Bernstorff

“ Mr Bernstorff tells me that Mr Rantzau has frequent conferences with the French minister. He [Bernstorff] is more alarmed than he has ever yet appeared to be, but nevertheless seems willing to fortify himself with the favourable conclusions afforded by the levity and dissipation which mark the character of his adversaries, and builds upon the unanimity of the Council, which I hope is firmly grounded. ”

“ Bernstorff took a leading part, and so closely did he associate himself with everything Danish, so popular did he become in the Danish capital, that a Swedish diplomatist expressed the opinion that henceforth Bernstorff could not be removed without danger. Liberal-minded as he was, he held that “the will of the nation should be a law to the king,” and he boldly upheld the freedom of the press as the surest of safety-valves.
Meanwhile foreign complications were again endangering the position of Denmark-Norway. ”

“ But Count Bernstorff's young man does nothing of the kind. He is one too many for the old fox. He does not wait for him. He runs away, after displaying unusual determination in dealing with a prying Englander—whose fate should be a lesson to all who interfere in other people's business—and goes to Germany, leaving poor old Clubfoot in the lurch. You must admit, Herr Doktor, that I have been hardly used—by yourself as well as by another person? ”

“ It seemed to him that if Bernstorff would but return to Copenhagen, supported as he was by the powerful influence of Russia and England, and the whole body of the Danish nobility, Struensee would surely be [Pg 3] overthrown. But Bernstorff, though he lamented the evil days that had fallen upon Denmark, refused to have anything to do with a scheme in which Rantzau was concerned. “He knows,” said Bernstorff, “that I cannot trust him, and I would rather remain here in exile than return to office through his means.” ”

“ Bernstorff despised the Danes, and only appointed foreigners as officials. He favoured luxury by protection, and had allowed the army to fall into decay. The commercial treaty with Morocco had done the country the greatest injury; and finally, Bernstorff had revoked a royal decree about embroidery on clothes, and thus insulted the hereditary sovereign.
Although Count Danneskjold stood in high favour with the Queen Dowager Sophia Magdalena, who during the early part of the new reign had great power over the king, he was unable to overthrow Bernstorff. ”

“ It is very probable that the king's increasing libertinism suggested to the advisers of the crown a resumption of this plan, so as to withdraw Christian from an entourage, who led him into incessant follies and extravagance. It was Von Saldern who first discussed this plan with Bernstorff, and when the other ministers were consulted and reluctantly agreed that [Pg 119] the king might be induced to live more reputably through an acquaintance with other riders and courts, Von Saldern and Bernstorff proposed to let him make a tour through Germany, Holland, England, and France. ”

“ Bernstorff had tried to acquire the German poet Gellert as tutor for the prince, but to the regret of all right-minded Danes, he declined the offer, and the man then selected for the post was very little fitted to educate a future autocrat. According [Pg 59] to the instructions drawn up for his guidance, Nielsen was ordered to strive to gain his pupil's affection, so that the latter might find pleasure in his teacher's company. He was to begin with teaching him the Christian religion, and thus arouse in the prince a resolution to lead a virtuous course of life. ”

“ The fact that I showed a letter from Von Bernstorff and explained that I was known in the Foreign Office in Berlin made no impression whatsoever. The officer said that if the owner was dead, the helmet could not even go to his family. ”

“ Though the negotiations for this man's return to court were kept very secret by the queen's party, they did not escape Bernstorff, who saw the black clouds that announced his fall continually drawing nearer. [Pg 239] The premier was sincerely attached to the Russian court, and had in his day effected Rantzau's downfall. Hence he addressed the king in writing, and called his attention to the displeasure which Rantzau's recall would arouse in Petersburg. ”

