MY CONFESSIONS.
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I was born in a small village called Dessau, at the very time when the portentous comet, with its luminous tail, threatened the affrighted inhabitants of my native country with pestilence, famine, war, and all the attendant train of misery. I mean in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ——. Whoever is the least acquainted with the history of that comet will not be at a loss how to find out the remaining figures to complete the year of my birth. My father, Heaven have mercy upon his soul! was an honest good kind of man, and obliged to maintain himself, his wife, my sisters, and me, with the produce of his earnings; his name was Encke; his profession that of a trumpeter. Our mode of living was such as behoved the family of a man in his humble line, and had not my mother, at intervals, found means to make a few perquisites, we might have fared still worse.But, dear woman! she was an industrious being, and would contrive it so as to enable my honest father to sit down to a joint of meat, at least, twice or thrice a week. This my poor father liked very well, and would pay his dear partner many a well deserved compliment on the occasion.
My father had lately been called to Potsdam, to be one of his Royal Highness’s band of music, in consequence of which we fixed our abode at Berlin. In the capital my mother continued her former trade, and had very good custom for herself, whilst at the same time she would never neglect any occasion of clandestinely making some good bargain or other for my eldest sister and me, either with some young wealthy debauchee, or an old married man; these bargains produced watches, clothes, cash, &c.
In this way of living, in a kind of style, without much concern, my father was highly pleased; yet, every now and then, he would—and Heaven knows why—fly into a violent fit of passion, and, in those fits, would generally make use of a kind of manual argument to convince my good industrious mother of her duty as a wife. The fourteenth anniversary of my birth happened to fall on the twenty-ninth day of the month of February, Bissextile, when my father entered upon an argumentof this impressive nature, and his passion rose so high that it killed him on the spot.
My mother was now a widow, and we all prospered beyond our warmest expectation. Our father being gone, we immediately hoisted our colours publicly at Berlin, and why should we not, as our reputation was pretty well established, and known all over the town? Our good mother’s province was to hold out the lure to empty the purses of unwary youth, and to pluck up by the root the very last feather of the conceited fool; all this was performed on a methodical system. Our house was a sort of rendezvous, where the Jew and the Christian could assemble without any interruption.
My eldest sister had the good fortune to strike the fancy of a Prince, and to be chosen by him for his mistress. 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 business had I to toil and work, whilst my admirers could administer to my wants and wishes! Ducats and fine clothes were my motto, and whoever would furnish me with these was sure to succeed. My sister, one day, happened to be off her guard with her favourite, for, besides the Prince,she had an intrigue with a Silesian Count, of the name of Matuschka. She was just sitting on the sopha, in a careless posture, when, all of a sudden, the Prince entered the room. His eyes sparkled with indignation, and in the first fit of his anger he took my sister by the hair, pulled her off the sopha, and then knocked the glasses, 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 saints for the narrow escape, for his life was at stake, and the Prince would have ran him through without hesitation.
He loaded my mother with all the reproaches his rage could suggest, called her a procuress,&c. Poor woman! she was innocent, and, of course, the treatment affected her to the very quick. But at once she took me by the hand, and, stepping up to the Prince, thus addressed him: “Please your Royal Highness, I protest 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 instead of her; she will keep true to you; she is susceptible of gratitude; I can pledge my word that you will find what I say to be true. Behold, and please your Royal Highness, behold this beautifulinnocent; behold this lucid eye, this harmonious shape, this slender waist, and then the rosebud; her lively conversation will dissipate your cares, when collected on your brow; and then such sallies of wit, such sprightly sayings, such flashes of merriment, that time will dance away with down on his feet in her company.” The Prince smiled at this sublime piece of oratory, which my mother had got by rote, like a parrot; forgot all that had happened, and since that very moment chose me for his favourite.
With this amiable Prince I lived in uninterrupted happiness, but his uncle, the sage, the politician, and the hero, began to interfere with our little love-concerns, and loudly inveighed against his nephew’s fathering several of my children, and the people publicly calling me his mistress. It did not become, he thought, the destined ruler of a great and powerful nation to be governed and duped by women and a set of idle parasites. Such creatures, he said, were generally connected with a gang of adventurers, for whom no honest man could have the least esteem, because they had no other aim than to creep into favour, under the protection of a prostitute, and, as soon as they had obtained it, would interfere with the most serious and momentous concerns of the state, betray wholenations, exhaust the very sources of the common wealth, and commit acts of violence and injustice. Such and the like nonsense would frequently flow from the old man’s lips, and the Prince, who, in fact, was somewhat overawed by his aged uncle, advised me to retire to my native town till the storm was over, and the horizon cleared up again. In consequence of his advice, I repaired to Dessau, accompanied by my mother, where I was soon afterwards delivered of a son. The Prince often came to visit me in my retirement, and our meetings were crowned with unspeakable bliss.
