Brandt

“ THE ANONYMOUS LETTER—INCENDIARY PLACARDS—THE SAILORS AT HIRSCHHOLM—ALARM AT COURT—THE FEAST OF THE BŒUF ROTI—THE CONSPIRACY—FALCKENSKJOLD'S ADVICE—STRUENSEE'S ALARMS—BRANDT'S LEVITY—THE SECOND LETTER—BRANDT'S RESOLUTION.
When Brandt had got rid so cleverly of his oppressive duties in constantly attending on the king, it might have been supposed that he would have nothing to trouble his mind henceforth, but would take the goods the gods provided him in a happy frame of mind. ”

“ Enevold Brandt was a few years older than Christian VII. He came of an ancient Danish family: his father had been a privy councillor and private secretary to Queen Sophia Magdalena, but he died before his son’s birth. His mother married again Baron Söhlenthal, and young Brandt was brought up in his stepfather’s house. At an early age he went to Copenhagen to study law, and passed his examinations with flying colours. In his vacations Brandt travelled widely: he was a polished man of the world and possessed brilliant social qualities. ”

“ Good-night, Miss Brandt!” and with a nod to Mr. Milliken he was gone.
“Ain’t ’e a nice fellow? Worth two of that conceited jackanapes, ’is cousin,” remarked the Baroness as he disappeared, “what do you think of ’im, ’Arriet?”
“Oh! he is well enough,” replied Miss Brandt with a yawn, as she prepared also to take her departure, “he is taller and broader and stronger looking than Captain Pullen—and he must be very clever into the bargain.”
“And ’e never said a word about ’is books,” exclaimed Madame Gobelli, “only fancy!” ”

“ Miss Brandt has a thorny path before her. She is a young lady who will have her own way, and with the glorious example of the Baroness the way is not likely to be too carefully chosen. To tell the truth, old boy, I ran away because I was afraid of falling into the trap. The girl wishes intensely to be married, and she is not a girl whom men will marry, and so—we need go no further. Only, I should not be surprised if, notwithstanding her fortune and her beauty, we should find Miss Harriet Brandt figuring before long, amongst the free lances of London. ”

“ It was not long after that war broke out between the settlers and the Indians, for Brandt now had a personal as well as a race grudge to gratify, though when he defeated St. Clair he spared his life in the hope that the general would reward his generosity by resigning to him his daughter. At all events, he resolved that the “frog on horseback,” whom he conceived to be his rival, should not win her. ”

“ All hope is not gone yet. You know there is still lots and lots of happiness for everybody, so why not make the most of it?" And, though still suffocating from his words, that filled her with guilty shame and partial resentment, she led them back to smiles and laughter through the medium of the children.
The meal finished, and the women occupied with their feminine interests, Brandt slipped away to his room of books, and, throwing himself into his easy chair, gave his thoughts over to other days, influenced by the young parson's burning words. ”

“ I have already stated that Badius edited the Latin translation of the “Ship of Fools” of Sebastian Brandt, with additional explanations of his own, but he was one of the first of Brandt’s imitators. He seems to have thought that Brandt’s book was not complete—that the weaker sex had not received its fair share of importance; and apparently in 1498, while Geiler was turning the “Stultifera Navis” into sermons, Badius compiled a sort of supplement to it (additamentum) , to which he gave the title of “Stultiferæ naviculæ, seu Scaphæ, Fatuarum Mulierum,” the Boats of Foolish Women. ”

“ If you prefer it, I will,” he answered in the same indifferent tone.
“Who is that young lady sitting opposite, with the dark eyes?” demanded Doctor Phillips of Mrs. Pullen.
“The same I spoke to you of, upstairs, as having been kind to baby—Miss Harriet Brandt!”
“I knew a Brandt once,” he answered. “Has she anything to do with the West Indies?”
“O! yes! she comes from Jamaica! She is an orphan, the daughter of Doctor Henry Brandt, and has been educated in the Ursuline Convent there! She is a young lady with an independent fortune, and considered to be quite a catch in Heyst!” ”

