It could not fail but that Count Struensee should render himself odious to all, through such despotic, arbitrary, and unreasonable conduct.
His emissaries, and the adherents whom he still possessed, tried, even though they did not dare to justify or excuse his undertakings, at least to boast of his asserted disinterestedness, and to spread far and wide that he was satisfied with his moderate salary, without asking either money or honours for himself or his friends. How far this met with belief may be left an open question. But it is certain that Count Struensee took very carefully-devised measures to conceal his selfishness at that time, and so long as it lasted. But it was afterwards seen only too plainly that he was an extremely interested and selfish man, of whom it may be justly said that he pillaged his Majesty's treasury.
He had a very respectable and considerable salary, which ought to have been sufficient, as he had everything free at court down to the very banquets he gave. He knew, and often enough proclaimed, in what a bad state the public treasury and his Majesty's were from former times.
For all that, after the council was dissolved, and he had becomemaître des requêtes, he allowed hardly three months to pass ere he, by an abuse of his Majesty's good heart, demanded and received from his most gracious lord a present of 10,000 dollars for himself, and a similar sum for his friend Count Brandt. It might be supposed that so considerable a present for these two persons, of whom one wasmaître des requêtes, and the otherdirecteur des spectacles, and who both had only held these offices for a short time, would have satisfied their greediness for a while. But, instead of this, we find that it grew and increased, for Count Struensee, after receiving the above mentioned present in February or March, again received in May, or at the end of two or three months, from his Majesty 50,000 or 60,000 dollars, and Count Brandt the same sum, so that these two persons, in the short time of three or four months, cost his Majesty, in addition to their regular salary, 140,000 dollars, or at least 120,000—for which of these two sums is the correct one cannot as yet be stated with certainty, owing to the confusion prevailing in Count Struensee's accounts—and this in addition to the presents which before and after this date they procured for their good friends: such as Justiz-rath Struensee 4,000 dollars, Countess Holstein 3,000, Chamberlain Falckenskjold 3,500 or more, and so on.
That Count Struensee's irresponsible selfishness was duly considered and intended, is seen from the artificial machinery which he formed, solely that he might beable to take these sums without any one detecting it.
For this purpose, he first proposed the abolition of what was called the "Trésor"—which consisted of a sum of money laid by for unforeseen expenses, and that it should be paid into the public treasury. As the Trésor, however, must pass through the cabinet on its way to the public exchequer, he proposed to his Majesty to reserve 250,000 dollars of the same, in order to form a special cabinet treasury which would stand under his control.
In this way Count Struensee obtained a good opportunity for receiving considerable sums, without any one being acquainted with the fact.
He behaved in such a way with this treasury, that after it was established in April, 1771, and at that time consisted of 250,000 dollars, at the end of May only 118,000 dollars remained of the original contents, although the king had no other out-goings but these presents.
The remaining 118,000 dollars would have gone by degrees the same road as the others if Struensee had been allowed sufficient time.
Count Struensee's disgraceful avarice and selfishness are thus rendered so evident, that those persons who proclaimed him as disinterested must fairly confess that they knew him badly, and were not properly informed.[10]
But this is not sufficient. There is the very strongest presumption that Count Struensee in this traffic committed an impudent, disgraceful, and highly criminal fraud. When the account found among Count Struensee's papers, and approved by his Majesty, of the income and expenditure of the special treasury for the months of April and May, was laid before his Majesty, as it was considered suspicious, the king at once declared that he perfectly well remembered having at that time given 10,000 dollars to the queen, 6,000 to Count Brandt, and other 6,000 to Count Struensee, but no more. Just as these sums amount to 22,000 dollars, it is on an inspection of the document as clear as the sun that the addition was in the first instance 22,000 dollars, but the first figure two was converted into a three—a change which is so visible that it is at once noticed—and that a one was afterwards added, for which there was no other room but in front of the line drawn underneath, which is quite contrary to the practice in the other accounts, and in this very one on the preceding page, where the in-comings are calculated. Hence, then, the said sum of 22,000 dollars became 132,000, which is proved by the fact that the two sums of 6,000 dollars for Struensee and Brandt were converted into 60,000 by the addition of acipher, and 2,000 dollars were added for Falckenskjold. This last sum seems to have been added, in order not to be obliged to convert the second two into a cipher in the sum of 22,000 dollars, which had become 130,000.
These suppositions, the real strength of which only that man can comprehend who has the document in question before him, is also confirmed by other concurrent circumstances—as, for instance, that the account for April and May is written by Struensee himself, while the other extracts and calculations are written by the secretary of the cabinet, which probably occurred because Count Struensee wished no one to be cognizant of the embezzlement effected by him, and further by the fact that, from this time, Count Struensee laid no account of the treasury before the king until the end of October, although in June there was an out-going of 2,000 dollars, which were given to Justiz-rath Struensee.[11]
This negligence or omission appears to have taken place purposely, so that his Majesty, after so long an interval, might not thoroughly remember the real state of the treasury. To this must be added his Majesty's own alleged and very natural conjecturethat it cannot be credited that he gave Counts Struensee and Brandt 50,000 or 60,000 dollars apiece, while he only made the queen a present of 10,000.
Count Struensee, who is obliged to confess the selfishness of having requested this money of the king, will not, however, acknowledge this embezzlement, but asserts that his Majesty at that time, on his request, gave him 50,000 dollars, and Count Brandt the same sum, and that, as the 10,000 dollars previously given had not been taken to account, they were included in this amount. On the document being produced before the commission, however, he was obliged to allow that all the facts concurred against him to arouse such a presumption, which he had no evidence to refute, while at the same time, he regretted his want of accuracy and his negligence.
That Count Struensee's ambition was not less than his avidity, and that his "moderation," as regards honours and titles, was in no way inferior to that for money and resources, is equally self-evident.
Within two years he made such progress as others of greater nobility and higher merit hardly make in thirty years and more. According to the position which he occupied, he could not fail to stand in great honour both at court and in the city. But all this was not enough for him.
Through constant persuasion he brought it about that his Majesty appointed him on July 14, 1771, privy cabinet minister, which design he contrived toconceal up to the last moment, even from his most intimate friends, just as he, and Chamberlain Brandt were a few days later raised to the rank of counts.[12]
Although as privy cabinet minister he regarded himself as the first private person in the whole kingdom, still, the title and the authority he had hitherto possessed did not suffice him; but he wished to have prerogatives connected with them which were not at all seemly for a subject, and involved a portion of the sovereign authority which belonged to the king alone.
Count Struensee had already seized on all the power, and as those persons who were about the king spoke in Struensee's behalf, and his Majesty thus only heard praises of his minister, it was perfectly natural that he should have a certain liking for him, and as he was nearly the only person who discussed the affairs with his Majesty, it could not fail that the latter shouldconsent to everything he proposed. Thus he had everything that he could crave; but this was not sufficient to satisfy his immoderate ambition, as the colleges refused to obey unless they saw the king's signature.