To make the old man quite easy, and the better to enable ourselves to carry on our mutual intercourse, the Prince proposed a match between me and his favorite valet, Rietz. His uncle, he thought, would the sooner forget me, and his foes, as well as mine, would, by this marriage, be brought to silence. I entered into the scheme, became Mrs. Rietz, and returned unconcerned to Berlin. To the old grumbler I was represented as an ignorant country wench, without any turn for intrigue, and incapable of governing the Prince, and still less of involving him, even in the most distant manner, in any foreign concern. This completely quieted the old man, and I passed my time in the greatest peace and tranquillity.
The long wished-for moment arrived at last; the old fellow died, and my dear admirer ascended the throne. An extensive field of action now opened before my eyes; “This is the time, said I to myself, to form my system; to govern, to rule, to enrich, my friends, and to humble the pride of my inveterate foes.”
I am sorry, and this I confess with the most heart-felt compunction, to have, through artifice and malice, robbed theK—gof the love of his people, for he really was a good man, and his humanity extended to all the creation. Oh! what a source of happiness this love proved to his feeling heart, and how often have I heard him exclaim, “Thank God, my people are happy, and so am I through their happiness!” This, however, was no more than a deception, for I, and those that were about him, never would give him an opportunity to cast a look into the most interior recesses of the system of government, and thus he was deceived, and actually thought that his subjects were happy; but it was not his fault, it was mine, for his heart was benevolence itself.
The vile creatures who flocked to my train, through the most infamous windings, attempted to deprive him of the love of his people, and became, in the fullest extent of the word, his rulers. But I must return to my own story.
I was now possessed of princely palaces, and the pomp of royalty was displayed in all my apartments. Ministers, generals, princes, and noblemen, crowded my levees and courted my smiles. What could be more natural than that the invidious should watch every step I took? The privilege of being thus noticed by a great prince could not fail to excite jealousy, and an opportunity soon offered to lay the foundation of my ruin. TheK—g, who was fond of variety in love, conceived a violent passion for Miss V——, a young lady of the Court, a lady endowed by nature with the most exquisite charms she could bestow upon a favourite mortal. The name of Miss V——, till this very hour, is never mentioned but with the highest respect. At the first outset her virtue withstood every attack; but, when theK—gbecame more pressing, and the nobility joined him in his pursuit, she yielded at last, but on condition of a left-handed marriage. TheK—glived, during the space of one full year, in the greatest happiness with Miss V——, and I might, perhaps, have been entirely slighted and forgotten, had not a dish of chocolate, administered at a proper time, rid me of a detested rival, and theK—gof a love-sick enthusiast. I now once more was the toast, and the sovereign-arbitratrix of my Royal Lover’s mind. Whatever did not suit my plan, or harmonize with my views, was removed from thesight of the monarch, and none but those who were of my party had access to the closet.
My husband had likewise been put in the way of exercising the power of influence, and of laying by treasures. Yet I was often vexed when I saw that certain men, who could not possibly be denied, got admission to theK—g; for I was always afraid, lest, some time or other, they might have the assurance to paint me in my true colours.
It became adviseable, however, to think of securing a considerable part of my wealth, for which purpose I projected a journey to Italy, where I meant to dispose of my property as advantageously as I could. As I lived in the first style of grandeur, theK—gwas prevailed on to confer the title of Countess of Lichtenau on me at the Court of Vienna. The request was granted, and to enable me to maintain the dignity and rank, I obtained a separation fromMr.Rietz. From that very instant I was, on my return from Italy, admitted to all the circles and the assemblies at Court. My daughter, who had been decorated with the title of Countess of the Mark, was to marry none but a Count, and the King intended to bestow an adequate dowry on her. Her suitors were many, and amongst the rest Count Stolberg was preferred.
