." — " Sir," answered the Russian, " if any one speaks in my presence of my Sovereign, I always reply^' Having said this, he turned his back upon the First Consul, and left the audience. Bonaparte, extremely irritated, gave orders to his minister that Count Markow should be forthwith sent back to Russia ; but the latter, on this command being signified to him, at once refused, saying that he would not stir from Paris until his master recalled him. Both he and the First Consul despatched respec- tively messengers to St. Petersburgh with de- tails of this affair ; Bonaparte requiring the recal of the ambassador : whereupon Alex- ander sent M. Oubriel to replace him ; but, as a mark of his Majesty's satisfaction at the spi- rited conduct of Markow, he transmitted to the Count, by the hands of his successor, the 360 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. insignia of a Russian order, (enriched with diamonds) and an vikase conferring on him a pension of fifty thousand rubles. Oubriel was instructed to demand anew the release of the Marquis d'Entraigues, which was ultimately conceded by Bonaparte. When, subsequently. Count Markow met the Grand-duke Constantino at a party at St. Petersburgh, that Prince said to him, " Upon my honour. Count, you must possess great courage to speak in such terms to Bonaparte. They say that man jokes not : what w^ould you have done, had he by any chance laid hands upon you ?" — " 1 would have chastised him on the spot," replied the courageous Mar- kow. The same evening on which this question and answer took place. Prince Lapuchin, who had been some days previously created Minister of Justice, leaving the assembly took by ac- cident anotlier man's hat instead of his own, which was almost worn out, whilst the one he lighted upon Vv^as quite new. The proprietor of the new beaver, not relishing the exchange, wliicli he got a glimpse of as the Prince passed to go down stairs, followed, and came up with him whilst stopping to speak to the Gnind-duke. Upon making his business KLOPSTOCK, 361 known, Lapuchin offered excuses, and return- ed the hat, whilst Constantine cried out, laugh- ing, " Upon my word, a pretty Minister of Justice my brother has selected ; he enters on his office by committing a theft !" " Not a theft, my Prince," replied Lapuchin, *' but merely a mistake /" '* Oh, you legal gentle- men," exclaimed Constantine, " always like to elude plain terms. If my friend here had not caught it in your hand, you would doubtless have argued him out of the fact of possessing his hat at all." The late Emperor Alexander was very fond of the writings and character of Klopstock, author of " The Messiah." He deputed some of his most eminent subjects, at the time when they were travelling through foreign countries, for the purpose of noticing whatever was excel- lent and worthy of admiration in their several Institutions, to call upon the poet, and bear him personally the Emperor of Russia's regards. Klopstock, old and infirm, declined for some time receiving these individuals, but was at length prevailed on to consent. The conversa- tion soon grew spirited, running generally on literary subjects, until some one, turning it upon Klopstock's great work, told him that it had been translated into the Russian language. 362 anp:cdotes of foreign courts. " AVhat !" exclaimed the poet, with a transient expression of dissatisfaction, "who can have rendered my poem into that barbarous tongue V* His informant smiled, and overlooking the bad compliment, replied, " If my countrymen relish so highly a translation of this book, what would be their pleasure, could they understand the original ?" " Very well said. Sir," remark- ed Klopstock, apparently conscious of his pre- vious want of courtesy. On the Russian gen- tlemen quitting his apartment, he said, " After my death, among my papers will be found cer- tain INISS. wherein my opinion and prediction concerning your Sovereign will distinctly ap- pear." Klopstock on several occasions eulogised the Emperor Alexander : and it is but fair to count him honest in doing so, since, strange to say, he refused sundry presents offered him on the part of the Russian monarch ; and this, not- withstanding he was old and poor. The accession of Alexander to the throne was hailed with the greatest marks of satisfac- tion by all classes, as a signal of hope and de- liverance. Every heart in the wide Russian dominions might, without much colouring, be said to bound with joy ; and even the unfortu- nate exiles dwelling in the remote tracts of Si- COLONEL FEODOR. 363 beria, participated in the sentiment. It was at this period a fact occurred, which has been since woven both into di'ama and romance. The Emperor Paul, during his reign, had sent Colonel Feodor, for some trivial offence, to Kamschatka, the most forlorn of all the Si- berian settlements and at a distance of 13,200 versts from St, Petersburgh ; and the whole family of this unfortunate man accompanied him into exile. When the news reached them of the death of Paul, and the succession of Alexander, whose character was already high, a ray of consolation shot across the minds of these poor people, and lightened more parti- cularly that of the amiable Feodora, the Co- lonel's eldest daughter. This young girl im- mediately set about making active preparations for undertaking a journey to St. Petersburgh, in order to throw herself at the feet of the Em- peror, and implore his JNlajesty's grace for her ill-starred parents. This scheme she entered upon in secrecy, and actually accomplished ; arriving, after a painful and hazardous journey, which occu- pied an entire year, in the environs of the capital. Here the want of a passport for a while impeded Feodora's progress ; but ac- cident favoured this excellent young woman. 364 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. and brought the Emperor himself into the neighbourhood. With great difficulty, and by the benevolent assistance of an officer, she suc- ceeded in penetrating the crowd, and reached her Sovereign, falling at whose feet, in a voice choked by tears, she entreated favour and par- don for her father. Alexander, much affected by the wasted ap- pearance and strong emotion of his suppli- cant, raised her, and inquired into the particu- lars of her suit: upon learning which, and finding that she had made so tremendous a pilgrimage, he said, " And who, my poor girl, has been your conductor through this toilsome route ?" " God and filial love have supported me ;" answered the heroic daugher of Feodor ; who had soon afterwards the happiness of re- ceiving an order for her father's liberation, and was by Alexander himself presented to his Empress Mother. KINGS OF PRUSSIA AND SWEDEN. 365 n CHAPTER XXI. Rupture between the King of Prussia and Gustavus Adol- phus, the deposed King of Sweden. — Martial Despatches. — Order of the Black Eagle. — Interposition of the Emperor Alexander — Manoeuvres of his Envoy. — Amicable Ar- rangement. — Causes of Bonaparte's Indignation at Gusta- vus Adolphus. — Intrigues of his Agents at Stockholm. — Abdication of the King. — Personal description of the famous Count de Munck. — Interview and Treaty between him and his reputed Son, Gustavus. — Conference on the Tilsit Raft. — Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia. — Origin of Bona- parte's Choice of Maria Louisa. — Extracts from a Letter of that Princess to Count Edling. — Marshal Landon at the Siege of Belgrade. — Sketch of the Marshal's early life. The circumstances which led to the rupture between Frederick WilHam of Prussia and the unfortunate Gustavus Adolphus the Fourth, then King of Sweden, are not generally under- stood. In the year 1804, the King of Prussia sent to Napoleon, newly constituted Emperor, the Order of the Black Eagle. No sooner had in- 366 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. telligence of this circumstance reached Stock- holm, than his Swedish majesty wrote to Fre- derick William the following letter : — " Sire, — So long as the Order of the Black Eagle was an honourable decoration, destined as a mark of friendship between Sovereigns, and as a recompense to ministers distinguished by their fidelity, I regarded myself happy in bearing it ; but since your Majesty has thought proper to invest with the insignia of this order the greatest usurper and destroyer of modern times, it has no longer any value in my eyes, and I have ordered my charge d'affaires at Berlin to return it. '* I pray God, &c." This letter was despatched by Gustavus through one of his aids-de-camp, ]M. Peyron. On receiving it, the King of Prussia was so piqued at its contents, that, without the slight- est hesitation, he recalled his own ambassador from Stockholm, and sent away the Swedish plenipotentiary, residing at his court. Not satisfied with this, he instructed Marshal Kal- kreuth to march upon the frontiers of Swedish Pomerania, at the head of 30,000 men, and to GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 36? demand, in this hostile way, whether or no the King of Sweden was desirous of breaking up the amicable relations between the two coun- tries. Nothing daunted, however, Gustavus Adolphus advanced likewise at the head of his troops, and met his adversary, " beard to beard," the two armies being divided solely by the little river Penn. While matters were in this frowning condi- tion, as if presageful of a deadly quarrel be- tween the monarchs, a third party appeared on the field, namely, the Emperor Alexander, who visited Berlin, in order to consolidate his al- liance with Frederick William. Being inform- ed of this rupture, and fearing that it would prove an obstacle to the coalition already pro- jected between Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Sweden, the rather as one of his corps-cr armde was already in march, and ought to disembark in the port of Stralsund ; whilst Gustavus Adolphus might, in consequence, withhold his quota of 30,000 men. Alexander, foreseeing these contingencies, did every thing in his power to effect a reconcihation between the two kings Frederick William became, after a while, somewhat mollified ; and yielding to the exi- gencies of the period, professed himself, how- ever deeply his feelings had been wounded, 368 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COUUTS. ready to renew his former ties witli Sweden, on the express condition that an apologetic let- ter should be written by Gustavus Adolphus ; and that this letter might not fail to hit his Prussian Majesty's taste, a model for it was drawn up by the minister Hardenberg, at Ber- lin, and despatched to Stockholm by an envoy appointed for the purpose. Gustavus continued firm. He professed himself no way disinclined to write to the King of Prussia, but it must be after his mm fashion : and when his minister, M. Wetterstadt, sug- gested a few phrases, the king imperatively cried : " Leave me alone ! I have no need of a schoolmaster : I know what I have to write, and will write it."* In effect, he produced an epistle of a nature widely different from " the model," and calculated to irritate rather than to conciliate. To make all sure, he put this into the hands of one of his aids-du-camp, who accompanied the envoy back. Arrived at Potsdam, as the letter was under a loose seal, the Envoy persuaded his com- panion that it might be as well to show it, in the first place, to the Emperor Alexander ; and * It is a pity that this firmness of character was not united to greater depth of understanding. GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS. 369 that monarch, seeing from its tenor, that if duly delivered, it would only have the effect of making matters worse, put it very coolly in his pocket, and commanded his messenger to re- turn to Greissuald, at which place the Swedish sovereign was at the time, and bring back ano- ther letter. No sooner had these circumstances been made known to the choleric Swede, than he commenced by putting his aid-de-camp imme- diately under arrest, for having thus failed in the execution of his orders : but having by this time somewhat cooled upon the subject ji^ general, and begun to perceive the inconveni- ences consequent, particularly at that junc- ture, upon an open breach with Prussia, he yielded to the repeated solicitations of his con- fidential servants, and forwarded a communi- cation to Berlin ; which (although not exactly in the prescribed terms) it was thought alto- gether most prudent to acknowlege in a friend- ly way. The chief subject of these proceedings. Na- poleon Bonaparte, has not hitherto appeared upon the scene ; but he was, by no means, a man to hear of the conduct of Gustavus Adol- phus, and not to resent it. All the circum- stances of the affair were soon put in his pos- VOL. I. 2 b h 370 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. session, and he is thought to have decided at once on avenging the insult shown him, by the expulsion of Gustavus and his dynasty from the throne of Sweden. The suspicion of that prince's illegitimacy had been extensively entertained, ever since his birth. It was, however, checked from time to time ; and had his talents been greater, and his temper more conciliating, he might to this day have sat upon the throne of Sweden. But now, Bonaparte instructed his Ambassador at Stock- holm to revive the old rumours with all pos- sible activity, and to insinuate to the grandees and even the people in general, that it was scandalous in the eyes of all Europe for the ancient Swedish nation to suffer the domina- tion of a bastard. In effect, by intrigue and menace the Queen-mother was induced to give assent to the report, that Gustavus Adol- phus, her son, was not the offspring of her royal spouse, but of the Count de IMunck. This avowal produced all the result that Na- poleon was anxious for. Piqued and indig- nant thereat, the entire nation arose with one consent, and forced the King to abdicate. They, however, steadily refused at that period to adopt Napoleon's suggestion of nominating JNIarshal Bernadotte as Crown Prince : but, on GUSTAVUS AND DE MUNCK. 371 the premature decease of the Prince of Hol- stein Augiistenburg, these recommendations were renewed witli eventual success. Previous to the events which deprived Gus- tavus Adolphus the Fourth of his crown, he had (perceiving that he should otherwise be constantly subject to raillery) made an arrange- ment with his reputed father, the Count de Munck, by virtue of which the Count con- sented to part with all his property in Sweden, and never again to enter that country ; whilst the King, on his part, agreed to pay De Munck a sufficient sum (6000 louis) to enable him to purchase an estate in Italy, and he accordingly bought the house and lands near Massacarrara, which had belonged to Maria Beatrix D'Este, widow of the Archduke Ferdinand. This treaty took place at Hamburg, which city was visited by Gustavus incognito, for the purpose, and where the Author was at the time residing at the same hotel with the Count, whose excellent conduct and gentlemanly man- ners had rendered him an universal favourite. Its conditions were strictly fulfilled on both sides : and so well did Gustavus express him- self pleased with the discreet and delicate de- portment of De Munck on the occasion, that he presented him, among other splendid trin- 3 B 2 372 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. kets) with a portrait of himself, richly set in diamonds, which the Count ever after wore withinside his vest. As the Author was intimately acquainted with the Count De Munck, and also knew the person of Gustavus well, he can speak to the fact of there having been a striking resem- blance between them. Thus much may with safety be asserted, whatever becomes of the broader part of the question. When, in the year 1807, after the battle of Friedland, an interview was arranged between Napoleon, Alexander, and Frederick- William, to take place upon a raft in the midst of the river Tilsit, in order to preserve the requisite etiquette, it was arranged, among other things, that at a given signal the sovereigns should embark in their sloops from the respective banks, in order that they might reach the float critically at the same time, and neither be kept at all waiting for the other. Whether by accident or design, however, it so fell out that Napoleon, with his suite, was first in arriving at the raft; the other two monarchs being a few moments behind-hand. Neverthek^ss, Napoleon advanced to meet Alex- ander, to wliom he paid tlie customary compli- MEETING OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 37^ ments ; but a little reserve being visible in his address, the Russian Emperor, with great heartiness of manner, cried, " Pardon, Sire, if I arrive a little late : I assure your Majesty, that I am not the less delighted to salute you." Alexander then presented his friend, the King of Prussia ; but Napoleon, observing witli surprise, that Frederick- William received his compliments with marked coolness, was so annoyed thereat, that he turned to his Mar- shals, who stood behind him, and said, " Do you see how he treats me ?" During the period that the sovereigns were sojourning in the little town of Tilsit, where they were employed in arranging various mat- ters of the highest importance — more espe- cially to the King of Prussia, — the French Emperor several times expressed a strong de- sire to see her Majesty the Queen, who was then with her children at Memei. This lady's repugnance to Napoleon was, however, so great, that they were obliged to put him off, from day to day, with feigned excuses for the delay of her arrival; until his natural impetuosity, no longer to be restrained, led him to say to the Emperor Alexander, " Eh hietiy Sire ! it would seem that, in order to be indulged with 374 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. an introduction to this beautiful Queen, I should send Marshal Davonst with his corps d'armee to fetch her." * Alexander saw that there was no more room for trifling ; and it was concerted between him and Frederick that a chamberlain should be forthwith despatched to Memel, to represent to her Majesty the absolute necessity for her appearance. Upon the receipt of this intelli- gence, she reluctantly fixed an hour upon which to commence the journey, and was met at a certain point of the road by the three so- vereigns. Napoleon was captivated at sight of this lovely woman, and took an opportunity just after of observing to IMarshal Duroc, " You have told me true, Duroc; she is indeed a beautiful creature." Next day, he gave a din- ner to her Majesty of the most sumptuous description. On bringing in the dessert, an open letter appeared on a salver, which was placed before the Queen of Prussia, addressed to her Majesty. " A letter for me !" exclaimed the Queen, on perceiving it, in great surprise. " Yes, Madame," replied Bonaparte ; " be pleased to look at it.' Her Majesty took it up, and found enclosed another, addressed to Jerome Bonaparte, then commanding the French NAPOLEON AT VIENNA. 