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 MI^^A i^CKE^
 
 THE 
 
 CONFESSIONS 
 
 OF THE CELEBRATED 
 
 COUNTESS OF LICHTENAU, 
 
 Late Mrs. RIETZ 
 
 7 
 
 Will* 
 
 NOW CONFINED IN THE FORTRESS OF GLOGLAU AS A 
 STATE-PRISONER. 
 
 DRAWN FROM ORIGINAL PAPERS, 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 Engraved Portrait of the Countefs, 
 
 AFTER AN 
 
 Original PAINTING in the Poffeffion of the 
 Countess MATUSKA. 
 
 JLonDon : 
 
 PRINTED BY J. W. MYERS, 
 FOR VV. WEST, NO. 27, PATERNOSTER. ROW, 
 
 1799-
 
 TO 
 
 Ls Ah 
 
 TO 
 
 Mr. L S H Y, at Bath. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 X AVAIL myfelf of the departure of an Eng- 
 lish gentleman, who intends to fet out for your 
 city in a few days, to tranfrnit you the tranflation ) 
 of a pamphlet which has lately appeared in Ger- 
 man, and which is read with great avidity; If the 
 perufal of it mould afford you any amufement, it 
 will amply repay the few moments that I devoted 
 to friendfhip. 
 
 It confifts chiefly of the confeffions of a woman, 
 whofe beauty firft ufhered her into notice, and 
 whofe intrigues enabled her to maintain the con- 
 quefts which her perfonal charms had made, even 
 when vifibly on the decline. Had file confined her- 
 felf to the private circles of her amours, we might 
 have heard little more of her than other modern
 
 IV 
 
 Thaifes, but her ambition extended to politics, and 
 the fatal effeft of her influence in ihat line has 
 ben felt, I am afraid, by more nations than one in 
 the prefent unhappy conteft with the demagogues 
 of France. 
 
 The original papers which were found in the 
 pofieffion of the Countefs when me was arrcfted, 
 and from which thefe confefiions have been drawn, 
 were communicated to the Author of this pam- 
 phlet by a Member of the Committee appointed 
 to enquire into the tranfa&ions of this intriguing 
 woman. The language, however, was fo grofs and 
 indelicate, that, out of refpeci to religion and mo- 
 rality, it was neceffary to omit them. It was alfo 
 thought proper to omit many political paflages, and 
 wait till a proper opportunity prefented itfelf to 
 bring them to light. Then you will be furprifed 
 to find the part this infamous woman and her 
 creatures acted in many of the fcenes which have 
 lately been exhibited in Europe. There never was 
 a perfon, perhaps, whole fall has been lefs lamented 
 by all parties. She was, as (he dates herfelf in 
 her confefiions, the daughter of a trumpeter; fhe 
 lived, for fome time, as a maid fervant with her 
 eldcil fitter, who was early initiated into all the 
 myiteries of Venus; but the filler treated her l~o 
 ill, that fine was obliged to return to her mother's, 
 where fhe was firft noticed by a young man of the
 
 highefl rank. At this period {he was about fifteen 
 years of age. Her prote&or ordered lodgings to 
 be provided for her, and proper mafters to in- 
 ftrucl: her in reading and writing ; and, as fhe was 
 of a very apt difpofition, he taught her French 
 himfelf, and was highly gratified with the progrefs 
 of his pupil in other polite accompliihrnents, fuch 
 as dancing, drawing, &c. Such was her afcen- 
 dancy over the heart of her benefactor, that he 
 brought her to Potfdam, where fhe lived in a flile 
 that could not efcape the penetrating eye of the 
 old K — g, fo that, in order to avoid any difagree- 
 able confequences on that head, it was thought ad_ 
 vifeable that fhe fhould travel, and that in as pri- 
 vate a manner as poflible. She met with many 
 accidents in her way to Paris, particularly in paffing 
 through Champagne, where her carriage was broken, 
 which endangered her life. Her royal lover, in 
 1792, wrote to her that he had taken pofTeffion of 
 the fcene of her misfortune. 
 
 To make amends for the privacy in which fhe 
 had travelled, fhe fhone forth, all at once, in 
 Paris, as a flar of the firft magnitude, in the 
 fafhionable hemifphere ; her petit foupirs were 
 numeroufly attended by the gay, the giddy, and 
 the vain. Veftris taught her to fail through all 
 the mazes of harmony, but, after all, the want 
 of an earlv education was vifible in her manners
 
 VI 
 
 and language. Her principal tafte lay in drefs, 
 for almoft: every moment that fhe could fparc 
 from amufement was devoted to her toilet. 
 
 The attentions paid to her in Paris, by perfons 
 of the firfk rank, inflated her vanity to fuch an ex- 
 cefs. that fhe was impatient to rev i fit her native 
 country in order to relate all the fine compliments 
 which had been paid to her in her abfence, but 
 this vanity was not a little mortified when fhe 
 was obliged, or rather condemned, to marry Mr. 
 Rietz, a chamberlain of the Prince, who had been 
 raifed to that rank from the low Ration of a gar- 
 dener. The thoughts of being obliged to give her 
 hand to a man devoid of education, who could 
 only boall of poor, but honeft, parents, preyed 
 £> incefiamly on her fpirits, that fhe, at length, 
 obtained a divorce from him, though fhe had 
 born him feveral children. Though her per- 
 fonal charms could no longer maintain their full 
 empire over the heart of her protc&or, yet fuch 
 were the refources of her arts, that, notwithftand- 
 ing he was gradually eft.ranged from her couch, 
 yet lie conftaiuly vifitcd her drawing-room. His 
 protection, however, wa.s not confined to her alone; 
 it e tended to all her family. Mirabeau, in his 
 Secret Hiffoiy of the Court of Berlin, thus fpeaks 
 
 of the marriage of hei filter: " On Sunday, 
 
 (the 12th, 17S6J at the principal inn in Berlin, the
 
 Vll 
 
 marriage of the Counters Matufka and a Pruflian 
 officer, named Stutherm, was celebrated. The 
 Countefs is a fitter of Mademoifelle Henke (Ma- 
 dam Rietz ;) (lie thought to have married a Polifh 
 gentleman, who, fome months fince, withdrew. 
 Once deceived, flic next made choice of a young 
 officer. The K— g has given money, and money 
 enough. It is fuppofed that Madam Henke, who 
 now is laid not to be married to Rietz, will retire 
 and live with her filler, that (he may not impede 
 the projects formed to enjoy the maid of honour 
 in peace." The following paffages are alfo taken 
 
 from the fame work: " Mademoifelle Henke, 
 
 or Madam Rietz, as you think proper to call her, 
 has petitioned the King (December 23, 1786) to -_■■'-., 
 be pleafed to let her know what flie is to expect, 
 and to give her an eftate on which fhe may retire . 
 The Sovereign offered her a country-houfe, at 
 the diftance of fome leagues from Potfdam. The 
 lady lent a pofnive refufal, and the King, in re- 
 turn, will not hear of any mention made of an 
 eftate. It is difficult to fay what fhall be the pro- 
 duel of this conflict betwixt cupidity and avarice." 
 
 " Madam Rietz, who, of all the miftrefTes of 
 the Sovereign, has moft effectually refilled the 
 inconftancy of men, and the intrigues of the ward- 
 robe, has modeftly demanded the Margravate of 
 Schwedt from the King, to ferve as a place of re-
 
 V11I 
 
 treat, and Four gentlemen to travel with her ion, as 
 with the {'on of a monarch. This audacious re- 
 queft has not difpleafed the King, who had been 
 offended by the demand made of an eftate. He, 
 no doubt, has di (covered that he is highly re- 
 fpe&ed, now that he receives proportions fo ho- 
 nourable." 
 
 She vifited Italy foon after her divorce, where 
 flie diffipated fuch immenfe fums that fhe was 
 obliged to return to repair the continual drain. 
 Dear variety was now her motto. Her attach- 
 ment to the young Count, Louis Bouille, is thought 
 to have tended very much to induce the Court of 
 Berlin to join in the invafion of France. Pains 
 were taken, after his difmifial, to attach her to an 
 
 Irifh nobleman, Lord T n. Whatever 
 
 may have been the fatal confequence of her influ- 
 ence, fhe may ferve as an example, that, however 
 vice may flourifli for a while, its reign is of fhort 
 duration. " The demife of her proteclor put an 
 end to all her confequence," fays one of her bio- 
 graphers, ct her revenues, her flatterers, and her 
 liberty, and in a moment, annihilated the Juno of 
 anti-jacobinifm." She is now imprifoned in the 
 caftle of Glogau, execrated by the poor, whom 
 fhe oppreffed, and dctelted by the nobility, whom 
 flie endeavoured to rival in power and fplendor, 
 and unpitied bv all. Her chateau at Charlotten-
 
 IX 
 
 berg was lately fold to Mr. Eckhardt for an im~ 
 menfe fum. 
 
 Thus I have given you a ihort fketch of the 
 life of this extraordinary woman. I hope to fee 
 you foon, and hear from your own lips what effecl: 
 her confefTions have made on you as a man, and 
 more particularly as an Englifhman. 
 
 I am, with true regard, 
 
 Your's truly, 
 
 RICHARD B-— T— N. 
 
 Hamburgh, Marth 8, 1 799>
 
 MY CONFESSIONS, 
 
 1 WAS born in a fmall village called Deflau, 
 at the very time when the portentous comet, with 
 its luminous tail, threatened the affrighted inhabi- 
 tants of my native country with peftilence, famine, 
 war, and all the attendant train of mifery. I mean 
 in the year of our Lord one thoufand feven hun- 
 dred and . Whoever is the leaft acquainted 
 
 with the hiflory of that comet will not be at a lofs 
 how to find out the remaining figures to complete 
 the year of my birth. My father, Heaven have 
 mercy upon his foul! was an honeft good kind of 
 man, and obliged to maintain himfelf, his wife, my 
 filters, and me, with the produce of his earnings ; 
 liis name was Encke ; his profeffion that of a trum- 
 peter. Our mode of living was fuch as behoved 
 the family of a man in his humble line, and had 
 not my mother, at intervals, found means to make 
 a few perquifitesj we might have fared (till worfe. 
 
 B
 
 But, dear woman ! (he was an induflrious being, 
 and would contrive it fo as to enable my honetf; 
 father to fit down to a joint of meat, at leaf), twice 
 or thrice a week. This my poor father liked very 
 well, and would pay his dear partner many a well 
 deferved compliment on the occafion. 
 
 My father had lately been called to Potfdam, to 
 be one of his Royal Higbnefs's band of mufic, in 
 confequence of which we fixed our abode at Ber- 
 lin. In the capital my mother continued her for- 
 mer trade, and had very good cuftom for herfelf, 
 whilft at the fame time fhe would never neglecl 
 any occafion of clandeitinely making fome good 
 bargain or other for my eldeft filler and me, either 
 with fome young wealthy debauchee, or an old 
 married man ; thefe bargains produced watches, 
 clothes, cafh, Sec. 
 
 In this way of living, in a kind of ftyle, without 
 much concern, my father was highly pleafed; yet, 
 every now and then, he would — and Heaven 
 knows why — fly into a violent fit of paffion, and, 
 in thofe fits, would generally make ufe of a kind of 
 manual argument to convince my good induflrious 
 mother of her duty as a wife. The fourteenth 
 anniverfary of my birth happened to fall on the 
 twenty-ninth day of the month of February, Bif- 
 fextile, when my father entered upon an argu-
 
 3 
 
 nient of this impreffive nature, and his paflion rofe 
 fo high that it killed him on the fpot. 
 
 My mother was now a widow, and we all prof- 
 pered beyond our warmeft expectation. Our fa- 
 ther being gone, we immediately hoifted our co- 
 lours publicly at Berlin, and why mould we not, 
 as our reputation was pretty well ertablifhed, and 
 known all over the town ? Our good mother's 
 province was to hold out the lure to empty the 
 purfes of unwary youth, and to pluck up by the 
 root the very laft feather of the conceited fool ; 
 all this was performed on a mediodical fyftem. 
 Our houfe was a fort of rendezvous, where the 
 Jew and the Chriftian could affemble without any 
 interruption. 
 