As theK—gwas fond of amusement, I was pleased to see that W—— and B—— entertained him with the Rosicrucian nonsense, and other magic tricks. These ventriloquists could do me no harm; nay, on the contrary, they were the means of persuading theK—gto any thing. It was at this very period that I filled all the offices of Court with wretches of my own choice. All the King did, spoke, and undertook, was faithfully reported to me, and hence he must inevitably remain entangled in my net.
The French war broke out, and then it might be said I was truly launched into my own element. B—— was employed by the Cabinet of Vienna and the Court ofSt.—— to bring things to bear with ourK—g, and he was several times obliged to undertake journeys to Vienna and to Italy. The coalition was agreed on, and we marched against France. This war was the very thing I wanted; for, as the King was busy, I took all the opportunities I could to make him sensible of the licentiousness of the people; and, as the expences had increased, and became more multiplied than before, I had fair play to accumulate treasure in proportion. My chief contributors, however, were Austria and ——, for they would pay me abundantly for the part I took in persuading the King not to recede fromthe coalition. But no man ever knew how to get me over to his interest better than P—. For this purpose, he employed his relation T——, who paid me his addresses for a long time, had apartments in my palace, and partook of my table and carriage. Money was my motto, just the same as it had been at the time when Jews and Christians resorted to the house of Minna Encke, in Spandau-street. It is a pity that this war, or, at least, the coalition, did not last a little longer, for then I might, in fact, have realized my favorite project, of purchasing some principality, for the flood of presents flowed in without intermission.
We returned home without having effected any thing, and my chief object was to secure the King’s affections by all the variety of pleasure and entertainment I could possibly think of. I had in my palace a neat little theatre, where I entertained the King with such pieces as seemed to have been written for the very purpose of charming the senses. My actresses were chosen from among the handsomest girls in all Berlin. I always made them appear in such dresses as would add, if possible, to their charms. With the same view, I generally chose the subjects of the entertainment from mythology; for instance, Jove and Leda, Venus and Cupid, Hymen’s Wake,&c. A celebrated man of learning of the capital, the manager of my little theatre,took with a smile the presents which the enchanted monarch gave him, and since that time abstained from inveighing against the King’s mistress in his satirical writings.
Some disturbances, which took place in the provinces, and particularly at Berlin, gave me the fairest opportunity to induce the King to prohibit the publication of all such works as treated of liberty, equality, and the imprescriptible rights of man, and in general of all such trash.
A kind of inquisition, which, through my interference, was introduced throughout the country, enabled me to obtain a knowledge of all the pamphlets that represented me in my true colours to the world, and to suppress them. And, if at any time some determined scribbler had the audacity to transgress the limits of the liberty of thinking and writing, it would, through the medium of my creatures, represent the act as an attempt nothing short of high treason against the King’s Majesty itself, in which case imprisonment for life, or banishment from the King’s dominions, was the unavoidable consequence. Such was the fate of the merchants Z—— C——, of Doctor K——, and of Captain L——.
Upon the whole, my emissaries and I had, at that time, the most absolute and unprecedented sway.The subject felt all the weight of my despotic oppression, and the lash of my scourge. Frankness in scientific debate, cordiality in mutual communication, and hilarity in company, entirely disappeared. My spies were dreaded every where. Upright magistrates, who pronounced sentence according to the dictates of right and reason, were dismissed; those of the clergy, who ventured to preach common sense, lost their places, and were banished the country; the most important trials were superseded, because the verdicts were expected to fall out against me and my friends. Several of the public offices I caused to be given to my creatures; I forged warrants of arrest, and orders of the cabinet; rewarded spies, informers, and runners, with large sums of money and honourable offices; nay, I had, without any apparent reason, a young lady arrested, merely because I dreaded that her beauty would supplant me. In a word, whatever did not pass through my hands, or was not subservient to my schemes, was sure to be crushed. A certain man in office, who repeatedly had embezzled the public money, sued 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, from gratitude, bound to give his verdict in every cause that concerned either me or my friends, as I would have it. He did indeed once attempt torecede from it, and to have it his own way, in the affair with Miss Belderbush; this was the name of the young lady, just before mentioned; but I had influence enough to punish him for his temerity; he was dismissed, and banished the kingdom. This was likewise the lot of the Countess D——, and the Privy Counsellor G——, against whom a suspicion of being concerned in a scheme of poisoning was urged, and who were compelled to leave the P—— dominions. Such was at that time the power of the trumpeter’s daughter, whose favour, thirty years back, might be purchased for a dollar.