375 forces in Prussian Silesia. This epistle con- tained an autograph order from Napoleon, di- recting the King of Westphalia to deliver up immediately to the nearest Prussian chief, that part of Silesia which had been reserved by the French Emperor in the secret treaty of Tilsit ; which territory was to be placed under the sole controul of the Queen of Prussia. Her Majesty, deeply affected by this delicate and noble behaviour, exclaimed, " Certainly, never did monarch bestow a gift with so much dignity and grace. I pray your Majesty to accept my best thanks." — " Nay, Madame," re- joined Napoleon, " is it not just that I should indemnify you for the expenses of a journey from IMemel to Tilsit ?" When the Emperor of the French, in 1809, visited Vienna as a conqueror, he took up his residence in the beautiful castle of Schoen- brunn, in the environs of the capital. One morning, accompanied by Meyer, one of the castle inspectors, he Avent over the apartments of this magnificent edifice, which had been hastily quitted, some weeks before, by the Im- perial family. In one apartment hung the portraits of the Emperor Francis's daughters, Maria-Louisa, Leopoldina, and Clementina. Napoleon, after a short pause, pointing to that 376 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. of Maria-Louisa, wliich he considered with the deepest attention, asked of the inspector, if her Imperial Highness was really so handsome as there represented. The old man replied, *' Oh yes, your Majesty, she is indeed : and, what is more, as amiable as handsome." — " Well," rejoined Napoleon, " let the picture be placed in my cabinet, immediately fronting the writ- ing-table." He subsequently took it with him to Paris, and it was found in the Emperor's closet by the Archduchess Maria-Louisa, on her marriage. The Emperor Francis, at the time he con- cluded upon consenting to this match, was not ignorant of the animosity entertained by his daughter and wife towards his intended son-in- law. He consequently had not courage to open the matter to Maria-Louisa herself ; and the first governess to the Archduchess, was commissioned to make it known to her. This lady, however, had no success whatever in her attempts to reconcile Maria-Louisa to her destiny, for the Archduchess had no sooner been told that her father had affianced her to Napoleon Bonaparte, than she fell upon the sofa, screaming, and crying out that she woidd never consent to marry such a monster ! MARIA-LOUISA BEFORE MARRIAGE. 377 Francis was now fain to make personal endea- vours to prevail on his daughter to comply with the proposed arrangement, and for that purpose announced his wish to have an inter- view with Maria Louisa at a given hour. He repaired to the Princess's apartment, at- tended by his two youngest daughters, and with the candour and tenderness characteristic of him, represented the necessity of such an alliance, as the only means left to save the Imperial Family and the whole Austrian do- minions from subjection. The windows of the room in which they were, looked out upon the ruined walls and demolished forts of Vienna; Maria Louisa took the Emperor by the hand, led him to the view of this desolate scene, and said — " Father, can you give the hand of your beloved child to the author of all this destruction ?" — " It is to prevent still greater horrors," answered Francis, deeply mov- ed, " that I require this sacrifice from you ;" and he urged his solicitations in so powerful and affecting a way, that his daughter at length exclaimed, " Tranquillize yourself, my dear father ; to procure you peace, I will do what- ever you ask of me."* * It is asserted by the Princess's governess;, who was pre- sent at this interesting interview, that the young Princess ^78 ANECDOTES OF FOIIEIGN COURTS. Maria-Louisa, liowever, subsequently found tliat her sacrifice turned out to be not quite so heroic; she seems, on the contrary, to have been greatly pleased Avith her new situation. A letter addressed by her, in the month of June, 1810, to the old Count Edlin, her late governor, and despatched to Vienna by one of the chamberlains of her father's covirt, (who Iiad accompanied her Imperial Highness to France,) was seen and copied (with the consent of the Count) by the Author. It gives an in- teresting statement of her feelings so soon after her marriage. The following are extracts : — " I confess to you, my dear Count, that from the first moment I met and saw the Emperor Napoleon, my august and most be- loved husband, he has shown me on every oc- casion the highest attention. Indeed, I should be unjust and ungrateful, were I insensible to all his care, regard, and truly noble behaviour Leopoldina, then about twelve years oldj saw her sister so much averse to the proposed, match, she said with extreme naivete, " Dear papa, since my good sister seems so greatly shocked at this union, I will go in her place, and be married to Napoleon. I have no dislike to the Emperor, and I dare say it will be the same thing to him." — " You are a little fool," replied Francis, tenderly smiling, " and know not what you say." MARSHAL LOUDON. 379 to me. In one word, my dear Count, I am happier than you can conceive. " Believe not that this letter is written by any order or compulsion on the part of my au- gust spouse, who, although at this very moment by my side, will not look at it. No ! these sentiments are dictated by my own heart ; and the letter goes from my hands into those of Count Joseph,* by whom it will be handed to you." One of the most distinguishing traits in the character of Napoleon, was decision. This was a quality which, as he was conscious of possess- ing himself, he prized very highly in all the military men employed by him. The famous Marshal Loudon, in the service of Austria during the reign of the Emperor Joseph, would have been a great favourite of Bonaparte, had they lived at the same epoch. In 1789, when Loudon was commencing the siege of Belgrade, he wanted bridges to en- able him to pass the Danube. He therefore summoned two officers of great talent, and con- fided to them the service of getting two flying bridges constructed, at points designated by * Count Joseph Metternich, brother of the Prime Mi- nister. 380 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the Marshal. The officers answered, that they would immediately set about making iwepara- tions, and that in three days, at farthest, the bridges would be complete. " In three days !" exclaimed tlie Marshal, " that won't serve my turn. I must have them finished this very night." " Impossible, your Excellency !" cried they ; " according to general rules, the con- struction would require nearly a week ; but by great exertion we may perhaps get them ready by the day after to-morrow." The JNIarshal reiterated his wishes, and stated that it was his design to cross the river by midnight ; but to no better effect ; the thing was represented to be altogether out of question. At length Loudon, suddenly assuming a great coolness of manner, addressed the two officers thus : — " Gentlemen, all I have to say is, that if these two bridges are not finished by twelve o'clock, I will hang you both within an hour afterwards." This announcement sufficed to alter both the tone and opinions of the other parties, and so briskly did they conduct matters, that, in effect, the INlarshal found himself able to get to the op- posite shore by the time he had mentioned. When, subsequently, these two officers sent a memorial to the Emperor, complaining of the arbitrary behaviour and threats of the Mar- MARSHAL LOUDON. 381 shal, his Majesty told them in reply, that they had reason to congratulate themselves on finding means to execute the orders given them ; for that he knew Marshal Loudon well, and was confident that he would otherwise have kept his word. The history of Loudon's early life is suffici- ently curious. He was a native of Scotland, and entered, young, as a soldier of fortune into the service of the Elector of Bavaria, wherein he held the rank of captain. Having had the mis- fortune to kill his colonel in a duel, he was obliged to quit Bavaria very precipitately; he went to Berlin, and requested a commission from the King of Prussia, but Frederick the Great received him very cavalierly, and said to him, among other bad compliments : " You have more the air of a monk than of a soldier ; and besides, I have no fancy for English officers." Loudon now made way for Vienna, where he did his utmost to procure an appointment from the Minister of War; but unsuccessfully : until at length, wearied of making applications, he left the capital, and took a lodging in one of the faubourgs, at the house of a shoemaker named Pancrace, where he remained some time in a state of great destitution, and supported by his landlord out of mere charity. It happened, at this epoch, that Marshal Daun, Avho command- 382 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. ed the Austrian army in Silesia against the King of Prussia, wrote to the Empress Maria- Theresa, and to the Prince de Lichtenstein, to obtain good officers, accustomed to a war of partisanship, having none such attached to his corps. On a conference following between the Empress and Prince, the latter bethought him of Loudon, who had been represented to him as skilful in his particular branch, but whom, he told the Empress it would now be difficult to find. — " Is he in the Austrian dominions, think you ?" inquired Maria-Theresa. — " There is no doubt of it," answered the Marshal. " Well then," rejoined her Majesty, " I think we may get at him. Give orders to post up a description of this same Loudon, and promise a thousand ducats to whosover will find out his abode.'' The Empress's commands were executed next morning, and before the day closed, bills to this effect were stuck up in almost every street of the metropolis. Pancrace, who had gone into the city to get work, observing so many of these bills, which attracted general notice, read one of them, and without going any farther, he returned to his house, and find- ing his lodger there, said, " You are a pretty fellow ! no doubt, some great criminal ; if I LOUDON AND THE COBLER. 383 had known you before, yon should never have come mto my house." Loudon, who was con- scious of no other offence than owing his land- lord money, replied, " My dear Pancrace ! you know well that I can't pay you just now ; 1 have not even a sous." — " Oh, it is not about the money I am speaking just now. All I want is for you to quit my house. There is a ducat for you. Begone ! If I were malignantly disposed, I might obtain a thousand ducats by denouncing you. But, no ! I will not stain my hands with your blood. Away ! j'^ou have no time to lose." Loudon, more astonished than ever, demanded of his host what he meant ; and when Pancrace related the fact of his being advertised for in the manner above-mentioned, penetrating the whole affair, he cried out, " My dear Pancrace, this is the best news for us in the world ! They want me for the military service ; go to the office of the Minister of War, and say that I am lodging with you, but am too badly clothed to appear myself. After a short inter- val, the Minister himself arrived at the shoe- maker's habitation, gave him the promised re- ward, and furnished Loudon with means to equip himself properly. He was then pre- sented to the Empress, who gave him the ap- 384) ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. pointment of colonel, and sent him to the army, where he distinguished himself so highly, as to become, at the end of four years, a field-mar- shal. He lived to beat, repeatedly, Frederick the Great, by whom his services had been re- fused ; and who frequently, when speaking of Loudon to his friends, lamented that he should have committed the .egregious blunder of turn- ing such an officer away. SUPPLEMENTARY AxNECDOTES. COURT OF NAPLES, &c. CHAPTER XXII. Character and memoir of Alviso Mocenigo. — Journey of the Authoress to the Tyrol. — The Archduchess IMarianna, and Marchesi, the castrate. — Chagrin of the latter at his cold reception at Inspnick. — Pacchierotti at a private concert of the Queen of France. — Observations on the style of that celebrated Soprano. — The Elector of Bavaria^ Charles Theodore. — Incidents met with by the Authoress at his Court. — The Count de Sahano. — Compliment paid by Haydn to the Authoress. — The late King and Queen of Bavaria. — Biographical Sketch of his Mijesty. — Presump- tuous conduct of IMadame Catalani, Previous to visiting Denmark, Sweden, and Russia, we spent some time at the different German courts, some of which, as we formerly hinted, although of the most insignificant pro- portions and revenue, affect all the pomp and ceremony of royalty. But before 1 proceed to give some account of my travels there, I will advert to my resi- dence at Venice, (from whence I started,) and VOL. I. 2 c 386 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. lay before the reader a sketch of a Venetian family, called Mocenigo, well known in many of the courts of Europe on account of their immense wealth, distinguished rank, and the general odium attached to them, which pursued the whole race (and seldom unjustly) from father to son. The last legitimate scion of this stock (better known by his self-assumed designation of Alvisopoli) was nephew to the Chevalier Mo- cenigo, once Ambassador from Venice to the Court of Versailles, and recalled by the Repub- lic, in consequence of certain reports in which his character was very deeply involved. Alviso Mocenigo, the nephew, was by birth a patrician ; but by profession, patriot, demo- crat, municipalist, royalist, or imperialist, accord- ing as his interest swayed him, though already rich, and destitute of heirs. Nay, so far was he influenced by the spirit of avarice, and lust after gain, as to be induced, at various times, to become a dealer in common-articles of trade ; once, at Copenhagen, absolutely vending gloves, a quantity of which he brought with him into Germany, where I myself purchased several do- zens for his Excellency's servants. During this worthy's absence on some of liis commercial expeditions, he was, evidently ALVISO MOCENIGO. 