 My eldeft filler had the good fortune to ftrike 
 the fancy of a Prince, and to be chofen by him for 
 his miftrefs. It became my humble lot, at that 
 time, to wait on her, which, however, did not 
 hinder me from conducting my own little concerns 
 in private, for they were well worth continuing. 
 What bufmefs had I to toil and work, whilfl my 
 admirers could adminifter to my wants and wifhes! 
 Ducats and fine clothes were my motto, and who- 
 ever would furnifh me with thefe was fure to fuc- 
 ceed. My filler, one day, happened to be off her 
 guard with her favourite, for, befides the Prince, 
 
 B 2
 
 ihe bad an intrigue with a Silefian Count, of the 
 name of Matufchka. She was juit fitting on the 
 fopha, in a carelefs pofture, when, all of a fudden, 
 the Prince entered the room. His eyes fparkled 
 with indignation, and in the firfl fit of his anger 
 he took my fitter by the hair, pulled her off' the 
 fopha, and then knocked the glaffes, china, &c. 
 girandoles, chandeliers, and every article of furniture 
 in the room, to pieces. The Count, with the aid 
 of my mother, fled through the window, and might 
 thank his faints for the narrow efcape, for his life 
 was at flake, and the Prince would have ran him 
 through without hcfitation. 
 
 *£>' 
 
 He loaded my mother with all the reproaches 
 his rage could fuggeft, called her a procurers, 
 Sec. Poor woman ! fhc was innocent, and, of 
 courfe, the treatment affe&ed her to the very quick. 
 But at once fhe took me by the hand, and, ftepping 
 up to the Prince, thus addreffed him : " Pleafe 
 your Royal Highncfs, I proteft to Heaven, and 
 all his Saints, that I am quite innocent. The 
 Count is the girl's own choice. I am as innocent 
 as the child unborn. Here, take my little Minna 
 inflead of her; file will keep true to you; fhc 
 is fufceptible of gratitude; I can pledge my word 
 that you will find what I fay to be true. Behold, 
 and. pleafe your Royal Highnefs, behold this beau-
 
 tiful innocent; behold this lucid eye, this harmo- 
 nious fhape, this (lender waift, and then the rofe- 
 bud ; her lively converfation will diffipate your 
 cares, when collected on your brow; and then fuch 
 Tallies of wit, fuch fprightly fayings, fuch flames 
 of merriment, that time will dance away with down 
 on his feet in -her company." The Prince fmiled 
 at this fublime piece of oratory, which my mother 
 had got by rote, like a parrot; forgot all that had 
 happened, and fince that very moment chofe me 
 for his favourite. 
 
 With this amiable Prince I lived in uninterrupted 
 happinefs, but his uncle, the fage, the politician, and 
 the hero, began to interfere with our little love- 
 concerns, and loudly inveighed again ft his ne- 
 phew's fathering feveral of my children, and the 
 people publicly calling me his miftrefs. It did 
 not become, he thought, the deftined ruler of a' 
 great and powerful nation to be governed and 
 duped by women and a fet of idle parafites. Such 
 creatures, he faid, were generallv connected with 
 a gang of adventurers, for whom no honeft man 
 could have the leaft efteem, becaufe they had no 
 other aim than to creep into favour, under the 
 protection of a proftitute, and, as foon as they had 
 obtained it, would interfere with the moft ferious 
 and momentous concerns of the ftate, betray whole 
 
 B 3
 
 nations, exhauft the very fources of the commoa 
 wealth, and commit atts of violence and injuftice. 
 Such and the like nonfenfe would frequently flow 
 from the old man's lips, and the Prince, who, in 
 fa 61, was fomewhat overawed by his aged uncle, 
 advifed me to retire to my native town till the 
 ftorm was over, and the horizon cleared up again. 
 In confequence of his advice, I repaired to Def- 
 fau, accompanied by my mother, where I was foon 
 afterwards delivered of a fon. The Prince often 
 came to vifit me in my retirement, and oar meet- 
 ings were crowned with unfpeakable blifs. 
 
 To make the old man quite eafy, and the better 
 to enable ourfelves to carry on our mutual inter- 
 courfe, the Prince propofed a match between me 
 and his favorite valet, Rietz. His uncle, he 
 thought, would the fooner forget me, and his 
 foes, as well as mine, would, by this marriage, be 
 brought to nlence. I entered into the fcheme, 
 became Mrs. Rietz, and returned unconcerned 
 to Berlin. To the old grumbler I was reprefented 
 as an ignorant country wench, without any turn 
 for intrigue, and incapable of governing the 
 Prince, and Mill lefs of involving him, even in 
 the moft diflant manner, in any foreign concern. 
 This completely quieted the old man, and I 
 pafled my time in the greateit peace and tranquil- 
 lity.
 
 The long wifhed-for moment arrived at laft; 
 the old fellow died, and mv dear admirer afcended 
 the throne. An extenfive field of aftion now 
 opened before my eyes; " This is the time, faid I to 
 myfelf, to form my lyftem; to govern, to rule, to 
 enrich, my friends, and to humble the pride of my 
 inveterate foes." 
 
 I am forry, and this I confefs with the mofl 
 heart-felt compunction, to have, through artifice 
 and malice, robbed the K — g of the love of his 
 people, for he really was a good man, and his 
 humanity extended to all the creation. Oh! what 
 a fource of happinefs this love proved to his feel- 
 ing heart, and how often have I heard him ex- 
 claim, "Thank God, my people are happy, and fo 
 am I through their happinefs !" This, however, 
 was no more than a deception, for I, and thofe 
 that were about him, never would give him an 
 opportunity to caft a look into the moft interior 
 receffes of the fyftem of government, and thus he 
 was deceived, and actually thought that his fub- 
 je6ls were happy; but it.w 7 as not his fault, it was 
 mine, for his heart was benevolence itfelf. 
 
 The vile creatures who flocked to my train, 
 through the mofl infamous windings, attempted 
 to deprive him of the love of his people, and be- 
 came, in the fulleft extent of the word, his rulers. 
 But I mult return to my own ftory. 
 
 b 4
 
 8 
 
 T was now poffeffed of princely palaces, and the 
 pomp of royalty was difplayed in all my apart- 
 ments. Minifters, generals, princes, and noble- 
 men, crowded my levees and courted my fmiles. 
 What could be more natural than that the invi- 
 dious mould watch every flep I took ? The privi- 
 lege of being thus noticed by a great prince could 
 not fail to excite jealoufy, and an opportunity foon 
 offered to lay the foundation of my ruin. The 
 K — g, who was fond of variety in love, conceived 
 
 a violent pafTion for Mifs V , a young lady of 
 
 the Court, a lady endowed by nature with the 
 moft exquifite charms fire could beftow upon a 
 
 favourite mortal. The pame of Mifs V , till 
 
 this very hour, is never mentioned but with the 
 higheft refpecl. At the fir ft outfether virtue with- 
 ftobd every attack; but, when the K — g became 
 more prefiing, and the nobility joined him in his 
 purfuit, fhe yielded at laft, but on condition of a 
 left-handed marriage. The K — g lived, during the 
 fpace of one full year, in the greatefl happinefs 
 with Mifs V— — -, and I might, perhaps, have 
 been entirely flighted and forgotten, had not a 
 difh of chocolate, adminiftefed at a proper time, 
 rid me of a dctcfled rival, and the K— g of a love- 
 fick enihufiair. I now once more was the toaft, 
 and the fovereign-arbitratrix of my Royal Lover's 
 mind. Whatever did not fuit my plan, or har- 
 monize with my views, was removed from the
 
 fight of the monarch, and none but thofe who were 
 of my party had accefs to the clofet. 
 
 My hufband had likewife been put in the way 
 of exercifing the power of influence, and of lay- 
 ing by treafures. Yet I was often vexed when I 
 faw that certain men, who could not poflibly 
 be denied, got admiffion to the K — g; for I was 
 always afraid, left, fome time or other, they might 
 have the aflurance to paint me in my true colours^ 
 
 It became advifeable, however, to think of 
 fecuring a considerable part of my wealth, for 
 which purpofe I projected a journey to Italy, 
 where I meant to difpofe of my property as ad- 
 vantageoufly as I could. As I lived in the firft ftyle 
 of grandeur, the K — g was prevailed on to confer 
 the title of Countefs of Lichtenau on me at the 
 Court of Vienna. The requeft was granted, and 
 to enable me to maintain the dignity and rank, I 
 obtained a feparation from Mr. Rietz. From that 
 very inftant I was, on my return from Italy, ad- 
 mitted to all the circles and the alfemblies at Court. 
 My daughter, who had been decorated with the 
 title of Countefs of the Mark, was to marry none 
 but a Count, and the King intended to beftow 
 an adequate dowry on her. Her fuitors were 
 many, and amongft the reft Count Stolberg was 
 preferred.
 
 As the K — g was fond of amufement, I was 
 
 pleafed to fee that W and B entertained 
 
 him with the Roficrucian nonfenfe, and other ma- 
 gic tricks. Thefe ventriloquifts could do me no 
 harm; nay, on the contrary, they were the means 
 of perfuading the K — g to any thing. It was at 
 this very period that I filled all the offices of 
 Court with wretches of mv own choice. All the 
 King did, fpoke, and undertook, was faithfully 
 reported to me, and hence he mult inevitably re- 
 main entangled in my net. 
 
 The French war broke out, and then it might 
 be laid I was truly launched into my own 
 
 element. B was employed by the Cabinet of 
 
 Vienna and the Court of St. to bring 
 
 things to bear with our K— g, and he was feveral 
 times obliged to undertake journeys to Vienna 
 and to Italy. The coalition was agreed on, and 
 we marched aeainft France. This war was the 
 very thing I wanted; for, as the King was bufy, I 
 took all the opportunities I could to make him 
 fenfible of the licentioufnefs of the people ; and, 
 as the expences had increafed, and became more 
 multiplied than before, I had fair play to accu- 
 mulate treafure in proportion. My chief con- 
 tributors, however, were Auiiria and , 
 
 for they would pay me abundantly for the part 
 1 took in perfuading the King not to recede from
 
 11 
 
 the coalition. But no man ever knew how to get 
 me over to his imereii better than P — . For this 
 
 purpofe, he employed his relation T , who 
 
 paid me his addreffes for a long time, had apart- 
 ments in my palace, and partook of my table and 
 carriage. Money was my motto, juft the fame 
 as it had been at the time when jews and Chrif. 
 tians reforted to the houfe of Minna Encke, in 
 Spandau-ftreet. It is a pity that this war, or, at. 
 leaft, the coalition, did not laft a little longer, for 
 then I might, in fact, have realized my favorite 
 project, of purchafing fome principality, for the 
 flood of prefents flowed in without intermiffion. 
 
 We returned home without having effected any- 
 thing, and my chief object was to fecure the King's 
 affections by all the variety of pleafure and enter- 
 tainment I could poffibly think of. I had in my 
 palace a neat little theatre, where I entertained 
 the King with fuch pieces as feemed to have been 
 written for the very purpofe of charming the 
 fenfes. My aclrefies were chofen from among 
 the handfomeft girls in all Berlin. I always made 
 them appear in fuch drefTes as would add, if poffible, 
 to their charms. With the fame view, I generally 
 chofe the fubje&s of the entertainment from mytho- 
 logy; for in fiance, Jove and Leda, Venus and Cupid, 
 Hymen's Wake, Sec. A celebrated man of learn- 
 ing of the capitalj the manager of my little thea-
 
 12 
 
 ire, took with a finite the prefents which the eru 
 chanted monarch gave him, and iince that time 
 abftained from inveighing againft the King's mif- 
 trefs in his fatirical writings. 
 
 Some difturbanccs, which took place in the pro- 
 vinces, and particularly at Berlin, gave me the 
 faireft opportunity to induce the King to prohibit 
 the publication of all fuch works as treated of li- 
 berty, equality, and the imprcfcriptible rights of 
 man, and in general of all fuch trafh. 
 
 A kind of inquifition, which, through my inter- 
 ference, was introduced throughout the country, 
 enabled me to obtain a knowledge of all the pam- 
 phlets that reprefented me in my true colours to 
 the world, and to fupprefs them. And, if at. any 
 lime fome determined fcribblerhad the audacity to 
 jtranfgrefs the limits of the liberty of thinking and 
 writing, it would, through the medium of my crea- 
 tures, reprefent the aft as an attempt nothing fhort 
 of high treafon againlt the King's Majefty itfelf, in 
 which cafe imprifonment for life, or banifhment 
 from the King's dominions, was the unavoidable 
 confequence. Such was the fate of the merchants 
 
 Z C , of Dodor K -, and of 
 
 Captain L . 
 