Rietz, my late husband, perfectly agreed with me in this point. This man, who from a common labouring gardener, had risen to the office of a Privy Chamberlain, had made it his study, and completely acquired, the art of bending and twisting his lord and master to whatever shape and form I wished, and of imbuing him with the most erroneous notions concerning his subjects. He generally used to keep a pack of large mastiffs, that would frighten away every unwelcome suppliant; and if ever any one had the audacity of attempting to approach theK—g, he was sure to be treated with a sound caning, and a few blows in his face, and might think himself well off with the loss of half a dozen of his teeth. As an instance of this, a poor young fellow, the onlyson of a shoemaker, who had attempted to present a petition in behalf of his distressed parents, was, byMr.Rietz himself, well threshed, then sent to the watch-house, and, by way of a lasting remembrance of his temerity, forced as a soldier into a stationary regiment. Of all this the King knew nothing, for his good and tender heart prompted him to do justice and grant protection to the very meanest of his subjects; he verily believed that his people were all happy and content; and had he the least idea of any such cruel outrage, the perpetrator would have been punished in the severest manner, even had it been my darling Rietz himself. But his dogs were trained to know every avenue, so that an access to the King was rendered altogether inaccessible. He also knew how to avail himself of the influence he had over the King, and by the proper management of this very influence a number of petitions and complaints were suppressed, and condemned to the flames and silence, many an order of the cabinet was deceitfully obtained, and the best places under government were given to our party. This indeed was not the means to inspire the people with love for their Sovereign, but what was that to us? Provided the monarch could be made to believe that all were happy and satisfied, and that there was no reason for complaint, all was well enough; nay, the people themselves facilitated our views, and strengthened the King in his goodcreed. On many public occasions, they would hail their prince with loud applause and acclamation.God save the Kingwas sung in German at the theatres and concerts, and the best poets of the nation exhausted all their Parnassian fire to produce a good parody of this favourite popular song of the people of England. Every pamphlet, every newspaper, every production of the press, bore testimony to the happiness of the people; in every one of them the nation was represented as laying their allegiance and love at the foot of the throne, ready to spend their last shilling, and shed the last drop of their blood, in his support. Thus this easy good-natured prince was led to believe that every thing was right, and that he lived in the heart of his subjects, which he certainly did, notwithstanding our oppression and injustice.
It must be confessed, that good master Rietz carried his insolence rather too far. The wealth which, through just and unjust means, had flowed into his coffers had inflated him with pride and vanity; he became presumptive, brutal, and rough; he therefore thought he might bear down every thing before him by main force. The tricks, which he played behind his master’s back, deprived the King of a share of the affections of his people; distress, fear, and smothered resentment, had got possession of every heart. Very often the blood ofthe desperate wretch would flow from this sole consideration, that nothing was to be done with theK—g, let the cause be ever so just. This indeed was too hard. I have, however, pretty well succeeded in mortifying his presumption. This proudci-devantgardener’s boy once took it into his head to fall in love with Madam B——s. He had even gone so far as to project a marriage with her, when at once a warrant was issued from the cabinet, by virtue of which the lady was removed from the Berlin stage, and an end was put to the farce. His mind was tortured with mortification and shame, and he found himself reluctantly obliged to see his fair one, without friend or protector, cast on the wide world. But the wretch deceived me after all, and cringed and flattered till I winked at his presumption, and let him bear away his prize.
