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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Memoirs of Leonora Christina, by Leonora
+Christina Ulfeldt, Translated by F. E. Bunnètt
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Memoirs of Leonora Christina
+       Daughter of Christian IV. of Denmark; Written During Her Imprisonment in the Blue Tower at Copenhagen 1663-1685
+
+
+Author: Leonora Christina Ulfeldt
+
+
+
+Release Date: November 24, 2011  [eBook #38128]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF LEONORA CHRISTINA***
+
+
+E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+(http://www.pgdp.net) from scanned images of public domain material
+generously made available by the Google Books Library Project
+(http://books.google.com/)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 38128-h.htm or 38128-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38128/38128-h/38128-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38128/38128-h.zip)
+
+
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      the the Google Books Library Project. See
+      http://books.google.com/books?vid=MaYBAAAAQAAJ&id
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Obvious typographical errors have been corrected, but
+      otherwise the original spelling has generally been retained,
+      even where several different spellings have been used to
+      refer to the same person.
+
+      The printed book contained footnotes and endnotes. The
+      endnotes have been treated as footnotes, and marked with
+      anchors prefixed by E, as in [E01]. When one endnote is
+      referenced twice, the second occurence is marked by adding
+      a b, as in [E12b], and the text of the endnote is repeated
+      in the appropriate place.
+
+      The printed book contained a few features, such as Greek
+      text and illustrations, that could not be reproduced in this
+      format. These have been marked in the text using {curly
+      braces}.
+
+      A list of corrections is at the end of this e-book.
+
+
+
+
+
+MEMOIRS OF  LEONORA CHRISTINA
+
+Daughter of Christian IV. of Denmark
+
+Written During Her Imprisonment in the Blue Tower at Copenhagen
+1663-1685
+
+Translated by F. E. Bunnètt
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+Henry S. King & Co., 65 Cornhill
+1872
+
+London: Printed by
+Spottiswoode and Co., New-Street Square
+and Parliament Street
+
+All rights reserved
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+In placing the present translation of LEONORA CHRISTINA ULFELDT'S
+Memoirs before the English reading public, a few words are due from
+the Publishers, in order to explain the relation between this edition
+and those which have been brought out in Denmark and in Germany.
+
+The original autograph manuscript of Leonora Christina's record of
+her sufferings in her prison, written between the years 1674 and
+1685, belongs to her descendant the Austrian Count Joh. Waldstein,
+and it was discovered only a few years ago. It was then, at the
+desire of Count Waldstein, brought to Copenhagen by the Danish
+Minister at Vienna, M. Falbe, in order that its authenticity might be
+thoroughly verified by comparison with documents preserved in the
+Danish archives and libraries, and known to be in the hand-writing of
+the illustrious authoress. When the existence of this interesting
+historic and literary relic had become known in Denmark, a desire to
+see it published was naturally expressed on all sides, and to this
+the noble owner most readily acceded.
+
+Thus the first Danish edition came to light in 1869, promoted in
+every way by Count Waldstein. The editor was Mr. Sophus Birket-Smith,
+assistant librarian of the University Library at Copenhagen, who
+enriched the edition with a historical introduction and copious
+notes. A second Danish edition appeared a few months later; and in
+1871 a German translation of the Memoir was edited by M. Ziegler,
+with a new introduction and notes, founded partly on the first Danish
+edition, partly on other printed sources, to which were added
+extracts from some papers found in the family archives of Count
+Waldstein, and which were supposed to possess the interest of
+novelty.
+
+The applause with which this edition was received in Germany
+suggested the idea of an English version, and it was at first
+intended merely to translate M. Ziegler's book into English. During
+the progress of the work, however, it was found preferable to adopt
+the second Danish edition as the basis of the English edition. The
+translation which had been made from M. Ziegler's German, has been
+carefully compared with the Danish original, so as to remove any
+defects arising from the use of the German translation, and give it
+the same value as a translation made direct from the Danish; a new
+introduction and notes have been added, for which the Danish editor,
+Mr. Birket-Smith has supplied the materials; and instead of the
+fragments of Ulfeldt's Apology and of an extract from Leonora
+Christina's Autobiography found in the German edition, a complete
+translation of the Autobiography to the point where Leonora's Memoir
+of her sufferings in prison takes up the thread of the narrative, has
+been inserted, made from the original French text, recently published
+by Mr. S. Birket-Smith. As a matter of course the preface of Count
+Waldstein, which appears in this edition, is the one prefixed to the
+Danish edition. The manuscript itself of the record of Leonora
+Christina's sufferings in prison was commenced in 1674, and was at
+first intended to commemorate only what had happened during the
+preceding ten years of her captivity; it was afterwards extended to
+embrace the whole period down to 1685, and subjected to a revision
+which resulted in numerous additions and alterations. As, however,
+these do not seem to have been properly worked in by the authoress
+herself, the Memoir is here rendered, as in the Danish edition, in
+its original, more perfect shape, and the subsequent alterations made
+the subject of foot notes.
+
+
+
+
+ PREFACE
+ TO
+ THE DANISH EDITION.
+
+
+When, in the summer of 1858, I visited the graves of my Danish
+ancestors of the family of Ulfeldt, in the little village church at
+Quærndrup, near the Castle of Egeskov, on the island of Fyn, I
+resolved to honour the memory of my pious ancestress Leonora
+Christina, and thus fulfil the duty of a descendant by publishing
+this autograph manuscript which had come to me amongst the heirlooms
+left by my father.
+
+It is well known that the last male representative of the family of
+Ulfeldt, the Chancellor of the Court and Realm of Her Majesty the
+Empress Maria Theresia, had only two daughters. One of them,
+Elizabeth, married Georg Christian, Count Waldstein, while the
+younger married Count Thun.
+
+Out of special affection for her younger son Emanuel (my late
+father), my grandmother bequeathed all that referred to the Ulfeldts
+to him, and the manuscript which I now--in consequence of requests
+from various quarters, also from high places--give to publicity by
+the learned assistance of Mr. Sophus Birket-Smith, thus came to me
+through direct descent from her father:
+
+'Corfitz, Count of Ulfeldt of the holy Roman Empire, Lord of the
+lordships Költz-Jenikau, Hof-Kazof, Brödlich, Odaslowitz, and the
+fief Zinltsch, Knight of the Golden Vliess, First Treasurer of the
+hereditary lands in Bohemia, Ambassador at the Ottoman Porte,
+afterwards Chancellor of the Court and the Empire, sworn Privy
+Councillor and first Lord Steward of his Imperial and Royal Majesty
+Carolus VI., as well as of His Imperial Roman and Royal Majesty of
+Hungary, Bohemia,' &c.
+
+We add: the highly honoured paternal guide of Her Majesty the Queen
+Empress Maria Theresia, of glorious memory, during the first year of
+her government, until the time when the gifted Prince Kaunitz, whose
+genius sometimes even was too much for this, morally noble lady,
+became her successor.
+
+I possess more than eleven imposing, closely written folio volumes,
+which contain the manuscripts of the Chancellor of the Empire, his
+negociations with the Sublime Porte, afterwards with the
+States-General of the Netherlands, as well as the ministerial
+protocols from the whole time that he held the office of Imperial
+Chancellor; all of which prove his great industry and love of order,
+while the original letters and annotations of his exalted mistress,
+which are inserted in these same volumes, testify to the sincere,
+almost childlike confidence with which she honoured him.
+
+But this steady and circumspect statesman was the direct grandson of
+the restless and proud
+
+CORFITZ, first Count of Ulfeldt of the Roman Empire, High Steward of
+the Realm in Denmark, &c., and of his devoted and gifted wife LEONORA
+CHRISTINA, through their son
+
+LEO, Imperial Count Ulfeldt, Privy Councillor, Field-marshal, and
+Viceroy in Catalonia of the Emperor Carl VI., and his wife, a born
+Countess of Zinzendorf.
+
+I preserved, therefore with great care this manuscript, as well as
+all other relics and little objects which had belonged to my Danish
+ancestress, whose exalted character and sufferings are so highly
+calculated to inspire sympathy, interest, and reverence. Amongst
+these objects are several writings, such as fragments of poems,
+prayers, needlework executed in prison (some embroidered with hair of
+a fair colour); a christening robe with cap worked in gold, probably
+used at the christening of her children; a very fine Amulet of
+Christian IV. in blue enamel, and many portraits; amongst others the
+original picture in oil of which a copy precedes the title page, &c.
+&c.
+
+Considering that the manuscript has been handed down directly from my
+ancestors from generation to generation in direct line, I could not
+personally have any doubt as to its genuineness. Nevertheless I
+yielded to the suggestions of others, in order to have the
+authenticity of the manuscript thoroughly tested. In what way this
+was done will be seen from the Introduction of the Editor.
+
+Though the final verdict of history may not yet have been given on
+Corfitz Ulfeldt, yet--tempus omnia sanat--yon ominous pillar, which
+was to perpetuate the memory of his crime into eternity, has been put
+aside as rubbish and left to oblivion. Noble in forgetting and
+pardoning, the great nation of the North has given a bright example
+to those who still refuse to grant to Albert, Duke of Friedland--the
+great general who saved the Empire from the danger that threatened it
+from the North--the place which this hero ought to occupy in the
+Walhalla at Vienna.
+
+But as to the fiery temper of Corfitz and the mysterious springs
+which govern the deeds and thoughts of mankind, it may be permitted
+to me, his descendant, to cherish the belief, which is almost
+strengthened into a conviction, that a woman so highly gifted, of so
+noble sentiments, as Leonora appears to us, would never have been
+able to cling with a love so true, and so enduring through all the
+changes of life, to a man who was unworthy of it.
+
+                                    JOH. COUNT WALDSTEIN.
+
+  Cairo: December 8, 1868.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                         PAGE
+
+ INTRODUCTION                                               1
+
+ AUTOBIOGRAPHY                                             31
+
+ A RECORD OF THE SUFFERINGS OF THE IMPRISONED COUNTESS:--
+
+   PREFACE (TO MY CHILDREN)                                87
+
+   A REMINISCENCE OF ALL THAT OCCURRED TO ME, LEONORA
+     CHRISTINA, IN THE BLUE TOWER, FROM AUGUST 8 OF THE
+     YEAR 1663, TO JUNE 11 OF THE YEAR 1674               102
+
+
+
+
+ MEMOIRS
+ OF
+ LEONORA CHRISTINA.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+Amongst the women celebrated in history, LEONORA CHRISTINA, the
+heroine as well as the authoress of the Memoirs which form the
+subject of this volume, occupies a conspicuous place, as one of the
+noblest examples of every womanly virtue and accomplishment,
+displayed under the most trying vicissitudes of fortune. Born the
+daughter of a King, married to one of the ablest statesmen of his
+time, destined, as it seemed, to shine in the undisturbed lustre of
+position and great qualities, she had to spend nearly twenty-two
+years in a prison, in the forced company--more cruel to her than
+solitary confinement--of male and female gaolers of the lowest order,
+and for a long time deprived of every means of rendering herself
+independent of these surroundings by intellectual occupation. She had
+to suffer alone, and innocently, for her husband's crimes; whatever
+these were, she had no part in them, and she endured persecution
+because she would not forsake him in his misfortune. Leonora
+Christina was the victim of despotism guided by personal animosity,
+and she submitted with a Christian meekness and forbearance which
+would be admirable in any, but which her exalted station and her
+great mental qualities bring out in doubly strong relief.
+
+It is to these circumstances, which render the fate of Leonora so
+truly tragic, as well as to the fact that we have her own authentic
+and trustworthy account before us, that the principal charm of this
+record is due. Besides this, it affords many incidental glimpses of
+the customs and habits of the time, nor is it without its purely
+historical interest. Leonora and her husband, Corfits Ulfeldt, were
+intimately connected with the principal political events in the North
+of Europe at their time; even the more minute circumstances of their
+life have, therefore, a certain interest.
+
+No wonder that the history of this illustrious couple has formed, and
+still forms, the theme both of laborious scientific researches and of
+poetical compositions. Amongst the latter we may here mention in
+passing a well-known novel by Rousseau de la Valette,[01] because it
+has had the undeserved honour of being treated by a modern writer as
+an historical source, to the great detriment of his composition.
+Documents which have originated from these two personages are of
+course of great value. Besides letters and public documents, there
+exist several accounts written by both Corfits Ulfeldt and Leonora
+referring to their own life and actions. Ulfeldt published in 1652 a
+defence of his political conduct, and composed, shortly before his
+death, another, commonly called the 'Apology of Ulfeldt,' which has
+not yet been printed entirely, but of which an extract was published
+in 1695 in the supplement of the English edition of Rousseau de la
+Valette's book. Some extracts from an incomplete copy discovered by
+Count Waldstein in 1870, in the family archives at the Castle of
+Palota, were published with the German edition of Leonora's Memoir;
+complete copies exist in Copenhagen and elsewhere. Leonora Christina,
+who was an accomplished writer, has composed at least four partial
+accounts of her own life. One of them, referring to a journey in
+1656, to be mentioned hereafter, has been printed long ago; of
+another, which treated of her and Ulfeldt's imprisonment at Bornholm,
+no copy has yet been discovered. The third is her Autobiography,
+carried down to 1673, of which an English version follows this
+Introduction; it was written in the Blue Tower, in the form of a
+letter to the Danish antiquarian, Otto Sperling, jun., who wished to
+make use of it for his work, 'De feminis doctis.'[02]
+
+ [01] _Le Comte d'Ulfeld, Grand Maistre de Danemarc._ _Nouvelle
+ historique_, i.-ii. Paris, 1678. 8vo. An English translation, with
+ a supplement, appeared 1695: _The Life of Count Ulfeldt, Great
+ Master of Denmark, and of the Countess Eleonora his Wife._ Done out
+ of French. With a supplement. London. 1695. 8vo.
+
+ Another novel by the same author, called _Casimir King of Poland_,
+ is perhaps better known in this country, through a translation by
+ F. Spence in vol. ii. of _Modern Novels_, 1692.
+
+ [02] It is by a slip of memory that Mr. Birket Smith, in his first
+ Danish edition of Leonora Christina's memoir of her life in prison,
+ describes this work under the name of _De feminis eruditis_.
+
+About a century ago a so-called Autobiography of Leonora was
+published in Copenhagen, but it was easily proved to be a forgery; in
+fact, the original of her own work existed in the Danish archives,
+and had been described by the historian Andreas Höier. It has now
+been lost, it is supposed, in the fire which destroyed the Castle of
+Christiansborg in 1794, but a complete copy exists in Copenhagen, as
+well as several extracts in Latin; another short extract in French
+belongs to Count Waldstein. Finally, Leonora Christina wrote the
+memoir of her sufferings in the prison of the Blue Tower from
+1663-1685, of which the existence was unknown until discovered by
+Count Waldstein, and given to the public in the manner indicated in
+the Preface.
+
+In introducing these memoirs to the English public, a short sketch of
+the historical events and the persons to whom they refer may not be
+unwelcome, particularly as Leonora herself touches only very lightly
+on them, and principally describes her own personal life.
+
+_Leonora Christina_ was a daughter of _King Christian IV._ of Denmark
+and _Kirstine Munk_. His Queen, Anna Catherine, born a princess of
+Brandenburg, died in 1612, leaving three princes (four other children
+died early), and in 1615 the King contracted a morganatic marriage
+with Kirstine Munk, a lady of an ancient and illustrious noble
+family. Leonora was born July 18 (new style), 1621, at the Castle of
+Fredriksborg, so well known to all who have visited Denmark, which
+the King had built twenty miles north of Copenhagen, in a beautiful
+part of the country, surrounded by smiling lakes and extensive
+forests. But little is known of her childhood beyond what she tells
+herself in her Autobiography. Already in her eighth year she was
+promised to her future husband, Corfits Ulfeldt, and in 1636 the
+wedding was celebrated with great splendour, Leonora being then
+fifteen years old. The family of Ulfeldt has been known since the
+close of the fourteenth century. Corfits' father had been Chancellor
+of the Realm, and somewhat increased the family possessions, though
+he sold the ancient seat of the family, Ulfeldtsholm, in Fyen, to
+Lady Ellen Marsvin, Kirstine Munk's mother. He had seventeen
+children, of whom Corfits was the seventh; and so far Leonora made
+only a poor marriage. But her husband's great talents and greater
+ambition made up for this defect. Of his youth nothing is known with
+any certainty, except that he travelled abroad, as other young
+noblemen of his time, studied at Padua, and acquired considerable
+proficiency in foreign languages.[03] He became a favourite of
+Christian IV., at whose Court he had every opportunity for displaying
+his social talents. At the marriage of the elected successor to the
+throne, the King's eldest son, Christian, with the Princess Magdalene
+Sibylle of Saxony, in 1634, Corfits Ulfeldt acted as maréchal to the
+special Ambassador Count d'Avaux, whom Louis XIII. had sent to
+Copenhagen on that occasion, in which situation Ulfeldt won golden
+opinions,[04] and he was one of the twelve noblemen whom the King on
+the wedding-day made Knights of the Elephant. After a visit to Paris
+in 1635, in order to be cured of a wound in the leg which the Danish
+physicians could not heal, he obtained the sanction of the King for
+his own marriage with Leonora, which was solemnised at the Castle of
+Copenhagen, on October 9, 1636, with as much splendour as those of
+the princes and princesses. Leonora was the favourite daughter of
+Christian IV., and as far as royal favour could ensure happiness, it
+might be said to be in store for the newly-married pair.
+
+ [03] La Valette's account of his participation in the Thirty Years'
+ War is entirely fictitious, as almost all that he tells of
+ Ulfeldt's travels, &c.
+
+ [04] See _Caroli Ogerii Ephemerides sive, Iter Danicum, Svecicum,
+ Polonicum, &c._ Paris, 1656. 8vo. p. 36, 37, 40, by D'Avaux's
+ secretary, Ogier.
+
+As we have stated, Ulfeldt was a poor nobleman; and it is
+characteristic of them both that one of her first acts was to ask him
+about his debts, which he could not but have incurred living as he
+had done, and to pay them by selling her jewels and ornaments, to the
+amount of 36,000 dollars, or more than 7,000_l._ in English
+money--then a very large sum. But the King's favour soon procured him
+what he wanted; he was made a member of the Great Council, Governor
+of Copenhagen, and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
+
+He executed several diplomatic missions satisfactorily; and when, in
+1641, he was sent to Vienna as special Ambassador, the Emperor of
+Germany, Ferdinand III., made him a Count of the German Empire.
+Finally, in 1643, he was made Lord High Steward of Denmark, the
+highest dignity and most responsible office in the kingdom. He was
+now at the summit of power and influence, and if he had used his
+talents and opportunities in the interests of his country, he might
+have earned the everlasting gratitude of his King and his people.
+
+But he was not a great man, though he was a clever and ambitious man.
+He accumulated enormous wealth, bought extensive landed estates,
+spent considerable sums in purchasing jewels and costly furniture,
+and lived in a splendid style; but it was all at the cost of the
+country. In order to enrich himself, he struck base coin (which
+afterwards was officially reduced to its proper value, 8 per cent.
+below the nominal value), and used probably other unlawful means for
+this purpose, while the Crown was in the greatest need of money. At
+the same time he neglected the defences of the country in a shameful
+manner, and when the Swedish Government, in December 1643, suddenly
+ordered its army, which then stood in Germany, engaged in the Thirty
+Years' War, to attack Denmark without any warning, there were no
+means of stopping its victorious progress. In vain the veteran King
+collected a few vessels and compelled the far more numerous Swedish
+fleet to fly, after a furious battle near Femern, where he himself
+received twenty-three wounds, and where two of Ulfeldt's brothers
+fell fighting at his side; there was no army in the land, because
+Corfits, at the head of the nobility, had refused the King the
+necessary supplies. And, although the peace which Ulfeldt concluded
+with Sweden and Holland at Brömsebro, in 1645, might have been still
+more disastrous than it was, if the negotiation had been entrusted to
+less skilful hands, yet there was but too much truth in the
+reproachful words of the King, when, after ratifying the treaties, he
+tossed them to Corfits saying, 'There you have them, such as you have
+made them!'
+
+From this time the King began to lose his confidence in Ulfeldt,
+though the latter still retained his important offices. In the
+following year he went to Holland and to France on a diplomatic
+mission, on which occasion he was accompanied by Leonora. Everywhere
+their personal qualities, their relationship to the sovereign, and
+the splendour of their appearance, procured them the greatest
+attention and the most flattering reception. While at the Hague
+Leonora gave birth to a son, whom the States-General offered to grant
+a pension for life of a thousand florins, which, however, Ulfeldt
+wisely refused. In Paris they were loaded with presents; and in the
+Memoirs of Madame Langloise de Motteville on the history of Anna of
+Austria (ed. of Amsterdam, 1783, ii. 19-22) there is a striking
+_récit_ of the appearance and reception of Ulfeldt and Leonora at
+the French Court. On their way home Leonora took an opportunity of
+making a short trip to London, which capital she wished to see, while
+her husband waited for her in the Netherlands.
+
+If, however, this journey brought Ulfeldt and his wife honours and
+presents on the part of foreigners, it did not give satisfaction at
+home. The diplomatic results of the mission were not what the King
+had hoped, and he even refused to receive Ulfeldt on his return. Soon
+the turning-point in his career arrived. In 1648 King Christian IV.
+died, under circumstances which for a short time concentrated
+extraordinary power in Ulfeldt's hands, but of which he did not make
+a wise use.
+
+Denmark was then still an elective monarchy, and the nobles had
+availed themselves of this and other circumstances to free themselves
+from all burdens, and at the same time to deprive both the Crown and
+the other Estates of their constitutional rights to a very great
+extent. All political power was virtually vested in the Council of
+the Realm, which consisted exclusively of nobles, and there remained
+for the king next to nothing, except a general supervision of the
+administration, and the nomination of the ministers. Every successive
+king had been obliged to purchase his election by fresh concessions
+to the nobles, and the sovereign was little more than the president
+of an aristocratic republic. Christian IV. had caused his eldest son
+Christian to be elected successor in his own lifetime; but this
+prince died in 1647, and when the King himself died in 1648, the
+throne was vacant.
+
+As Lord High Steward, Ulfeldt became president of the regency, and
+could exercise great influence on the election. He did not exert
+himself to bring this about very quickly, but there is no ground for
+believing that he meditated the election either of himself or of his
+brother-in-law, Count Valdemar, as some have suggested. The children
+of Kirstine Munk being the offspring of a morganatic marriage, had
+not of course equal rank with princes and princesses; but in
+Christian IV.'s lifetime they received the same honours, and Ulfeldt
+made use of the interregnum to obtain the passage of a decree by the
+Council, according them rank and honours equal with the princes of
+the royal house.
+
+But as the nobles were in nowise bound to choose a prince of the same
+family, or even a prince at all, this decree cannot be interpreted as
+evidence of a design to promote the election of Count Valdemar. The
+overtures of the Duke of Gottorp, who attempted to bribe Ulfeldt to
+support his candidature, were refused by him, at least according to
+his own statement. But Ulfeldt did make use of his position to extort
+a more complete surrender of the royal power into the hands of the
+nobility than any king had yet submitted to, and the new King,
+Fredrik III., was compelled to promise, amongst other things, to fill
+up any vacancy amongst the ministers with one out of three candidates
+proposed by the Council of the Realm. The new King, Fredrik III.,
+Christian IV.'s second son, had never been friendly to Ulfeldt. This
+last action of the High Steward did not improve the feelings with
+which he regarded him, and when the coronation had taken place (for
+which Ulfeldt advanced the money), he expressed his thoughts at the
+banquet in these words: 'Corfitz, you have to-day bound my hands; who
+knows, who can bind yours in return?' The new Queen, a Saxon
+princess, hated Ulfeldt and the children of Kirstine Munk on account
+of their pretensions, but particularly Leonora Christina, whose
+beauty and talents she heartily envied.
+
+Nevertheless Ulfeldt retained his high offices for some time, and in
+1649 he went again to Holland on a diplomatic mission, accompanied by
+his wife. It is remarkable that the question which formed the
+principal subject of the negotiation on that occasion was one which
+has found its proper solution only in our days--namely, that of a
+redemption of the Sound dues. This impost, levied by the Danish Crown
+on all vessels passing the Sound, weighed heavily on the shipping
+interest, and frequently caused disagreement between Denmark and the
+governments mostly interested in the Baltic trade, particularly
+Sweden and the Dutch republic.
+
+It was with especial regard to the Sound dues that the Dutch
+Government was constantly interfering in the politics of the North,
+with a view of preventing Denmark becoming too powerful; for which
+purpose it always fomented discord between Denmark and Sweden, siding
+now with the one, now with the other, but rather favouring the design
+of Sweden to conquer the ancient Danish provinces, Skaane, &c., which
+were east of the Sound, and which now actually belong to Sweden.
+Corfits Ulfeldt calculated that, if the Dutch could be satisfied on
+the point of the Sound dues, their unfavourable interference might be
+got rid of; and for this purpose he proposed to substitute an annual
+payment by the Dutch Government for the payment of the dues by the
+individual ships. Christian IV. had never assented to this idea, and
+of course the better course would have been the one adopted in
+1857--namely, the redemption of the dues by all States at once for a
+proportionate consideration paid once for all. Still the leading
+thought was true, and worthy of a great statesman.
+
+Ulfeldt concluded a treaty with Holland according to his views, but
+it met with no favour at Copenhagen, and on his return he found that
+in his absence measures had been taken to restrict his great power;
+his conduct of affairs was freely criticised, and his enemies had
+even caused the nomination of a committee to investigate his past
+administration, more particularly his financial measures.
+
+At the same time the new Court refused Leonora Christina and the
+other children of Kirstine Munk the princely honours which they had
+hitherto enjoyed. Amongst other marks of distinction, Christian IV.
+had granted his wife and her children the title of Counts and
+Countesses of Slesvig and Holstein, but Fredrik III. declined to
+acknowledge it, although it could have no political importance, being
+nothing but an empty title, as neither Kirstine Munk nor her children
+had anything whatever to do with either of these principalities.
+Ulfeldt would not suffer himself to be as it were driven from his
+high position by these indications of disfavour on the part of the
+King and the Queen (the latter was really the moving spring in all
+this), but he resolved to show his annoyance by not going to Court,
+where his wife did not now receive the usual honours.
+
+This conduct only served to embolden those who desired to oust him
+from his lucrative offices, not because they were better patriots,
+but because they hoped to succeed him. For this purpose a false
+accusation was brought against Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina, to the
+effect that they had the intention of poisoning the King and the
+Queen. Information on this plot was given to the Queen personally, by
+a certain Dina Vinhowers, a widow of questionable reputation, who
+declared that she had an illicit connection with Ulfeldt, and that
+she had heard a conversation on the subject between Corfits Ulfeldt
+and Leonora, when on a clandestine visit in the High Steward's house.
+She was prompted by a certain Walter, originally a son of a
+wheelwright, who by bravery in the war had risen from the ranks to
+the position of a colonel, and who in his turn was evidently a tool
+in the hands of other parties. The information was graciously
+received at Court; but Dina, who, as it seems, was a person of weak
+or unsound mind, secretly, without the knowledge of her employers,
+warned Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina of some impending danger, thus
+creating a seemingly inextricable confusion.
+
+At length Ulfeldt demanded a judicial investigation, which was at
+once set on foot, but in which, of course, he occupied the position
+of a defendant on account of Dina's information. In the end Dina was
+condemned to death and Walter was exiled. But the statements of the
+different persons implicated, and particularly of Dina herself at
+different times, were so conflicting, that the matter was really
+never entirely cleared up, and though Ulfeldt was absolved of all
+guilt, his enemies did their best in order that some suspicion might
+remain. If Ulfeldt had been wise, he might probably have turned this
+whole affair to his own advantage; but he missed the opportunity.
+Utterly absurd as the accusation was, he seems to have felt very
+keenly the change of his position, and on the advice of Leonora, who
+did not doubt that some other expedient would be tried by his
+enemies, perhaps with more success, he resolved to leave Denmark
+altogether.
+
+After having sent away the most valuable part of his furniture and
+movable property, and placed abroad his amassed capital, he left
+Copenhagen secretly and at night, on July 14, 1651, three days after
+the execution of Dina. The gates of the fortress were closed at a
+certain hour every evening, but he had a key made for the eastern
+gate, and ere sunrise he and Leonora, who was disguised as a valet,
+were on board a vessel on their way to Holland. The consequences of
+this impolitic flight were most disastrous. He had not laid down his
+high offices, much less rendered an account of his administration;
+nothing was more natural than to suppose that he wished to avoid an
+investigation. A few weeks later a royal summons was issued, calling
+upon him to appear at the next meeting of the Diet, and answer for
+his conduct; his offices, and the fiefs with which he had been
+beneficed, were given to others, and an embargo was laid on his
+landed estates.
+
+Leonora Christina describes in her Autobiography how Ulfeldt
+meanwhile first went to Holland, and thence to Sweden, where Queen
+Christina, who certainly was not favourably disposed to Denmark,
+received Ulfeldt with marked distinction, and promised him her
+protection. But she does not tell how Ulfeldt here used every
+opportunity for stirring up enmity against Denmark, both in Sweden
+itself and in other countries, whose ambassadors he tried to bring
+over to his ideas. On this painful subject there can be no doubt
+after the publication of so many authentic State Papers of that time,
+amongst which we may mention the reports of Whitelock, the envoy of
+Cromwell, to whom Ulfeldt represented that Denmark was too weak to
+resist an attack, and that the British Government might easily obtain
+the abolition of the Sound dues by war.
+
+It seems, however, as if Ulfeldt did all this merely to terrify the
+Danish King into a reconciliation with him on terms honourable and
+advantageous to the voluntarily exiled magnate. Representations were
+several times made with such a view by the Swedish Government, and in
+1656 Leonora Christina herself undertook a journey to Copenhagen, in
+order to arrange the matter. But the Danish Government was
+inaccessible to all such attempts.
+
+This attitude was intelligible enough, for not only had Ulfeldt left
+Denmark in the most unceremonious manner, but in 1652 he published in
+Stralsund a defence against the accusations of which he had been the
+subject, full of gross insults against the King; and in the following
+year he had issued an insolent protest against the royal summons to
+appear and defend himself before the Diet, declaring himself a
+Swedish subject. But, above all, the influence of the Queen was too
+great to allow of any arrangement with Ulfeldt. The King was entirely
+led by her; she, from her German home, was filled with the most
+extravagant ideas of absolute despotism, and hated the free speech
+and the independent spirit prevailing among the Danish nobility, of
+which Ulfeldt in that respect was a true type. Leonora Christina was
+compelled to return in 1656, without even seeing the King, and as a
+fugitive. It is of this journey that she has given a Danish account,
+besides the description in the Autobiography.
+
+It may be questioned whether it would not have been wise, if
+possible, to conciliate this dangerous man; but at any rate it was
+not done, and Ulfeldt was, no doubt, still more exasperated. Queen
+Christina had then resigned, and her successor, Carl Gustav, shortly
+after engaged in a war in Poland. The Danish Government, foolishly
+overrating its strength, took the opportunity for declaring war
+against Sweden, in the hope of regaining some of the territory lost
+in 1645. But Carl Gustav, well knowing that the Poles could not carry
+the war into Sweden, immediately turned his whole force against
+Denmark, where he met with next to no resistance. Ulfeldt was then
+living at Barth, in Pommerania, an estate which he held in mortgage
+for large sums of money advanced to the Swedish Government. Carl
+Gustav summoned Ulfeldt to follow him, and Ulfeldt obeyed the summons
+against the advice of Leonora Christina, who certainly did not desire
+her native country to be punished for the wrongs, if such they were,
+inflicted upon her by the Court.
+
+The war had been declared on June 1, 1657; in August Ulfeldt issued a
+proclamation to the nobility in Jutland, calling on them to transfer
+their allegiance to the Swedish King. In the subsequent winter a most
+unusually severe frost enabled the Swedish army to cross the Sounds
+and Belts on the ice, Ulfeldt assisting its progress by persuading
+the commander of the fortress of Nakskov to surrender without
+resistance; and in February the Danish Government had to accept such
+conditions of peace as could be obtained from the Swedish King, who
+had halted a couple of days' march from Copenhagen. By this peace
+Denmark surrendered all her provinces to the east of the Sound
+(Skaane, &c.), which constituted one-third of the ancient Danish
+territory, and which have ever since belonged to Sweden, besides her
+fleet, &c.
+
+But the greatest humiliation was that the negotiation on the Swedish
+side was entrusted to Ulfeldt, who did not fail to extort from the
+Danish Crown the utmost that the neutral powers would allow. For
+himself he obtained restitution of his estates, freedom to live in
+Denmark unmolested, and a large indemnity for loss of income of his
+estates since his flight in 1651. The King of Sweden also rewarded
+him with the title of a Count of Sölvitsborg and with considerable
+estates in the provinces recently wrested from Denmark. Ulfeldt
+himself went to reside at Malmö, the principal town in Skaane,
+situated on the Sound, just opposite Copenhagen, and here he was
+joined by Leonora Christina.
+
+In her Autobiography Leonora does not touch on the incidents of the
+war, but she describes how her anxiety for her husband's safety did
+not allow her to remain quietly at Barth, and how she was afterwards
+called to her mother's sick-bed, which she had to leave in order to
+nurse her husband, who fell ill at Malmö. We may here state that
+Kirstine Munk had fallen into disgrace, when Leonora was still a
+child, on account of her flagrant infidelity to the King, her
+paramour being a German Count of Solms. Kirstine Munk left the Court
+voluntarily in 1629,[05] shortly after the birth of a child, whom the
+King would not acknowledge as his own; and after having stayed with
+her mother for a short time, she took up her residence at the old
+manor of Boller, in North Jutland, where she remained until her death
+in 1658.
+
+ [05] La Valette's account of a lawsuit instituted by the King
+ against Kirstine Munk, in which she was defended by Ulfeldt--of
+ Ulfeldt's duel with Hannibal Sehested, afterwards his
+ brother-in-law, &c.--is entirely fictitious. No such things took
+ place.
+
+Various attempts were made to reconcile Christian IV. to her, but he
+steadily refused, and with very good reason: he was doubtless well
+aware that Kirstine Munk, as recently published diplomatic documents
+prove, had betrayed his political secrets to Gustav Adolf, the King
+of Sweden, and he considered her presence at Court very dangerous.
+Her son-in-law was now openly in the service of another Swedish king,
+but the friendship between them was not of long duration. Ulfeldt
+first incurred the displeasure of Carl Gustav by heading the
+opposition of the nobility in the newly acquired provinces against
+certain imposts laid on them by the Swedish King, to which they had
+not been liable under Danish rule. Then other causes of disagreement
+arose. Carl Gustav, regretting that he had concluded a peace, when in
+all probability he might have conquered the whole of Denmark,
+recommenced the war, and laid siege to Copenhagen. But the Danish
+people now rose as one man; foreign assistance was obtained; the
+Swedes were everywhere beaten; and if the Dutch, who were bound by
+treaty to assist Denmark, had not refused their co-operation in
+transferring the Danish troops across the Sound, all the lost
+provinces might easily have been regained.
+
+The inhabitants in some of these provinces also rose against their
+new rulers. Amongst others, the citizens of Malmö, where Ulfeldt at
+the time resided, entered into a conspiracy to throw off the Swedish
+dominion; but it was betrayed, and Ulfeldt was indicated as one of
+the principal instigators, although he himself had accepted their
+forced homage to the Swedish King, as his deputy. Very probably he
+had thought that, if he took a part in the rising, he might, if this
+were successful, return to Denmark, having as it were thus wiped out
+his former crimes, but having also shown his countrymen what a
+terrible foe he could be. As it was, Denmark was prevented by her own
+allies from regaining her losses, and Ulfeldt was placed in custody
+in Malmö, by order of Carl Gustav, in order that his conduct might be
+subjected to a rigorous examination.
+
+Ulfeldt was then apparently seized with a remarkable malady, a kind
+of apoplexy, depriving him of speech, and Leonora Christina conducted
+his defence. She wrote three lengthy, vigorous, and skilful replies
+to the charges, which still exist in the originals. He was acquitted,
+or rather escaped by a verdict of Not Proven; but as conscience makes
+cowards, he contrived to escape before the verdict was given. Leonora
+Christina describes all this in her Autobiography, according to which
+Ulfeldt was to go to Lubeck, while she would go to Copenhagen, and
+try to put matters straight there. Ulfeldt, however, changed his plan
+without her knowledge, and also repaired to Copenhagen, where they
+were both arrested and sent to the Castle of Hammershuus, on the
+island of Bornholm in the Baltic, an ancient fortress, now a most
+picturesque ruin, perched at the edge of perpendicular rocks,
+overhanging the sea, and almost surrounded by it.
+
+The Autobiography relates circumstantially, and no doubt truthfully,
+the cruel treatment to which they were here subjected by the
+governor, a Major-General Fuchs. After a desperate attempt at escape,
+they were still more rigorously guarded, and at length they had to
+purchase their liberty by surrendering the whole of their property,
+excepting one estate in Fyen. Ulfeldt had to make the most humble
+apologies, and to promise not to leave the island of Fyen, where this
+estate was situated, without special permission. He was also
+compelled to renounce on the part of his wife the title of a Countess
+of Slesvig-Holstein, which Fredrik III. had never acknowledged. She
+never made use of that title afterwards, nor is she generally known
+by it in history. Corfits Ulfeldt being a Count of the German Empire,
+of course Leonora and her children were, and remained, Counts and
+Countesses of Ulfeldt. This compromise was effected in 1661.
+
+Having been conveyed to Copenhagen, Ulfeldt could not obtain an
+audience of the King, and he was obliged, kneeling, to tender renewed
+oath of allegiance before the King's deputies, Count Rantzow, General
+Hans Schack, the Chancellor Redtz, and the Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, Christofer Gabel, all of whom are mentioned in Leonora's
+account of her subsequent prison life.
+
+A few days after, Corfits Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina left
+Copenhagen, which he was never to see again, she only as a prisoner.
+They retired to the estate of Ellensborg, in Fyen, which they had
+still retained. This was the ancient seat of the Ulfeldts, which
+Corfits' father had sold to Ellen Marsvin, Leonora Christina's
+grandmother, and which had come to Leonora through her mother. In the
+meanwhile it had been renamed and rebuilt such as it stands to this
+day, a picturesque pile of buildings in the Elizabethan style. Here
+Ulfeldt might have ended his stormy life in quiet, but his thirst for
+revenge left him no peace. Besides this, a great change had taken
+place in Denmark. The national revival which followed the renewal of
+the war by Carl Gustav in 1658 led to a total change in the form of
+government.
+
+It was indisputable that the selfishness of the nobles, who refused
+to undertake any burden for the defence of the country, was the main
+cause of the great disasters that had befallen Denmark. The abolition
+of their power was loudly called for, and the Queen so cleverly
+turned this feeling to account, that the remedy adopted was not the
+restoration of the other classes of the population to their
+legitimate constitutional influence, but the entire abolition of the
+constitution itself, and the introduction of hereditary, unlimited
+despotism. The title 'hereditary king,' which so often occurs in
+Danish documents and writings from that time, also in Leonora's
+Memoir, has reference to this change. Undoubtedly this was very
+little to Ulfeldt's taste. Already, in the next year after his
+release, 1662, he obtained leave to go abroad for his health. But,
+instead of going to Spaa, as he had pretended, he went to Amsterdam,
+Bruges, and Paris, where he sought interviews with Louis XIV. and the
+French ministers; he also placed himself in communication with the
+Elector of Brandenburg, with a view of raising up enemies against his
+native country. The Elector gave information to the Danish
+Government, whilst apparently lending an ear to Ulfeldt's
+propositions.
+
+When a sufficient body of evidence had been collected, it was laid
+before the High Court of Appeal in Copenhagen, and judgment given in
+his absence, whereby he was condemned to an ignominious death as a
+traitor, his property confiscated, his descendants for ever exiled
+from Denmark, and a large reward offered for his apprehension. The
+sentence is dated July 24, 1663. Meanwhile Ulfeldt had been staying
+with his family at Bruges. One day one of his sons, Christian, saw
+General Fuchs, who had treated his parents so badly at Hammershuus,
+driving through the city in a carriage; immediately he leaped on to
+the carriage and killed Fuchs on the spot. Christian Ulfeldt had to
+fly, but the parents remained in Bruges, where they had many friends.
+
+It was in the following spring, on May 24, 1663, that Leonora
+Christina, much against her own inclination, left her husband--as it
+proved, not to see him again alive. Ulfeldt had on many occasions
+used his wealth in order to gain friends, by lending them
+money--probably the very worst method of all. It is proved that at
+his death he still held bonds for more than 500,000 dollars, or
+100,000_l._, which he had lent to various princes and noblemen, and
+which were never paid. Amongst others he had lent the Pretender,
+afterwards Charles II., a large sum, about 20,000 patacoons, which at
+the time he had raised with some difficulty. He doubted not that the
+King of England, now that he was able to do it, would recognise the
+debt and repay it; and he desired Leonora, who, through her father,
+was cousin of Charles II., once removed, to go to England and claim
+it. She describes this journey in her Autobiography.
+
+The Danish Government, hearing of her presence in England, thought
+that Ulfeldt was there too, or hoped at any rate to obtain possession
+of important documents by arresting her, and demanded her
+extradition. The British Government ostensibly refused, but underhand
+it gave the Danish minister, Petcum, every assistance. Leonora was
+arrested in Dover, where she had arrived on her way back,
+disappointed in the object of her journey. She had obtained enough
+and to spare of fair promises, but no money; and by secretly giving
+her up to the Danish Government, Charles II. in an easy way quitted
+himself of the debt, at the same time that he pleased the King of
+Denmark, without publicly violating political propriety. Leonora's
+account of the whole affair is confirmed in every way by the light
+which other documents throw upon the matter, particularly by the
+extracts contained in the Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series,
+of the reign of Charles II., 1663-64.
+
+Leonora was now conducted to Copenhagen, where she was confined in
+the Blue Tower--a square tower surmounted by a blue spire, which
+stood in the court of the royal castle, and was used as a prison for
+grave offenders (see the engraving). At this point the Memoir of her
+sufferings in the prison takes up the thread of her history, and we
+need not here dwell upon its contents.
+
+As soon as Ulfeldt heard that the Brandenburg Government had betrayed
+him, and that sentence had been passed on him in Copenhagen, he left
+Bruges. No doubt the arrest of Leonora in England was a still greater
+blow to him. The Spanish Government would probably have surrendered
+him to the Danish authorities, and he had to flee from place to
+place, pursued by Danish agents demanding his extradition, and men
+anxious to earn the reward offered for his apprehension, dead or
+alive. His last abode was Basle, where he passed under a feigned
+name, until a quarrel between one of his sons and a stranger caused
+the discovery of their secret. Not feeling himself safe, Ulfeldt left
+Basle, alone, at night, in a boat descending the Rhine; but he never
+reached his destination. He was labouring under a violent attack on
+the chest, and the night air killed him. He breathed his last in the
+boat, on February 20, 1664. The boatmen, concluding from the gold and
+jewels which they found on him that he was a person of consequence,
+brought the body on shore, and made the matter known in Basle, from
+whence his sons came and buried him under a tree in a field--no one
+knows the spot.
+
+Meanwhile the punishment of beheading and quartering had been
+executed on a wooden effigy in Copenhagen. His palace was demolished,
+and the site laid out in a public square, on which a pillar of
+sandstone was erected as an everlasting monument of his crimes. This
+pillar was taken away in 1842, and the name was changed from Ulfeldt
+Square to Greyfriars Square, as an indication of the forgetting and
+forgiving spirit of the time, or perhaps rather because the treason
+of Ulfeldt was closely connected with the ancient jealousy between
+Danes and Swedes, of which the present generation is so anxious to
+efface the traces.