 Upon the whole, my emiffaries and I had, at that 
 time, the molt abfolute and unprecedented fway.
 
 13 
 
 The fubjecl felt all the weight ^f my defpotic 
 oppreffion, and the lafh of my fcourge. Frank- 
 nefs in fcientific debate, cordiality in mutual 
 communication, and hilarity in company, en- 
 tirely difappeared. My fpies were dreaded 
 every where. Upright magiftrates, who pro- 
 nounced fentence according to the dictates of right 
 and reafon, were difmiffed; thofe of the clergy, 
 who ventured to preach common fenfe, loll their 
 places, and were banifhed the country ; the moll 
 important trials were fuperfeded, becaufe the ver- 
 dicts were expected to fall out againft me and my 
 friends. Several of the public offices I caufed to 
 be given to my creatures; I forged warrants of 
 arreft, and orders of the cabinet; rewarded fpies, 
 informers, and runners, with large fums of money 
 and honourable offices; nay, I had, without any 
 apparent reafon, a young lady arrefted, merely 
 becaufe I dreaded that her beauty would fup- 
 plant me. In a word, whatever did - not pafs 
 through my hands, or was not fubfervient to my 
 fchemes, was fure to be crufhed. A certain 
 man in office, who repeatedly had embezzled the 
 public money, fued for my protection ; I had him 
 created a nobleman, and chief judge of the Criminal 
 Court. But, in return for this good office, he was 9 
 from gratitude, bound to give his verdict in every 
 caufe that concerned either me or my friends, as I 
 would have it. He did indeed once attempt to
 
 14 
 
 recede from it, and to have it his own way, in the 
 affair with Mifs Belderbufh; this was the name of 
 the young lady, j Lift before mentioned; but I had 
 influence enough to punifh him for his temerity; 
 he was di {'miffed, and banifhed the kingdom. This 
 
 was likewife the lot of the Countefs D , and the 
 
 Privy Counfellor G , againft whom a fufpicion 
 
 of being concerned in a fcheme of poifoning was 
 urged, and who were compelled to leave the 
 
 P dominions. Such was at that time the 
 
 power of the trumpeter's daughter, whofe favour, 
 thirty years back, might be purchafed for a dollar. 
 
 Rietz, my hue hufband, per r dly agreed 
 with me in this point. This man, who from 
 a common labouring gardener, had rifen to 
 the office of a Privy Chamberlain, had made it 
 his ftudy, and completely acquired, the art of bend- 
 ing and twilling his lord and matter to whatever 
 fhape and form I wifhed, and of imbuing him 
 with the moll erroneous notions concerning his 
 fubjecls. He generally ufed to keep a pack of 
 large maftiifs, that would frighten away every un- 
 welcome fuppliant; and if ever any one had the 
 audacity of attempting to approach the K — g, he 
 was fure to be treated with a found caning, and a 
 few blows in his face, and might think himfelf well 
 off with the lofs of half a dozen of his teeth. As 
 an inftance of this, a poor young fellow, the only
 
 *5 
 
 fon oFa flioemaker, who had attempted to prefent a 
 petition in behalf of his did re fled parents, was, by Mr. 
 Rietz himfeif, well threfhed, then fent to the watch- 
 houfe, and, by way of a lading remembrance of his 
 temerity, forced as a foldier into a flationary regi- 
 ment. Of all this the King knew nothing, for his 
 good and tender heart prompted him to do judice 
 and grant protection to the very meaneft of his 
 fubjecls; he verily believed that his people were 
 all happy and content; and had he the lead idea 
 of any fuch cruel outrage, the perpetrator would 
 have been punifhed in the fevered manner, even 
 had it been my darling Rietz himfeif. But his 
 dogs were trained to know every avenue, fo that 
 an accefs to the King was rendered altogether 
 inacceflible. He alio knew how to avail himfeif 
 of the influence he had over the King, and by the 
 proper management of this very influence a number 
 of petitions and complaints were fupprefled, and con- 
 demned to the flames and filence, many an order of 
 the cabinet was deceitfully obtained, and the bed 
 places under government were given to our party. 
 This indeed was not the means to infpire the people 
 ■with love for their Sovereign, but what was that to 
 us? Provided the monarch could be made to be- 
 lieve that all w T ere happy and fatisfied, and that 
 there was no reafon for complaint, all was well 
 enough; nay, the people themfelves facilitated our 
 viewsj and drengthened the King in his good
 
 »6 
 
 creed. Oa many public occafions, they would 
 hail their prince with loud applaufe and acclama- 
 tion. God fave the King was fung in German at 
 the theatres and concerts, and the beft poets of the 
 nation exbaulted all their Parnaffian fire to produce 
 a good parody of this favourite popular fong of 
 the people of England. Every pamphlet, every 
 newipaper, every production of the prefs, bore 
 teftimony to the happinefs of the people; in every 
 one of them the nation was reprefented as laying 
 their allegiance and love at the foot of the throne, 
 ready to fpend their laft milling, and fried the lad 
 drop of their blood, in his fupport. Thus this eafy 
 good-natured prince was led to believe that every 
 thing was right, and that he lived in the heart of 
 his fubjects, which he certainly did, notwithstanding 
 our oppreffion and injuitice. 
 
 It mull be conferred, that good mafter Rietz 
 carried his inlblcnce rather too far. The wealth 
 which, through juft and unjuft means, had flowed 
 into his coffers had inflated him with pride and 
 vanity; he became prefumptive, brutal, and rough; 
 he therefore thought he might bear down every 
 thing before him by main force. The tricks, which 
 he played behind his mailer's back, deprived the 
 King of a fhare of the affections of his people; 
 djftrefsj fear, and fmothercd refentment, had got 
 poffefuon of every heart. Very often the blood of
 
 *7 
 
 the defperate wretch would flow from this fole con- 
 fideration, that nothing was to be done with the 
 K — g, let the caufe be ever fo juft. This indeed was 
 too hard. I have, however, pretty well fucceeded 
 in mortifying his pyefumption. This proud ci- 
 devant gardener's boy once took it into his head to 
 
 fall in love with Madam B s. He had even 
 
 gone fo far as to project a marriage with her, 
 when at once a warrant was ifiued from the cabinet, 
 by virtue of which the lady was removed from the 
 Berlin ftage, and an end was put to the farce. 
 His mind was tortured with mortification and 
 fhame, and he found himfelf reluctantly obliged to 
 fee his fair one, without friend or protector, caft on 
 the wide world. But the wretch deceived me 
 after all, and cringed and flattered till I winked at 
 his prefumption, and let him bear away his prize. 
 
 As the K — g evinced a great predilection for 
 every thing fupernatural, a predilection which he 
 had derived from his inlercourfe with the Roficru- 
 fians, and from all the magic tricks they had played 
 off before him, I was highly pleafed at the arrival 
 of the Chevalier Pinetti de Mercy. This man 
 fought my protection, and I was very willing to 
 grant it. Furnifhed with numberlefs recommenda- 
 tions, and dreffed out, like a nobleman, with laced 
 and embroidered clothes, watches, and rings, fet 
 with valuable brilliants, his accefs to the king was 
 
 c
 
 i8 
 
 not very difficult. This fellow in fa6t was nothing 
 but a charletan, but he was well {killed in the art 
 of deception, fo that I faw his mountebankifm 
 might be of ufe to me and my party. His tricks 
 with cards confiited in nothing but legerdemain, 
 and I placed no value on them; on the other 
 hand, his phyfical deceptions, as he pleafed to term 
 them, were the more entertaining. The K — g was 
 highly pleafed with his phyfical deceptions, made 
 him a prefent of five thoufand dollars for the 
 erection of a theatre, and gave him the title of 
 Profeffor of Phytic of the Court, with a penfion of 
 fix hundred dollars a year. This prodigality of 
 courfe rouzed the envy of the philofophers of 
 Berlin, and, among others, one Profeffor Kofmann 
 ventured to publifh a treatife on Pinetti's work, in 
 which he called his paltry tricks the ne plus ultra of 
 natural philofophy. The Profeffor, in this pam- 
 phlet, endeavoured to prove, that every thing was 
 pretty clear and natural, and that the famous 
 Pinetti was neither more nor lefs than a common 
 legerdemain conjuror. The chevalier was very 
 much difpleafed at this publication, and wrote the 
 Profeffor word, that, if he did not immediately fup- 
 prefs his work, and apologize for the epithets of 
 conjuror and mountebank, he, Mr. Pinetti, would 
 give the Profeffor an anfwer d Vltaliana. Pinetti 
 was in right earned, and preferred his complaints 
 againft Kofmann to the K — g. The Profeffor jufti-
 
 *9 
 
 fied himfelf by tranfmitting his to Majefty a copy of 
 the work, and alluring him, that his only motive 
 for writing it was to give a hint to the ftudents of 
 the military fchool not to fuffer themfelves to be 
 deceived by appearances. The K — g fmiled, and 
 Kofmann got off without any farther moleftation. 
 This work has neverthelefs done poor Pinetti a great 
 deal of injury. He wrote to me from St. Peterf- 
 burg: <c Dear Countefs, It is enough to make a 
 man run crazy, to fee how my phyfical experi- 
 ments have been hiffed and hooted at Konigfberg; 
 on my firft performance, the greateft number of my 
 fpe&ators had the pamphlet of that meddling Pro- 
 feifor Kofmann in their hands, and laughed and 
 fcoffed at me; and after the third exhibition I was 
 compelled to clofe my theatre, or exhibit to empty 
 benches. Here the patriarch of Jacobinifm, 
 that infernal Kant, lives and plays his tricks; 
 here is the very den of the red-capped Jacobin 
 gang, and his Majefty would do well, for the bene- 
 fit of his own dominions, to deftroy this neft of 
 wafps and vipers, and to prohibit Kant, who befides 
 is an old man, all manner of reading and writing. 
 Ah! with what extacy all flocked at Berlin to the 
 divine Pinetti 1 the high and the low, the wealthy 
 and the great, were charmed, whenever Pinetti 
 deigned to addreffed them. Here in St. Petersburg 
 things go on better, Sec." 
 
 C 2
 
 2 
 
 At this time I had made a fecond journey to 
 Italy, and brought to Berlin the celebrated Vizano 
 and her hulband. I could not pollibly have pro- 
 cured the K — g a greater pleafure than the oppor- 
 tunity of feeing and admiring thofe two famous 
 dancers. As Vizano had left the ftage at Vienna 
 on account of his being fo violently in love with 
 her, I thought I could keep her at Berlin ; but 
 thefe capering wretches had no other view but to 
 make money, and would on no account enter into 
 my projects. I therefore had a number of pupils 
 and figuranti regularly trained up, who alternately 
 performed on my little private theatre, which an- 
 iwered my purpofes very well. To thefe means I 
 then had recourfe; for, as 1 began to be aware 
 that my charms were on the decline, and incapable 
 of any longer ri vetting the fetters of my lover; and, 
 as he befides was fond of variety, I invented a 
 thoufand novelties, and called forth all my inge- 
 nuity to retain him in my net. 
 
 To this point I fucceeded fo completely, that 
 the K — g never undertook a ftep in his amours 
 •Without confuting me. Betides, I had by 
 that time acquired a perfett knowledge of the 
 myfteries in which I had been initiated during my 
 itay in France and Italy, and for which I had paid 
 very coniiderable fums. This confuted in the 
 mixture of certain narcotic ingredients, which I
 
 21 
 
 adminiftered to the K — g in his drink, and which 
 had the effecl of weakening his nerves and or. 
 troubling his imagination. By thefe means I ob- 
 tained a conftant fway over him, and this very arti- 
 ficial weaknefs proved the rod with which fchaftifed 
 and governed him. I had moreover become a c^reat 
 proficient in the Machiavelian principles, and 
 occafionally knew how to make ufe of them to my 
 advantage. The rack, the whip, and banimment, 
 were lucky difcoveries, and flood in the order of 
 the day; and, however humane the K — g might be, 
 however averfe from feverity, except in cafes of 
 convicted guilt, 1, neverthelefs, had through arti 
 fice and cunning fo far fucceeded, that every one 
 trembled at the thoughts of myunlimited power, and 
 yet blamed the K — g for its effecls. Thus he was 
 often, but as often unjuftly, called a tyrant; for he 
 was infant the moftjuft, the mod humane, of princes. 
 It was his weaknefs, of which I availed myfelf, that 
 put him in this odious light, and my manner of 
 treating the people caufed them to murmur and to 
 complain. I would intercept letters, and by the 
 aid of my helpmates had new ones forged ; I like- 
 wife had orders of the cabinet diftributed. The 
 Courts of Juflice, on my requefi, were forced to 
 deliver up original deeds and papers, which I then 
 arbitrarily committed to the flames. Through 
 my Machiavelian arts, I obtained the fums that 
 were requifite for the expences of my houfehold, 
 
 c 3
 
 22 
 
 my buildings, and travels. In fhort, every thing 
 was at my command. This was the rage of the 
 trumpeter's daughter. 
 