This did not suit Struensee, and there are grounds for believing that it did not agree with his secret designs, and his wish that his signature should be worth as much as the king's, and that the persons concerned should obey both signatures.
This he attained by the royal order projected by himself, which was issued to the colleges on July 15, 1771, with reference to his office as privy cabinet minister, and was afterwards published by them; for in the first article of this cabinet order the decrees signed by Struensee, and provided with the cabinet seal, were placed perfectly parallel with those signed by his Majesty himself, and countersigned by Struensee, and in the fourth article it is expressly ordered that everybody should execute the cabinet orders issued and expedited by Struensee. It is true that this article seems to contain a certain limitation, where it states, "so far as no royal regulation or resolution speaks to the contrary;" but what follows on this may be rather regarded as an extension, for, instead of stating, as might be expected, that in such a case execution was to be deferred until a royal resolution was issued, it continues, "in which case, the fact is to be immediately reported to the cabinet," so that if anyone thought it his duty to remonstrate against Struensee or his order, he would have to apply to Struensee himself; and if the minister then commanded him to obey his first order and carry it out, he must do so. This is what Count Struensee intended and practiced. In this way, however, he filched a portion of the sovereignty, and, from what had previously happened, it might be concluded that he intended to exercise it alone.
As Struensee acknowledges having read theLex Regia, and as he as minister must have been fully acquainted with its contents, he must have known that article 7 resolves "that all government decrees, letters, and documents shall be signed by the king himself." But the article of the royal law most applicable here is the 26th, in which the most revered king and first autocrat, Frederick III., appears to have had a species of presentiment that a Struensee might one day arise in Denmark, because it is stated in it how injurious it is when the mildness and kindness of kings and masters are so abused that their power and authority are cut away in an almost imperceptible manner, and for this reason it is recommended to, and impressed on, the kings of Denmark zealously to watch over their sovereignty and autocracy in order to keep it uninjured; and the conclusion is, that if any one should dare to desire or appropriate anything which might in any way be prejudicial to the sovereign authority and monarchical power of the king, everything of the sort shall beregarded as null and void, and those who have not hesitated to acquire such a thing, or tried to do so, shall be punished as insulters of majesty, because they have committed the greatest crime against the supremacy of the royal autocracy.
Count Struensee could have read his sentence here, if he had not committed another and equally coarse offense against the king's highness, apart from the fact that he was not only an accomplice and adviser, but also an inciter of the assault made on his Majesty's person by his intimate friend Count Brandt.
The way in which Count Struensee exercised the power and authority entrusted to him as privy cabinet minister does not excuse him, but, on the contrary, incriminates him in the highest degree, because it is a further proof that he regarded the welfare, honour, life, and property of his Majesty's subjects as purely dependent on his discretion.
He revoked, by cabinet orders drawn up by himself, and under his hand, former royal resolutions, of whose existence he was cognizant.
In the most important affairs he issued orders without his Majesty's knowledge, and he partly neglected the extracts from cabinet decrees imposed upon him as a duty by the resolution of July 15, which he was to lay before the king every week, or drew them up in such a way that it was impossible to discover the nature of the orders, or the effect they were intended to produce.
When the direction of the privy treasury was entrusted to him—for he wished to direct all the treasuries—he thought proper to give the cashier fresh instructions from his hand; and when the cashier represented to him that he held a royal instruction which could only be revoked by another royal resolution, he gave him an answer which contained a species of reprimand, and ordered him to obey the order and instruction given by him, Struensee.
The pretty corps of Horse Guards, which was composed exclusively of Danes and Norwegians, and consequently did not please Count Struensee—or, as it only consisted of two squadrons, was not very expensive—was disbanded in February, 1771, by Count Struensee's proposition, and in accordance with his wish, but against the opinion of the college.[13]
The Fusilier Guards still remained. They consisted of five companies, and were composed of none but clever and trustworthy men, to whom the guard of the royal palace, and before the apartments of the royal house, could be safely entrusted; but they possessed a "quality" which prevented Struensee from being able to place confidence in them,—they were nearly all Danes and Norwegians.
He had long resolved on the reduction of this corps,and spoken with several persons about it, most of whom, however, dissuaded him. At length he carried it through, and without his Majesty's knowledge (as the king himself has declared)[14]issued, on December 21, 1771, a cabinet order to the Generalty and Commissariat College, by which the five companies of Foot Guards were to be transformed into five companies of grenadiers, and one company of them be attached to each of the five regiments quartered in Copenhagen.
He allowed December 21, 22, and 23 to pass without telling his Majesty anything about it, although Struensee, on the 23rd, procured the Generalty the royal approbation of the said order of the 21st, because this college required a royal resolution, and refused without it to execute the cabinet order, as it considered the affair of too great importance, and foresaw the consequences that would result from it.
As, however, the Guards on December 24 declared that their capitulation must be kept, and that it was contrary to it to make them serve in other regiments,Struensee found himself compelled to lay the whole matter before his Majesty, and advised that force should be employed, and the Guards compelled to obey. However, a royal order was issued on December 24, by which those guards who would not serve as grenadiers were granted their discharge.
The result of this operation of Count Struensee's therefore was, that his Majesty lost from his military service several hundred brave, faithful, and trustworthy men, who were all natives. Count Struensee's improper and treacherous conduct in this affair is at once seen on comparing the protocol kept about the cabinet orders, with the weekly extract from them, which was laid before his Majesty.
In the protocol we find the said order of December 21, under No. 709, quoted with the correct date. After this, several other cabinet orders were drawn up, to No. 733, on December 22, 23, and 24; but the second cabinet order of December 24 is not found among them, but a space is left open at the very end, in order to book it afterwards. But in the extract from the cabinet orders expedited from December 18 to 25, which was drawn up on December 31, and afterwards laid before his Majesty, we find these two orders of December 21 and 24 quoted together at the end, under the numbers 22 and 23, just as if they had been expedited at the same time and under the same date, while, on the contrary, the cabinet orders issued from December 22 to 23 are omitted from this extract.From this a general idea of the completeness and trustworthiness of these extracts may be formed.
This protocol further proves how Count Struensee—although he had long before sufficiently provided that no one should bring before the king either verbally or in writing anything that might injure him, Struensee—found himself obliged, at the time when the guards were dismissed, to take just precautions. For under date of December 23 he expedited two cabinet orders, one to (the Danish chief postmaster) Etats-rath Waitz, in Hamburg, that the packets for his Majesty sent by post should be addressed to the cabinet, the other to Court-Intendant Wegener, by which all letters and parcels sent to the king, and letters and portfolios that came in from Copenhagen, should not be delivered in the king's ante-chamber, but in the cabinet. One of these orders, though they immediately concerned the king, was entirely omitted in the above-mentioned extract, while the other was quoted imperfectly, so that his Majesty was not at all informed of these regulations.