+
+His children had to seek new homes elsewhere. Christian, who killed
+Fuchs, became a Roman Catholic and died as an abbé; and none of them
+continued the name, except the youngest son Leo, who went into the
+service of the German Emperor, and rose to the highest dignities. His
+son Corfits likewise filled important offices under Charles VI. and
+Maria Theresa, but left no sons. His two daughters married
+respectively a Count Waldstein and a Count Thun, whose descendants
+therefore now represent the family of Ulfeldt.
+
+Leonora Christina remained in prison for twenty-two years--that is,
+until the death of Sophia Amalia, the Queen of Fredrik III. This
+King, as well as his son Christian V., would willingly have set her
+at liberty; but the influence of the Queen over her husband and son
+was so strong that only her death, which occurred in 1685, released
+Leonora.
+
+The Memoir of her life in prison terminates with this event, and her
+after-life does not offer any very remarkable incidents.
+Nevertheless, a few details, chiefly drawn from a MS. in the Royal
+Library at Copenhagen, recently published by Mr. Birket Smith, may
+serve to complete the historical image of this illustrious lady. The
+MS. in question is from the hand of a Miss Urne, of an ancient Danish
+family, who managed the household of Leonora from 1685 to her death
+in 1698. A royal manor, formerly a convent, at Maribo, on the island
+of Laaland, was granted to Leonora shortly after her release from the
+Blue Tower, together with a sufficient pension for a moderate
+establishment.
+
+'The first occupation of the Countess,' says Miss Urne, 'was
+devotion; for which purpose her household was assembled in a room
+outside her bed-chamber. In her daily morning prayer there was this
+passage: "May the Lord help all prisoners, console the guilty, and
+save the innocent!" After that she remained the whole forenoon in her
+bedchamber, occupied in reading and writing. She composed a book
+entitled the "Ornament of Heroines," which Countess A. C. Ulfeldt and
+Count Leon took away with them, together with many other rare
+writings. Her handiwork is almost indescribable, and without an
+equal; such as embroidering in silk, gold embroidery, and turning in
+amber and ivory.'
+
+It will be seen from Leonora's own Memoir that needlework was one of
+her principal occupations in her prison. Count Waldstein still
+possesses some of her work; in the Church of Maribo an altar-cloth
+embroidered by her existed still some time ago; and at the Castle of
+Rosenborg, in Copenhagen, there is a portrait of Christian V. worked
+by Leonora in silk, in return for which present the King increased
+her annual pension. Miss Urne says that she sent all her work to
+Elizabeth Bek, a granddaughter of Leonora, who lived with her for
+some years. But she refused to send her Leonora's Postille, or manual
+of daily devotion, which had been given Leonora on New Year's Day, in
+the last year of her captivity, by the castellan, Torslev, who is
+mentioned in Leonora's Memoir, and who had taught her to turn ivory,
+&c. This book has disappeared; but amongst the relics of Leonora
+Christina, the Royal Library at Copenhagen preserves some leaves
+which had been bound up with it, and contain verses, &c., by Leonora,
+and other interesting matter.
+
+Her MS. works were taken to Vienna after her death. It is not known
+what has become of some of them. A copy of the first part of the book
+on heroines exists in Copenhagen. Miss Urne says that she possessed
+fragments of a play composed by her and acted at Maribo Kloster; also
+the younger Sperling speaks of such a composition in Danish verse;
+but the MS. seems to be lost now.
+
+Several of Leonora's relations stayed with her from time to time at
+Maribo; amongst them the above-mentioned Elizabeth Bek, whose mother,
+Leonora Sophie, famous for her beauty, had married Lave Bek, the head
+of an ancient Danish family in Skaane. After Ulfeldt's death Lave Bek
+demanded of the Swedish Government the estates which Carl Gustav had
+given to Ulfeldt in 1658, but which the Swedish Government had
+afterwards confiscated, without any legal ground. Leonora Christina
+herself memorialised the Swedish King on the subject, and at least
+one of her memorials on the subject, dated May 23, 1693, still
+exists; but it was not till 1735 that these estates were given up to
+Lave Bek's sons. Leonora's eldest daughter, Anne Catherina, lived
+with her mother at Maribo for several years, and was present at her
+death. She had married Casetta, a Spanish nobleman, mentioned by
+Leonora Christina in her Memoir, who was with her in England when she
+was arrested. After the death of Casetta and their children, Anne
+Catherina Ulfeldt came to live with her mother. She followed her
+brother to Vienna, where she died. It was she who transmitted the MS.
+of Leonora's Memoir of her life in the Blue Tower to the brother,
+with the following letter, which is still preserved with the MS.:--
+
+  'This book treats of what has happened to our late lady mother in
+  her prison. I have not been able to persuade myself to burn it,
+  although the reading of it has given me little pleasure, inasmuch
+  as all those events concern her miserable state. After all, it is
+  not without its use to know how she has been treated; but it is
+  not needful that it should come into the hands of strangers, for
+  it might happen to give pleasure to those of our enemies who
+  still remain.'
+
+The letter is addressed 'A Monsieur, Monsieur le Comte d'Ulfeldt,'
+&c., but without date or signature. The handwriting is, however, that
+of Anne Catherina Ulfeldt, and she had probably sent it off to Vienna
+for safety immediately after her mother's death, before she knew that
+her brother would come to Maribo himself. Miss Urne says, in the MS.
+referred to, that the King had ordered that he was to be informed
+immediately of Leonora's demise, in order that she might be buried
+according to her rank and descent; but she had beforehand requested
+that her funeral might be quite plain. Her coffin, as well as those
+of three children who had died young, and whose coffins had been
+provisionally placed in a church at Copenhagen, was immured in a
+vault in the church of Maribo; but when this was opened some forty
+years ago, no trace of Leonora's mortal remains could be found,
+though those of the children were there: from which it is concluded
+that a popular report, to the effect that the body had been secretly
+carried abroad, contains more truth than was formerly supposed. Count
+Waldstein states that in the family vault at Leitsmischl, there is
+one metal coffin without any inscription, and which may be hers. If
+so, Leonora has, as it were, after her death followed her husband
+into exile. At any rate, the final resting-place of neither of them
+is known with certainty.
+
+
+
+
+ AUTOBIOGRAPHY
+ OF
+ LEONORA CHRISTINA
+
+ 1673.
+
+
+
+
+AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
+
+
+Sir,[06]--To satisfy your curiosity, I will give you a short account
+of the life of her about whom you desire to be informed. She was born
+at Fredericksborg, in the year 1621, on June 11.[07] When she was six
+weeks old her grandmother took her with her to Dalum, where she
+remained until the age of four years; her first master there being
+Mr. Envolt, afterward a priest at Roeskild. About six months after
+her return to the Court, her father sent her to Holland to his
+cousin, a Duchess of Brunswick, who had married Count Ernest of
+Nassau, and lived at Lewarden.
+
+ [06] This autobiographical sketch is written in the form of a
+ letter to Dr. Otto Sperling the younger, the son of Corfits
+ Ulfeldt's old friend, who was for some years Leonora's
+ fellow-prisoner in the Blue Tower.
+
+ [07] It is curious that Leonora seems for a long time to have been
+ under a mistake as to the date of her birthday. The right date is
+ July 18, new style.
+
+Her sister Sophia, who was two years and a half older than herself,
+and her brother, who was a year younger, had gone to the aforesaid
+Duchess nearly a year before. I must not forget to mention the first
+mischances that befell her at her setting out. She went by sea in one
+of the royal ships of war; having been two days and a night at sea,
+at midnight such a furious tempest arose that they all had given up
+any hope of escaping. Her tutor, Wichmann Hassebart (afterwards
+Bishop of Fyn), who attended her, woke her and took her in his arms,
+saying, with tears, that they should both die together, for he loved
+her tenderly. He told her of the danger, that God was angry, and that
+they would all be drowned. She caressed him, treating him like a
+father (after her usual wont), and begged him not to grieve; she was
+assured that God was not angry, that He would see they would not be
+drowned, beseeching him again and again to believe her. Wichmann shed
+tears at her simplicity, and prayed to God to save the rest for her
+sake, and for the sake of the hope that she, an innocent girl,
+reposed in Him. God heard him, and after having lost the two
+mainmasts, they entered at dawn of day the harbour of Fleckeröe,[08]
+where they remained for six weeks.
+
+ [08] On the South Coast of Norway.
+
+Having received orders to proceed by sea, they pursued their route
+and arrived safely. Her sister being informed of her arrival, and
+being told that she had come with a different retinue to
+herself--with a suite of gentlemen, lady preceptor, servants and
+attendants, &c.--she burst into tears, and said that she was not
+surprised that this sister always insinuated herself and made herself
+a favourite, and that she would be treated there too as such. M.
+Sophia was not mistaken in this; for her sister was in greater favour
+with the Duchess, with her governess, and with many others, than she
+was herself. Count Ernest alone took the side of M. Sophia, and this
+rather for the sake of provoking his wife, who liked dispute; for M.
+Sophia exhibited her obstinacy even towards himself. She did all the
+mischief she could to her sister, and persuaded her brother to do the
+same.
+
+To amuse you I will tell you of her first innocent predilections.
+Count Ernest had a son of about eleven or twelve years of age; he
+conceived an affection for her, and having persuaded her that he
+loved her, and that she would one day be his wife, but that this must
+be kept secret, she fancied herself already secretly his wife. He
+knew a little drawing, and by stealth he instructed her; he even
+taught her some Latin words. They never missed an opportunity of
+retiring from company and conversing with each other.
+
+This enjoyment was of short duration for her; for a little more than
+a year afterwards she fell ill of small-pox, and as his elder
+brother, William, who had always ridiculed these affections, urged
+him to see his well-beloved in the condition in which she was, in
+order to disgust him with the sight, he came one day to the door to
+see her, and was so startled that he immediately became ill, and died
+on the ninth day following. His death was kept concealed from her.
+When she was better she asked after him, and she was made to believe
+that he was gone away with his mother (who was at this time at
+Brunswick), attending the funeral of her mother. His body had been
+embalmed, and had been placed in a glass case. One day her preceptor
+made her go into the hall where his body lay, to see if she
+recognised it; he raised her in his arms to enable her to see it
+better. She knew her dear Moritz at once, and was seized with such a
+shock that she fell fainting to the ground. Wichmann in consequence
+carried her hastily out of the hall to recover her, and as the dead
+boy wore a garland of rosemary, she never saw these flowers without
+crying, and had an aversion to their smell, which she still retains.
+
+As the wars between Germany and the King of Denmark had been the
+cause of the removal of his aforesaid children, they were recalled
+to Denmark when peace was concluded. At the age of seven years and
+two months she was affianced to a gentleman of the King's Chamber.
+She began very early to suffer for his sake. Her governess was at
+this time Mistress Anne Lycke, Qvitzow's mother. Her daughter, who
+was maid of honour, had imagined that this gentleman made his
+frequent visits for love of her. Seeing herself deceived, she did not
+know in what manner to produce estrangement between the lovers; she
+spoke, and made M. Sophia speak, of the gentleman's poverty, and
+amused herself with ridiculing the number of children in the family.
+She regarded all this with indifference, only declaring once that she
+loved him, poor as he was, better than she loved her rich
+gallant.[09]
+
+ [09] Count Christian Pentz, to whom Sophia was married in 1634.
+
+At last they grew weary of this, and found another opportunity for
+troubling her--namely, the illness of her betrothed, resulting from a
+complaint in his leg; they presented her with plaisters, ointments,
+and such like things, and talked together of the pleasure of being
+married to a man who had his feet diseased, &c. She did not answer a
+word either for good or bad, so they grew weary of this also. A year
+and a half after they had another governess, Catharina Sehestedt,
+sister of Hannibal.[10] M. Sophia thus lost her second, and her
+sister had a little repose in this quarter.
+
+ [10] Hannibal Sehestedt afterwards married Leonora's younger sister
+ Christiana; he became a powerful antagonist of Ulfeldt, and is
+ mentioned often in the following Memoir.
+
+When our lady was about twelve years old, Francis Albert, Duke of
+Saxony,[11] came to Kolding to demand her in marriage. The King
+replied that she was no longer free, that she was already betrothed;
+but the Duke was not satisfied with this, and spoke to herself, and
+said a hundred fine things to her: that a Duke was far different to a
+gentleman. She told him she always obeyed the King, and since it had
+pleased the King to promise her to a gentleman, she was well
+satisfied. The Duke employed the governess to persuade her, and the
+governess introduced him to her brother Hannibal, then at the Court,
+and Hannibal went with post-horses to Möen, where her betrothed was,
+who did not linger long on the road in coming to her. This was the
+beginning of the friendship between Monsieur and Hannibal, which
+afterwards caused so much injury to Monsieur. But he had not needed
+to trouble himself, for the Duke never could draw from her the
+declaration that she would be ready to give up her betrothed if the
+King ordered her to do so. She told him she hoped the King would not
+retract from his first promise. The Duke departed ill satisfied, on
+the very day the evening of which the betrothed arrived. (Four years
+afterwards they quarrelled on this subject in the presence of the
+King, who appeased them with his authority.)
+
+ [11] Frantz Albrecht, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, the same who in the
+ Thirty Years' War alternately served the Protestants and the
+ Imperialists. In the battle of Lützen he was near Gustav Adolf when
+ he fell, and he was regarded by many as the one who treacherously
+ fired the fatal shot.
+
+It happened the following winter at Skanderborg that the governess
+had a quarrel with the language-master, Alexandre de Cuqvelson, who
+taught our lady and her sisters the French language, writing,
+arithmetic, and dancing. M. Sophia was not studious; moreover, she
+had very little memory; for her heart was too much devoted to her
+dolls, and as she perceived that the governess did not punish her
+when Alexandre complained of her, she neglected everything, and took
+no trouble about her studies. Our lady imagined she knew enough when
+she knew as much as her sister. As this had lasted some time, the
+governess thought she could entrap Alexandre; she accused him to the
+King, said that he treated the children badly, rapped their fingers,
+struck them on the hand, called them bad names, &c., and with all
+this they could not even read, much less speak, the French language.
+Besides this, she wrote the same accusations to the betrothed of our
+lady. The betrothed sent his servant Wolff to Skanderborg, with
+menaces to Alexandre. At the same time Alexandre was warned that the
+King had sent for the prince,[12] to examine his children, since the
+father-confessor was not acquainted with the language.
+
+ [12] That is, the King's eldest son Christian, who was elected his
+ successor, but died before him.
+
+The tutor was in some dismay; he flattered our lady, implored her to
+save him, which she could easily do, since she had a good memory, so
+that he could prove by her that it was not his fault that M. Sophia
+was not more advanced. Our lady did not yield readily, but called to
+his remembrance how one day, about half a year ago, she had begged
+him not to accuse her to the governess, but that he had paid no
+attention to her tears, though he knew that the governess treated
+them shamefully. He begged her for the love of Jesus, wept like a
+child, said that he should be ruined for ever, that it was an act of
+mercy, that he would never accuse her, and that from henceforth she
+should do nothing but what she wished. At length she consented, said
+she would be diligent, and since she had yet three weeks before her,
+she learnt a good deal by heart.[13] Alexandre told her one day,
+towards the time of the examination, that there was still a great
+favour she could render him: if she would not repeat the little
+things which had passed at school-time; for he could not always pay
+attention to every word that he said when M. Sophia irritated him,
+and if he had once taken the rod to hit her fingers when she had not
+struck her sister strongly enough, he begged her for the love of God
+to pardon it. (It should be mentioned that he wished the one to
+strike the other when they committed faults, and the one who
+corrected the other had to beat her, and if she did not do so
+strongly enough, he took the office upon himself; thus he had often
+beaten our lady.)
+
+ [13] In the margin the following addition is inserted: 'She had at
+ that time an unusual memory. She could at one and the same time
+ recite one psalm by heart, write another, and attend to the
+ conversation. She had tried this more than once, but I think that
+ she has thereby spoilt her memory, which is not now so good.'
+
+She made excuses, said that she did not dare to tell a lie if they
+asked her, but that she would not accuse him of herself. This promise
+did not wholly satisfy him; he continued his entreaties, and assured
+her that a falsehood employed to extricate a friend from danger was
+not a sin, but was agreeable to God; moreover, it was not necessary
+for her to say anything, only not to confess what she had seen and
+heard. She said that the governess would treat her ill; so he replied
+that she should have no occasion to do so, for that he would never
+complain to her. Our lady replied that the governess would find
+pretext enough, since she was inclined to ill-treat the children; and
+anyhow, the other master who taught them German was a rude man, and
+an old man who taught them the spinette was a torment, therefore she
+had sufficient reason for fear. He did not give way, but so persisted
+in his persuasion that she promised everything.
+
+When the prince arrived the governess did not forget to besiege him
+with her complaints, and to beg him to use his influence that the
+tutor might be dismissed. At length the day of the examination having
+come, the governess told her young ladies an hour before that they
+were to say how villanously he had treated them, beaten them, &c. The
+prince came into the apartments of the ladies accompanied by the
+King's father-confessor (at that time Dr. Ch(r)estien Sar); the
+governess was present the whole time.
+
+They were first examined in German. M. Sophia acquitted herself very
+indifferently, not being able to read fluently. The master
+Christoffre excused her, saying that she was timid. When it came to
+Alexandre's turn to show what his pupils could do, M. Sophia could
+read little or nothing. When she stammered in reading, the governess
+looked at the prince and laughed aloud. There was no difference in
+the gospel, psalms, proverbs, or suchlike things. The governess was
+very glad, and would have liked that the other should not have been
+examined. But when it came to her turn to read in the Bible, and she
+did not hesitate, the governess could no longer restrain herself, and
+said, 'Perhaps it is a passage she knows by heart that you have made
+her read.' Alexandre begged the governess herself to give the lady
+another passage to read. The governess was angry at this also, and
+said, 'He is ridiculing me because I do not know French.' The prince
+then opened the Bible and made her read other passages, which she
+did as fluently as before. In things by heart she showed such
+proficiency that the prince was too impatient to listen to all.
+
+It was then Alexandre's turn to speak, and to say that he hoped His
+Highness would graciously consider that it was not his fault that M.
+Sophia was not more advanced. The governess interrupted him saying,
+'You are truly the cause of it, for you treat her ill!' and she began
+a torrent of accusations, asking M. Sophia if they were not true. She
+answered in the affirmative, and that she could not conscientiously
+deny them. Then she asked our lady if they were not true. She replied
+that she had never heard nor seen anything of the kind. The
+governess, in a rage, said to the Prince, 'Your highness must make
+her speak the truth; she dares not do so, for Alexandre's sake.'
+
+The Prince asked her if Alexandre had never called her bad names--if
+he had never beaten her. She replied, 'Never.' He asked again if she
+had not seen nor heard that he had ill-treated her sister. She
+replied, 'No, she had never either heard or seen it.' At this the
+governess became furious; she spoke to the prince in a low voice; the
+prince replied aloud, 'What do you wish me to do? I have no order
+from the King to constrain her to anything.' Well, Alexandre gained
+his cause; the governess could not dislodge him, and our lady gained
+more than she had imagined in possessing the affection of the King,
+the goodwill of the Prince, of the priest, and of all those who knew
+her. But the governess from that moment took every opportunity of
+revenging herself on our lady.
+
+At length she found one, which was rather absurd. The old Jean
+Meinicken, who taught our lady the spinette, one day, in a passion,
+seized the fingers of our lady and struck them against the
+instrument; without remembering the presence of her governess, she
+took his hand and retaliated so strongly that the strings broke. The
+governess heard with delight the complaints of the old man. She
+prepared two rods; she used them both, and, not satisfied with that,
+she turned the thick end of one, and struck our lady on the thigh,
+the mark of which she bears to the present day. More than two months
+elapsed before she recovered from the blow; she could not dance, nor
+could she walk comfortably for weeks after. This governess did her so
+much injury that at last our lady was obliged to complain to her
+betrothed, who had a quarrel with the governess at the wedding of M.
+Sophia, and went straight to the King to accuse her; she was at once
+dismissed, and the four children, the eldest of which was our lady,
+went with the princess[14] to Niköping, to pass the winter there,
+until the king could get another governess. The King, who had a good
+opinion of the conduct of our lady, who at this time was thirteen
+years and four months old, wrote to her and ordered her to take care
+of her sisters. Our lady considered herself half a governess, so she
+took care not to set them a bad example. As to study, she gave no
+thought to it at this time; she occupied herself in drawing and
+arithmetic, of which she was very fond, and the princess, who was
+seventeen years of age, delighted in her company. Thus this winter
+passed very agreeably for her.
+
+ [14] Namely, Magdalena Sybilla of Saxony, then newly married
+ (October 5, 1634) to Prince Christian, the eldest son and elected
+ successor of Christian IV. M. Sophia's wedding to Chr. Pentz was
+ celebrated on the 10th of the same month.
+
+At the approach of the Diet, which sat eight days after Pentecost,
+the children came to Copenhagen, with the prince and princess, and
+had as governess a lady of Mecklenburg of the Blixen family, the
+mother of Philip Barstorp who is still alive. After the Diet, the
+king made a journey to Glückstad in two days and a half, and our lady
+accompanied him; it pleased the King that she was not weary, and that
+she could bear up against inconveniences and fatigues. She afterwards
+made several little journeys with the King, and she had the good
+fortune occasionally to obtain the pardon of some poor criminals, and
+to be in favour with the king.
+
+Our lady having attained the age of fifteen years and about four
+months, her betrothed obtained permission for their marriage, which
+was celebrated (with more pomp than the subsequent weddings of her
+sisters), on October 9, 1636. The winter after her marriage she was
+with her husband at Möen, and as she knew that her husband's father
+had not left him any wealth, she asked him concerning his debts, and
+conjured him to conceal nothing from her. He said to her, 'If I tell
+you the truth it will perhaps frighten you.' She declared it would
+not, and that she would supply what was needful from her ornaments,
+provided he would assure her that he had told her everything. He did
+so, and found that she was not afraid to deprive herself of her gold,
+silver, and jewels, in order to pay a sum of thirty-six thousand
+rix-dollars. On April 21, 1637, she went with her husband to
+Copenhagen in obedience to the order of the king, who gave him the
+post of V.R.[15] He was again obliged to incur debt in purchasing a
+house and in setting up a larger establishment.
+
+ [15] V.R. probably stands for Viceroy, by which term Leonora no
+ doubt indicates the post of Governor of Copenhagen.
+
+There would be no end were I to tell you all the mischances that
+befell her during the happy period of her marriage, and of all the
+small contrarieties which she endured; but since I am assured that
+this history will not be seen by anyone, and that you will not keep
+it after having read it, I will tell you a few points which are
+worthy of attention. Those who were envious of the good fortune of
+our lady could not bear that she should lead a tranquil life, nor
+that she should be held in esteem by her father and King; I may call
+him thus, for the King conferred on her more honours than were due to
+her from him. Her husband loved and honoured her, enacting the lover
+more than the husband.
+
+She spent her time in shooting, riding, tennis, in learning drawing
+in good earnest from Charles v. Mandern, in playing the viol, the
+flute, the guitar, and she enjoyed a happy life. She knew well that
+jealousy is a plague, and that it injures the mind which harbours it.
+Her relations tried to infuse into her head that her husband loved
+elsewhere, especially M. Elizabet, and subsequently Anna, sister of
+her husband, who was then in her house. M. Elizabet began by
+mentioning it as a secret, premising that no one could tell her and
+warn her, except her who was her sister.
+
+As our lady at first said nothing and only smiled, M. Elis... said:
+'The world says that you know it well, but that you will not appear
+to do so.' She replied with a question: 'Why did she tell her a
+thing as a secret, which she herself did not believe to be a secret
+to her? but she would tell her a secret that perhaps she did not
+know, which was, that she had given her husband permission to spend
+his time with others, and when she was satisfied the remainder would
+be for others; that she believed there were no such jealous women as
+those who were insatiable, but that a wisdom was imputed to her,
+which she did not possess; she begged her, however, to be wise enough
+not to interfere with matters which did not concern her, and if she
+heard others mentioning it (as our lady had reason to believe that
+this was her own invention) that she would give them a reprimand. M.
+Elis... was indignant and went away angry, but Anna, Monsieur's
+sister, who was in the house, adopted another course. She drew round
+her the handsomest women in the town, and then played the procuress,
+spoke to her brother of one particularly, who was a flirt, and who
+was the handsomest, and offered him opportunities, &c. As she saw
+that he was proof against it, she told him (to excite him) that his
+wife was jealous, that she had had him watched where he went when he
+had been drinking with the King, to know whether he visited this
+woman; she said that his wife was angry, because the other woman was
+so beautiful, said that she painted, &c.
+
+The love borne to our lady by her husband made him tell her all, and,
+moreover, he went but rarely afterwards to his sister's apartments,
+from which she could easily understand that the conversation had not
+been agreeable to him; but our lady betrayed nothing of the matter,
+visited her more than before, caressed this lady more than any other,
+and even made her considerable presents. (Anna remained in her house
+as long as she lived.)
+
+All this is of small consideration compared with the conduct of her
+own brother. It is well known to you that the Biel... were very
+intimate in our lady's house. It happened that her brother made a
+journey to Muscovy, and that the youngest of the Biel... was in his
+suite. As this was a very lawless youth, and, to say the truth, badly
+brought up, he not only at times failed in respect to our lady's
+brother, but freely expressed his sentiments to him upon matters
+which did not concern him; among other things, he spoke ill of the
+Holstein noblemen, naming especially one, who was then in waiting on
+the King, who he said had deceived our lady's brother. The matter
+rested there for more than a year after their return from this
+journey. The brother of our lady and Biel... played cards together,
+and disputed over them; upon this the brother of our lady told the
+Holstein nobleman what Biel... had said of him more than a year
+before, which B. did not remember, and swore that he had never said.
+The Holstein nobleman said insulting things against Biel....
+
+Our lady conversed with her brother upon the affair, and begged him
+to quiet the storm he had raised, and to consider how it would cause
+an ill-feeling with regard to him among the nobility, and that it
+would seem that he could not keep to himself what had been told him
+in secret; it would be very easy for him to mend the matter. Her
+brother replied that he could never retract what he had said, and
+that he should consider the Holstein nobleman as a villain if he did
+not treat B. as a rogue.
+
+At length the Holstein nobleman behaved in such a manner as to
+constrain B. to send him a challenge. B. was killed by his adversary
+with the sword of our lady's brother, which she did not know till
+afterwards. At noon of the day on which B. had been killed in the
+morning, our lady went to the castle to visit her little twin
+sisters; her brother was there, and came forward, laughing loudly and
+saying, 'Do you know that Ran... has killed B...?' She replied, 'No,
+that I did not know, but I knew that you had killed him. Ran... could
+do nothing less than defend himself, but you placed the sword in his
+hand.' Her brother, without answering a word, mounted his horse and
+went to seek his brother-in-law, who was speaking with our old
+friend,[16] told him he was the cause of B.'s death, and that he had
+done so because he had understood that his sister loved him, and that
+he did not believe that his brother-in-law was so blind as not to
+have perceived it. The husband of our lady did not receive this
+speech in the way the other had imagined, and said, 'If you were not
+her brother, I would stab you with this poniard,' showing it to him.
+'What reason have you for speaking thus?' The good-for-nothing fellow
+was rather taken aback at this, and knew not what to say, except that
+B... was too free and had no respect in his demeanour; and that this
+was a true sign of love. At length, after some discussion on both
+sides, the brother of our lady requested that not a word might be
+said to his sister.
+
+ [16] The old friend is Dr. Otto Sperling, sen., a physician in
+ extensive practice at Copenhagen, and intimate friend of Ulfeldt.
+ Mr. Biel... signifies most probably a certain Christian Bielke,
+ whose portrait still exists at Rosenborg Castle, in Copenhagen,
+ with an inscription that he was killed in a duel by Bartram Rantzau
+ on Easter eve 1642. If this date is true, Bielke cannot have
+ accompanied Leonora's brother Count Valdemar on his journey to
+ Russia, as this journey only took place in 1643. Count Valdemar was
+ to marry a Russian princess, but it was broken off on his refusing
+ to join the Greek church.
+
+As soon as she returned home, her husband told her everything in the
+presence of our old friend, but ordered her to feign ignorance. This
+was all the more easy for her, as her husband gave no credence to it,
+but trusted in her innocence. She let nothing appear, but lived with
+her brother as before. But some years after, her brother ill-treated
+his own mother, and her side being taken by our lady, they were in
+consequence not good friends.
+
+In speaking to you of the occupations of our lady, after having
+reached the age of twenty-one or thereabouts, I must tell you she had
+a great desire to learn Latin. She had a very excellent master,[17]
+whom you know, and who taught her for friendship as well as with good
+will. But she had so many irons in the fire, and sometimes it was
+necessary to take a journey, and a yearly accouchement (to the number
+of ten) prevented her making much progress; she understood a little
+easy Latin, but attempted nothing difficult; she then learnt a little
+Italian, which she continued studying whenever an opportunity
+presented itself.
+
+ [17] Dr. Otto Sperling, senior.
+
+I will not speak of her short journeys to Holstein, Jutland, &c.; but
+in the year 1646 she made a voyage with her husband by sea, in the
+first place to Holland, where she gave birth to a son six weeks after
+her arrival at the Hague. From thence she went with her husband to
+France, first to Paris and afterwards to Amiens; there they took
+leave of the King and of the Queen Mother, Regent, and as they were
+returning by Dunkirk she had the curiosity to see England, and
+begged her husband to permit her to cross over with a small suite, to
+which he consented, since one of the royal vessels lay in the roads.
+She took a nobleman with her who knew the language, our old friend, a
+servant, and the valet of the aforesaid nobleman, and this was the
+whole of her retinue. She embarked, and her husband planned to pass
+through Flanders and Brabant, and to await her at Rotterdam. As she
+was on the vessel a day and night, and the wind did not favour them,
+she resolved to land and to follow her husband, fancying she could
+reach him in time to see Flanders and Brabant; she had not visited
+these countries before, having passed from Holland by sea to Calais.
+
+She found her husband at Ostend, and travelled with him to Rotterdam;
+from thence she pursued her former plan, embarked at Helvoot-Sluys,
+and arrived at Duns, went to London, and returned by Dover, making
+the whole voyage in ten days, and she was again enceinte. She was an
+object of suspicion in London. The Prince Palatine, then Elector of
+Heidelberg,[18] belonged to the party opposed to the beheaded King,
+who was then a prisoner; and they watched her and surrounded her with
+spies, so she did not make a long sojourn in London. Nothing else was
+imagined, when it was known she had been there, but that she had
+letters from the King of Dan... for the King of Engl.... She returned
+with her husband to Dan....
+
+ [18] Prince Ruprecht, Duke of Cumberland, nephew of Charles I.
+
+In the year 1648 fortune abandoned our lady, for on February 28 the
+King was taken from her by death. She had the happiness, however, of
+attending upon him until his last breath. Good God, when I think of
+what this good King said to her the first day, when she found him
+ill in bed at Rosenborg, and wept abundantly, my heart is touched. He
+begged her not to weep, caressed her, and said: 'I have placed you so
+securely that no one can move you.' Only too much has she felt the
+contrary of the promise of the King who succeeded him, for when he
+was Duke and visited her at her house, a few days after the death of
+the King, finding her in tears, he embraced her, saying: 'I will be a
+father to you, do not weep.' She kissed his hand without being able
+to speak. I find that some fathers have been unnatural towards their
+children.
+
+In the year 1649 she made another voyage with her husband to Holland,
+and at the Hague gave birth to a daughter. When her husband returned
+from this journey, he for the first time perceived the designs of
+Hannibal, of Gerstorp, and Wibe, but too late. He absented himself
+from business, and would not listen to what his wife told him. Our
+old friend shared the opinion of our lady, adducing very strong
+reason for it, but all in vain; he said, that he would not be a
+perpetual slave for the convenience of his friends. His wife spoke as
+a prophet to him, told him that he would be treated as a slave when
+he had ceased to have authority, that they would suspect him, and
+envy his wealth; all of which took place, though I shall make no
+recital of it, since these events are sufficiently known to you.
+
+We will now speak a little of the events which occurred afterwards.
+When they had gained their cause,[19] our lady feared that the strong
+party which they had then overcome would not rest without ruining
+them utterly at any cost; so she advised her husband to leave the
+country, since he had the King's permission to do so,[20] and to save
+his life, otherwise his enemies would contrive some other invention
+which would succeed better. He consented to this at length, and they
+took their two eldest children with them, and went by sea to
+Amsterdam. At Utrecht they left the children with the servants and a
+female attendant, and our lady disguised herself in male attire and
+followed her husband, who took the route to Lubeck, and from thence
+by sea to Sweden, to ask the protection of Queen Christina, which he
+received; and as the Queen knew that his wife was with him in
+disguise, she requested to see her, which she did.
+
+ [19] Namely, the process against Dina. _See_ Introduction.
+
+ [20] Ulfeldt had not really the permission of the King to leave the
+ country in the way he did. These words must therefore be understood
+ to mean that the favourable termination of the trial concerning
+ Dina's accusations had liberated Ulfeldt from the special
+ obligation to remain in Copenhagen, which his position in reference
+ to that case imposed upon him.
+
+The husband of our lady purposed to remain some time in Pomerania,
+and the Queen lent him a vessel to convey him thither. Having been
+three days at sea, the wind carried them towards Dantzig, and not
+being able to enter the town, for it was too late, they remained
+outside the gates at a low inn. An adventure fit for a novel here
+happened to our lady. A girl of sixteen, or a little more, believing
+that our lady was a young man, threw herself on her neck with
+caresses, to which our lady responded, and played with the girl, but,
+as our lady perceived what the girl meant, and that she could not
+satisfy her, she turned her over to Charles, a man of their suite,
+thinking he would answer her purpose; he offered the girl his
+attentions, but she repelled him rudely, saying, she was not for him,
+and went again to our lady, accosting her in the same way. Our lady
+got rid of her, but with difficulty however, for she was somewhat
+impudent, and our lady did not dare to leave her apartment. For the
+sake of amusing you, I must tell you, what now occurs to me, that in
+the fort before Stade, the name of which has escaped me, our lady
+played with two soldiers for drink, and her husband, who passed for
+her uncle, paid the expenses; the soldiers, willing to lose for the
+sake of gaining the beer, and astonished that she never lost, were,
+however, civil enough to present her with drink.
+
+We must return to Dantzig. The husband of our lady, finding himself
+near Thoren, desired to make an excursion there, but his design was
+interrupted by two men, one who had formerly served in Norway as
+Lieutenant-Colonel, and a charlatan who called himself Dr. Saar, and
+who had been expelled from Copenhagen. They asked the Mayor of the
+town to arrest these two persons, believing that our lady was Ebbe
+Wl....[21] They were warned by their host that these persons said
+they were so-and-so, and that these gentlemen were at the door to
+prevent their going out. Towards evening they grew tired of keeping
+guard, and went away. Before dawn the husband of our lady went out of
+the house first, and waited at the gate, and our lady with the two
+servants went in a coach to wait at the other gate until it was
+opened; thus they escaped this time.
+
+ [21] That is, Ebbe Ulfeldt,--a relative of Corfitz who left Denmark
+ in 1651 and afterwards lived in Sweden.
+
+They went by land to Stralsund, where our lady resumed her own
+attire, after having been in disguise twelve weeks and four days, and
+having endured many inconveniences, not having gone to bed all the
+time, except at Stockholm, Dantzig, and Stettin. She even washed the
+clothes, which inconvenienced her much. The winter that they passed
+at Stralsund, her husband taught her, or rather began to teach her,
+Spanish. In the spring they again made a voyage to Stockholm, at the
+desire of Queen Chr.... This good Queen, who liked intrigue, tried to
+excite jealousy and to make people jealous, but she did not succeed.
+They were in Sweden until after the abdication of the Queen, and the
+wedding and coronation of King Charles and Queen Hedevig, which was
+in the year 1654. They returned to Pomerania for a visit to Barth,
+which they possessed as a mortgage. There, our lady passed her time
+in study, sometimes occupied with a Latin book, sometimes with a
+Spanish one. She translated a small Spanish work, entitled _Matthias
+de los Reyos_; but this book since fell into the hands of others, as
+well as the first part of _Cleopatre_, which she had translated from
+the French, with matters of greater value.
+
+In the year 1657,[22] her husband persuaded her to make a voyage to
+Dannem... to try and gain an audience with the King, and see if she
+could not obtain some payment from persons who owed them money. Our
+lady found various pleas for not undertaking this voyage, seeing a
+hundred difficulties against its successful issue; but her husband
+besought her to attempt it, and our old friend shared her husband's
+opinion that nothing could be done to her, that she was under the
+protection of the King of Sweden, and not banished from Dan... with
+similar arguments. At length she yielded, and made the journey in the
+winter, travelling in a coach with six horses, a secretary, a man on
+horseback, a female attendant, a page and a lacquey--that was all.
+She went first to see her mother in Jutland, and remained there three
+days; this was immediately known at the Court.
+
+ [22] This date is erroneous; the journey took place in November and
+ December 1656.
+
+When she had passed the Belt, and was within cannon-shot of Corsör,
+she was met by Uldrich Chr. Guldenl...,[23] who was on the point of
+going to Jutland to fetch her. He returned with his galley and
+landed; she remained in her vessel, waiting for her carriage to be
+put on shore. Guld... impatient, could not wait so long, and sent the
+burgomaster Brant to tell her to come ashore, as he had something to
+say to her. She replied that if he had anything to say to her, he
+ought to show her the attention of coming to her. Brant went with
+this answer; awaiting its issue, our lady looked at her attendants
+and perceived a change in them all. Her female attendant was seized
+with an attack from which she suffers still, a trembling of the head,
+while her eyes remained fixed. The secretary trembled so that his
+teeth chattered. Charles was quite pale, as were all the others. Our
+lady spoke to them, and asked them why they were afraid; for her they
+had nothing to fear, and less for themselves. The secretary answered,
+'They will soon let us know that.' Brant returned with the same
+message, with the addition that Gul... was bearer of the King's
+order, and that our lady ought to come to him at the Castle to hear
+the King's order. She replied that she respected the King's order
+there as well as at the castle; that she wished that Gul... would
+please to let her know there the order of His Majesty; and when
+Brant tried to persuade her, saying continually, 'Oh! do give in, do
+give in!' she used the same expression, and said also, 'Beg Gul... to
+give in,' &c. At length she said, 'Give me sufficient time to have
+two horses harnessed, for I cannot imagine he would wish me to go on
+foot.'
+
+ [23] U.C. Gyldenlöve, illegitimate son of Christian IV. and
+ half-brother of Leonora.
+
+When she reached the castle she had the coach pulled up. Brant came
+forward to beg her to enter the castle; she refused, and said she
+would not enter; that if he wished to speak to her he must come to
+her, that she had come more than half-way. Brant went, and returned
+once again, but she said the same, adding that he might do all that
+seemed good to him, she should not stir from the spot. At length the
+good-for-nothing fellow came down, and when he was ready to speak to
+her, she opened the coach and got out. He said a few polite words to
+her, and then presented her with an order from the King, written in
+the chancery, the contents of which were, that she must hasten to
+depart from the King's territory, or she would have to thank herself
+for any ill that might befall her. Having read the order she bowed,
+and returned him the order, which was intended to warn her, saying,
+'That she hoped to have been permitted to kiss the King's hand, but
+as her enemies had hindered this happiness by such an order, there
+was nothing left for her but to obey in all humility, and thanking
+His Majesty most humbly for the warning, she would hasten as quickly
+as possible to obey His Majesty's commands. She asked if she were
+permitted to take a little refreshment, for that they had had
+contrary winds and had been at sea all day. Gul... answered in the
+negative, that he did not dare to give her the permission; and since
+she had obeyed with such great submission, he would not show her the
+other order that he had, asking her at the same moment if she wished
+to see this other order? She said, no; that she would abide by the
+order that she had seen, and that she would immediately embark on
+board her ferry-boat to return. Gul... gave her his hand, and begged
+her to make use of his galley.
+
+She did so. They went half the way without speaking; at length Gul...
+broke the silence, and they entered into conversation. He told her
+that the King had been made to believe that she had assembled a
+number of noblemen at her mother's house, and that he had orders to
+disperse this cabal. They had a long conversation together, and spoke
+of Dina's affair; he said the King did not yet know the real truth of
+it. She complained that the King had not tried to know it. At length
+they arrived by night at Nyborg. Gul... accompanied her to her
+hostelry, and went to his own, and an hour afterwards sent
+Scherning[24] to tell her that at dawn of day she must be ready, in
+order that they might arrive at Assens the next evening, which it was
+impossible to do with her own horses, as they did not arrive till
+morning. She assented, saying she would act in obedience to his
+orders, began talking with Scherning, and conversed with him about
+other matters. I do not know how, but she gained his good graces, and
+he prevailed so far with Gul... that Gul... did not hasten her
+unduly. Towards nine o'clock the next morning he came to tell her
+that he did not think it necessary to accompany her further, but he
+hoped she would follow the King's order, and begged her to speak with
+Kay v. Ahlefeld at Haderslef, when she was passing through; he had
+received orders as to what he had to do. She promised this, and
+Gul... returned to Copenhagen, placing a man with our lady to watch
+her.
+
+ [24] Probably Povl Tscherning, a well-known man of the time, who
+ held the office of Auditor-General.
+
+Our lady did not think it necessary to speak to Kay v. Ahlefeld, for
+she had nothing to say to him, and she did not want to see more
+orders; she passed by Haderslef, and went to Apenrade, and awaited
+there for ten days[25] a letter from Gul... which he had promised to
+write to her; when she saw that he was not going to keep his word she
+started on her way to Slesvig, halting half way with the intention of
+dining. Holst, the clerk of the bailiwick of Flensborg, here arrived
+in a coach with two arquebuses larger and longer than halberds. He
+gave orders to close the bar of Boy..., sent to the village, which is
+quite close, that the peasants should hold themselves ready with
+their spears and arms, and made four persons who were in the tavern
+take the same arms, that is, large poles. Afterwards he entered and
+made a long speech, with no end of compliments to our lady, to while
+away the time. The matter was, that the governor[26] desired her to
+go to Flensborg, as he had something to say to her, and he hoped she
+would do him the pleasure to rest a night at Flensborg.
+
+ [25] In order to understand how she could wait for ten days at
+ Apenrade, it must be borne in mind that the duchy of Slesvig was at
+ that time divided into several parts, of which some belonged to the
+ King, others to the Duke of Gottorp. Haderslev and Flensborg
+ belonged to the King, but Apenrade to the Duke; in this town,
+ therefore, she was safe from the pursuit of the Danish authorities.
+
+ [26] The governor of Flensborg at that time was Detlef v. Ahlefeld,
+ the same who in 1663 was sent to Königsberg to receive information
+ from the court of Brandenburg on the last intrigues of Ulfeldt.
+
+Our lady replied that she had not the pleasure of his acquaintance,
+and therefore she thought he took her for someone else; if she could
+oblige him in anything she would remain at Slesvig the following day,
+in order to know in what she could serve him. No, it was not that; he
+repeated his request. She ordered Charles to have the horses put to.
+Holst understood this, which was said in French, and begged her for
+the love of God not to set out; he had orders not to let her depart.