387 (tlirougli that awkward practice of keeping dates) without any trouble on his part, Messed with an heir to his name and property. Alviso was not, on his return, however, so easily re- conciled to this kind of thing as General r) s is said to have been, who, coming back to England from the Continent, and finding a similar circumstance had taken place in his own family, merely observed, with an air of vexa- tion, that " his wife's company had drunk almost all his old wine !" Neither did the Venetian bear joking on the subject with the same phi- losophical complacency as was exhibited by Lord M , who v/as occasionally thus ad- dressed by Lord E , when riding in Hyde Park : " Good morning, my Lord ; how are your wife and my children ?" — Every man in his humour ! Mocenigo, as we have said, viewed matters differently. When the French took possession of Venice, after their second conquest of the Austrians, Alviso was nominated by Napoleon Governor of Novara, and at this period it was that the affair was cautiously disclosed to him. He, however, grew restive, and hesitated not in the most public manner to expose his wife, to brand her issue with the stain of illegitimacy, and, the better to quash all hopes of his re- 2 c 2 388 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. turning favour, previously to departing from Venice, made over his property by will, to the Mocenighetto's, a collateral branch of the family. His wife, meanwhile, went to Vienna, where she was denominated by an odd kind of anomaly, " Vhonmte crimineller On Bonaparte's departing for Egypt, and the Austrians becoming momentary masters of Italy, Mocenigo contrived to make up matters with his hetter half ; became reconciled to the increase of his family ; and, with the hope of intriguing at Vienna to get himself made Graf (Earl) of Puffendorf, took his dear Lucietta, and her chopping boy, to the Austrian capital, where the latter was placed to be educated. He soon found, however, that he had reckoned without his host ; and disappointed by his want of influence at the Imperial court, he, after the battle of Marengo, once more turned Bona- partist, in consequence of which revolution of sentiment^ his wife was named dame d'Jionneur to Josephine. Such Avas Alviso Mocenigo, whose name has been so much bruited about both in Germany and Italy. He died at Venice, as he had lived, respected by none ; and to the great joy of his wife. From Venice we took our route through the ARCHDUCHESS MARIANNA. 389 Tyrol, and arrived at Inspruek, where resided Marianna, Archduchess of Austria, and of which town the Count de Bissinges was Go- vernor. There was nothing about either the person or character of the Archduchess to me- rit particular notice; she was distinguished, however, as being the only one of her illus- trious house who had not been driven from their dominions by the armies of Revolu- tionary France. At the period to which I am alluding, the Tyrol remained free from any in- terference on the part of Napoleon, by whom it was subsequently severed from Austria, and attached to the tenitories of Bavaria. This lady, therefore, passed her life in a state of ex- emption from all disturbance or vicissitude : in perfect tranquillity, indeed, except when her fancy was wrought on by some handsome young officer of the garrison, whom she might view from the window of her palace. Report states that Marianna was an indulgent lady, and no unworthy member of the fruitful house of Hapsburg. Joseph II., like the Great Frederick, was in the habit of regarding wo- men merely as conducive to the increase of po- pulation for purposes of carrying on his wars abroad and his agriculture at home ; and on this account, both he and his brother Leopold «< 390 ANECDOTES OF FOllEIGN COURTS. looked with an eye of pitiful consideration on the trespasses of kind couples, whose labours were calculated to produce this effect. The Empress JNIaria Theresa was, on the contrary, as became her sex, very severe regarding slips of this nature, particularly when they occurred among the higher classes of the nobility. Du- ring her reign, the convents were filled with nuns and novices, doomed by their parents or guardians to the monastic life, whether agree- able to their own feelings or otherwise; but no sooner had Joseph II. succeeded, upon her demise, than, finding so many poor creatures doomed to perpetual seclusion, he, with a feel- ing at once of humanity and wisdom, opened the gates of the convents to all who chose to quit them, both male and female. When I had the honour to be presented to her Imperial Highness the Archduchess Ma- rianna, she was certainly an extremely plain woman ; but I have been told by those who knew her at the time she was proposed in mar- riage to Louis XV., that she was the most beau- tiful of all the daughters of Maria Theresa. That proposal, by the by, excited in no slight degree the apprehension of her sister, Marie Antoinette, then Dauphine, lest she should herself be eclipsed by the splendour attendant ARCHDUCHESS MARIANNA. 391 on her sister becoming Queen of France, — the narrative of which circumstances I have given in another work, the Memoirs of the Princess de Lamballe. The Archduchess having heard a great deal respecting Marchesi, the celebrated singer, who was then engaged at the Italian Opera at Vienna, and anxious to see this unfortunate human noun adjective, more especially since she had heard of the great success he had met with among the Austrian ladies in general, and the widows and unmarried ones in particular, her Imperial Highness wrote to Vienna, requesting that, on Marchesi quitting that capital to return to Milan, he should be furnished with the neces- sary letters of introduction to her court. Mar- chesi was perhaps the most insolent of all that race which leaves no race behind it. In the present instance, he was filled with hopes of effecting a new conquest, and imagined that on his arrival at Inspruck, the very doors would fly off their hinges to admit him into the Im- perial palace. What was his surprise and cha- grin, then, on discovering that the Archduchess had left Inspruck in order to pay some visit, and that it was necessary he (Signor Marchesi) should wait her Imperial Highness's return ! By the by, it is really surprising how very 39^2 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. self-sufficient and haughty this description of men are. They are in general the offspring of the most wretched and depraved of the human species, who absolutely sell them to some mu- sician, by whom they are duly qualified for this purpose, and disqualified for every other. They are purchased in the way of experiment : — if they prove to have fine voices, they are brought out at the Italian theatres ; if not, they are sent to Spain or Portugal, or hired to sing in the churches (women not being permitted to do so) or employed as instrumental performers. One should suppose that persons thus un- happily circumstanced, would in all probability be imassuming, thoughtful, and desirous, by a strictly amiable deportment, to conciliate the good-will and sympathy of those about them. 15ut no such thing ! Supremely ignorant, and objects of the most humiliating sentiments of pity, they are pretending, vain, and coxcombical. They may truly be said to be deprived of their humanity, in more ways than one; for the same process which is found to make brute beasts more tractable, uniformly renders these additionally turbulent and savage. Pacchie- rotti was one of the most civilized of the whole class. He liad, by great good luck, an excel- lent natural capacity, to which he was careful PACCHIErtOTTI THE CASTRATO. 393 to administer food, by courting the society of refined and intellectual men. When enffaged to sing upon the London boards,* Pacchierotti was accompanied by his friend Signor Ferdinand Bertoni, the celebrated composer. He travelled through France, and was provided with letters of recommendation to the ill-fated Marie An- toinette, who never having heard him, signified her royal pleasure, on his presentation, that he should take part in a private concert, previous- ly to his quitting the Continent for England. A performance was therefore arranged to take place at Versailles, under the management of the distinguished musician Sacchini, (the Queen's music-master,) and Viotti, the eminent violinist. Marie Antoinette, ever anxious to amuse the Parisians, invited all the young no- bility v/ho had never heard any of these soprani, including some who did not even know the meaning of the term. Pacchierotti was a man whose peculiarity of figure excited considerable notice. His stature exceeded six feet: his countenance was pale, his cheek-bones high and broad, his head of hair immense, and tied in a * To the honour and credit of the French character and government be it mentioned, that persons of this description are not permitted there to sing, either at the theatres, or at the public concerts^ but in the King's private chapel only. 394 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. manner resembling a great club. Such an ap- parition, accoutred as it was on the present oc- casion in a full court dress, which descended nearly to his heels, and pendant from his awk- ward high shoulders, looked as if hung upon a wooden horse, could not fail to awaken the merriment of the whole brilliant assembly ; and when from this uncouth, mountainous figure issued the shrill womanish voice, the surprise and mirth of the company became quite exces- sive. It was almost unprecedented in those ele- gant saloons, amidst the well-known politeness and urbanity of the anc'ien regime of France, and was unrestrainable even by considerations of court etiquette. Pacchierotti was constitutionally timid ; so much so, indeed, that on singing in any new piece, it was difficult for him to raise his voice to the proper pitch : and he has been frequently known to sing throughout an entire opera a note too low; the orchestra accommodating itself to the performer, on account of being aware of the cause of this effect, or rather " of this defect." In the instance we are speak- ing of, he was exceedingly confused and some- what terrified by the laughter which his odd figure had occasioned : on perceiving which, her Majesty, the Queen, with her customary PACCHIEROTTI, THE CASTRATO. 395 delicacy of feeling and benevolence of heart, graciously approached the performer and en- couraged him to proceed ; and by her giving the first example of such condescension, caused Pacchierotti to be loudly applauded, and in- duced the Princess de Lamballe, the Duchess d'Orleans, the Duke de Penthievre, who had been acquainted with the singer at the Court of Turin, and the Duchess de Polignac, to unite in bestowing warm commendations. The recitative ended, Pacchierotti com- menced the air ; and his expression and skill in singing it occasioned involuntary tears to flow from the eyes of his auditors. It was a pa- thetic song, and happened to touch some chord in the sensitive bosom of Madame de Lamballe, which vibrated to such a degree as to cause her Royal Highness suddenly to faint. " Ecco la fine !" exclaimed the Queen, on learning this accident, " il gran trionfo di Pacchierotti !" Pacchierotti, many years after, when I was on a visit to him at his house in Padua, while singing with me from the original score of one of Sarti's operas, which had been composed for him at Venice, related the above anecdote. He was one of the most defective singers I ever heard; having an organ by no means good, destitute of much compass, and without 396 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. brilliance ; and he sang through the nose. Ex- pression was his strong point: the notes he uttered came evidently from his own heart, and went direct to those of his hearers, and in this particular and eminent quality, he was, perhaps — certainly by any singer of his day — unapproached. Another great excellence in Pacchierotti was, that his articulation was clear: this is so rarely the case with modern singers, that people now, as it were by common con- sent, neglect the words of a song from mere despair of ever making them out. Composers? too, are in the habit of writing according to their own peculiar taste and notions, without consulting the genius or capabihties of the per- sons who are to perform their compositions. Hence, we constantly find the most outrageous malapropriations, and the most disagreeable in- stances of incapability. Nor is there scarce one singer who has a style of his own ; and, what is worse still, the defects rather than the excel- lencies of the model, are adopted by the imi- tator. To return to her Imperial Highness the Archduchess INIarianna, and Signor Marchesi. — On her return to Inspruck, the Signor con- cluded he should be forthwith summoned to the Princess's boudoir : instead thereof, how- ARCHDUCHESS MARlANNA AND MARCHESI. 397 ever, she sent out a gentleman in waiting, to order him (as was sometimes done in the case of the officers who garrisoned the citadel) to walk to and fro before the palace, as her Im- perial Highness was only curious to see the Signor, on his passage from Vienna. The haughty Austrian had doubtless heard some ru- mours of the presuming demeanour of the so- prano, who, on receiving this humiliating mes- sage, instead of presenting his beardless coun- tenance to the Archduchess, turned on his heel, and exhibited to her Imperial Highness that part which a court wit once displayed to Charles II. on receiving an injunction from his Majesty " never to let him see his face again." From Inspruck we proceeded to Munich ; and having been early in my youth attached to that court, and well known to the late Kinsr (when his Majesty was in the service of France), I and my friends were received by that esti- mable monarch with all the graceful and gra- cious politeness so characteristic of him. The late King of Bavaria was, in truth and de facto, the father of his people. Her Majesty the Queen, although many years had passed since I received letters of introduction to her two august sisters^ the Empress of Russia and Queen Frederica of Sweden, kindly condes- 398 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. cended to interrogate me as to the result of my visits to those courts. No sovereigns, in fact, could possibly be more generous and conciliat- ing than were those of Bavaria, to all personally known to them. The then Crown Prince, now the worthy heir of his illustrious father's crown and virtues, was absent from Munich, and con- sequently I had not the honour to be presented to him, as I was to all the other members of his family, among whom were Prince Eugene Beauharnois (formerly Viceroy of Italy) and his amiable and beautiful consort, the Princess AmeUa. The present King of Bavaria is married to the daughter of the Prince of Saxe Hil- brockhausen. Her Majesty's mother was sister to the late much-lamented Queen of Prussia, and to her "Royal Highness the Duchess of Cumberland. The Prince of Mecklenburg, brother to the late Queen Charlotte, had four daughters, who were thus allianced : — one mar- ried the present King of Prussia; another Prince I^ouis, the King's brother, and subse- quently his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland ; the third, the Prince of Tour and Taxis ; and the fourth, the Prince above- mentioned. Nothing occurred in the course of our jour- ANCIENT BEAU AT A CONCEET. 399 ney from Vienna to Munich at all worth de- tailing. Bad roads, bad inns, bad food, bad accommodations, bad beds, very bad horses, and still worse postilions, are all generally com- plained of, and justly, by the English traveller for the first time on the Continent. These de- ficiencies are, in fact, pretty readily accounted for. The word comfort, which is really multum in parvo, containing so much meaning in two small syllables, is not to be found in any other language but the English. Our countrymen would therefore do well, so far as lies in their power, to seek it when abroad within them- selves. During my former residence at Munich, at the court of the late Elector, Charles Theodore, (the best-informed prince of his time,) there was an ugly old nobleman of eighty, the Count de Sahano, who took it into his head to fall desperately in love with the reader's humble ser- vant, at that period wife to one of the handsom- est men of his time, young, well-informed, and in disposition most amiable. I was myself scarce out of my teens, and therefore revelling in the enjoyment of that treasure which we none of us know how to prize thoroughly until it has slipped away from us— youth. In the frolic- some mood so characteristic of that happy era, 400 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. I sought and found abundant amusement in quizzing and tormenting this ancient admirer, upon whom all sorts of girlish tricks and man- oeuvres were played off, under the patronage of the Elector, and with the consent of my hus- band. I made appointments, and sent people to watch whether my superannuated swain was punctual in keeping them; which circumstances, naturally enough, soon became the common theme of conversation at court. Count Sahano was of a most miserly and miserable tempera- ment ; and it was therefore a point with us, to resort to every imaginable artifice to cause him to part with some of his hoarded treasure. Among other pranks, I recollect once removing some parts out of the score of an oratorio, which I knew the Count, in his quality of master of the ceremonies, would have on the instant, (for there was to be a concert that same evening), and at his own proper cost, to get copied out again. The rage of the unfortunate director on this occasion was extreme, and amused his Serene Highness, who, with several familiar friends, were present at the rehearsal, infinitely. He bounced about here and there, half frantic, u})set all the instruments in the orchestra, and actually fell himself into the case of the dou- ble bass, which, as his figure was originally ANCIENT BEAU AT A CONCERT. 