As theK—gevinced a great predilection for every thing supernatural, a predilection which he had derived from his intercourse with the Rosicrusians, and from all the magic tricks they had played off before him, I was highly pleased at the arrival of the Chevalier Pinetti de Mercy. This man sought my protection, and I was very willing to grant it. Furnished with numberless recommendations, and dressed out, like a nobleman, with laced and embroidered clothes, watches, and rings, set with valuable brilliants, his access to the king wasnot very difficult. This fellow in fact was nothing but a charlatan, but he was well skilled in the art of deception, so that I saw his mountebankism might be of use to me and my party. His tricks with cards consisted in nothing but legerdemain, and I placed no value on them; on the other hand, his physical deceptions, as he pleased to term them, were the more entertaining. TheK—gwas highly pleased with his physical deceptions, made him a present of five thousand dollars for the erection of a theatre, and gave him the title of Professor of Physic of the Court, with a pension of six hundred dollars a year. This prodigality of course rouzed the envy of the philosophers of Berlin, and, among others, one Professor Kofmann ventured to publish a treatise on Pinetti’s work, in which he called his paltry tricks thene plus ultraof natural philosophy. The Professor, in this pamphlet, endeavoured to prove, that every thing was pretty clear and natural, and that the famous Pinetti was neither more nor less than a common legerdemain conjuror. The chevalier was very much displeased at this publication, and wrote the Professor word, that, if he did not immediately suppress his work, and apologize for the epithets ofconjurorandmountebank, he,Mr.Pinetti, would give the Professor an answerà l’Italiana. Pinetti was in right earnest, and preferred his complaints against Kofmann to theK—g. The Professor justifiedhimself by transmitting to his Majesty a copy of the work, and assuring him, that his only motive for writing it was to give a hint to the students of the military school not to suffer themselves to be deceived by appearances. TheK—gsmiled, and Kofmann got off without any farther molestation. This work has nevertheless done poor Pinetti a great deal of injury. He wrote to me fromSt.Petersburg: “Dear Countess, It is enough to make a man run crazy, to see how my physical experiments have been hissed and hooted at Konigsberg; on my first performance, the greatest number of my spectators had the pamphlet of that meddling Professor Kofmann in their hands, and laughed and scoffed at me; and after the third exhibition I was compelled to close my theatre, or exhibit to empty benches. Here the patriarch of Jacobinism, that infernal Kant, lives and plays his tricks; here is the very den of the red-capped Jacobin gang, and his Majesty would do well, for the benefit of his own dominions, to destroy this nest of wasps and vipers, and to prohibit Kant, who besides is an old man, all manner of reading and writing. Ah! with what extacy all flocked at Berlin to the divine Pinetti! the high and the low, the wealthy and the great, were charmed, whenever Pinetti deigned to address them. Here inSt.Petersburg things go on better,&c.”
At this time I had made a second journey to Italy, and brought to Berlin the celebrated Vizano and her husband. I could not possibly have procured theK—ga greater pleasure than the opportunity of seeing and admiring those two famous dancers. As Vizano had left the stage at Vienna on account of his being so violently in love with her, I thought I could keep her at Berlin; but these 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 answered my purposes very well. To these means I then had recourse; for, as I began to be aware that my charms were on the decline, and incapable of any longer rivetting the fetters of my lover; and, as he besides was fond of variety, I invented a thousand novelties, and called forth all my ingenuity to retain him in my net.
To this point I succeeded so completely, that theK—gnever undertook a step in his amours without consulting me. Besides, I had by that time acquired a perfect knowledge of the mysteries in which I had been initiated during my stay in France and Italy, and for which I had paid very considerable sums. This consisted in the mixture of certain narcotic ingredients, which Iadministered to theK—gin his drink, and which had the effect of weakening his nerves and of troubling his imagination. By these means I obtained a constant sway over him, and this very artificial weakness proved the rod with which I chastised and governed him. I had moreover become a great proficient in the Machiavelian principles, and occasionally knew how to make use of them to my advantage. The rack, the whip, and banishment, were lucky discoveries, and stood in the order of the day; and, however humane theK—gmight be, however averse from severity, except in cases of convicted guilt, I, nevertheless, had through artifice and cunning so far succeeded, that every one trembled at the thoughts of my unlimited power, and yet blamed theK—gfor its effects. Thus he was often, but as often unjustly, called a tyrant; for he was in fact the most just, the most humane, of princes. It was his weakness, of which I availed myself, that put him in this odious light, and my manner of treating the people caused them to murmur and to complain. I would intercept letters, and by the aid of my helpmates had new ones forged; I likewise had orders of the cabinet distributed. The Courts of Justice, on my request, were forced to deliver up original deeds and papers, which I then arbitrarily committed to the flames. Through my Machiavelian arts, I obtained the sums that were requisite for the expences of my household,my buildings, and travels. In short, every thing was at my command. This was the rage of the trumpeter’s daughter.