+'You,' said she, in a somewhat haughty tone, 'who are you? With what
+authority do you speak thus?' He said he had no written order, but by
+word of mouth, and that his governor would soon arrive; he begged her
+for the love of God to pardon him. He was a servant, he was willing
+to be trodden under her feet. She said: 'It is not for you to pay me
+compliments, still less to detain me, since you cannot show me the
+King's order, but it is for me to think what I ought to do.'
+
+She went out and ordered her lacquey, who was the only determined one
+of her suite, to make himself master of Holst's chariot and
+arquebuses. Holst followed her, begging her a hundred times, saying,
+'I do not dare to let you pass, I do not dare to open the bar.' She
+said, 'I do not ask you to open;' she got into the coach. Holst put
+his hand upon the coach-door and sang the old song. Our lady, who had
+always pistols in her carriage when she travelled, drew out one and
+presented it to him saying, 'Draw back, or I will give you the
+contents of this.' He was not slow in letting go his hold; then she
+threw a patacoon to those who were to restrain her, saying, 'Here is
+something for drink; help in letting the carriage pass the fosse!'
+which they immediately did.
+
+Not a quarter of an hour after she had gone, the governor arrived
+with another chariot. There were two men and four guns in each
+chariot. Our lady was warned of the pursuit; she begged her two
+coachmen, whom she had for herself and her baggage, to dispute them
+the road as much as they could; she ordered Charles always to remain
+at the side of her carriage, in order that she might throw herself
+upon the horse if she saw that they gained ground. She took off her
+furred robe. They disputed the road up to the bridge, which separated
+the territory of the King from that of the Duke.
+
+When she had passed the bridge she stopped, put on her robe, and
+alighted. The others paused on the other side of the bridge to look
+at her, and thus she escaped again for this time.[27] But it was
+amusing to see how the secretary perspired, what fright he was in; he
+did not afterwards pretend to bravery, but freely confessed that he
+was half dead with fear. She returned to Barth, and found her husband
+very very ill. Our old friend had almost given up all hope of his
+recovery, but her presence acted as a miracle; he was sufficiently
+strong in the morning to be taken out of bed, to the great surprise
+of our old friend.
+
+ [27] The clerk Holst was shortly after, when the Swedes occupied
+ Flensborg, put to a heavy ransom by Ulfeldt, in punishment of his
+ conduct to Leonora. Documents which still exist show that he
+ applied to the Danish Government for compensation, but apparently
+ in vain.
+
+Just as our lady was thinking of passing some days in tranquillity,
+occupied in light study, in trifling work, distillations,
+confectionery, and such like things, her husband mixed himself in the
+wars. The King of Sweden sent after him to Stettin; he told his wife
+that he would have nothing to do with them. He did not keep his word,
+however; he did not return to Barth, but went straight off with the
+King. She knew he was not provided with anything; she saw the danger
+to which he was exposed, she wished to share it; she equipped herself
+in haste, and, without his sending for her, went to join him at
+Ottensen. He wished to persuade her to return to Hamburgh, and spoke
+to her of the great danger; she said the danger was the reason why
+she wished to bear him company, and to share it with him; so she went
+with him, and passed few days without uneasiness, especially when
+Friderichsodde was taken; she feared for both husband and son. There
+she had the happiness of reconciling the C. Wrangel and the C.
+Jaques,[28] which her husband had believed impossible, not having
+been able to succeed. She had also the good fortune to cure her
+eldest son and eight of her servants of a malignant fever named
+Sprinckeln; there was no doctor at that time with the army, our old
+friend having left.
+
+ [28] Count Jakob Casimir de la Gardie, a Swedish nobleman. Count
+ Wrangel was the Swedish General.
+
+When her husband passed with the King to Seeland, she remained at
+Fyen. The day that she had resolved to set out on the following to
+return to Schone, a post arrived with news that her mother was at the
+point of death and wished to speak to her; she posted to Jutland,
+found Madame very ill and with no hope of life. She had only been
+there one night, when her husband sent a messenger to say that if she
+wished to see him alive she must lose no time. Our lady was herself
+ill; she had to leave her mother, who was already half dead; she had
+to take her last farewell in great sorrow, and to go with all speed
+to seek her husband, who was very ill at Malmöe. Two days afterwards
+she received the tidings of her mother's death, and as soon as the
+health of her husband permitted it, she went to Jutland to give the
+necessary orders for her mother's funeral. She returned once more to
+Schone before the burial; after the funeral[29] she went to
+Copenhagen and revisited Malmöe one day before the King of Sweden
+began the war for the second time and appeared before Kopenh....
+
+ [29] The funeral took place with great pomp in the church of St.
+ Knud, at Odense, on June 23, 1658, together with that of Sophia
+ Elizabeth, Leonora's sister, who is mentioned in the beginning of
+ the Autobiography.
+
+In the year 1659 the King of Sweden ordered her husband to be
+arrested at Malmöe. She went immediately to Helsingör to speak to the
+King, but had not the happiness of speaking to him; on the contrary,
+the King sent two of his counsellors to tell her that she was free to
+choose whether she would return to her estates and superintend them,
+or go back to Malmöe and be arrested with her husband. She thanked
+His Majesty very humbly for the favour of the choice; she chose to
+suffer with her husband, and was glad to have the happiness of
+serving him in his affliction, and bearing the burden with him which
+would lighten it to him.
+
+She returned to Malmöe with these news; her husband exhibited too
+much grief that she was not permitted to solicit on his behalf, and
+she consoled him as well as she was able. A few days after, an
+officer came to their house and irritated her husband so much by his
+impertinent manner that he had a fit of apoplexy. Our lady was
+overwhelmed with sorrow; she sent for the priest the next morning,
+made her husband receive the holy communion, and received it herself.
+She knew not at what hour she might be a widow; no one came to see
+her, no one in consequence consoled her, and she had to console
+herself. She had a husband who was neither living nor dead; he ate
+and drank; he spoke, but no one could understand him.
+
+About eight months after, the King began to take proceedings against
+her husband, and in order to make her answer for her husband they
+mixed her up in certain points as having asked for news: whence the
+young lady was taken whom her husband brought to Copenhagen? who was
+Trolle? and that she had kept the property of a Danish nobleman in
+her house.[30] Since her husband was ill, the King graciously
+permitted her to answer for him; thus they proceeded with her for
+nine weeks in succession; she had no other assistance in copying her
+defence than her eldest daughter, then very young. She was permitted
+to make use of Wolff, for receiving the accusations and taking back
+the replies, but he wrote nothing for her. If you are interested in
+knowing the proceedings, Kield[31] can give you information
+respecting them.
+
+ [30] The young lady was Birgitte Rantzau, who was engaged to
+ Korfits Trolle, a Danish nobleman, who had been very active in
+ preparing the intended rising of the citizens of Malmöe against the
+ Swedes. Ulfeldt was accused of having favoured and assisted this
+ design (_see_ the Introduction), and he had brought Trolle's bride
+ over to Copenhagen, or accompanied them thither.
+
+ [31] Wolf and Kield were servants of Ulfeldt.
+
+When the proceedings had lasted so many weeks, and she had answered
+with regard to the conversations which it was said her husband had
+had with one and another, they fancied that her husband feigned
+illness. Four doctors were sent with the commandant to visit the sick
+man, and they found that he was really ill; not content with this,
+they established the Court in his house, for they were ashamed to
+make her come to them. They caused the city magistrate to come,
+placing him on one side of the hall, and on the other the Danish
+noblemen who were under arrest, all as witnesses; eight Commissioners
+sat at a round table, the lawyer in front of the table and two clerks
+at another table; having made these arrangements, our lady was
+desired to enter.
+
+We must mention, in the first place, that two of the delinquents who
+were executed afterwards, and another, together with one of the
+servants of her husband, were brought there. The principal
+delinquents were summoned first, and afterwards the others, to take
+an oath that they would speak the truth. We must mention that these
+gentlemen were already condemned, and were executed a few days
+afterwards. When the lawyer had said that they had now taken their
+oaths according to the law, our lady said, 'Post festum! After having
+proceeded against my husband so many weeks, having based everything
+on the tattle of these delinquents, you come, after they are
+condemned to suffer for their trespasses, and make them take an oath.
+I do not know if this is conformable to law!'
+
+The lawyer made no reply to this, and, thinking to confuse our lady,
+said that he found things contrary the one to the other, cited
+passages, leaves, lines, and asked her if she could make these things
+agree. She, having at that time a good memory, remembered well what
+her own judgment had dictated to her, and said that they would not
+find her replies what the lawyer said, but so-and-so, and asked that
+they should be read openly, which was done. The lawyer made three
+attempts of the same kind; when they saw there was nothing to be
+gained by this, the Commissioners attacked her three at a time, one
+putting one question and another, another. She said to them quietly,
+'Messieurs, with your permission, let one speak at a time, for I am
+but one, and I cannot answer three at once!' At which they were all a
+little ashamed.
+
+The principal point to which they adhered was, that her husband was a
+vassal by oath, and a servant of the King, with which assertion they
+parried every objection. She proved that it was not so, that her
+husband was neither vassal nor a servant; he had his lands under the
+King just as many Swedes had elsewhere, without on that account being
+vassals; that he had never taken an oath of fidelity to the King of
+Sweden, but that he had shown him much fidelity; that he owed him no
+obligation--this she showed by a letter from the King, in which he
+thanked him for his services, and hoped so to act that he would
+render him still more. She shut the mouth of the delinquent,[32] and
+begged the Commissioners to reflect on what she had said.
+
+ [32] The person alluded to is a Bartholomæus Mikkelsen, who was
+ executed as ringleader of the conspiracy.
+
+When all was over, after the space of three hours, she requested that
+the protocol might be read before her. The President said that she
+need have no doubt the protocol was correct, that she should have a
+copy of it, that they now understood the matter, and would make a
+faithful report of it to the King. No sentence was passed, and they
+remained under arrest. The King of Sweden died, and peace was
+concluded, but they remained under arrest. A friend came to inform
+them, one day, that there was a vessel of war in the roads, which was
+to take them to Finland. When she saw her husband a little recovered,
+that he could use his judgment, she advised him to escape and go to
+Lubeck. She would go to Copenhagen and try to arrange the matter. He
+consented to it, and she contrived to let him out in spite of all
+the guards round the house (thirty-six in number).
+
+When she received the news that he had passed and could reckon that
+he was on his way to Lubeck, she escaped also, and went straight to
+Copenh.... Having arrived there, she found her husband arrived before
+her; she was much surprised and vexed, fearing what happened
+afterwards, but he had flattered himself so with the comfortable hope
+that he would enter into the good graces of the King. The next day
+they were both arrested and brought to Borringh...[33]; her husband
+was ill; on arriving at Borr... they placed him on a litter and
+brought him from the town to the castle, a distance of about two
+leagues.
+
+ [33] Bornholm. (_See_ the Introduction.)
+
+It would weary you to tell you of all that passed at Borr... If you
+take pleasure in knowing it, there is a man in Hamburgh who can tell
+it you.[34] I will tell you, however, a part and the chief of what I
+remember concerning it. At Rönne, the town where they disembarked at
+Borringh----, our lady wrote to the King and to the Queen in the name
+of her husband, who was ill, as I have already said, and gave the
+memorials to Colonel Rantzou, who promised to deliver them, and who
+gave hopes of success.[35] There Fos arrived and conveyed them to the
+Castle of Hammershuus. The governor Fos saw that our lady had a small
+box with her, and was seized with the desire to know what was in it
+and to possess himself of it. He sent one Dina, the wife of the
+warder to our lady, to offer to procure a boat for their escape.
+There is no doubt she accepted the offer, and promised in return
+five hundred crowns. This was enough for Fos; he went one night with
+the Major to their apartment, thundered like a madman, said that they
+wished to betray him, &c.; the end of the farce was, that he took the
+box, but, for the sake of a little ceremony, he sealed it with her
+husband's seal, promising to keep it for its safety.
+
+ [34] She refers no doubt to a servant who accompanied them of the
+ name of Pflügge.
+
+ [35] The original of this letter to the King exists still.
+
+About three weeks after, he took the two prisoners to walk a little
+in the fields; the husband would not go, but the wife went out to
+take the air. The traitor gave her a long history of his past
+adventures, how many times he had been in prison, some instances of
+how great lords had been saved by the assistance of those they had
+gained over, and made their fortune. He thought they would do the
+same. She said she had not much to dispose of, but besides that, they
+would find other means for rewarding such a service. He said he would
+think of it, that he had nothing to lose in Dan....
+
+After various discussions from day to day, her husband wished her to
+offer him 20,000 rix-dollars; this sum seemed to him too little, and
+he asked 50,000 dollars. She said that she could easily promise it,
+but could not keep her word, but provided it was twenty she would pay
+it. He asked for a security; her husband had a note which would give
+security, but our lady did not think it good that he should see this
+note, and told Fos that in her box there was a letter that could
+secure it; she did not know that he had already opened the box. Some
+days after, she asked him if he had made up his mind? He said, 'I
+will not do it for less than 50,000, and there is no letter in your
+box which would secure it to me. I have opened it; to-morrow I will
+send it to Copenh....' She asked him quietly if he had done right in
+breaking her husband's seal; he answered rudely that he would take
+the responsibility.
+
+Towards autumn, Hannibal and the other heirs of our lady's mother
+sent to her husband to notify to him that they could not longer delay
+dividing the inheritance, and since they knew that he had in his
+possession papers of importance, they requested to be informed of
+them. Her husband stated in his reply that Fos had taken his letters,
+and that in a rude manner. This answer having been read in the
+presence of Fos, he flew in a thundering rage, used abusive language
+first to the husband and then to the wife, her husband having firmly
+promised our lady not to dispute with this villain, for she feared
+some evil might result, but to leave her to answer, for Fos would be
+answered.
+
+She was not angry; she ridiculed him and his invectives. At length he
+told her that she had offered him 20,000 dollars to induce him to
+become a traitor; she replied with calmness, 'If it had been 50,000,
+what then?' Fos leapt into the air like an enraged animal, and said
+that she lied like a ----, &c. She was not moved, but said 'You speak
+like an ass!' Upon this he loaded her with abuse, and then retracted
+all that he had just said. She said quite quietly, 'I am not going to
+appeal to these gentlemen who are present (there were four) to be
+witnesses, for this is an affair that will never be judicially
+settled, and nothing can efface this insult but blood.' 'Oh!' said
+he, seizing his sword, and drawing it a little out of the scabbard,
+'this is what I wear for you, madam.' She, smiling, drew the bodkin
+from her hair, saying, 'Here are all the arms at present which I
+have for you.' He manifested a little shame, and said that it was not
+for her but her sons, if she still had four.[36] She, moreover,
+ridiculed him, and said that it was no use his acting the brave
+there. In short, books could be filled with all the quarrels between
+these two persons from time to time. He shouted at times with all his
+might, he spoke like a torrent, and foamed at the mouth, and the next
+moment he would speak low like another man. When he shouted so
+loudly, our lady said, 'The fever is attacking him again!' He was
+enraged at this.
+
+ [36] It will be remembered from the Introduction that Fuchs was
+ killed two years after by one of Leonora's sons at Bruges.
+
+Some weeks afterwards he came to visit them, and assumed a humble
+manner. Our lady took no notice of it, and spoke with him on
+indifferent subjects; but her husband would not speak to him, and
+never afterwards was he able to draw from him more than a few words.
+Towards Christmas, Fos treated the prisoners very ill, more so than
+formerly, so that Monsieur sent the servant to beg him to treat him
+as a gentleman and not as a peasant. Fos went to them immediately,
+after having abused Monsieur's servant; and as he entered, Monsieur
+left the apartment and went into another, and refused to give him his
+hand. Fos was enraged at this, and would not remain, nor would he
+speak a word to our lady, who begged him to hear her. A moment after,
+he caused the door to be bolted, so that they could not go out to
+take the air, for they before had free access to a loft. At every
+Festival he devised means of annoying them; he closed all the
+windows, putting to some bars of iron, and to others wooden framework
+and boxes; and as to their food, it was worse than ever. They had to
+endure that winter in patience; but as they perceived that Fos's
+design was that they should die of hunger, they resolved to hazard an
+escape, and made preparation through the winter, in order to escape
+as soon as the thaw would set in.
+
+Our lady, who had three pairs of sheets that her children had sent
+her, undid some articles of clothing and made cordage and a sail; she
+sewed them with silk, for she had no thread. Her husband and the
+servant worked at the oars. When the moon was favourable to them in
+the month of April, they wished to carry out the plan they had been
+projecting for so long a time. Our lady was the first to make the
+descent: the height was seventy-two feet; she went on to the ravelin
+to await the others. Some time elapsed before her husband came, so
+she returned, and at last she heard a great noise among the ropes,
+her husband having lost a shoe in his descent. They had still to wait
+for the valet; he had forgotten the cord, and said that he could not
+carry it with him.
+
+It was necessary to descend the rampart into the moats, which were
+dry; the height is about forty feet. Our lady was the first to
+descend; she helped her husband, for his strength was already
+failing. When they were all three in the fosse, the moon was obscured
+and a little rain fell. This was unfortunate, as they could not see
+which road to take. Her husband said it would be better to remain
+where they were till daylight, for they might break their necks in
+descending the rocks. The servant said he knew the way, as he had
+observed it when the window was free; that he would go in front. He
+went in advance, gliding in a sitting position, after him our lady,
+and then her husband; they could not see an inch before them; the man
+fell from an incredible height, and did not speak; our lady stopped,
+shouted to him, and asked him to answer if he was alive.
+
+He was some time before he answered, so she and her husband
+considered him dead; at length he answered, and said he should never
+get out of this ravine; our lady asked him if he judged the depth to
+be greater than one of the cords could reach? She would tie two
+together, and throw the end to him to draw him up. He said that one
+cord would be sufficient, but that she could not draw him up, that
+she would not be strong enough; she said she could, she would hold
+firm, and he should help himself with his knees. He took courage, and
+she drew him up; the greatest marvel was, that on each side of her
+there was a precipice deeper than that over which he fell, and that
+she had nothing by which to support herself, except a small
+projection, which they believed to be of earth, against which she
+placed her left foot, finding no resting-place for the right one.
+
+We can truly say that God had granted her his protection, for to
+escape from such a danger, and draw another out of it, could not have
+been done by unaided man. Our fool Fos explained it otherwise, and
+used it for his own purposes, saying that without the assistance of
+the devil it would have been impossible to stand firm in such a
+place, still less to assist another; he impressed this so well on the
+Queen, that she is still of the opinion that our lady exercises
+sorcery. Fos would take the glory from God to give it to the devil,
+and this calumny has to be endured with many others. But let us
+return to our miserable fugitives, whom we left in the fosse. Our
+lady, who had shouted to her husband not to advance, as soon as she
+heard the valet fall, called to him to keep back, turn quietly, and
+to climb upwards, for that there was no passage there; this was done,
+and they remounted the fosse and kept themselves quiet. Her husband
+wished that they should remain there, since they did not know which
+road to take.
+
+While they were deliberating, the moon shone forth a little, and our
+lady saw where she was, and she remembered a good passage which she
+had seen on the day when she walked out with the governor; she
+persuaded her husband to follow her; he complained of his want of
+strength; she told him that God would assist him, and that he did not
+require great strength to let himself glide down, that the passage
+was not difficult, and that in ascending on the opposite side, which
+was not high, the valet and herself could assist him. He resolved,
+but he found it difficult enough; at length, however, they succeeded;
+they had then to go half a quarter of a league to reach the place
+where the boats were.
+
+Her husband, wearied out, could not walk, and begged her, for the
+love of God, to leave him where he was; he was ready to die; she
+consoled him, and gave him restoratives, and told him that he had but
+a little step to make; he begged her to leave him there, and to save
+herself with the servant: she would find means afterwards to rescue
+him from prison. She said no, she would not abandon him; that he knew
+well the opportunities she had had to escape before, if she had
+wished to forsake him; that she would never quit him nor leave him in
+the hands of this tyrant; that if Fos ventured to touch him, she was
+resolved on avenging herself upon him.
+
+After having taken a little breath, he began again to proceed. Our
+lady, who was loaded with so many ropes and clothes, could scarcely
+walk, but necessity gave her strength. She begged her husband to lean
+on her and on the valet, so he supported himself between them, and in
+this way arrived where the boats were; but too late, for it was
+already day. As our lady saw the patrol coming in the distance, she
+begged her husband to stop there with the valet, saying that she
+would go forward in advance, which she did. She was scarcely a
+musket-shot distant from a little town where the major lodged, when
+she spoke with the guard, and asked them after the major. One of them
+went for the major, whose name was Kratz.
+
+The major saw our lady with great consternation; he asked after her
+husband. She told him where he was, and in a few words she requested
+that he would go to the castle and tell Major-General Fos that his
+ill-treatment had been the cause of the desperate resolution they had
+taken, and to beg him not to ill-treat them; they were at present
+sick at heart; they could not endure anything; she begged him to
+consider that those who had resolved to face more than one form of
+death, would not fear it in any shape. Kratz conducted the prisoners
+to his house, mounted his horse, and went in search of the governor,
+who was still in bed, and told him the affair.
+
+The governor got out of bed like a furious creature, swore, menaced;
+after having recovered a little, the major told him what our lady had
+begged him to say. Then he was for some time thoughtful, and said, 'I
+confess it; they had reason to seek their liberty, for otherwise
+they would never have had it.' He did not immediately come for the
+prisoners, for he had another apartment prepared for them. As he
+entered, he assumed a pleasant manner, and asked if they ought to be
+there; he did not say an unkind word, but, on the contrary, said he
+should have done the same. They were conducted to the Royal Hall to
+warm themselves, for they were all wet with the rain; our lady had
+then an opportunity of speaking to the valet, and of taking from him
+the papers that he had, which contained all that had passed during
+the time of their imprisonment,[37] and she counselled the valet to
+lay aside the arms that he had upon him, and that if he had anything
+which he wished to secure that he would deliver it up to her keeping.
+The valet gave her what she asked, followed her orders, threw away
+his arms, but as regarded his own papers he would not give them up,
+for he did not share her fears; but he knew afterwards, for Fos
+caused him to be entirely stripped, and took away everything from
+him, and made him pay well for having noted down the dishes that they
+had on the first day of the Festivals, and on the rest.
+
+ [37] This account of what happened during their imprisonment at
+ Hammershuus, written by Leonora herself, is also mentioned in her
+ Record of her prison-life in the Blue Tower. But no copy of it has
+ yet come to light. Uhlfeldt's so-called apology contains much
+ information on this subject.
+
+At length towards evening our lady and her husband were conveyed into
+another apartment, and the valet into the body-guard loaded with
+irons. They were there together thirteen weeks, until Fos received
+orders from the Court to separate them; meanwhile, he encased the
+prisons in iron. I may well use such a term, for he caused plates of
+iron to be placed on the walls, double bars and irons round the
+windows.[38] When he had permission to separate them, he entered one
+day to begin a quarrel, and spoke of the past; our lady begged him
+not to say more, but he would go on; he was determined to quarrel. He
+said to her, 'Madame, you are so haughty, I will humble you; I will
+make you so--so small,' and he made a measurement with his hand from
+the floor. 'You have been lifted up and I will bring you down.' She
+laughed, and said, 'You may do with me whatever you will, but you can
+never humble me so that I shall cease to remember that you were a
+servant of a servant of the King my father;' at last, he so forgot
+himself as to hold his fist in her face. She said to him, keeping her
+hand on her knife which she had in her pocket, 'Make use of your foul
+mouth and accursed tongue, but keep your hands quiet.' He drew back,
+and made a profound bow in ridicule, calling her 'your grace,' asked
+her pardon, and what he had to fear. She said, 'You have nothing to
+fear; if you take liberties, you will meet with resistance--feeble
+enough, but such as I have strength to give you.'
+
+ [38] Fuchs' own report on this subject still exists, and in it he
+ estimates the iron employed at three tons.
+
+After some further invectives, he said farewell, and begged they
+might be good friends; he came once more and conducted himself in the
+same manner, but less violently. He said to a captain who was
+present, of the name of Bolt, that he did it expressly in order to
+have a quarrel with her husband, that he might revenge himself for
+her conduct upon him, but that her husband would not speak to him. At
+length the unhappy day of their separation came, and Fos entered to
+tell them that they must be prepared to bid each other a final
+farewell, for that he had orders to separate them, and in this life
+they would never see each other again; he gave them an hour to
+converse together for the last time. You can easily imagine what
+passed in this hour; but as they had been prepared for this
+separation weeks before, having been warned of it by their guard with
+whom they could talk, it did not surprise them. Our lady had gained
+over four of the guards, who were ready to let them escape easily
+enough, but her husband would not undertake it, always saying that he
+had no strength, but that she might do it. Well, they had to abide by
+it; after this sad day[39] they were separated, he in one prison
+below and she in another above, one above another, bars before the
+windows, he without a servant, and she without a waiting woman.
+
+ [39] The precise date was June 15, 1661, but the order for their
+ separation is dated already on the 4th of April.
+
+About three weeks after, our lady fell ill; she requested a woman or
+girl to wait upon her, and a priest. Fos sent answer, with regard to
+a woman or girl to wait upon her, he did not know anyone who would do
+it, but that there was a wench who had killed her child, and who
+would soon be beheaded, and if she wished for her, she could have
+her. As to a priest, he had no orders, and she would have no priest
+even if death were on her lips. Our lady said nothing but 'Patience;
+I commend it to God.' Our lady had the happiness of being able to
+give her husband signs daily, and to receive such, and when the wind
+was not too strong they could speak to one another. They spoke
+Italian together, and took their opportunity before the reveille.
+Towards the close of the governorship of this villain, he was
+informed of this. He then had a kind of machine made which is used to
+frighten the cattle from the corn in the summer, and which makes a
+great noise, and he desired the sentinel to move this machine in
+order to hinder them hearing each other.
+
+Fifteen days before Count Rantzow came to Borringholm to treat with
+them, Fos had news of it from Copenhagen from his intimate friend
+Jaques P...; he visited our lady, told her on entering that her
+children had been expelled from Skaane by the Swedes; our lady said,
+'Well, the world is wide, they will find a place elsewhere.' He then
+told her that Bolt had come from Copenhagen with the tidings that
+they would never be let at liberty; she replied, 'Never is a long
+time; this imprisonment will not last a hundred years, much less an
+eternity--in the twinkling of an eye much may change; the hand of
+God, in whom are the hearts of kings, can change everything.' He
+said, 'You have plenty of hope; you think perhaps if the King died,
+you would be free?' She replied, 'God preserve the King. I believe
+that he will give me liberty, and no one else.' He chatted about a
+great many things, and played the flatterer.
+
+At length Count Rantzow came and made a stay at Borringh... of eleven
+weeks. He visited the prisoners, and did them the favour of having
+the husband to dine with him, and in the evening our lady supped with
+him, and he conferred with them separately. Our lady asked him of
+what she was accused; he replied, 'Will you ask that? that is not the
+way to get out of Borringholm; do you know that you have said the
+King is your brother? and kings do not recognise either sisters or
+brothers.' She replied, 'To whom had I need to say that the King is
+my brother? who is so ignorant in Denmark as not to know that? I have
+always known, and know still, the respect that is due to the King; I
+have never given him any other title than my King and Lord; I have
+never called him my brother, in speaking of him; kings are gracious
+enough to recognise their sisters and brothers as such; for example,
+the King of England gives the title of sister to his brother's wife,
+although she is of very mediocre extraction.[40] Rantzow replied,
+'Our King does not wish it, and he does not know yet the truth about
+Dina's affair.' She said, 'I think the King does not wish to know.'
+He replied, 'Indeed, by God he desires with all his heart to be
+informed of it.' She answered, 'If the King will desire Walter to
+tell him, and this with some earnestness, he will be informed of it.'
+Rantzow made no reply.
+
+ [40] Leonora alludes to the wife of the then Duke of York,
+ afterwards James II., who was the daughter of Lord Edward
+ Clarendon.
+
+When he had concluded everything with her husband, whom he had
+obliged to yield up all his possessions, Rantzow acquainted our lady
+with the fact; she said that her husband had power to give up what
+was his, but that the half belonged to her, and that this she would
+not give up, not being able to answer for it before God nor before
+her children; she had committed no crime; liberty should be given to
+her husband for the half of their lands, and that if the King thought
+he could retain her with a good conscience she would endure it.
+Rantzow with a serious air replied, 'Do not think that your husband
+will ever be set at liberty, if you do not sign with him.' She said
+that the conditions were too severe; that they should do better for
+their children to die as prisoners, God and all the world knowing
+their innocence, than to leave so many children beggars. Rantzow
+said, 'If you die in prison, all your lands and property are
+forfeited, and your children will have nothing; but at this moment
+you can have your liberty, live with your husband; who knows, the
+King may still leave you an estate, and may always show you favour,
+when he sees that you yield to his will.' Our lady said that since
+there was no other prospect for her husband's liberty, she would
+consent. Rantzow ordered her husband and herself separately to place
+in writing the complaints they had to bring forward against Fos, and
+all that had happened with regard to their attempt at escape; which
+was done. Our lady was gracious in her demeanour to Fos, but her
+husband could not make up his mind even to speak to him. Rantzow
+returned to Copenh... and eighteen days afterwards the galley of
+Gabel came with orders to the new governor (Lieutenant-Colonel
+Lytkens, a very well-bred man and brave soldier, his wife a noble
+lady of the Manteuffel family, very polite and pretty), that he
+should make the prisoners sign the papers sent, and when the
+signature was done, should send them on together.
+
+The governor sent first to the husband, as was befitting, who made
+difficulties about signing because they had added points here and
+there, and among other things principally this, that they were never
+to plead against Fos. The husband said he would rather die. The good
+governor went in search of the wife and told her everything, begging
+her to speak to her husband from the window; when he knew that she
+had spoken to him, he would return. She thanked the governor, and
+when he had gone out she spoke to her husband, and persuaded him to
+sign. Then the governor made her sign also; and after that, towards
+nine o'clock in the evening, her husband came to her, having been
+separated just twenty-six weeks.[41] They were separated on a
+Saturday, and they met again on a Saturday. Fos was still at the
+castle; it is easy to believe that he was in great rage. Time does
+not permit to dwell on it. Two days afterwards they embarked and came
+to Copenhagen, and were received on the Custom-house pier by C.
+Rantzow and Gabel. The Queen knew nothing of it. When she was told of
+it she was so angry that she would not go to table. In a few words
+the King held his ground, and as she would not accept the thanks of
+Monsieur and his wife, the King ordered her to receive them in
+writing. They spent the Christmas of 1660 in the house of C. Rantzow.
+Afterwards they went to Fyen, to the estate of Ellensborg, which was
+graciously left to them.[42]
+
+ [41] The apology of Uhlfeldt contains an account of this whole
+ transaction. He states that when he asked his wife through the
+ window whether they ought to sign and live rather than die in
+ prison, which would otherwise be their lot, Leonora answered with
+ the following Latin verse:
+
+     Rebus in adversis facile est contemnere mortem,
+     Fortius ille facit, qui miser esse potest.
+     Accidit in puncto, quod non speratur in anno.
+
+ [42] Ellensborg was the ancient seat of the Ulfeldt family, which
+ had been sold to Ellen Marsvin, Leonora's grandmother, and Leonora
+ inherited it from her mother. It is now called Holckenhavn, and the
+ seat of Count Holck.
+
+Her husband having permission to go to France to take the waters for
+eighteen months, left Ell... with his family in the month of June
+1662, and landed at Amsterdam. Our lady went from thence to Bruges to
+hire a house, and returned to Amsterdam. Her daughter Helena fell ill
+of the small-pox; she remained with her, and her husband and the
+other children went to Bruges. When her daughter had recovered, she
+went to rejoin her husband and children. She accompanied her husband,
+who went to France. Having arrived at Paris, the doctors did not
+find it advisable that he should take the waters, and he returned to
+Bruges. Her husband begged our lady to make a journey to England, and
+to take her eldest son with her. She raised obstacles, and showed him
+plainly that she should obtain nothing; that she should only be at
+great expense. She had examples before her which showed her that the
+King of England would never pay her husband. He would not have been
+turned from his purpose at this time but for their son's rencontre
+with Fos, which prevented the journey that winter, and postponed the
+misfortunes of our lady, though it did not ultimately prevent them.
+
+But towards the spring the same design was again brought forward; our
+lady was assisted by the nobleman who followed her afterwards[43] in
+dissuading her husband; but no reasoning could avail; he believed the
+King could not forget the benefits received, and refuse to pay his
+cousin. Our lady prepared for her departure, since her husband wished
+it. The day that she bade him her last farewell--a fatal day,
+indeed--her husband's heart did not tell him that these would be the
+last embraces he would give her, for he was so satisfied and so full
+of joy that she and all were astonished. She, on the contrary, was
+sad. The last day of their intercourse was May 24, 1663. She had many
+contretemps at first, and some time elapsed before she had the honour
+of speaking to the King.
+
+ [43] Namely Casetta, a Spanish nobleman, who afterwards married
+ their daughter Anna Katherine, but both he and their children died
+ soon. (_See_ the Introduction.)
+
+The King greeted her after the fashion of the country, treated her as
+his cousin,[44] and promised her all sorts of satisfaction; that he
+would send his secretary[45] to her to see her papers, which he did.
+The secretary made her fine promises, but the time was always
+postponed. The minister resident, Petkum, minister of the King of
+Danem..., came to visit her (he had placed some obstacles in the way
+of her demands, from what was told her). She showed him her papers,
+informed him of the affair, told him that the King of Denmark had had
+all the papers in his hands, and had graciously returned them. The
+traitor made a semblance of understanding the affair, and promised
+that he would himself help in securing the payment of her demands.
+But this Judas always intended to betray her, asking her if she did
+not like to make excursions, speaking to her of beautiful houses,
+gardens and parks, and offering her his coach. But our lady was not
+inclined to make excursions.
+
+ [44] Charles the Second's Grandmother, Anna, the Queen of James I.
+ was sister of Leonora Christina's father, Christian IV.
+
+ [45] Sir Henry Bennet, afterwards Lord Arlington.
+
+When he saw that he could not catch her in this way, he obtained an
+order to arrest her. Our poor lady knew nothing of all this; she had
+letter upon letter from her husband requesting her return. She took
+leave of the King by letter, gave her papers to a lawyer[46] upon a
+receipt, and set out from London. Having arrived at Dover, and
+intending to embark the same evening for Flanders, a lieutenant of
+the name of Braten[47] appeared, who came to show her an order from
+the King of Anglet... which she read herself, the purport of which
+was that the governor was to arrest such a lady, and to place her in
+the castle till further orders. She asked the reason why. He said
+that she had left without permission from the King. She told him
+that she had taken leave of the King by letter, and had spoken the
+day before her departure with the Prime Minister and Vice-Admiral
+Aschew,[48] who had bade her farewell.[49]
+
+ [46] A certain Mr. Mowbray.
+
+ [47] Elsewhere she writes the name Broughton.
+
+ [48] Sir George Askew.
+
+ [49] Compare with this account the following extracts in the
+ _Calendar of State Papers_, domestic series, 1663, 1664, pp. 196,
+ 197, 200:--
+
+ 1663--_July 8._--Warrant to Captain Strode, governor of Dover
+ Castle, to detain Elionora Christiana, Countess of Uhlfeldt, with
+ her husband, if he be found with her, and their servants; to keep
+ her close prisoner, and secure all her papers, according to
+ instructions to be given by Thos. Parnell.
+
+ _July 8._--Warrant to Thos. Parnell to observe the movements of the
+ said Countess of Uhlfeldt; to seize her should she attempt to embark
+ at Gravesend with her papers, and to detain her close prisoner.
+
+ (_July_).--Instructions (by Sec. Bennet) to Thos. Parnell, to go to
+ Dover Castle to deliver instructions, and assist in their execution,
+ relative to a certain lady (the Countess of Uhlfeldt), who is not to
+ be permitted to depart, whether she have a pass or not; but to be
+ invited, or if needful compelled, to lodge at the castle, where the
+ best accommodation is to be provided for her. It is suspected that
+ her husband lies concealed in the kingdom, and will also try to pass
+ with his lady, but he also is to be detained, and her servants also.
+
+ _July 11._--Thos. Parnell to Williamson. 'Found the Countess (of
+ Uhlfeldt) at Dover, and by the aid of the Lieut.-Governor sent the
+ searcher to her inn, to demand her pass. She said she had none, not
+ knowing it would be wanted. She submitted patiently to be taken to
+ the castle, and lodged there till a message was sent to town. The
+ Regent's gentleman, the bearer will give an account of all things.'
+
+When she came to the castle, the emissary of Petkum presented
+himself, by name Peter Dreyer. Then the Lieutenant said, 'It is the
+King of Danemarc who has ordered you to be arrested.' She asked the
+cause. He replied, 'You undoubtedly set out incognito from
+Danemarck.' She replied to this that the King of Danem... had given
+her husband leave of absence for a term of eighteen months, which had
+not yet expired. They ordered her boxes and those of the nobleman who
+accompanied her to be opened, and they took all the papers.
+Afterwards Dreyer spoke to her, and she asked him why she was
+treated thus? He said he did not know the real cause, but that he
+believed it was for the death of Fos, and that she was believed to
+have been the cause of his death. They always mentioned this to her,
+and no other cause.
+
+This double traitor Braten enacted the gallant, entertained her, made
+her speak English (as she was bolder in speaking this language than
+any other), for she had just begun to learn it well, having had a
+language-master in London. One day he told that they intended
+conducting her to Danemarck. She told him there was no need to send
+her to Danem...; she could go there very well by herself. He said,
+'You know yourself what suits you; if you will not go there
+willingly, I will manage so that you may go to Flanders.' She did not
+see that this was feasible, even if he was willing; she spoke with
+him as to the means, saw that he did not satisfy her, and did not
+trust his conversation; as he was cunning, he made her believe that
+the King wished her to go secretly, and that he would take it all
+upon himself; that the King had his reasons why he did not wish to
+deliver her into the hands of the King of Danem....
+
+This deception had such good colouring, for she had written several
+times to the King during her arrest, and had begged him not to reward
+her husband's services by a long arrest, only speaking of what she
+had done at the Hague for him: she had taken her jewels and rings and
+given them to him, when his host would not any longer supply him with
+food.[50] Her claim was not small; it exceeded 20,000 patacoons.[51]
+
+ [50] Several letters written by Leonora during her imprisonment at
+ Dover to Charles II., Sir Henry Bennet, &c., are printed in a
+ Danish periodical, _Danske Samlinger_, vol. vi.
+
+ [51] Reckoning the patacoon to 4s. 8d., this claim would be nearly
+ 5,000_l._
+
+Our lady allowed herself to be persuaded that the King of England
+wished her to leave secretly. The traitor Braten told her that he
+thought it best that she should disguise herself as a man. She said
+that there was no necessity she should disguise herself; that no one
+would pursue her; and even if it were so, that she would not go in
+disguise with any man who was not her husband. After having been
+detained seventeen days at Dover, she allowed herself to be conducted
+by Braten, at night, towards the ramparts, descended by a high ladder
+which broke during her descent, passed the fosse, which was not
+difficult; on the other side there was a horse waiting for her, but
+the nobleman, her attendant, and the nobleman's valet, went on foot;
+they would not allow her valet to go with them; Braten made an excuse
+of not being able to find him, and that time pressed; it was because
+they were afraid that there would be an effort at defence.
+
+When she arrived where the traitors were, her guide gave a signal by
+knocking two stones one against another. At this, four armed men
+advanced; Petkum and Dreyer were a little way off; one held a pistol
+to her breast, the other a sword, and said, 'I take you prisoner.'
+The other two traitors said, 'We will conduct you to Ostend.' She had
+always suspected treachery, and had spoken with her companion, in
+case it happened, what it would be best to do, to give herself up or
+to defend herself? She decided on allowing herself to be betrayed
+without a struggle, since she had no reason to fear that her life
+would be attempted because her son had avenged the wrong done to his
+parents. Thus she made no resistance, begged them not to take so much
+trouble, that she would go of herself; for two men held her with so
+much force that they hurt her arm. They came with a bottle of dry
+wine to quench her thirst, but she would not drink; she had a good
+way to go on foot, for she would not again mount the horse.
+
+She showed some anger towards her guide, begged him in English to
+give her respects to the governor,[52] but to convey to the traitor
+Braten all the abuse that she could hurriedly call to mind in this
+language, which was not quite familiar to her. She advanced towards
+the boat; the vessel which was to convey her was in the roads, near
+the Downs. She bade farewell to the nobleman. She had two bracelets
+with diamonds which she wished to give him to convey to her children;
+but as he feared they would be taken from him, she replaced them
+without troubling him with them. She gave a pistol to her servant,
+and a mariner then carried her to the boat; she was placed in an
+English frigate that Petkum had hired, and Dreyer went with her.[53]
+She was thirteen days on the road, and arrived near the Custom-house
+pier on August 8, 1663, at nine o'clock in the morning.
+
+ [52] Leonora did not know that the governor of the castle was in
+ the plot.
+
+ [53] Additional light is thrown on the arrest of Leonora Christina
+ at Dover by the following extracts in the _Calendar of State
+ Papers_, p. 224, 225:--
+
+ _August 1_, _Whitehall_.--(Sec. Bennet) to Capt. Strode. The King is
+ satisfied with his account of the lady's escape and his own
+ behaviour; continue the same mask, of publishing His Majesty's
+ displeasure against all who contributed to it, especially his
+ lieutenant, and this more particularly in presence of M. Cassett,
+ lest he may suspect connivance. Cassett is to continue prisoner some
+ time. The Danish Resident is satisfied with the discretion used, but
+ says his point would not have been secured had the lady gone to sea
+ without interruption.
+
+ _August 1_?--Account (proposed to be sent to the Gazette?) relative
+ to Count Uhlfeldt--recording his submission in 1661, the present
+ sentence against him, his further relapse into crime after a solemn
+ recantation, also signed by his wife who was his accomplice, though
+ her blood saved her from sharing his sentence, but who has now
+ betrayed herself into the hands of the King of Denmark. She was in
+ England when the conspiracy against the King of Denmark's life was
+ detected. The King of England had her movements watched, when she
+ suddenly went off without a pass, for want of which she was stayed
+ by the Governor of Dover Castle, who accommodated her in the castle.
+ The Resident of Denmark posted to Dover, and secured the master of a
+ ship then in the road, with whom he expected her to tamper, which
+ she did, escaped through the castle window, and entering a shallop
+ to go on board, was seized and conveyed to Denmark. With note (by
+ Lord Chancellor Clarendon) that he is not satisfied with this
+ account, but will prepare a better for another week.
+
+[The remaining part of the Autobiography treats of the commencement
+of her imprisonment in the Blue Tower, which forms the subject of the
+following Memoir.]
+
+
+
+
+ A RECORD
+ OF
+ THE SUFFERINGS OF THE IMPRISONED COUNTESS
+ LEONORA CHRISTINA.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+_TO MY CHILDREN._
+
+
+Beloved children, I may indeed say with Job, 'Oh, that my grief were
+thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
+For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea.' My sufferings
+are indeed great and many; they are heavy and innumerable. My mind
+has long been uncertain with regard to this history of my sufferings,
+as I could not decide whether I ought not rather to endeavour to
+forget them than to bear them in memory. At length, however, certain
+reasons have induced me, not only to preserve my sorrow in my own
+memory, but to compose a record of it, and to direct it to you, my
+dear children.[54]
+
+ [54] In the margin is added: 'As I now hope that what I write may
+ come into your hands, my captivity during the last three years also
+ having been much lightened.'