“ Locher compares Brandt with Dante, and Hutten styles him the new law-giver of German poetry.
A more recent and impartial critic (Müller, "Chips from a German Workshop," Vol. III.) , thus suggestively sets forth the varied grounds of Brandt's wonderful popularity:—"His satires, it is true, are not very powerful, nor pungent, nor original. But his style is free and easy. Brant is not a ponderous poet. He writes in short chapters, and mixes his fools in such a manner that we always meet with a variety of new faces. ”

“ Brandt replied that Struensee could be conducted to Kronborg, whence he could pass over into Sweden, and that as much money as he desired could be given him.
[Pg 48]
"And the queen?" Falckenskjold enquired.
"Oh, I will take charge of her," Brandt answered. "I understand the art of amusing women. I will direct their pleasures: I would convert this court, where we now lead a very wretched life into a place of delight. ”

“ He says he has been a pioneer, hunter, scout, soldier, trader—everything. When he came to the fort we needed men. It was just after Girty's siege, and all the cabins had been burned. Brandt seemed honest, and was a good fellow. Besides, he had gold. He started the river barges, which came from Fort Pitt. He has surely done the settlement good service, and has prospered. I never talked a dozen times to him, and even then, not for long. He appears to like the young people, which is only natural. That's all I know; Betty might tell you more, for he tried to be attentive to her. ”

“ It is, unhappily, to Britons and Anglo-Americans that we must refer the chief blame in this horrible business. I published a letter expressing this belief in the New Monthly Magazine, in the year 1822, to which I must refer the reader—if he has any curiosity on the subject—for an antidote to my fanciful description of Brandt. Among other expressions to young Brandt, I made use of the following words:—“Had I learnt all this of your father when I was writing my poem, he should not have figured in it as the hero of mischief.” ”

“ Having turned Moranti and the other boy out, Brandt locked the door, and then told the King, who by this time was somewhat frightened, that he had come to fight with him according to his wish, and asked him to take his choice of pistols or swords. The King, who had not contemplated a duel, but a scramble, said he would fight with his fists. Brandt agreed, and the struggle began ”

“ Associated with Brandt were two Tories who were worse miscreants than he; these were John Butler and Walter his son, who lived a few miles from Johnstown, in New York, which was the home of Brandt.
Brandt acted as the secretary of Colonel Guy Johnson, son-in-law of Sir William Johnson, who died in 1774. When Guy Johnson, alarmed for his own safety, fled to Canada, Brandt and the two Butlers went with him. There, where [170] they were safe, they hatched their plots for injuring the Americans. Brandt soon fell out with Johnson, and he and the Butlers returned to New York. ”

“ Having, after much difficulty, broken off his liaison with Margarethe Land, he married the singer Carolina Brandt, a noble-minded woman and consummate artist, who was well able to repay him for the part he had long played in her mental development. ”

“ Brandt soon secured his horse, and then appeared to give full rein to his careless, reckless spirit.
As they approached the stream, he remarked, "I say, Bute, it's too bad we can't use the pasteboards while on the jog; but I can win a five out of you by an old game of ours. I bet you I can empty my revolver quicker 'n you can."
"We'd better save our amernition and make no noise."
"Oh, pshaw! I always have better luck when I'm free and careless like. It's your sneaking fellers that always get caught. ”

“ On other occasions, Brandt's incredible levity inspired him with jests as to the fate they had to fear. [Pg 16] One day, after making some rather malicious remarks about the marshal of the court, he added: "After all, though, Biälke is the wisest of us, for he is taking advantage of the present time to settle down; he is making a wealthy marriage, and when we are in prison, I flatter myself that he will have pity on us, and send us every now and then some good soup." ”

“ This would have assuredly taken a very different course if the king had regarded it as an insult. On this occasion, his Majesty involuntarily thrust a finger into Count Brandt's mouth, which the latter quite as innocently seized with his teeth. The defence followed the attack: the king demanded of Count Brandt, presta te virum. Upon this Count Brandt seized the king by the coat, thrust him against the wall, and thus proved that he was stronger than the king ”