 Yet my pride was not fatisfied. It is obvious, 
 that the Court, the nobility, and all the great peo- 
 ple in the kingdom, muft hate me, though in pub- 
 lic they would fhew me every mark of refpe£t; I 
 knew this, and would be revenged. There hap- 
 pened to be a great fete at Court, at which none 
 but the Royal Family and the molt diftinguifhed 
 perfons among the nobility were to appear; that 
 was to be the fcene of my vengeance. I prevailed 
 upon the K — g to be permitted to appear at Court 
 
 as Countefs of Lichtenau. General ufhered 
 
 me in; I was dreffed in a royal robe, fhowered 
 all over with diamonds and precious ftones. The 
 Royal Family turned their backs upon me, and 
 I was noticed by none but the courtiers. I was 
 vexed, and complained to the K — g. " II faut 
 faire bonne mine a mauvais jeu," faid he, and gently 
 tapped my cheeks. 
 
 On the next morning my fteward brought me 
 word, that all my fine furniture at my feat at Char- 
 iottenberg had been broken to pieces, the beds 
 ripped open, and the coftly feathers of down iirewed 
 all over the rooms. I fufpected immediately who 
 was the perpetrator, and brought my complaints
 
 2 3 
 
 before the K — g, who made up threefold for the 
 lofs I had fuftained. 
 
 * 
 
 During my flay at Franckfort, I formed an ac- 
 quaintance with the Marquis Moufons, whom the 
 revolution had compelled to leave France. He 
 was both a fhrewd and a handfome man, almoft 
 as cunning and as artful as Pinetti. At my requeft 
 he was made reader to the K — g ; he was a perfect 
 mafter of the art of diverting the monarch's ennui 
 and ill temper through his wit and humour, and 
 through that frivolity which has fallen particularly 
 to the lot of the French. He courted my affec- 
 tions, but with fuch refpe£l and fubmiflion as were 
 a thoufand times more flattering to me than the 
 tendereft careffes of the moil enamoured fop. He 
 gradually gained my confidence, and, at laft, a 
 certain intimacy took place between us, which 
 put me in the poffeffion of many a valuable fe- 
 cret. He completed me in the fublime politics of 
 Machiavel, and we formed and eftablifhed a 
 fociety, to which none but fuch were admitted 
 as had been rigoroufly tried. The principle 
 
 members were B , W , H , H , 
 
 O , B , A , G -, P du B , 
 
 R— ; myfelf and Moufons were permanent pre- 
 fidents. 
 
 g 4
 
 24 
 
 Our orders were executed by my brother and 
 a relation of mine, one Kunaflius, a huntfman, 
 and the watchman of our affembly. 
 
 > 
 
 Here are a few of the articles which Moufons 
 had drawn up, and which every member was 
 obliged to keep facred on his oath. 
 
 The firft law of all was the mofl inviolate 
 fecrecy, and rather- to fuffer to have the tongue 
 cut out than betray a fingle fecret of the fociety. 
 
 All the members that were chofen mult promife 
 to watch every one with whom they fhould happen 
 to have anv intercourfe, and to liften attentively 
 to all their difcourfes. * To report faithfully, and 
 in writing, to me and Moufons, all they had ob- 
 ferved and heard. They were to infmuate them- 
 felves into the Courts of Judicature, and every 
 now and then to undertake little trips into the 
 country, in order to difcover what was going for- 
 ward there, either to our advantage or disadvan- 
 tage. This arrangement enabled me to be in- 
 formed of every thing that happened in the cabi- 
 net of the K— g, the minifters, and the generals ; 
 to know all the verdi&s given in the different de* 
 partments of the law and police, as alfo all the 
 orders ifTued in every regiment. I was acquainted 
 with the fecrets of every family, nay, with the
 
 25 
 
 temper of almoft every individual perfon, and, of 
 courfe, might take my meafures accordingly. 
 
 Each member had, for the private ufe of his 
 correfpondence, the following figures or cyphers: 
 
 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 13, 14, 15, 
 a, b, c, d 5 e, f, g, h, i, k, 1, m, n, o, p, 
 
 16, 17, l8, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. 
 
 q, r, s, t, u, w, x, y, z. 
 
 If any of our letters had been intercepted, it 
 ftill would, with thefe precautions, have been diffi- 
 cult to unravel their contents. Befides the above 
 
 cyphers, Monfons, I, and B — -, had other 
 
 different fets of figures, which we changed from 
 time to time, and as circumftances would require. 
 
 Our principles admitted afTaflination, fuicide, 
 poifoning, murder, perjury, treafon, rebellion, and, 
 in ihort, all the means which prejudiced men have 
 termed crimes. 
 
 Much lefs obedience was to be fhewn to the 
 K— g and the laws than to me. And fhould any 
 one prefume to adhere to the K — g and the magif- 
 trates rather than to me, he mull be crufhed, as 
 it was the cafe with E and the architect B .
 
 26 
 
 A general confufion in the government muft, of 
 courfe, increafe the extent of my power, and, 
 therefore, it was our grand object to excite dif- 
 truft in the K — g againft his fubje&s, in the mi- 
 nisters againft their fubalterns, and in the coun- 
 fellors againft their own colleagues. No power 
 could fave the man who fhewed me the leaft fha- 
 dow of negle£t or contempt. 
 
 We had found means to bribe thofe who were 
 employed at the poll-offices in the country-towns, 
 and they would let us have certain letters, which 
 we either deftroyed or opened and fealed again, 
 without its being vifible. 
 
 We even had our emiflaries in foreign coun- 
 tries, who were to endeavour to get admittance to 
 the houfes of the great, of the foreign minifters, 
 and the rich merchants, with a view of exciting 
 diflention between the rulers of thofe refpe&ive 
 countries and their fubje£ts, between parents and 
 children, and between the moft intimate friends. 
 They were to form cabals, invent calumnies, 
 roufe hatred and fufpicion againft any thing that 
 did not agree with our plan, and to perfecute 
 our antagonifts with poifon and dagger. Religion 
 itfelf was not to be fpared when our welfare re- 
 quired it fo. They were to feize every opportu- 
 nity to interfere with politics, to excite comma-
 
 27 
 
 tions, to preach rebellion, and through bribery 
 to work up the people to revolt. 
 
 By means of this extended connexion, my power 
 became fo immenfe ; by this I carried every thing. 
 It was this that made the world wonder how, with 
 her withered charms, the Countefs of Lichtenau 
 could manage to lead the K — g which way me 
 chofe. The end fanftifies the means, faid my great 
 tutor, Machiavel, and Moufons would analyze 
 this do£trine with me in its molt minute details. 
 He likewife was the man who initiated me into 
 the myfteries of the God and the Goddefs of 
 Love, and let me into fuch fecrets as no man be- 
 fore him had yet opened to my eyes. Oh ! this 
 Moufons was a great genius ! and his gallantry was 
 the true gallantry of a Frenchman. 
 
 I fucceeded in perfuading the K g that the 
 
 ufe of the waters of Pyrmont would prove highly 
 beneficial to his health. 
 
 Moufons wrote to Hamburgh for a fet of French 
 players; every kind of amufement imaginable was 
 thought of to entertain the monarch. He fuffered, 
 indeed, inexpreffibly from ape&oral dropfy. Pyr- 
 mont was converted into paradife upon earth; we 
 had balls, operas, fire-works, cafiinos, fuppers, din- 
 ners} breakfafts, horfe-races, All turned round
 
 28 
 
 the K — g in a perpetual circle of diverfion, and 
 the fair fex particularly ftrove to attract the eye of 
 the illuftrious guelt. 
 
 I there, likewife, had a little adventure, which 
 particularly concerned myfelf. The Prince of 
 
 \V , the proprietor of Pyrmont, fell 
 
 deeply in love with me, and made me a formal 
 propofal of marriage. I had refolved to exchange 
 the title of a Countefs for that of a Princefs, and 
 things had gone fo far that I had even obtained 
 the K — g's permiffion for the purpofe. But fome 
 minifler, who, at an ominous hour, diffuaded him 
 from the purchafe of Pyrmont, threw fuch obfta- 
 cles in my way, as entirely blafted this glorious 
 marriage. I would have been revenged of him, 
 had not the fudden weaknefs of the K — g flattened 
 our departure for Potfdam. 
 
 I left Pyrmont with a heavy heart, and with a 
 ftill heavier heart I arrived, in the K — g's com- 
 pany, at the Marble-palace, at Potfdam. Oh ! 
 could I have the leait notion that this journey 
 was to put an end to all my glory ? Was it pof- 
 fible for me to have the remoter): fhadow of a 
 dream, that the powerful, the adored, the immor- 
 talized, the dreaded, Countefs of Lichtenau, like 
 an abject criminal, mould be kept in clofe con- 
 finement, in the very fame palace where, fovereign
 
 29 
 
 like, flie di&ated laws to a mighty monarch, and 
 a mighty people, that had lb often groaned 
 under the weight of her oppreffive defpotifm I 
 Could I have thought to fee myfelf fome time 
 fcoffed at, derided, and defpifed, by enemies, who- 
 rejoiced at my downfall, and to whom the clank 
 of my chains is the harmony of mufic ? To fee 
 myfelf the objeft of fatire and abufe in all the 
 newfpapers, pamphlets, ballads, and other vile pub- 
 lications, in which my fame, my rank, and title, 
 are traduced with unparallelled licentioufnefs ? 
 Could I have thought that my divine, my deareft- 
 beloved Moufons, he, the prototype and mirror 
 of the virtues of all the French emigrants, loaded 
 with irons, mould be dragged a prifoner to the 
 fortrefs of Magdeburg? Alas! my journey to Pyr- 
 mont proved the tomb of my glory; the divine 
 mufic which I heard in that enchanting fcene of 
 diflipation was converted into a mournful dirge to 
 attend my bier. Thofe whom I have opprefTed 
 and wantonly tormented now rife againft me, and 
 loudly proclaim their own wrongs, and the infamy 
 of the prollitute that fquandered away the little 
 product of their hard money, and carried millions 
 into foreign countries. The found of their cries 
 ftrikes my ear with double horror, for, alas! it is 
 the voice of truth ! 
 
 Until the K — g's death, I never dreamed things 
 would go fo far with me; hence I kept up my
 
 3° 
 
 ufual mode of living, and, together with my affb- 
 c5ates, had nothing elfe in view but to amufe the 
 Monarch. He was frequently fubjett to a tempo- 
 rary ab fence of mind, and experienced, befides, 
 the moft unpleafant fymptoms of body. To 
 affuage the one and the other, I ufed to adminifter 
 to him corroborating draughts and narcotic pow- 
 ders. Alas! I did not know that I was bufily 
 employed in laying the fpeedy foundation of my 
 own ruin, for thefe very medicines tended to en- 
 feeble his constitution, and, inftead of reftoring 
 health, had the contrary effeft, which was daily 
 vifible. The vivacity of Moufons, the gambols 
 of my dancing nymphs and fportive Naiades were 
 called into afliftance to diffipate the clouds that 
 fettled on the Sovereign's brow, to do which my felt 
 I had the power no more. 
 
 As the K — g had been ordered to take much 
 exercife, I ufed to accompany him in a fmall tri- 
 umphal car, in which he took frequent airings in 
 the gardens of the Marble-palace. The accefs to 
 his perfon had been ftri£tly forbidden, and I had 
 the fole and uninterrupted enjoyment of his pre- 
 fence. At that time I difpatched Moufons to 
 Hamburgh with fome fecret papers, which I had 
 found in the red pocket-book, with directions to 
 
 communicate them to Lord , who was then 
 
 at that place. Thefe papers confided of the fecret
 
 3 1 • . 
 
 articles of the peace which had been concluded 
 with France; they anfwered my purpofe exceed- 
 ingly well, and I was paid for them with a good 
 round fum of E h g . Curfed pocket- 
 book ! thou art the caufe of my misfortune ; I 
 have to thank thee for my confinement. Hadft thou 
 not been difcovered in my pofTeflion, what could 
 the new K — g have urged againft the Countefs of 
 Lichtenau? Perhaps my being the K — g's miftrefs. 
 Who had a right to interfere with that? Who dared 
 to find fault with that? Had not the Rev. Dr. 
 