+
+The first of these reasons is the remembrance of the omnipotence of
+God; for I cannot recall to mind my sorrow and grief, my fears and
+distresses, without at the same time remembering the almighty power
+of God, who in all my sufferings, my misery, my affliction, and
+anxiety, has been my strength and help, my consolation and
+assistance; for never has God laid a burden upon me, without at the
+same time giving me strength in proportion, so that the burden,
+though it has weighed me down and heavily oppressed me, has not
+overwhelmed me and crushed me; for which I praise and extol through
+eternity the almighty power of the incomprehensible God.
+
+I wish, therefore, not alone to record my troubles and to thank God
+for His gracious support in all the misfortunes that have befallen
+me, but also to declare to you, my dear children, God's goodness to
+me, that you may not only admire with me the inconceivable help of
+the Almighty, but that you may be able to join with me in rendering
+Him thanks. For you may say with reason that God has dealt
+wonderfully with me; that He was mighty in my weakness and has shown
+His power in me, the frailest of His instruments. For how would it
+have been possible for me to resist such great, sudden, and
+unexpected misfortunes, had not His spirit imparted to me strength?
+It was God who Himself entered with me into the Tower-gate; it was He
+who extended to me His hand, and wrestled for me in that prison cell
+for malefactors, which is called 'the Dark Church.'
+
+Since then, now for almost eleven years, He has always been within
+the gate of my prison as well as of my heart; He has strengthened me,
+comforted me, refreshed me, and often even cheered me. God has done
+wonderful things in me, for it is more than inconceivable that I
+should have been able to survive the great misfortunes that have
+befallen me, and at the same time should have retained my reason,
+sense, and understanding. It is a matter of the greatest wonder that
+my limbs are not distorted and contracted from lying and sitting,
+that my eyes are not dim and even wholly blind from weeping, and from
+smoke and soot; that I am not short-breathed from candle smoke and
+exhalation, from stench and close air. To God alone be the honour!
+
+The other cause that impels me is the consolation it will be to you,
+my dear children, to be assured through this account of my sufferings
+that I suffer innocently; that nothing whatever has been imputed to
+me, nor have I been accused of anything for which you, my dear
+children, should blush or cast down your eyes in shame. I suffer for
+having loved a virtuous lord and husband, and for not having
+abandoned him in misfortune. I was suspected of being privy to an act
+of treason for which he has never been prosecuted according to law,
+much less convicted of it, and the cause of the accusation was never
+explained to me, humbly and sorrowfully as I desired that it should
+be. Let it be your consolation, my dear children, that I have a
+gracious God, a good conscience, and can boldly maintain that I have
+never committed a dishonourable act. 'This is thankworthy,' says the
+apostle St. Peter, 'if a man for conscience toward God endure grief,
+suffering wrongfully.' I suffer, thank God, not for my misdeeds, for
+that were no glory to me; yet I can boast that from my youth up I
+have been a bearer of the cross of Christ, and had incredibly secret
+sufferings, which were very heavy to endure at such an early age.
+
+Although this record of my sufferings contains and reveals nothing
+more than what has occurred to me in this prison, where I have now
+been for eleven years, I must not neglect in this preface briefly to
+recall to your minds, my dear children, my earlier misfortunes,
+thanking God at the same time that I have overcome them.
+
+Not only you, my dear children, know, but it is known throughout the
+whole country, what great sorrow and misfortune Dina and Walter, with
+their powerful adherents, inflicted on our house in the year 1651.
+
+Although I will not mention the many fatiguing and difficult
+journeys, the perils by sea, and various dangers which I have endured
+in foreign countries, I will only remind you of that journey which my
+lord requested me to undertake to Denmark, contrary to my wish, in
+the year 1657.[E01] It was winter time, and therefore difficult and
+dangerous. I endured scorn and persecution; and had not God given me
+courage and taken it from him who was to have arrested me, I should
+not at that time have escaped the misery of captivity.
+
+ [E01] This journey really took place in November and December,
+ 1656.
+
+You will remember, my dear children, what I suffered and endured
+during fourteen months in custody at Malmöe; how the greatest favour
+which His Majesty, King Charles X. of Sweden, at that time showed me,
+was that he left it to my free will, either to remain at liberty,
+taking care of our property, or to be in prison with my lord. I
+acknowledged the favour, and chose the latter as my duty, esteeming
+it a happiness to be allowed to console and to serve my anxious
+husband, afflicted as he subsequently was by illness. I accepted it
+also as a favour that I was allowed (when my lord could not do it
+himself on account of illness) to appear before the tribunal in his
+stead. What anxiety and sorrow I had for my sick lord, what trouble,
+annoyance and distress, the trial caused me (it was carried on daily
+for more than nine weeks), is known to the most high God, who was my
+consolation, assistance, and strength, and who inspired me with
+heart and courage to defend the honour of my lord in the presence of
+his judges.
+
+You will probably not have forgotten how quickly one misfortune
+followed another, how one sorrow was scarcely past when a greater one
+followed in its track; we fared, according to the words of the poet:
+
+    Incidit in Scyllam, qui vult vitare Charibdin.
+
+We escaped custody and then fell into strict captivity, without doubt
+by the dispensation of God, who inspired my lord with the idea of
+repairing, contrary to our agreement, to Copenhagen instead of
+Lübeck. No pen can describe how sorrowful I was when, contrary to all
+expectation, I met my lord in Copenhagen, when I had imagined him
+escaped from the power and violence of all his enemies. I expected
+just that which my lord did not believe would happen, but which
+followed immediately--namely, our arrest. The second day after my
+arrival (which they had waited for) we were apprehended and conveyed
+to Bornholm, where we were in close imprisonment for seventeen
+months. I have given a full description of what I suffered, and this
+I imagine is in your keeping, my dear children; and from it you see
+what I and my sick lord endured; how often I warded off greater
+misery, because my lord could not always brook patiently the bad
+treatment of the governor, Adolf Foss, who called himself Fux.
+
+It was hard and bitter indeed to be scorned and scoffed at by a
+peasant's son; to have to suffer hunger at his will, and to be
+threatened and harassed by him; but still harder and more bitter was
+it to be sick beneath his power, and to hear from him the words that
+even if death were on my lips no minister of God's word should come
+to me. Oh monstrous tyranny! His malice was so thoroughly beyond all
+bounds, that he could not endure that we should lighten each other's
+cross; and for this reason he contrived, after the lapse of eleven
+months, to have us separated from each other, and to place us each in
+the hardest confinement.
+
+My husband (at that time already advancing in years) without a
+servant, and I without an attendant, was only allowed a light so long
+as the evening meal lasted. I cannot forbear bitterly recalling to
+mind the six months of long and hard separation, and the sad farewell
+which we took of each other; for to all human sight there was no
+other prospect than that which the governor announced to us--namely,
+that we were seeing and speaking with each other for the last time in
+this world. God knows best how hard our sufferings were, for it was
+He who consoled us, who gave us hope contrary to all expectation, and
+who inspired me with courage when the governor visited me and
+endeavoured to fill me with despair.
+
+God confirmed my hope. Money and property loosened the bonds of our
+captivity, and we were allowed to see and speak with each other once
+more. Sad as my lord had been when we were separated at Borringholm,
+he was joyous when two years afterwards he persuaded me to undertake
+the English journey, not imagining that this was to part us for ever.
+My lord, who entertained too good an opinion of the King of England,
+thought that now that he had come to the throne he would remember not
+only his great written and spoken promises, but that he would also
+bear in mind how, at the time of his need and exile, I had drawn the
+rings from my fingers and had pawned them for meals for him and his
+servants. But how unwillingly I undertook this journey is well known
+to some of you, my dear children, as I was well aware that from an
+ungrateful person there is nothing else to be expected but
+ingratitude. I had the example of others by whom to take warning; but
+it was thus destined to be.
+
+Bitter bread was in store for me, and bitter gall was to fill my cup
+in the Blue Tower of Copenhagen Castle; thither was I to go to eat it
+and drink it out. It is not unknown to you how falsely the King of
+England acted towards me; how well he received me on my arrival; how
+he welcomed me with a Judas kiss and addressed me as his cousin; and
+how both he himself and all his high ministers assured me of the
+royal favour, and promised me payment of the money advanced. You know
+how cunningly (at the desire of His Majesty the King of Denmark) he
+had me arrested at Dover, and subsequently sent me word through the
+traitor Lieutenant Braten that he would let me escape secretly, at
+the same time delivering me into the hand of the Danish Minister
+Simon Petcon, who had me arrested by eight armed men; keeping aloof,
+however, himself, and never venturing to come near me. They held
+sword and pistol to my breast, and two of them took me between them
+and placed me in a boat, which conveyed me to a vessel held in
+readiness by the said Minister; a man of the name of Peter Dreyer
+having received orders to conduct me to Copenhagen.
+
+From this period this record of my suffering begins. It contains all
+that happened to me within the gates of the Blue Tower. Reflect, my
+dear children, on these hard sufferings; but remember also God's
+great goodness towards me. Verily, He has freed me from six
+calamities; rest assured that He will not leave me to perish in the
+seventh. No! for the honour of His name, He will mightily deliver me.
+
+The narrative of my sufferings is sad to hear, and must move the
+hardest heart to pity; yet in reading it, do not be more saddened
+than can be counterbalanced by joy. Consider my innocence, courage,
+and patience; rejoice over these.
+
+I have passed over various petty vexations and many daily annoyances
+for the sake of brevity, although the smallest of them rankled sore
+in the wounds of my bitter sorrow.
+
+I acknowledge my weaknesses, and do not shrink from confessing them
+to you. I am a human being, and am full of human imperfections. Our
+first emotions are not under our own power; we are often overhasty
+before we are able to reflect. God knows that I have often made
+myself deaf and blind, in order not to be carried away by passion. I
+am ashamed to mention and to enumerate the unchaste language, bad
+words and coarse invectives, of the prison governor Johan Jaeger, of
+Kresten Maansen, the tower warder, of Karen the daughter of Ole, and
+of Catharina Wolff; they would offend courtly ears. Yet I can assure
+you they surpass everything that can be imagined as indecent, ugly,
+churlish and unbecoming; for coarse words and foul language were the
+tokens of their friendliness and clemency, and disgusting oaths were
+the ornament and embellishment of their untruthfulness; so that their
+intercourse was most disagreeable to me. I was never more glad than
+when the gates were closed between me and those who were to guard me.
+Then I had only the woman alone, whom I brought to silence,
+sometimes amicably, and at others angrily and with threats.
+
+I have also had, and have still, pleasant intercourse with persons
+whose services and courtesies I shall remember as long as I live.
+You, my dear children, will also repay them to every one as far as
+you are able.
+
+You will find also in this record of my sufferings two of the chief
+foes of our house, namely Jörgen Walter and Jörgen Skröder,[E02] with
+regard to whom God has revenged me, and decreed that they should have
+need of me, and that I should comfort them. Walter gives me cause to
+state more respecting him than was my intention.
+
+ [E02] This man was a German by birth, but settled in Denmark, where
+ he was nobilitated under the name of Lövenklau. His bad conduct
+ obliged him to leave the country, and he went to Sweden, where he
+ had lived before he came to Denmark, and where Ulfeldt, then in
+ Sweden, procured him an appointment as a colonel in the army. This
+ kindness he repaid by informing the Danish Government against
+ Ulfeldt in 1654, in consequence of which he was not only allowed to
+ return to Denmark, but even obtained a lucrative office in Norway.
+ Here he quarrelled with the viceroy, Niels Trolle, and tried to
+ serve him as he had served Ulfeldt; but he failed to establish his
+ accusations against Trolle, and was condemned into the forfeiture
+ of his office and of his patent of nobility. He then left Denmark
+ at least for a season, and how he came to apply to Leonora
+ Christina for assistance is not known, as she has omitted to
+ mention it in the Memoir itself, though she evidently intended to
+ do so.
+
+Of the psalms and hymns which I have composed and translated, I only
+insert a few, in order that you, my dear children, may see and know
+how I have ever clung steadfastly to God, who has been and still is
+my wall of defence against every attack, and my refuge in every kind
+of misfortune and adversity. Do not regard the rhymes; they are not
+according to the rules which poets make; but regard the matter, the
+sense, and the purport. Nor have I left my other small pastime
+unmentioned, for you may perceive the repose of my mind from the fact
+that I have had no unemployed hours; even a rat, a creature so
+abominable to others, affording me amusement.
+
+I have recorded two observations, which though they treat of small
+and contemptible animals, yet are remarkable, and I doubt whether any
+naturalist hitherto has observed them. For I do not think it has been
+recorded hitherto that there exists a kind of caterpillar which
+brings forth small living grubs like itself, nor either that a flea
+gives birth to a fully-formed flea, and not that a nit comes from a
+nit.[55]
+
+ [55] A pen has afterwards been drawn through this paragraph, but
+ the observations occur in the manuscript.
+
+In conclusion, I beg you, my dear children, not to let it astonish
+you that I would not avail myself of the opportunity by which I might
+have gained my freedom. If you rightly consider it, it would not have
+been expedient either for you or me. I confess that if my deceased
+lord had been alive, I should not only have accepted the proposal,
+but I should have done my utmost to have escaped from my captivity,
+in order to go in quest of him, and to wait on him and serve him till
+his last breath; my duty would have required this. But since he was
+at that time in rest and peace with God, and needed no longer any
+human service, I have with reason felt that self-obtained liberty
+would have been in every respect more prejudicial than useful to us,
+and that this would not be the way to gain the possessions taken from
+us, for which reason I refused it and endeavoured instead to seek
+repose of mind and to bear patiently the cross laid upon me. If God
+so ordains it, and it is His divine will that through royal mercy I
+should obtain my freedom, I will joyfully exert myself for you, my
+beloved children, to the utmost of my ability, and prove in deed that
+I have never deviated from my duty, and that I am no less a good and
+right-minded mother than I have been a faithful wife. Meanwhile let
+God's will be your will. He will turn and govern all things so that
+they may benefit you and me in soul and body, to whose safe keeping I
+confidently recommend you all, praying that He will be your father
+and mother, your counsellor and guide. Pray in return for me, that
+God may direct me by His good spirit, and grant me patience in the
+future as heretofore. This is all that is requested from you by,
+
+My dearly beloved children, your affectionate mother,
+
+                                    LEONORA CHRISTINA, V.E.G.
+
+Written in the Blue Tower, anno 1674, the 18th of July, the eleventh
+year of imprisonment, my birthday, and fifty-third year of my
+age.[56]
+
+ [56] The conclusion of the Preface, from the words 'Meanwhile let
+ the will of God,' etc. has afterwards been erased, when the
+ manuscript was continued beyond the date assigned in the Preface;
+ and the following paragraphs, 'I bear also in mind,' etc. were
+ intended to form a new conclusion, but do not seem to have been
+ properly worked in.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I bear also in mind, with the greatest humility and gratitude, our
+gracious hereditary King's favour towards me, immediately after His
+Majesty came to the throne. I remember also the sympathy of our most
+gracious Queen Regent, and of Her Highness the Electoral Princess of
+Saxony in my unfortunate fate; also the special favour of Her Majesty
+the Queen.
+
+I have also not forgotten to bear duly in mind the favour shown
+towards me by Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the virtuous Landgravine
+of Hesse.
+
+I have also recorded various things which occurred in my imprisonment
+during the period from the year 1663 to the year 1674, intending with
+these to conclude the record of my sufferings; as I experienced a
+pleasure, and often consoled myself, in feeling that it is better to
+remain innocently in captivity than to be free and to have deserved
+imprisonment. I remember having read that captivity has served many
+as a protection from greater dangers, and has guarded them from
+falling into the hands of their enemies. There have been some who
+have escaped from their prison and immediately after have been
+murdered. There have also been some who have had a competence in
+prison and afterwards have suffered want in freedom. Innocent
+imprisonment does not diminish honour, but rather increases it. Many
+a one has acquired great learning in captivity, and has gained a
+knowledge of things which he could not master before. Yes,
+imprisonment leads to heaven. I have often said to myself: 'Comfort
+thyself, thou captive one, thou art happy.'
+
+Since the year 1674 constituted only half the period of my captivity,
+I have added in this record of my sufferings some facts that occurred
+since that time within my prison-gates. I am on the eve of my
+liberty, May 19, 1685. To God alone be the honour, who has moved His
+Royal Majesty to justice! I will here mention those of whose death I
+have been informed during my captivity.
+
+1. The Prime Minister of His Majesty, Count Christian of
+Rantzow[E03], died in the month of September, 1663. He did not live
+to drink the health of our Princess and of the Electoral Prince of
+Saxony at the feast of their betrothal. Still less did he live long
+enough to see a wooden effigy quartered in mockery of my lord,
+according to his suggestion. Death was very bitter to him.
+
+ [E03] This Count Rantzow was the same who had negotiated the
+ compromise with Ulfeldt and Leonora at Bornholm in 1661, and in
+ fact brought it about. It was currently reported in Copenhagen at
+ the time that he had received a large sum of money from Ulfeldt on
+ that occasion, and he afterwards showed his friendly disposition
+ towards him by promising him to intercede with the King for
+ Christian Ulfeldt when the latter had killed Fuchs. Leonora,
+ however, speaks of him as an enemy probably because he presided in
+ the High Court of Appeal which condemned Ulfeldt as a traitor. But
+ the facts of the case left him scarcely any other alternative than
+ that of judging as he did, nor would it have been surprising if
+ Ulfeldt's last conduct had altered Rantzow's feelings towards him.
+ Rantzow also presided in the commission which examined Leonora in
+ the Blue Tower.
+
+2. The Mistress of the Robes of the Queen Dowager, who was so severe
+on me in my greatest sorrow, had a long and painful illness; she said
+with impatience that the pain of hell was not greater than her pain.
+Her screams could often be heard in the tower. She was carried on a
+bed into the town, and died there.
+
+3. The death of Able Catherine was very painful. As she had formerly
+sought for letters on the private parts of my person, so she was
+afterwards herself handled by the surgeons, as she had boils all over
+her. She was cut and burnt. She endured all this pain, hoping to
+live, but neither the art of the surgeons nor the visits of the Queen
+could save her from death.[E04]
+
+ [E04] Abel Catharina is mentioned in the Memoir itself as the
+ person who searched Leonora when she first entered her prison, and
+ did so in a very unbecoming manner; she acted, however, under the
+ orders of the Mistress of the Robes, M. v. Haxthausen. Abel
+ Catharina is otherwise chiefly known as the founder of a charity
+ for old women in Copenhagen, which still bears her name.
+
+4. Secretary Erich Krag, who had displayed the malice of his heart in
+my imprisonment in the 'Dark Church,' was snatched away by death in a
+place of impurity. He was lively and well, had invited guests to
+dinner, sat and wrote at his table, went out to obey the necessities
+of nature, and was found dead by his attendants when they had waited
+some time for him.
+
+5. Major-General Fridrich von Anfeldte,[E05] who had more than once
+manifested his delight at my misfortunes, died as he had lived. He
+was a godless man and a blasphemer. He fell a victim to jealousy, and
+went mad, because another obtained an honorary title which he had
+coveted; this was indeed little enough to deprive him of sense and
+reason. He would hear nothing of God, nor would he be reconciled with
+God. Both Queens, the Queen Dowager and the Queen Regent, persuaded
+him at length to be so. When he had received the sacrament, he said,
+'Now your Majesties have had your desire; but what is the good of
+it?' He continued to curse and to swear, and so died.
+
+ [E05] This name is mis-spelt for Ahlefeldt. This officer received
+ Leonora on her arrival at Copenhagen, as she relates herself. He
+ had distinguished himself in the siege of Copenhagen in 1659, and
+ died as a Lieutenant-General.
+
+6. General Schak died after a long illness.
+
+7. Chancellor Peter Retz likewise.
+
+8. His Royal Majesty King Friedrich III.'s death accelerated the
+death of the Stadtholder Cristoffer Gabel. He felt that the hate of
+the Queen Dowager could injure him greatly, and he desired death. God
+heard him.[E06]
+
+ [E06] Christoffer Gabel is mentioned several times in the
+ Autobiography. He was an influential man at the time, in great
+ favour at court, and he had a great part in effecting the release
+ of Ulfeldt from the prison at Bornholm, for which he, according to
+ Leonora's statement, received 5,000 dollars from Ulfeldt. Both he
+ and Reedtz were members of the court which condemned Ulfeldt.
+
+9. It has pleased God that I should be myself a witness of Walter's
+miserable death; indeed, that I should compassionate him. When I
+heard him scream, former times came to my mind, and I often thought
+how a man can allow himself to be led to do evil to those from whom
+he had only received kindness and honour.
+
+10. Magister Buch, my father-confessor, who acted so ill to me,
+suffered much pain on his bed of languishing. He was three days
+speechless before he died.
+
+11. When the rogue and blasphemer, Christian, who caused me so much
+annoyance in my captivity, had regained his liberty and returned to
+his landlord, Maans Armfeld in Jutland, he came into dispute with the
+parish priest, who wanted him to do public penance for having seduced
+a woman. The rogue set fire to the parsonage; the minister's wife was
+burnt to death in trying to save some of her property, and all the
+minister's possessions were left in ashes. The minister would not
+bring the rogue to justice. He commended him to the true Judge, and
+left vengeance to Him. The incendiary's conscience began to be
+awakened; for a long time he lived in dread, and was frightened if he
+saw anyone coming at all quickly, and he would call out and say
+tremblingly, 'Now they are going to take me!' and would run hither
+and thither, not knowing where to go. At length he was found dead on
+the field, having shot himself; for a long rifle was found lying
+between his legs, the barrel towards his breast, and a long ramrod in
+his hand, with which he had touched the trigger. He did not,
+therefore, die in as Christian a manner as if he had perished under
+the hand of the executioner, of which he had so lightly said that he
+should not care for it at all, so long as he could bring someone else
+into trouble.
+
+
+
+
+A RECORD OF SUFFERING;
+
+_OR, A REMINISCENCE OF ALL THAT OCCURRED TO ME, LEONORA CHRISTINA, IN
+THE BLUE TOWER, FROM AUGUST 8 OF THE YEAR 1663, TO JUNE 11[57] OF THE
+YEAR 1674._
+
+ [57] Afterwards altered to anno 1685, the 19th of May.
+
+
+The past is rarely remembered without sorrow, for it has been either
+better or worse than the present. If it was more joyous, more happy,
+and full of honour, its remembrance justly saddens us, and in
+proportion as the present is full of care, unhappiness, and
+dishonour. If past times were sadder, more miserable, and more
+deplorable than the present, the remembrance of them is equally
+sorrowful, for we recover and feel once more all the past misfortunes
+and adversities which have been endured in the course of time. But
+all things have, as it were, two handles by which they may be raised,
+as Epictetus says. The one handle, he says, is bearable; the other is
+not bearable; and it rests with our will which handle we grasp, the
+bearable or the unbearable one. If we grasp the bearable one, we can
+recall all that is transitory, however sad and painful it may have
+been, rather with joy than with sorrow.[E07] So I will seize the
+bearable handle, and in the name of Jesus I will pass rapidly through
+my memory, and recount all the wretchedness and misery, all the
+grief, scorn and suffering, contempt and adversity, which have
+befallen me in this place, and which I have overcome with God's help.
+I will, moreover, in no wise grieve over it; but, on the contrary, I
+will remind myself at every step of the goodness of God, and will
+thank the Most High who has been constantly near me with His mighty
+help and consolation; who has ruled my heart, that it should not
+depart from God; who has preserved my mind and my reason, that it has
+not become obscured; who has maintained my limbs in their power and
+natural strength, and even has given, and still gives me, repose of
+mind and joyfulness. To Thee, incomprehensible God, be honour and
+praise for ever!
+
+ [E07] The passage alluded to occurs in Epictet's Encheiridion,
+ chap. 43 (in some editions chap. 65), where he says: 'Every matter
+ has two handles, one by which it may be carried (or endured), the
+ other by which it cannot be carried (or endured). If thy brother
+ has done thee injury, do not lay hold of this matter from the fact
+ that he has done thee an injury, for this is the handle by which it
+ cannot be carried (or endured); but rather from this side: that he
+ is thy brother, educated with thee; and thou wilt lay hold of the
+ matter from that side from which it may be managed.' It is easily
+ seen how Leonora makes use of the double meaning of the Greek word
+ {phorêtos}, which is equally well used of an object which can be
+ carried in the literal physical sense, and of a matter which can be
+ endured or borne with.
+
+ {Illustration:
+  DAS ALTE SCHLOSS IN COPENHAGEN MIT DEM BLAUEN THURM.
+  THE OLD CASTLE OF COPENHAGEN.
+  SHOWING THE BLUE TOWER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BACK-GROUND.}
+
+And now to proceed with my design. I consider it necessary to begin
+the record of my sufferings with the commencement of the day which
+concluded with the fatal evening of my captivity, and to mention
+somewhat of that which befell me on the vessel. After the captain had
+cast anchor a little outside the pier of St. Anna, on August 8, 1663,
+at nine o'clock in the forenoon, he was sent on shore with letters by
+Peter Dreyer, who was commissioned by Petcon, at that time the
+minister resident in England, of his Majesty the King of Denmark, to
+take charge of me. I dressed myself and sat down in one of the cabins
+of the sailors on the deck, with a firm resolution to meet
+courageously all that lay before me;[58] yet I in no wise expected
+what happened; for although I had a good conscience, and had nothing
+evil with which to reproach myself, I had at various times asked the
+before-mentioned Peter Dreyer the reason why I had been thus brought
+away. To this question he always gave me the reply which the traitor
+Braten had given me at Dover (when I asked of him the cause of my
+arrest); namely, that I was, perhaps, charged with the death of
+Major-General Fux, and, that it was thought I had persuaded my son
+to slay him; saying, that he knew of no other cause. At twelve
+o'clock Nils Rosenkrantz, at that time Lieutenant-Colonel, and Major
+Steen Anderson Bilde, came on board with some musketeers.
+Lieutenant-Colonel Rosenkrantz did not salute me. The Major walked up
+and down and presently passed near me. I asked him, en passant, what
+was the matter? He gave me no other answer than, 'Bonne mine, mauvais
+jeu;' which left me just as wise as before. About one o'clock Captain
+Bendix Alfeldt came on board with several more musketeers, and after
+he had talked some time with Peter Dreyer, Dreyer came to me and
+said, 'It is ordered that you should go into the cabin.' I said,
+'Willingly;' and immediately went. Soon after, Captain Alfeldt came
+in to me, and said he had orders to take from me my letters, my gold,
+silver, money, and my knife. I replied, 'Willingly.' I took off my
+bracelets and rings, gathered in a heap all my gold, silver, and
+money, and gave it to him. I had nothing written with me, except
+copies of the letters which I had addressed to the King of England,
+notes respecting one thing or another relating to my journey, and
+some English vocabularies; these I also gave up to him. All these
+Alfeldt placed in a silver utensil which I had with me, sealed it in
+my presence, and left the vessel with it. An hour, or somewhat more,
+afterwards, Major-General Friderich von Anfeldt,[59] Commandant in
+Copenhagen, arrived, and desired that I should come to him outside
+the cabin. I obeyed immediately. He greeted me, gave me his hand, and
+paid me many compliments, always speaking French. He was pleased to
+see me in health, he feared the sea might have inconvenienced me; I
+must not allow the time to seem long to me; I should soon be
+accommodated otherwise. I caught at the last word and said, smiling,
+'Monsieur says otherwise, but not better.' 'Yes, indeed,' he replied,
+'you shall be well accommodated; the noblest in the kingdom will
+visit you.' I understood well what he meant by this, but I answered:
+'I am accustomed to the society of great people, therefore that will
+not appear strange to me.' Upon this, he called a servant and asked
+for the before-mentioned silver utensil (which Captain Alfeldt had
+taken away with him). The paper which Captain Alfeldt had sealed over
+it was torn off. The Major-General turned to me, and said: 'Here you
+have your jewels, your gold, silver, and money back; Captain Alfeldt
+made a mistake--they were only letters which he had orders to demand,
+and these only have been taken out, and have been left at the Castle;
+you may dispose of the rest as you wish yourself.' 'In God's name,' I
+answered, 'am I, therefore, at liberty to put on again my bracelets
+and rings?' 'O Jesus,' he said, 'they are yours; you may dispose of
+them as you choose.' I put on the bracelets and rings, and gave the
+rest to my attendant. The Major-General's delight not only appeared
+in his countenance, but he was full of laughter, and was overflowing
+with merriment. Among other things he said that he had had the
+honour of making the acquaintance of two of my sons; that he had been
+in their society in Holland; and he praised them warmly. I
+complimented him in return, as was proper, and I behaved as if I
+believed that he was speaking in good faith. He indulged in various
+jokes, especially with my attendant; said that she was pretty, and
+that he wondered I could venture to keep such a pretty maiden; when
+Holstein ladies kept pretty maids it was only to put their husbands
+in good humour; he held a long discourse on how they managed, with
+other unmannerly jests which he carried on with my attendant. I
+answered nothing else than that he probably spoke from experience. He
+said all kinds of foolish jokes to my servant, but she did not answer
+a word. Afterwards the prison governor told me that he (von Anfeldt)
+had made the King believe, at first, that my attendant was my
+daughter, and that the King had been long of that opinion. At length,
+after a long conversation, the Major-General took his leave, saying
+that I must not allow the time to seem long to me; that he should
+soon come again; and he asked what he should say to his Majesty the
+King. I begged him to recommend me in the best manner to their
+Majesties' favour, adding that I knew not well what to say or for
+what to make request, as I was ignorant of what intentions they had
+with regard to me. Towards three o'clock Major-General von Anfeldt
+returned; he was full of laughter and merriment, and begged me to
+excuse him for being so long away. He hoped the time had not appeared
+long to me; I should soon get to rest; he knew well that the people
+(with this he pointed to the musketeers, who stood all along both
+sides of the vessel) were noisy, and inconvenienced me, and that
+rest would be best for me. I answered that the people did not
+inconvenience me at all; still I should be glad of rest, since I had
+been at sea for thirteen days, with rather bad weather. He went on
+with his compliments, and said that when I came into the town his
+wife would do herself the honour of waiting on me, and, 'as it seems
+to me,' he continued, 'that you have not much luggage with you, and
+perhaps, not the clothes necessary, she will procure for you whatever
+you require.' I thanked him, and said that the honour was on my side
+if his wife visited me, but that my luggage was as much as I required
+at the time; that if I needed anything in the future, I hoped she
+might be spared this trouble; that I had not the honour of knowing
+her, but I begged him, nevertheless, to offer her my respects. He
+found various subjects of discourse upon Birgitte Speckhans[E08] and
+other trifles, to pass away the time; but it is not worth the trouble
+to recall them to mind, and still less to write them down. At last a
+message came that he was to conduct me from the vessel, when he said
+to me with politeness: 'Will it please you, madame, to get into this
+boat, which is lying off the side of the ship?' I answered, 'I am
+pleased to do anything that I must do, and that is commanded by His
+Majesty the King.' The Major-General went first into the boat, and
+held out his hand to me; the Lieutenant-Colonel Rosenkrantz, Captain
+Alfeldt, Peter Dreyer, and my attendant, went with me in the boat.
+And as a great crowd of people had assembled to look at the
+spectacle, and many had even gone in boats in order to see me as they
+wished, he never took his eyes off me; and when he saw that I turned
+sometimes to one side and sometimes to another, in order to give them
+this pleasure, he said, 'The people are delighted.' I saw no one
+truly who gave any signs of joy, except himself, so I answered, 'He
+who rejoices to-day, cannot know that he may not weep to-morrow; yet
+I see, that, whether for joy or sorrow, the people are assembling in
+crowds, and many are gazing with amazement at one human being.' When
+we were advanced a little further, I saw the well-known wicked
+Birgitte Ulfeldt,[E09] who exhibited great delight. She was seated in
+an open carriage; behind her was a young man, looking like a student.
+She was driving along the shore. When I turned to that side, she was
+in the carriage and laughed with all her might, so that it sounded
+loudly. I looked at her for some time, and felt ashamed of her
+impudence, and at the disgrace which she was bringing on herself; but
+for the rest, this conduct did not trouble me more than the barking
+of the dogs, for I esteemed both equally.[60] The Major-General went
+on talking incessantly, and never turned his eyes from me; for he
+feared (as he afterwards said) that I should throw myself into the
+water. (He judged me by himself; he could not endure the change of
+fortune, as his end testified, for it was only on account of an
+honorary title which another received in his stead that he lost his
+mind. He did not know that I was governed by another spirit than he,
+which gave me strength and courage, whilst the spirit he served led
+him into despair.[61]) When the boat arrived at the small pier near
+the office of the Exchequer, Captain Alfeldt landed and gave me his
+hand, and conducted me up towards the castle bridge. Regiments of
+horse and foot were drawn up in the open place outside the castle;
+musketeers were standing on both sides as I walked forwards. On the
+castle bridge stood Jockum Walburger, the prison governor, who went
+before me; and as the people had placed themselves in a row on either
+side up to the King's Stairs, the prison governor made as if he were
+going thither; but he turned round abruptly, and said to Alfeldt,
+'This way,' and went to the gate of the Blue Tower; stood there for
+some time and fumbled with the key; acted as if he could not unlock
+it, in order that I might remain as long as possible a spectacle to
+the people. And as my heart was turned to God, and I had placed all
+my confidence in the Most High, I raised my eyes to heaven, sought
+strength, power, and safety from thence, and it was graciously
+vouchsafed me. (One circumstance I will not leave unnoticed--namely,
+that as I raised my eyes to heaven, a screaming raven flew over the
+Tower, followed by a flock of doves, which were flying in the same
+direction.) At length, after a long delay, the prison governor opened
+the Tower gate, and I was conducted into the Tower by the
+before-mentioned Captain Alfeldt. My attendant, who was preparing to
+follow me, was called back by Major-General von Anfeldt, and told to
+remain behind. The prison governor went up the stairs, and showed
+Alfeldt the way to a prison for malefactors, to which the name of the
+'Dark Church' has been given. There Alfeldt quitted me with a sigh
+and a slight reverence. I can truly say of him that his face
+expressed pity, and that he obeyed the order unwillingly. The clock
+was striking half-past five when Jockum closed the door of my prison.
+I found before me a small low table, on which stood a brass
+candlestick with a lighted candle, a high chair, two small chairs, a
+fir-wood bedstead without hangings and with old and hard bedding, a
+night-stool and chamber utensil. At every side to which I turned I
+was met with stench; and no wonder, for three peasants who had been
+imprisoned here, and had been removed on that very day, and placed
+elsewhere, had used the walls for their requirements. Soon after the
+door had been closed, it was opened again, and there entered Count
+Christian Rantzow, Prime Minister, Peter Zetz, Chancellor,
+Christoffer von Gabel, at that time Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
+Erich Krag, at that time Secretary, all of whom gave me their hands
+with civility. The Chancellor spoke and said: 'His Royal Majesty, my
+gracious master and hereditary king, sends you word, madame, that His
+Majesty has great cause for what he is doing against you, as you will
+learn.' I replied: 'It is much to be regretted by me, if cause should
+be found against me; I will, however, hope that it may not be of such
+a kind that His Majesty's displeasure may be lasting. When I know the
+cause I can defend myself.' Count Rantzow answered: 'You will obtain
+permission to defend yourself.' He whispered something to the
+Chancellor, upon which the Chancellor put a few questions: first,
+Whether on my last journey I had been in France with my husband? To
+which I answered in the affirmative. Then, What my husband was doing
+there? To which I replied, that he was consulting physicians about
+his health, whether it would be serviceable to him to use the warm
+baths in the country, which no one would advise him to do; he had
+even been dissuaded from trying them by a doctor in Holland of the
+name of Borro,[E10] when he had asked his opinion. Thirdly, What I
+had purposed doing in England? To this I replied that my intention
+had been to demand payment of a sum of money which the King of
+England owed us, and which we had lent him in the time of his
+misfortune. Fourthly, Who had been in England with me? I mentioned
+those who were with me in England--namely, a nobleman named Cassetta,
+my attendant who had come hither with me, a lacquey named Frantz, who
+had remained in England, and the nobleman's servant. Fifthly, Who
+visited my husband in Bruges? I could not exactly answer this, as my
+lord received his visits in a private chamber, where I was not
+admitted. Count Rantzow said, 'You know, I suppose, who came to him
+oftenest?' I answered, that the most frequent visitors among those I
+knew were two brothers named Aranda,[E11] the before-mentioned
+Cassetta, and a nobleman named Ognati. Sixthly the Chancellor asked,
+With whom I had corresponded here in the country? To which I
+answered, that I had written to H. Hendrick Bielcke, to Olluff
+Brockenhuuss, Lady Elsse Passberg, and Lady Marie Ulfeldt;[E12] I did
+not remember any more. Count Rantzow enquired if I had more letters
+than those which I had given up? To which I answered in the negative,
+that I had no more. He asked further, Whether I had more jewels with
+me than those he had seen? I answered that I had two strings of
+small round pearls on my hat, and a ring with a diamond, which I had
+given a lieutenant named Braten in Dover (it was he who afterwards
+betrayed me). Count Rantzow asked, How much the pearls might have
+been worth? This I could not exactly say. He said, that he supposed I
+knew their approximate value. I said they might be worth 200
+rix-dollars, or somewhat more. Upon this they were all silent for a
+little. I complained of the severity of my imprisonment, and that I
+was so badly treated. Count Rantzow answered, 'Yes Madame, His Royal
+Majesty has good cause for it; if you will confess the truth, and
+that quickly, you may perhaps look for mercy. Had Maréchal de
+Birron[E13] confessed the matter respecting which he was interrogated
+by order of the King, when the royal mercy was offered to him if he
+would speak the truth, it would not have fared with him as it did. I
+have heard as a truth that the King of France would have pardoned him
+his crime, had he confessed at once; therefore, bethink yourself,
+madame!' I answered, 'Whatever I am asked by order of His Majesty,
+and whatever I am cognizant of, I will gladly say in all submission.'
+Upon this Count Rantzow offered me his hand, and I reminded him in a
+few words of the severity of my imprisonment. Count Rantzow promised
+to mention this to the King. Then the others shook hands with me and
+went away. My prison was closed for a little. I therefore profited by
+the opportunity, and concealed here and there in holes, and among the
+rubbish, a gold watch, a silver pen which gave forth ink and was
+filled with ink, and a scissor-sheath worked with silver and
+tortoiseshell. This was scarcely done when the door was again
+opened, and there entered the Queen's Mistress of the Robes, her
+woman of the bed-chamber, and the wife of the commissariat clerk,
+Abel Catharina. I knew the last. She and the Queen's woman of the
+bed-chamber carried clothes over their arm; these consisted of a long
+dressing-gown stitched with silk, made of flesh-coloured taffeta and
+lined with white silk, a linen under-petticoat, printed over with a
+black lace pattern, a pair of silk stockings, a pair of slippers, a
+shift, an apron, a night-dress, and two combs. They made me no
+greeting. Abel Cath. spoke for them, and said: 'It is the command of
+Her Majesty the Queen that we should take away your clothes, and that
+you should have these in their place.' I answered, 'In God's name!'
+Then they removed the pad from my head, in which I had sown up rings
+and many loose diamonds. Abel Cath. felt all over my head to see if
+anything was concealed in my hair; then she said to the others,
+'There is nothing there; we do not require the combs.' Abel Cath.
+demanded the bracelets and rings, which were a second time taken from
+me. I took them off and gave them to them, except one small ring
+which I wore on the last joint of my little finger, and which could
+not be worth more than a rix-dollar, this I begged to be allowed to
+keep. 'No,' said the Mistress of the Robes, 'You are to retain
+nothing.' Abel Cath. said, 'We are strictly forbidden to leave you
+the smallest thing; I have been obliged to swear upon my soul to the
+Queen that I would search you thoroughly, and not leave you the
+smallest thing; but you shall not lose it; they will all be sealed up
+and kept for you, for this I swear the Queen has said.' 'Good, good,
+in God's name!' I answered. She drew off all my clothes. In my
+under-petticoat I had concealed some ducats under the broad gold
+lace; there was a small diamond ornament in my silk camisole, in the
+foot of my stockings there were some Jacobuses', and there were
+sapphires in my shoes. When she attempted to remove my chemise, I
+begged to be allowed to retain it. No; she swore upon her soul that
+she dared not. She stripped me entirely, and the Mistress of the
+Robes gave Abel Cath. a nod, which she did not at once understand; so
+the Mistress of the Robes said: 'Do you not remember your orders?'
+Upon this, Abel Cath. searched my person still more closely, and said
+to the lady in waiting: 'No, by God! there is nothing there.' I said:
+'You act towards me in an unchristian and unbecoming manner.' Abel
+Cath. answered: 'We are only servants; we must do as we are ordered;
+we are to search for letters and for nothing else; all the rest will
+be given back to you; it will be well taken care of.' After they had
+thus despoiled me, and had put on me the clothes they had brought,
+the servant of the Mistress of the Robes came in and searched
+everywhere with Abel Cath., and found every thing that I had
+concealed. God blinded their eyes so that they did not observe my
+diamond earrings, nor some ducats which had been sown into leather
+round one of my knees; I also saved a diamond worth 200 rix-dollars;
+while on board the ship I had bitten it out of the gold, and thrown
+the gold in the sea; the stone I had then in my mouth.[62]
+
+ [58] In the margin is added: 'I had a ring on with a table-diamond
+ worth 200 rix-dollars. I bit this out, threw the gold in the sea,
+ and kept the stone in my mouth. It could not be observed by my
+ speech that there was anything in my mouth.'
+
+ [59] That is the Aulefeldt mentioned in the Preface under the name
+ of Anfeldt.
+
+ [E08] Birgitte Speckhans was the wife of Frants v. Speckhans,
+ master of ceremonies, afterwards Privy Councillor, &c. She had
+ formerly been in the service of Leonora Christina, who was then at
+ the height of her position, and ever afterwards proved herself a
+ friend of her and Ulfeldt. It was in her house that they stayed
+ after escaping from Malmöe, and she kept some of their movable
+ goods for them during their imprisonment at Hammershuus.
+
+ [E09] Birgitte Ulfeldt was a younger sister of Corfitz, who, in a
+ letter to Sperling, declares her to be his and Leonora's bitterest
+ enemy. What is known of her life is certainly not to her advantage.
+
+ [60] In the margin is added: 'The sorrow manifested by many would
+ far rather have depressed me; for several people, both men and
+ women, shed tears, even those whom I did not know.'
+
+ [61] This paragraph was afterwards struck out, the contents being
+ transferred to the Preface.
+
+ [E10] This is the famous Jos. Borro or Burrhus, physician and
+ alchymist. He is often mentioned in books of the seventeenth
+ century, on account of his wonderful cures and alleged knowledge of
+ the art of making gold. In 1667 he came to Denmark, where King
+ Fredrik III. spent considerable sums on the establishment of large
+ laboratories for him, in a building which is still known as 'The
+ Gold-house.'
+
+ [E11] D'Aranda was one of the most influential families in Bruges.
+ One of them, by name Bernard, was some time in the Danish army,
+ afterwards secretary to Corfitz Ulfeldt, and employed by him in
+ diplomatic missions. He died in 1658, but when Ulfeldt came to
+ Bruges in 1662 he lived for some time with one of Bernard's
+ brothers.