Just as Count Struensee more and more evinced his distrust of the nation, so the reciprocal hatred of the nation against him increased more and more (and was expressed), in various ways. Thus, in the summer of 1771, various pasquinades were in circulation, and although their contents and style sufficiently proved that they emanated from the common people, still they all displayed the strongest attachment to his Majesty's person, and a readiness to sacrifice life and blood for him, while the bitterness had no other object but the privy cabinet minister and his adherents.
This, and the fact that a few sailors and others who believed themselves insulted, went out to Hirschholm in order to lay their complaints before his Majesty himself, caused Count Struensee such terror, that he made preparations and was on the point of taking flight and running away.
As he, however—probably by the advice of his friends—desisted from this design, it seemed as if he, on the other hand, prepared to maintain himself in his post, and against everybody, in every possible way. This gave cause to various hitherto unknown measures.
When their Majesties came to town, at which times Count Struensee always accompanied them, they were surrounded by an unusual escort; wherever they stopped in town, at the palace or in the theatre, double sentries were posted, &c.
Such a course increased the bitterness of the nation, and especially of the Copenhageners, against Count Struensee in more than one respect. They saw in it a proof that he persuaded his Majesty to believe there were among the inhabitants people who entertained bad designs against his Majesty and the royal house. They were confirmed in their suspicion that Count Struensee entertained other, more extensive, ambitious, and, at the same time, most audacious and criminal designs.
It must also be confessed that much of what happened during this summer, but more especially in autumn, must confirm them in this belief, and produce a strong presumption of it, as he has himself been obliged to confess that several of his measures were intended to maintain himself in every way in the situation he occupied.
As already stated, the Horse Guards were disbanded.
As, however, Count Struensee, who always lived in fear, wished to have some cavalry in the vicinity of the court, an exercising troop was formed. But, ere long, he learned that both the officers and men of this corps were natives, so that they were not at all the sort he wanted, whence his confidence in them was lost, and this troop was also disbanded in the autumn.
He then ordered the Seeland Dragoons to the court and the city, but they have given incontrovertible testimony that they were no better disposed toward him than the preceding dragoons.
He now obtained a resolution that two of the regiments lying in garrison here should be removed to other towns in the spring. But, instead of letting this fall on the two youngest regiments, as the rule was, he wished—for reasons known to himself, and which it is not difficult to conjecture—that they should be his Majesty the King's, and his brother the Prince Frederick's, regiments, contrary to the opinion of theGeneralty, and without informing his royal highness, the colonel of the latter regiment, or asking his assent to it. Furthermore, he managed to have a new commandant of Copenhagen appointed, in whom he believed he could place full confidence.
But what heightened the distrust most, and excited the inhabitants of Copenhagen, was the following last-discovered circumstance, that, according to Struensee's instructions to the commandant, cannon, with cartridges and the proper complement of men, were held in readiness at the arsenal, so that they could be used at the first signal,—a regulation which was also concealed from his Majesty.[15]
The king and the royal house, as well as the whole nation, must at last lose all patience when they were compelled to see, in addition to all the rest, how audaciously he behaved in the harsh and extraordinary education which he dared to give to the crown prince, and by which his royal highness ran the greatest risk of losing his health and life.
Thus, then, the bitterness was raised to the highest pitch, and must have had the most dangerous consequences, when a fortunate end was put to the widely-extended designs and despotic administration of this vain, thoughtless, arbitrary, and ambitious man.
As it is clear, therefore, that Count Struensee, in more than one way and in more than one respect, hasboth himself committed the crime of high treason in an eminent degree, as well as participated in similar crimes with others; and that, further, his whole administration was a chain of violence and selfishness, which he ever sought to attain in a disgraceful and criminal manner; and that he also displayed contempt of religion, morality, and good manners, not only by word and deed, but also through public regulations, the following sentence is passed on him, according to the words of article 1 of chapter iv. of the 6th book of the Danish law:—
Count John Frederick Struensee shall, as a well-deserved punishment for himself and an example and warning for others of the same mind, have forfeited honour, life, and property, and be degraded from his dignity of count, and all other honours which have been conferred on him, and his noble coat of arms be broken by the executioner: John Frederick Struensee's right hand shall be cut off while he is alive, and then his head, his body quartered and exposed on the wheel, but his head and hand shall be stuck upon a pole.
The commission at the Christiansborg Palace, April 25, 1772.
Two days after this barbarous sentence was passed, it received the full royal confirmation in the following words:—
We hereby approve, in all points, the sentence passed by the Commission of Inquiry appointed by us at our Palace of Christiansborg, which declares John Frederick Struensee, on account of his crimen læsæ Majestatis, in more than one point to have forfeited honour, life, and property; he shall be degraded from his dignity of count, and all the other dignities conferred on him; his coat of arms shall also be broken by the executioner; his right hand shall be cut off while he is alive, and then his head, his body quartered and exposed on a wheel, but his head and hand stuck on a pole. To which those whom it concerns will pay most submissive attention.
Given at our Palace of Christiansborg, this April 27, 1772.
CHRISTIAN.
O. THOTT.LUXDORPH.A. SCHUMACHER.DONS.HOYER.
COUNTBRANDT'SSENTENCE.
By Count Brandt's own confession, the declaration of the ex-cabinet minister John Frederick Struensee, and various circumstances, it has been already proved that Count Enevold Brandt was not only Struensee'sgood friend, but also his intimate, whom he (Struensee) entrusted with his greatest secrets.
In consideration of the gracious intimacy in which he stood with his Majesty the King, it would have been his duty, therefore, to prevent all the things which, according to his own declaration when examined, he disapproved, and must have recognised in Struensee's life, sentiments, and undertakings, as foolish, audacious, and detrimental both for the king and the government and the country.
Instead of this, he, as a criminal subject and unworthy confidential servant of the king, made common cause with Struensee, continually remained his confidant, and sought to sustain him.
He allowed himself to be employed by Struensee in keeping everybody from the king, so that nothing should be revealed to his Majesty about Struensee's criminal conduct, and the share himself had in it.
To the great concern of all his fellow-subjects he behaved haughtily, and not with the due respect to his king, both in private and in the sight of all men.
He did not show the submissive reverence to the king which every subject owes him, and expresses voluntary from his heart on every occasion in word and deed, but he rather opposed the king, in order to maintain Struensee's favour, and acquire an extravagant fortune and special advantages for himself.
The memoirs exchanged between him and Struensee furnish a proof of his unreasonable pretension, and thathe was conscious of his reprehensible behaviour toward the king. From this cause he should have altered his conduct, or sooner have resigned a post which was repulsive to him, and for which he did not consider himself equal. But no, he did not wish to oppose his patron and protector, who, for his own purposes, desired to keep him, Brandt, about the king's person, while, on the other hand, Count Brandt expected greater fortunes in service and pecuniary affairs from him, Struensee.