401 very small, and shrunken through age, held him quite conveniently ; whilst, in his clumsy en- deavours to get out, he became still more inex- tricably involved, on account of the case turn- ing over and over, until the assistance of some of the servants put an end at once to his tor- ments and our mirth, I may be forgiven, perhaps, if, in the fond recollection of scenes which distinguished my youth, I mention, that at this same concert I sang, by the particular request of the Elector, the celebrated scena written for Marchesi, from the opera of PieiTo, wherein I was twice en- cored, to the no small satisfaction of my vanity, and corresponding vexation of my lungs. In- deed, I had frequently compliments paid me on account of my musical powers ; but the great- est I ever experienced was one at Vienna, where the immortal Haydn was accompanying the Countess de Hartzfelt and myself in a duet. He at one time suspended his accompaniment during several passages, and upon our at length pausing, he said, addressing himself to me, " Pardon me, Madame, I have been thus far seduced to play the listener only to your rare powers : if you will have the goodness to re- commence, I will, with the greatest pleasure, accompany you." VOL. I. 2d 402 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. As a proof of the high estimation in which I had the good fortune to be held by the Elec- tor, at that period when the excesses of Revo- lutionary France caused other European pow- ers to adopt such precautionary measures as they deemed necessary for the tranquillity of their several states, the Bavarian sovereign deemed it prudent to prohibit the public im- portation of all foreign inflammatory newspa- pers. Immediately on hearing this, 1 forbade mine : and the circumstance shortly after com- ing to his Serene Highness's knowledge, he was good enough to say, " I am aware of the sacrifice an English lady must make to the policy of the country she is honouring by a visit, in stopping her journals ; and I can only say, that Madame is at liberty at any time to go into my cabinet, where she will find them all." The same liberal-minded politeness was extended to me subsequently at Prussia, during the reign of the late King; and thus, from never talking of politics, and thus never abus- ing the confidence reposed in me, I was suffered to travel tliroughout Europe at a period of the greatest possible excitement, perfectly unmo- lested. I recollect the late King of Bavaria telling mc an instance of the presumption of Madame PRESUMPTION OF CATALANI. 403 Catalan!, when that once-celebrated singer was engaged to perform at the marriage of his Majesty's daughter with Prince Eugene Beau- harnois. Catalani had been so much in the habit of singing before sovereigns, that she at length began to fancy she might lift herself into their actual society ; and on the present occa- sion, entering the concert-room previous to the assembly of the court, she very unceremonious- ly seated herself in one of the loges set apart for such members as v/ere expected of the Im- perial and Hoyal families of France and Aus- tria. On the entrance of the King she was of course ejected, to her no small mortification, and the great amusement of the court. I took the liberty of observing to the King, after I had heard this anecdote, " I trust your Majesty will condescend to make some allowance for the vanity almost inseparable from a woman of dis- tinguished talents." "Assuredly," replied he, " for her vanity, but not for her presumptiotiy Few princes have experienced more, both of the smiles and frowns of fate, than this amiable monarch. In the commencement of his career, as a cadet of the illustrious house of Deux- Ponts, he served in the French army, in which station he was both beloved and respected, at once by his brother officers and by the unfortunate 2 D 2 404 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Louis XVI. This employment he lost, toge- ther with his German patrimony, on the occur- rence of the French Revolution ; but his uncle, Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria (of whom I have been already speaking), dying without issue, he succeeded as legitimate heir. He was subsequently elevated, througli the influ- ence of Napoleon, to the kingly dignity, with a considerable augmentation of territory, and was father both of the late Vice-queen of Italy and of the present Empress of Austria. FERDINAND IV. OF NAPLES. 405 CHAPTER XXIII. Marriage of Ferdinand IV., late King of Naples, with the Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. — Sinister policy of the Austrian cabinet. — Ineffectual chagrin, and dismis- sal, of Tanucci. — His successor, the Marquis de Sambuca. —Introduction of Acton, the favourite of the Queen.— Breaking out of the French Eevolution. — Conduct pursued by Caroline — Singular condition of the Court of Naples at the period. — The Junta of State. — Its incarceration of several unoifending youths, and its abolition. — Another sanguinary tribunal established. — Vanni, its president, and his retributive fate. — General Mack, and his conduct when prisoner of war in France. — Assassination of a messenger despatched by the Queen to Nelson. — Retirement of the Court to Sicily. — Imputed orders of her Majesty. — Con- flagration of the Neapolitan fleet. Among all the extraordinary events which distinguished the march of the French Revo- lution, from its commencement to the second restoration of the Bourbons, none were more singular, various, and interesting than those which regarded the kingdom of Naples. The late King, who, in consequence of his father 406 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. succeeding to the crown of Spain, ascended the tln*one in his minority, (which, however, was fixed to expire at the age of sixteen,) espoused, in his eighteenth year, Maria CaroHna of Aus- tria, daughter of the illustrious Empress Ma- ria Theresa, and sister of JMarie Antoinette of France. This union gave promise to the Neapolitan people that they should no longer see the Austrian Imperial Family pretending to the throne of Naples, or suffer from that power any interruption of the national tranquillity. But from the same moment terminated the influence, both public and private, of the court of Madrid ; for, mark the insinuating policy of Austria : — in the marriage contract between Ferdinand and Caroline, it was stipulated, that after the birth of their first son, the young Queen should have a seat in the council, should in fact constitute an integral part there- of, and have a voice and vote in its delibera- tions — rights which she did not fail fully to claim and exercise so soon as the appointed time arrived. It was then that Tanucci, the minister of the day, perceived the false step he had made in permitting the introduction of such a clause — remarkable in him, who had the reputation, under the former King, (Charles THE MINISTER TANUCCl. 407 III.,) of being one of the wisest and most pru- dent statesmen in Europe. Experimentally discovering liis error, he was anxious to elude, as much as possible, its dangerous results ; but he had to deal with an individual resolved to press her advantage to the utmost. The Queen, equally penetrating and ambitious, soon saw through the intrigues of the minister, and exercised her influence over her husband, (which every day grew stronger,) to procure his dis- missal, wherein she speedily succeeded. The weakness of Ferdinand's character is pretty ge- nerally understood ; nor will it afford matter for much surprise, when the reader is informed that his brothers all partook, more or less, of this weakness ; the one immediately older than himself, having been regularly disqualified from succeeding to the crown of Naples, on ac- count of his natural imbecility. Tanucci displaced, a minister was sought to succeed him more compliant with the wishes and views of the ambitious Caroline ; and such an one was soon found in the ]\Iarquis de Sam- buca, who, coming after Tanucci, presented a true picture of mediocrity following excellence. From this moment, the credit and power of Caroline were firmly estabhshed, and she be- came in fact the real sovereign of Naples, her 408 ANECDOTES OE FOREIGN COURTS. easy spouse caring for little more than the quiet enjoyment of his constitvitional indolence and trifling pursuits. At this period the ne- cessity of an efficient naval force was strongly impressed upon the active mind of the Queen, both for the purpose of protecting the com- merce of the kingdom, and defending its coasts against the audacity of the African corsairs. The chief point was, to meet with an able sea- man to direct the incipient efforts of the Nea- politans in this respect, and the private in- terests of the Queen dictated that such a per- son should not be sought either in Spain or France. The Chevalier Acton was at length pitched on. He had great reputation, and ap- pears in some degree to have deserved it. He had, it is true, been once for some time attach- ed to the French marine ; but had become dis- gusted with that service, withdrawn himself from it, and was at that time commander of the naval forces of Tuscany. He was proposed to the female ruler of the destinies of Naples, and accepted, as was proved by the sequel, in a double sense. Such were the two individuals, who had for a long series of years wielded all the resources of this beautiful kingdom. Whether their administration was, in the aggregate, good or f CAROLINE OF NAPLES. 409 evil, it is not our province to decide. We are not writing history, we are merely grouping together the most interesting circumstances and personages that have figured in our own time. Acton was at this period stiU young, with more ambition than genius, and with know- ledge limited almost to the concerns of his nautical employment. For this want, whether of capacity or information, he made up, how- ever, by great aptitude and a fascinating ad- dress. He perceived that his plan was to se- cond at all risks the views and wishes of the Queen, upon whose ascendancy his own alto- gether depended. Caroline, aspiring from her birth, had all the earnest spirit of her brother Joseph, but was destitute alike of his talent, philosophy, and perseverance. On the breaking out of the French Revolu- tion, that political convulsion which agitated the whole of Europe, and menaced the con- tinuance of all kingly authority, Carohne was not backward in displaying her wonted ac- tivity. Being on a journey through Italy with her brother, the Emperor Leopold, she instigated; that prince against the infant re- public, and induced him to form a coalition with Sardinia, Spain, and Switzerland. This 410 ANECDOTES OF FOUEIGN COURTS. treaty, however, of which several writers have spoken, and which was concluded at Mantua, in concert with an individual sent thither by the emigrant French princes, was never put into execution. The famous treaty of Pilnitz took place several months afterward, between the same Leopold, and Frederick William, King of Prussia. In all the states of Italy revolutionary prin- ciples had, by the time this treaty was signed, obtained great precedence. The victories with which the arms of the Republic were crowned, obtained for it enthusiastic admu'ers ; and the measures adopted by the several governments to check this feeling were inconsistent, in many cases, either with justice or true policy. Thus, at Rome, in a commotion excited by a public sermon, and by the priests secretly fomented, an agent of the Republic was mas- sacred in his own house, and all the French residing in the town might have shared in the same fate, had not the fears of the dastardly assassins been excited by the sudden appear- ance on the coast of a small French squadron. The greater part of the French in Rome and the Papal States, finding their security thus problematical, fled for refuge to Naples, where, however, tliey had even less chance of CAROLINE OF NAPLES. 411 escaping persecution. The victories of Napo- leon Bonaparte in the Italian peninsula caused, it is true, the effects of the hatred of the Nea- politan Court to be for awhile concealed ; but it was not, in its nature, the less deadly ; and though apprehension induced them to sign a separate treaty of peace with the Republic, they secretly longed to have an opportunity of wreaking upon the victims in thek power the full bitterness of their indignation and ^vrath. The spectacle presented by this Court at the period alluded to was extremely curious. It was the seat of irresolution and confusion. The Queen alone, constant in her projects of ambition, seemed personally steadfast and fear- less : she usurped the little remains of autho- rity possessed by her husband, and found in Acton a ready instrument for the execution of all her scliemes. Though not, like Catherine of Russia, the author of her husband's natural death, she rendered him, beyond doubt, poli- tically defunct. As for her subjec^^s, she had acquired the habit of regarding them in the mass, as no other than partisans of the all- feared and all-hated Republic, and as preg- nant with the spirit of revolution. Her fa- vourite surrounded himself with foreigners. 412 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. whose sole merit consisted in their tractahility and abjectness towards him, which equalled his own towards the Queen. Places, pensions, and emoluments of every description, were lavished prodigally upon these ; whilst native talent and true worth were cast into the background or scornfully repressed. In this state of things, tortured with appre- hension, natural enough after the commission of so much injustice, the two persons who governed the kingdom thought it advisable to organise a political inquisitioUj to which they gave the appellation of Junta of State. One might readily foresee what would be the operation of this tribunal of blood, which com- menced by arresting and throwing into infec- tious dungeons a great number of young men of the most honest families. The feeling of indignation was general and deep, although at first not loudly expressed ; after a while, how- ever, a body of venerable magistrates waited on the King, and represented that the incar- ceration of a number of imprudent youths* • These youths, who had been educated in the public schools, had read political and philosophical works, and, in the enthusiasm natural to their time of life, hoped to see their country one day free and powerful : they had probably viewed with interest the great, and, in many respects, useful M. VANNI. 413 was not calculated either to save or to tranquil- lize the state. Ferdinand, however, King only in name, was unable to afford the applicants any succour, and it was not until the popular voice grew tumultuous against this institution that it was suppressed. Nevertheless, the Court was determined not to forbear from dealing out its measures of coercion. Another tribunal was quickly set on foot, at the head of which was placed the infa- mous Vanni, whose name, together with that of his sub-colleague, Guidobaldi, have escaped from their natural obscurity only to be held up to the undying scorn and ignominy cast by all weU-constituted minds upon the originators or instruments of cruelty and oppression. This Vanni was never other than the tool and creature of Acton ; and as soon as the mi- nister discovered that his agency was more in- jurious than beneficial to the interests of the Court, he scrupled not to sacrifice him. Vanni was deprived of his office, and sent into exile. Thus deceived in his projects of aggrandize- changes that had taken place in the social condition of the French ; but it is not fair to infer that they ever entertained an idea of conspiring against the King, as was imputed to them, and of which there does not appear to have been the slightest proof. 414 ANECDOTES OP^ FOREIGN COURTS. ment, he sank into a profound melancholy. At the time when the Court first removed itself into Sicily, on the approach of the French army, this man entreated permission to seek an asylum there also from the probable vengeance of the invaders. It was refused him. And on receiving this refusal, he determined to die. The following is a transcript of the letter writ- ten by him previously to striking the fatal blow: — "The ingratitude of a perfidious court; the approach of a triumphant enemy ; the de- nial to me of a place of refuge — all decide me to put an end to a life become insupportable. May no one be accused of my destruction ; and may my example render the other state-inqui- sitors more discreet" It is impossible to describe the exultation wherewith, on the renewal of hostilities with France, the Neapolitan Court regarded its army of 70,000 men, commanded by the illus- trious INIack. The Queen herself, dressed in the style of an amazon, assisted at the review of this fine armament several days before its departure. She sought both by voice and ges- ture to animate the soldiers, to inspire them with the same ardour whereby her own bosom was expanded. AVhen the troops marched away, acclamations and warlike sounds were GENERAL MACK. 415 universally spread around. Pomp and display delight the inhabitants of Naples ; and it was imagined that the handful of French then in Italy, (not exceeding 16,000 men) would soon be exterminated by this splendid array. How great, then, was the terror and consternation when, " a little month" afterwards, the inhabi- tants of the metropolis saw its feeble relics return to their city, destitute both of cannon and baggage. The King, who had followed it, was compelled to quit Rome with the utmost precipitancy ; while General Mack ran about from one place to another, issuing in the course of an hour twenty different orders, and utterly ignorant on what to determine. A few days previously he had affected all the airs of a con- queror and liberator, of one who was in a con- dition to defy every European state. In a mo- ment, as it were, he lost both his power and pride. No longer formidable to others, he ap- peared even to lose all confidence in himself.