+
+ [E12] H. Bielke was Admiral of the realm; his wife was an Ulfeldt,
+ and it was he who procured Corfitz Ulfeldt his leave of absence in
+ 1662, of which he made such regretable use. He, too, was one of the
+ judges that convicted him. Oluf Brokkenhuus was Corfitz Ulfeldt's
+ brother-in-law; Elizabeth Parsbjerg was the widow of his elder
+ brother Lauridts Ulfeldt. Marie Ulfeldt was sister of Corfitz.
+
+ [E13] Charles de Goutant, Duc de Biron, a celebrated French
+ General, some time favourite of Henry IV. King of France, was found
+ guilty of conspiring against his master with the courts of Spain
+ and Savoy. Henry IV. forgave him, but he recommenced his intrigues.
+ It is supposed that the King would have forgiven him a second time
+ if he had confessed his crime; but he refused to do so, and was
+ beheaded in 1602.
+
+ [62] This passage was afterwards altered thus: 'God blinded their
+ eyes so that they did not perceive my earrings, in each of which
+ there is a large rose diamond, and from which I have now removed
+ the stones. The gold, which is in form of a serpent, is still in my
+ ears. They also did not perceive that something was fastened round
+ my knee.'
+
+The Mistress of the Robes was very severe; they could not search
+thoroughly enough for her. She laughed at me several times, and
+could not endure that I sat down, asking whether I could not stand,
+and whether anything was the matter with me. I answered, 'There is
+only too much the matter with me, yet I can stand when it is
+necessary.' (It was no wonder that the Mistress of the Robes could so
+well execute the order to plunder, for she had frequently accompanied
+her deceased husband. Colonel Schaffshaussen[E14], in war.) When she
+had searched every part thoroughly, they took all my clothes, except
+a taffeta cap for the head, and went away. Then the prison governor
+came in with his hat on, and said, 'Leonora, why have you concealed
+your things?' I answered him not a word; for I had made the
+resolution not to answer him, whatever he might say; his qualities
+were known to me; I was aware that he was skilful in improving a
+report, and could twist words in the manner he thought would be
+acceptable, to the damage of those who were in trouble. He asked
+again with the same words, adding 'Do you not hear?' I looked at him
+over my shoulder, and would not allow his disrespect to excite me.
+The table was then spread, and four dishes were brought in, but I had
+no appetite, although I had eaten little or nothing the whole day.
+
+ [E14] This lady is known under the name of Haxthausen; and
+ Schaffshausen is probably a mistake on Leonora's part, although of
+ course she may have been married to an officer of this name before
+ she married N. v. Haxthausen. She was a German by birth.
+
+An hour afterwards, when the dishes had been carried away, a girl
+came in named Maren Blocks, and said that she had orders from the
+Queen to remain the night with me. The prison governor joked a good
+deal with the before-mentioned Maren, and was very merry, indulging
+in a good deal of loose talk. At last, when it was nearly ten
+o'clock, he said good night and closed the two doors of my prison,
+one of which is cased with copper. When Maren found herself alone
+with me, she pitied my condition, and informed me that many, whom she
+mentioned by name (some of whom were known to me) had witnessed my
+courage with grief and tears, especially the wife of H. Hendrick
+Bielcke[E12b], who had fainted with weeping. I said, 'The good people
+have seen me in prosperity; it is no wonder that they deplore the
+instability of fortune;' and I wished that God might preserve every
+one of those from misfortune, who had taken my misfortune to heart. I
+consoled myself with God and a good conscience; I was conscious of
+nothing wrong, and I asked who she was, and whom she served? She said
+she was in the Queen's private kitchen, and had the silver in her
+keeping (from which I concluded that she had probably to clean the
+silver, which was the case). She said that the Queen could get no one
+who would be alone with me, for that I was considered evil; it was
+said also that I was very wise, and knew future events. I answered,
+'If I possessed this wisdom, I scarcely think that I should have come
+in here, for I should then have been able to guard myself against
+it.' Maren said we might know things and still not be able to guard
+against them.
+
+ [E12b] H. Bielke was Admiral of the realm; his wife was an Ulfeldt,
+ and it was he who procured Corfitz Ulfeldt his leave of absence in
+ 1662, of which he made such regretable use. He, too, was one of the
+ judges that convicted him. Oluf Brokkenhuus was Corfitz Ulfeldt's
+ brother-in-law; Elizabeth Parsbjerg was the widow of his elder
+ brother Lauridts Ulfeldt. Marie Ulfeldt was sister of Corfitz.
+
+She told me also that the Queen had herself spoken with her, and had
+said to her, 'You are to be this night with Leonora; you need not be
+afraid, she can now do no evil. With all her witchcraft she is now in
+prison and has nothing with her; and if she strikes you, I give you
+leave to strike her back again till the blood comes.' Maren said
+also, 'The Queen knows well that my mind has been affected by acute
+illness, and therefore she wished that I should be with you.' So
+saying she threw her arms round my neck as I was sitting, and
+caressed me in her manner, saying, 'Strike me, dear heart, strike
+me!' 'I will not,' she swore, 'strike again.' I was rather alarmed,
+fearing that the frenzy might come on. She said further that when she
+saw me coming over the bridge, she felt as if her heart would burst.
+She informed me with many words how much she loved me, and how the
+maid of honour, Carisius, who was standing with her in the window,
+had praised me, and wished to be able to do something for my
+deliverance, with many such words and speeches. I accepted the
+unusual caress, as under the circumstances I could not help it, and
+said that it would be contrary to all justice to offer blows to one
+who manifested such great affection as she had done, especially to
+one of her sex; adding, that I could not think how the Queen had
+imagined that I struck people, as I had never even given a box on the
+ears to a waiting-woman. I thanked her for her good opinion of me,
+and told her that I hoped all would go well, dark as things looked;
+that I would hold fast to God, who knew my innocence, and that I had
+done nothing unjustifiable; that I would commend my cause to Him, and
+I did not doubt that He would rescue me: if not immediately He would
+do so some day, I was well assured.
+
+Maren began to speak of different things; among others of my sister
+Elizabeth Augusta[E15], how she had sat in her porch as I had been
+conveyed past as a prisoner, and had said that if I were guilty there
+was nothing to say against it, but that if I were innocent they were
+going too far. I said nothing to this, nor did I answer anything to
+much other tittle-tattle. She began to speak of her own persecution,
+which she did with great diffuseness, interspersing it with other
+stories, so that the conversation (in the present circumstances) was
+very wearisome to me; I was besides very tired, and worn out with
+care, so I said I would try to sleep and bid her good-night. My
+thoughts prevented me from sleeping. I reflected on my present
+condition, and could in no wise reconcile myself to it, or discover
+the cause of such a great misfortune. It was easy to perceive that
+somewhat besides Fux's death was imputed to me, since I was treated
+with such disrespect.
+
+ [E15] Elizabeth Augusta, a younger sister of Leonora, married Hans
+ Lindenow, a Danish nobleman, who died in the siege of Copenhagen,
+ 1659.
+
+When I had long lain with my face to the wall, I turned round and
+perceived that Maren was silently weeping, so I asked her the reason
+of her tears. She denied at first that she was crying, but afterwards
+confessed that she had fallen into thinking over this whole affair.
+It had occurred to her that she had heard so much of Lady Leonora and
+her splendour, &c., of how the King loved her, and how every one
+praised her, &c., and now she was immured in this execrable thieves'
+prison, into which neither sun nor moon shone, and where there was a
+stench enough to poison a person only coming in and out, far more one
+who had to remain in it. I thought the cause of her weeping was that
+she should be shut up with me in the terrible prison; so I consoled
+her, and said that she would only remain with me until another had
+been fixed upon, since she was in other service; but that I for my
+part did not now think of past times, as the present gave me
+sufficient to attend to; if I were to call to mind the past, I would
+remember also the misfortunes of great men, emperors, kings,
+princes, and other high personages, whose magnificence and prosperity
+had far exceeded mine, and whose misfortunes had been far greater
+than mine; for they had fallen into the hands of tyrants, who had
+treated them inhumanly, but this king was a Christian king, and a
+conscientious man, and better thoughts would occur to him when he had
+time to reflect, for my adversaries now left him no leisure to do so.
+When I said this, she wept even more than before, but said nothing,
+thinking in herself (as she declared to me some days afterwards) that
+I did not know what an infamous sentence had been pronounced upon my
+late lord,[E16] and weeping all the more because I trusted the King
+so firmly. Thus we went on talking through the night.
+
+ [E16] That Leonora here speaks of her husband as her 'late lord,'
+ is due only to the fact that the Memoir was not written till after
+ his death; at the time of these events he was still alive.
+
+On the morning of August 9, at six o'clock, the prison governor came
+in, bade me good morning, and enquired whether we would have some
+brandy. I answered nothing. He asked Maren whether I was asleep; she
+replied that she did not know, came up to my bed, and put the same
+question to me. I thanked her, adding that it was a kind of drink
+which I had never tasted. The prison governor chattered with Maren,
+was very merry considering the early hour, told her his dreams, which
+he undoubtedly invented merely for the sake of talking. He told her,
+secretly, that she was to come to the Queen, and ordered her to say
+aloud that she wished to go out a little. He said that he would
+remain with me in the meanwhile, until she returned, which he did,
+speaking occasionally to me, and asking me whether I wished for
+anything? whether I had slept? whether Maren had watched well? But
+he got no answer, so that the time seemed very long to him. He went
+out towards the stairs and came back again, sang a morning psalm,
+screamed out sometimes to one, and sometimes to another, though he
+knew they were not there.
+
+There was a man named Jon who helped to bring up the meals with
+Rasmus the tower warder, and to him he called more than forty times
+and that in a singing tone, changing his key from high to low, and
+screaming occasionally as loud as he could, and answering himself
+'Father, he is not here! by God, he is not here!' then laughing at
+himself; and then he began calling again either for Jon or for
+Rasmus, so that it seemed to me that he had been tasting the brandy.
+About eight o'clock Maren came back, and said that at noon two women
+would come to relieve her. After some conversation between the prison
+governor and Maren, he went out and shut the doors. Maren told me how
+the Queen had sent for her, and asked her what I was doing, and that
+she answered that I was lying down quietly, and not saying anything.
+The Queen had asked whether I wept much. Maren replied, 'Yes indeed,
+she weeps silently.' 'For,' continued Maren, 'if I had said that you
+did not weep, the Queen would have thought that you had not yet
+enough to weep for.' Maren warned me that one of the two women who
+were to watch me was the wife of the King's shoemaker, a German, who
+was very much liked by the Queen. Her Majesty had employed her to
+attend Uldrich Christian Gyldenlöwe in the severe and raving illness
+of which he died, and this woman had much influence with the Queen.
+With regard to the other woman, Maren had no idea who she might be,
+but the last-mentioned had spoken with the Queen in Maren's presence,
+and had said that she did not trust herself to be alone with me. The
+women did not come before four o'clock in the afternoon. The prison
+governor accompanied them, and unlocked the door for them. The first
+was the wife of the shoemaker, a woman named Anna, who generally
+would not suffer anybody else to speak. The other was the wife of the
+King's groom, a woman named Catharina, also a German. After greeting
+me, Anna said that her Majesty the Queen had ordered them to pass a
+day or two with me and wait upon me. 'In God's name,' I answered.
+
+Anna, who was very officious, asked me, 'Does my lady wish for
+anything? She will please only say so, and I will solicit it from the
+Queen.' I thanked her, and said that I should like to have some of my
+clothes, such as two night-jackets, one lined with silk and another
+braided with white, my stomacher, something for my head, and above
+all my bone box of perfume, which I much needed. She said she would
+at once arrange this, which she did, for she went immediately and
+proffered my request. The things were all delivered to me by the
+prison governor at six o'clock, except my box of perfume, which had
+been lost, and in its place they sent me a tin box with a very bad
+kind of perfume. When the time arrived for the evening meal,
+Catharina spread a stool by the side of my bed, but I had no desire
+to eat. I asked for a lemon with sugar, and they gave it me. The
+prison governor sat down at the table with the two women, and did the
+part of jester, so much so that no one could have said that they were
+in a house of mourning, but rather in one of festivity. I inwardly
+prayed to God for strength and patience, that I might not forget
+myself. God heard my prayer, praised be His name. When the prison
+governor was tired of the idle talking and laughing, he bade good
+night after ten o'clock, and told the women to knock if they wanted
+anything, as the tower warder was just underneath. After he had
+locked both the doors, I got up, and Catharina made my bed. Anna had
+brought a prayer-book with her, from which I read the evening prayer,
+and other prayers for them; then I laid down and bid them good night.
+They laid on a settle-bed which had been brought in for them. I
+slumbered from time to time, but only for short intervals.
+
+About six o'clock on the morning of August 10 the prison governor
+opened the door, to the great delight of the women, who were
+sincerely longing for him, especially Catharina, who was very stout;
+she could not endure the oppressive atmosphere, and was ill almost
+the whole night. When the prison governor, after greeting them, had
+inquired how it fared with them, and whether they were still alive,
+he offered them brandy, which they readily accepted. When it was
+seven o'clock, they requested to go home, which they did, but they
+first reported to the Queen all that had happened during the half-day
+and the night. The prison governor remained with me.
+
+When it was near nine o'clock, he brought in a chair without saying
+anything. I perceived from this that visitors were coming, and I was
+not wrong; for immediately afterwards there entered Count Rantzow,
+prime minister, chancellor H. Peter Retz, Christoffer Gabel, the
+chancellor of the exchequer, and secretary Erick Krag, who all shook
+hands with me and seated themselves by my bed. Krag, who had paper,
+pen and ink with him, seated himself at the table. Count Rantzow
+whispered something to the chancellor. The chancellor upon this began
+to address me as on the previous occasion, saying that his Majesty
+the King had great cause for his treatment of me. 'His Majesty,' he
+went on to say, 'entertains suspicion with regard to you, and that
+not without reason.' I inquired in what the suspicion consisted. The
+chancellor said, 'Your husband has offered the kingdom of Denmark to
+a foreign lord.' I inquired if the kingdom of Denmark belonged to my
+husband, that he could thus offer it, and as no one answered, I
+continued and said, 'Good gentlemen, you all know my lord; you know
+that he has been esteemed as a man of understanding, and I can assure
+you that when I took leave of him he was in perfect possession of his
+senses. Now it is easy to perceive that no sensible man would offer
+that which was not in his own power, and which he had no right to
+dispose of. He is holding no post, he has neither power nor
+authority; how should he, therefore, be so foolish as to make such an
+offer, and what lord would accept it?'
+
+Count Rantzow said: 'Nevertheless it is so, madame; he has offered
+Denmark to a foreign potentate; you know it well.' I answered, 'God
+is my witness that I know of no such thing.' 'Yes,' said Count
+Rantzow, 'your husband concealed nothing from you, and therefore you
+must know it.' I replied, 'My husband certainly never concealed from
+me anything that concerned us both. I never troubled myself in former
+days with that which related to his office; but that which affected
+us both he never concealed from me, so that I am sure, had he
+entertained any such design, he would not have held it a secret from
+me. And I can say, with truth, that I am not the least aware of it.'
+Count Rantzow said: 'Madame, confess it while the King still asks you
+to do so.'
+
+I answered, 'If I knew it I would gladly say so; but as truly as God
+lives I do not know it, and as truly am I unable to believe that my
+husband would have acted so foolishly, for he is a sick man. He urged
+me to go to England in order to demand the money that had been lent;
+I undertook the journey, unwillingly, chiefly because he was so very
+weak. He could not go up a few steps of the stairs without resting to
+get his breath; how should he, then, undertake a work of such labour?
+I can say with truth that he is not eight days without an attack,
+sometimes of one kind sometimes of another.' Count Rantzow again
+whispered with the chancellor, and the chancellor continued: 'Madame,
+say without compulsion how the matter stands, and who is privy to it;
+say it now, while you are asked freely to do so. His Majesty is an
+absolute Sovereign; he is not fettered by law; he can do as he will;
+say it.' I answered: 'I know well that his Majesty is an absolute
+Sovereign, and I know also, that he is a Christian and a
+conscientious man; therefore, his Majesty will do nothing but what he
+can justify before God in heaven. See, here I am! You can do with me
+what you will; that which I do not know I cannot say.'
+
+Count Rantzow began again to bring forward the Maréchal de Birron,
+and made a long speech about it. To this I at length replied, that
+the Maréchal de Birron in nowise concerned me; that I had no answer
+to make on the matter, and that it seemed to me that it was not a
+case in point. Count Rantzow asked me why, when I was demanded with
+whom I had corresponded in the kingdom, I had not said that I had
+written to him and to the treasurer Gabel. To this I replied that I
+thought those who asked me knew it well, so that it was not necessary
+for me to mention it; I had only said that of which they probably did
+not know. Count Rantzow again whispered to the chancellor, and the
+chancellor said: 'In a letter to Lady Elsse Passberg you have written
+respecting another state of things in Denmark,' (as he said this, he
+looked at Count Rantzow and asked if it was not so, or how it was);
+'what did you mean by that, madame?' I replied that I could not
+recollect what cause her letter had given me to answer it in this
+way; what came before or what followed, would, without a doubt,
+explain my meaning; if I might see the letter, it would prove at once
+that I had written nothing which I could not justify.
+
+Nothing more was said with regard to it. Count Rantzow asked me what
+foreign ministers had been with my lord in Bruges. 'None,' I
+answered, 'that I am aware of.' He asked further whether any Holstein
+noblemen had been with him. I answered, 'I do not know.' Then he
+enumerated every Prince in Germany, from the Emperor to the Prince of
+Holstein, and enquired respecting each separately whether any of
+their Ministers had been with my husband. I gave the same answer as
+before to each question, that I was not aware that any one of them
+had been with him. Then he said, 'Now, madame, confess! I beg you;
+remember Maréchal de Birron! you will not be asked again.' I was
+somewhat tired of hearing Birron mentioned so often, and I answered
+rather hastily: 'I do not care about the Maréchal de Birron; I
+cannot tell what I do not know anything about.'
+
+Secretary Krag had written somewhat hurriedly it seemed, for when at
+my desire he read aloud what he had written, the answers did not
+accord with the questions; this probably partly arose from hurry, and
+partly from malice, for he was not amicably inclined towards my late
+lord. I protested against this when he read the minutes. The
+chancellor agreed with me in every item, so that Krag was obliged to
+re-write it. After this they got up and took their leave. I requested
+to beg His Majesty the King to be gracious to me, and not to believe
+what he had been informed with regard to my husband. I could not
+imagine they would find that he had ever deviated from his duty.
+'Yes,' answered Count Rantzow, 'if you will confess, madame, and tell
+us who is concerned in this business and the details of it, you might
+perhaps find him a gracious lord and king.' I protested by the living
+God that I knew nothing of it; I knew of nothing of the kind, much
+less of accomplices. With this they went away, after having spent
+nearly three hours with me, and then the prison governor and the
+women entered. They spread the table and brought up the meal, but I
+took nothing but a draught of beer. The prison governor sat down to
+table with the women. If he had been merry before, he was still more
+so now, and he told one indecent story after another.
+
+When they had had enough of feasting and talking he went away and
+locked the door; he came as usual again about four o'clock in the
+afternoon, and let the women go out, staying with me until they
+returned, which generally was not for two hours. When the women were
+alone with me, Anna told Catharina of her grief for her first
+husband, and nothing else was talked of. I behaved as if I were
+asleep, and I did the same when the prison governor was alone with
+me, and he then passed the time in singing and humming. The evening
+meal was also very merry for the women, for the prison governor
+amused them by telling them of his second marriage; how he had wooed
+without knowing whom, and that he did not know it until the
+betrothal. The story was as ludicrous as it was diffuse. I noticed
+that it lasted an hour and a quarter.
+
+When he had said good night, Anna sat down on my bed and began to
+talk to Catharina, and said, 'Was it not a horrible story of that
+treacherous design to murder the King and Queen and the whole royal
+family?' Catharina answered, 'Thank God the King and Queen and the
+whole family are still alive!' 'Yes,' said Anna, 'it was no merit of
+the traitors, though, that they are so; it was too quickly
+discovered; the King knew it three months before he would reveal it
+to the Queen. He went about sorrowfully, pondering over it, unable
+quite to believe it; afterwards, when he was quite certain of it, he
+told the Queen; then the body-guard were doubled, as you know.'
+Catherina enquired how they had learnt it. Anna answered, 'That God
+knows; it is kept so secret that no one is allowed as much as to ask
+from whom it came.' I could not help putting in a word; it seemed to
+me a pity that they could not find out the informer, and it was
+remarkable that no one ventured to confess having given the
+information. Catherina said, 'I wonder whether it is really true?'
+'What do you mean?' answered Anna; 'would the King do as he is doing
+without knowing for certain that it is true? How can you talk so?' I
+regarded this conversation as designed to draw some words from me,
+so I answered but little, only saying that until now I had seen
+nothing which gave credibility to the report, and that therefore I
+felt myself at liberty not to believe it until I saw certain proof of
+it. Anna adhered to her statement, wondered that there could be such
+evil people as could wish to murder the good King, and was very
+diffuse on the matter.[E17] She could be at no loss for material, for
+she always began again from the beginning; but at last she had to
+stop, since she spoke alone and was not interrupted either by
+Catharina or by me.
+
+ [E17] When the sentence on Ulfeldt had become publicly known, the
+ most absurd rumours circulated in Copenhagen, and found their way
+ to foreign newspapers. For instance _the kingdom's_ Intelligencer,
+ No. 33, Aug. 10-17, 1663, says, in a correspondence from Hamburg:
+ 'They say the traitors intended to set Copenhagen on fire in divers
+ places, and also the fleet, to destroy the King and family, to blow
+ up the King's palace, and deliver the crown over to another.' The
+ Government itself, on hearing of Ulfeldt's plots, made great
+ military preparations.
+
+I got up and requested to have my bed made, which Catharina always
+did. Anna attended to the light during the night, for she was more
+watchful than Catharina. I read aloud to them from Anna's book,
+commended myself to God, and laid down to sleep. But my sleep was
+light, the promenades of the rats woke me, and there were great
+numbers of them. Hunger made them bold; they ate the candle as it
+stood burning. Catharina, moreover, was very uncomfortable all night,
+so that this also prevented my sleeping. Early on the morning of
+August 11 the prison governor came as usual with his brandy
+attentions, although they had a whole bottle with them. Catharina
+complained a good deal, and said she could not endure the oppressive
+air; that when she came in at the door it seemed as if it would
+stifle her; if she were to remain there a week she was certain that
+she would be carried out dead. The prison governor laughed at this.
+
+The women went away, and he remained with me. He presented me
+Major-General von Anfeldt's compliments, and a message from him,
+that I 'should be of good courage; all would now soon be well.' I
+made no reply. He enquired how I was, and whether I had slept a
+little; and answered himself, 'I fancy not much.' He asked whether I
+would have anything, again answering himself, 'No, I do not think you
+wish for anything.' Upon this he walked up and down, humming to
+himself; then he came to my bedside and said: 'Oh, the dear King! he
+is indeed a kind master! Be at peace; he is a gracious sovereign, and
+has always held you in esteem. You are a woman, a weak instrument.
+Poor women are soon led away. No one likes to harm them, when they
+confess the truth. The dear Queen, she is indeed a dear Queen! She is
+not angry with you. I am sure if she knew the truth from you, she
+would herself pray for you. Listen! if you will write to the Queen
+and tell her all about the matter, and keep nothing back, I will
+bring you pen, ink, and paper. I have no wish, on my soul! to read
+it. No, God take me if I will look at it; and that you may be sure of
+this, I will give you wax that you may seal it. But I imagine you
+have probably no seal?' As I answered him not a word, he seized my
+hand and shook it rather strongly, saying, 'Do you not hear? Are you
+asleep?' I raised my head threateningly; I should like to have given
+him a box on the ears, and I turned round to the wall.
+
+He was angry that his design had failed, and he went on grumbling to
+himself for more than an hour. I could not understand a word beyond,
+'Yes, yes! you will not speak.' Then he muttered somewhat between his
+teeth: 'You will not answer; well, well, they will teach you. Yes, by
+God! hum, hum, hum.' He continued thus until the tower warder,
+Rasmus, came and whispered something to him; then he went out. It
+seemed to me that there was someone speaking with him, and so far as
+I could perceive it must have been someone who asked him if the ink
+and paper should be brought up, for he answered, 'No, it is not
+necessary; she will not.' The other said, 'Softly, softly!' The
+prison governor, however, could not well speak softly, and I heard
+him say, 'She cannot hear that; she is in bed.' When he came in again
+he went on muttering to himself, and stamped because I would not
+answer; he meant it kindly; the Queen was not so angry as I imagined.
+He went on speaking half aloud; he wished the women would come; he
+did nothing else but beg Rasmus to look for them.
+
+Soon after Rasmus came and said that they were now going up the
+King's Stairs. Still almost an hour passed before they came in and
+released him. When they had their dinner (my own meal consisted of
+some slices of lemon with sugar) the prison governor was not nearly
+so merry as he was wont to be, though he chattered of various things
+that had occurred in former times, while he was a quarter-master. He
+also retired sooner than was his custom. The women, who remained,
+talked of indifferent matters. I also now and then put in a word, and
+asked them after their husbands and children. Anna read some prayers
+and hymns from her book, and thus the day passed till four o'clock,
+when the prison governor let them out. He had brought a book with
+him, which he read in a tolerably low tone, while he kept watch by
+me. I was well pleased at this, as it gave me rest.
+
+At the evening meal the prison governor began amongst other
+conversation to tell the women that a prisoner had been brought here
+who was a Frenchman; he could not remember his name; he sat
+cogitating upon the name just as if he could not rightly hit upon it.
+Carl or Char, he did not know what he was called, but he had been
+formerly several years in Denmark. Anna enquired what sort of a man
+he was. He replied that he was a man who was to be made to sing,[63]
+but he did not know for a certainty whether he was here or not.
+(There was nothing in all this.) He only said this in order to get an
+opportunity of asking me, or to perceive whether it troubled me.
+
+ [63] That is, give information.
+
+He had undoubtedly been ordered to do this; for when he was gone Anna
+began a conversation with Catharina upon this same Carl, and at last
+asked me whether we had had a Frenchman in our employ. I replied that
+we had had more than one. She enquired further whether there was one
+among them named Carl, who had long been in our service. 'We had a
+servant,' I answered, 'a Frenchman named Charle; he had been with us
+a long time.' 'Yes, yes,' she said, 'it is he. But I do not think he
+has arrived here yet; they are looking for him.' I said, 'Then he is
+easy to find, he was at Bruges when I left that town.' Anna said she
+fancied he had been in England with me, and she added, 'That fellow
+knows a good deal if they get him.' I answered, 'Then it were to be
+wished that they had him for the sake of his information.' When she
+perceived that I troubled myself no further about him she let the
+conversation drop, and spoke of my sister Elizabeth Augusta, saying
+that she passed her every day. She was standing in her gateway or
+sitting in the porch, and that she greeted her, but never uttered a
+word of enquiry after her sister, though she knew well that she was
+waiting on me in the Tower. I said I thought my sister did not know
+what would be the best for her to do. 'I cannot see,' said Anna,
+'that she is depressed.' I expressed my opinion that the less we
+grieved over things the better. Other trifles were afterwards talked
+of, and I concluded the day with reading, commended myself to the
+care of Jesus, and slept tolerably well through the night.
+
+August 12 passed without anything in particular occurring, only that
+Anna tried to trouble me by saying that a chamber next to us was
+being put in order, for whom she did not know; they were of course
+expecting someone in it. I could myself hear the masons at work. On
+the same day Catharina said that she had known me in prosperity, and
+blessed me a thousand times for the kindness I had shown her. I did
+not remember having ever seen her. She said she had been employed in
+the storeroom in the service of the Princess Magdalena Sybille, and
+that when I had visited the Princess, and had slept in the Castle, I
+had sent a good round present for those in the storeroom, and that
+she had had a share in it, and that this she now remembered with
+gratitude. Anna was not pleased with the conversation, and she
+interrupted it three times; Catharina, however, did not answer her,
+but adhered to the subject till she had finished. The prison governor
+was not in good humour on this day also, so that neither at dinner
+nor at supper were any indecent stories related.
+
+On August 13, after the women had been into the town and had
+returned, the prison governor opened the door at about nine o'clock,
+and whispered something to them. He then brought in another small
+seat; from this I perceived that I was to be visited by one more
+than on the previous occasion. At about ten o'clock Count Rantzow,
+General Skack, Chancellor Retz, Treasurer Gabel, and Secretary Krag
+entered. They all saluted me with politeness; the four first seated
+themselves on low seats by my bedside, and Krag placed himself with
+his writing materials at the table. The Chancellor was spokesman, and
+said, 'His royal Majesty, my gracious Sovereign and hereditary King,
+sends you word, madame, that his Majesty has great cause for all that
+he is doing, and that he entertains suspicions with regard to you
+that you are an accomplice in the treason designed by your husband;
+and his royal Majesty had hoped that you would confess without
+compulsion who have participated in it, and the real truth about it.'
+
+When the Chancellor ceased speaking, I replied that I was not aware
+that I had done anything which could render me suspected; and I
+called God to witness that I knew of no treason, and therefore I
+could mention no names. Count Rantzow said, 'Your husband has not
+concealed it from you, hence you know it well.' I replied, 'Had my
+husband entertained so evil a design, I believe surely he would have
+told me; but I can swear with a good conscience, before God in
+Heaven, that I never heard him speak of anything of the kind. Yes, I
+can truly say he never wished evil to the King in my hearing, and
+therefore I fully believe that this has been falsely invented by his
+enemies.' Count Rantzow and the Chancellor bent their heads together
+across to the General, and whispered with each other for some time.
+At length the Chancellor asked me whether, if my husband were found
+guilty, I would take part in his condemnation. This was a remarkable
+question, so I reflected a little, and said, 'If I may know on what
+grounds he is accused, I will answer to it so far as I know, and so
+much as I can.' The Chancellor said, 'Consider well whether you
+will.' I replied as before, that I would answer for him as to all
+that I knew, if I were informed of what he was accused. Count Rantzow
+whispered with Krag, and Krag went out, but returned immediately.
+
+Soon afterward some one (whom I do not know) came from the
+Chancellor's office, bringing with him some large papers. Count
+Rantzow and the Chancellor whispered again. Then the Chancellor said,
+'There is nothing further to do now than to let you know what sort of
+a husband you have, and to let you hear his sentence.' Count Rantzow
+ordered the man who had brought in the papers to read them aloud. The
+first paper read was to the effect that Corfitz, formerly Count of
+Ulfeldt, had offered the kingdom of Denmark to a foreign sovereign,
+and had told the same sovereign that he had ecclesiastical and lay
+magnates on his side, so that it was easy for him to procure the
+crown of Denmark for the before-mentioned sovereign.
+
+A paper was then read which was the defence of the clergy, in which
+they protested that Corfitz, Count of Ulfeldt, had never had any
+communication with any of them; that he had at no time shown himself
+a friend of the clergy, and had far less offered them participation
+in his evil design. They assured his royal Majesty of their fidelity
+and subjection, &c. Next, a paper was read, written by the
+Burgomaster and council in Copenhagen, nearly similar in purport,
+that they had had no correspondence with Count Corfitz Ulfeldt, and
+equally assuring his royal Majesty of their humble fidelity. Next
+followed the reading of the unprecedented and illegal sentence which,
+without a hearing, had been passed on my lord. This was as unexpected
+and grievous as it was disgraceful, and unjustifiable before God and
+all right-loving men. No documents were brought forward upon which
+the sentence had been given. There was nothing said about prosecution
+or defence; there was no other foundation but mere words; that he had
+been found guilty of having offered the crown of Denmark to a foreign
+sovereign, and had told him that he had on his side ecclesiastical
+and lay magnates, who had shown by their signed protestations that
+this was not the case, for which reason he had been condemned as a
+criminal.
+
+When the sentence with all the names subjoined to it had been read,
+the reader brought it to me, and placed it before me on the bed.
+Everyone can easily imagine how I felt; but few or none can conceive
+how it was that I was not stifled by the unexpected misery, and did
+not lose my sense and reason. I could not utter a word for weeping.
+Then a prayer was read aloud which had been pronounced from the
+pulpit, in which Corfitz was anathematised, and God was prayed not to
+allow his gray hair to go to the grave in peace. But God, who is
+just, did not listen to the impious prayer of the unrighteous,
+praised be His name for ever.
+
+When all had been read, I bemoaned with sighs and sorrowful tears
+that I had ever lived to see this sad day, and I begged them, for
+Jesus' sake, that they would allow me to see on what the hard
+judgment was based. Count Rantzow answered, 'You can well imagine,
+madame, that there are documents upon which we have acted: some of
+your friends are in the council.' 'May God better it!' I said. 'I beg
+you, for God's sake, to let me see the documents. Les apparences sont
+bien souvent trompeuses. What had not my husband to suffer from that
+Swede in Skaane, during that long imprisonment, because he was
+suspected of having corresponded with his Majesty, the King of
+Denmark, and with his Majesty's ministers? Now, no one knows better
+than his Majesty, and you my good lords, how innocently he suffered
+at that time, and so this also may be apparently credible, and yet
+may not be so in truth. Might I not see the documents?' To this no
+answer was given. I continued and said, 'How is it possible that a
+man who must himself perceive that death is at hand should undertake
+such a work, and be so led away from the path of duty, when he did
+not do so at a time when he acknowledged no master, and when such
+great promises were made him by the Prince of Holstein, as the
+Prince's letters show, which are now in his Majesty's hands.' Count
+Rantzow interrupted me and said, 'We did not find those letters.'
+'God knows,' I replied, 'they were there; of that I am certain.' I
+said also, 'At that time he might have done something to gratify a
+foreign sovereign; at that time he had power and physical vigour, and
+almost the entire government was in his hands; but he never looked to
+his own advantage, but pawned his own property to hasten the King's
+coronation, so that no impediment might come between.[64] This is his
+reward! Good gentlemen, take an example of me, you who have seen me
+in prosperity, and have compassion on me. Pray his royal Majesty to
+be mild, and not to proceed to such severity.'
+
+ [64] In the margin the following explanatory note is added: 'When
+ his Majesty (Christian IV.) was dead, there was no prince elected,
+ so that the States were free to choose the king whom they desired,
+ wherefore the Duke of Holstein, Duke Frederick, promised my
+ deceased lord that if he would contrive that he should be elected
+ king, the land of Fyen should belong to him and a double alliance
+ between his children and ours should be concluded. But my lord
+ rejected this proposal and would not assist in dispossessing the
+ son of Christian IV. of the kingdom. The prince had obtained
+ several votes, but my lord contested them.'
+
+The Chancellor and Treasurer were moved by this, so that the tears
+came into their eyes. Count Rantzow said to the General and the
+Chancellor, 'I think it is a fortnight ago since the sentence was
+published?' The Chancellor answered, 'It is seventeen days ago.'[E18]
+I said, 'At that time I was still in England, and now I am asked for
+information on the matter! Oh, consider this, for God's sake! and
+that there was no one present to speak on my husband's behalf.' Count
+Rantzow enquired whether I wished to appeal against it? I replied,
+'How am I to appeal against a judicial decree? I only beg for Jesus'
+sake that what I say may be considered, and that I may have the
+satisfaction of seeing the documents upon which the sentence is
+based.'
+
+ [E18] The sentence on Ulfeldt was given on July 24, but probably
+ not published till a few days later.
+
+Count Rantzow answered as before, that there were documents, and that
+some of my friends had sat in the council, and added that all had
+been agreed, and that not one had had anything to say against it. I
+dared not say what I thought. I knew well how matters are done in
+such absolute governments: there is no such thing as opposition, they
+merely say, 'Sign, the King wishes it; and ask not wherefore, or the
+same condemnation awaits thee.'[65] I was silent, and bewailed my
+unhappiness, which was irremediable. When Krag read aloud the minutes
+he had written, namely, that when I was asked whether I would
+participate in my husband's sentence, I had answered that I would
+consider of it. I asked, 'How was that?' The Chancellor immediately
+replied, 'No, she did not say so, but she requested to know the
+accusation brought against her husband.' I repeated my words
+again,[66] I know not whether Krag wrote them or not; for a great
+part of that which I said was not written. Krag yielded too much to
+his feelings in the matter, and would gladly have made bad worse. He
+is now gone where no false writings avail; God took him away suddenly
+in an unclean place, and called him to judgment without warning. And
+Count Rantzow, who was the principal mover and inventor of that
+illegal sentence, the like of which was never known in Denmark, did
+not live to see his desire fulfilled in the execution of a wooden
+image.[E19] When this was done, they rose and shook hands with me.
+This painful visit lasted more than four hours.
+
+ [65] It had happened as I thought. There were some in the council
+ who refused to sign, some because they had not been present at the
+ time of the procedure, and others because they had not seen on what
+ the sentence was founded; but they were nevertheless compelled to
+ sign with the others, on the peril of the king's displeasure.
+ [Marginal note.]
+
+ [66] In the margin is added, 'and asked whether I was permitted to
+ appeal against this sentence. All were silent.'
+
+ [E19] A line has been drawn in the MS. through the two last
+ paragraphs, and their contents transferred to the continuation of
+ the Preface.
+
+They went away, leaving me full of anxiety, sighing and weeping--a
+sad and miserable captive woman, forsaken by all; without help,
+exposed to power and violence, fearing every moment that her husband
+might fall into their hands, and that they might vent their malice on
+him. God performed on that day a great miracle, by manifesting His
+power in my weakness, preserving my brain from bewilderment, and my
+tongue from overflowing with impatience. Praised be God a thousand
+times! I will sing Thy praise, so long as my tongue can move, for
+Thou wast at this time and at all times my defence, my rock, and my
+shield!
+
+When the gentlemen were gone away, the prison governor came and the
+women, and a stool was spread by the side of my bed. The prison
+governor said to me, 'Eat, Leonora; will you not eat?' As he said
+this, he threw a knife to me on the bed. I took up the knife with
+angry mind, and threw it on the ground. He picked up the knife,
+saying, 'You are probably not hungry? No, no! you have had a
+breakfast to-day which has satisfied you, have you not? Is it not
+so?' Well, well, come dear little women (addressing the two women),
+let us eat something! You must be hungry, judging from my own
+stomach.' When they had sat down to table, he began immediately to
+cram himself, letting it fall as if inadvertently from his mouth, and
+making so many jokes that it was sad to see how the old man could not
+conceal his joy at my unhappiness.
+
+When the meal was finished, and the prison governor had gone away,
+Anna sat down by my bed and began to speak of the sorrow and
+affliction which we endure in this world, and of the joy and delights
+of heaven; how the pain that we suffer here is but small compared
+with eternal blessedness and joy, wherefore we should not regard
+suffering, but should rather think of dying with a good conscience,
+keeping it unsullied by confessing everything that troubles us, for
+there is no other way. 'God grant,' she added, 'that no one may
+torment himself for another's sake.' After having repeated this
+remark several times, she said to me, 'Is it not true, my lady?'
+'Yes, certainly it is true,' I replied; 'you speak in a Christian
+manner, and according to the scriptures.' 'Why will you, then,' she
+went on to say, 'let yourself be tormented for others, and not say
+what you know of them?' I asked whom she meant. She answered, 'I do
+not know them.' I replied, 'Nor do I.' She continued in the same
+strain, however, saying that she would not suffer and be tormented
+for the sake of others, whoever they might be; if they were guilty
+they must suffer; she would not suffer for them; a woman was easily
+led away, but happiness was more than all kindred and friends.
+
+As she seemed unable to cease chattering, I wished to divert her a
+little, so I asked whether she were a clergyman's daughter; and since
+she had before told me of her parentage, she resented this question
+all the more, and was thoroughly angry; saying, 'If I am not a
+clergyman's daughter, I am the daughter of a good honest citizen, and
+not one of the least. In my time, when I was still unmarried, I never
+thought that I should marry a shoemaker.' I said, 'But your first
+husband, too, was also a shoemaker.' 'That is true,' she replied,
+'but this marriage came about in a very foolish manner,' and she
+began to narrate a whole history of the matter, so that I was left in
+peace. Catharina paced up and down, and when Anna was silent for a
+little, she said, with folded hands, 'O God, Thou who art almighty,
+and canst do everything, preserve this man for whom they are seeking,
+and never let him fall into the hands of his enemies. Oh God, hear
+me!' Anna said angrily to her, 'Catharina, do you know what you are
+saying? How can you speak so?' Catharina answered, 'Yes, I know well
+what I am saying. God preserve him, and let him never fall into the
+hands of his enemies. Jesus, be Thou his guide!' She uttered these
+words with abundant tears. Anna said, 'I think that woman is not in
+her senses.' Catharina's kind wish increased my tears, and I said,
+'Catharina shows that she is a true Christian, and sympathises with
+me; God reward her, and hear her and me!' Upon this Anna was silent,
+and has not been so talkative ever since. O God, Thou who art a
+recompenser of all that is good, remember this in favour of
+Catharina, and as Thou heardest her at that time, hear her prayer in
+future, whatever may be her request! And you, my dear children, know
+that if ever fortune so ordains it that you can be of any service
+either to her or her only son, you are bound to render it for my
+sake; for she was a comfort to me in my greatest need, and often took
+an opportunity to say a word which she thought would alleviate my
+sorrow.
+
+The prison governor came as usual, about four o'clock, and let the
+women out, seating himself on the bench and placing the high stool
+with the candle in front of him. He had brought a book with him, and
+read aloud prayers for a happy end, prayers for the hour of death,
+and prayers for one suffering temporal punishment for his misdeeds.
+He did not forget a prayer for one who is to be burnt; in reading
+this he sighed, so religious had he grown in the short time. When he
+had read all the prayers, he got up and walked up and down, singing
+funeral hymns; when he knew no more, he began again with the first,
+till the women released him. Catharina complained that her son had
+been ill, and was greatly grieved about it. I entered into her
+sorrow, and said that she ought to mention her son's illness to the
+Queen, and then another would probably be appointed in her place; and
+I begged her to compose herself, as the child would probably be
+better again. During the evening meal the prison governor was very
+merry, and related all sorts of coarse stories. When he was gone,
+Anna read the evening prayer. I felt very ill during this night, and
+often turned about in bed; there was a needle in the bed, with which
+I scratched myself; I got it out, and still have it.[67]
+
+ [67] In the margin: 'The feather-bed had an old cover, and was
+ fresh filled when I was lying in the roads; the needle, in the
+ hurry, had therefore been left in.'
+
+On August 14, when the prison governor opened the door early, the
+women told him that I had been very ill in the night. 'Well, well,'
+he answered, 'it will soon be better.' And when the women were ready
+to go to the Queen (which they were always obliged to do), Anna said
+to Catharina, outside the door, 'What shall we say to the Queen?'
+Catharina answered: 'What shall we say, but that she is silent and
+will say nothing!' 'You know very well that the Queen is displeased
+at it.' 'Nevertheless, we cannot tell a lie;' answered Catharina;
+'she says nothing at all, so it would be a sin.'[68] Catharina came
+back to the mid-day meal, and said that the Queen had promised to
+appoint another in her stead; in the afternoon, she managed secretly
+to say a word to me about the next chamber, which she imagined was
+being put in readiness for me and for no one else; she bid me good
+night, and promised to remember me constantly in her prayers. I
+thanked her for her good services, and for her kind feeling towards
+me.
+
+ [68] In the margin: 'I myself heard this conversation.'
+
+About four o'clock the prison governor let her and Anna out. He sang
+one hymn after another, went to the stairs, and the time appeared
+long to him, till six o'clock, when Anna returned with Maren Blocks.