Asdirecteur des spectacles, he assisted Struensee in producing a misunderstanding in the royal family by contriving that a separate box should be given Prince Frederick in the playhouse, so that his royal highness should not be in the king's box, and thus have an opportunity for revealing to his Majesty, Brandt and his intimate friend's most culpable conduct.[16]
He obtained through Struensee in a short period 60,000 dollars from the royal treasury, although he must have known, or at least could not have doubted, that he had not earned them by his services or general conduct.
When he thanked his Majesty for this large sum, he did not mention the amount which Struensee had procured him, because he knew that the matter was not all right, and Struensee had forbidden his doing so, lest his Majesty might thus be informed of that whichthe approved extract, found among Struensee's papers, has since revealed to his Majesty and every other person who sees the extract.
Count Brandt has been guilty of all this criminality, although his conscience must reveal to him at every moment that he was acting as an unfaithful subject, and against the duty and the bond imposed on him by the king's gracious familiarity, and in defiance of the warnings which the two letters from an anonymous writer found in Brandt's pocket-book so impressively and clearly contained, by reminding him of his duties, and advising him what he should do if he did not wish to risk his head.
He only allowed himself to be ruled and guided by his arrogance, fortune-hunting, and avarice.
But though the things mentioned appear so criminal, they cannot be compared with the crime of laying hands on the exalted person of his Majesty the King, which Count Enevold Brandt has himself clearly and regularly confessed in his examination before the commission, and as it has been proved and confirmed by several witnesses. For this crime may be regarded as if Count Brandt wished to hazard the king's death, because the result of such an assault cannot be foreseen, and an unlucky blow on a tender part has frequently caused death.
He was angry with the king, and demanded satisfaction of his master, whose well-deserved admonition he ought to have accepted in penitence for his previousconduct, and have withdrawn himself from his (the king's) countenance, in order not to irritate him more.
On the contrary, he consulted with his intimate friend Struensee how and when he should assault the king, and reflected what sort of weapon he should employ, and held it in readiness; but after more mature reflection, made no use of it.
After he had been warned by Struensee that the king was now alone, and the right time had arrived, he goes with reflection, and a firm determination to avenge himself, in to the king, orders out the two lads in attendance, and bolts the door, so that no one may come in to oppose his resolution or to prevent his design, and forces his Majesty the King, by language and assault, to offer resistance.
While doing so, he wounds his Majesty in the neck, bites his finger, and at the same time insults his benefactor and king by audacious words and expressions of such a nature that everybody must feel horrified at repeating them.
It is true that Count Brandt has urged, in his excuse, that his Majesty has pardoned him for this occurrence, yet, even were it so, it can only be supposed that his Majesty wished to overlook so great an insult for a time. Count Brandt, however, has produced no proof of this, and his Majesty alone is in a position to judge how far this indulgence should extend.
This most atrocious and audacious undertaking of Count Brandt cannot be regarded otherwise than as an open attack on the king's person, and the greatest crime of high treason, which deserves the punishment attached to such a crime in art. 1, 4th chapter of the 6th book of the Danish law.
We, therefore, consider ourselves justified in condemning Count Brandt, and passing the following sentence:—
Count Enevold Brandt shall have forfeited honour, life, and property, and be degraded from his dignity of count, and all the other honours conferred on him; his coat of arms shall be broken by the executioner on the scaffold; his right hand cut off while he is still alive; then the head; his body quartered and exposed on the wheel; but his head and hand stuck on a pole.
The Commission at the Christiansborg Palace, this 25th April, 1772.
The royal confirmation of the sentence was to the following effect:—
We hereby approve in all points the sentence passed by the Commission of Inquiry appointed by us at theChristiansborg Palace, which declares that Enevold Brandt, for his most atrocious and audacious design and assault on our own person, shall have forfeited honour, life, and property, and that he shall be degraded from his dignity as count, and all the other honours conferred on him; that his coat of arms shall be broken by the executioner on the scaffold; after that his right hand be cut off while he is alive; and then his head; and that the body shall be quartered and exposed on the wheel; but the head and hand stuck on a pole. Whereupon those whom it concerns are ordered to act accordingly.
Given at our Palace of Christiansborg, this April 27, 1772.
CHRISTIAN.
O. THOTT.LUXDORPH.A. SCHUMACHER.DONS.HOYER.
These sentences are certainly among the rarest documents which the annals of justice contain. Struensee was convicted of a single crime; Brandt was innocent. In the sentence, Struensee's crime is not stated, and the whole document is a disgustingly long narrative of undecided actions, not one of which would offer grounds for a sentence of death. Reverdil, usually so cool and impartial, cannot restrain his feelings when he writes about these atrocious verdicts:—
"The sentences were minuted by Wiwet. They were inserted in the newspapers; among others, theLeyden Gazette. They seem expressly drawn up to dishonour the king, the judges, and the country. The crimes proved are confounded in them with presumptions, offences with imprudences, faults peculiar to favourites with those in which, as they were covered by the king's authority, the culpability falls on him. In the fear of not charging enough, intentions and passions are taken into account. In the sentence passed on Brandt, after describing the scene of fisticuffs, which so strongly revealed the king's imbecility, they were not ashamed to add: 'Count Brandt has certainly alleged in his defence that the king had pardoned him; but even supposing that the fact was proved, it could not be understood otherwise than that his Majesty was kind enough to suffer so great an extremity for a time. After all, the culprit has proved nothing in this respect, and his Majesty is the sole judge of the extent he gives to his own indulgence.' When this extraordinary document was read to the man whom it concerned, he said very justly in his way, that its author deserved a hundred lashes with a stirrup-leather."
It is not surprising to find that the authenticity of the sentences was not believed when they were published in foreign countries. Thus we read in theAnnales Belgiquesfor May, 1772:—
"A sentence ought to state the facts simply, anddeclare the penalty which is pronounced against the man who has been guilty of them. Care should be taken to avoid mixing up in it reasonings and epithets which denote in the judge a disposition for vengeance or any passion: now this pamphlet, which is offered us under the title of a sentence, displays from one end to the other such marked characters of a violent prejudice against the condemned, that this in itself would be sufficient to render it suspicious. It forms a tissue of vague imputations which can be easily destroyed."
But the dominant faction did not trouble itself about what might be said: sentence had been passed, and the next matter of importance was to have it executed before any revulsion took place in public opinion.
CONFIRMATION OF THE SENTENCE—STRUENSEE'S CORRESPONDENCE—RANTZAU'S TREACHERY—AN UNFEELING COURT—STRUENSEE'S PENITENCE—THE SCAFFOLD—APRIL 28—EXECUTION OF BRANDT—HORRIBLE DETAILS—DEATH OF STRUENSEE—HIS CHARACTER—ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM—THE FIRST SERVANT OF THE STATE—THE QUEEN DOWAGER.
CONFIRMATION OF THE SENTENCE—STRUENSEE'S CORRESPONDENCE—RANTZAU'S TREACHERY—AN UNFEELING COURT—STRUENSEE'S PENITENCE—THE SCAFFOLD—APRIL 28—EXECUTION OF BRANDT—HORRIBLE DETAILS—DEATH OF STRUENSEE—HIS CHARACTER—ENLIGHTENED DESPOTISM—THE FIRST SERVANT OF THE STATE—THE QUEEN DOWAGER.