* * When Mack subsequently, in utter dismay, sought refuge in the French camp from the fury of the Lazzaroni, he presented his sword to General Championnet, who refused it. " Keep it. General," said he, laughing ; " my Govern- ment permits me not to receive presents of English manufac- tured It is said, that Championnet never considered Mack as a prisoner of war ; and that he even gave him a passport 41() ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Intelligence of these disasters of the army preceded its return to the capital, whose po- pulation was, as I have said, filled with ap- prehension, wherein the Court abundantly par- took. A fatality seemed to hang over its mea- sures, and urge it to take all manner of false steps. A proclamation was published, wherein the people were invited to rise eii masse, in order to save their King and country : accord- ingly, they ran to arms, and demanded nothing and an escort, to enable him to proceed to Milan : but the French Directory had him arrested and conducted to Paris. He was afterwards liberated on parole ; breaking which, he departed for Germany, in the company of his favourite mis- tress. Is it not inexplicable, almost incredible, that this same Mack, who, after his conduct as commander-in-chief of the Neapolitan army, should have entirely forfeited his reputa- tion as a general, and, after his flight from France, should have lost his character as a gentleman also, obtained in the sequel the highest offices in the armies of Germany ? In 1804 he had the command of the Bavarian forces. At the approach of Napoleon, he retreated and shut himself up in Ulm, to which place the Emperor immediately laid siege. After suffering a blockade for two months. Mack accepted the most ignominious capitulation recorded in military an- nals. The whole of his army, excepting only himself and his personal staff, remained prisoners of war. Such was the leader whom the King of Naples opposed to Macdonald, to Championnet, and Kellermann! EMIGRATION OF THE COURT. 417 but to be led to battle. Ferdinand should have profited by this burst of enthusiasm : at the head of liis faithful subjects, a spirit might have expanded similar to that felt in France at the commencement of the invasion of its ter- ritory, in which case victory would have been equally certain. Instead of pursuing this course, however, he listened to the suggestions of timid and perhaps sinister counsellors ; and on the very heels of the proclamation above-mentioned, (as if afraid of the excitement himself had stimu- lated,) decided to pass over into Sicily. A pe- culiar circumstance hastened his departure. A courier, who had been despatched by the Court to Admiral Nelson, was stopped by the popu- lace on the mole, at the instant that he was about to embark to gain the English fleet. He was believed to be an agent of some treasonable practice against the royal family ; and, having been cruelly massacred, his body was dragged under the windows of the royal palace. In doing this, it seems to have been the intention of the blind mob to give their sovereign proofs of attachment and fidelity : — on the contrary, the occurrence filled him and his family with fear and horror. Ferdinand resolved, v/ithout loss of time, to withdrav/ himself from a people whom he conceived to have become quite bar- VOL. I. 2 E 418 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. barous, and disposed to act over afresh at Naples the scenes which had disgraced the refined ca- pital of Paris. Upwards of twenty millions of ducats, in coin and ingots, together with the most precious moveables about the royal palaces, and the rarest monuments of antiquity, were speedily embarked, in order to be transported to Palermo. The following I heartily wish may not be true, for the honour of human nature in ge- neral, and of that sex, in particular, to which Maria Caroline belonged. I hope it is nothing more than a fable invented by calumny. It is, however, said, and has been bruited about with the utmost confidence, that this Queen, this woman, caused, on leaving Naples, orders to be given to her secret agents, by virtue of which the populace of that city, already in a state of high fermentation, were to be stimulated and goaded to the greatest excesses, and, in fact, incendiaries employed to fire, in different quar- ters, this town, which she detested, and regard- ed as nothing else than a hot-bed of revolution and treason. Let us not load her memory with such an ineffaceable stigma ! but (which ap- pears more probable) there is little reason to doubt that it was by lier orders," and those of her minister, fire was put to the s]ii])ping in the CAROLINE OF NAPLES. 419 harbour, which their precipitate flight did not enable them to carry with them, and which they feared would otherwise fall into the hands • of their enemy. A few hom*s were sufficient to consume those wooden structures which it had been the work of years to build, and which were almost the only \iseful result of so many imposts unpitiably levied. Witnesses of the spectacle of this vast conflagration, an immense crowd, which covered the shore, stood dumb with consternation and horror. 2 E 2 # 420 ANECDOTES OF FOliElGN COURTS. CHAPTER XXIV. Remarks on the emigration of the Court to Sicily. — The " Parthenopean Republic." — Roger de Damas and the Cardinal de Ruffo. — The cruelties of Mammone Gaetano, a Royalist chieftain. — Sketch of the belligerent Cardinal. — Atrocities perpetrated on the delivery of Naples into the hands of the Royalists. — Capitulation of Chateau Neuf. — The violation by Caroline and her creature Acton. — Ob- servations on the conduct of Lord Nelson. — Treachery of the Commander of the French troops. — Characteristic sketches of Queen Caroline, of Lady Hamilton, and of Acton. — The principal victims to the violation of the treaty. The Court of Naples has been almost uni- versally blamed for having removed themselves from their continental dominions, and songlit a *• city of refuge" in Palermo. Undoubtedly, as we have already observed, the King appears thereby to have lost a chance which the excite- ment and enthusiasm of his people at the mo- ment rendered a probable one. 15ut it is well to pause before we decide in this case. Cer- i THE PARTHENOPEAN REPUBLIC. 421 tainly, if the Royal Family deemed it wise to withdraw from the capital at all, they could not have done better than take shelter from the attacks of their enemies in an island defend- ed by English vessels, and wherein plans might be safely concerted to enable them, in due sea- son, conveniently to regain what they had lost. For this purpose, it was no doubt well ma- naged to excite, in the vast province of Calabria, an insurrection against the ephemeral govern- ment introduced by the French after the de- sertion of the King, and to which was given the odd designation of " the Parthenopean Re- public." The emigrant Roger de Damas was of gTcat service in organising in the provinces movements similar to those put in practice in La Vendue. But of all the partisans of the Royalist party in the kingdom of Naples, at this period, the most daring and extraordinary was the Cardinal RufFo, who, with the cross in one hand, and the sword in the other, marched at the head of certain troops of brigands, which he had found no difficulty in getting together, through holding out prospects of pillage, and promising gratis the advantages of absolution. The French armies were busy elsewhere ; and there was consequently little to impede success on the part of Damas and Ruffo in their strug- 422 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. gle against a republic liastily formed, and not yet in an organised state ; nevertheless, we are forced upon the belief that the words " liberty, constitution, and popular government," had gained great power over the minds even of the most ignorant men, since th^ two royalist generals, in those places which did oppose them, encountered a desperate resistance. But the ravages which the Royalist bands made in those parts of the country which were slow in yielding them obedience cannot be recounted without horror. To give a general idea of their barbarity, I will lay before the reader some account of one of their chiefs, Mammone Gaetano. Originally a miller, he was become by his high deeds, that is to say, his crimes, general-in-chief of the insurgents of Sora. During the period of two months rhat he commanded a very small extent of country, he caused no less than three hundred and fifty men to be shot, and at least twice that luinibor were slaughtered by his satellites. I will not speak of the pillage, burnings, and violations, dictated or permitted by him in a spirit of demoniacal mirth, nor will I men- tion the incredible number of persons who were thrown into horrible dungeons. So great was this monster's thirst for blood, that he always CARDINAL RUFFO. 423 drank, wlien it was within his power, that of the victims whom he had caused to suffer. Whenever he dined, he had generally upon his table a head newly severed from the body, and a skull served him for a goblet. It was to such an individual as this that Ferdinand IV. wrote from Sicily, addressing him, " My Ge- neral and mij Friend /" Cardinal RufFo, born in 1744, was already old, and even infirm, when he took the charge of this perilous enterprise. His zeal and cou- rage would demand the highest commendation, had he not soiled his victories by atrocities simi- lar to those we have mentioned. After the first return of Ferdinand to Naples, in 1801, he nominated Ruffo his minister at Rome. On the Pope's being carried off from that city to France, the Cardinal was summon- ed to Paris by Bonaparte, by whom he was re- ceived with distinction, and presented with the cross of an officer of the Legion of Honour. But shortly after, from some motive not well understood, he removed him from about the Court, and restricted him to a village in the vicinity of Paris. " This Cardinal," says the author of the Modern Biography, *' passed for a man of spirit and information, and as pos- sessing knowledge of a various character. He 424 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. has written on subjects the most diversified. ; on the manoeuvres of troops, and the equip- ages of cavahy ; on fountains and canals ; and on the manners of various sorts of pigeons. He has the faults of a speculative man, but does not the less preserve the merited reputation of being the most able economist of Italy. All foreigners of distinction seek the Cardinal Ruffo ; and as for himself, he appears now to love the French with considerable fervour. He has recovered his possessions in the king- dom of Naples, where he passes the greatest part of his time in planting rare trees, and reduc- ing to practice his theoretical knowledge re- specting agriculture and domestic economy." Strange ! that a man who had revelled in such scenes of violence as those wherein Ruffo was engaged, should yet preserve a taste for the pure and simple gratification arising from the study of nature and the " planting of trees !" The French government, as we before hint- ed, had been compelled precipitately to recall its army of Naples, in order to reinforce there- with its grand army opposed to the forces then inundating the western parts of Europe, from the banks of the Wolga and of the Neva. RufFo had therefore a clear theatre for his ult€Tior ])roceediiigs ; and on the 13th of June, ATROCITIES BY THE ROYALISTS. 425 1799, a battle was fought in one of the fau- bourgs of Naples, between the patriots, as they were called, and the Royalist troops. The latter were successful, and penetrated into the city, where they were joined by a licentious horde of the populace, who only waited to see which party was likely to get the upper hand. The pencil of the historian would be requisite to paint, in any thing like due colours, the hor- rors which, at the instant we speak of, deluged that most unfortunate metropolis : it does not resemble the annals of a society of men, but of tigers with human faces. Whoever had been a patriot, or was even suspected of having been so by vindictive or interested persons, was immediately attacked, and a general massacre ensued. Neither sex, nor age, neither virtue nor genius, nor mis- fortune, was spared. In this huge city, there remained but two classes, executioners and vic- tims. The rich were immolated at the thres- hold of their palaces ; the poor, upon the steps of the churches. IMany were literally torn in pieces by a gang of cannibals, who devoured eagerly their quivering flesh ; whilst others, having been dragged through the streets, were thrown, either dead or dying, into heaps of faggots lighted in the most public places of 426 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the city. llufFo was witness of these gliastly atrocities ; but he either wished not, or dared not, to terminate them. The cries of the wounded and the dying reached the ears of that portion of the patriot band wliich liad sought shelter in the different forts of the metropolis. They no longer doubted the fate which was reserved for themselves; and preferring death with arms in their hands, to falling under the blows of the assassins of their comrades, resolved to defend their strong-holds to the last extremity. They sustained, with rare vigour, the several attacks of the Koyal- ists ; but at length, overpowered by numbers, and reduced to a state of extreme weakness and suffering, they surrendered to their van- quishers upon honourable terms of capitula- tion. This capitulation was signed not only by lluffo and by INlicheroux, (one of the generals of the King,) but also by Commodore Ford, commander of the English fleet, by all the chiefs of the Allied troops, and by Colonel Mejean, commander of the French forces, in the name of his government, which had been styled " Protector of the Neapolitan Republic." lluffo, in fact, gave hostages for its execution. Policy and humanity combined to dictate the CONDUCT OF LORD NELSON. 427 terms of this solemn treaty, whilst honour and the laws of nations alike forbade its violation. But, who could think it ? the daughter of Ma- ria Theresa— a woman, and a Queen — less hu- mane than warriors, and more inflexible than priests, announced her disapproval of an act set on foot to spare the blood of her subjects ! CaroUne was at Palermo with her spouse. Scarcely was the capitulation known there, be- fore this lady, still enjoying the most absolute influence over the heart of her husband, swore that none of its conditions should be observed. She declared that she would infinitely rather endure the loss of all her dominions, than stoop to capitulate with rebels. Lady Hamilton, spouse of the English mi- nister, and avowed mistress of Admiral Nelson, had not quitted Caroline on her retiring into Sicily, where they lived together on terms of great intimacy. The Queen prevailed on this woman to seek forthwith her illustrious ad- mirer, and use her ascendancy over him to in- duce him to withhold his sanction from the capitulation, wherein she succeeded. This warrior^ whom his valour and good for- tune had conspired to render the hero, and, as it were, the champion of his country, disgraced himself and his nation in this instance, by 428 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. complying with the soUcitations of a woman , whom lie should have ceased to love as soon as she urged him to an act of dishonour. Not- withstanding her prayers and entreaties, he liesitated some time ; but the blandishments of his mistress ultimately prevailed over the inte- rests of humanity, the claims of justice, and the glory of an hitherto untarnished reputation. Nelson declared, that the treaty concluded, until it received his sanction, was utterly null ; and added that this sanction could not be granted ! — and yet, at the very time he made this declaration, he was in possession of the forts of Naples, by virtue alone of an article of this same treaty, the force of which he thus disavowed. Nor was the English admiral the only of- fender on this occasion against truth and jus- tice. The commander of the French garrison, who, by virtue of his strong position, had it in his power to require the fulfilment of the sti- pulated terms, and to whom the hostages had been delivered by lluffo, remained a careless spectator of all the menaced violence of the government. In good truth, he made a secret treaty, wherein he engaged to surrender up all the patriots who had taken refuge near him ; and, in ])roof of his honest intentions to CAROLINE OF NAPLES. 