 H ■, one of the ecclefiaftical board, a few 
 
 years ago, openly declared, that the country ought 
 to vote thanks to the Countefs of Lichtenau for 
 promoting the purity of the Chriftian religion ? 
 But I am guilty of a crime againft the ftate ; I 
 am guilty of high treafon ; there lies the rub ; there 
 the caufe of my anxiety, and my fear of imprifon- 
 ment for life. Hence the remorfe that preys on 
 my mind day and night, and which deprives me 
 of fleep and reft in the gloomy walls of my prifon. 
 
 By the joint advice of Moufons and Rietz, I 
 gave the K — g a fete, the gaiety of which was to 
 furpafs every thing. The fpot pitched upon for 
 this purpofe was one of thofe gardens at Potfdam 
 which we called the Englifh gardens, and in which 
 the beauties and the deformities of nature are all 
 collected and contrafted with each other on a few
 
 3* 
 
 acres of land. This fpot was kept under lock and 
 key by one of the trufty guards of the aflbciation- 
 My Naiades, Cupids, Sylphs, and Nymphs, fcarcely 
 veiled with tranfparent gauze, opened this diver- 
 tifement, and the fir ft beauties were fele&ed to 
 heighten the glowing fcene. After the pantomime 
 commenced a ball. 
 
 A ball, it is well known, is a great promoter 
 of voluptuoufnefs. One couple after the other 
 difappeared; whole groupes were feen fcattered 
 about in the mod lafcivious attitudes ; here a Dido 
 in the embraces of an vEneas; there a Cleopatra, 
 loft in an ocean of delight with her tender An- 
 tony. Little Cupids, in half-lighted grottos, by 
 the twinkling ray of an expiring torch, prepared 
 the hymeneal feaft, in which the God of Love, 
 the hero of the piece, exerted his talents in the 
 mod enamoured manner. 
 
 I walked hand in hand with the K g through 
 
 thefe enchanting fcenes, and explained to him the 
 meaning of the various groups. Beautiful ! ex- 
 cellent! delightful! exclaimed he repeatedly. What 
 a charming woman thou art, Minna! One of the 
 dancers, a pretty little girl, whom I had initiated 
 into all the myfteries of love, and whom the K — g 
 was particularly partial to, attended us on our 
 promenade, and. on a fignul agreed between us,
 
 33 
 
 conducted him to a bower, the mod enchanting 
 that imagination can paint. The King would fit 
 down upon the green, when on a fudden it opened, 
 and prefented a beautiful fopha with cufhions, over 
 which an elegant baldachim of flowers was fuf- 
 pended, in wreaths and feftoons. At a convenient 
 diftance I had placed a male and a female finger, 
 who were to reprefent a love-fcene, and to accom- 
 pany their amourous attitudes with fongs expreffive 
 of their paflions ; a little farther off another voice 
 echo-like repeated the fweet accents, whilft at a 
 flill greater diftance the liquid founds of a German 
 flute died on the love-fick breeze, and threw the 
 foul into that kind of penfive melancholy which 
 generally leads to the molt exquifite delights. The 
 fongfter began, the flute warbled, the echo repeated, 
 the tune was fo heart-melting, the words fo tender 3 
 the fituation fo novel, the King fo preffing . 
 
 This was the laft tender fcene in which we were 
 engaged; for a few days afterwards his health de- 
 clined vifibly, and he was unable to leave his bed. 
 Even on his fick couch, Moufons ftrove to foothe 
 his melancholy and his pain through well-chofen 
 amufements, but all in vain. The machine was 
 deranged, and flopped at the very moment when I 
 leaft expecled it. 
 
 D
 
 34 
 
 The man was now gone that raifcd me from no- 
 thing, and fhowered favours on me ; that fun was 
 fet in whofe luftre I fhone with borrowed light. 
 The veil fell off, and, feized with horror and re- 
 morfe, I at once funk again into my original infigni- 
 ficancy. I fliook as if I had been touched by the 
 chilling hand of death, and fcarce had recollection 
 enough to defire Moufons to order poft-horfes, 
 to empty the King's ftrong box, and to take pof- 
 feffion of his large diamond and his pocket-book. 
 At that inllant an officer entered with twenty four 
 men, and informed me, that, by order of the new 
 King, 1 was his prifoner. Moufons was immedi- 
 ately taken into cuftody, and within twenty-four 
 hours tranfported to Magdeburg. Thunderftruck, 
 I [tared at the officer, colle&ed all the effrontery 
 I ftill could mutter, and, with a haughty counte- 
 nance and tone of voice, aiked him, Who dared 
 to arreft a Countefs?— No one but the Emperor 
 dared do fo. 
 
 The Officer. — It may be fo; but at prefent I 
 have the order of the King my matter, which 
 both you and I mutt obey. Should the King be 
 mittaken, and wrong you, Madam, I am fure he 
 will give you ample fatisfaclion. 
 
 I was a prifoner; my papers were fealed up; 
 the curfed pocket-book and the King's ring were
 
 35 
 
 taken from me, and a feleft committee were ap- 
 pointed to examine my treafonable practices againft 
 the King and his fubjefts. I am criminal before 
 my own conscience; I am fo in the eye of the 
 law. To whom mud: I appeal i Who will protect 
 the wretch who thus has outraged humanity ? Who 
 can fave me ? and what have I to expe& ? Mercy 
 alone I muft have recourfe to, and what will not 
 mercy do ? What is mercy but to forgive the cri- 
 minal ? And is not forgivenefs the moll glorious 
 prerogative of regal power ? I own my crimes 
 are boundlefs; they call to Heaven for vengeance, 
 — but all may be well yet; the King is juft — but 
 he is merciful — and I am a frail woman \ 
 
 2 2.
 
 3« 
 
 ORIGINAL PAPERS 
 
 . OF THE 
 
 COUNTESS LICHTENAU, 
 
 COMMONLY CALLED 
 
 MINNA ENCKE. 
 
 I am with child, mother, and big F is 
 
 ready to die with joy about it. But he is fond of 
 variety. About eight days fince there came an 
 Italian ftrumpet here from Leipfic ; I think her 
 name is Saporetti ; that curfed pander, that French- 
 man, Dufour, has introduced her to him. She 
 has been repeatedly with the Prince at Potfdam, 
 fo Rietz has told me. But patience only; I'll 
 contrive to let tbe King know, and then all her 
 fine plans will be defeated; out of the kingdom 
 with her in a hurry! The King, I am informed, a 
 few days ago, {"aid, If my nephew cannot live with- 
 out a w e, I mould prefer to fee him keep 
 
 a German to a foreigner ; the latter are much 
 more expeniive, and may fome time difcover and
 
 37 
 
 reveal fecrets of the State. Your powder, mother, 
 
 does wonders ; whenever F has taken a 
 
 dofe of it, he is quite amorous, and loads me 
 with careffes and favours. Let him think, what 
 he pleafes, fay I to myfelf, provided I can re- 
 tain my powers over him. Yelterday George 
 brought me a fine watch, fet with brilliants, brace- 
 lets, and ear-rings of the fame, a (tomacher, and 
 a fuperb necklace, with a medallion containing the 
 Prince's portrait. Herewith I fent you thirty 
 Frederics-d'ors for my brother; I have created him 
 my equerry; he is to difpatch my letters to Potf- 
 dam, and muft have a good poney, whofe oats and 
 furniture are my concern. 
 
 The King has been pleafed to fend Madam 
 Saporetti, well attended, out of the land, and 
 given orders to look after Monfieur Dufour. He 
 keeps himfelf concealed at Berlin, and, to elude 
 all inquiry, has taken the name Chofieu. The 
 Prince has not the leaft notion of all this being my 
 doings, and is as tender and as loving as ever. 
 Rietz himfelf is very glad to fee that French puppy 
 in the dumps, for who knows but he might fome 
 time have got him out of his mailer's favour, for 
 he is full of intrigue, and then all would be over 
 with every one of us. Rietz is a good kind of 
 
 D 3
 
 3» 
 
 ftupid fellow, all on my fide, and feems to be 
 pleafed to fee the Prince fo conftant in his love 
 to me. 
 
 The Prince abfolutely infifts upon my marriage 
 with Rietz, becaufe iince the late difcovery the 
 King is angry with him. It is only intended to 
 be a mere farce to outwit the old fox, who, as he 
 is pad all enjoyment, would have others infenfible 
 to every pleafure to keep him company. 
 
 i 
 
 I mall be obliged to fwallow the bitter draught, 
 and permit his Highnefs's fhoe-black to call me his 
 wife. Krantz has inferted a moft biting epigram 
 againft me in his weekly publication ; it alludes to 
 my former calling, when I ufed to fell lemons and 
 oranges. Curfe the fool ! fend him four Frede- 
 rics-d'ors, and he will hold his tongue, I warrant 
 you; he is nothing but a hungry fcribbler, that for 
 money would convert angels into devils, and de- 
 vils into angels of light. 
 
 Since the lafl review in Silefia, the King, is 
 extremely fufpicious and ill-tempered with the 
 Prince, and all our party. He has him watched 
 as clofely as poflible, and knows every one that
 
 39 
 
 comes and goes. My dear F c can only vifit 
 
 me by night ; he comes on horfeback, changes his 
 hories at Zehlendorf, and leaves me at three in 
 the morning. At five he is back at Potfdam, and 
 every morning appears on the parade to avoid fuf- 
 picion. The King has fent Forcade for a foldier 
 to a regiment at Brieg, becaufe, as he pleafes to 
 term it, he affilts his nephew in all his little fro- 
 lics. The Prince is extremely chagrined at it, and 
 has confoled poor Forbade with the profpecl of 
 better times. This may, probably, have induced 
 him, in his fits of ill humour, to vent his rage on 
 poor Rietz, whom, of late, he has feveral times 
 treated to a royal caning. There are two Sile- 
 fian Counts at Berlin, of the name of Wingerfky ; 
 the Prince is very intimate with them. Who are 
 thofe fellows ? My brother mull watch them, and 
 let me know. 
 
 Werner, of Breflau, and Eckflein, of Schmie- 
 berg, have brought money. The rich convents of 
 thole places have granted a joint loan, which the 
 Prince has promifed to repay them on his acceflion 
 to the throne. They are pretty good people. 
 This Werner and this Eckflein have paid me a 
 vifit to-day, together with Rietz. 
 
 d 4
 
 40 
 
 The old grumbler walks upon his laft legs, 
 and, by what Selle and Zimmermann have told the 
 Prince, he cannot hold out above three weeks 
 longer, and then who is to interrupt our career ? 
 O ! the pretty calks full of gold which lie in the 
 cellars underneath the old palace at Berlin ! We 
 will bring them to light. Then we command, do 
 any thing I chufe, and I'll turn him about till I 
 find the right handle of him. Now we fhall foon 
 want a fet of confidential perfons to affift us with 
 counfel and deed; for, alas! what do we know about 
 government and politics? Werner and Bender are 
 two men that will do for me ; they know better 
 than I what they are about. 
 
 These laft three weeks have been monftrous 
 long ; every hour we expecled to receive the 
 hews of his death. But he is gone at laft; between 
 two and three this morning the old grumbler 
 breathed his laft, and my F— — — c is King. Only 
 
 think, mother, F c is King ! Minna now 
 
 will govern, and from this very inftant a new 
 profpe£t begins to open to us. I am going to buy 
 a houfe Unter den Linden*. I mean to fill it 
 
 * A ftreet in Berlin, fo called from the plantation of lime- 
 trees laid out there.
 
 4* 
 
 with entire new furniture, which fhall not be a 
 whit inferior to that of the Queen's. Werner has 
 been made minifter, and Bender has obtained the 
 commiffion of a major-general and adjutant. 
 Theie are two of our creatures, do you fee, who 
 will work our good-natured K — g nicely. 
 