On the same day that the sentences were signed by the Commissioners, Uldall, the counsel, went to Struensee, in order to inform him of the termination of the trial.
When the advocate entered the cell, he said to the unhappy victim of a conspiracy:
"Good count, I bring you bad news."
And with these scant words he drew a copy of the approved sentence out of his pocket.
Calmly and silently the man condemned to such a cruel death perused the sentence, but not the slightest alteration took place in his countenance. Then, he handed the ominous paper to Dr. Münter, who happened to be with him at the time.
While the latter was trembling as he read the sentence, Struensee began to talk with composure with his counsel, and asked if all the points of his accusation had been regarded in passing his sentence, especially that about the education of the crown prince; to which Uldall answered in the affirmative. Struensee added, that he must confess that, if he had had children of his own, he would not have reared them in any other way.
"And what will Brandt's fate be?" he exclaimed.
"His sentence is exactly the same as yours," Uldall replied.
"And could his counsel do nothing to save him?" Struensee went on to ask.
"He said everything that could be urged in his favour, but Count Brandt has too much laid to his charge."
This information caused Struensee greater emotion than the news of his own fate. But he soon regained his composure, and added a few words about a petition to the king for mercy, although he at the same time expressed his conviction, that even this last step would meet with no success.
When Struensee and Münter were left alone again, the man who was now Death's own assured his friend that his impending punishment did not terrify him. He had thought that he might be broken on the wheel, and was already considering whether he could suffer this kind of death with patience.
"If I have deserved such a death," he then added,"my infamy would not be removed, though those disgraceful circumstances were not annexed to it. And if I had not deserved it, which I cannot assert, sensible people would do me justice, and I should gain in point of honour. And upon the whole, what is honour or infamy in this world to me? My judges had the law before them, and therefore they could not decide otherwise. I confess my crime is great: I have violated the majesty of the king. Many things I might not have done if I had been sufficiently acquainted with the law,—But why did I neglect it?"
These words, uttered by Struensee so shortly before his death, seemed to reveal a doubt of his perfect innocence. Perhaps, however, this uncertainty was rather produced by his conversion to the Christian religion, by the recollection of past errors, and by the effect of a long and painful imprisonment; while the imminent and awful close of his life might also have produced impressions on him which made him fancy himself guiltier than he really was. Or was it the voice of his conscience at the remembrance of the ruin which he had brought on his young queen, which spoke out of his soul, though he dared not clothe it in language?
My readers will remember how much this unhappy man was affected by a letter which he received from his father, at the time when he still maintained his irreligious principles. He now delivered to Dr. Münter a letter for his parents, leaving him the option whether he would send it at once, or after the execution. Münter chose the latter course, as he knew Struensee's death was very near at hand, and he wished to save them the anxiety of expecting the melancholy news of it. The letter was to the following effect:—
Your letters have increased my pain; but I have found in them that love which you always expressed for me. The memory of all the sorrow I have caused you, by living contrary to your good advice, and the great affliction my imprisonment and death must give you, grieve me the more, since, enlightened by truth, I see clearly the injury I have done. With the most sincere repentance I implore your pardon and forgiveness. I owe my present situation to my belief in the doctrine and redemption of Christ. Your prayers and your good example have contributed much toward it. Be assured that your son has found the great good, which you believe to be the only true one. Look upon his misfortune as the means which made him obtain it. All impressions which my fate could make or give will be weakened by this, as it has effaced them with me. I recommend myself to your further intercession before God. I pray incessantly to Christ, my Redeemer, that he may enable you to bear your present calamities. I owe the same to His assistance. My love to my brothers and sisters.
Your letters have increased my pain; but I have found in them that love which you always expressed for me. The memory of all the sorrow I have caused you, by living contrary to your good advice, and the great affliction my imprisonment and death must give you, grieve me the more, since, enlightened by truth, I see clearly the injury I have done. With the most sincere repentance I implore your pardon and forgiveness. I owe my present situation to my belief in the doctrine and redemption of Christ. Your prayers and your good example have contributed much toward it. Be assured that your son has found the great good, which you believe to be the only true one. Look upon his misfortune as the means which made him obtain it. All impressions which my fate could make or give will be weakened by this, as it has effaced them with me. I recommend myself to your further intercession before God. I pray incessantly to Christ, my Redeemer, that he may enable you to bear your present calamities. I owe the same to His assistance. My love to my brothers and sisters.
Brandt also received from his defender, Bang, a copy of the sentence passed on him, and, like Struensee,sent in a petition for mercy. It was reported that he would be pardoned. For Owe Guldberg, the most influential of the judges at Christiansborg Palace, had thrown himself at the feet of Queen Juliana Maria, who now held the authority in her hands, and implored a mitigation of the punishment. But the queen dowager absolutely refused to listen to him, not even when Guldberg earnestly implored that at least Brandt's life might be saved. Crushed by such harshness, and bitterly undeceived as to the extent of his influence, he returned to his apartments, threw himself on the bed, refused to take food, and passed several days in apathetic reflection.
Brandt's mother and brother asked permission to come to court to implore the king's clemency, and, being unable to obtain it, they wrote to the queen dowager and to Prince Frederick. The answers they received were full of compliments, but gave them no hope. It was said, however, that in the council, when the question of confirming the sentence was discussed, there were voices for mercy; but that Counts von Rantzau and Von der Osten absolutely opposed any being shown. The honour of the king should have demanded that Brandt's life should be spared, in order to conceal from the world what had passed between them, but the king had an extreme repugnance to this; the mere name of the ex-favourite made him tremble and turn pale. He positively declared that he would not save Brandt unless Struensee were alsospared, and the ministry considered it necessary to immolate one of the victims, so as not to let the other escape. The two sentences were consequently confirmed without the slightest display of clemency.
Count von Rantzau more particularly displayed a sustained hardness and fearful blackness of soul. He, doubtless, believed that by closing all access to clemency, by forcing to the scaffold two intimate friends, one of whom had been his benefactor, he should purge himself of the suspicion of complicity, and that by sheer hypocrisy he should cause his connection with the condemned men to be forgotten. At any other time, instead of sitting in the council and determining the fate of the culprits, he would have himself been the object of a severe sentence; instead of being spared for having betrayed the favourites, there would have been an additional charge against him, that of anticipating the royal commands to arrest them; hence, being well aware that, in spite of his dignities, he was marked, both as a restless and unbelieving man, he was more assiduous than any one in his attendance at the court chapel, and joined in singing hymns, which must have possessed all the charm of novelty for him.[17]
How little feeling that most miserable of monarchs, Christian, really had in the whole matter, is seen by a perusal of the Danish journals at the time. The amusements of the court offer a most revolting exhibition of apathy and want of sympathy.
