The Life and Adventures of Baron Trenck Volume 1

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I immediately joined my soldiers, selected six men, and took them,
while it was dark, opposite the Prussian inn, hid them in the corn,
with an order to run to my help with their firelocks loaded the
first discharge they should hear, to seize all who should fall into
their power, and only to fire in case of resistance. I provided
them with fire-arms, by concealing them in the carriage which
brought them to their hiding-place.

Notwithstanding all these precautions, I still thought it necessary
to prevent surprise, by informing myself what were the proceedings
of my enemies, lest my intelligence should have been false; and I
learned from my spies that, at four in the morning, the Prussian
resident, Reimer, had left the city with post horses.

I loaded mine and my servant's horse and pocket pistols, prepared my
Turkish sabre, and, in gratitude to the lieutenant's man, promised
to take him into my service, being convinced of his honesty.

The lieutenant cheerfully entered about six in the morning,
expatiated on the fineness of the weather, and jocosely told me I
should be very kindly received by the handsome landlady of Langfuhr.

I was soon ready; we mounted, and left the town, attended by our
servants. Some three hundred paces from the inn, my worthy friend
proposed that we should alight and let our servants lead the horses,
that we might enjoy the beauty of the morning. I consented, and
having dismounted, observed his treacherous eyes sparkle with
pleasure.

The resident, Reimer, was at the window of the inn, and called out,
as soon as he saw me, "Good-morrow, captain, good-morrow; come, come
in, your breakfast is waiting." I, sneering, smiled, and told him I
had not time at present. So saying, I continued my walk, but my
companion would absolutely force me to enter, took me by the arm,
and partly struggled with me, on which, losing all patience, I gave
him a blow which almost knocked him down, and ran to my horses as if
I meant to fly.

The Prussians instantly rushed from behind their door, with clamour,
to attack me. I fired at the first; my Russians sprang from their
hiding-place, presented their pieces, and called, Stuy, stuy,
yebionnamat.

The terror of the poor Prussians may well be supposed. All began to
run. I had taken care to make sure of my lieutenant, and was next
running to seize the resident, but he had escaped out of the back
door, with the loss only of his white periwig. The Russians had
taken four prisoners, and I commanded them to bestow fifty strokes
upon each of them in the open street. An ensign, named Casseburg,
having told me his name, and that he had been my brother's
schoolfellow, begged remission, and excused himself on the necessity
which he was under to obey his superiors. I admitted his excuses
and suffered him to go. I then drew my sword and bade the
lieutenant defend himself; but he was so confused, that, after
drawing his sword, he asked my pardon, laid the whole blame upon the
resident, and had not the power to put himself on his guard. I
twice jerked his sword out of his hand, and, at last, taking the
Russian corporal's cane, I exhausted my strength with beating him,
without his offering the least resistance. Such is the meanness of
detected treachery. I left him kneeling, saying to him, "Go,
rascal, now, and tell your comrades the manner in which Trenck
punishes robbers on the highway."

The people had assembled round us during the action, to whom I
related the affair, and the attack having happened on the
territories of Dantzic, the Prussians were in danger of being stoned
by the populace. I and my Russians marched off victorious,
proceeded to the harbour, embarked, and three or four days after,
set sail for Riga.

It is remarkable that none of the public papers took any notice of
this affair; no satisfaction was required. The Prussians, no doubt,
were ashamed of being defeated in an attempt so perfidious.

I since have learnt that Frederic, no doubt by the false
representations of Reimer, was highly irritated, and what afterwards
happened proves his anger pursued me through every corner of the
earth, till at last I fell into his power at Dantzic, and suffered a
martyrdom most unmerited and unexampled.

The Prussian envoy, Goltz, indeed, made complaints to Count
Bestuchef, concerning this Dantzic skirmish, but received no
satisfaction. My conduct was justified in Russia, I having defended
myself against assassins, as a Russian captain ought.

Some dispassionate readers may blame me for not having avoided this
rencontre, and demanded personal satisfaction of Lieutenant N -.
But I have through life rather sought than avoided danger. My
vanity and revenge were both roused. I was everywhere persecuted by
the Prussians, and I was therefore determined to show that, far from
fearing, I was able to defend myself.