429 do SO, sent back the hostages alluded to. He did more than this : several of the unfortu- nate Neapolitan republicans had assumed the French uniform, and ranged themselves in the French ranks. The colonel, suspecting this, caused the troops to pass him in review, and made a strict scrutiny, by which he was ena- bled to discover these intruders, who were ac- cordingly delivered to the vengeance of the royalists ! Such were the parties principally concerned in the violations of this treaty, so great a blot upon the page of Neapolitan history. The great prime author thereof was undoubtedly Queen Caroline. This woman, of whom his- tory will find it difficult to trace a faithful portrait, exhibited in herself the most opposite qualities. Without being so beautiful as her sister, Marie Antoinette, she had much dignity of manner, and an exquisite arm, the motions of which were regulated with consummate grace : her regard was keen, but rather harsh ; her gait noble, although somewhat pompous ; she spoke much and readily, in several languages ; said witty things, and sometimes unreasonable ones. She was extremely fond of using her pen ; and the writer of these sketches has seen long memoirs of hers, written in easy French, and with scarcely 430 ANECDOTES OF FOUEIGN COURTS. any erasures, and which were understood to have been produced with uncommon facility and quickness. She was at once prudent and rash, mild and aiTOgant, a prude and a co- quette, a philosopher and a fanatic. She had tlie reputation, throughout her life, of enter- tainiiig principles the most dissolute, and of squariiig her actions to them ; yet her children were educated in the most rigorous and even puritanical manner. The writer has frequently seen her at the theatre divert the attention of her daughters from the stage, lest they should witness some scene of an amorous nature. Ge- nerous even to prodigality, she every week gave to deserving poor families the fruits of her economy ; but at the same time she would lavish benefits on persons altogether unworthy, upon her favourite minister and his spies, and upon the vilest public informers. She believed, without examination, all the reports which were made to her respecting the evil disposi- tion of the people, and no one could please her better than by proving to her that she was an object of general dislike. Her confidante, Lady Hamilton, was, whilst Miss Harte, quite odious to Caroline. Proba- bly, the extreme beauty of this young stranger had excited in her breast a feeling of jealousy ; LADY HAMILTON. 431 but, be that as it may, she more than once ex- pressed herself in a tone of great discontent, that a man, honoured with an important mis- sion, an EngUsh minister, should live publicly with a prostitute taken from the very streets of London. Sir William Hamilton, in fact, received her into his house, led her triumph- antly to the theatres and other places of public assembly, even to the groves and thickets of Caserta. But this minister espoused his favou- rite, and then presented her at Court. From that moment, consistently with her characte- ristic inconsistency^ Caroline made the bride her friend; whilst Lady Hamilton, almost trans- ported beyond sense at finding herself thus admitted to intimacy with a queen, was careful to study her ruling traits, and inflamed, instead of seeking to soften, her implacable passions.* * The life of Lady Hamilton is too generally known to require us to dwell long upon it. It seems altogether a ro- mance. Neither the date nor place of her birth is accurately made out. She is generally believed to have been the daughter of an humble domestic, and was herself, up to the age of sixteen, a servant in London. She became, shortly after, lady's maid in a family, where she had opportunities of reading a great many novels, and where she occasionally fre- quented the theatres, and acquired the habit of representing with extraordinary exactitude, by her attitudes and gestures, the various passions of the soul. Disgraced by her mistress, 432 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. This woman is generally held to have been the chief instigator of those cruelties which accompanied the first restoration of Ferdinand in 1799. Indeed, as she had been subjected to a great deal of hauteur and disdain, even after she had become the favourite of the Queen, from those who plumed themselves upon she fell into a state of abject poverty, and took to prome- nading the streets. In this situation, her beauty attracted the attention of a fellow, who associated with lier, and by whom she was offered as a model to artists. A celebrated painter (Romney) fell in love with her, and multiplied her individual likeness in his portraits, in every variety of form. Shortly after, she found means to attract the regards of Lord Grenville, nephew of Sir William Hamilton, by whom she had several children. In 1789, Lord Grenville, whose finances were then in a ruined state, sent his innamorata (most likely in order to get rid of her) to Naples, to solicit succour from his uncle, who was ambassador at that Court. Sir William Hamilton, infatuated with her charms, kept her near himself, completed her education, and at length, in the year 1791, made her his wife. JMiss Harte must have been, at that period, twenty-six years of age, and her husband sixty-one. The Queen of Naples, as Ave have already observed, soon as the beautiful mistress of Plamilton was made an " honest woman," received her at the assemblies of the Court, whereof she constituted the principal ornament. She was admitted into tlie Queen's private parties and 'pctlts soupers with Acton, and often slept in the chamber of Caroline, It was at Naples that Lady Hamilton lirst saw Nelson. THE MINISTER ACTON. 433 strictness of character, it is not matter of much surprise that a heart so depraved as hers, should seek, when gifted with power, to wreak its vengeance. To her is likewise commonly- attributed the atrocities perpetrated on Carac- ciolo, together with the torments of other vic- tims of high rank. The minister Acton, who, like Lady Hamil- ton, occupied a place which he merited not either by his education or worth in any way, used his influence, like her, in fanning in- stead ]'of allaying the exacerbation of feeling common to his royal mistress. Nothing grand or virtuous appears to have occupied this man's thoughts ; and he was both hated and despised by the nation he had so long governed. Acton was born at Besan^on, in the year 1757, and was son of an Irish physician who had established himself in that town. He was employed by the Grand-duke of Tuscany in an expedition against the Algerines ; and to this circumstance his subsequent good fortune may fairly be attributed. The Neapolitan govern- ment sought him out: the Queen patronised, and without doubt loved him ; and from that time his power knew no bounds. Having bestowed a glance upon the authors of this shameless violation of a solemn treaty, VOL. I. 2 F 434 ANECDOTES OF lOllEIGN COUllTS. we now proceed to say a word or two respect- ing their most distinguished victims. These were ahnost all eminent either for talents or virtue ; they perished by the hands of the exe- cutioner, upon a lofty gallows elevated near the sea-shore. The English vessels were within sight; and from on board one of them the cruel Lady Hamilton contemplated with com- placency the massacre of a whole crowd of me- ritorious men, most of whom she had known ; for many of whom she had professed friend- ship ; and amongst whom there were several who had celebrated her charms in verse, and had perhaps at the same time complimented her for sweetness of disposition and humanity. Poets are allowed much licence, but would be- come intolerable on departing so widely from truth and reality. Manthone. — This man had been minister of War under the republican government. When the Judge Speziale, interrogating him, asked how he had been engaged in the time of the Republic, he answered in the following brief but significant manner — " I have capitulated." To no other question would he vouchsafe the slightest reply. They advised him to make preparations for his defence. " If the capitu- lation," said this lieroic man, " defends me not. VICTIMS OF THE TREATY. 435 I should blush to have recourse to any other means." CmiLLO. — They inquired of this patriot what his profession had been ? "A physician," was the reply. " But during the Republic ?" " A representative of the people." And, before me, what art thou ?" pursued the Speziale, with a leer of triumphant malice. " Before thee V rejoined Cirillo — " a hero !" Cirillo was well known throughout Europe, by his numerous works, as a medical man of high reputation. He was in the enjoyment of a considerable fortune, which he employed no- bly for the advancement of science. His su- perb botanical garden included plants both of the rarest and most useful kinds. More than once had he supplied the resources of his art to Lady Hamilton, and even to Nelson himself; and yet he perished. It is true, conditions were proposed to him, but such as appeared to him to be dishonourable. He preferred death. Pasquale Baffi was perhaps one of the ablest scholars in Europe. He has published a translation, with the original text, from the Greek IMSS. of Philodemus, found amongst the ashes of Herculaneum. When this man was condemned by the 2f 2 436 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Junta, a friend offered him opium. He refused it ; but soon proved that his refusal did not proceed from want of courage : like Socrates, he thought that every man upon the earth re- sembles a soldier upon his post, and that to abandon it wilfully could not but be culpable. Francisco Caracciolo. — The best marine officer in the service of Naples. To the aggran- disement and wise regulation of the Neapolitan navy his entire soul was directed. Ferdinand esteemed and loved him. AVhen the proper officers came to read to Caracciolo the sentence of death, he was seated upon the deck of a ship, explaining to several sailors, who surrounded him, the peculiarities in the construction of an English vessel which lay alongside them. Having received the fatal intelligence, he continued his explanatory dis- course without betraying any symptoms of dis- composure. They hung him at the yard-arm, and his body was thrown into the sea. Next day the corpse floated close to the flag-ship of Lord Nelson, where it was perceived by the King, who recognised, doubtless with feelings of extreme horror, the remains of his old friend. Francisco Confortt. — The most skilful jurisconsult in the kingdom. He was the Gian- VICTIMS OF THE TREATY. 437 none, the Sarpi of our age ; had rendered the most important services to the Court of Naples, by combating, in his learned works, against the pretensions of the Court of Home, and in thus regaining for the royal treasury upwards of fifty millions of ducats. Francisco Mario Pagano. — This unfor- tunate man made, for the use of the republic which had been established in his native coun- try, a project of a constitution, which has been frequently printed, and merits well to have been, as it was, the object of several critical dissertations. Mario Pagano was, a few years only before his death, universally considered one of the most enlightened legislators Naples had ever produced; he cultivated besides both poetry and tlie dramatic art. Amongst the theatrical pieces composed by him, a tragedy is particu- larly distinguished, entitled Corrad'mo^ full of situations the most interesting for a Neapolitan reader or spectator. The plot is taken from a portion of the national history. But his prepossession was always towards politics, and he predicted at an early period, with remarkable correctness, the numerous evils that followed in the train of the French Revolution. 438 ANECDOTES OF EOllEIGN COURTS. The second edition of his Sag'gi Politici (Po- litical Essays) appeared during this unhappy period, and made a great sensation in a city where people read but little, and where even meditation is regarded as a fatigue. Ignazio Ciaja. — A young litterateur and poet, whose compositions were replete with sweetness, with grace and philosophy. His hu- manity was perhaps the cause of his fall, and that of his forlorn companion. They might, before they were yet completely blockaded in the fort wherein they sought refuge, have sallied forth, sword in hand, and fled into the Roman States : this was, in fact, the opinion and wish of the majority. Ciaja opposed him- self to the execution of this project, resolved, as he said, not to leave without defenders a crowd of women and children who had placed themselves under their protection to escape the fury of the populace. ViNCENzo Russo. — This man exercised, by his eloquence, an almost irresistible influence over the multitude. Arrived at the place of execution, he spoke for a considerable length of time to the people, and produced, as usual, a vivid effect upon their spirits. " Near five months after his death," says M. S. Cuoco,* " I * Saggio sulla Eivoluzione di Napoli; p. 298. VICTIMS OF THE TREATY. 439 have heard officers who assisted at the mourn- ful occasion, repeat word for word, with deep emotion, his last address." Eleanora Fonseca Pimentel. — In her youth, this woman obtained and merited, by her literary talent, the encomiums of Metas- tasio. At the epoch of the Revolution, she edited the " Moniteur Napolitain," a journal throughout which breathed the most ardent love of her country. This was the cause of her death. Before going to execution, she re- quested and drank a dish of coffee, and then walked to the scaffold not only with courage, but with apparent indifference. Several other females besides herself perished, for pardon was accorded neither to sex nor age, and amongst others the unhappy Santa-Felice. This truly respectable woman had never mixed herself up with political affairs ; but, happening to obtain intelligence of the conspiracy hatched against the Republic by Bacher, she regarded it as her duty to unfold the same to the Go- vernment. The conspirators had plotted to deliver Naples up to pillage, and conflagration, and massacre ; and Santa-Felice could not be- lieve that it would be right to conceal this in- famous intention, and guard a secret so fraught with horror. In this disclosure lay the whole 440 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. extent of her crime against the Royal Go- vernment. We cannot follow up this painful but inte- resting catalogue, which would itself fill a vo- lume. In the provinces, thanks to the zeal of the emissaries of the Junta, who traversed them under the name of visitors, the extermination of the patriots was pursued with corresponding ferocity. Upwards of 4000 victims have been held to have perished, selected always from amongst the most noble, the wisest, and most distinguished of the nation. The cries of the unfortunate sufferers still filled the air, when the Court, under the aus- pices of the infamous Lady Hamilton, re-en- tered Naples in triumphal array. Never was there seen a succession of more brilliant fetes. The Rev. Mr. Eustace, who was at Naples at this epoch, has devoted several pages of his work to the description of the illuminations, balls, and spectacles, which took place upon this solemn occasion. The English were co- vered with favours and distinctions. The King, it is true, owed to them his crown, in the same way as Naples owed to Lord Nel- son the rupture of the capitulation, and to the Queen the massacres commanded by the Junta. In fact, it was at Palermo the list was di'awn VICTIMS OF THE TREATY. 441 out of those persons who were predestined to condemnation, whatever might be their line of defence. But not only did the cries of these unhappy victims fill the air — they ascended to the hea- vens ; and a few years only passed before the merciless Royal Family were again hurled from their throne, driven into exile, and their heritance placed in the hands of a stranger: and so penetrated were their subjects with horror and detestation at the inhumanity and injustice which had marked their previous re- turn, that they accepted with joy the domina- tion of new masters. 443 ANF.CDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. CHAPTER XXV. Nomination of Joseph Bonaparte to the throne of Naples. — Description of this Prince. — His favourite ministers, Sali- cetti and Rcederer. — Arrival of Joseph's Family. — Surprise of the Neapolitans at his recall. — Nomination of Joachim Murat. — Thoughts on certain portions of the policy of Napoleon. — Murat's peculiar character and talents. — He entertains all his poor relations at a banquet, upon his being invested with the title of Prince of the French Em- pire. — General characteristics and mistakes of Bonaparte's Kings. — Joachim's love of personal display. — Predomi- nancel of the military during his reign. — Caroline Murat. — Opinion entertained of her by Talleyrand. — Murat's de- termination to hold himself independent of Napoleon. — Bad faith evinced towards him by the French Emperor. — Retort of Joachim. — Mock invasion of Sicily by Murat. — Unfortunate piece of neglect, compromising the safety of the Neapolitan army. — Sir Hudson Lowe. — The Prince of Canisa — Death of Murat. — Latter days of Caroline Murat, at Naples. — Her conciliating and admirable behaviour. — Temporary incredulity of the Neapolitans as to Joachim's fate. — Explanatory sketch of the sect of the Carbonari. After Napoleon had declared, in conse- quence of the double-dealing shown towards him SALICETTI. 