On April 23, there was a masked ball,en domino, at which the king, the queen dowager, and their suite were present; on the 24th, instead of the play, a concert at the Danish theatre, where the royal family were present; on the 25th, the sentence on Counts Struensee and Brandt was pronounced in open court; in the evening, the opera ofAdrien en Syriewas performed. The small-pox continuing its ravages, on the 26th, Sunday, profane amusements were interdicted by the new government. On the 27th, the king dined with his court at Charlottenlund, and returned to town at 7P.M.; he signed the sentences, and proceeded to the Italian Opera. On the 28th, the day of the execution, there was a grand concert at court. Well may a writer in theAnnales Belgiquesfor May, 1772, remark:—
"If the king has unfortunately reached such a stage of unfeelingness, what praise does not Caroline Matilda deserve for having succeeded in captivating him so greatly that up to the present it was not even suspected that he possessed such a disposition?"
In the meanwhile, Dr. Münter had informed Struensee, on April 26th, of the promulgation of the sentences, and that they would be carried into effect two days after. Struensee listened to him patiently, and then remarked, as to the circumstances which were to throw infamy upon his death—
"I am far above all this, and I hope my friend Brandt may be the same. Here in this world—since I am on the point of leaving it—neither honour norinfamy can affect me any more. It is equally the same to me after death, whether my body putrifies under ground or in the open air; whether it serves to feed the worms or the birds. God will know very well how to preserve those particles of my body which, on the day of resurrection, are to constitute my future glorified body. It is not my all which is to be laid on the wheel. Thank God! I know now very well that this dust is not my whole being."
After this they conversed quietly about various matters concerning Struensee's administration. The decision whether his government had been politically bad he left to posterity, and many times repeated his assurance that he was not conscious of any wrong intentions. When Dr. Münter left him, Struensee handed him the following letter for Frau von Berkentin at Pinneberg. This was the patroness who, as chief gouvernante to the prince royal, had recommended Struensee as physician in ordinary for the king's foreign tour:—
I make use of the first moments which permit me to write to you. Business, duties, and my late connexions have perhaps lessened in me the remembrance of my former friends, but they have been not able to obliterate their memory entirely. My present leisure has revived it. If my silence has aroused suspicion as to my former sentiments, I beg pardon of all those who are entitled to my gratitude, and of you, graciouslady, in particular. This however, is not the only advantage which the change of my fate has produced. I owe my knowledge of truth to it; it has procured me a happiness of which I had no further expectation, as I had already lost sight of it. I entreat you to consider my misfortunes in no other light but that of religion. I gain more by them than I can ever lose; and I feel and assure you of this with conviction, ease, and joy of heart. I beg you to repeat what I now write in the house of Count Ahlefeldt and at Rantzau. I am under great obligations to these two families, and it has grieved me far more to have drawn with me into misfortune persons who are related to them.
I make use of the first moments which permit me to write to you. Business, duties, and my late connexions have perhaps lessened in me the remembrance of my former friends, but they have been not able to obliterate their memory entirely. My present leisure has revived it. If my silence has aroused suspicion as to my former sentiments, I beg pardon of all those who are entitled to my gratitude, and of you, graciouslady, in particular. This however, is not the only advantage which the change of my fate has produced. I owe my knowledge of truth to it; it has procured me a happiness of which I had no further expectation, as I had already lost sight of it. I entreat you to consider my misfortunes in no other light but that of religion. I gain more by them than I can ever lose; and I feel and assure you of this with conviction, ease, and joy of heart. I beg you to repeat what I now write in the house of Count Ahlefeldt and at Rantzau. I am under great obligations to these two families, and it has grieved me far more to have drawn with me into misfortune persons who are related to them.
On the following day, April 27, Struensee also referred to his administration, and assured Münter again, most sacredly, that he had not falsified the accounts about the presents made by the king to him and Brandt. Münter's remarks on this subject are worthy quotation:—
"It is difficult to dismiss every suspicion on this head against Struensee; and if he were guilty, of how little value would be his conversion! It has made me uneasy, frequently, and even now, still, after his death. All manner of appearances, his own confession that he could not free himself from all suspicion, and many other evidences, are against him. However, on the other side, it makes me easy that he confessed greater and more punishable crimes without constraint, butdenied this with a firmness, calmness of mind and confidence, which, inexplicable as the matter remains, makes it difficult to believe him guilty."
Struensee then handed to Münter the following letter to Chamberlain Christian Brandt, which he desired him to get delivered:—
Permit me to bewail with you and with the gracious lady your mother, the fate of our dear Enevold. Do not think me unworthy of sharing your grief with you, though, accidentally, I have been the cause of it. You know how much I love him. He was the man of all the world who possessed the largest share of my friendship. His misfortunes cause me the greatest anxiety, and my own have been on his account most painful to me. He has shared my prosperity with me, and I trust that we shall now together enjoy that happiness which our Redeemer has promised us. I do not know anything wherewith I could comfort you. You are acquainted with religion. In that I found a refuge to comfort me on account of my misfortune. I pray to God that he may at this very moment let you feel all its power. I shall not cease to entertain a most lively sense of gratitude toward all those persons who are dear to me at Rantzau. I am wholly yours, &c.April 27, 1772.P.S.—I have been in hopes, and still flatter myself, that the sentence of my friend will be mitigated.
Permit me to bewail with you and with the gracious lady your mother, the fate of our dear Enevold. Do not think me unworthy of sharing your grief with you, though, accidentally, I have been the cause of it. You know how much I love him. He was the man of all the world who possessed the largest share of my friendship. His misfortunes cause me the greatest anxiety, and my own have been on his account most painful to me. He has shared my prosperity with me, and I trust that we shall now together enjoy that happiness which our Redeemer has promised us. I do not know anything wherewith I could comfort you. You are acquainted with religion. In that I found a refuge to comfort me on account of my misfortune. I pray to God that he may at this very moment let you feel all its power. I shall not cease to entertain a most lively sense of gratitude toward all those persons who are dear to me at Rantzau. I am wholly yours, &c.April 27, 1772.
P.S.—I have been in hopes, and still flatter myself, that the sentence of my friend will be mitigated.
To Münter, Struensee declared that Brandt's sentence of death could not be signed with a good conscience; for, he said, he could not regard the action for which his friend's life was forfeited as a crime, and he, Struensee, did not repent having taken part in it. On the other hand, he reproached Brandt, because in his intercourse with the king he neglected the reverence he owed him, which had also been the reason why he attracted the king's displeasure on himself.