I hired the servant of the lieutenant, whom I found honest and
faithful, and whom I comfortably settled in marriage, at Vienna, in
1753. After my ten years' imprisonment, I found him poor, and again
took him into my service, in which he died, at Zwerbach, in 1779.

CHAPTER X.

And now behold me at sea, on my voyage to Riga. I had eaten
heartily before I went on board; a storm came on; I worked half the
night, to aid the crew, but at length became sea-sick, and went to
lie down. Scarcely had I closed my eyes before the master came with
the joyful tidings, as he thought, that we were running for the port
of Pillau. Far from pleasing, this, to me, was dreadful
intelligence. I ran on deck, saw the harbour right before me, and a
pilot coming off. The sea must now be either kept in a storm, or I
fall into the hands of the Prussians; for I was known to the whole
garrison of Pillau.

I desired the captain to tack about and keep the sea, but he would
not listen to me. Perceiving this, I flew to my cabin, snatched my
pistols, returned, seized the helm, and threatened the captain with
instant death if he did not obey. My Russians began to murmur; they
were averse to encountering the dangers of the storm, but luckily
they were still more averse to meet my anger, overawed, as they
were, by my pistols, and my two servants, who stood by me
faithfully.

Half an hour after, the storm began to subside, and we fortunately
arrived the next day in the harbour of Riga. The captain, however,
could not be appeased, but accused me before the old and honourable
Marshal Lacy, then governor of Riga. I was obliged to appear, and
reply to the charge by relating the truth. The governor answered,
my obstinacy might have occasioned the death of a hundred and sixty
persons; I, smiling, retorted, "I have brought them all safe to
port, please your Excellency; and, for my part, my fate would have
been much more merciful by falling into the hands of my God than
into the hands of my enemies. My danger was so great that I forgot
the danger of others; besides, sir, I knew my comrades were
soldiers, and feared death as little as I do." My answer pleased
the fine grey-headed general, and he gave me a recommendation to the
chancellor Bestuchef at Moscow.

General Lieuwen had marched from Moravia, for Russia, with the army,
and was then at Riga. I went to pay him my respects; he kindly
received me, and took me to one of his seats, named Annaburg, four
miles from Riga. Here I remained some days, and he gave me every
recommendation to Moscow, where the court then was. It was intended
I should endeavour to obtain a company in the regiment of
cuirassiers, the captains of which then ranked as majors, and he
advised me to throw up my commission in the Siberian regiment of
Tobolski dragoons. Peace be to the names and the memory of this
worthy man! May God reward this benevolence! From Riga I departed,
in company with M. Oettinger, lieutenant-colonel of engineers, and
Lieutenant Weismann, for Moscow. This is the same Weismann who
rendered so many important services to Russia, during the last war
with the Turks.

On my arrival, after delivering in my letters of recommendation, I
was particularly well received by Count Bestuchef. Oettinger, whose
friendship I had gained, was exceedingly intimate with the
chancellor, and my interest was thereby promoted.

I had not been long at Moscow before I met Count Hamilton, my former
friend during my abode at Vienna. He was a captain of cavalry, in
the regiment of General Bernes, who had been sent as imperial
ambassador to Russia.

Bernes had been ambassador at Berlin in 1743, where he had
consequently known me during the height of my favour at the court of
Frederic. Hamilton presented me to him, and I had the good fortune
so far to gain his friendship, that, after a few visits, he
endeavoured to detach me from the Russian service, offering me the
strongest recommendations to Vienna, and a company in his own
regiment. My cousin's misfortunes, however, had left too deep an
impression on my mind to follow his advice. The Indies would then
have been preferred by me to Austria.

Bernes invited me to dine with him in company with his bosom friend,
Lord Hyndford, the English ambassador. How great was the pleasure I
that day received! This eminent statesman had known me at Berlin,
and was present when Frederic had honoured me with saying, C'est un
matador de ma jeunesse. He was well read in men, conceived a good
opinion of my abilities, and became a friend and father to me. He
seated me by his side at table, and asked me, "Why came you here,
Trenck?" "In search of bread and honour, my lord," answered I,
"having unmeritedly lost them both in my own country." He further
inquired the state of my finances; I told him my whole store might
be some thirty ducats.