Yet my pride was not satisfied. It is obvious, that the Court, the nobility, and all the great people in the kingdom, must hate me, though in public they would shew me every mark of respect; I knew this, and would be revenged. There happened to be a greatfêteat Court, at which none but the Royal Family and the most distinguished persons among the nobility were to appear; that was to be the scene of my vengeance. I prevailed upon theK—gto be permitted to appear at Court as Countess of Lichtenau. General —— ushered me in; I was dressed in a royal robe, showered all over with diamonds and precious stones. The Royal Family turned their backs upon me, and I was noticed by none but the courtiers. I was vexed, and complained to theK—g. “Il faut faire bonne mine à mauvais jeu,” said he, and gently tapped my cheeks.
On the next morning my steward brought me word, that all my fine furniture at my seat at Charlottenberg had been broken to pieces, the beds ripped open, and the costly feathers of down strewed all over the rooms. I suspected immediately who was the perpetrator, and brought my complaintsbefore theK—g, who made up threefold for the loss I had sustained.
During my stay at Franckfort, I formed an acquaintance with the Marquis Mousons, whom the revolution had compelled to leave France. He was both a shrewd and a handsome man, almost as cunning and as artful as Pinetti. At my request he was made reader to theK—g; he was a perfect master of the art of diverting the monarch’sennuiand ill temper through his wit and humour, and through that frivolity which has fallen particularly to the lot of the French. He courted my affections, but with such respect and submission as were a thousand times more flattering to me than the tenderest caresses of the most enamoured fop. He gradually gained my confidence, and, at last, a certain intimacy took place between us, which put me in the possession of many a valuable secret. He completed me in the sublime politics of Machiavel, and we formed and established a society, to which none but such were admitted as had been rigorously tried. The principle members were B——, W——, H——, H——, O——, B——, A——, G——, P—— du B——, R——; myself and Mousons were permanent presidents.
Our orders were executed by my brother and a relation of mine, one Kunassius, a huntsman, and the watchman of our assembly.
Here are a few of the articles which Mousons had drawn up, and which every member was obliged to keep sacred on his oath.
The first law of all was the most inviolate secrecy, and rather to suffer to have the tongue cut out than betray a single secret of the society.
All the members that were chosen must promise to watch every one with whom they should happen to have any intercourse, and to listen attentively to all their discourses. To report faithfully, and in writing, to me and Mousons, all they had observed and heard. They were to insinuate themselves into the Courts of Judicature, and every now and then to undertake little trips into the country, in order to discover what was going forward there, either to our advantage or disadvantage. This arrangement enabled me to be informed of every thing that happened in the cabinet of theK—g, the ministers, and the generals; to know all the verdicts given in the different departments of the law and police, as also all the orders issued in every regiment. I was acquainted with the secrets of every family, nay, with thetemper of almost every individual person, and, of course, might take my measures accordingly.
Each member had, for the private use of his correspondence, the following figures or cyphers:
If any of our letters had been intercepted, it still would, with these precautions, have been difficult to unravel their contents. Besides the above cyphers, Mousons, I, and B——, had other different sets of figures, which we changed from time to time, and as circumstances would require.
Our principles admitted assassination, suicide, poisoning, murder, perjury, treason, rebellion, and, in short, all the means whichprejudiced menhave termed crimes.
Much less obedience was to be shewn to theK—gand the laws than to me. And should any one presume to adhere to theK—gand the magistrates rather than to me, he must be crushed, as it was the case with E—— and the architect B——.
A general confusion in the government must, of course, increase the extent of my power, and, therefore, it was our grand object to excite distrust in theK—gagainst his subjects, in the ministers against their subalterns, and in the counsellors against their own colleagues. No power could save the man who shewed me the least shadow of neglect or contempt.
We had found means to bribe those who were employed at the post-offices in the country-towns, and they would let us have certain letters, which we either destroyed or opened and sealed again, without its being visible.
We even had our emissaries in foreign countries, who were to endeavour to get admittance to the houses of the great, of the foreign ministers, and the rich merchants, with a view of exciting dissention between the rulers of those respective countries and their subjects, between parents and children, and between the most intimate friends. They were to form cabals, invent calumnies, rouse hatred and suspicion against any thing that did not agree with our plan, and to persecute our antagonists with poison and dagger. Religion itself was not to be spared when our welfare required it so. They were to seize every opportunity to interfere with politics, to excite commotions,to preach rebellion, and through bribery to work up the people to revolt.