Of all the letters written by Struensee, the one he addressed to Count von Rantzau is assuredly the most remarkable. Instead of the reproaches with which he might have justly overwhelmed him, he wrote in the following forgiving spirit:[18]—
This, Sir (Dr. Münter), is what I have begged you to say in my behalf to Count von Rantzau. I never entertained any feeling contrary to what his friendship had a right to expect. Though convinced long ago that he was acting against me, I did not venture to remove him from Copenhagen. The facilities I possessed for doing so, the solicitations addressed to me, and very powerful reasons not affecting me personally, could not induce me to do so. The Russian affairs will inform him of the measures taken against him, of which heis probably ignorant, as I never spoke to him about them in detail. I had conceived that his attachment to his master caused him to find the conduct of his friend blamable, but it did not enter my mind that he was capable of engaging any one to render his friend as unfortunate as possible. Still, convinced by experience, I have understood that the vivacity of zeal, circumstances, the persuasion of the peril with which the king was believed to be menaced, might stifle every other feeling. I have retained no bitterness against the count. Having been since enlightened by religion, I have preserved all the feelings of a personal attachment for him which, through various signs, his memory will, doubtless, bring before his eyes. I offer up vows for his prosperity. It is not in my power to give him stronger proofs than by ardently wishing that he may find the happiness which the truth of religion has taught me to know. I would desire the count, on this point, to remember, by analogy, his prejudices against medicine, and how he removed them by reading "Zimmermann," and by experiencing the good effects of the medicines I administered to him at Glückstadt. May these few words efface everything that the count nourishes against me in his mind! You will deliver this note to him, Sir, when no further motives are in existence which may make him attribute this step of mine to any other object.STRUENSEE.P.S. Having altered my mind, I have the honourto address this note directly to the count, instead of entrusting it to Dr. Münter.This 27th April, 1722.S.
This, Sir (Dr. Münter), is what I have begged you to say in my behalf to Count von Rantzau. I never entertained any feeling contrary to what his friendship had a right to expect. Though convinced long ago that he was acting against me, I did not venture to remove him from Copenhagen. The facilities I possessed for doing so, the solicitations addressed to me, and very powerful reasons not affecting me personally, could not induce me to do so. The Russian affairs will inform him of the measures taken against him, of which heis probably ignorant, as I never spoke to him about them in detail. I had conceived that his attachment to his master caused him to find the conduct of his friend blamable, but it did not enter my mind that he was capable of engaging any one to render his friend as unfortunate as possible. Still, convinced by experience, I have understood that the vivacity of zeal, circumstances, the persuasion of the peril with which the king was believed to be menaced, might stifle every other feeling. I have retained no bitterness against the count. Having been since enlightened by religion, I have preserved all the feelings of a personal attachment for him which, through various signs, his memory will, doubtless, bring before his eyes. I offer up vows for his prosperity. It is not in my power to give him stronger proofs than by ardently wishing that he may find the happiness which the truth of religion has taught me to know. I would desire the count, on this point, to remember, by analogy, his prejudices against medicine, and how he removed them by reading "Zimmermann," and by experiencing the good effects of the medicines I administered to him at Glückstadt. May these few words efface everything that the count nourishes against me in his mind! You will deliver this note to him, Sir, when no further motives are in existence which may make him attribute this step of mine to any other object.STRUENSEE.
P.S. Having altered my mind, I have the honourto address this note directly to the count, instead of entrusting it to Dr. Münter.
This 27th April, 1722.S.
Struensee did not wish to take a personal farewell of his brother, Justiz-rath Struensee, because he was afraid that this might produce a scene which would be too affecting for both of them. He therefore begged Münter to do so for him. He entreated his brother's pardon for drawing him into his misfortunes, but hoped and was certain that his affairs would turn out well. He also assured him that he was leaving the world with true brotherly affection for him. He also wished his brother to be told of the sentiments in which he died. This commission Dr. Münter discharged on the same evening, and carried back the answer of the much afflicted brother.
Brandt also received on April 27, from his chaplain, Dean Hee, the news of the confirmation of his sentence and the day of execution, which he heard unconcerned, and said that he readily submitted to the will of God.
A report had been spread that Brandt had spoken recklessly while in prison, and sung merry songs. Hence the dean made a proposition to him, which he left to him to accept or not, that he should make a declaration of what his real sentiments were, in the presence of witnesses. He readily complied with theproposal, and Hee went to the commandant, who came with four officers, in whose presence Brandt declared that he was ready to die, and was not afraid of it; he likewise confessed before the omniscient God, that he had without hypocrisy sought for God's mercy; he likewise confessed, as he had done before, that he had acted very inconsiderately, that his levity had been very great, and that he, on this account, acknowledged God's mercy in suffering him to die, lest he should be drawn away again from religion. He said, he knew very well that the same levity of temper had induced him, in the beginning of his imprisonment, to talk in a manner he was now ashamed of, though he was sure in his conscience that many untruths were invented, and propagated among the people, but he forgave those who had been guilty of such a thing. Now, he wished that the gentlemen present would bear testimony to what he should say. He acknowledged himself a great sinner before God: a sinner who had gone astray, but was brought back by Christ. He then begged the commandant and the other officers to forgive him, if, by his levity, he had offended any one of them, and wished that God's mercy in Christ might always attend them as the greatest blessing. He said all this with such a readiness, and in such moving terms, that all who were present were affected by it, and every one of them wished that God would preserve him in this situation of mind to the last.
In the meanwhile, the town council, the police, andmilitary authorities, were making preparations for the execution. Copenhagen is surrounded on the land side, next the three suburbs, by three large fields bordered by neatallées, which are used as exercising grounds for the garrison, and for public festivities. On the easternmost of these fields, situated on the Sound, a scaffold, 8 yards long and broad, and 27 feet in height, was erected; and on the gallows hill, a mile distant, and situated in the western suburb, two poles were planted, both of which were surrounded by four wheel-posts. It took some trouble to complete this job, because no artisans consented to undertake it. It was not until other workmen were persuaded that a pleasure-house was to be built on the field that the scaffold was completed. No wheelwright was willing either to supply the wheels; so that the eight carriage wheels required had to be begged from friends of the court party.
When dawn broke on the 28th of April, 1772, a day which inflicted an eternal stain on the history of Denmark, the troops, consisting of 4,400 sailors belonging to the vessels in ordinary, and armed with pikes, 1,200 infantry, 300 dragoons, and, strange to say, the corps of military cadets, marched through the gates, in order to form a large circle round the stage of blood on the Osterfeld, keep back the eager countless mob, and be ready for any eventualities. General von Eickstedt, town commandant, had the supreme command of all the troops.
The two gates of the citadel were also kept shut tillthe departure of the criminals; and the posts had been doubled in order to keep off the pressure of the crowd, who also congregated eagerly here.
The two clergymen went at an early hour to the condemned men, and found them both calm and easy in mind. When Münter entered, Struensee was fully dressed, and lying on a couch. He was reading Schlegel's sermons on Christ's Passion, and a religious conversation began between the two, during which Münter looked very often toward the cell door with a fearful expectation; but the count not once.
At length the officer on duty came in and requested Münter to step into the coach, and precede Struensee to the place of execution. Münter was greatly moved, but Struensee, as if it did not concern himself the least, comforted him by saying:—
"Make yourself easy, my dear friend, by considering the happiness I am going to enter into, and with the consciousness that God has made you a means for procuring it for me."