"Take my counsel," said he; "you have the necessary qualifications
to succeed in Russia, but the people here despise poverty, judge
from the exterior only, and do not include services or talents in
the estimate; you must have the appearance of being wealthy. I and
Bernes will introduce you into the best families, and will supply
you with the necessary means of support. Splendid liveries, led
horses, diamond rings, deep play, a bold front, undaunted freedom
with statesmen, and gallantry among the ladies, are the means by
which foreigners must make their way in this country. Avail
yourself of them, and leave the rest to us." This lesson lasted
some time. Bernes entered in the interim, and they determined
mutually to contribute towards my promotion.

Few of the young men who seek their fortune in foreign countries
meet incidents so favourable. Fortune for a moment seemed willing
to recompense my past sufferings, and again to raise me to the
height from which I had fallen. These ambassadors, here again by
accident met, had before been witnesses of my prosperity when at
Berlin. The talents I possessed, and the favour I then enjoyed,
attracted the notice of all foreign ministers. They were bosom
friends, equally well read in the human heart, and equally
benevolent and noble-minded; their recommendation at court was
decisive; the nations they represented were in alliance with Russia,
and the confidence Bestuchef placed in them was unbounded.

I was now introduced into all companies, not as a foreigner who came
to entreat employment, but as the heir of the house of Trenck, and
its rich Hungarian possessions, and as the former favourite of the
Prussian monarch.

I was also admitted to the society of the first literati, and wrote
a poem on the anniversary of the coronation of the Empress
Elizabeth. Hyndford took care she should see it, and, in
conjunction with the chancellor, presented me to the sovereign. My
reception was most gracious. She herself recommended me to the
chancellor, and presented me with a gold-hilted sword, worth a
thousand roubles. This raised me highly in the esteem of all the
houses of the Bestuchef party.

Manners were at that time so rude in Russia, that every foreigner
who gave a dinner, or a ball, must send notice to the chancellor
Bestuchef, that he might return a list of the guests allowed to be
invited. Faction governed everything; and wherever Bestuchef was,
no friend of Woranzow durst appear. I was the intimate of the
Austrian and English ambassadors; consequently, was caressed and
esteemed in all companies. I soon became the favourite of the
chancellor's lady, as I shall hereafter notice; and nothing more was
wanting to obtain all I could wish.

I was well acquainted with architectural design, had free access to
the house and cabinet of the chancellor, where I drew in company
with Colonel Oettinger, who was then the head architect of Russia,
and made the perspective view of the new palace, which the
chancellor intended to build at Moscow, by which I acquired
universal honour. I had gained more acquaintance in, and knowledge
of, Russia in one month, than others, wanting my means, have done in
twelve.

As I was one day relating my progress to Lord Hyndford, he, like a
friend, grown grey in courts, kindly took the trouble to advise me.
From him I obtained a perfect knowledge of Russia; he was acquainted
with all the intrigues of European courts, their families, party
cabals, the foibles of the monarchs, the principles of their
government, the plots of the great Peter, and had also made the
peace of Breslau. Thus, having been the confidential friend of
Frederic, he was intimately acquainted with his heart, as well as
the sources of his power. Hyndford was penetrating, noble-minded,
had the greatness of the Briton, without his haughtiness; and the
principles, by which he combined the past, the present, and the
future, were so clear, that I, his scholar, by adhering to them,
have been enabled to foretell all the most remarkable revolutions
that have happened, during the space of six-and-thirty years, in
Europe. By these I knew, when any minister was disgraced, who
should be his successor. I daily passed some hours improving by his
kind conversation; and to him I am indebted for most of that
knowledge of the world I happen to possess.

He took various opportunities of cautioning me against the effects
of an ardent, sanguine temper; and my hatred of arbitrary power
warned me to beware of the determined persecution of Frederic, of
his irreconcilable anger, his intrigues and influence in the various
courts of Europe, which he would certainly exert to prevent my
promotion, lest I should impede his own projects, and lamented my
future sufferings, which he plainly foresaw. "Despots," said he,
"always are suspicious, and abhor those who have a consciousness of
their own worth, of the rights of mankind, and hold the lash in
detestation. The enlightened are by them called the restless
spirits, turbulent and dangerous; and virtue there, where virtue is
unnecessary for the humbling and trampling upon the suffering
subject, is accounted a crime, of all others the most to be
dreaded."

Hyndford taught me to know, and highly to value freedom: to despise
tyrants, to endure the worst of miseries, to emulate true greatness
of mind, to despise danger, and to honour only those whose elevation
of soul had taught them equally to oppose bigotry and despotism.