 The King has, a few days fince, paid repeated 
 vifits to the Dowager-Queen; and my fpies tell 
 me, that he is extremely fmitten with the beauty of 
 Mifs V *, who, in fact, has been the only 
 
 * Mademolfelle Vofs has a kind of natural wit, fomc infor- 
 mation, is rather more wilful than firm, and is very obviouily 
 aukward, which (he endeavours to difguife by afluming an air of 
 fimplicity. She is ugly, and that even to a degree ; and her only 
 excellence is the goodnefs of her complexion, which I think ra- 
 ther wan than white, and a fine neck ; over which fhe threw a 
 double handkerchief the other day, as (he was leaving Prince 
 Henry's comedy, to crofs the apartments, faying to the Princefs 
 Frederica, " I muft take good care of them, for it is after thefc 
 they run." It is this mixture of eccentric licentioufnefs (which 
 (he accompanies with airs of ignorant innocence) and veftal feve- 
 rity, which the world fays has feduced the King. Mademoifelle 
 Vofs, who holds it ridiculous to be German, and who is tolerably 
 well acquainted with the Englifh language, afFe&s the Anglo- 
 mania to excefs, and thinks it a proof of politenefs not to love the 
 French. Her vanity, which has found itfelf under reftraint, 
 when in company with fome amiable people of that nation, hates 
 thofe it cannot imitate, more efpecially becaufe her farcafms are 
 returned with intereft. Thus, for inftance, the other day I could
 
 42 
 
 caufe of all thefe vifhs. All our engines are at 
 play to extinguifh this flame, and if I cannot bring 
 that about, I am loft for ever ! All this is a court- 
 cabal to get me out, and one of the nobility in. 
 Some people, by this means, hope to acquire 
 greater influence in the affairs of the State. Mifs 
 V— — , I am told, has a pretty face, and, what 
 is ftill worfe, me is faid to be extremely virtuous; 
 the King will, therefore, be at fome trouble to 
 fubdue her. The Dowager-Queen, a very godly 
 princefs, keeps a fharp look out, and has, I am 
 told, loudly expoftulated about it with the King. 
 My fpies watch every motion, and I am inftan- 
 taneoufly apprized of the moft minute occurrence. 
 I don't know how it is, but fome time fince the 
 King was extremely referved with me, and I 
 
 not keep filence when I heard an exclamation, " Oh, heavens ! 
 when fhall I fee, when fhall we have an Englifh play ! I really 
 Chould expire with rapture !" For my part, Madam, faid I drily, 
 *' I rather wifh you may not, fooner than you imagine, ftand in 
 need of French plays." All thofe who began to be offended by 
 her high airs, fmiled ; and Prince Henry, who pretended not to 
 hear her, laughed aloud. Her face was fuffufed with blufhes, 
 and me did not anfwer a word, but it is eafy to punifh, difficult 
 t o correct. 
 
 She has hitherto declared open war againft the myftics, and 
 detefts the daughters of the chief favourite, who are maids of 
 honour to the Queen. But as amidft her weakneffes fhe istranf- 
 ported by devotion even to fuperftition, nothing may be depended 
 on for futurity. — . — Mifabeaus Secret Uifiory of thi Court of 
 Herlin*
 
 43 
 
 would lay my head that all this is on account of 
 
 Mifs V . But let me but once more lay hold 
 
 of him, and your powder mall do wonders, mo- 
 ther ; he then fhall leave me no more, I warrant you. 
 
 We have contrived matters fo, that my F c, 
 
 in the newfpapers, is called the dear beloved; 
 he gives full credit to the appellation, and who 
 knows but thofe that wrote this nonfenfe believed 
 it to be true full as well as he does ? 
 
 Woe! woe! and three times woe! the great 
 
 mifchief has begun. Mifs V — has yielded, 
 
 and is the King's favorite. Could you think of 
 any thing fo exquifitely foolifh as this / She has 
 given herfelf up to the King, on condition of having 
 a left-handed marriage ! The firft Court Chap- 
 lain and Member of the Confiftory, the Rev. 
 
 H , on Friday laft, performed the ceremony 
 
 at the palace of Charlottenburg, for which he re- 
 ceived a hundred glittering Frederics-d'ors. She 
 \s now formally Queen, on the left hand, and, in 
 the mod extenfive meaning of the word, the ru- 
 ling queen, for (he governs even the King. Would 
 you believe it, mother, a formal law has, by order 
 of the King, been made concerning marriages on 
 the left hand, and this law has been inferted in 
 the code of laws with all the publicity, to give a.
 
 44 
 
 fanclion to this archicomical mock-marriage! The 
 public laugh at it, make remarks, and no one fol- 
 lows this Don Quixotif'm. But, dear mother, what 
 is to become of me? I muft have the K — g, mould 
 I tear him out of the arms of Proferpine herfelf, 
 mould 1 be forced to fetch him out of the midft 
 of heaven or of hell. He fhall be mine, mine 
 alone! Think of means, dear fweet mother! No 
 matter what means, no matter how dangerous ! 
 Neceflity has no law; I muft clear the road to the 
 
 heart of my F ^c; I will pull up by the root 
 
 every thing that oppofes me; V muft vanifh 
 
 away from among the living. Afk A — lang, Wer- 
 ner, Bender, and all our people, how I muft fet 
 about it. I will have no denial ; a third perfon is 
 molt fit for the bufinefs. 
 
 V is pregnant, and does not fuffer the King 
 
 to go from her fide one minute. He is moft vul- 
 garly fmittcn with that little figure; he fees nothing 
 but through her eyes; he does nought but by her 
 directions. They fay, in town, that fhe makes him 
 do many a good action*; I know nothing of it, 
 
 * Literally true. Had this good and liberal foul lived longer, 
 the fweat of the brows of the fubjcfts would not have been fquan- 
 dered away in fo wanton a manner.
 
 45 
 
 What do they call good ? Is it, perhaps, that now 
 he meddles with the concerns of the land, and 
 reads every fcrap himfelf? Pray what has a King 
 miniflers for, and why does he pay them ? Let 
 thofe work, and let him be merry and amufe him- 
 felf! State-affairs are much too tedious to interfere 
 with them. As foon as I have him again, I will 
 foon make him fenfible that my philofophy is the 
 beft of all, and alone fuits a monarch. He fhall 
 be no fecretary ; not he, indeed ; he (hall not daily 
 flain his fingers with ink, and fign nonfenfe. Rietz 
 
 and M may do that. A-propos, let me foon 
 
 know the pleafing intelligence, of which you gave 
 me a hint not long fince. Aqua toffana won't do, 
 dear mother, for we are not yet intimate enough 
 
 with V to approach her thus. It ought to 
 
 be a fubtile and expeditious remedy, fuch a one as 
 will rid us of that fool without creating any fuf- 
 picion. 
 
 This moment Rietz comes to inform me, that 
 
 the King has raifed Mifs V to a Countefs 
 
 I heim. He has fent her to-day, by Rietz, 
 
 the Imperial diploma, together with a brilliant hair 
 pin, of great value. For God's fake, fpeak with 
 
 S about the matter, left you will have me 
 
 lofe my fenfes.
 
 46 
 
 Minna! Minna! only don't be fo violent, S— 
 has been bufy for us all. In the afternoon he will 
 fend you the box with the powder, you know, 
 and which has arrived from Venice only lafl night. 
 
 F went thither poft, day and night, and ftopt 
 
 but one day at Vienna to take a little reft. It cofts 
 2000 zechins, but its effecl: is worth more than 
 2000 millions. But hum and be clofe ! and, for 
 God's fake, no more confidents ! 
 
 She is fafeiy gone to eternal reft, mother, and 
 we may again be tranquil. During the firft fort- 
 night the King has been inconfolable, and would 
 fuffer nobody in his prefence, for he was actually 
 in love with the filly creature. But he will come 
 round again, I hope. To-morrow I give nfete at 
 Charlottenburg, and there I will mufter up what 
 charms I have to rivet the rambler for ever. Your 
 powder, dear mother, muft again do the bufinefs. 
 I have now good hopes all goes on to my wilhes.
 
 47 
 
 LETTERS 
 
 FROM 
 
 VIENNA, ITALY, FRANCE, and PYRMONT*. 
 
 One cannot know, my dear A , what turn 
 
 this may take with us, at the event of fome future 
 change. I therefore, firft of all, intend to take 
 a trip to Pifa, as it is called, and there I'll con- 
 trive to place my property, which chiefly confifts 
 in good paper and jewels, as advantageoufly as I 
 can. Let a change take place then, I don't care, 
 for I know whither to dire 61 my courfe. Pray 
 let the pamphlet in queftion be as biting as pof- 
 fible, for it is intended to produce efFecls. The 
 people mall know that I am the favorite of the 
 
 * As the letters, and other writings of the Counfefs of Lich- 
 tenau, reach down to the French revolution and the expedition 
 againft that nation, but, having fcarce any thing interefting in 
 them, except what concerns the amorous intrigues of an artful 
 woman, the Editor has thought proper to omit all that common- 
 place ftuff, to prefent the Reader with papers of greater impor- 
 tance.
 
 4& 
 
 King, their Sovereign, and that I was born to 
 command. Rietz will purpofely deftroy every 
 paper, and every propolal, that, comes from that 
 quarter. Werner and Bender have, likewife, dif- 
 pofed the King in a manner, that he will accede 
 to nothing that has not our fanclion. He muft 
 be amufed with all imaginable kinds of enter- 
 tainments, that mav tend to divert his mind 
 fo that he may lofe all recollection of this bufi- 
 nefs. He is bufy with projects concerning the 
 Countefs of the Mark; he is looking out for a 
 good match for the fweet creature. Many have 
 already applied to me, wifhing to obtain my con- 
 fent, but none of them would fuit. The magnifi- 
 cent monument of marble of Carrara, for my fon, 
 is to be ready next week. 
 
 Pifa is an agreeable place, where you may 
 arnufe yourfelf like a Queen; notwithstanding 
 which I fhall not ftay above four weeks. Pray 
 
 tell Bender, M , and Werner, to prepare 
 
 the King againft my return. And what is that 
 ftory about the Countefs D — hofT? I hope he is 
 not in earneft with that creature; don't let things 
 go fo far as they went with the Countefs I — heim. 
 
 Let that be your care, dear A-, . I have no 
 
 objection if the King means nothing but a little
 
 49 
 
 amufement. At Vienna they are bufy with the 
 Imperial diploma for me. Keep a good watch, 
 and let me know* 
 
 Dear little Rietz, I mull be feparated from 
 you, for within fix weeks I mall be a Countefs. 
 Be afFured, at the fame time, that all this will pro- 
 duce no alteration in our connexion. All fhall 
 remain on the old footing ; we only change names. 
 
 Believe me, good boy, you and I act too con- 
 fpicuous a part not to be envied. To filence the 
 invidious, and to awe thofe who, through their ex- 
 alted birth, might injure us, I am to be made 
 Countefs Lichtenau. The Court of Vienna has 
 great influence, and its prote&ion may be of ufe 
 to me. All the return they expetl for this is a mere 
 trifle; nothing but an alliance againft France. I 
 am to perfuade the King to it. When at Vienna 
 1 fhall mention more of this plan to A , Wer- 
 ner, and Bender. Till then farewell, my good 
 Rietz, and clear the King's lobbies of all thofe 
 that can injure me in his affections. 
 
 Friend A , tell Bender that an exprefs from 
 
 me will communicate a plan to him, by which 
 
 £
 
 5° 
 
 the King is to be perfuaded to undertake a journey 
 to Pilnitz. The Court of Vienna then will fend 
 
 an invitation to the King, and the Ch r de 
 
 S accepts the interview. Could not it be 
 
 contrived at the fame time that the King goes to 
 the review at Breflau ? All muft be done within a 
 fortnight. Vienna is an enchanting place, and it 
 has more charms for me than Berlin itfelf; there 
 are a thoufand varieties here. I am much courted 
 
 by the great, and the letters the I 1 ambaf-- 
 
 fador has furnifhed me with are all good. The 
 Chancery of the Empire has orders to difpatch 
 my diploma, without any further expence than the 
 ufual fees paid on thofe occafions. The Emperor 
 to-morrow fets out upon a journey to Bohemia, 
 and feems to have the execution of fome grand 
 plan in view. Only perfuade Bender to an in- 
 terview at Pilnitz; we muft furnifh the King with 
 amufement. 
 