+At the evening meal the prison governor again told stories of his
+marriage, undoubtedly for the sake of amusing Maren. Anna left me
+alone, and I lay quiet in silence. Maren could not find an
+opportunity of speaking with me the whole evening, on account of
+Anna. Nothing particular happened on August 15 and 16.
+
+When the prison governor let out Anna in the morning and afternoon,
+Maren Blocks remained with me, and the prison governor went his own
+way and locked the door, so that Maren had opportunity of talking
+with me alone. She told me different things; among others, that the
+Queen had given my clothes to the three women who had undressed me,
+that they might distribute them amongst themselves. She asked me
+whether I wished to send a message to my sister Elizabeth. I thanked
+her, but said that I had nothing good to tell her. I asked Maren for
+needles and thread, in order to test her. She replied she would
+gladly procure them for me if she dared, but that it would risk her
+whole well-being if the Queen should know it; for she had so strictly
+forbidden that anyone should give me either pins or needles. I
+inquired 'For what reason?' 'For this reason,' she replied, 'that you
+may not kill yourself.' I assured her that God had enlightened me
+better than that I should be my own murderer. I felt that my cross
+came from the hand of the Lord, that He was chastising me as His
+child; He would also help me to bear it; I trusted in Him to do so.
+'Then I hope, dear heart,' said Maren, 'that you will not kill
+yourself; then you shall have needles and thread; but what will you
+sew?' I alleged that I wished to sew some buttons on my white
+night-dress, and I tore off a pair, in order to show her afterwards
+that I had sewn them on.
+
+Now it happened that I had sewn up some ducats in a piece of linen
+round my knee; these I had kept, as I pulled off the stockings myself
+when they undressed me, and Anna had at my desire given me a rag, as
+I pretended that I had hurt my leg. I sewed this rag over the
+leather. They all imagined that I had some secret malady, for I lay
+in the linen petticoat they had given me, and went to bed in my
+stockings. Maren imagined that I had an issue on one leg, and she
+confided to me that a girl at the court, whom she mentioned by name,
+and who was her very good friend, had an issue of which no one knew
+but herself, not even the woman who made her bed. I thought to
+myself, you keep your friend's secret well; I did not, however, make
+her any wiser, but let her believe in this case whatever she would. I
+was very weak on those two days, and as I took nothing more than
+lemon and beer, my stomach became thoroughly debilitated and refused
+to retain food. When Maren told the prison governor of this, he
+answered, 'All right, her heart is thus getting rid of its evil.'
+Anna was no longer so officious, but the prison governor was as merry
+as ever.
+
+On August 17 the prison governor did not open the door before eight
+o'clock, and Anna asked him how it was that he had slept so long. He
+joked a little; presently he drew her to the door and whispered with
+her. He went out and in, and Anna said so loudly to Maren, that I
+could hear it (although she spoke as if she were whispering), 'I am
+so frightened that my whole body trembles, although it does not
+concern me. Jesus keep me! I wish I were down below!' Maren looked
+sad, but she neither answered nor spoke a word. Maren came softly up
+to my bed and said, 'I am sure some one is coming to you.' I
+answered, 'Let him come, in God's name.' Presently I heard a running
+up and down stairs, and also overhead, for the Commissioners came
+always through the apartments, in order not to cross the square. My
+doors were closed again. Each time that some one ran by on the
+stairs, Anna shuddered and said, 'I quite tremble.'
+
+This traffic lasted till about eleven. When the prison governor
+opened the door, he said to me, 'Leonora, you are to get up and go to
+the gentlemen.' God knows that I could hardly walk, and Anna
+frightened me by saying to Maren, 'Oh! the poor creature!' Maren's
+hands trembled when she put on my slippers. I could not imagine
+anything else than that I was to be tortured, and I consoled myself
+with thinking that my pain could not last long, for my body was so
+weary that it seemed as if God might at any moment take me away. When
+Maren fastened the apron over my long dress, I said: 'They are indeed
+sinning heavily against me; may God give me strength.' The prison
+governor hurried me, and when I was ready, he took me by the arm and
+led me. I would gladly have been free of his help, but I could not
+walk alone. He conducted me up to the next story, and there sat Count
+Rantzow, Skack, Retz, Gabel, and Krag, round the table.
+
+They all rose when I entered, and I made them a reverence as well as
+I was able. A small low seat had been placed for me in the middle, in
+front of the table. The Chancellor asked me whether I had not had
+more letters than those taken from me in England. I answered that I
+had not had more; that all my letters had been then taken from me.
+He asked further, whether I had at that time destroyed any letters.
+'Yes,' I answered, 'one I tore in two, and threw it in a closet.'
+'Why did you do so?' enquired Count Rantzow. 'Because' I replied,
+'there were cyphers in it; and although they were of no importance, I
+feared, notwithstanding, that they might excite suspicion.' Count
+Rantzow said: 'Supposing the pieces were still forthcoming?' 'That
+were to be wished,' I replied, 'for then it could be seen that there
+was nothing suspicious in it, and it vexed me afterwards that I had
+torn it in two.' Upon this the Chancellor drew forth a sheet of paper
+upon which, here and there, pieces of this very letter were pasted,
+and handed it to Krag, who gave it to me. Count Rantzow asked me if
+it were not my husband's handwriting. I answered that it was. He
+said: 'A part of the pieces which you tore in two have been found,
+and a part are lost. All that has been found has been collected and
+copied.' He then asked the Chancellor for the copy, who gave it to
+Count Rantzow, and he handed it to me, saying, 'See there what is
+wanting, and tell us what it is that is missing.' I took it, and
+looked over it and said: 'In some places, where there are not too
+many words missing, I think I can guess what is lost, but where a
+whole sentence is wanting, I cannot know.'
+
+Most of the letter had been collected without loss of intervening
+pieces, and it all consisted of mirth and jest. He was telling me
+that he had heard from Denmark that the Electoral Prince of Saxony
+was to be betrothed with the Princess of Denmark;[E20] and he joked,
+saying that they would grease their throats and puff out their cheeks
+in order that with good grace and voice they might duly trumpet
+forth each their own titles, and more of the same kind, all in high
+colouring. He described the way in which Count Rantzow contrived to
+let people know his titles; when he had a dinner-party, there was a
+man employed to read aloud his titles to the guests, asking first
+each separately, whether he knew his titles; if there was anyone who
+did not know them, the secretary must forthwith come and read them
+aloud.
+
+ [E20] Leonora refers to the betrothal of Prince Johan George of
+ Saxony and Anna Sophia, the eldest daughter of Fredrik III., of
+ which an account occurs in the sequel.
+
+It seemed that Count Rantzow referred all this to himself, for he
+asked me what my husband meant by it. I replied that I did not know
+that he meant anything but what he had written; he meant undoubtedly
+those who did such things. The Chancellor averted his face from Count
+Rantzow, and his lips smiled a little; Gabel also did the same. Among
+other things there were some remarks about the Electoral Prince, that
+he probably cherished the hope of inheriting the Crown of Denmark;
+'mais j'espère ... cela ne se fera point.' Count Rantzow enquired as
+to the words which were wanting. I said, if I remembered rightly, the
+words had been, 'qu'en 300 ans.' He enquired further as to the
+expressions lacking here and there, some of which I could not
+remember exactly, though they were of no importance. I expressed my
+opinion that they could easily gather what was wanting from the
+preceding and following words; it was sufficiently evident that all
+was jest, and this was apparent also to Gabel, who said, 'Ce n'est
+que raillerie.' But Count Rantzow and the General would not allow it
+to pass as jest.
+
+Skack said: 'One often means something else under the cloak of jest,
+and names are used when others are intended.' For in the letter there
+was something said about drinking out; there was also an allusion
+made to the manners of the Swiss at table, and all the titles of the
+canton nobles were enumerated, from which Skack thought that the
+names of the cities might have another signification. I did not
+answer Skack; but as Count Rantzow continued to urge me to say what
+my husband had meant by it, I replied that I could not know whether
+he had had another meaning than that which was written. Skack shook
+his head and thought he had, so I said: 'I know no country where the
+same customs are in vogue at meals as in Switzerland; if there are
+other places where the same customs prevail, he may perhaps have
+meant these also, for he is only speaking of drinking.'
+
+Gabel said again, 'It is only jest.' The cyphers, for the sake of
+which I had torn the letter in two, were fortunately complete, and
+nothing was missing. Count Rantzow gave me a sheet of paper, to which
+pieces of my lord's letter were pasted, and asked me what the cyphers
+meant. I replied, 'I have not the key, and cannot solve them out of
+my head.' He expressed his opinion that I could do it. I said I could
+not. 'Well, they have been read,' he said, 'and we know what they
+signify.' 'All the better,' I answered. Upon this, he gave me the
+interpretation to read, and the purport of it was that our son had
+written from Rome, asking for money, which was growing short, for the
+young nobleman was not at home. I gave the paper back to Count
+Rantzow without saying anything. Count Rantzow requested the
+Treasurer that he should read the letter, and Rantzow began again
+with his questions wherever anything was wanting, requesting that I
+should say what it was. I gave him the same answer as before; but
+when in one passage, where some words were missing, he pressed me
+hard to say them, and it was evident from the context that they were
+ironical (since an ironical word was left written), I said: 'You can
+add as much of the same kind as pleases you, if one is not enough; I
+do not know them.' Gabel again said, 'Ce n'est que raillerie.'[E21]
+
+ [E21] A copy of the fragments which had been recovered of this
+ letter is still in existence.
+
+No further questions were then made respecting the letters; but Count
+Rantzow enquired as to my jewels, and asked where the large diamond
+was which my husband had received in France.[E22] I replied that it
+had long been sold. He further asked where my large drop pearls
+where, which I had worn as a feather on my hat, and where my large
+pearl head-ornament was. 'All these,' I replied, 'have long been
+sold.' He asked further whether I had then no more jewels. I
+answered, 'I have none now.' 'I mean,' he said, 'elsewhere.' I
+replied, 'I left some behind.' 'Where, then?' he asked. 'At Bruges,'
+I replied. Then he said: 'I have now somewhat to ask you, madame,
+that concerns myself. Did you visit my sister in Paris the last time
+you were there?' I replied, 'Yes.' He asked whether I had been with
+her in the convent, and what was the name of the convent. I informed
+him that I had been in the convent, and that it was the Convent des
+Filles Bleues. At this he nodded, as if to confirm it. He also wished
+to know whether I had seen her. I said that no one in the convent
+might be seen by anyone but parents; even brothers and sisters were
+not allowed to see them.[E23] 'That is true,' he said, and then rose
+and gave me his hand. I begged him to induce his gracious Majesty to
+have pity on me, but he made no answer. When the Treasurer Gabel
+gave me his hand, I begged the same favour of him. He replied, 'Yes,
+if you will confess,' and went out without waiting for a reply.
+
+ [E22] Ulfeldt received this present probably in 1647, when in
+ France as ambassador, on which occasion Queen Anna is known to have
+ presented to Leonora a gold watch set with diamonds of great value.
+
+ [E23] The lady alluded to is Helvig Margaretha Elizabeth Rantzow,
+ widow of the famous General Josias Rantzow, who died as a maréchal
+ of France. She had become a Romanist, and took the veil after her
+ husband's death. Subsequently she founded the new order of the
+ Annunciata. In 1666 the first convent of this order, of which she
+ was abbess, removed to Hildesheim, where she died in 1706.
+
+For more than three hours they had kept up the interrogation. Then
+the prison governor came in and said to me: 'Now you are to remain in
+here; it is a beautiful chamber, and has been freshly whitewashed;
+you may now be contented.' Anna and Maren also came in. God knows, I
+was full of care, tired and weary, and had insufferable headache;
+yet, before I could go to rest, I had to sit waiting until the
+bedstead had been taken out of the 'Dark Church' and brought hither.
+Anna occupied herself meanwhile in the Dark Church, in scraping out
+every hole; she imagined she might find something there, but in vain.
+The woman who was to remain with me alone then came in. Her pay was
+two rix-dollars a week; her name is Karen, the daughter of Ole. After
+the prison governor had supped with the woman and Maren, Anna and
+Maren Blocks bade me good night; the latter exhibited great
+affection. The prison governor bolted two doors before my innermost
+prison. In the innermost door there is a square hole, which is
+secured with iron cross-bars. The prison governor was going to attach
+a lock to this hole, but he forebore at Karen's request, for she said
+she could not breathe if this hole were closed. He then affixed locks
+to the door of the outer chamber, and to the door leading to the
+stairs; he had, therefore, four locks and doors twice a day to lock
+and unlock.
+
+I will here describe my prison. It is a chamber, seven of my paces
+long and six wide; there are in it two beds, a table, and two stools.
+It was freshly whitewashed, which caused a terrible smell; the floor,
+moreover was so thick with dirt, that I imagined it was of loam,
+though it was really laid with bricks. It is eighteen feet high, with
+a vaulted ceiling, and very high up is a window which is two feet
+square. In front of it are double thick iron bars, besides a
+wire-work, which is so close that one could not put one's little
+finger into the holes. This wire-work had been thus ordered with
+great care by Count Rantzow (so the prison governor afterwards told
+me), so that no pigeons might bring in a letter--a fact which he had
+probably read in a novel as having happened. I was weak and deeply
+grieved in my heart; I looked for a merciful deliverance, and an end
+to my sorrow, and I sat silent and uncomplaining, answering little
+when the woman spoke to me. Sometimes in my reverie I scratched at
+the wall, which made the woman imagine that I was confused in my
+head; she told this to the prison governor, who reported it to the
+Queen, and during every meal-time, when the door was open, she never
+failed to send messengers to enquire how it fared with me, what I
+said, and what I was doing.
+
+The woman had, however, not much to tell in obedience to the oath
+she, according to her own statement, had taken in the presence of the
+prison governor. But afterwards she found some means to ingratiate
+herself. And as my strength daily decreased, I rejoiced at the
+prospect of my end, and on August 21 I sent for the prison governor,
+and requested him to apply for a clergyman who could give me the
+sacrament. This was immediately granted, and His Majesty's Court
+preacher, Magister Mathias Foss, received orders to perform for me
+the duties of his office, and exhorted me, both on behalf of his
+office and in consequence of the command he had received, not to
+burden my conscience; I might rest assured, he said, that in this
+world I should never see my husband again, and he begged me to say
+what I knew of the treason. I could scarcely utter a word for
+weeping; but I said that I could attest before God in heaven, from
+whom nothing is hidden, that I knew nothing of this treason. I knew
+well I should never see my husband again in this life; I commended
+him to the Almighty, who knew my innocence; I prayed God only for a
+blessed end and departure from this evil world; I desired nothing
+from the clergyman but that he should remember me in his prayers,
+that God might by death put an end to my affliction. The clergyman
+promised faithfully to grant my request. It has not pleased God to
+hear me in this: He has willed to prove my faith still further, by
+sending to me since this time much care, affliction, and adversity.
+He has helped me also to bear the cross, and has Himself supported
+its heaviest end; His name be praised for ever. When I had received
+the Lord's Supper, M. Foss comforted me and bid me farewell.
+
+I lay silently for three days after this, taking little or nothing.
+The prison governor often enquired whether I wished for anything to
+eat or drink, or whether he should say anything to the King. I
+thanked him, but said I required nothing.
+
+On August 25 the prison governor importuned me at once with his
+conversation, expressing his belief that I entertained an evil
+opinion of the Queen. He inferred it from this: the day before he had
+said to me that His Majesty had ordered that whatever I desired from
+the kitchen and cellar should be at once brought to me, to which I
+had answered, 'God preserve His Majesty; he is a good sovereign; may
+he show clemency to evil men!' He had then said, 'The Queen is also
+good,' to which I had made no answer. He had then tried to turn the
+conversation to the Queen, and to hear if he could not draw out a
+word from me; he had said: 'The Queen is sorry for you that you have
+been so led away. It grieves her that you have willed your own
+unhappiness; she is not angry; she pities you.' And when I made no
+answer, he repeated it again, saying from time to time, 'Yes, yes, my
+dear lady, it is as I say.' I was annoyed at the talk, and said,
+'Dieu vous punisse!' 'Ho, ho!' he said, misinterpreting my words, and
+calling Karen, he went out and closed the doors. Thus unexpectedly I
+got rid of him. It was ridiculous that the woman now wanted to oblige
+me to attend to what the prison governor had said. I begged her to
+remember that she was now not attending on a child (she had before
+been nurse to children). She could not so easily depart from her
+habit, and for a long time treated me as a child, until at length I
+made her comprehend that this was not required.
+
+When I perceived that my stomach desired food and could retain it, I
+became impatient that I could not die, but must go on living in such
+misery. I began to dispute with God, and wanted to justify myself
+with Him. It seemed to me that I had not deserved such misfortune. I
+imagined myself far purer than David was from great sins, and yet he
+could say, 'Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my
+hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and
+chastened every morning.' I thought I had not deserved so exceedingly
+great a chastisement as that which I was receiving. I said with Job,
+'Show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that
+thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine
+hands?' I repeated all Job's expressions when he tried to justify
+himself, and it seemed to me that I could justly apply them to
+myself. I cursed with him and Jeremiah the day of my birth, and was
+very impatient; keeping it, however, to myself, and not expressing it
+aloud. If at times a word escaped me, it was in German (since I had
+generally read the Bible in German), and therefore the woman did not
+understand what I was saying. I was very restless from coughing, and
+turned from side to side on the bed. The woman often asked me how I
+was. I begged her to leave me quiet and not to speak to me. I was
+never more comfortable than in the night when I observed that she was
+sleeping; then, unhindered, I could let my tears flow and give free
+vent to my thoughts. Then I called God to account. I enumerated
+everything that I had innocently suffered and endured during my life,
+and I enquired of God whether I had deviated from my duty? Whether I
+ought to have done less for my husband than I had done? Whether the
+present was my recompense for not having left him in his adversity?
+Whether I was to be now tortured, tormented, and scorned for this?
+Whether all the indescribable misfortunes which I had endured with
+him were not enough, that I had been reserved for this irremediable
+and great trouble? I do not wish to conceal my unreasonableness. I
+will confess my sins. I asked if still worse misfortunes were in
+store for me for which I was to live? Whether there was any
+affliction on earth to be compared to mine? I prayed God to put an
+end to my sufferings, for it redounded in no wise to his honour to
+let me live and be so tormented. I was after all not made of steel
+and iron, but of flesh and blood. I prayed that He would suggest to
+me, or inform me in a dream, what I was to do to shorten my misery.
+
+When I had long thus disputed and racked my brains, and had also wept
+so bitterly that it seemed as if no more tears remained, I fell
+asleep, but awoke with terror, for I had horrible fancies in my
+dreams, so that I feared to sleep, and began again to bewail my
+misery. At length God looked down upon me with his eye of mercy, so
+that on August 31 I had a night of quiet sleep, and just as day was
+dawning I awoke with the following words on my lips: 'My son, faint
+not when thou art rebuked of the Lord; for whom the Lord loveth he
+chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.' I uttered the
+last words aloud, thinking that the woman was sleeping; possibly she
+awoke at the moment, and she asked me whether I wished for anything.
+I answered 'No.' 'You were speaking,' she said, 'and you mentioned
+your stockings; I could not understand the rest.' I replied, 'It must
+have been then in my sleep. I wish for nothing.'
+
+I then lay quietly thinking. I perceived and confessed my folly, that
+I, who am only dust and ashes, and decay, and am only fit for the
+dunghill, should call God to account, should dispute with my Creator
+and his decrees, and should wish to censure and question them. I
+began to weep violently, and I prayed fervently and from my heart for
+mercy and forgiveness. While I had before boasted with David, and
+been proud of my innocence, now I confessed with him that before God
+there is none that doeth good; no, not one. While before I had spoken
+foolishly with Job, I now said with him that I had 'uttered that I
+understood not; things too wonderful for me which I knew not.' I
+besought God to have mercy on me, relying on his great compassion. I
+cited Moses, Joshua, David, Jeremiah, Job, Jonah, and others, all
+highly endowed men, and yet so weak that in the time of calamity
+they grumbled and murmured against God. I prayed that He would in his
+mercy forgive me, the frailest of earthen vessels, as I could not
+after all be otherwise than as He had created me. All things were in
+his power; it was easy to Him to give me patience, as He had before
+imparted to me power and courage to endure hard blows and shocks. And
+I prayed God (after asking forgiveness of my sins) for nothing else
+than good patience to await the period of my deliverance. God
+graciously heard me. He pardoned not only my foolish sins, but He
+gave me that also for which I had not prayed, for day by day my
+patience increased. While I had often said with David, 'Will the Lord
+cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy
+clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God
+forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up his tender
+mercies?' I now continued with him, 'This is my infirmity, but I will
+remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.' I said also
+with Psalm cxix.: 'It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that
+I might learn thy statutes.'
+
+The power of God was working within me. Many consolatory sentences
+from the Holy Scriptures came into my mind; especially these:--'If so
+be that we suffer with Christ, that we may be also glorified
+together.' Also: 'We know that all things work together for good to
+them that love God.' Also: 'My grace is sufficient for thee, for my
+strength is made perfect in weakness.' I thought especially often of
+Christ's words in St. Luke, 'Shall not God avenge his own elect,
+which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I
+tell you that he will avenge them speedily.' I felt in my trouble how
+useful it is to have learned psalms and passages from the Bible in
+youth. Believe me, my children, that it has been a great consolation
+to me in my misery. Therefore, cultivate now in your youth what your
+parents taught you in childhood; now, while trouble visits you less
+severely, so that when it comes, you may be ready to receive it and
+to comfort yourselves with the Word of God.
+
+I began by degrees to feel more at peace, and to speak with the
+woman, and to answer the prison governor when he addressed me. The
+woman told me sundry things, and said that the prison governor had
+ordered her to tell him everything that I spoke or did, but that she
+was too wise to do such a thing; that she understood now better than
+she had done at first how to behave. He went out, but she remained
+shut up with me, and she would be true to me. And as it appeared that
+I did not at once believe what she said, she swore it solemnly, and
+prayed God to punish her if ever she acted falsely towards me. She
+stroked and patted my hand, and laid it against her cheek, and begged
+that I would believe her, using the words, 'My dearest lady, you can
+believe me; as truly as I am a child of God, I will never deceive
+you! Now, is not that enough?' I answered, 'I will believe you;'
+thinking at the same time that I would do and say nothing but what
+she might divulge. She was very glad that she had induced me to
+speak, and said, 'When you lay so long silent, and I had no one with
+whom I could speak, I was sad, and determined that I would not long
+lead this life, even if they gave me double as much, for I should
+have become crazed. I was afraid for you, but still more for myself,
+that my head would give way.'
+
+She went on talking in this way, introducing also various merry
+stories. When she was young she had been in the service of a
+clergyman, who encouraged his domestics in the fear of God, and there
+she had learned prayers and sentences from the Bible by heart; she
+knew also the Children's Primer, with the explanatory remarks, and
+sang tolerably well. She knew in some measure how she should walk
+before God and behave towards her neighbour; but she acted contrary
+to her knowledge--for she had a malicious temper. She was an elderly
+woman, but she liked to reckon herself as middle-aged. It appeared
+that in her youth she had been pretty and rather dissolute, since
+even now she could not lay aside her levity, but joked with the
+tower-warder, and the prison governor's coachman, a man of the name
+of Peder, and with a prisoner named Christian (more will presently be
+said with regard to this prisoner; he was free to go about the
+tower).[69]
+
+ [69] When I took my meals, the woman had opportunity of talking
+ with the three men. The coachman helped the tower-warder Rasmus to
+ bring up the food. [Marginal note.]
+
+Maren Blocks often sent me a message through this coachman, besides
+various kinds of candied sugar and citron, letting me know from time
+to time whether anything new was occurring. All this had to be done
+through the woman. One day she came in when the doors were closed,
+and brought me a message from Maren Blocks, saying, 'My lady, if you
+will now write to your children in Skaane, there is a safe
+opportunity for you to do so.' I answered, 'My children are not in
+Skaane, yet if I can send a message to Skaane, I have a friend there
+who will probably let me know how it fares with my children.' She
+gave me a piece of crumpled paper and a pencil. I wrote a few words
+to F. Margrete Rantzow,[E24] saying that she probably knew of my
+miserable condition, but supposing that her friendship was not
+lessened by it, and begging her to let me know how my children were,
+and from what cause they had come to Skaane, as I had been informed
+was the case, though I did not believe it. This was what I wrote and
+gave to the woman. I heard nothing further of it, and I imagine that
+she had been ordered to find out to whom I wrote, &c. (They have been
+busy with the idea that some of you, my dear children, might come to
+Skaane.) I sewed up the letter or slip of paper in such a manner that
+it could not be opened without making it apparent. I asked the woman
+several times if she knew whether the letter had been sent away. She
+always answered that she did not know, and that with a morose
+expression, and at last she said (when I once more asked her to
+enquire of Peder), 'I suppose that the person who ought to have it
+has got it.' This answer made me reflect, and since then I asked no
+further.
+
+ [E24] Margrete Rantzow was the sister of that Birgitte Rantzow to
+ whom there is an allusion in the Autobiography of Leonora, where
+ she relates the examination to which she was subjected at Malmöe.
+ Margrete's husband was Ove Thott, a nobleman in Skaane, who had
+ taken an important part in the preparations for a rising against
+ the Swedes, in which Corfitz Ulfeldt was implicated.
+
+I remained all this time in bed, partly because I had nothing with
+which to beguile the time, and partly because of the cold, for no
+stove was placed in my prison till after the New Year. Occasionally I
+requested the woman to manage, through Peder, that I should have a
+little silk or thread, that I might beguile the time by embroidering
+a piece of cloth that I had; but the answer I received was that he
+dared not. A long time afterwards it came to my knowledge that she
+had never asked Peder for it. There was trouble enough, however, to
+occupy my thoughts without my needing to employ the time in
+handiwork.
+
+It was on September 2 that I heard some one moving early overhead, so
+I asked the woman if she knew whether there was a chamber there (for
+the woman went up every Saturday with the night-stool). She answered
+that there was a prison there like this, and outside was the rack
+(which is also the case). She observed that I showed signs of fear,
+and she said, 'God help! Whoever it is that is up there is most
+assuredly to be tortured.' I said, 'Ask Peder, when the doors are
+unlocked, whether there is a prisoner there.' She said she would do
+so, and meanwhile she kept asking herself and me who it might be. I
+could not guess; still less did I venture to confess my fear to her,
+which she nevertheless perceived, and therefore increased; for after
+she had spoken with Peder, about noon,[70] and the doors were locked,
+she said, 'God knows who it is that is imprisoned there! Peder would
+tell me nothing.' She said the same at the evening meal, but added
+that she had asked him, and that he would give no answer. I calmed
+myself, as I heard no more footsteps above, and I said, 'There is no
+prisoner up there.'[71] 'How do you know that?' she asked. 'I gather
+it from the fact,' I said, 'that since this morning I have heard no
+one above; I think if there were anyone there, they would probably
+give him something to eat.' She was not pleased that my mind was
+quieted, and therefore she and Peder together endeavoured to trouble
+me.
+
+ [70] I could not see when she spoke with any one, for she did so on
+ the stairs. [Marginal note.]
+
+ [71] In the margin is added: 'There was none.'
+
+On the following day, when the doors were being locked after the
+mid-day dinner (which was generally Peder's task), and he was pulling
+to my innermost door, which opens inside, he put in his head and
+said, 'Casset!' She was standing beside the door, and appeared as if
+she had not rightly understood him, saying, 'Peder spoke of some one
+who is in prison, but I could not understand who it is.' I understood
+him at once, but also behaved as if I had not. No one knows but God
+what a day and night I had. I turned it over in my mind. It often
+seemed to me that it might be that they had seized him, although
+Cassetta was a subject of the King of Spain; for if treason is
+suspected, there is no thought given as to whose subject the man
+suspected may be. I lay in the night secretly weeping and lamenting
+that the brave man should have come into trouble for my sake, because
+he had executed my lord's will, and had followed me to England, where
+we parted, I should say, when Petcon and his company separated us and
+carried me away.
+
+I lay without sleep till towards day, then I fell into a dream which
+frightened me. I suppose my thoughts caused it. It came before me
+that Cassetta was being tortured in the manner he had once described
+to me that a Spaniard had been tortured: four cords were fastened
+round his hands and feet, and each cord was made secure in a corner
+of the room, and a man sometimes pulled one cord and sometimes
+another; and since it seemed to me that Cassetta never screamed, I
+supposed that he was dead, and I shrieked aloud and awoke. The woman,
+who had long been awake, said: 'O God! dear lady, what ails you? Are
+you ill? You have been groaning a long time, and now you screamed
+loudly.' I replied, 'It was in my dream; nothing ails me.' She said
+further, 'Then you have had a bad dream?' 'That may well be,' I
+answered. 'Oh, tell me what you have dreamt; I can interpret
+dreams.' I replied, 'When I screamed I forgot my dream, otherwise no
+one can interpret dreams better than I.' I thank God I do not regard
+dreams; and this dream had no other cause than what I have said. When
+the door was locked after the mid-day meal, the woman said of herself
+(for I asked no further respecting the prisoners), 'There is no one
+imprisoned there; shame on Peder for his nonsense!' I asked him who
+was imprisoned there, and he laughed at me heartily. 'There is no one
+there, so let your mind be at peace.' I said, 'If my misfortunes were
+to involve others, it would be very painful to me.'
+
+Thus matters went on till the middle of September, and then two of
+our servants were brought as prisoners and placed in arrest; one Nils
+Kaiberg, who had acted as butler, and the other Frans, who had been
+in our service as a lacquey. After having been kept in prison for a
+few weeks and examined they were set at liberty. At the same time two
+Frenchmen were brought as prisoners: an old man named La Rosche, and
+a young man whose name I do not know. La Rosche was brought to the
+tower and was placed in the witch-cell; a feather-bed had been thrown
+down, and on this he lay; for some months he was never out of his
+clothes. His food consisted of bread and wine; he refused everything
+else. He was accused of having corresponded with Corfitz, and of
+having promised the King of France that he would deliver Crooneborg
+into his hands.[72] This information had been given by Hannibal
+Sehested, who was at that time in France, and he had it from a
+courtesan who was then intimate with Hannibal, but had formerly been
+in connection with La Rosche, and probably afterwards had quarrelled
+with him. There was no other proof in favour of the accusation.
+Probably suspicion had been raised by the fact that this La Rosche,
+with the other young man, had desired to see me when I was in arrest
+in Dover, which had been permitted, and they had paid me their
+respects. It is possible that he had wished to speak with me and to
+tell me what he had heard in London, and which, it seemed to him,
+excited no fears in me. But as I was playing at cards with some
+ladies who had come to look at me, he could not speak with me; so he
+asked me whether I had the book of plays which the Countess of
+Pembroke had published.[E25] I replied, 'No'. He promised to send it
+me, and as I did not receive it, I think he had written in it some
+warning to me, which Braten afterwards turned to his advantage.
+
+ [72] Did not this accord well with the statement that my lord had
+ offered the kingdom of Denmark to two potentates? [Marginal note.]
+
+ [E25] The book in question is probably Philip Sidney's work, 'The
+ Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia,' a famous book of its time, which
+ Leonora, who does not seem to have known it, has understood to be a
+ book by the Countess of Pembroke. It is true, however, that
+ Philip's sister, Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, had translated
+ a French play, Antonius (1592, and again 1595).
+
+However all this may be, La Rosche suffered innocently, and could
+prove upon oath that he had never spoken with my lord in his life,
+and still less had corresponded with him.[73] In short, after some
+months of innocent suffering, he was set at liberty and sent back to
+France. The other young man was confined in an apartment near the
+servants' hall. He had only been apprehended as a companion to the
+other, but no further accusation was brought against him.[E26] At
+first, when these men were imprisoned, there was a whispering and
+talking between the prison governor and the woman, and also between
+Peder and her; the prison governor moreover himself locked my door. I
+plainly perceived that there was something in the wind, but I made no
+enquiries. Peder at length informed the woman that they were two
+Frenchmen, and he said something about the affair, but not as it
+really was. Shortly before they were set at liberty the prison
+governor said, 'I have two parle mi franço in prison; what they have
+done I know not.' I made no further enquiries, but he jested and
+said, 'Now I can learn French.' 'That will take time,' said I.
+
+ [73] In the margin is noted: 'I had never seen La Rosche nor his
+ companion till I did so at Dover.'
+
+ [E26] La Roche Tudesquin had some time been in the Danish army, but
+ had returned to France when Hannibal Sehested, while in Paris as
+ Ambassador from the King of Denmark, received information from a
+ certain Demoiselle Langlois that La Roche was implicated in a
+ conspiracy for surrendering the principal Danish fortresses to a
+ foreign prince. He and a friend of his, Jaques Beranger, were
+ arrested in Brussels in September 1663, but not, as Leonora says,
+ immediately brought to Copenhagen. The Spanish Government did not
+ consent to their extradition till the following year, and they were
+ not placed in the Blue Tower till June 1664. La Roche seems to have
+ been guilty of peculation while in the Danish service, but the
+ accusation of treason seems to have been unfounded.
+
+In the same month of September died Count Rantzow. He did not live to
+see the execution of an effigy, which he so confidently had hoped
+for, being himself the one who first had introduced this kind of
+mockery in these countries.[E27]
+
+ [E27] In the MS. a pen is drawn through this paragraph, of which
+ the contents were to form part of the Preface. The date of Count
+ Rantzow is moreover not correctly given; he died on November 8,
+ five days before the execution of Ulfeldt's effigy.
+
+On October 9 our Princess Anna Sophia was betrothed to the Electoral
+Prince of Saxony. On the morning of the day on which the festivities
+were to take place I said to the woman, 'To-day we shall fast till
+evening.' For I thought they would not think of me, and that I should
+not receive any of the remains until the others had been treated, at
+any rate, to dinner. She wished to know the reason why we were to
+fast. I answered, 'You shall know it this evening.' I lay and thought
+of the change of fortune: that I, who twenty-eight years ago had
+enjoyed as great state as the Princess, should now be lying a
+captive, close by the very wall where my bridal chamber had been;
+thank God, that it afflicted me but little. Towards noonday, when the
+trumpets and kettledrums were sounding, I said, 'Now they are
+conducting the bride across the square to the great hall.' 'How do
+you know that?' said the woman. 'I know it,' I said; 'my spirit tells
+me so.' 'What sort of spirit is that?' she asked. 'That I cannot
+tell you,' I replied. And as the trumpets blew every time that a new
+course of dishes and sweets were produced, I mentioned it; and before
+they were served the kettledrums were sounded. And as they were
+served on the square in front of the kitchen, I said each time, 'We
+shall have no dinner yet.' When it was nearly three o'clock, the
+woman said, 'My stomach is quite shrunk up; when shall we have
+dinner?' I answered, 'Not for a long time yet; the second course is
+only now on the table; we shall have something at about seven
+o'clock, and not before.' It was as I said. About half-past seven the
+prison governor came and excused himself, saying that he had asked
+for the dinner, but that all hands in the kitchen were occupied. The
+woman, who had always entertained the idea that I was a witch, was
+now confirmed in her opinion.[74]
+
+ [74] In the margin is added: 'The prison governor told the woman
+ about the magnificence of the festivity and Peder also told her of
+ it, so that it seemed to her that I could know somewhat from
+ customs of former times.'
+
+On the following day knights were dubbed, and each time when the
+trumpets blew I did not only say, 'Now they have made a knight' (for
+I could hear the herald calling from the window, though I could not
+understand what he said), but even who had been made a knight; for
+this I guessed, knowing who were in the Council who were not knights
+before; and because it was as I said, the woman believed for certain
+that I was an enchantress. I perceived this, as she put questions to
+me concerning things which I could not know, and to which I often
+gave equivocal answers. I thought perhaps that the fear she had that
+I could know what would happen might hinder her from entangling me
+with lies. Since then she whispered much less with the prison
+governor. She told of a person whom she regarded as a witch, whose
+power, however, consisted in nothing else than in the science of
+curing French pox, and causing the miscarriage of bad women, and
+other improprieties. She had had much intercourse with this woman.
+
+Some time after the departure of the Electoral Prince it was
+determined that a wooden effigy should be subjected to capital
+punishment, and on the forenoon my chamber was opened, swept,
+cleaned, and strewed with sand.[75] When it was opened, towards noon,
+and the woman had been on the stairs, talking with the coachman, she
+came in, and walking up to my bed, stood as if startled, and said
+hurriedly, 'Oh, Jesus! Lady, they are bringing your husband!' The
+news terrified me, which she observed; for as she uttered it, I
+raised myself in the bed and stretched out my right arm, and was not
+able to draw it back again at once. Perhaps this vexed her, for I
+remained sitting in this way and not speaking a word; so she said,
+'My dearest lady, it is your husband's effigy.' To this I said, 'May
+God punish you!' She then gave full vent to her evil tongue, and
+expressed her opinion that I deserved punishment, and not she, and
+used many unprofitable words. I was quite silent, for I was very
+weak, and scarcely knew where I was. In the afternoon I heard a great
+murmuring of people in the inner palace square, and I saw the effigy
+brought across the street by the executioner on a wheelbarrow, and
+placed in the tower below my prison.
+
+ [75] The Queen wished that this wooden statue should be brought
+ into my outer chamber, and so placed in front of the door that it
+ would tumble into me when my inner door was opened; but the King
+ would not permit it. [Addition in the margin.]
+
+The next morning, at about nine o'clock, the effigy was wofully
+treated by the executioner, but no sound came from it. At the mid-day
+meal the prison governor told the woman how the executioner had cut
+off its head, and had divided the body into four quarters, which were
+then placed on four wheels, and attached to the gallows, while the
+head was exhibited on the town hall. The prison governor stood in the
+outer chamber, but he narrated all this in a loud tone, so that I
+might hear it, and repeated it three times.[E28] I lay and thought
+what I should do; I could not show that I made but little of it, for
+then something else perhaps would be devised to trouble me, and in
+the hurry I could think of nothing else than saying to the woman with
+sadness, 'Oh, what a shame! speak to the prison governor and tell him
+to beg the King to allow the effigy to be taken down and not to
+remain as it is!' The woman went out, and spoke softly with the
+prison governor; but he answered aloud and said, 'Yes, indeed, taken
+down! There will be more put up; yes, more up;' and kept on repeating
+these words a good while.
+
+ [E28] The execution took place on November 13. The King's order
+ concerning it to the prison governor, Jochum Waltpurger, exists
+ still. It is to this effect: 'V. G. T., Know that you have to
+ command the executioner in our name, that to-day, November 13, he
+ is to take the effigy of Corfitz, formerly called Count of Ulfeldt,
+ from the Blue Tower where it is now, and bring it on a car to the
+ ordinary place in the square in front of the castle; and when he
+ has come to the place of justice, strike off the right hand and the
+ head, whereafter he is to divide the body into four parts on the
+ spot, and carry them away with him, whilst the head is to be placed
+ on a spike on the Blue Tower for remembrance and execration.' The
+ order was afterwards altered in this particular, that the head was
+ to be placed on the town hall, and the four parts of the body one
+ at each of the gates of the city. The executioner was subsequently
+ ordered to efface the arms of Corfitz and his wife wherever they
+ occurred in the town; for instance, on their pews in the churches.
+ Leonora states in her Autobiography that the prison governor some
+ time after told her that the Queen had desired that the effigy
+ should be placed in the antechamber of Leonora's prison, and that
+ she should be ordered to see it there; but that the king refused
+ his consent.
+
+I lay silently thinking; I said nothing, but indulged in my own
+reflections. Sometimes I consoled myself, and hoped that this
+treatment of the effigy was a token that they could not get the man;
+then again fear asserted its sway. I did not care for the dishonour,
+for there are too many instances of great men in France whose
+effigies have been burnt by the executioner, and who subsequently
+arrived again at great honour.
+
+When the door was unlocked again for the evening meal, there was a
+whispering between the prison governor and the woman. A lacquey was
+also sent, who stood outside the outer door and called the prison
+governor to him (my bed stands just opposite the doors, and thus when
+all three doors are opened I can see the staircase door, which is the
+fourth). I do not know what the woman can have told the prison
+governor, for I had not spoken all day, except to ask her to give me
+what I required; I said, moreover, nothing more than this for several
+days, so that the prison governor grew weary of enquiring longer of
+the woman; for she had nothing to communicate to him respecting me,
+and she tormented him always with her desire to get away; she could
+not longer spend her life in this way.
+
+But as she received no other consolation from him than that he swore
+to her that she would never get away as long as she lived, for some
+days she did nothing else than weep; and since I would not ask her
+why she wept, she came one day up to my bedside crying, and said, 'I
+am a miserable being!' I asked her why? what ailed her? 'I ail
+enough,' she answered; 'I have been so stupid, and have allowed
+myself to be shut up here for the sake of money, and now you are
+cross with me and will not speak with me.' I said, 'What am I to say?
+you wish perhaps to have something to communicate to the prison
+governor?' Upon this she began to call down curses on herself if she
+had ever repeated to the prison governor a word that I had said or
+done; she wished I could believe her and speak with her; why should
+she be untrue to me? we must at any rate remain together as long as
+we lived. She added many implorations as to my not being angry; I had
+indeed cause to be so; she would in future give me no cause for
+anger, for she would be true to me. I thought, 'You shall know no
+more than is necessary.'
+
+I let her go on talking and relating the whole history of her
+life--such events as occur among peasants. She had twice married
+cottagers, and after her last widowhood she had been employed as
+nurse to the wife of Holger Wind, so that she had no lack of stories.
+By her first husband she had had a child, who had never reached
+maturity, and her own words led me to have a suspicion that she had
+herself helped to shorten the child's days; for once when she was
+speaking of widows marrying again, she said among other things,
+'Those who wish to marry a second time ought not to have children,
+for in that case the husband is never one with the wife.' I had much
+to say against this, and I asked her what a woman was to do who had a
+child by her first husband. She answered quickly, 'Put a pillow on
+its head.' This I could only regard as a great sin, and I explained
+it to her. 'What sin could there be,' she said, 'when the child was
+always sickly, and the husband angry in consequence?' I answered as I
+ought, and she seemed ill at ease. Such conversation as this gave me
+no good reason to believe in the fidelity which she had promised me.
+
+The woman then took a different tack, and brought me word from the
+coachman of all that was occurring. Maren Blocks sent me a
+prayer-book through her, and that secretly, for I was allowed no book
+of any kind, nor any needles and pins; respecting these the woman had
+by the Queen's order taken an oath to the prison governor. Thus the
+year passed away. On New Year's day, 1664, the woman wished me a
+happy year. I thanked her, and said, 'That is in God's hands.' 'Yes,'
+she said, 'if He wills it.' 'And if He does not will it,' I answered,
+'it will not be, and then He will give me patience to bear my heavy
+cross.' 'It is heavy,' she said, 'even to me; what must it not be to
+you? May it only remain as it is, and not be worse with you!' It
+seemed to me as if it could not be worse, but better; for death, in
+whatever form, would put an end to my misery. 'Yes,' she said, 'is it
+not all one how one dies?' 'That is true,' I answered; 'one dies in
+despair, another with free courage.' The prison governor did not say
+a word to me that day. The woman had a long talk with the coachman;
+she no doubt related to him our conversation.