Bernes was a philosopher; but with the penetration of an Italian,
more cautious than Hyndford, yet equally honest and worthy. His
friendship for me was unbounded, and the time passed in their
company was esteemed by me most precious. The liberality of my
sentiments, thirst after knowledge and scientific acquirements
gained their favour; our topics of conversation were inexhaustible,
and I acquired more real information at Moscow than at Berlin, under
the tuition of La Metri, Maupertuis, and Voltaire.

CHAPTER XI.

Scarcely had I been six weeks in this city before I had an adventure
which I shall here relate; for, myself excepted, all the persons
concerned in it are now dead. Intrigues properly belong to novels.
This book is intended for a more serious purpose, and they are
therefore here usually suppressed. It cannot be supposed I was a
woman-hater. Most of the good or bad fortune I experienced
originated in love. I was not by nature inconstant, and was
incapable of deceit even in amours. In the very ardour of youth I
always shunned mere sensual pleasures. I loved for more exalted
reasons, and for such sought to be beloved again. Love and
friendship were with me always united; and these I was capable of
inciting, maintaining, and deserving. The most difficult of access,
the noblest, and the fairest, were ever my choice: and my
veneration for these always deterred me from grosser gratifications.
By woman I was formed; by the faith of woman supported under
misfortunes; in the company of woman enjoyed the few hours of
delight my life of sorrows has experienced. Woman, beautiful and
well instructed, even now, lightens the burden of age, the world's
tediousness and its woes; and, when these are ended, I would rather
wish mine eyes might be closed by fair and virgin hands, than, when
expiring, fixed on a hypocritical priest.

My adventures with women would amply furnish a romance: but enough
of this, I should not relate the present, were it not necessary to
my story.

Dining one public day with Lord Hyndford, I was seated beside a
charming young lady of one of the best families in Russia, who had
been promised in marriage, though only seventeen, to an old invalid
minister. Her eyes soon told me she thought me preferable to her
intended bridegroom. I understood them, lamented her hard fate, and
was surprised to hear her exclaim, "Oh, heavens! that it were
possible you could deliver me from my misfortune: I would engage to
do whatever you would direct."

The impression such an appeal must make on a man of four and twenty,
of a temperament like mine, may easily be supposed. The lady was
ravishingly beautiful; her soul was candour itself, and her rank
that of a princess; but the court commands had already been given in
favour of the marriage; and flight, with all its inseparable
dangers, was the only expedient. A public table was no place for
long explanations. Our hearts were already one. I requested an
interview, and the next day was appointed, the place the Trotzer
garden, where I passed three rapturous hours in her company: thanks
to her woman, who was a Georgian.

To escape, however, from Moscow, was impossible. The distance
thence to any foreign country was too great. The court was not to
remove to Petersburg till the next spring, and her marriage was
fixed for the first of August. The misfortune was not to be
remedied, and nothing was left us but patience perforce. We could
only resolve to fly from Petersburg when there, the soonest
possible, and to take refuge in some corner of the earth, where we
might remain unknown of all. The marriage, therefore, was
celebrated with pomp, though I, in despite of forms, was the true
husband of the princess. Such was the state of the husband imposed
upon her, that to describe it, and not give disgust, were
impossible.

The princess gave me her jewels, and several thousand roubles, which
she had received as a nuptial present, that I might purchase every
thing necessary for flight; my evil destiny, however, had otherwise
determined. I was playing at ombre with her, one night, at the
house of the Countess of Bestuchef, when she complained of a violent
headache, appointed me to meet her on the morrow, in the Trotzer
gardens, clasped my hand with inexpressible emotion, and departed.
Alas! I never beheld her more, till stretched upon the bier!

She grew delirious that very night, and so continued till her death,
which happened on the sixth day, when the small-pox began to appear.
During her delirium she discovered our love, and incessantly called
on me to deliver her from her tyrant. Thus, in the flower of her
age, perished one of the most lovely women I ever knew, and with her
fled all I held most dear.