By means of this extended connexion, my power became so immense; by this I carried every thing. It was this that made the world wonder how, with her withered charms, the Countess of Lichtenau could manage to lead theK—gwhich way she chose. The end sanctifies the means, said my great tutor, Machiavel, and Mousons would analyze this doctrine with me in its most minute details. He likewise was the man who initiated me into the mysteries of the God and the Goddess of Love, and let me into such secrets as no man before him had yet opened to my eyes. Oh! this Mousons was a great genius! and his gallantry was the true gallantry of a Frenchman.
I succeeded in persuading theK—gthat the use of the waters of Pyrmont would prove highly beneficial to his health.
Mousons wrote to Hamburgh for a set of French players; every kind of amusement imaginable was thought of to entertain the monarch. He suffered, indeed, inexpressibly from a pectoral dropsy. Pyrmont was converted into paradise upon earth; we had balls, operas, fire-works, cassinos, suppers, dinners, breakfasts, horse-races. All turned roundtheK—gin a perpetual circle of diversion, and the fair sex particularly strove to attract the eye of the illustrious guest.
I there, likewise, had a little adventure, which particularly concerned myself. The Prince of W——, the proprietor of Pyrmont, fell deeply in love with me, and made me a formal proposal of marriage. I had resolved to exchange the title of a Countess for that of a Princess, and things had gone so far that I had even obtained theK—g’s permission for the purpose. But some minister, who, at an ominous hour, dissuaded him from the purchase of Pyrmont, threw such obstacles in my way, as entirely blasted this glorious marriage. I would have been revenged of him, had not the sudden weakness of theK—ghastened our departure for Potsdam.
I left Pyrmont with a heavy heart, and with a still heavier heart I arrived, in theK—g’s company, at the Marble-palace, at Potsdam. Oh! could I have the least notion that this journey was to put an end to all my glory? Was it possible for me to have the remotest shadow of a dream, that the powerful, the adored, the immortalized, the dreaded, Countess of Lichtenau, like an abject criminal, should be kept in close confinement, in the very same palace where, sovereignlike, she dictated laws to a mighty monarch, and a mighty people, that had so often groaned under the weight of her oppressive despotism? Could I have thought to see myself some time scoffed at, derided, and despised, by enemies, who rejoiced at my downfall, and to whom the clank of my chains is the harmony of music? To see myself the object of satire and abuse in all the newspapers, pamphlets, ballads, and other vile publications, in which my fame, my rank, and title, are traduced with unparallelled licentiousness? Could I have thought that my divine, my dearest-beloved Mousons, he, the prototype and mirror of the virtues of all the French emigrants, loaded with irons, should be dragged a prisoner to the fortress of Magdeburg? Alas! my journey to Pyrmont proved the tomb of my glory; the divine music which I heard in that enchanting scene of dissipation was converted into a mournful dirge to attend my bier. Those whom I have oppressed and wantonly tormented now rise against me, and loudly proclaim their own wrongs, and the infamy of the prostitute that squandered away the little product of their hard money, and carried millions into foreign countries. The sound of their cries strikes my ear with double horror, for, alas! it is the voice of truth!
Until theK—g’s death, I never dreamed things would go so far with me; hence I kept up myusual mode of living, and, together with my associates, had nothing else in view but to amuse the Monarch. He was frequently subject to a temporary absence of mind, and experienced, besides, the most unpleasant symptoms of body. To assuage the one and the other, I used to administer to him corroborating draughts and narcotic powders. Alas! I did not know that I was busily employed in laying the speedy foundation of my own ruin, for these very medicines tended to enfeeble his constitution, and, instead of restoring health, had the contrary effect, which was daily visible. The vivacity of Mousons, the gambols of my dancing nymphs and sportive Naïades were called into assistance to dissipate the clouds that settled on the Sovereign’s brow, to do which myself I had the power no more.
As theK—ghad been ordered to take much exercise, I used to accompany him in a small triumphal car, in which he took frequent airings in the gardens of the Marble-palace. The access to his person had been strictly forbidden, and I had the sole and uninterrupted enjoyment of his presence. At that time I dispatched Mousons to Hamburgh with some secret papers, which I had found in the red pocket-book, with directions to communicate them to Lord ——, who was then at that place. These papers consisted of the secretarticles of the peace which had been concluded with France; they answered my purpose exceedingly well, and I was paid for them with a good round sum of E——h g——. Cursed pocket-book! thou art the cause of my misfortune; I have to thank thee for my confinement. Hadst thou not been discovered in my possession, what could the newK—ghave urged against the Countess of Lichtenau? Perhaps my being theK—g’s mistress. Who had a right to interfere with that? Who dared to find fault with that? Had not the Rev. Dr. H——, one of the ecclesiastical board, a few years ago, openly declared, that the country ought to vote thanks to the Countess of Lichtenau for promoting the purity of the Christian religion? But I am guilty of a crime against the state; I am guilty of high treason; there lies the rub; there the cause of my anxiety, and my fear of imprisonment for life. Hence the remorse that preys on my mind day and night, and which deprives me of sleep and rest in the gloomy walls of my prison.