+
+In the month of March the prison governor came in and assumed a
+particularly gentle manner, and said, among other things, 'Now you
+are a widow; now you can tell the state of all affairs.' I answered
+him with a question, 'Can widows tell the state of all affairs?' He
+laughed and said, 'I do not mean that; I mean this treason!' I
+answered, 'You can ask others about it who know of it; I know of no
+treason.' And as it seemed to him that I did not believe that my
+husband was dead,[E29] he took out a newspaper and let me read it,
+perhaps chiefly because my husband was badly treated in it. I did not
+say much about it--nothing more than, 'Writers of newspapers do not
+always speak the truth.' This he might take as he liked.
+
+ [E29] The date of Ulfeldt's death is variously given as the 20th or
+ the 27th of February, 1664. The latter date is given in a letter
+ from his son Christian to Sperling, and elsewhere, (for instance,
+ in a short Latin Biography of Ulfeldt called 'Machinationes
+ Cornificii Ulefeldii,' published soon after); but the better
+ evidence points to the earlier date. Christian Ulfeldt was not, it
+ seems, at Basle at the time, and may have made a mistake as to the
+ date, though he indicates the right day of the week (a Saturday),
+ or he may have had reason for purposely making a misleading
+ statement. In Copenhagen the report of his death was long suspected
+ to be a mere trick.
+
+I lay there silently hoping that it might be so, that my husband had
+by death escaped his enemies; and I thought with the greatest
+astonishment that I should have lived to see the day when I should
+wish my lord dead; then sorrowful thoughts took possession of me, and
+I did not care to talk. The woman imagined that I was sad because my
+lord was dead, and she comforted me, and that in a reasonable
+manner; but the remembrance of past times was only strengthened by
+her consolatory remarks, and for a long time my mind could not again
+regain repose. Your condition, my dearest children, troubled me. You
+had lost your father, and with him property and counsel. I am captive
+and miserable, and cannot help you, either with counsel or deed; you
+are fugitives and in a foreign land. For my three eldest sons I am
+less anxious than for my daughters and my youngest son.[E30] I sat up
+whole nights in my bed, for I could not sleep, and when I have
+headache I cannot lay my head on the pillow. From my heart I prayed
+to God for a gracious deliverance. It has not pleased God to grant
+this, but He gave me patience to bear my heavy cross.
+
+ [E30] Ulfeldt and Leonora had twelve children in all, of which
+ seven were alive when Corfitz died; and it so happened as,
+ explained before, that the youngest, Leo, was the only one who
+ continued the name. It is from him that Count Waldstein, the owner
+ of the MS., is descended.
+
+My cross was so much heavier to me at first, as it was strictly
+forbidden to give me either knife, scissors, thread, or anything that
+might have beguiled the time to me. Afterwards, when my mind became a
+little calmer, I began to think of something wherewith to occupy
+myself; and as I had a needle, as I have before mentioned, I took off
+the ribands of my night-dress, which were broad flesh-coloured
+taffeta. With the silk I embroidered the piece of cloth that I had
+with different flowers worked in small stitches. When this was
+finished, I drew threads out of my sheet, twisted them, and sewed
+with them. When this was nearly done, the woman said one day, 'What
+will you do now when this is finished?' I answered, 'Oh, I shall get
+something to do; if it is brought to me by the ravens, I shall have
+it.' Then she asked me if I could do anything with a broken wooden
+spoon. I answered, 'Perhaps you know of one?' After having laughed a
+while, she drew one forth, the bowl of which was half broken off. 'I
+could indeed make something with that,' I said, 'if I had only a tool
+for the purpose. Could you persuade the prison governor or Peder the
+coachman to lend me a knife?' 'I will beg for one,' she answered,
+'but I know well that they will not.' That she said something about
+it to the prison governor I could perceive from his answer, for he
+replied aloud, 'She wants no knife; I will cut her food for her. She
+might easily injure herself with one.'[76]
+
+ [76] In the margin is this note: 'Once when I asked the prison
+ governor for some scissors to cut my nails, he answered, and that
+ loudly, "What! what! her nails shall grow like eagles' claws, and
+ her hair like eagles' feathers!" I know well what I thought--if I
+ had only claws and wings!'
+
+What she said to the coachman I know not (this I know, that she did
+not desire me to obtain a knife, for she was afraid of me, as I
+afterwards discovered). The woman brought the answer from the
+coachman that he dared not for his life. I said, 'If I can but have a
+piece of glass, I will see what I can make that is useful with the
+piece of spoon.' I begged her to look in a corner in the outermost
+room, where all rubbish was thrown; this she did, and found not only
+glass, but even a piece of a pewter cover which had belonged to a
+jug. By means of the glass I formed the spoon handle into a pin with
+two prongs, on which I made riband, which I still have in use (the
+silk for this riband I took from the border of my night-dress). I
+bent the piece of pewter in such a manner that it afterwards served
+me as an inkstand. It also is still in my keeping. As a mark of
+fidelity, the woman brought me at the same time a large pin, which
+was a good tool for beginning the division between the prongs, which
+I afterwards scraped with glass.
+
+She asked me whether I could think of anything to play with, as the
+time was so long to her. I said, 'Coax Peder, and he will bring you a
+little flax for money and a distaff.' 'What!' she answered, 'shall I
+spin? The devil may spin! For whom should I spin?' I said, 'To
+beguile the time, I would spin, if I only had what is necessary for
+it.' 'That you may not have, dear lady,' said she; 'I have done the
+very utmost for you in giving you what I have done.' 'If you wish
+something to play with,' said I, 'get some nuts, and we will play
+with them.' She did so, and we played with them like little children.
+I took three of the nuts, and made them into dice, placing two kinds
+of numbers on each, and we played with these also. And that we might
+know the {circled dot} which I made with the large pin,[77] I begged
+her to procure for me a piece of chalk, which she did, and I rubbed
+chalk into it. These dice were lost, I know not how; my opinion is
+that the coachman got possession of them, perhaps at the time that he
+cheated the woman out of the candles and sugar left. For he came to
+her one day at noon quite out of breath, and said she was to give him
+the candles and the sugar which he had brought her from Maren Blocks,
+and whatever there was that was not to be seen, as our quarters were
+to be searched. She ran out with the things under her apron, and
+never said anything to me about it until the door was locked. I
+concealed on myself, as well as I was able, my pin, my silk, and the
+pieces of sewing with the needle and pin. Nothing came of the search,
+and it was only a _ruse_ of the coachman, in order to get the
+candles that were left, for which she often afterwards abused him,
+and also for the sugar.
+
+ [77] I removed my nails with the needle, scratching them till they
+ came away. I let the nail of the little finger of my right hand
+ grow, in order to see how long it would become; but I knocked it
+ off unawares, and I still have it. [Marginal note.]
+
+I was always at work, so long as I had silk from my night-dress and
+stockings, and I netted on the large pin, so that it might last a
+long time. I have still some of the work in my possession, as well as
+the bobbins, which I made out of wooden pegs. By means of bags filled
+with sand I made cords which I formed into a bandage (which is worn
+out), for I was not allowed a corset, often as I begged for one; the
+reason why is unknown to me. I often beguiled the time with the piece
+of chalk, painting with it on a piece of board and on the table,
+wiping it away again, and making rhymes and composing hymns. The
+first of these, however, I composed before I had the chalk. I never
+sang it, but repeated it to myself.
+
+A morning hymn, to the tune, 'Ieg wil din Priiss ud Synge'[E31]:--
+
+ [E31] This hymn-tune is still in use in the Danish Church.
+
+        I
+
+    God's praise I will be singing
+      In every waking hour.
+    My grateful tribute bringing
+      To magnify his power;
+    And his almighty love,
+      His angel watchers sending,
+      My couch with mercy tending,
+    And watching from above.
+
+        II
+
+    In salt drops streaming ever
+      The tears flowed from my eyes;
+    I often thought I never
+      Should see the morning rise.
+    Yet has the Lord instilled
+      Sleep in his own good pleasure;
+      And sleep in gracious measure
+    Has his command fulfilled.
+
+        III
+
+    Oh Christ! Lord of the living,
+      Thine armour place on me,
+    Which manly vigour giving,
+      Right valiant shall I be,
+    'Gainst Satan, death, and sin.
+      And every carnal feeling,
+      That nought may come concealing
+    Thy sway my heart within.
+
+        IV
+
+    Help me! Thy arms extending;
+      My cross is hard and sore:
+    Support its heaviest ending,
+      Or I can bear no more.
+    Too much am I oppressed!
+      My trust is almost waning
+      With pain and vain complaining!
+    Thine arrows pierce my breast.
+
+        V
+
+    In mercy soothe the sorrow
+      That weighs the fatherless;
+    Vouchsafe a happier morrow,
+      And all my children bless!
+    Strength to their father yield,
+      In their hard fate respect them,
+      From enemies protect them;
+    My strength, be Thou their shield.
+
+        VI
+
+    I am but dust and ashes,
+      Yet one request I crave:
+    Let me not go at unawares
+      Into the silent grave.
+    With a clear mind and breast
+      My course in this world closing,
+      Let me, on Thee reposing,
+    Pass to Thy land of rest.
+
+I composed the following hymn in German and often sang it, as they
+did not understand German; a hymn, somewhat to the air of 'Was ist
+doch auff dieser Welt, das nicht fehlt?' &c.:--
+
+        I
+
+    Reason speaketh to my soul:
+          Fret not Soul,
+    Thou hast a better goal!
+      It is not for thee restricted
+        That with thee
+        Past should be
+      All the wrongs inflicted.
+
+        II
+
+    Why then shouldst thou thus fret thee,
+          Anxiously,
+    Ever sighing, mournfully?
+      Thou canst not another sorrow
+        Change with this,
+        For that is
+      Which shall be on the morrow.
+
+        III
+
+    Loss of every earthly gain
+          Bringeth pain;
+    Fresh courage seek to obtain!
+      Much was still superfluous ceded,
+        Nature's call
+        After all
+      Makes but little needed.
+
+        IV
+
+    Is the body captive here?
+          Do not fear:
+    Thou must not hold all too dear;
+      Thou art free--a captive solely;
+        Can no tower
+        Have the power
+      Thee to fetter wholly?
+
+        V
+
+    All the same is it at last
+          When thou hast
+    The long path of striving past,
+      And thou must thy life surrender;
+        Death comes round,
+        Whether found
+      On couch hard or tender.
+
+        VI
+
+    Courage then, my soul, arise!
+          Heave no sighs
+    That nought yet thy rest supplies!
+      God will not leave thee in sorrow:
+        Well He knows
+        When He chose
+      Help for thee to borrow.
+
+Thus I peacefully beguiled the time, until Doctor Otto Sperling[E32]
+was brought to the tower; his prison is below the 'dark church.' His
+fate is pitiable. When he was brought to the tower his feet and hands
+were chained in irons. The prison governor, who had formerly not been
+friendly with him, rejoiced heartily at the doctor's misfortune, and
+that he had fallen into his hands, so that the whole evening he did
+nothing but sing and hum. He said to the woman, 'My Karen, will you
+dance? I will sing.' He left the doctor to pass the night in his
+irons. We could hear that a prisoner had been brought in from the
+murmuring, and the concourse of people, as well as from the locking
+of the prison, which was below mine (where iron bolts were placed
+against the door).[78] The joy exhibited by the prison governor
+excited my fear, also that he not only himself opened and shut my
+door, but that he prevented the woman from going out on the stairs,
+by leaning against the outermost door of my prison. The coachman
+stood behind the prison governor making signs; but as the prison
+governor turned from side to side, I could not rightly see him.
+
+ [E32] Dr. Otto Sperling, the elder, is often alluded to in the
+ Autobiography of Leonora as 'notre vieillard;' he was a faithful
+ friend of Ulfeldt, and in 1654 he settled in Hamburg, where he
+ educated Corfitz's youngest son Leo. He was implicated in Ulfeldt's
+ intrigues, and a compromising correspondence between them fell into
+ the hands of the Spanish Government, which placed it at the
+ disposal of Hannibal Sehested when he passed through the
+ Netherlands on his way home from his mission to France in 1663. In
+ order to obtain possession of Sperling's person, the Danish
+ authorities used the ruse of sending a Danish officer to his house
+ in Hamburg, and request him to visit professionally a sick person
+ just across the Danish frontier, paying in advance a considerable
+ fee. Sperling, who did not suspect the transaction, was arrested
+ immediately on crossing the boundary, and brought to Copenhagen. He
+ was condemned to death July 28, 1664; but the sentence was
+ commuted, and he died in the Blue Tower December 25, 1681. Otto
+ Sperling, jun., to whom Leonora sent the MS. of her Autobiography,
+ and who often visited her at Maribo, was his son.
+
+ [78] The prison cell is outside that in which the doctor is
+ immured. It is quite dark where he is. [Note in the margin.]
+
+On the following day, at about eight o'clock, I heard the iron bolts
+drawn and the door below opened; I could also hear that the inner
+prison was opened (the doctor was then taken out for examination).
+The woman said, 'There is certainly a prisoner there; who can it be?'
+I said: 'It seems indeed that a prisoner has been brought in, for the
+prison governor is so merry. You will find it out from Peder; if not
+to-day, another time. I pity the poor man, whoever he may be.' (God
+knows my heart was not as courageous as I appeared.) When my door was
+opened at noon (which was after twelve o'clock, for they did not open
+my door till the doctor had been conveyed to his cell again), the
+prison governor was still merrier than usual, and danced about and
+sang, 'Cheer up! courage! It will come to pass!'
+
+When he had cut up the dinner, he leaned against the outer door of my
+prison and prevented the woman from going out, saying to me, 'I am to
+salute you from the Major-General von Alfeldt; he says all will now
+soon be well, and you may console yourself. Yes, yes, all will now
+soon be well!' I behaved as if I received his words in their apparent
+meaning, and I begged him to thank the Major-General for his
+consolation; and then he repeated the same words, and added, 'Yes,
+indeed! he said so.' I replied with a question: 'What may it arise
+from that the Major-General endeavours to cheer me? May God cheer him
+in return! I never knew him before.' To this the prison governor made
+no answer at all. While the prison governor was talking with me, the
+coachman was standing behind him, and showed by gestures how the
+prisoner had been bound hand and foot, that he had a beard and a
+calotte on his head, and a handkerchief round his neck. This could
+not make me wiser than I was, but it could indeed grieve me still
+more. At the evening meal the woman was again prevented speaking with
+the coachman, and the coachman again made the same signs, for the
+prison governor was standing in his usual place; but he said nothing,
+nor did I.[79] On the following morning the Doctor was again brought
+up for examination, and the prison governor behaved as before. As he
+stood there ruminating, I asked him who the prisoner below was. He
+answered that there was no one below. I let the matter rest for the
+time, and as we proceeded to speak of other things, the woman slipped
+out to Peder, who told her quickly who it was. Some days went by in
+the same manner. When sentence had been pronounced on the Doctor, and
+his execution was being postponed,[80] and I said nothing to the
+prison governor but when he accosted me, he came in and said: 'I see
+that you can judge that there is a prisoner below. It is true, but I
+am forbidden to tell you who it is!' I answered: 'Then I do not
+desire to know.' He began to feel some compassion, and said: 'Don't
+fret, my dear lady; it is not your husband, nor your son, nor
+daughter, nor brother-in-law, nor any relative; it is a bird which
+ought to sing,[81] and will not, but he must, he must!' I said: 'I
+ought to be able to guess from your words who it is. If the bird can
+sing what can ring in their ears, he will probably do so; but he
+cannot sing a melody which he does not know!' Upon this he was
+silent, and turned away and went out.
+
+ [79] In the margin is added: 'When the prison governor was singing
+ to himself on those first days, he said, "You must sing, my bird;
+ where is your velvet robe?" laughing at the same time most
+ heartily. I inferred from that song who it was.'
+
+ [80] In the margin is added: 'In order to grieve the Doctor and to
+ frighten him, the prison governor unlocked his cell early on the
+ morning after sentence had been passed, and behaved as if the
+ priest were coming to him.'
+
+ [81] That is, give information.
+
+By degrees all became quiet with regard to the Doctor, and no more
+was said about the matter, and the prison governor came in from time
+to time when the door was opened, and often made himself merry with
+the woman, desiring her to make a curtsey to him, and showing her how
+she should place her feet and carry her body, after the fashion of a
+dancing-master. He related also different things that had occurred in
+former times, some of them evidently intended to sadden me with the
+recollection of my former prosperity: all that had happened at my
+wedding, how the deceased King had loved me. He gave long accounts of
+this, not forgetting how I was dressed, and all this he said for the
+benefit of no one else but myself, for the woman meanwhile stood on
+the stairs talking with the tower warder, the coachman, and the
+prisoner Christian.
+
+Maren Blocks, who constantly from time to time sent me messages and
+kept me informed of what was going on, also intimated to me that she
+was of opinion that I could practise magic, for she wrote me a slip
+of paper[82] with the request that I should sow dissension between
+the Lady Carisse and an Alfelt, explaining at length that Alfelt was
+not worthy of her, but that Skinckel was a brave fellow (Carisse
+afterwards married Skinckel). As the letter was open, the coachman
+knew its contents, and the woman also. I was angry at it, but I said
+nothing. The woman could easily perceive that I was displeased at it,
+and she said, 'Lady, I know well what Maren wishes.' I replied, 'Can
+you help her in it?' 'No,' she declared, and laughed heartily. I
+asked what there was to laugh at. 'I am laughing,' said she, 'because
+I am thinking of the clever Cathrine, of whom I have spoken before,
+who once gave advice to some one desiring to sow discord between good
+friends.' I enquired what advice she had given. She said that they
+must collect some hairs in a place where two cats had been fighting,
+and throw these between the two men whom it was desired to set at
+variance. I enquired whether the trick succeeded. She replied, 'It
+was not properly tried.' 'Perhaps,' I said, 'the cats were not both
+black?' 'Ho, ho!' said she, 'I see that you know how it should be
+done.' 'I have heard more than that,' I replied; 'show her the trick,
+and you will get some more sugar-candy, but do not let yourself be
+again cheated of it by Peder as you were lately. Seriously, however,
+Peder must beg Maren Blocks to spare me such requests!' That she as
+well as Maren believed that I could practise magic was evident in
+many ways. My own remarks often gave cause for this. I remembered how
+my deceased lord used to say (when in his younger days he wished to
+make anyone imagine that he understood the black art), that people
+feared those of whom they had this opinion, and never ventured to do
+them harm. It happened one day at the mid-day meal, when the prison
+governor was sitting talking with me, that the woman carried on a
+long conversation on the stairs with the others respecting the
+witches who had been seized in Jutland, and that the supreme judge in
+Jutland at that time sided with the witches and said they were not
+witches.[E33] When the door was locked we had much talk about
+witches, and she said, 'This judge is of your opinion, that it is a
+science and not magic.' I said, as I had before said, that some had
+more knowledge than others, and that some used their knowledge to do
+evil; although it might happen naturally and not with the devil's
+art, still it was not permitted in God's Word to use nature for evil
+purposes; it was also not fair to give the devil the honour which did
+not belong to him. We talked on till she grew angry, laid down and
+slept a little, and thus the anger passed away.
+
+ [82] In the margin is added: 'Peder had some time before thrown
+ into me eight ducats in a paper, saying, as he closed the door,
+ "Your maid!" And as the woman knew it, I gave her one of them and
+ Peder one. I know not whether my maid had given him more; she had
+ many more concealed on her person.'
+
+ [E33] The name of this judge was Villum Lange, and it is a curious
+ coincidence that a letter from him of a somewhat later time (1670),
+ has been found in one of the archives, in which he speaks of this
+ very affair, and in which he expresses himself very much in the
+ sense here indicated.
+
+Some days after she said: 'Your maid is sitting below in the prison
+governor's room, and asks with much solicitude after you and what you
+are doing. I have told Peder of what you have sewed, and of the
+ribbons you have made, but he has promised solemnly not to mention it
+to anyone except to Maren, Lars' daughter; she would like so much to
+be here with you.' I replied: 'It would be no good for her to sit
+with me in prison; it would only destroy her own happiness; for who
+knows how long I may live?' I related of this same waiting-maid that
+she had been in my employ since she was eight years old, all that I
+had had her taught, and how virtuous she was. To this she replied,
+'The girl will like to see what you have sewed; you shall have it
+again directly.' I handed it to her, and the first time the doors
+were unlocked she gave it to the prison governor, who carried it to
+the Queen. (Two years afterwards the prison governor told me this
+himself, and that when the King had said, 'She might have something
+given her to do,' the Queen had answered, 'That is not necessary. It
+is good enough for her! She has not wished for anything better.') I
+often enquired for the piece of sewing, but was answered that Peder
+was not able to get it back from the girl.
+
+Late in the autumn the prison governor began to sicken: he was ill
+and could not do much, so he let the coachman frequently come alone
+to lock and unlock both the doctor's door below and mine. The iron
+bars were no longer placed before the outermost prison below, but
+four doors were locked upon me. One day, when Peder was locking up,
+he threw me a skein of silk,[83] saying, 'Make me some braces for my
+breeches out of it.' I appeared not to have heard, and asked the
+woman what it was that he had said. She repeated the same words. I
+behaved as if I did not believe it, and laughed, saying, 'If I make
+the braces for him, he will next wish that you should fasten them to
+his breeches.' A good deal of absurd chatter followed. As meal-time
+was approaching, I said to the woman, 'Give Peder back his silk, and
+say that I have never before made a pair of braces; I do not know how
+they are made.' (Such things I had to endure with smiles.)
+
+ [83] In the margin is added: 'As my linen was washed in the
+ servants' hall, it once happened that a maid there must unawares
+ have forgotten a whole skein of thread in a clean chemise, at which
+ I said to the woman: "You see how the ravens bring me thread!" She
+ was angry and abused me; I laughed, and answered her jestingly.'
+
+At the time that our former palace here in the city (which we had
+ceded by a deed when we were imprisoned at Borringholm) was pulled
+down, and a pillar (or whatever it is) was raised to my lord's shame,
+the prison governor came in when he unlocked at noon, and seated
+himself on my bed (I was somewhat indisposed at the time), and began
+to talk of former times (I knew already that they were pulling down
+the palace), enumerating everything the loss of which he thought
+might sadden me, even to my coach and the horses. 'But,' he said,
+'all this is nothing compared with the beautiful palace!' (and he
+praised it to the utmost); 'it is now down, and not one stone is left
+on another. Is not that a pity, my dear lady?' I replied: 'The King
+can do what he will with his own; the palace has not been ours for
+some time.' He continued bewailing the beautiful house and the garden
+buildings which belonged to it. I asked him what had become of
+Solomon's temple? Not a stone of that beautiful building was now to
+be found; not even could the place be pointed out where the temple
+and costly royal palace had once stood. He made no answer, hung his
+head, and pondered a little, and went out. I do not doubt he has
+reported what I said. Since that day he began to behave himself more
+and more courteously, saying even that His Majesty had ordered him to
+ask me whether I wished for anything from the kitchen, the cellar, or
+the confectioner, as it should be given me; that he had also been
+ordered to bring me twice a week confectionery and powdered sugar,
+which was done.[84] I begged the prison governor to thank the King's
+Majesty for the favour shown me, and praised, as was proper, the
+King's goodness most humbly. The prison governor would have liked to
+praise the Queen had he only been able to find cause for so doing; he
+said, 'The Queen is also a dear Queen!' I made no answer to this. He
+came also some time afterwards with an order from the King that I
+should ask for any clothes and linen I required: this was written
+down, and I received it later, except a corset, and that the Queen
+would not allow me. I never could learn the cause of this. The Queen
+also was not well pleased that I obtained a bottle-case with six
+small bottles, in which was sprinkling-water, headwater, and a
+cordial. All this, she said, I could well do without; but when she
+saw that in the lid there was an engraving representing the daughter
+of Herod with the head of St. John on a charger, she laughed and
+said, 'That will be a cordial to her!' This engraving set me thinking
+that Herodias had still sisters on earth.
+
+ [84] In the margin is added: 'I wrote different things from the
+ Bible on the paper in which the sugar was given me. My ink-bottle
+ was made of the piece of pewter lid which the woman had found, the
+ ink was made from the smoke of the candle collected on a spoon, and
+ the pen from a fowl's feather cut by the piece of glass. I have
+ this still in my possession.'
+
+The prison governor continued his politeness, and lent me at my
+desire a German Bible, saying at the same time, 'This I do out of
+kindness, I have no order to do so; the Queen does not know it.' 'I
+believe that,' I replied, and thanked him; but I am of opinion that
+the King knew it well. Some days afterwards Maren Blocks sent for her
+prayer-book back again. I had taught the woman a morning and evening
+prayer by heart, and all the morning and evening hymns, which she
+repeated to me night and morning. I offered to teach her to read if
+she would procure an A B C. She laughed at this jeeringly, and said,
+'People would think me crazed if I were to learn to read now.' I
+tried to persuade her by argument, in order that I might thus get
+something to beguile the time with; but far from it; she knew as much
+as she needed. I sought everywhere for something to divert my
+thoughts, and as I perceived that the potter, when he had placed the
+stove, had left a piece of clay lying outside in the other room, I
+begged the woman to give it to me.
+
+The prison governor saw that she had taken it, but did not ask the
+reason. I mixed the clay with beer, and made various things, which I
+frequently altered again into something else; among other things I
+made the portraits of the prison governor and the woman, and small
+jugs and vases. And as it occurred to me to try whether I were able
+to make anything on which I could place a few words to the King, so
+that the prison governor should not observe it (for I knew well that
+the woman did not always keep silence; she would probably some time
+say what I did), I moulded a goblet over the half of the glass in
+which wine was brought to me, made it round underneath, placed it on
+three knobs, and wrote the King's name on the side--underneath the
+bottom these words ... il y a un ... un Auguste.[E34]
+
+ [E34] The words 'under the bottom ... to ... Auguste,' inclusive,
+ have been struck out in the MS., and it has been impossible to read
+ more than what here is rendered. In the Autobiography, where the
+ same occurrence is related, Leonora says that she put on it the
+ names both of the King and of the Queen; that on the bottom she
+ wrote to the Queen, and that it was the Queen who discovered the
+ inscription; from which it would appear that the Queen at all
+ events was included in her ingeniously contrived supplique.
+
+I kept it for a long time, not knowing in what way I could manage to
+get it reported what I was doing, since the woman had solemnly sworn
+to me not to mention it: so I said one day: 'Does the prison governor
+ask you what I am doing?' 'Yes, indeed he does,' she replied, 'but I
+say that you are doing nothing but reading the Bible.' I said: 'You
+may ingratiate yourself in his favour and say that I am making
+portraits in clay; there is no reason that he should not know that.'
+She did so, and three days after he came to me, and was quite gentle,
+and asked how I passed my time. I answered, 'In reading the Bible.'
+He expressed his opinion that I must weary of this. I said I liked at
+intervals to have something else to do, but that this was not allowed
+me. He enquired what I had wanted the clay for, which the woman had
+brought in to me; he had seen it when she had brought it in. I said,
+'I have made some small trifles.' He requested to see them. So I
+showed him first the woman's portrait; that pleased him much, as it
+resembled her; then a small jug, and last of all the goblet. He said
+at once: 'I will take all this with me and let the King see it; you
+will perhaps thus obtain permission to have somewhat provided you for
+pastime,'[85] I was well satisfied. This took place at the mid-day
+meal. At supper he did not come in. The next day he said to me:
+'Well, my dear lady, you have nearly brought me into trouble!' 'How
+so?' I asked. 'I took the King a petition from you! the Queen did not
+catch sight of it, but the King saw it directly and said, "So you are
+now bringing me petitions from Leonora?" I shrank back with terror,
+and said, "Gracious King! I have brought nothing in writing!" "See
+here!" exclaimed the King, and he pointed out to me some French
+writing at the bottom of the goblet. The Queen asked why I had
+brought anything written that I did not understand. I asserted that I
+had paid no attention to it, and begged for pardon. The good King
+defended me, and the _invention_ did not please him ill. Yes, yes, my
+dear lady! be assured that the King is a gracious sovereign to you,
+and if he were certain that your husband were dead, you would not
+remain here!' I was of opinion that my enemies well knew that my
+husband was dead. I felt that I must therefore peacefully resign
+myself to the will of God and the King.
+
+ [85] In the margin is added: 'The prison governor told me
+ afterwards that the clay things were placed in the King's
+ art-cabinet, besides a rib of mutton, which I used as a knife,
+ which he also gave to the King; hoping (he said) in this way to
+ obtain a knife for me.'
+
+I received nothing which might have beguiled the time to me, except
+that which I procured secretly, and the prison governor has since
+then never enquired what I was doing, though he came in every
+evening and sat for some time talking with me; he was weak, and it
+was a labour to him to mount so many steps. Thus we got through the
+year together.
+
+The prison governor gradually began to feel pity for me, and gave me
+a book which is very pretty, entitled 'Wunderwerck.'[E35] It is a
+folio, rather old, and here and there torn; but I was well pleased
+with the gift. And as he sat long of an evening with me, frequently
+till nine o'clock, talking with me, the malicious woman was
+irritated.[86] She said to Peder, 'If I were in the prison governor's
+place, I would not trust her in the way he does. He is weak; what if
+she were now to run out and take the knife which is lying on the
+table outside, and were to stab him? She could easily take my life,
+so I sit in there with my life hanging on a thread.'
+
+ [E35] This book was doubtless the German translation of Conr.
+ Lycosthenes' work, 'Prodigiorum ac Ostentorum Chronicon.' It is an
+ amusing illustrated volume, much read in its time. The translation
+ in question appeared in Basle, 1557.
+
+ [86] In the margin is added: 'The day that the prison governor had
+ taken away the clay things the woman was very angry with me,
+ because I gave him a small jug which I had made; she said it was
+ made in ridicule of her, the old slut with the jug! I ought to have
+ given him the cat which I had also made. I said, "I can still do
+ so."'
+
+Absurd as the idea was, the knife was not only in consequence hidden
+under the table, but the prison governor for a long time did not
+venture to come to me, but sat outside by my outermost door and
+talked there just as long as before, so that I was no gainer.[87] (I
+did not know what the woman had said till three years afterwards,
+when it was mentioned by the prisoner Christian, who had heard the
+woman's chatter.)
+
+ [87] In the margin is added: 'At first when the prison governor's
+ fear was so great, he did not venture to be alone in the outer
+ room. Peder and the tower warder were not allowed both to leave him
+ at the same time. I did not know the reason for this.'
+
+One day when the prison governor intended to go to the holy
+communion, he stood outside my outermost door and took off his hat,
+and begged for my forgiveness; he knew, he said, that he had done
+much to annoy me, but that he was a servant. I answered, 'I forgive
+you gladly!' Then he went away, and Peder closed the door. The woman
+said something to Peder about the prison governor, but I could not
+understand what. Probably she was blaming the prison governor, for
+she was so angry that she puffed; she could not restrain her anger,
+but said: 'Fye upon the old fool! The devil take him! I ought to beg
+pardon too? No' (she added with an oath), 'I would not do it for
+God's bitter death! No! no!' and she spat on the ground. I said
+afterwards: 'What does it matter to you that the prison governor asks
+me for my friendship? Do you lose anything by it? If you will not
+live like a Christian and according to the ordinances of the Church,
+do not at any rate be angry with one who does. Believe assuredly that
+God will punish you, if you do not repent of what evil you have done
+and will not be reconciled with your adversaries before you seek to
+be reconciled with God!'
+
+She thought that he had done nothing else than what he was ordered to
+do. I said, 'You good people know best yourselves what has been
+ordered you.' She asked, 'Do I do anything to you?' I answered, 'I
+know not what you do. You can tell any amount of untruths about me
+without my knowing it.' Upon this she began a long story, swearing by
+and asserting her fidelity; she had never lied to anyone nor done
+anyone a wrong. I said: 'I hear; you are justifying yourself with the
+Pharisee.' She started furiously from her seat and said, 'What! do
+you abuse me as a Pharisee?' 'Softly, softly!' I said; 'while only
+one of us is angry, it is of no consequence; but if I get angry also,
+something may come of it!' She sat down with an insolent air, and
+said, 'I should well imagine that you are not good when you are
+angry! It is said of you that in former days you could bear but
+little, and that you struck at once. But now'----(with this she was
+silent). 'What more?' I said. 'Do you think I could not do anything
+to anyone if I chose, just as well as then, if anyone behaved to me
+in a manner that I could not endure? Now much more than then! You
+need not refuse me a knife because I may perhaps kill you; I could do
+so with my bare hands. I can strangle the strongest fellow with my
+bare hands, if I can seize him unawares, and what more could happen
+to me than is happening? Therefore only keep quiet!'
+
+She was silent, and assumed no more airs; she was cast down, and did
+not venture to complain to the prison governor. What she said to the
+others on the stairs I know not, but when she came in, when the room
+was locked at night, she had been weeping.[88]
+
+ [88] In the margin is added: 'Some time after this dispute I had a
+ quarrel with her about some beer, which she was in the habit of
+ emptying on the floor, saying, "This shall go to the subterraneous
+ folk." I had forbidden her to do so, but she did it again, so I
+ took her by the head and pushed it back with my hand. She was
+ frightened, for this feels just as if one's head was falling off. I
+ said, "That is a foretaste."'
+
+On Sunday at noon I congratulated[E36] the prison governor and said:
+'You are happy! You can reconcile yourself with God, and partake of
+His body and blood; this is denied to me (I had twice during two
+years requested spiritual consolation, but had received in answer
+that I could not sin as I was now in prison; that I did not require
+religious services). And as I talked upon this somewhat fully with
+the prison governor, I said that those who withheld from me the
+Lord's Supper must take my sins upon themselves; that one sinned as
+much in thought as in word and deed; so the prison governor promised
+that he would never desist from desiring that a clergyman should come
+to me; and asked whom I wished for. I said: 'The King's Court
+preacher, whom I had in the beginning of my troubles.' He said: 'That
+could scarcely be.' I was satisfied whoever it was.
+
+ [E36] This custom of congratulating persons who intend to
+ communicate, or just have done so, is still retained by many of the
+ older generation in Denmark.
+
+A month afterwards I received the holy communion from the German
+clergyman, M. Hieronimus Buk, who behaved very properly the first
+time, but spoke more about the law than the gospel. The prison
+governor congratulated me, and I thanked him, for he had brought it
+about.
+
+1665. In this year, on Whitsun-eve, the prison governor ordered
+May-trees to be placed in my inner prison, and also in the anteroom.
+I broke small twigs from the branches, rubbed off the bark with
+glass, softened them in water, laid them to press under a board,
+which was used for carrying away the dirt from the floor, and thus
+made them flat, then fastened them together and formed them into a
+weaver's reed. Peder the coachman was then persuaded to give me a
+little coarse thread, which I used for a warp. I took the silk from
+the new silk stockings which they had given me, and made some broad
+ribbons of it (The implements and a part of the ribbons are still in
+my possession.) One of the trees (which was made of the thick end of
+a branch which Peder had cut off) was tied to the stove, and the
+other I fastened to my own person. The woman held the warp: she was
+satisfied, and I have no reason to think that she spoke about it, for
+the prison governor often lamented that I had nothing with which to
+beguile the time, and he knew well that this had been my delight in
+former times, &c.[89]
+
+ [89] In the margin is added: 'I made the snuffers serve as
+ scissors. When Balcke came to me and brought me at my desire
+ material for drawers, and requested to know the size, I said I
+ could make them myself. He laughed, and said, "Who will cut them
+ out?" I replied I could do it myself with the snuffers. He begged
+ to see me do it, and looked on with no little astonishment.'
+
+He remained now again a long time with me after meals, for his fear
+had passed away, or he had, perhaps, forgotten, as his memory began
+to fail him. He said then many things which he ought not. He declined
+perceptibly, and was very weak; he would remain afterwards sitting
+outside, reading aloud, and praying God to spare his life. 'Yes,' he
+would say, 'only a few years!' When he had some alleviation, he
+talked unceasingly. Creeping along the wall to the door, he said, 'I
+should like to know two things: one is, who will be prison governor
+after me? The other is, who is to to have my Tyrelyre?' (That was
+Tyre, his wife.) I replied: 'That is a knowledge which you cannot
+obtain now, especially who will woo your wife. You might, perhaps,
+have already seen both, but at your age you may yet have long to
+live.' 'Oh!' said he, 'God grant it!' and looked up to the window.
+'Do you think so, my dear lady?' 'Yes, I do,' I replied. A few days
+afterwards, he begged me again to forgive him, if he had done me any
+wrong since the last time, for he wished to make reconciliation with
+God before he became weaker, and he wept and protested, saying, 'It
+indeed grieves me still that I should have often annoyed you, and you
+comfort me.' On Sunday at noon I congratulated him on his spiritual
+feast.
+
+Thus he dragged on with great difficulty for about fourteen days,
+and as I heard that two men were obliged almost to carry him up the
+stairs, I sent him word that he might remain below on the ground
+floor of the tower, and that he might rest assured I would go
+nowhere. He thanked me, crawled up for the last time to my door, and
+said, 'If I did that and the Queen heard of it, my head would answer
+for it.' I said: 'Then confess your weakness and remain in bed. It
+may be better again; another could meanwhile attend for you.' He took
+off his cap in recognition of my advice, and bade me farewell. I have
+never seen him again since then. One day afterwards he crawled up in
+the tower-chamber, but came no farther.
+
+A man of the name of Hans Balcke was appointed in his place
+to keep watch over the prisoners. He was very courteous. He
+was a cabinet-maker by trade; his father, who had also been a
+cabinet-maker, had worked a good deal for me in the days of my
+prosperity. This man had travelled for his trade both in Italy and
+Germany, and knew a little Italian. I found intercourse with him
+agreeable, and as he dined in the anteroom outside, in the tower, I
+begged him to dine with me, which he did for fourteen days. One day,
+when he carved the joint outside, I sent him word requesting him to
+come in. He excused himself, which appeared strange to me.
+
+After he had dined, he said that Peder the coachman had jeered at
+him, and that he had been forbidden to dine with me. When he
+afterwards remained rather long with me talking, I begged him myself
+to go, so that this also might not be forbidden. He had on one
+occasion a large pin stuck in his sleeve, and I begged him for it. He
+said, 'I may not give it you, but if you take it yourself, I can't
+help it.' So I took it, and it has often been of use to me. He gave
+me several books to read, and was in every way courteous and polite.
+His courtesy was probably the reason why the prisons were not long
+entrusted to him, for he was also very good to Doctor Sperling,
+giving him slices of the meat which came up to me, and other good
+food. In his childhood he had been a playfellow of the doctor's
+children. He talked also occasionally a long time with the doctor,
+both on unlocking and locking his door, which did not please the
+servants.[90] The prison governor lay constantly in bed; he
+endeavoured as often as he could to come up again, but there was
+little prospect of it. So long as the keys were not taken from him,
+he was satisfied.
+
+ [90] In the margin is added: 'While Balcke filled the place of
+ prison governor, he drank my wine at every meal, which had formerly
+ fallen to the tower warder, the coachman, or the prisoner
+ Christian, when the old prison governor had not wished for it, so
+ that this also contributed to Balcke's dismissal.'
+
+My maid Maren, Lars' daughter, had risen so high in favour at court,
+that she often sat in the women's apartment, and did various things.
+One day the woman said to me, 'That is a very faithful maiden whom
+you have! She speaks before them up there in a manner you would never
+believe.' I replied: 'I have permitted her to say all she knows. I
+have no fear of her calumniating me.' 'Have you not?' she said
+ironically. 'Why does she throw herself, then, on her bare knees, and
+curse herself if she should think of returning to you?' I said: 'She
+wished to remain with me (according to your own statement), but she
+was not allowed; so she need not curse herself.' 'Why then do you
+think,' said she, 'that she is so much in favour at court?' 'Do you
+mean,' I replied, 'that if anyone is in favour at court, it is
+because their lips are full of lies? I am assured my maid has
+calumniated no one, least of all me; I am not afraid.'
+
+The woman was angry, and pouted in consequence for some time. Some
+weeks afterwards Maren, Lars' daughter, was set at liberty, and
+became waiting-maid to the Countess Friis: and Balcke brought me some
+linen which she still had belonging to me. The woman was not a little
+angry at this, especially as I said: 'So faithful I perceive is my
+maid to me, that she will not keep the linen, which she might easily
+have done, for I could not know whether it had not been taken from
+her with the rest.'
+
+All my guards were very ill satisfied with Balcke, especially the
+woman, who was angry for several reasons. He slighted her, she said,
+for he had supplied a basin for the night-stool which was heavier
+than the former one (which leaked); but she was chiefly angry because
+he told her that she lived like a heathen, since she never went to
+the sacrament. For when I once received the holy communion, while
+Balcke was attending to me, he asked her if she would not wish to
+communicate also, to which she answered, 'I do not know German.'
+Balcke said, 'I will arrange that the clergyman shall come to you
+whose office it is to administer the Lord's Supper to the prisoners.'
+She replied that in this place she could not go with the proper
+devotion: if she came out, she would go gladly. Balcke admonished her
+severely, as a clergyman might have done. When the door was closed,
+she gave vent to puffing and blowing, and she always unfastened her
+jacket when she was angry.
+
+I said nothing, but I thought the evil humour must have vent, or she
+will be choked; and this was the case, for she abused Balcke with the
+strongest language that occurred to her. She used unheard-of curses,
+which were terrible to listen to: among others, 'God damn him for
+ever, and then I need not curse him every day.' Also, 'May God make
+him evaporate like the dew before the sun!' I could not endure this
+cursing, and I said, 'Are you cursing this man because he held before
+you the word of God, and desires that you should be reconciled with
+God and repent your sins?' 'I do not curse him for that,' she said,
+'but on account of the heavy basin which the accursed fellow has
+given me, and which I have to carry up the steep stairs;[91] the
+devil must have moved him to choose it! Does he want to make a priest
+of himself? Well, he is probably faultless, the saucy fellow!' and
+she began again with her curses.
+
+ [91] In the margin: 'It is indeed a bad flight of stairs to the
+ place where the basin was emptied.'
+
+I reproved her and said: 'If he now knew that you were cursing him in
+this way, do you not think he would bring it about that you must do
+penitence? It is now almost two years since you were at the Lord's
+table, and you can have the clergyman and you will not.' This
+softened her a little, and she said, 'How should he know it, unless
+you tell him?' I said, 'What passes here and is said here concerns no
+one but us two; it is not necessary that others should know.' With
+this all was well; she lay down to sleep, and her anger passed away;
+but the hate remained.
+
+The prison governor continued to lie in great pain, and could neither
+live nor die. One day at noon, when Balcke unlocked (it was just
+twenty weeks since he had come to me), a man came in with him, very
+badly dressed, in a grey, torn, greasy coat, with few buttons that
+could be fastened, with an old hat to which was attached a drooping
+feather that had once been white but was now not recognisable from
+dirt. He wore linen stockings and a pair of worn-out shoes fastened
+with packthread.[92] Balcke went to the table outside and carved the
+joint; he then went to the door of the outer apartment, stood with
+his hat in his hand, made a low reverence, and said, 'Herewith I take
+my departure; this man is to be prison governor.' I enquired whether
+he would not come again to me. He replied, 'No, not after this time.'
+Upon this I thanked him for his courteous attendance, and wished him
+prosperity.[93]
+
+ [92] In the margin is added: 'Gabel had said (I was afterwards
+ informed) that I was frightened at the appearance of the man, and
+ thought it was the executioner. I did not regard him as such, but
+ as a poor cavalier, and I imagined he was to undertake the duties
+ which Peder the coachman performed.'
+
+ [93] In the margin: 'Balcke has waited upon me for twenty weeks,
+ and he was accused of having told me what happened outside. In
+ proof of this it was alleged that he had told me that Gabel had
+ been made Statholder, to whom I afterwards gave this title in M.