“ I think that most of them know only too well the designs against Central and South America cherished by the Pan-Germans.
Finally, I think on the morning of Friday, Mr. Oscar King Davis, correspondent of the New York Times, received a wireless from Mr. Van Anda, editor of the New York Times, telling him that Bernstorff and his staff were being treated with every courtesy and that the German ships had not been confiscated. In the evening our telephone was reconnected, and we were allowed to receive some telegrams and to send open telegrams to the consuls, etc. throughout Germany ”

“ Petersburg by a circular note that the Empress had withdrawn her favour from Count Osten, and regarded him as [Pg 275] “a vile and odious person”. The cause of Osten’s disgrace was not a political one, but referred to some secret infamy.
Bernstorff did not wish to bring Osten back to Copenhagen, as his talent for intrigue was so great that he might prove dangerous, nor did he wish to lose his services altogether, for he had proved himself a very able diplomatist; he therefore sent him as Danish envoy to Naples. ”

“ Their general schema was to get those inevitable papers, copy and return them, and delay Goring's visit to Washington, while the late lamented BERNSTORFF put in a suggestion which would make the British schemes, whatever they were—it was secret service, so we, rightly, never knew—look foolish. And they had the Hunnish idea of compromising the silly peer with an irresistible Austrian danseuse (Ani Kiraly) , so that fear of exposure (by Hidden-Hand Press) of intrigue with enemy aliens would make him hand over the "papers." ”

“ Five months have elapsed since the sinking of the Lusitania and the pro-German campaign in the United States is more active than ever, thanks to the untiring efforts of Count Bernstorff and his worthy ally, Dr. Dumba, in promoting strikes and sabotage; but President Wilson, "Le Grand Penseur," declines to be rushed by the interventionists, and is giving his detached consideration to the "concessions" of the German Government in regard to submarine warfare. But three thousand miles of ocean no longer keep America free from strife. The enemy is within her gates, plotting, spying and bribing. ”

“ During the drive the Chief came to speak of “people who have the King’s ear and abuse his good [p. 135] nature,” thinking in the first place of the “fat Borck, the holder of the King’s Privy Purse;” and afterwards referring to Count Bernstorff, our then Ambassador in London, who, when he gave up the Foreign Office in Berlin, “knew very well how to take care of himself.” In fact, “he was so long weighing the respective advantages of the two Embassies—London and Paris—that he delayed entering upon his duties much longer than was decent or proper.” ”

“ Nothing would have induced her to recall Bernstorff, against whom she had a grievance, and she had suffered so much from the meddlesome interference of the Russian envoys that she was determined to stop it at all hazards. ”

“ Whatever he seemed desirous of seeing, and all the inquiries worthy of a monarch who seeks for instruction and improvement in the arts, civilisation, and government, were suggested by Count Bernstorff, the only man of merit and genius in his retinue. His own inclination led him to plays, operas, balls, and excursions of pleasure into the country, in which amusements a sovereign may indulge occasionally, when they are intended as a relaxation from the grand objects of useful study and information. ”

“ In this way, the cabinet government, [280] which had been charged as the highest crime against Struensee, was re-established, and Guldberg granted official interference in all higher affairs of state. External dignities speedily followed; for the king, in 1777, raised him to the Danish nobility, with precedence from January 29, 1773, the king's birthday, and granted him the name of Höegh-Guldberg. In his new post of honour, he very soon made Bernstorff tired of his ministerial functions ”

“ Malzahn died, and the secretary to the embassy being ill, Osten took upon himself to seal up the archives, receive despatches, and confer with the Russian ministers. Bernstorff confirmed him in the appointment he had seized, and sent him his instructions, which were, among other things, that he must humour the grand duchess, whose elevation the Copenhagen cabinet already foresaw. Von der Osten paid his court to her, by telling her all he could learn about foreign politics. ”