“ Brandt has in consequence become extremely obnoxious to many of the most warlike, and with such a jealous eye do they now regard him, that it would not be perfectly safe for him to venture to the upper country.
He has managed the affairs of his own people with great ability, and leased out their superfluous lands for them, for long terms of years, by which measure a certain annual revenue is ensured to the nation, probably as long as it will remain a nation. ”

“ I send the original letter of Captain Brandt merely to show how an Indian can write. It is his own handwriting and composition. Upon this notice of his attention you should write him a letter of acknowledgment for his hospitality, &c., which you may enclose to me at Washington.
Dear little Anna is shortly to be married to a Mr. Pierpont, whom I do not personally know; but he is said to be rich and handsome—a young man of industry and credit as a merchant. ”

“ She had thrown herself back in her armchair, and was regarding him as if he were perpetrating some mysterious joke, which she did not understand.
“How extraordinary; how very extraordinary!” she exclaimed at length, “that is the very thing that Ralph said of her when they first met.”
“But why extraordinary? There are few men who would not endorse the opinion. Miss Brandt possesses the kind of beauty that appeals to the senses of animal creatures like ourselves. She has a far more dangerous quality than that of mere regularity of feature. She [Pg 232] attracts without knowing it. ”

“ There are plenty in camp who would shoot me, just as they would you, should they learn of your design. I fear you do not realize what you are attempting. A man like yourself, elderly and alone, has no better chance of taking such a fellow as you describe Bute to be than of carrying a ton of ore on his back down the mountain. In all sincerity, sir, I must advise you to depart quietly and expeditiously, and give no one besides myself a hint of your errand."
"Will you please step into the outer office and make sure that no one is within earshot?" said Brandt, quietly. ”

“ Having a private fortune he settled in Jamaica, and set up his laboratory there, and I would not shock your ears by detailing one hundredth part of the atrocities that were said to take place under his supervision, and in company of this man Trawler, whom the girl calls her trustee, and who is one of the greatest brutes unhung.”
“Are you not a little prejudiced, dear Doctor?”
“Not at all! If when you have heard all, you still say so, you are not the woman I have taken you for. Brandt did not confine his scientific investigations to the poor dumb creation. ”

“ Brandt is one of those short, broad-shouldered, sound, dog-headed Germans, with such a determinate look when his otherwise slow wrath is stirred up, that it is not advisable to tackle with his fists, and much less with his rifle. Wiesenhavern, with that precision of manners, which always gains the point on such occasions, placed a decanter full of brandy on the bar, and, with cocked pistols in both hands, said, "Touch it, if you dare; if any one among you got the pluck to put in his tumbler one drop out of that bottle there he is a dead man;" ”

“ A Jew has no fear for his head, when he trembles for his money.
The Baron began to be uneasy, swore between his teeth, and was a little embarrassed, when Brandt, who loved gentle means as well as any body, when he found nothing else would succeed, advised the Colonel to [Pg 52] leave the room, took up the pistols, went out himself by a postern door, threatened to blow out the brains of the first who should dare to move, and shut up the Israelites in the tower. ”

“ Two days pass, three, four, and no English officer appears, no search is made for contraband of war in Oom Gerrie's house; but every time the door is opened or a footstep heard on the verandah, Oom Gerrie may be found with one hand plunged in a basin of water, while with the other he adjusts his spectacles.
Poor Oom Gerrie!
He gives up his trade in despair at last, for after all it does not pay, but as long as the old man lives he will be forced to listen to the question:
"How is the boot-making trade?" ”

“ Hansie had some trouble in persuading her mother to leave the house.
"I am not going down to the gate to see any men," she said. "Let them come up to me."
"They won't, mother. It is no use. There is something behind this. They are either our own spies or the English are setting a trap for us. Be on your guard, but come out into the garden."
Sorely against her will Mrs. van Warmelo hurried out of the house, where she gave the girls a cool and haughty reception, saying:
"I don't understand this. Will you be good enough to ask your friends to come up to my house if they wish to speak to me?" ”