44S by the Neapolitan Court, that he was again in a state of war with that country, he added, in the usual emphatic style which characterised the announcement of his decisions, that " the dynasty of the Bourbons, in Naples, had ceased to reign." A French army rapidly traversed Italy, and appeared before the gates of the capital ; and the weak-minded Court again de- parted, on the news of its approach. Joseph Bonaparte, who was destined, in the first place, by his then all-potent brother, to succeed the self-exiled royal family, was not highly qualified to conduct any great measure. During the struggle which it was necessary to make in Calabria, for the purpose of esta- blishing his power, Joseph remained at Naples, occupied certainly, in some degree, in the or- ganization of his new kingdom, but still more intently in his amours and other pleasures. He left, for the most part, to his ministers the burden of public affairs. Two men, who had followed him to Naples, Salicetti and Rcederer, had the greatest influence over his mind. Salicetti, a Corsican like his master, and a man at once subtle and ambitious, was charged with the administration of the police. In or- der to render himself necessary to the sove- reign forms of his colleague, he appeai'ed to 444 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. exercise the greatest zeal in laying snares for tlic discovery of plots and plotters against the new order of things. The greatest part of these plots were merely imaginary, or, if ex- isting at all, secretly fomented by his own agents. Having originated them, he punished witli severity the parties concerned, or alleged to be concerned ; and the short reign of Joseph was marked by a great number of executions. It was not to be imagined that a man could thus trifle with the feelings and lives of his fellow-creatures, without arousing a sentiment of vengeance. Although Salicetti was ready enough in discovering conspiracies which had no existence, his art availed him not to detect one which was really formed, and which proved all but fatal to. himself and his family. In the middle of the night a kind of mine was sprung, which had been constructed underneath his palace, part of which was thereby blown into the air. Salicetti was not killed ; but he re- ceived, as did likewise his two daughters, wounds which put their lives in danger. The most influential of Joseph's ministers, after Salicetti, was Roederer. This man, who liad acquired some reputation in his native country by his talents in literature and in matters relative to finance, and who possess- CHARACTER OF RQJDERER. 445 ed at the same time wit, taste, and firmness, was certainly by far the most distinguished person who followed Joseph Bonaparte to Naples, and the one who did most, or rather who did any thing at all, for the benefit of the realm. He proposed salutary reforms, and plans of organization well combined, but suffi- cient time was not allowed him to put them fully into execution. Whatever other talent, however, this minis- ter possessed, he certainly had not the art to render himself beloved. He was rouefh in manner, wanted urbanity, and was harsh in his measures towards men whom it was requi- site to manage^ and to attach as much as pos- sible to a new government. Instead of ex- citing their love, therefore, he drew upon him- self their aversion — an aversion reflected from himself upon his master. The arrival of Joseph's family at the capital, together with the perspective operations of his government, all combined to make it believed that the new King was destined by his brother to possess definitively the throne to which he had been nominated. It was not, therefore, without surprise, that the inhabitants of Naples learned, a short time after, that Napoleon had summoned his brother to Bayonne, and pur- 446 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. posed to encircle his brow with a diadem still more brilliant. Joseph, in announcing his new destination, made it known, at the same time, that his successor was to be Joachim IVlurat, his brother-in-law. He did not quit Naples without having be- stowed on it a constitution which might serve as a model for future sovereigns. But there is small certainty of a man's designs and provi- sions being put in execution, when he himself is no longer on the spot personally to overlook and direct them. The talents, policy, and kindness of his bro- ther, had called Joseph Bonaparte to play a splendid part upon the theatre of the world ; but he did not show himself worthy of the favours lavished on him by fortune. He had received at Pisa a good education, had ac- quired much useful knowledge, and possessed an interesting figure. During his embassy at Rome, and in the negotiations at Luneville, he had appeared to considerable advantage. But, withdraAVTi from his proper sphere, and mounted to a rank too elevated for his powers, he was incapable of commanding either the good-will or respect of the people submitted to his sway. Of all the brothers of Bonaparte, this (the CHARACTER OF JOSEPH BONAPARTE. 447 eldest, though by a single year) was the one on whom, wdth a sort of blind confidence, he rested the hopes of forwarding his own am- bitious views. Joseph was however nothing more than an instrument in the hands of Na- poleon. He had passed successively through several honourable employments, and had been entrusted with sundry important diplomatic missions before he was made a king. In 1797 it was, that Joseph filled the situation of Am- bassador at Rome, where he conducted him- self, as has been said above, with a good deal of spirit and judgment. The foUow^ing year he was a member of the Council of Five Hundred ; subsequently Counsellor of State; and then Minister Plenipotentiary to the Government of North America. In 1802, he concluded the treaty of Amiens; which, had it been observed, would have wrought much benefit to France, and spared a good deal of blood and treasure to various other parts of Europe. AVhen the Im- perial Government was estabhshed in France, Joseph was nominated Prince and Grand Elec- tor ; two or three years after, he was installed as Sovereign of Naples ; and, after a little farther lapse of time, seated upon the uneasy throne of Spain. Of a character calm and reflective, he passed 448 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. for being the sage, the pliilosopher of his fa- mily ; yet this reflective turn was a good deal dashed, on his accession to the Neapohtan crown, by a course of dissolute pleasure. His administration in that country was, however, of too short duration, to enable one to form any decisive ideas respecting it. It seems to me to have been an impolitic step in Napoleon to surround himself with, and attempt to consolidate his power by a number of new kings. Instead of interfering openly to overturn, in foreign states, their ancient poli- tical institutions, he should have left them to form new ones for themselves. The influence of his great empire must have spread widely and deeply ; and he might then have had re- quisitions for his brothers, brothers-in-law, and generals, instead oi forcing them, as it were, upon his neighbours. To impose new kings in place of those who had been chased by the growth of popular opinions from their thrones, and to establish a new aristocracy of his own, was calculated, as the event proved, to alienate both popular affection and confidence. By a proclamation dated at Bayonne, Joseph, as we have seen, announced to the Neapolitans his fresh destination and the new sovereign wliom his brother had imposed upon them. CHARACTER OF MURAT. 449 The inhabitants of this king-worn metro- polis, habituated, for some eight centuries past, to a constant change of masters, to see their ancient monarchs give place to others, then return, and perhaps again quit, to return again ; grown indifferent to this species of novelty, and even perhaps at length admiring it, receiv- ed King Joachim with the liveliest transports. This sovereign could not boast of illustrious ancestors : born in the very lowest rank of so- ciety, he owed his fortune altogether to the marriage which he concluded with the sister of Napoleon. But, with a handsome person, in the very flower of his age, brave even to rash- ness, lively in manners, and given to enjoy- ment, he needed not the additional gift of pro- found judgment to render him acceptable to the gayest and most ardent nation of Italy. He was, in truth, as active as Joseph had been indolent ; and loving power through natural pride, gave himself up to pleasure through na- tural temperament. He had a complete pas- sion for glory ; and perceived that it was ne- cessary to signalize, by some striking act of valour and audacity, his accession to a throne, in order that he might inspire the love of the people, the dread of malcontents, and the re- spect of enemies. VOL. I. 2 G 450 ANECDOTES OF FOTIEIGN COURTS. It must be confessed, tliat Bonaparte was never seconded by any one, in his gigantic pro- jects, so blindly and so daringly, as by Murat. It was he who had the shameful honour of causing Charles IV. of Spain to abdicate, and of drawing him, with his family, to Bayonne, where he fell into the lure which Napoleon had spread. Thus did Joachim pave the way along which Joseph Bonaparte marched to take possession of the throne of Spain ; and was himself rewarded by the crown of Naples. If Joachim was capable, however, of executing grand projects, he had not a similar power in conceiving them ; he was a hand, not a head ; an excellent soldier, but not a man of genius. Murat had a good deal of vanity ; neverthe- less he could sometimes play the modest man, of which we will furnish the reader with an example. Having been admitted as a member of the Imperial family, witli the title and dig- nity of prince, he repaired into the department wherein he was born, and where his connex- ions still resided. Having gathered them to- gether, rich and poor, he treated them with an excellent dinner. He detailed his successes in life, and the splcndoiu' of his present situation. Many of his auditors were humble enough in rank, and miserable enough in appearance ; but CHARACTER OF MURAT. 451 he shunned no one. The new prince had indeed already acquired the lordly quality of blush- ing at nothing. Every one, even the most dis- tant of his kinsmen, found in his benefactions a new sort of existence. We leave it to those versed in casuistry to decide whether his actions exhibited most clearly the arrogance of ostenta- tion, or the frankness of an open-hearted sol- dier. If the abstract principle of the right of con- quest be admitted, the Emperor of the French had an undoubted claim to dispose of the throne of Naples. Nevertheless, one cannot help feel- ing astonishment at the decree by which Bona- parte put his " dear and well-beloved cousin, the Prince Joachim Napoleon," in possession of the " crown of Naples and Sicily," and provided for a long succession thereto. Now, that this extraordinary family has fallen into its original obscurity, their audacity is really matter of the greatest surprise. How strange to see them parody, in their acts, the forms and styles of ancient diplomacy; compose brilliant courts; follow, even in the minutest details, the pre- scriptions of Gothic etiquette ! If these new prince^ had been possessed of true merit ; if they had been worthy of the elevated rank which they 2 G 2 452 ANECDOTES OV EOUEIGX COUJII S. were called to occupy ; they would have fol- lowed a wholly different road. They would have accustomed the nations to their dominion by degrees, and adopted a style of manner sim- ple and frank. It was not for them to affect the absurd and humiliating etiquette in use in the courts of other khigs, and which, at this time of day, no longer imposes even on the most uninformed. They should have shunned these outworn things; and replaced fantastical denominations, and the formula of ancient ser- vitude, by a code of manly politeness and ra- tional distinction. Instead of being grotesque copyists of former kings, (and they could be no other than grotesque,) they should have as- pired to become models for future ones. But they seem to have had no clear judgment either of their peculiar situation, or of the requisitions of their age. Thus, before arriving at Naples, Murat caused himself to be preceded by a proclama- tion, wherein, after having passed, in the true kingly strain, several high-flown compliments to " the glorious nation over which he was called to preside," he announced tliat in the course of a few weeks he should be " in the midst of his people, with his august spouse, PROCI AMATION OF MUBAT. 453 the Prince Royal, Achllle Napoleoji, and his little family, whom he should with pleasure con- fide to their love and fidelity." He promised faithfully to observe the con- stitution proclaimed by his " august predeces- sor" (Joseph) ; but this is precisely what he for- got to do during the six years of his reign. It was only two or three days previous to his com- plete overthrow that he seemed to recollect, that if a constitution was generally a benefit to the people, it might upon occasion be the safeguard of a king. He therefore published one, which is a new monument both of his valiity and of the tyrannical cunning in which his " august brother-in-law" had doubtless given him les- sons. The prerogatives of the kingly power are there detailed at full length : there is like- wise a section devoted to the " grand officers of the crown," which list includes the grand almoner, the grand chamberlain, the grand equerry, the grand marshal, the grand hunts- man, and the grand master of the ceremonies. What ! could not the son of the innkeeper of Cahors contrive to reign in Naples without such an idle train as this ? A king of the Bonaparte school was almost necessarily a lover of pageantry and form. Mu- rat, always dressed in the showy style of a 454 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. tlieatrical monarch, delighted to exhibit him- self as a spectacle in all the grand solemni- ties that went forward. His court was spark- ling and voluptuous ; but this pomp and lux- ury cost the nation dear. It was necessary to augment the taxes in order to provide for these expensive follies, and the people naturally mur- mured ; this was the sure means to make them cast back their eyes to their former rulers, whom they might, in the fondness of desire, imagine were at length purified through misfortunes from their failings. Nevertheless, some of the acts of Joachim were doubtless worthy of eulogium. He had too strong a predilection for the soldiery;* but, * The disorders committed by the soldiers of Murat were excessive. In the provinces the military commanders were true despots ; tlieir will, even their caprice, was law : the officers of the legions recently organized, presuming upon their new privileges., were daily guilty of the most atrocious acts of violence and insolence toward their fellow-citizens : it might be said that their excesses made the people look back M'ith regret even to those epochs, generally considered so disastrous, when the system of feudal domination existed. In the very capital, under the eyes of IMurat, his body- guard gave themselves up to all manner of license, and they resembled an undisciplined corps of janissaries rather than any other. The civil power was not only overruled, but defied. The writer one day saw several officers of police assailed at their post, bound, and dragged rudely through MADAME muhat. 455 ill other branches of the administration, effect- ed very beneficial alterations. He saw that to throw tclat upon his government, he should appear, at least, to be the protector of men of letters, and in reality did something for their encouragement. During several years thou- sands of hands were employed in the excava- tions of Pom])eii. The Queen, Caroline Murat, interested herself particularly in the discoveries which were made in that ancient town. She loved those monuments of art, decorated her palace therewith, and generously remunerated those who brought them. The character of Caroline Murat, like that of her rival and namesake, the wife of Ferdinand, does not seem to be very well understood. She has been generally thought ambitious : yet, even if so, her ambition was of a more rea- sonable complexion than that of her ill-starred husband. Thus, when he left Naples to head his army, after the return of Napoleon from the most populous streets, even under the windows of the royal palace, for no other reason than because they had found themselves compelled to arrest one of the comrades of these turbulent officers;, who had disturbed, by his insolence, the public tranquillity at a solemn fete ! Constantly was the peace of the city violated by contests between the guardsmen and other troops belonging to the garrison, and blood was shed unhesitatingly. 