 The courier of the camp has brought me the 
 King's invitation to Pilnitz. He has been pre- 
 iented with 2CO ducats by the Emperor, and I 
 have given him a gold repeater. Some of thefe 
 days I go by Prague to Drefden, where elegant 
 lodgings are prepared for me at the Hotel de Saxe. 
 The intelligence that the Countefs D — hoff has 
 incurred the King's difpleafure, and that G— fet
 
 5* 
 
 has been ordered out of the country, has filled rne 
 withextacy; it is mufic to my ears. Bender and 
 Werner are actually great men ; indeed I did not 
 take them to be matters of fo much art and addrefs. 
 An excellent idea, to make the King believe that 
 they intended to poifon him ! Now he can efcape 
 us no more, fiiould he eVen wifh it. 
 
 — • iii — 
 
 FROM DRESDEN. 
 
 Here we have a continual round of pleafures 
 and entertainments. However fhort the meeting 
 at Pilnitz might be, yet there was a variety of the 
 moll brilliant fetes. Fireworks, illuminations, balls, 
 an Italian opera buffa, in rapid fucceffion, and I 
 enjoyed it indeed. Leopold is gone to Prague to 
 be crowned King of Bohemia; the King will ftay 
 one day longer. I have not been able to converfe 
 above twice with him ; he was continually befet 
 by the French emigrants, and the brother of the 
 King of France. The campaign is refolved on, 
 and we are allied with Auftria. If the French 
 do not chufe to let us have our way, our plan is to 
 march flrait to Paris, and to affift the Emperor to 
 conquer Alface and Lorrain. As an equivalent 
 the King is to have Dantzic, Thorn, and a great 
 part of Poland. All this, do you fee, dear 
 A lany. has been but a flroke of the pen, 
 
 E 2
 
 5 2 
 
 In eight days, at fartheft, we are at Paris, and 
 attend at the King's grand opera. Verdun has not 
 coft us a fingle man, and I am here thefe eight 
 days. Voild la maitrejje declare e du Roi de P — e, 
 fay the French, as they furvey me with a glance 
 from top to toe. But let me reach Paris, dear 
 
 A- lang, and you fhall hear of me. Have you 
 
 heard the news, that by my management the K — g 
 has ordered lodgings for Dufour in the fortrefs of 
 Magdeburg? That infamous rafcal wrote from this 
 place to his friends at Berlin. That vulgar gang 
 would befet the K — g without intermiffion, and fol- 
 low him even to France. Fine encomiums on the 
 Pruflian arms, indeed ! It luckily happened, that 
 the letter fell into my hands; I communicated it 
 to the K — g at a favorable moment, and he fent 
 him to Magdeburg. There he may continue his 
 remarks on my journey to France as long as he 
 mall think proper. I am glad to be rid, at lad, of 
 that curfed fneaking rafcal. 
 
 We retreat as fall as we cau ; for our fine pro- 
 ject of penetrating to Paris through Champagne 
 has altogether mifcarried. Dumourier has had 
 an interview with the Prince and Count K — uth, 
 after which our retreat was immediately refolved 
 on. I travel through Limbing and Treves ftrait 
 to Frankfort, and there wait for further news from 
 you. 1 have again fent half a million of dollars,
 
 53 
 
 in Frederic-d'ors, to my agent in London, and ex- 
 peel a frefh cargo from Berlin. I am, upon the 
 whole, well pleafed with the Englifh; they are a 
 charming nation. 
 
 I am extremely concerned at what you tell 
 me about the difturbances which have taken place 
 at Breflau on account of the Privy Coun feller 
 Werner, for you know how much we ftand in- 
 debted to him. The deputies from Breflau have 
 been introduced to the K — g here at Franckfort. 
 
 His M y has very gracioufly received them, 
 
 and perfonally attended at the report which they 
 made of the whole tranfaction. He is extremely 
 difpleafed with Werner, and mean while has fuf 
 pended him from his office. Pray, dear A — lang, 
 fee what you can do in poor Werner's behalf; he 
 has an amazing number of enemies. As often as 
 I take an opportunity to fpeak of him to the K — g, 
 his anfwer always is, « Do not intercede for that 
 fellow, he is a downright wretch." I am told, 
 that the accounts received from South Pruflia will 
 have great influence upon the fpeedy return of the 
 K — g. Rietz has received letters from Werner 
 
 and I ger, befides two addrefTes to the K — g, 
 
 which he will tender him this day; they may, 
 perhaps, produce fome good efTeclj for he is in a 
 
 good humour. 
 
 e 3
 
 54 
 
 Get my palace ready, for I fhall fet off for 
 Berlin before the K — g. He goes to South 
 Pruffia, and returns to Berlin by the way of Sile- 
 fia; L — fini and B — werder are his only atten- 
 dants. There mult have arrived very important 
 difpatches from Peterfburg, for the cabinet is bufy 
 without interruption. The K — g has this day fig- 
 gifted, both to the army and the different foreign 
 minifters who are prefent at head-quarters, that 
 he means to leave the army on the Rhine, and to 
 repair to South Pruffia. The Prince of Naffau 
 has already waited on me feveral times, and yef- 
 terday made me a prefent of a magnificent cloke, 
 of the moft exquifite Ruffian fur. 
 
 A series of letters follow, very little inter- 
 efting; fuch as thoughts on the journey to Pifa, 
 of the ufual caft ; a project for marrying the 
 Countefs of the Mark, her daughter ; letters to 
 du Bofk, Bauman, Wollner, Amelang, Schmidts, 
 Rietz, Guldling, Granfort, &c. ; forged cabinet- 
 papers, cypher-writing, and chemical receipts ; 
 fome Italian directions to ufe the aqua toffana, 
 and other poifonous preparations ; love-letters 
 from feveral fools, among which there is even a 
 
 declaration d' amour of the Prince of W k, 
 
 from Pyrmont ; intercepted letters, directed partly
 
 55 
 
 to the K — g and his minifters, partly to other 
 Sovereigns and great men ; a projeft of a loan 
 for the K — g, to which, likewife, belong the mares 
 in the adminiftration of the tobacco, that unfor- 
 tunately mifcarried; twelve blanks, with the fig- 
 nature of the K — g and the cabinet-feal. 
 
 Pray, dear A , enquire who has had the 
 
 audacity to deftroy my fine furniture at Charlot- 
 tenburg, and to throw all my plate into the Spree, 
 whilft I attended at the marriage of the heredi- 
 tary Prince L is. You may well be 
 
 furprifed to hear of my being at Court; but who 
 could refufe the Countefs of Lichtenau ? I have 
 a notion that the outrage has been committed by 
 
 officers, who were countenanced by the h y 
 
 P . for otherwife, how could the guard 
 
 at the palace have permitted it, without giving the 
 alarm ? The K — g has promifed me fatisfaction, 
 and the fcoundrels {hall run the gauntlet. May 
 thofe female fools burft with fpite! I don't care; 
 the K — g is mine for ever! 
 
 e> 
 
 At my little domeftic theatre I'll give to-morrow 
 a molt extraordinary /etc, to which none but ladies 
 of my acquaintance are invited. Every one is to 
 appear in a light airy drefs. The performance is 
 
 e 4
 
 5<5 
 
 to open with an Italian piece, called Hymen's 
 Wake. Some male and female dancers are to 
 perform, on this occafion, in the ufual mode. After 
 the theatrical reprefentation there is to be a grand 
 ball, in fuch a (tile as cannot fail to captivate the 
 fenfes; after which I have prepared an enchanting 
 grotto for the K — g. I have inftrucled little 
 Schult, the dancer, how to behave; fhe is to re- 
 prefent a Venus. There is a fete for you ! The 
 K — g, not long ago, faid to me, K What a charm- 
 ing woman you are, Minna! You facrihce your 
 own health to promote mine." 
 
 PYRMONT, IN I797. 
 
 The K — g actually means to purchafe Pyrmont 
 in right earneft, and negociations on the fubje6t 
 are carried on with great activity. That little 
 tract of country is incumbered with heavy debts; 
 its produce is about 200,000 dollars a-year. 
 
 The P e de has made me a ferious 
 
 tender of his hand, and thinks, by that means, to 
 clear his eftate. The titles of Princefs and your 
 Royal Highnefs, I muft confefs, have great charms 
 for me. But then I cannot move in fo extenfive 
 a circle as formerly, on account of my great dif- 
 tance from Berlin. What would you have me
 
 57 
 
 cjo 5 A lang ? The French players at Hamburg 
 
 have been called to this place ; they are to have 
 500 Frederics dors for their journey hither, and 
 as many on their return to Hamburg. The K — g 
 fuffers a great deal from his pectoral dropfy, that 
 makes us think of fuch a variety of amufements 
 for him. Between you and me, I am alarmed for his 
 health. Even the Englifh Doclor often fhrugs up 
 his flioulders, and gives but very faint hopes. If 
 I can but bring about one thing, he may then de- 
 part in peace. My emigrant, Coller, is exactly the 
 man we want; next week I fend him to Hamburg 
 with the papers in queftion, and I hope he will 
 do bufinefs properly, and prove ufeful to us. My 
 brother and Kunaffms are to accompany him. 
 
 Here follows a Number of Letters addreffed to her 
 Mother, out of which the following are felefled: 
 
 I am quite impatient to write to my dearefl 
 mother ; I have fo much to fay that I don't know 
 when I (hall have done, but I rauft tell my deareft 
 mother every thing, and then my mind will be at 
 eafe. I have had fome dreadful dreams; pray 
 Heaven that all be right. You mull affift me with 
 your advice ; you mud take care to difcover every 
 thing that is faid of me; we mufl do every thing 
 to retain our power and influence; I know the
 
 5« 
 
 people hate me becaufe I hate them. If there are 
 any lampoons handed about in fecret, you mult 
 procure them, and find out, if pofuble, the au- 
 thors. You know I have every thing to dread 
 from my own fex. Paris is an enchanting city ; 
 fuch a continued round of pleafures, balls, operas, 
 and dances ; — and, then, fuch gallantry. You 
 cannot conceive how my toilet is frequented by 
 perfons of the firft rank, and how my charms are 
 admired ! But, O my dear mother, you cannot 
 conceive how my pride is humbled as often as I 
 think of the lownefs of my birth! Sometimes I am 
 like to faint when I think of it, but I banifli it 
 from my thoughts as faft as I can. What do titles, 
 and beauty, and fplendour, and power, avail ? 
 After all, I am but the daughter of a trumpeter; 
 
 but K fe has been of great fervice to me in 
 
 this refpecl:, for he has whifpered, under the feal 
 of fecrecy, that I am the daughter of Baron 
 
 de S ts, by a left-handed marriage. This 
 
 ftory rauft be kept alive, and you mud nod affent 
 to it; and if a letter or two could be forged, it 
 would (tamp it with credit. Confiilt L — e on this, 
 but if it is not managed with the rrreateft addrefs, 
 it will make things worfe than ever; let me be 
 the daughter of any one rather than the daughter 
 of a trumpeter. I have fent Krebs purpofely 
 with this letter; you may trufl: him. The French 
 women drefs to the highefi advantage, and Gleim
 
 59 
 
 tells me, that fome of the firft judges of beauty 
 fay that I am ten times handfomer than the 
 Countefs du Barry was in her fineft days. I 
 fend you a portrait of her, that you may judge, 
 for I know my dear mother will not deceive me. 
 Gleim is a charming fellow, but I muft not truft 
 him too far, though he thinks he is in full poflTef- 
 fion of all my fecrets; he is a vain fellow, but he 
 is a charming fellow for all that. I am often compli- 
 mented on my accent, and the Abbe de Lille 
 allured me the other morning, that I might be 
 miftaken for a French woman. In that refpefr, 
 this was a high compliment, for the French are 
 the vainefl creatures on earth. I had fome verfes 
 fent me a few days ago, but the fcribbler deceived 
 me, for I find they were written fome years ago by 
 Voltaire, on Madame de Pompadour; you cannot 
 conceive how it mortified me. Then, as to my 
 age, I think I may venture to ftrike off three years; 
 how do I tremble at the idea of wrinkled cheeks I 
 Give me youth, beauty, and birth ; thefe are all I 
 afk, and then I will hold my lover as long as I 
 pleafe, or, if I mould lofe him, I can foon re- 
 place him. O dear mother! I have one queftion 
 to afk, and I tremble when I afk it. Are you fure 
 I had the fmall-pox ? Surely I hope I had. I have 
 Juckily got acquainted with a woman who excels 
 in all kinds of cofmetics, and other fecrets of 
 great importance, I muft purchafe them all, cofl
 