By the joint advice of Mousons and Rietz, I gave theK—gafête, the gaiety of which was to surpass every thing. The spot pitched upon for this purpose was one of those gardens at Potsdam which we called the English gardens, and in which the beauties and the deformities of nature are all collected and contrasted with each other on a fewacres of land. This spot was kept under lock and key by one of the trusty guards of the association. My Naïades, Cupids, Sylphs, and Nymphs, scarcely veiled with transparent gauze, opened this divertisement, and the first beauties were selected to heighten the glowing scene. After the pantomime commenced a ball.
A ball, it is well known, is a great promoter of voluptuousness. One couple after the other disappeared; whole groups were seen scattered about in the most lascivious attitudes; here a Dido in the embraces of an Æneas; there a Cleopatra, lost in an ocean of delight with her tender Antony. Little Cupids, in half-lighted grottos, by the twinkling ray of an expiring torch, prepared the hymeneal feast, in which the God of Love, the hero of the piece, exerted his talents in the most enamoured manner.
I walked hand in hand with theK—gthrough these enchanting scenes, and explained to him the meaning of the various groups. Beautiful! excellent! 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 mysteries of love, and whom theK—gwas particularly partial to, attended us on our promenade, and, on a signal agreed between us,conducted him to a bower, the most enchanting that imagination can paint. The King would sit down upon the green, when on a sudden it opened, and presented a beautiful sopha with cushions, over which an elegant baldachin of flowers was suspended, in wreaths and festoons. At a convenient distance I had placed a male and a female singer, who were to represent a love-scene, and to accompany their amorous attitudes with songs expressive of their passions; a little farther off another voice echo-like repeated the sweet accents, whilst at a still greater distance the liquid sounds of a German flute died on the love-sick breeze, and threw the soul into that kind of pensive melancholy which generally leads to the most exquisite delights. The songster began, the flute warbled, the echo repeated, the tune was so heart-melting, the words so tender, the situation so novel, the King so pressing——.
This was the last tender scene in which we were engaged; for a few days afterwards his health declined visibly, and he was unable to leave his bed. Even on his sick couch, Mousons strove to soothe his melancholy and his pain through well-chosen amusements, but all in vain. The machine was deranged, and stopped at the very moment when I least expected it.
The man was now gone that raised me from nothing, and showered favours on me; that sun was set in whose lustre I shone with borrowed light. The veil fell off, and, seized with horror and remorse, I at once sunk again into my original insignificancy. I shook as if I had been touched by the chilling hand of death, and scarce had recollection enough to desire Mousons to order post-horses, to empty the King’s strong box, and to take possession of his large diamond and his pocket-book. At that instant an officer entered with twenty-four men, and informed me, that, by order of the new King, I was his prisoner. Mousons was immediately taken into custody, and within twenty-four hours transported to Magdeburg. Thunderstruck, I stared at the officer, collected all the effrontery I still could muster, and, with a haughty countenance and tone of voice, asked him, Who dared to arrest a Countess?—No one but the Emperor dared do so.
The Officer.—It may be so; but at present I have the order of the King my master, which both you and I must obey. Should the King be mistaken, and wrong you, Madam, I am sure he will give you ample satisfaction.
I was a prisoner; my papers were sealed up; the cursed pocket-book and the King’s ring weretaken from me, and a select committee were appointed to examine my treasonable practices against the King and his subjects. I am criminal before my own conscience; I am so in the eye of the law. To whom must I appeal? Who will protect the wretch who thus has outraged humanity? Who can save me? and what have I to expect? Mercy alone I must have recourse to, and what will not mercy do? What is mercy but to forgive the criminal? And is not forgiveness the most glorious prerogative of regal power? I own my crimes are boundless; they call to Heaven for vengeance,—but all may be well yet; the King is just—but he is merciful—and I am a frail woman!