Soon after, the two delinquents were requested to get into their coaches, Brandt going on first. The latter, after praying fervently, had had his chains, which were fixed in the wall, taken off, and he put on the clothes in which he intended to appear on the scaffold. He then drank a dish of coffee and ate something, walking up and down the room, which he had not been able to do before. As often as Dr. Hee asked him how he found himself, he said that he was not afraid ofdying. He afterwards asked Hee whether he had seen anybody executed before, and how far he was to lay his body bare for the execution.
Struensee was dressed in a blue cut velvet coat with silver buttons; Brandt in a green court dress richly embroidered with gold, and both had costly fur pelisses thrown over them, but, as if in mockery, still had a chain on their hand and foot. This gay attire had been given them in order to remind the populace that the dizzy fall from the greatest power to the scaffold was the just punishment of their unparalleled crimes. By the side of each of the prisoners sat an officer, and opposite to them two sergeants. The two coaches were surrounded by 200 infantry soldiers with fixed bayonets, and an equal number of dragoons with drawn sabres. The procession was opened by a third coach, in which the Fiscal General and the king's bailiff were seated, and, facing them, the latter's deputy, holding two tin shields, on which the arms of the two counts were painted.
Half-past eight was striking from the tower of the citadel when the three coaches began their progress to the scaffold, where they were expected by upwards of 30,000 persons.
When the procession reached the spot, the Fiscal General and the king's bailiff with his assistant first mounted the scaffold, on which the executioner and his aids were awaiting their victims. They were followed by Brandt; his features were so unchanged, andhis bearing was so perfectly calm, that it was generally supposed that a hope of mercy was aroused in his mind at this supreme moment. Dean Hee mounted the scaffold stairs immediately after him, and it was not till they reached the top that the prisoner's fetters were removed. Even here he assured Hee that his mind was composed, and that he was not afraid of death. The dean, however, continued to encourage him, and concluded with the words:—
"Son, be of good cheer, for thy sins are forgiven thee."
To which Brandt replied:—
"Yes; they are all cast into the depths of the sea."
The king's bailiff, Etats-rath Ortwed, now read the sentence; and when he had finished, the executioner advanced to receive the count's coat of arms. He asked Brandt whether it was his escutcheon, to which the other replied by a nod; he then swung it in the air, and broke it with the words:—
"This is not done in vain, but as a just punishment."
After the clergyman had read Brandt those things from the ritual which are usual on such occasions, Hee asked him whether, in addition to his other sins, he repented of his great crime of high treason? Brandt answered in the affirmative, and then added:—
"I pray God, the king, and the country, for forgiveness, and only wish that God may bless the king and the whole land for the sake of Christ's blood."
After these words the clergyman gave him the benediction, and, taking him by the hand, delivered him over to justice. When the executioner approached to assist Brandt in undressing, the latter said to him with firmness, though not without mildness, "Stand off, and do not presume to touch me!" He quickly let his pelisse fall, took off his hat, and himself removed his coat and waistcoat. After previously feeling in all the pockets, which he doubtless did out of habit, he also began to bare the right arm, from which the hand was to be cut off, but the executioner now advanced, and helped him to bare the whole arm as well as his neck.[19]After this, Brandt knelt down, and laid his head on one block and his hand on another. When the victim had thus offered himself for the execution of the sentence, the clergyman reminded him of the posture of the Saviour in the garden of Gethsemane, with his face on the ground, to which Brandt, lying on the block, replied in a loud voice:—
"The blood of Christ intercedeth for me."
Hee stepped back, and while he was saying, "O Christ, in Thee I live, in Thee I die! Oh! thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, be merciful!" the execution was over. Brandt did not die as a hypocrite, but at the same time displayed no defiance.
Immediately after, the executioner's aids advanced, stripped the body, and then divided it into four quarters with an axe. Each quarter was let downseparately by a rope into a cart standing below, and the vessels with the entrails were also placed in it. Lastly, the head was held up, shown to the spectators, and then let down into the cart, together with the hand. After which the scaffold was strown with fresh sand, in readiness for Struensee.[20]
During this awful tragedy Struensee sat in his coach, which was standing near the scaffold. When Brandt went up, Münter ordered the coach to be turned in such a way that they might not witness Brandt's execution. But Struensee's eyes had already found his unfortunate friend, and hence he said:—
"I have seen him already."
After some further exhortation, Münter said to the prisoner:—
"Christ prayed for his murderers even on the cross. May I rely upon your leaving the world with the same sentiments of love toward those whom you might have reason to think your enemies?"
"In the first place," Struensee replied, "I hope that there is no one who has a personal hatred against me; but that those who have promoted my misfortunes, have done it with the intention of doing good. Secondly, I look upon myself already as a citizen of another world, and consider that I am obliged to entertain sentiments conformable with this dignity; and I am sure that if I were to see those who might perhapsbe my enemies here in the bliss of that world which I hope to enter into, it would give me the highest satisfaction. I pray to God that if my enemies hereafter repent of their behaviour toward me, this repentance may induce them to look out for that salvation which I confidently promise myself through the mercy of God."
Struensee, during this conversation, suffered no other change than that he appeared very pale, and thinking and speaking evidently cost him more trouble than they had done earlier in the morning. Still he retained perfect composure, and saluted some of those around the coach by raising his hat, or by friendly glances. From the motion of the spectators, Dr. Münter, though he could not see the scaffold, guessed that Struensee's turn to ascend it had arrived, and that, with Brandt's death, all hope of a pardon had disappeared.
When summoned by name, Struensee stepped out of the coach, and went, led by Münter, with dignity though humbly, through the ranks of favoured spectators, and bowed to them also. With difficulty he ascended the fifteen steps leading to the scaffold. When they reached the top, Münter spoke very concisely, and in a low voice, upon the words, "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." After this the sentence of the Commission of Inquiry and the royal confirmation were read to Struensee, and the king's own signature was shown him. Then came the breaking of the coat of arms,after which Struensee's chains were taken off. The clergyman once again went up to Struensee, and asked him various questions.
"Are you very truly sorry for all those actions by which you have offended God and man?"
"You know my late sentiments on this point," Struensee replied, "and I assure you they are this very moment just the same."
"Do you trust in the redemption of Christ as the only ground of your being pardoned before God?"
"I know no other means of receiving God's mercy, and I trust in this alone."
"Do you leave this world without hatred or malice against any person whatever?"
"I hope nobody hates me personally; and as for the rest, you know my sentiments on this head; they are the same as I told you before."
Doctor Münter then laid his hand upon Struensee's head, and said with deep emotion, before he delivered him up to justice:—
"Then go in peace whither God calls you! His grace be with you!"
Struensee then took off his fur pelisse, removed his hat, and tried to undress himself, but his strength failed him in doing so, and he was obliged to ask the executioner's help. After this he produced a white handkerchief to bind his eyes with, but the executioner said that it was not necessary, and then assisted him in removing his shirt.