 6o 
 
 what they will. You cannot conceive how I am 
 putting your leffons in praQice, and fuccefsfully 
 too; fometimes I affe£t lilence, loft in thought, 
 and counterfeit indifpofition, that I may read the 
 effects in the eyes of certain perfons. The French 
 excel in all kinds of intrigue; every man is a lover, 
 and talks of fentiment, but be affured, my dear 
 mother, that real paffion never yet found its way 
 into the heart of a Frenchman. I have ken the 
 handfome Ferfon twice; he pafTes for the richeft 
 man in Sweden ; he lives in great fplendour, but, 
 at the fame time, with the greatefl ceconomy. 
 Pougent has promifed to give me fome leffons in 
 mufic; he is natural fon to the Prince of Conti. 
 Would that I could fay I was natural daughter 
 to fome prince, or any perfon that could boaft of 
 noble blood ! and yet I think there is fome in my 
 veins; it is impomble I can be the daughter of a 
 trumpeter ; you know I bear no refemblance to 
 him. You fee how this fits on my heart; I can 
 fay any thing to you. I do not know how long I 
 fhall remain in Paris. I have bought a number 
 of piclures; one day they fhall adorn my Chateau. 
 They have been chofen by an Italian, who is faid 
 to be a great connoiffeur in that line, but the 
 Italians are great cheats. Do not detain Krebs 
 long; fend him to me with good news. I wifh 
 you could fee me, I never looked fo charming in 
 my life. Pray tell me if poor Elmenbent is alive;
 
 6i 
 
 if Ihe is, you muft give her fome money ; {he 
 knows my age, and fhe may blab it with other 
 fecrets. As to ********** 
 
 Krebs will tell you how I am adored. You 
 muft not let him be near my filler, for the Count 
 might afk him fome queftions, and you know how 
 aukward he is in his anfwers. I have not time to 
 finifh this letter ; I muft drefs for the opera. 
 Write, write all, and fend Krebs back on the 
 wings of impatience. * ****** 
 
 O my dear angelic mother ! I read your letter 
 over with fuch joy, that I thought I (hould faint 
 at every line. You know, you may fay, you got 
 acquainted with the Baron at Eldagfen ; he paffed 
 a couple of years there, and, if the ftory is well 
 managed, who is to contradict, it. I am more 
 afraid of Paftor Befler than any, but he muft be 
 bribed or flattered with the hopes of preferment. I 
 think we will contrive to manage this matter to our 
 fatisfaciion. I am forming a little party here, but 
 it is hard to truft the French, for, notwithftand- 
 ing all the appearance of levity which they affume, 
 they are full of defign, and, though they are al- 
 ways fpeaking, yet they are always thinking. For 
 all that, 1 have purchafed the fecret of the cofme- 
 tic; its divine! I cannot tell you the enchanting 
 eifeci of it; but this is the only fecret I mull
 
 6;i 
 
 keep from my dear mother and fitter. By the 
 bye, you mult not let her fee one of my letters; 
 you know me could never keep a fecret fince 
 fhe was born. Above all, how does my heart 
 rejoice when you tell me I had the frightful fmall- 
 pox ! You are quite fure of it, you muft not de- 
 ceive ; but you did not tell me when, becaufe I 
 would drive to recollect. You muft get Candi- 
 date Bang to write fome verfes on me; the Prince 
 reads every thing that he writes ; tell him that I 
 never looked fo lovely in my life ; do not let him 
 forget my teeth, and eyes, and fine hair, and, above 
 all, my fmile; but, if he fhould fpeak of "my 
 mind, let that be artlefs and innocent; but, above 
 all, let him praife my conftancy in love; let him 
 draw me in the midft of a circle of dvingr lovers, 
 
 JO * 
 
 with my eyes fixed on one only. Do not let him 
 know that I defired this, for he is one of thofe 
 that cannot keep a fecret either, but we muft make 
 ufe of inch perfons at times; he is a fool with 
 all his learning, but we will keep that to ourfelves. 
 Only three lampoons, dear mother ; I think I 
 know their author, and, inftead of being paid, he 
 fhall pay for them. They feem to be at a lofs 
 what to fay of me here ; but I am afraid, though 
 they bow in my prefence, that they fneer behind 
 my back. I have got acquainted with Count 
 Beincourt ; he has got an immenfe eftate in Nor- 
 mandy, and one of the oldeft families in that
 
 63 
 
 country. Oh ! what it is to be defcended of an 
 old family! There are fome that affect to defpife 
 it, but I know that they wifh for it in fecret. I 
 have met with two or three Roficrufians, but not 
 one Swedenborgian. Do you know that I go by 
 the name of thehandfome Swedenborgian? I had 
 
 a frightful dream this morning; I dreamed that * 
 
 * # * * ********** 
 
 * * * * * ********* 
 ** * * ********** 
 
 I can tell any thing to you. Pray, my dear mo- 
 ther, tell it under a feigned name. I fhould like 
 to pay a vifit to England, becaufe I am told the 
 nobility in that country are not [o proud as ours ; 
 notwithuanding this, Heaven knows what money 
 they fpend in Paris; they are fine looking men, 
 but fpeak very bad French. The French admire 
 nothing of the Englifh but their constitution, but 
 I admire their opennefs. Gofs has taught me to . 
 fpeak a little Englifh, but it is a horrid language 
 to pronounce. I mufl learn fome Italian before 
 I fet out for Italy. Did Krebs tell you what hap- 
 pened in Champagne ? A flupid carman drove ; 
 againft my carriage, and overturned it; I got into 
 fuch a paffion that I {truck the fellow twice. It 
 was fome time before I could get the carnage re- 
 paired, for the French are mere bunglers at any 
 thing of the kind; it will, however, be a good 
 apology for. me to get an Englifh carriage. You
 
 64 
 
 muft find out what Baron Hertzberg fays; every 
 thing that comes from his lips has great weight; 
 but he is too bufy with his mulberry-trees to mind 
 the trumpeter's daughter. Oh ! how does that 
 horrid word chill my veins! Krebs is a faithful 
 fellow, but I am afraid he has mentioned fome- 
 thing about the bathing fcene; it runs in my mind 
 he has. I am afraid to mention it to him, left I 
 fhould get into a paffion, and then I might fay 
 fomething that would ruin us all. I do not know 
 what they think of me at Deffau ; there I know 
 I am hated and envied; Bekker can tell you, but 
 I know it already ; I am hated and envied in that 
 vile place, but they do not know all, and that is a 
 confolation. Let us make out our own ftory, and 
 when it is properly done, we will fet them all at 
 defiance. Send the interpretation of my dream. 
 Be kind to Krebs, he is a faithful fellow, and that 
 is all he is good for. 
 
 My deareft mother ! the very firfl line of your 
 letter revived my fpirits. The interpretation of 
 my dream is delightful, but the very thoughts of 
 the black dog freezes the blood in my veins; yet 
 a dream is but a dream, but then they come to 
 pafs, — " My power is but in its infancy !" Oh ! 
 that is too flattering! If that is the cafe, I will yet 
 be revenged of all my enemies. As to the people,
 
 6 5 
 
 a little money will make friends of them at any 
 time, and money mall not be fpared when I have 
 
 an obje£tin view. Baron S ts will not do; he 
 
 is (till alive, and at prefent on a tour in Lapland. 
 I wifh they could change him into a rein deer; but 
 we mult think of fomebody elfe. What do you 
 think of Count L — — d; his family is ancient ; he 
 is. old and vain of his amours. Secrecy is all; 
 
 if T am able to retain — , I will laugh at 
 
 every thing. I affect a total indifference to 
 politics, but they little know that it engroffes 
 all my attention. O heavens ! what a figure 
 I fhall cut when I return ! How my drefs 
 will be imitated, and all my airs and motions 
 fought after and copied ! Veftris. gives me fome 
 leffons. I neglecl nothing that may render me 
 
 charming in the eyes of ; that is my 
 
 grand object. O dear mother, let me know 
 every thing that you hear! do not fpare money; 
 
 there is nothing can be done without. Lu ini, 
 
 I am afraid, is gaining ground every day in a 
 
 certain ; I dread the very name of an 
 
 Italian. I tell you a Frenchman or Italian has 
 more art in his little finger than fifty Germans put 
 together. My very looks are watched in this 
 place, but I think I can cheat them even in that. 
 When they talk of politics, I pretend that I know 
 nothing of the matter; yet it is the moft difficult 
 thing in the world to deceive a Frenchman or a 
 
 F
 
 66 
 
 French woman. The Marquis de la F e is a 
 
 ftupid fellow; I do not know how the deuce he 
 has acquired fo much popularity. Mirabeau is 
 an artful man ; I muft be civil to him, as he is 
 writing fomething, and, perhaps, may fay fome- 
 thing bitter. Indeed, every one is afraid of him; 
 I tremble at the fight of him. I am afraid he 
 knows the curfed fecret of the mill; the only 
 thing, however, in my favor, is, that no one be- 
 lieves what he writes or fays, becaufe it is known 
 that he will do any thing to gratify his malignity, 
 or to put money in his pocket, as he is poor. 
 I deteft him, and I am afraid he reads it in my 
 eyes. Burn all the papers in the little black box; 
 we do not know what may happen; let us put as 
 little in the power of fortune as poffible. I cannot 
 tell you the half of what I want to fay. You 
 fee the troubles of my mind. O dear ambition ! 
 what do we fuffer on your account ! My hand can't 
 hold the pen. Send me good news, for if my 
 health fhould fail, my charms will fail along with 
 it, and then what will become of your dear 
 daughter. 
 
 Thus far the original papers of the Countefs 
 of Lichtenau, which were found in an efcrutore in 
 the yellow room of the palace at Charlottenberg, 
 after her arreftation. The Author then proceeds
 
 6 7 
 
 to a narrative of the events whcih took plac« 
 after the demife of the K — g. 
 
 Two days previous to the K — g's death, the 
 Countefs afked the Phyfician, if the cafe wa s 
 really dangerous, and how long the K — g might 
 yet hold out. Four and twenty hours, at far- 
 theft, was the reply. The Countefs immediately 
 collected her papers, and had actually refolved 
 to fet off the next morning. But the K — g's ill- 
 nefs gained fall upon him; towards morning he 
 expired, after a hard ftruggle, and the Countefs 
 was arretted by order of his fuccefTor, in the Mar- 
 ble-palace at Potfdam. The red Morocco pocket- 
 book, a diamond of immenfe value, both of which 
 
 belonged to the K g, together with a royal 
 
 fignet, forged, were found in her poffeffion. She 
 had about her, in hard cafh, 800,000 dollars, and 
 the K — g's private ftrong box was found exhaufted. 
 A favourite of the Countefs, a French emigrant, 
 who was conftantly in her company, and then re- 
 fident at the Marble- Palace, was feized at the 
 fame time. Some papers, of a ferious nature, 
 were found, likewife, in his pofieflion, and he was 
 immediately conducted to the fortrefs of Magde- 
 burg. 
 
 This artful woman is now in prifon. Several at- 
 tempts have been made, by her affociates, to refcue 
 her from her confinement, but they have all been
 
 68 
 
 fruftrated by the v igilance of the officers under whofe 
 cuftody (he is lodged. The enormity of her guilt is 
 beyond all conception. She rofe from the meaneft 
 extraction and poverty to rank and fortune ; in the 
 days of her fuccefs her pride knew no bounds, io 
 that fhe feemed to forget what {lie had been; 
 many an honeft man, through her arts, was pre- 
 cipitated into ruin; and the ties of friendihip, and, 
 the harmony of an illuftrious family, were loofened, 
 and almoft diffolved. The new K — g, in taking 
 this flep, was not actuated by private hatred, nor 
 perfonal intereft, nor yet mean revenge. To that 
 Prince humanity, truth, honefly, and franknefs, 
 will ever be dear. He has configned her to the 
 law. The Countefs of Lichtenau, in the moft 
 extenfive meaning of the word, is a ftate-criminal. 
 As fuch, confinement for life probably will be her lot. 
 There me may do penance for every aft of injuf- 
 tice and infamy, and the wrongs of the induftri- 
 ous peafant, who worked hard to fupport her extra- 
 vagance; there me may do penance for the millions 
 of groans and curfes that have brought down ven- 
 geance from Heaven on her guilty head ; for the 
 tears of every helplefs orphan, whom me thruft 
 from her door, but whofe fighs afcended to Him 
 who punifhes and rewards according to the fcale 
 of immutable juftice. 
 
 THE END.
 
 
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