456 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. Elba, and when his views were undoubtedly advanced to the regaining of the independence of all Italy, and the nomination of himself as its sovereign, she professed herself altogether averse to the measure, saying repeatedly, to a man who esteemed and wished her well, — " Is it not enough for a peasant of Cahors to oc- cupy the finest throne in Italy ? — No ! he would have the entire peninsula." " Madame Murat had the head of Cromwell upon the body of a well-shaped woman. Born with much grandeur of character, strong mind, and sublime ideas ; possessing a subtle and de- licate wit, together with amiability and grace, seductive beyond expression ; she was deficient in nothing but in the art of concealing her desire to rule ; and when she failed in attain- ing her end, it was because she sought to reach it too quickly." Such was the sketch drawn of this interest- ing ^^'oman by a masterly pencil, that of tiie Prince of Eenevento, (Talleyrand,) whose ge- neral shrew^dness, and opportunities of inter- course with tlie person he is characterising, renders his testimony extremely valuable. It is, however, pretty generally thought, that Caroline was often the soiu'ce of dissen- sions between IMurat and her brother, in whose CONDUCT OF NAPOLEON. 457 eagerness for power, she, beyond question, largely shared. She would have had her hus- band play the part performed by Bacciocchi, in Tuscany. Napoleon, who always accorded to his brother-in-law the quality of great courage, had nevertheless judged indiscreetly of him in other respects ; he thought to have swayed him as easily as he did his brother Louis in Holland. He had imagined, that the Sarig- liano would become, like tlie Elbe, nothing else than one of the arteries of the grand em- pire ! But both brother and sister were mis- taken in their man : Murat, whilst he v/as King, appeared resolute to bear no interference with the internal regulations of his kingdom. If Napoleon had uniformly used good faith in his conduct to Murat ; if, in 1813, instead of ordering him to put all the Neapolitan army under the command of Eugene Beauharnois, he had placed Joachim at the head of the entire French army in Italy, Murat (as all the French officers then in tlie service of Naples attest) would have sacrificed even his crown to sus- tain the interests of France. Joachim would, in that case, have conducted liis whole force into Upper Italy ; and what might not have been effected by a consolidation of troops so considerable ! The three armies, French, Ita- 458 ANECDOTES OF EOUEIGN COURTS. lian, and Neapolitan, united, miglit have in- spired the greatest apprehensions for the safety of the capital of Austria, and the affairs of Europe have once more undergone a change ; but to require that his brother-in-law should commit the army he had himself organised to an inferior Prince, and remain almost wholly undefended at Naples, exposed to the constant attacks of the Anglo-Sicilians, was so singular a piece of injustice and folly, as to strengthen the universal idea, that towards the last years of his reign, Bonaparte's giddy elevation had operated to divest him not only of fair dealing, but of common sense. In fact, his jealousy of Joachim, whom he had himself invested with power, was displayed in sundry remarkable ways. Having consum- mated his marriage with a daughter of Austria, and every thing appearing to proceed accord- ing; to his most sanouine wishes, and far be- yond even his most ambitious expectation, he formed a design of reconciling to him one of his oldest and most implacable enemies, and by that means at once aggrandizing his power, and removing the subject-king, wlio had given indications of a refractory disposition. With this view, he actually opened a correspondence with Caroline, wife of Ferdinand. CONDUCT OF NAPOLEON TO MUEAT. 459 Murat no sooner became acquainted with this extraordinary circumstance, (which at first he could scarcely credit,) than he perceived how dangerous the prosecution of such a corre- spondence would be to his own power. He saw before him the prospect of being bereft of his crown, even by the same hand that had placed it on his head ; and resolved to take, without delay, such measures as might appear best calculated to preserve him from such a reverse of fortune. From this moment, all the Frenchmen who were residing in his territory became objects of suspicion to the ephemeral King of Naples. He saw in each an agent destined by his bro- ther-in-law to contribute to his political extinc- tion. Under these impressions, he issued the famous decree, by virtue whereof it was or- dained, that all the French, resident at Naples, should naturalise themselves in the country, on pain of exclusion from such offices as they miffht be filling. Some of these individuals tarried not until this order was signified to them ; they desisted from their employments, and returned to France. Others refused to comply with the provision, and were expelled. In vain did the Queen, as well as the minister of war, oppose themselves 460 AXKCDOTES OF FOllEIGX COURTS. to this measure. Joachim, irritated, dismissed the latter, and intimated his will that he should quit the kingdom. Discussions, and those of a very warm character, ensued, as may be sup- posed, between Joachim, his wife, and Napo- leon himself, which would doubtless have re- sulted most unfortunately for Murat, had not a matter of far greater importance (the invasion of Russia) called off the attention of the Em- peror, and indeed of all parties, from the sub- ject. Another specimen of the French Emperor's growing jealousy of his brother-in-law, was his forbidding him to put his threats into execu- tion of invading Sicily, v/hich, at the time that his power was strongest, he seems inclined to have done. Napoleon willed not that one of his own generals should undertake in his absence so important an enterprise. He had des])atched, in the situation of com- mander of the French troops employed in the kingdom of Naples, Tiieut.-General Grenier, with secret instructions that the King of Na- ples should not be permitted to compromise, by his temerity, the French forces committed to him. There was, doubtless, a still more se- cret motive for these instructions, whereto we have given the reader a clew. We will add a napoleon's jealousy of muhat. 461 few details of the debarkment which really did take place upon the Sicilian shores, and which was at the time so abundantly talked of. The end proposed by the French Emperor, in suffering Sicily to be menaced, had been fulfilled, since the English were compelled to abandon their views upon the Isle of Corfu. The breaking up of the camp of Piale, and the departure of Joachim for Naples, were there- fore about to ensue. But, in order to restore the King to his good humour, which had suf- fered much in consequence of his being thwart- ed in his ulterior designs, it was concerted be- tween Grenier and himself, that, previous to sending the army into its cantonments, they should make, in the night, the feint of a de- scent on the Sicilian shore, whereby observa- tions may be made of the gTeatest possible ser- vice in guiding the King's operations at some future period, when the drama they were now rehearsing should be really acted — that is to say, when Bonaparte should give his permis- sion. In order clearly to understand the exe- cution of the project concerted between Murat and Grenier, it is necessary to take a hasty glance at the relative disposition of the troops collected in the Straits of Messina. The French divisions, comprising the elite of 462 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. the troops of that nation, together with the Neapolitan Royal Guard, occupied the heights stretching from the battery designated Torre- cavallo, to the village of Catone. The Neapo- litan division, under the orders of General Ca- vagniac, occupied Reggio and its neighbour- hood, as far as the battery of Pentimela, and, in consequence of this position, was at a distance of eight or nine miles from the French troops. The generals of both corjDs d'armee received orders that, upon such a day, and on such an hour of the evening, all the troops should be sent on board the vessels in attendance, which were to be ready to set sail at a given sign from the royal camp at Piale. But the division of Cavagniac, situated, as has been already mentioned, at a distance from the centre of the operations, and which, it was thought, must be intended to act elsewhere by way of a diversion, received particular instruc- tions. The general himself was directed to embark his corps towards ten o'clock, p. M. and to make for the opposite shore, between Sca^- letta and IMessina ; above all things, to be at- tentive to the signals which should be made at Piale ; and that if he should perceive the fire of two or three rockets, he should arrest his progress, and return to Pentimela, where MURAT'S expedition against SICILY. 463 he had embarked ; because this signal would import that the main army had not put to sea. Before two o'clock, a. m. the whole of the troops under Murat's command were embarked — the King and all his personal staff on board the superb royal gondola. All the Neapoli- tan world believed that the expedition was at length determined on, so well was the secret kept. The soldiers prepared their arms, and thought of nothing but conflict ; the chiefs of the main body alone were aware that all these manifestations announced a departure, instead of an expedition. But, by some incomprehensible fatality,* the signals concerted to announce to General Cavagniac the necessity for returning to Penti- mela were never made. The unfortunate Nea- politan division, therefore, proceeded on its way, and disembarked, unsupported, upon the Sicilian shore. What ensued, it is not our purpose to recount. The famous Sir Hudson Lowe, the guardian of Napoleon in the Isle of St. Helena, com- • It is said, indeed, that the general officer entrusted with discharging the rockets was asleep, and awoke not until broad day, when the time for making the signal was altogether gone by. 464 ANECDOTES OF FOEEIGN COURTS. manded Capri, when Murat conceived and exe- cuted the project of reducing it. He was then Colonel of the royal Corsican regiment, corn- loosed of deserters and emigrants from that island. Sir Hudson had himself created and organised this regiment, which formed, together with the royal Maltese regiment, the garrison of Capri. Tiie too-celebrated Prince of Carosa occupied, at the same time, the Isle of Ponza. It was in these two islands that various plots are said to have been got up against the power of Murat, and the French influence in Italy altogether ; and it w^as even reported, that the destruction of the house of Salicetti (Joachim's minister of police) was likewise projected here. The fate of Joachim Murat, the first and last king of his race, is well known, through several interesting accounts. He died denying the authority of the commission whereby he was condemned, and refusing to appear before it. Indeed, setting aside his claims (whatever they may amount to) as a sovereign, his rank, as a Marshal of France, should have been suffi- cient to preserve him from the dictation of a set of very inferior officers. Thus, however, perished a man, Avliom nothing but a revolution without ])arallel in tlie history of the world, CONDUCT OF CAROLINE ISIURAT. 465 could have elevated to the rank he once held. His character we have already attempted to sketch, as well as that of his Queen. The circumstances of the latter days passed by Caroline Murat at Naples, have a melan- choly interest. Six days before the embark- ation, which was to convey her away for ever from that country wherein she had acted, during so many years, a splendid part, she received, in the morning, the officers of the fleet, and in the evening took an airing in public. She was seated in a calash drawn by six white horses ; her countenance was unruffled ; her salutations, both to the right and left, numerous and grace- ful. She was followed by the chevaliers of the national guard, whose hussar uniforms, blue and silver, made a very striking show. Even in losing her power, the Queen rendered herself conspicuous by the affability and easy gracious- ness of her manners and address. Her reso- lution was evident, in remaining, at such a period, without any troops of the line, in a city wherein it is so easy to excite a bloody revolution. Naples, in fact, owes to her pre- sence the calm which then spread itself through- out that vast metropolis. She gave a new im- pulse to the national guard, which only a few days previously had passed in review before VOL. I. 2 H 466 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. her. She was then on horseback, and the colours of her dress were uniform with those worn by her body-guard. She found some kind word to address to each officer, excited universal acclamations, and interested every heart possessing the least spark of feeling, in the fate of a woman so accomplished and so unfortunate. When, having despatched her children to Gaeta, she renounced all farther claim to the regency of the kingdom, she was sent on board the Tremendous, from which vessel she could hear the cannon which celebrated the entry into the capital of that family which came to displace and supersede her own ; she could hear the shouts of that fickle populace which had so often applauded herself. On the evening of that, to her, sorrowful day, she could see Na- ples illuminated, and not Naples alone, but all the other towns on the coast. In that gay me- tropolis she was no longer anything, and the day of her departure was one of tumultuous rejoicing. How many illusions must be renoun- ced in descending from a throne ! The diadem casts a shade before the eyes of its w^earer, which, in falling, discloses bitter truths ! The final enterprise, the judgment and ex- ecution of Murat, were candidly and imme- SECT OF THE CARBONARI. 467 diately communicated by the government to the nation whose destinies he had co recently swayed. When the relation had been made public throughout that realm, the factions (if any still existed) were struck with astonish- ment; and, in spite of the evident authenti- city of a narrative thus promulgated, Joachim's death, for some period of time, passed for fabu- lous in a large portion of the kingdom. We will conclude this division of our sub- ject, by giving some account of the sect of the Carbonari, which Murat at first persecuted in the most violent manner; but which, during the latter period of his reign, he found it eligi- ble to conciliate, becoming, in fact, their chief- tain and lawgiver, and endeavouring to press into their ranks all his officers, both civil and military. This curious caste, which was originated nearly twenty years ago in the kingdom of Naples, and has since spread not only through the other parts of Italy, but into the adjacent countries, is a species of masonic society ; but it is likewise a sect, inasmuch as evangelical doctrines serve amongst its members as a poi?it d'appui for the introduction of political opi- nions and projects. It is from hence its great influence is doubtless derived. Jesus Christ is 468 ANECDOTES OF FOREIGN COURTS. considered by them as a type, which they view in a way calculated to inspire a particular emo- tion ; namely, as having been the victim of the cruellest tyranny. Hence it comes, also, that every class of people, the lazzaroni of Naples, the inhabitants of the country, and even the friars and other priests, constantly joined the Carbonari, and professed themselves to receive the greatest edification at their meetings. To these meetings they gave the name of Vendite^ a place of merchandise, or market. It is the trade in coal which furnishes them with many symbolical terms, as, in the same manner, the art of building gives to Freemasons the ex- pressions and formulae used and practised in their lodges. The principal object for which the Carbonari originally associated themselves, pui'ported to be, freeing the country from the wolves where- Avith it was infested ; by which term they ty- pified all tyrants, or enemies to public liberty. They have sundry technical words and sym- bols amongst which the cross predominates. When they take the hand of another person, they trace upon the palm with their thumb this holy figure. In the assemblies of this singular body, every thing tends to democracy. They profess THE CARBONARI. 469 to adopt, in all their primitive purity, the maxims of the evangelists. The devotees of the sect recount, with infinite satisfaction, the miraculous changes which have been ope- rated by it. In the metropolis, the fiercest lazzaroni, in the mountains of Calabria and Abruzzi, the most desperate bandits are stated to have been won over, by initiation into the sect, to acts the most elevated, and humanity the most tender. It is beyond doubt, that the first purpose for which this society was instituted, was to dis- cover and denounce to the French (then mas- ters of the country) the enemies of the Repub- lic, dangerous because unavowed. It quickly, however, lost this particular character, and took, as we have seen, a more expansive one. END OF VOLUME I. LONDON : PRINTED BY S. AND R. BENTLEY, DORSET-STREET. ^^,, THE LIBRARY -{^ T UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Cy k Santa Barbara STACK COLLECTION THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. 10m-10,'63(E1188s4)476D UC SOUTHERN '^JV 000 283 590 8