“ The miraculous forbearance of President Wilson, in face of the activities of Count Bernstorff, is even more trying to a good many of his countrymen than it is to the belligerent Briton. Mr. Roosevelt, for instance, derives no satisfaction from being the fellow-countryman of a man who can "knock spots" off Job for patience. The New York Life has long criticised the President with a freedom far eclipsing anything in the British Press. It has now crowned its "interventionist" campaign by a "John Bull number," the most generous and graceful tribute ever paid to England by the American Press. ”

“ Rumours of the amazing state of affairs at the Danish court reached England in the spring of 1770, and before long George III. and the Princess-Dowager of Wales were acquainted with the sudden rise of Struensee, and the extraordinary favour shown to him by the Queen. They also heard of the check which Russia had received at Copenhagen, and the probability of Bernstorff (who was regarded as the friend of England) being hurled from power to make room for the ambitious adventurer. ”

“ He chose the latter course, and soon after gave occasion for still greater zeal on the part of those who were preparing his overthrow. Without heeding Rantzau's promise not to interfere in the Russian negociations about the exchange of territory, Bernstorff expressed himself in a report to the king rather freely about the opponents of the negotiation, and as Rantzau at once learned the fact from Struensee, he resolved to be avenged. It may be assumed that the doctor had some share in the count's dismissal, and indeed he did not deny it afterwards. ”

“ His close confidant was Count von Bernstorff, with whom he had a joint account of several millions of dollars in the Chase National Bank, New York. His two active colleagues were Captain von Papen and Captain Boy-Ed. The association with these men must have been very close and keen; for on von Papen’s recall Dr. Albert wrote him: “I shall feel your departure most keenly; our work together was excellent and was always a great pleasure to me. I hope that in the Fatherland you will have an opportunity for making use of your extraordinary talent in dealing with economic questions. ”

“ The first Bernstorff was also accused of contravention of the Lex Regia when he was dismissed. The persons who condemned Struensee to death for having encroached on the absolute power of the king, issued the following decree on February 13, 1772, or while the trial was going on:—
"All orders shall be drawn up by the council and through the council. No order given directly by the king shall be carried into effect, unless the bearer of it has made application to the department which it concerns, and this department has acknowledged the said order."—Falckenskjold, p. ”

“ However, he started a month after the death of Queen Anne for the Hague, there to embark for England, and he took with him a numerous following of Hanoverians in which was Bernstorff, his Prime Minister, and two-thirds of his seraglio, i.e., the [Pg 17] Ladies Schulemburg and Kielmansegge. It is not surprising that with his Eastern proclivities he took also a couple of Turks by name Mustapha and Mahomet, but whether these two last were eunuchs, in attendance on the two ladies of the harem or not is not mentioned in history. ”

“ With reference to the return of Bernstorff, he pointed out that the Queen had a prejudice against the ex-minister on account of his supposed wish to exclude her from the regency; but he did not consider this objection insuperable, and wrote: “If Mr Struensee can ever be brought to recall Count Bernstorff, the Queen will not oppose it. If Mr Struensee quits the helm, or is forced from it, there is but one set of men to whom her Majesty can have recourse (the nobility) , and, [Pg 35] amongst them, almost every voice is in favour of Count Bernstorff.... ”

“ He had lately drawn away from Struensee, and written the latter, shortly before his arrest, a letter, in which he reproached the minister for meditating the recall of Bernstorff's pension, and pointed at the great services of the discharged minister. That Sturtz felt no apprehension on his own account upon Struensee's fall, is proved by the fact that he arranged for his marriage with the daughter of Major Mazar de la Garde to take place on January 24, and placed none of his papers in safety. ”

“ Why should they not be employed for once to better purpose?”
It was mentioned that the Palazzo Caffarelli in Rome had been purchased for the German Embassy, and both Russell and Abeken said it was a very fine building. The Chancellor observed: “Well, we have also handsome houses elsewhere, in Paris and in London. According to Continental ideas, however, the London house is too small. Bernstorff has so little room that he has to give up his own apartments when he has a reception or any other function of the kind. His Secretary of Embassy is better off in that respect. ”