All my plans were now to be newly arranged. Lord Hyndford alone was
in the secret, for I hid no secrets from him: he strengthened me in
my first resolution, and owned that he himself, for such a mistress,
might perhaps have been weak enough to have acted as I had done.
Almost as much moved as myself, he sympathised with me as a friend,
and his advice deterred me from ending my miseries, and descending
with her, whom I have loved and lost, to the grave. This was the
severest trial I had ever felt. Our affection was unbounded, and
such only as noble hearts can feel. She being gone, the whole world
became a desert. There is not a man on earth, whose life affords
more various turns of fate than mine. Swiftly raised to the highest
pinnacle of hope, as suddenly was I cast headlong down, and so
remarkable were these revolutions that he who has read my history
will at last find it difficult to say whether he envies or pities me
most. And yet these were, in reality, but preparatory to the evils
that hovered over my devoted head. Had not the remembrance of past
joys soothed and supported me under my sufferings, I certainly
should not have endured the ten years' torture of the Magdeburg
dungeon, with a fortitude that might have been worthy even of
Socrates.

Enough of this. My blood again courses swifter through my veins as
I write! Rest, gentle maiden, noble and lovely as thou wert! For
thee ought Heaven to have united a form so fair, animated as it was,
by a soul so pure, to ever-blooming youth and immortality.

My love for this lady became well-known in Moscow; yet her corpulent
overgrown husband had not understanding enough to suppose there was
any meaning in her rhapsodies during her delirium.

Her gifts to me amounted in value to about seven thousand ducats.
Lord Hyndford and Count Bernes both adjudged them legally mine, and
well am I assured her heart had bequeathed me much more.

To this event succeeded another, by which my fortune was greatly
influenced. The Countess of Bestuchef was then the most amiable and
witty woman at Court. Her husband, cunning, selfish, and shallow,
had the name of minister, while she, in reality, governed with a
genius, at once daring and comprehensive. The too pliant Elizabeth
carelessly left the most important things to the direction of
others. Thus the Countess was the first person of the Empire, and
on whom the attention of the foreign ministers was fixed.

Haughty and majestic in her demeanour, she was supposed to be the
only woman at court who continued faithful to her husband; which
supposition probably originated in her art and education, she being
a German born: for I afterwards found her virtue was only pride,
and a knowledge of the national character. The Russian lover rules
despotic over his mistress: requires money, submission, and should
he meet opposition, threatens her with blows, and the discovery of
her secret.

During Elizabeth's reign foreigners could neither appear at court,
nor in the best company, without the introduction of Bestuchef. I
and Sievers, gentlemen of the chamber, were at that time the only
Germans who had free egress and regress in all houses of fashion; my
being protected by the English and Austrian ambassadors gave me very
peculiar advantages, and made my company everywhere courted.

Bestuchef had been resident, during the late reign, at Hamburg, in
which inferior station he married the countess, at that time, though
young and handsome, only the widow of the merchant Boettger. Under
Elizabeth, Bestuchef rose to the summit of rank and power, and the
widow Boettger became the first lady of the empire. When I knew her
she was eight and thirty, consequently no beauty, though a woman
highly endowed in mind and manners, of keen discernment, disliking
the Russians, protecting the Prussians, and at whose aversions all
trembled.

Her carriage towards the Russians was, what it must be in her
situation, lofty, cautious, and ironical, rather than kind. To me
she showed the utmost esteem on all occasions, welcomed me at her
table, and often admitted me to drink coffee in company with herself
alone and Colonel Oettinger. The countess never failed giving me to
understand she had perceived my love for the princess N- ; and,
though I constantly denied the fact, she related circumstances which
she could have known, as I thought, only from my mistress herself;
my silence pleased her; for the Russians, when a lady had a
partiality for them, never fail to vaunt of their good fortune. She
wished to persuade me she had observed us in company, had read the
language of our eyes, and had long penetrated our secret. I was
ignorant at that time that she had then, and long before,
entertained the maid of my mistress as a spy in her pay.

About a week after the death of the princess, the countess invited
me to take coffee with her, in her chamber; lamented my loss, and
the violence of that passion which had deprived me of all my
customary vivacity, and altered my very appearance. She seemed so
interested in my behalf, and expressed so many wishes, and so ardent
to better my fate, that I could no longer doubt. Another
opportunity soon happened, which confirmed these my suspicions: her
mouth confessed her sentiments. Discretion, secrecy, and fidelity,
were the laws she imposed, and never did I experience a more ardent
passion from woman. Such was her understanding and penetration, she
knew how to rivet my affections.

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