+ Buck's hearing. Balcke one day could not restrain himself from
+ laughing, for while he was standing and talking with me, the woman
+ and the man were standing on the stairs outside, chuckling and
+ laughing; and he said, "Outside there is the chatter market. Why
+ does not Peder so arrange it that it is forbidden? You can get to
+ know all that goes on in the world without me."'
+
+Peder the coachman locked the door, and the new prison governor,
+whose name was Johan Jäger,[E37] never appeared before me the whole
+day, nor during the evening. I said to the woman in the morning, 'Ask
+Peder who the man is;' which she did, and returned to me with the
+answer that it was the man who had taken the Doctor prisoner; and
+that now he was to be prison governor, but that he had not yet
+received the keys. Not many days passed before he came with the Lord
+Steward to the old prison governor, and the keys were taken from the
+old man and given to him. The old man lived only to the day after
+this occurred. In both respects his curiosity was satisfied; he saw
+the man who was to be prison governor after him (to his grief), and
+the doctor who attended him obtained his Tyrelyre before the year was
+ended.
+
+ [E37] It was a Colonel Hagedorn that entrapped and arrested Dr.
+ Sperling, and Jäger played only a subordinate part in that
+ transaction. He is stated to have been a cousin of Gabel, and to
+ have been formerly a commander in the navy. He was appointed prison
+ governor on June 12, 1665, and Balcke therefore doubtless only held
+ the appointment provisionally.
+
+The new prison governor Jäger[E37b] did not salute me for several
+weeks, and never spoke to me. He rarely locked my doors, but he
+generally opened them himself. At length one day, when he had got new
+shoes on, he took his hat off when he had opened the door, and said
+'Good morning.' I answered him, 'Many thanks.' The woman was very
+pleased while this lasted. She had her free talk with Peder the
+coachman (who still for a couple of months came to the tower as
+before) and with the prisoner Christian, who had great freedom, and
+obtained more and more freedom in this prison governor's time,
+especially as Rasmus the tower-warder was made gatekeeper, and a man
+of the name of Chresten was appointed in his place. Among other idle
+talk which she repeated to me, she said that this prison governor was
+forbidden to speak with me. I said, 'I am very glad, as he then can
+tell no lies about me.' I am of opinion that he did not venture to
+speak with me so long as Peder brought up the food to the tower, and
+was in waiting there; for when he had procured Peder's dismissal on
+account of stealing, he came in afterwards from time to time. The
+very first time he was intoxicated. He knew what Peder had said of
+Balcke, and he informed me of it.[94]
+
+ [E37b] It was a Colonel Hagedorn that entrapped and arrested Dr.
+ Sperling, and Jäger played only a subordinate part in that
+ transaction. He is stated to have been a cousin of Gabel, and to
+ have been formerly a commander in the navy. He was appointed prison
+ governor on June 12, 1665, and Balcke therefore doubtless only held
+ the appointment provisionally.
+
+ [94] In the margin is added: 'While Balcke waited on me, a folding
+ table was brought in for the bread and glasses, and also for the
+ woman's food, which she did not take till the doors had been
+ locked. There was nothing there before but the night-stool to place
+ the dishes on: that was the woman's table.'
+
+Before I mention anything of the prisoner Christian's designs
+against me, I will in a few words state the crime for which he was in
+prison. He had been a lacquey in the employ of Maans Armfelt. With
+some other lacqueys he had got into a quarrel with a man who had been
+a father to Christian, and who had brought him up from his youth and
+had taken the utmost care of him. The man was fatally wounded, and
+called out in the agonies of death: 'God punish thee, Christian! What
+a son you have been! It was your hand that struck me!' The other
+lacqueys ran away, but Christian was seized. His dagger was found
+bloody. He denied, and said it was not he who had stabbed the man. He
+was sentenced to death; but as the dead man's widow would not pay for
+the execution, Christian remained for the time in prison, and his
+master paid for his maintenance. He had been there three years
+already when I came to the prison, and three times he was removed;
+first from the Witch Cell to the Dark Church; and then here where I
+am imprisoned.[95] When I was brought here, he was placed where the
+Doctor is, and when the Doctor was brought in, Christian was allowed
+to go freely about the tower. He wound the clock for the
+tower-warder, locked and unlocked the cells below, and had often even
+the keys of the tower.
+
+ [95] In the margin is added: 'At that time there was a large double
+ window with iron grating, which was walled up when I was brought
+ here; and Christian told me afterwards how the maids in the
+ store-room had supplied him with many a can of beer, which he had
+ drawn up by a cord.'
+
+I remember once, when Rasmus the tower-warder was sitting at dinner
+with the prison governor in my outermost cell, and the prison
+governor wished to send Peder on a message, he said to Rasmus: 'Go
+and open! I want Peder to order something. 'Father,' said Rasmus,
+'Christian has the key.' 'Indeed!' said the prison governor; 'that is
+pretty work!' And there it rested, for Rasmus said, 'I am perfectly
+sure that Christian will not go away.' Thus by degrees Christian's
+freedom and power increased after Peder the coachman left, and he
+waited on the prison governor at meals in my outermost room.
+
+One day, when the woman had come down from above, where she had been
+emptying the utensils in my room, and the doors were locked, she said
+to me: 'This Christian who is here has been just speaking with me
+upstairs. He says he cannot describe the Doctor's miserable
+condition, how severe is his imprisonment, and what bad food he gets,
+since Balcke left. He has no longer any candle except during
+meal-time, and no light reaches him but through the hole in his door
+leading into the outer room. He begged me to tell you of it; his eyes
+were full of tears, such great pity had he for him.' I said: 'That is
+all that one can do, and it is the duty of a Christian to sympathise
+with the misfortune of one's neighbour. The poor man must have
+patience as well as I, and we must console ourselves with a good
+conscience. The harder he suffers the sooner comes the end; he is an
+old man.'
+
+Two days afterwards she came again with some talk from Christian. The
+Doctor sent me his compliments, and he asked constantly if I was
+well; she said also, that Christian would give him anything I liked
+to send him. I regarded this as a snare, but I said that Christian
+could take a piece of roast meat when the prison governor was with
+me, and that he should look about for something into which wine could
+be poured, and then she could secretly give some from my glass, and
+beg Christian to give my compliments to the Doctor. This was
+accepted, and I had rest for a few days. Christian conformed entirely
+to the woman, caused a dispute between her and the tower-warder, and
+made it immediately right again; so that there was no lack of
+chatter. At last she said one day: 'That is an honest fellow, this
+Christian! He has told me how innocently he got into prison and was
+sentenced. He is afraid that you may think he eats and drinks all
+that you send to the Doctor. He swore with a solemn oath that he
+would be true to you, if you would write a word to the Doctor.[96] I
+hope you do not doubt my fidelity!' and she began to swear and to
+curse herself if she would deceive me. She said, he had taken a no
+less solemn oath, before she believed him. I said: 'I have nothing to
+write to him. I do not know what I have to write.' 'Oh!' said she,
+'write only two words, so that the old man may see that he can trust
+him! If you wish for ink, Christian can give you some.' I replied: 'I
+have something to write with, if I choose to do so, and I can write
+without ink and paper.'
+
+ [96] In the margin is this note: 'Christian had at that time given
+ me some pieces of flint which are so sharp that I can cut fine
+ linen with them by the thread. The pieces are still in my
+ possession, and with this implement I executed various things.'
+
+This she could not understand; so I took some pieces of sugared
+almonds, and made some letters on them with the large pin, placing on
+four almonds the words: _non ti fidar_! I divided the word _fidar_,
+and placed half on each almond. I had in this way rest for a day, and
+somewhat to beguile the time. Whether the Doctor could not see what
+was written on the almonds, or whether he wished to test Christian's
+fidelity, I know not, but Christian brought the woman a slip of paper
+from the Doctor to me, full of lamentations at our condition, and
+stating that my daughter Anna Cathrina, or else Cassetta, were the
+cause of his misfortune.
+
+I wished to know more of this, so I wrote to him desiring information
+(we wrote to each other in Italian). He replied that one or the other
+had left his letter lying somewhere on the table, where it was found
+and despatched; for that a letter of his was the cause of his
+misfortune. I wrote back to him that it was not credible, but that he
+was suspected of having corresponded with my lord, and hence his
+letters had been seized. The more I tried to impress this upon him
+the more opinionated he became,[97] and he wrote afterwards saying
+that it was a scheme of Cassetta's to get him into the net, in order
+to bring me out of it. When he began to write in this way, I acquired
+a strange opinion of him, and fancied he was trying to draw something
+out of me which he could bring forward; and I reflected for some days
+whether I should answer. At last I answered him in this strain, that
+no one knew better than he that I was not aware of any treason; that
+the knowledge as to how his correspondence with my lord had become
+known was of no use to him; that I had no idea why he was sentenced,
+and that no sentence had been passed on me. Some weeks elapsed before
+the Doctor wrote. At last he communicated to me in a few words the
+sentence passed upon him, and we corresponded from time to time with
+each other.
+
+ [97] In the margin is added: 'Such is his character.'
+
+The prison governor became gradually more accessible, came in at
+every meal-time, and related all sorts of jokes and buffooneries,
+which he had carried on in his youth: how he had been a drummer, and
+had made a Merry Andrew of himself for my brother-in-law Count Pentz,
+and how he had enacted a dog for the sake of favour and money, and
+had crawled under the table, frightening the guests and biting a dog
+for a ducat's reward. When he had been drinking (which was often the
+case) he juggled and played Punch, sometimes a fortune-teller, and
+the like.
+
+When Chresten the tower-warder, and Christian the prisoner, heard the
+prison governor carrying on his jokes, they did the same, and made
+such a noise with the woman in the antechamber that we could not hear
+ourselves speak. She sat on Christian's lap, and behaved herself in a
+wanton manner. One day she was not very well, and made herself some
+warm beer and bread, placing it outside on the stove. The prison
+governor was sitting with me and talking, Chresten and Christian were
+joking with her outside, and Christian was to stir the warm beer and
+bread, and taste if it was hot enough. Chresten said to Christian,
+'Drink it up if you are thirsty.' The words were no sooner said than
+the deed was done, and almost at the same moment the prison governor
+got up and went away. When the door was locked, the woman seemed to
+be almost fainting. I thought she was ill, and I was fearful that she
+might die suddenly, and that the guilt of her death might be laid on
+me, and I asked quickly, 'Are you ill?' She answered, 'I am bad
+enough,' confirming it with a terrible oath and beginning to unbutton
+her jacket. Then I saw that she was angry, and I knew well that she
+would give vent to a burst of execrations, which was the case.
+
+She cursed and scolded those who had so treated her; a poor sick
+thing as she was, and she had not had anything to eat or drink all
+day. I said, 'Be quiet, and you shall have some warm beer.' She swore
+with a solemn oath, asking how it was to be got here? it was summer
+and there was no fire in the stove, and it was no use calling, as no
+one could hear. I said, 'If you will be silent, I will cause the pot
+to boil.' 'Yes,' and she swore with another fearful oath, 'I can
+indeed be silent, and will never speak of it.' So I made her take
+three pieces of brick, which were lying behind the night-stool, and
+place on these her pot of beer and bread (everything that she was to
+do was to be done in silence; she might not answer me with words but
+only with signs, when I asked her anything). She sat down besides the
+pot, stirring it with a spoon. I sat always on my bed during the day,
+and then the table was placed before me. I had a piece of chalk, and
+I wrote various things on the table, asking from time to time whether
+the pot boiled. She kept peeping in and shaking her head. When I had
+asked three times and she turned to me and saw that I was laughing,
+she behaved herself like a mad woman, throwing the spoon from her
+hand, turning over the stool, tearing open her jacket, and
+exclaiming, 'The devil may be jeered at like this!' I said, 'You are
+not worthy of anything better, as you believe that I can practise
+magic.' 'Oh (and she repeated a solemn oath) had I not believed that
+you could practise magic, I should never have consented to be locked
+up with you; do you know that?' I reflected for a moment what answer
+to give, but I said nothing, smiled, and let her rave on.
+
+Afterwards she wept and bemoaned her condition. 'Now, now,' I said,
+'be quiet! I will make the pot boil without witchcraft.' And as we
+had a tinder-box, I ordered her to strike a light, and to kindle
+three ends of candles, which she was to place under the pot. This
+made the pot boil, and she kissed her hand to me and was very merry.
+Once or twice afterwards I gave her leave to warm beer in this way:
+it could not always be done, for if the wind blew against the window
+(which was opened with a long pike) the smoke could not pass away. I
+said, 'Remember your oath and do not talk of what takes place here,
+or the lights will be taken from us; at any rate we shall lose some
+of them.' She asserted that she would not. I heard nothing of it at
+the time, but some years afterwards I found that she had said that I
+had taken up two half-loose stones from the floor (this was
+afterwards related in another manner by a clergyman, as will be
+mentioned afterwards). She had also said that I had climbed up and
+looked at the rope-dancers in the castle square, which was true. For
+as Chresten one day told the woman that rope-dancers would be
+exhibiting in the inner castle yard, and she informed me of it and
+enquired what they were, and I explained to her, she lamented that
+she could not get a sight of them. I said it could easily be done, if
+she would not talk about it afterwards. She swore, as usual, with an
+oath that she would not. So I took the bedclothes from the bed and
+placed the boards on the floor and set the bed upright in front of
+the window, and the night-stool on the top of it. In order to get
+upon the bedstead, the table was placed at the side, and a stool by
+the table in order to get upon the table, and a stool upon the table,
+in order to get upon the night-stool, and a stool on the night-stool,
+so that we could stand and look comfortably, though not both at once.
+I let her climb up first, and I stood and took care that the bed did
+not begin to give way; she was to keep watch when I was on the top. I
+knew, moreover, well that the dancers did not put forth their utmost
+skill at first.[98]
+
+ [98] In the margin is added: 'These rope-dancers did things that I
+ had never seen before. One had a basket attached to each leg, and
+ in each basket was a boy of five years of age, and a woman fell
+ upon the rope and jumped up again. But during the time of the other
+ woman, I saw a man suspended by his chin and springing back upon
+ the rope.'
+
+I could see the faces of the King and Queen: they were standing in
+the long hall, and I wondered afterwards that they never turned their
+eyes to the place where I stood. I did not let the woman perceive
+that I saw them. During this woman's time I once had a desire to see
+the people go to the castle-church and return from it. The bed was
+again placed upright, and I sat for a long time on the top, until
+everyone had come out of church. The woman did not venture to climb
+up; she said that she had been afraid enough the last time, and was
+glad when she had come down.
+
+The first time I received the holy communion during this prison
+governor's time, two brass candlesticks which did not match were
+brought in, with tallow candles. This displeased the woman, though
+she said nothing to me. But when at length she was compelled to take
+the sacrament, after more than three years had elapsed since she had
+been at the Lord's table, she begged Chresten, the tower-warder, to
+go to her daughter (who was in the service of a carpenter in the
+town), and to get the loan of a pair of beautiful brass candlesticks
+and a couple of wax candles. If she could also procure for her a fine
+linen cloth, she was to do her best; she would pay for it.
+
+Whether the woman had before thought of the candlesticks and candles
+which had been placed for me, or whether Chresten himself thought
+that it would not be proper to provide better for her, I know not,
+but shortly before the priest came, Chresten unlocked the outer door
+of my prison and said, 'Karen, hand me out the candlestick you have,
+and two candles.' Her behaviour is not to be described: she asked if
+he had not spoken with her daughter, and much of the same kind (I did
+not at the time know what she had desired of Chresten). He made no
+reply to her question, but asked for the candlestick and candles. For
+a long time she would not give them, but cursed and scolded. I was
+still lying down, and I asked her if I should be her maid, and should
+do it for her? whether she could withhold from him what he requested?
+So she handed them to him through the hole of the inner door, with so
+many execrations against him that it was terrible to listen to. He
+laughed aloud, and went away. This made her still more angry. I did
+my best to appease her, telling her that such conduct was a most
+improper preparation, and holding before her the sinfulness of her
+behaviour. She said she thought that the sin belonged to him who had
+given cause for it. I asked her, at last, in what the Lord's Supper
+consisted? whether it consisted in candlesticks and candles? I
+rebuked her for looking to externals and not to the essential; and I
+begged her to fall on her knees and pray heartily to God for
+forgiveness of her sins, that He might not impute her folly to her.
+She answered that she would do so, but she did not do it at once.
+
+I imagine that the clergyman[99] was well informed by Chresten of all
+that concerned her, as he put to her so many questions: where she was
+born? whom she had served? and more of the same kind, and finally,
+whether she had her certificate of confession, and how long it was
+since she had received the Lord's Supper? After this he confessed her
+in a strange manner; at first as one who had deserved to do public
+penance for great sins, then as a criminal under sentence of death
+who was preparing for her end; at last consoling her, and performing
+his office. When all was over and she came in to me, I wished her
+joy. 'Joy, indeed' (she answered); 'there is not much good in it!
+This does me more harm than good! If I could only get out, I would
+indeed go straight to the sacrament; I reckon this as nothing!' I
+interrupted her quickly, and said: 'Reflect upon what you are saying!
+blaspheme not God--I will not hear that! You know well what God's
+Word says of those who receive Christ's body and blood unworthily and
+have trodden under foot his body?' 'Under foot?' said she. 'Yes,
+under foot!' I said, and I made a whole sermon upon it. She listened
+decently; but when I was silent, she said: 'He looked upon me as a
+malefactor, and as one under sentence of death. I have never murdered
+anyone (I thought, we know not what);[100] why should I die? God
+Almighty grant'----and with this she was silent. I preached to her
+again, and said that she had deserved eternal death on account of her
+sins, and especially because she had so long kept aloof from the
+Lord's table. 'This confession,' she said, 'I have to thank Chresten
+for; Balcke was also probably concerned in it.' And she began to
+curse them both. I threatened her with a second confession, if she
+did not restrain such words. I told her I could not justify myself
+before God to keep silence to it, and I said, 'If you speak in this
+way to Chresten, you may be sure he will inform against you.' This
+kept her somewhat in check, and she did not go out upon the stairs
+that noon.[101]
+
+ [99] In the margin is added: 'This was the priest who attended to
+ the prisoners, and as he confessed her in the anteroom, I heard
+ every word said by him, but not her replies.'
+
+ [100] In the margin is added: 'Her child.'
+
+ [101] In the margin is added: 'She was in every respect a malicious
+ woman, and grudged a little meat to any prisoner. A poor sacristan
+ was my neighbour in the Dark Church, and I gave her a piece of meat
+ for him. She would not take it to him, which she could easily have
+ done without anyone seeing. When I saw the meat afterwards, I found
+ fault with her. Then she said, "Why should I give it to him? He has
+ never given me anything. I get nothing for it." I said, "You give
+ nothing of your own away." This sacristan was imprisoned because he
+ had taken back his own horse, the man to whom he had sold it not
+ having paid him. He sang all day long, and on Sunday he went
+ through the service like a clergyman, with the responses, &c.'
+
+After that time she was not so merry by far with the man. She often
+complained to me that she was weak, and had strained herself lifting
+the new basin which Balcke had given her; she could not long hold
+out, she said, and she had asked the prison governor to let her go
+away, but that he had answered that she was to die in the tower. I
+said, 'The prison governor cannot yet rightly understand you; ask
+Chresten to speak for you.' This she did, but came back with the same
+answer. One day she said: 'I see well, dear lady, that you would be
+as gladly free of me as I should be to go. What have I for all my
+money? I cannot enjoy it, and I cannot be of service to you.' I said:
+'Money can do much. Give some money to the prison-governor, and then
+he will speak for you. Request one of the charwomen to carry the
+basin instead of you, and this you could pay with very little.' She
+did the latter for some weeks; at length one day she said to me, 'I
+have had a silver cup made for the prison governor. (Her daughter
+came to her on the stairs as often as she desired, and she had
+permission to remain downstairs the whole afternoon, under pretext of
+speaking with her daughter. Whether she gave him presents for this, I
+know not, but I was well contented to be alone. She was, however,
+once afraid that I should tell the priest of it.) The fact was, the
+prison-governor did not dare to speak for her with the King. She
+asked my advice on the matter. I said, 'Remain in bed when the
+dinner is going on, and I will go out and speak with the
+prison-governor.' This was done. At first he raised some
+difficulties, and said, 'The Queen will say that there is some trick
+at the bottom of it.' I said they could visit and examine the woman
+when she came out; that we had not been such intimate friends; that I
+knew the woman had been sent to wait on me; when she could do so no
+longer, but lay in bed, I had no attendance from her, and still less
+was I inclined to wait on her; she did her work for money, and there
+were women enough who would accept the employment.
+
+Three days afterwards, when the King came from Fridrichsborg, the
+prison-governor came in and said that the woman could go down in the
+evening; that he had another whom Chresten had recommended, and who
+was said to be a well-behaved woman (which she is).
+
+Karen the daughter of Ole therefore went down, and Karen the daughter
+of Nels came up in her place. And I can truly say that it was one of
+the happiest days during my severe imprisonment; for I was freed of a
+faithless, godless, lying[102] and ill-behaved woman, and I received
+in her stead a Christian, true, and thoroughly good (perhaps too
+good) woman. When the first took her departure, she said, 'Farewell,
+lady! we are now both pleased.' I answered, 'That is perhaps one of
+the truest words you have ever spoken in your life.' She made no
+reply, but ran as fast as she could, so that no weakness nor illness
+were perceptible in her. She lived scarcely a year afterwards,
+suffering severe pain for six weeks in her bed, before she died; the
+nature of her malady I know not.
+
+ [102] In the margin is added: 'She had begged Chresten, for more
+ than half a year before she left, to tell the prison-governor that
+ her life hung on a thread; that I had a ball of clay in my
+ handkerchief, and that I had threatened to break her head to pieces
+ with it (I had said one day that a person with a ball of that kind
+ could kill another). She invented several similar lies, as I
+ subsequently heard.'
+
+On the day after this Karen's arrival, she sat thoroughly depressed
+all the afternoon. I asked her what was the matter. She said, 'Oh! I
+have nothing to do, and I might not bring work with me! I weary to
+death.' I enquired what work she could do. 'Spinning,' she answered,
+'is my work principally; I can also do plain needlework and can knit
+a little.' I had nothing to help her in this way; but I drew out some
+ends of silk, which I had kept from what I cut off, and which are too
+short to work with, and other tufts of silk from night-jackets and
+stockings; I had made a flax-comb of small pins,[103] fastened to a
+piece of wood; with this I combed the silk and made it available for
+darning caps; and I said to her, 'There is something for you to do;
+comb that for me!' She was so heartily pleased that it was quite a
+delight to me. I found from her account of this and that which had
+occurred in her life, that she had a good heart, and that she had
+often been deceived owing to her credulity. She had also known me in
+my prosperity; she had been in the service of a counsellor's lady who
+had been present at my wedding, and she could well remember the
+display of fireworks and other festivities; she wept as she spoke of
+it, and showed great sympathy with me. She was a peasant's daughter
+from Jutland, but had married the quarter-master of a regiment. By
+degrees I felt an affection for her, and begged her to speak to
+Christian and to enquire how the Doctor was; I told her that
+Christian could occasionally perform small services for us, and could
+buy one thing or another for us; for he had a lad, in fact sometimes
+two, who executed commissions for him, but that I had never trusted
+the other woman, so that he had never bought anything for me;
+besides, the other woman had not cared to spin; but that Christian
+should now procure us what we wanted in return for our candles. And
+as she did not care to drink wine (for at each meal the woman
+received at that time half-a-pint of French wine), I said: 'Give
+Chresten your wine as I give wine to Christian, then Chresten can let
+it stay with the cellar-clerk and can take it weekly, which will give
+him a profit on it, and then he will see nothing even if he remarks
+anything.'
+
+ [103] In the margin is added: 'The pins I had obtained some time
+ ago from the first woman. She had procured them with some needles,
+ and, thinking to hide them from me, she carried them in her bosom
+ in a paper and forgot them. In the evening when she dropped her
+ petticoat to go to bed, the paper fell on the floor. I knew from
+ the sound what it was. One Saturday, when she went upstairs with
+ the night-stool, I took the pins out of her box, and she never
+ ventured to ask for them; she saw me using them afterwards, and
+ said nothing about them.'
+
+This was done, and Christian got us two hand-distaffs. Mine was but
+small, but hers was a proper size. I spun a little and twisted it
+into thread, which is still in my possession. Christian procured her
+as much flax as she desired, and brought her up a whole wreath in his
+trousers. She spun a good deal on the hand-distaff, and I arranged my
+loom on a stool, which I placed on the table, fastening one beam with
+ribbon and cord which I had made myself, so that when the key was put
+into the staircase-door, I could in one pull loosen my loom and
+unfasten the other beam which was fastened to myself, and put all
+away before the inner door was opened. I made myself also a wooden
+skewer (I had before used a warp), so that I could weave alone; I had
+also obtained a real weaver's comb; so we were very industrious,
+each at her own work.
+
+The prison governor was full of foolish jokes, and played tricks such
+as boys enjoy; he tried to jest with the woman, but she would not
+join him. Almost every day he was drunk at dinner-time when he came
+up. Afterwards he came rarely of an evening, but sent a servant
+instead, who would lie and sleep on the wall in the window. He wanted
+to jest with me also, and opened his mouth, telling me to throw
+something in and see if I could hit his mouth. I laughed and said,
+'How foolish you are!' and begged him to come nearer, and I would see
+if I could hit him. 'No, no,' said he; 'I am not such a fool; I
+daresay you would box my ears.' One day he came up with a peculiar
+kind of squirt, round in form like a ball, and he placed a small tube
+in it, so small as scarcely to be seen; it was quite pretty. When
+pressed in any part, the water squirted out quite high and to a
+distance. He was saucy, and squirted me. When he saw that I was
+angry, he came to me with the squirt, ran away and sat down with his
+mouth as wide open as possible and begged me to squirt into it if I
+could. I would not begin playing with him, for I knew his coarseness
+well from his stories, and I gave him back the squirt. When Karen was
+bringing in the meat, the prison governor had the squirt between his
+legs, and was seated on a low stool, from which he could squirt into
+the woman's face; he was some distance from her, and the ball was not
+larger than a large plum. She knew nothing of the squirt (she is
+somewhat hasty in her words), and she exclaimed, 'May God send you a
+misfortune, Mr. governor! Are you insulting me?' The prison governor
+laughed like an insane man, so pleased was he at this.
+
+By degrees he became less wild; he rarely came up sober, and he would
+lie on the woman's bed and sleep while I dined, so that Chresten and
+the woman had to help him off the bed when they had woke him. The
+keys of the prisons lay by his side, and the principal key close by
+(did he not take good care of his prisoners?).[104] He was not afraid
+that I should murder him. One evening he was intoxicated, and behaved
+as such; and began, after his fashion, to try and caress me,
+endeavouring to feel my knee and seized the edge of my petticoat. I
+thrust him away with my foot, and said nothing more than: 'When you
+are intoxicated, remain away from me, and do not come in, I tell
+you.' He said nothing, got up and went away; but he did not come in
+afterwards when he was tipsy, but remained outside in the anteroom,
+lying down in the window, where there was a broad stone bench against
+the wall; there he lay and slept for some time after my doors were
+locked, then the coachman and Chresten came and dragged him down.
+Occasionally he came in when he was not drunk, and he gave me at my
+request some old cards, which I sewed together and made into a box.
+Christian covered it with thin sticks of fir, which I afterwards
+stitched over, and I even secretly contrived to paint it. I have it
+in my possession. The prison governor saw it afterwards, but he never
+asked where the covering had come from.[105] In this box (if I may
+call it so) I keep all my work and implements, and it stands by day
+on my bed.
+
+ [104] In the margin is noted: 'I said one day to the woman, "Were
+ it not for the Queen, who would make the King angry with me, I
+ would retaliate upon the prison governor for having decoyed Doctor
+ Sperling. I would take the keys when he was sleeping, and wait for
+ Chresten to come with the cups, and then I would go up the King's
+ stairs and take the keys to the King, just as the lacquey did with
+ the old prison-governor. But I should gain nothing from this King,
+ and perhaps should be still more strictly confined."'
+
+ [105] In the margin is noted: 'At first, when this Karen did not
+ know the prison governor, she did not venture so boldly to the
+ prisoners in the Dark Church to give them anything, for she said,
+ "The prison governor stares at me so." I said, "It is with him as
+ with little children; they look staring at a thing, and do not know
+ what it is." It is the case with him, he does not trouble himself
+ about anything.'
+
+Christian's power increased. He waited not only outside at dinner,
+but he even locked my door in the face of the tower-warder. He came
+with the perfuming-pan into my room when the woman took away the
+night-stool; in fact, he subsequently became so audacious that he did
+everything he chose, and had full command over the prisoners below.
+Chresten availed himself also of the slack surveillance of the prison
+governor, and stayed sometimes the whole night out in the town, often
+coming in tipsy to supper. One evening Chresten was intoxicated, and
+had broken some panes of glass below with his hand, so that his
+fingers were bloody; he dashed my wine-cup on the ground, so that it
+cracked and was bent; and as the cup was quite bloody outside when he
+came in to me, and some blood seemed to have got into the wine, I
+spoke somewhat seriously with the prison governor about it. He said
+nothing but 'The man is mad,' took the cup and went himself down into
+the cellar, and had the cup washed and other wine put in it. How they
+afterwards made it up I know not. The indentations on the cup have
+been beaten out, but the crack on the edge is still there; this suits
+the cellar-clerk well, for now scarcely half a pint goes into the
+cup. Christian held his own manfully against the prison governor,
+when he had a quarrel with some of the prisoners below; and Chresten
+complained of this to the prison governor, who came in and wanted to
+place Christian in the Witch Cell; but he thrust the prison governor
+away, and said that he had nothing to do with him, and that he had
+not put him into the prison; and then harangued him in such a style
+that the Governor thanked God when he went away. Christian then
+called after him from the window, and said, 'I know secret tricks of
+yours, but you know none of mine.' (One I knew of, of which he was
+aware, and that not a small one. There was a corporal who had stabbed
+a soldier, and was sought for with the beating of drums: the prison
+governor concealed him for several weeks in the tower.) On the
+following morning Christian repented, and he feared that he might be
+locked up, and came to my door before it had been opened[106] (it
+often happened that the anteroom was unlocked before the food was
+brought up, and always in the winter mornings, when a fire was made
+in the stove outside), and he begged me to speak for him with the
+prison governor, which I did; so that things remained as they were,
+and Christian was as bold as before.
+
+ [106] In the margin is added: 'The hinges of my outer door are so
+ far from the wall that they are open more than a hand's breadth, so
+ that I have got in large things between them; and above they are
+ still more open, and when I put my arm through the peep-hole of the
+ inner door and stretch it out, I can reach to the top of the outer
+ one, though the woman cannot.'
+
+The woman and I lived in good harmony together. Occasionally there
+were small disputes between Christian and her, but at that time they
+were of no importance. I quieted his anger with wine and candles.
+This woman had a son, who died just after she had come to me, and a
+daughter who is still alive; at that time she was in the service of a
+tailor, but she is now married to a merchant. The daughter received
+permission occasionally to come and speak with her mother on the
+stairs. This annoyed Christian, as he thought that through her all
+sorts of things were obtained; and he threatened often that he would
+say what he thought, though he did not know it, and this frequently
+troubled the woman (she easily weeps and easily laughs). I could soon
+comfort her. We spent our time very well. I taught her to read,
+beginning with A B C, for she did not know a single letter. I kept to
+fixed hours for teaching her. She was at the time sixty years of age.
+And when she could spell a little,[107] she turned the book one day
+over and over, and began to rub her eyes and exclaimed, 'Oh God, how
+strange it is! I do not know (and she swore by God) a single letter.'
+I was standing behind her, and could scarcely keep from laughing. She
+rubbed her eyes again, and (as she is rather hasty with her words)
+she pointed quickly to an O, and said, 'Is not that an O?' 'Yes,' I
+said, and I laughed when she turned to me. She then for the first
+time perceived that she was holding the book upside down; she threw
+herself on the bed and laughed till I thought she would burst.
+
+ [107] In the margin: 'She has a curious manner of spelling. She
+ cannot spell a word of three syllables; for when she has to add the
+ two syllables to the third, she has forgotten the first. If I urge
+ her, however, she can read the word correctly when she has spelt
+ the first syllable. She spells words of two syllables and reads
+ those of four.'
+
+One day when she was to read, and did not like to lay aside her
+distaff, it did not go smoothly, and she gave it up, and said, 'Am I
+not foolish to wish to learn to read in my old age? What good does it
+do me? I have spent much money on my son to have him taught to read,
+and see, is he not dead?' I knew how much she was able to do, and I
+let her go on speaking. She threw the book on her bed, sat down to
+her work, and said, 'What do I need to learn to read in a book? I
+can, thank God, read my morning and evening prayer.' (I thought to
+myself, 'badly enough.' She knew very little of her catechism.) I
+said (gently): 'That is true, Karen. It is not necessary for you to
+learn to read a book, as you can read very nicely by heart.' I had
+scarcely said this than she jumped up, took her book again, and began
+to spell. I neither advised her nor dissuaded her, but treated her
+like a good simple child.[108]
+
+ [108] In the margin: 'Once she asked me whether she could not get a
+ book in which there was neither _q_ nor _x_, for she could not
+ remember these letters. I answered, "Yes, if you will yourself have
+ such a book printed."'
+
+I fell ill during this year,[109] and as the prison governor no
+longer came in to me and sent the servant up of an evening, I begged
+the woman to tell him that I was ill, and that I wished a doctor to
+come to me. The woman told him this (for by this time he understood
+Danish, and the woman understood a little German), and when she said,
+'I am afraid she will die,' he answered, 'Why the d---- let her die!'
+I had daily fevers, heat, but no shivering; and as an obstruction was
+the chief cause of my illness, I desired a remedy. The prison
+governor ridiculed the idea. When I heard this, I requested he would
+come to me, which he did. I spoke to him rather seriously; told him
+that it was not the King's will that he should take no more care of
+me than he did, that he had more care for his dog than for me (which
+was the case). Upon this his manner improved, and he enquired what I
+wished for, and I said what I desired, and obtained it. I had become
+rather excited at the conversation, so that I felt weak. The woman
+cried and said: 'I am afraid you will die, dear lady! and then the
+bad maids from the wash-house will wash your feet and hands.' (One of
+the maids below had sent very uncivil messages to me.) I replied that
+I should not say a word against that. 'What?' said she angrily, 'will
+you suffer that? No,' she added with an asseveration, 'I would not! I
+would not suffer it if I were in your place.' So I said, like that
+philosopher, 'Place the stick with the candlestick at my side, and
+with that I can keep them away from me when I am dead.'[110] This
+brought her to reason again, and she talked of the grave and of
+burial. I assured her that this did not trouble me at all; that when
+I was dead, it was all one to me; even if they threw my body in the
+sea, it would, together with my soul, appear before the throne of God
+at the last day, and might come off better perhaps than many who were
+lying in coffins mounted with silver and in splendid vaults. But that
+I would not say, as the prison governor did in his levity, that I
+should like to be buried on the hill of Valdby, in order to be able
+to look around me. I desired nothing else than a happy end. We spoke
+of the prison governor's coarseness; of various things which he did,
+on account of which it would go badly with him if the Queen knew it;
+of his godlessness, how that when he had been to the Lord's Supper,
+he said he had passed muster; and other things. There was no fear of
+God in him.
+
+ [109] In the margin of the MS. is added: 'When this Karen came to
+ me she left me no peace till I allowed her to clean the floor; for
+ I feared that which happened, namely that the smell would cause
+ sickness. In one place there was an accumulation of dirt a couple
+ of feet thick. When she had loosened it, it had to remain till the
+ door was opened. I went to bed, threw the bed-clothes over my head,
+ and held my nose.'[E38]
+
+ [E38] 'Anno 1666, soon after Karen, Nil's daughter, came to me, we
+ first discovered that there was a stone floor to my prison chamber,
+ as she broke loose a piece of rubbish cemented together, and the
+ stones were apparent. I had before thought it a loam floor. The
+ former Karen, Ole's daughter, was one of those who spread the dirt
+ but do not take it away. This Karen tormented me unceasingly,
+ almost daily, that we must remove it everywhere, and that at
+ once--it would soon be done. I was of opinion that it would make us
+ ill if it was done all at once, as we required water to soften it,
+ and the stench in this oppressive hole would cause sickness, but
+ that it would be easier and less uncomfortable to remove one piece
+ after another. She adhered to her opinion and to her desire, and
+ thought that she could persuade the prison governor and the
+ tower-warder to let the door remain open till all had been made
+ clean. But when the tower-warder had brought in a tub of water, he
+ locked the door. I went to bed and covered my face closely, while
+ she scraped and swept up the dirt. The quantity of filth was
+ incredible. It had been collecting for years, for this had been a
+ malefactors' prison, and the floor had never been cleaned. She laid
+ all the dirt in a heap in the corner, and there was as much as a
+ cartload. It was left there until evening at supper-time, when the
+ doors were opened. It was as I feared: we were both ill. The woman
+ recovered first, for she could get out into the air, but I remained
+ in the oppressive hole, where there was scarcely light. We gained
+ this from it, that we were tormented day and night with numbers of
+ fleas, and they came to her more than to me, so much so that she
+ was often on the point of weeping. I laughed and made fun of it,
+ saying that she would now have always something to do, and would
+ have enough to beguile the time. We could not, however, work. The
+ fleas were thick on our stockings, so that the colour of the
+ stockings was not to be perceived, and we wiped them off into the
+ water-basin. I then discovered that one flea produces another. For
+ when I examined them, and how they could swim, I perceived that
+ some small feet appeared behind the flea, and I thought it was a
+ peculiar kind. At last I saw what it was, and I took the flea from
+ which the small one was emerging on my finger, and it left behind
+ evidences of birth: it hopped immediately, but the mother remained
+ a little, until she recovered herself, and the first time she could
+ not hop so far. This amusement I had more than once, till the fleas
+ came to an end. Whether all fleas are born in this manner I cannot
+ tell, but that they are produced from dirt and loam I have seen in
+ my prison, and I have observed how they become gradually perfect
+ and of the peculiar colour of the material from which they have
+ been generated. I have seen them pair.'
+
+ It is scarcely necessary to say that, as far as natural history is
+ concerned, Leonora has committed a mistake.
+
+ [110] In the margin is added: 'On the stick there was a tin
+ candlestick, which was occasionally placed at the side of my bed. I
+ used it for fixing my knitting.'[E39]
+
+ [E39] Leonora alludes to an anecdote told by 'Cicero in Tuscul.
+ Quæst. lib. i. c. 43.' He recounts that the cynic Diogenes had
+ ordered that his body should not be buried after his death but left
+ uninterred. His friends asked, 'As a prey to birds and wild
+ beasts?' 'Not at all,' answered Diogenes; place a stick by me,
+ wherewith I may drive them away.' 'But how can you?' rejoined
+ these; 'you won't know!' 'But what then,' was his reply, 'concern
+ the attacks of the wild beasts me, when I don't feel them?'
+
+I requested to have the sacrament, and asked M. Buck to come to me at
+seven o'clock in the morning, for at about half-past eight o'clock
+the fever began. The priest did not come till half-past nine, when
+the fever heat had set in (for it began now somewhat later). When I
+had made my confession, he began to preach about murder and homicide;
+about David, who was guilty of Uriah's death, although he had not
+killed him with his own hand. He spoke of sin as behoved him, and of
+the punishment it brings with it. 'You,' he said, 'have killed
+General Fux, for you have bribed a servant to kill him.' I replied,
+'That is not true! I have not done so!' 'Yes, truly,' he said; 'the
+servant is in Hamburg, and he says it himself.' I replied: 'If he has
+so said, he has lied, for my son gave Fux his death-blow with a
+stiletto. I did not know that Fux was in Bruges until I heard of his
+death. How could the servant, then, say that I had done it? It was
+not done by my order, but that I should not have rejoiced that God
+should have punished the villain I am free to confess.' To this he
+answered, 'I should have done so myself.' I said: 'God knows how Fux
+treated us in our imprisonment at Borringholm. That is now past, and
+I think of it no more.' 'There you are right,' he said, as he
+proceeded in his office. When all was over, he spoke with the prison
+governor outside the door of my anteroom, just in front of the door
+of the Dark Church, and said that I made myself ill; that I was not
+ill; that my face was red from pure anger; that he had spoken the
+truth to me, and that I had been angry in consequence. Christian was
+standing inside the door of the Dark Church, for at this time there
+were no prisoners there, and he heard the conversation, and related
+it to me when I began to get up again and spoke with him at the
+door.
+
+Some time afterwards Christian said to me, quite secretly, 'If you
+like, I will convey a message from you to your children in Skaane.' I
+enquired how this could be done. He said: 'Through my girl; she is
+thoroughly true; she shall go on purpose.' He knew that I had some
+ducats left, for Peder the coachman had confided it to him, as he
+himself told me. I accepted his offer and wrote to my children, and
+gave him a ducat for the girl's journey.[111] She executed the
+commission well, and came back with a letter from them and from my
+sister.[E40] The woman knew nothing of all this.
+
+ [111] In the margin: 'The girl was a prostitute to whom he had
+ promised marriage, and the tower-warder--both the former one and
+ Chresten--let her in to Christian, went out himself, and left them
+ alone.'
+
+ [E40] This sister was Hedvig, who married Ebbe Ulfeldt, a relative
+ of Corfitz Ulfeldt. He was obliged to leave Denmark in 1651, on
+ account of irregularities in the conduct of his office, and went to
+ Sweden, where he became a major-general in the army. He is the
+ person alluded to in the Autobiography. Several of Leonora's
+ children lived in Sweden with their relatives after the death of
+ Corfitz Ulfeldt; but in 1668 the Danish Government obtained that
+ they were forbidden the country.
+
+By degrees Christian began to be insolent in various ways. When he
+came with his boy's pouch, in which the woman was to give him food,
+he would throw it at her, and he was angry if meat was not kept for
+himself for the evening; and when he could not at once get the pouch
+back again, he would curse the day when he had come to my door and
+had spoken with me or had communicated anything to me. She was sad,
+but she said nothing to me. This lasted only for a day, and then he
+knocked again at the door and spoke as usual of what news he had
+heard. The woman was sitting on the bed, crossing herself fifteen
+times (he could not see her, nor could he see me). When he was gone,
+she related how fearfully he had been swearing, &c. I said: 'You must
+not regard this; in the time of the other Karen he has done as much.'
+His courage daily increased. The dishes were often brought up
+half-an-hour before the prison-governor came. In the meanwhile
+Christian cut the meat, and took himself the piece he preferred
+(formerly at every meal I had sent him out a piece of fish, or
+anything else he desired). The stupid prison governor allowed it to
+go on; he was glad, I imagine, that he was spared the trouble, and
+paid no attention to the fact that there was anything missing in the
+dish. I let it go on for a time, for it did not happen regularly
+every day. But when he wanted food for his boy, he would say nothing
+but 'Some food in my boy's pouch!' We often laughed over this
+afterwards, when he was away, but not at the time, for it grew worse
+from day to day. He could not endure that we should laugh and be
+merry; if he heard anything of the kind outside, he was angry. But if
+one spoke despondingly, he would procure what was in his power.[112]
+One day he listened, and heard that we were laughing; for the woman
+was just relating an amusing story of the mother of a schoolboy in
+Frederichsborg (she had lived there); how the mother of the boy did
+not know how to address the schoolmaster, and called him Herr
+Willas.[E41] He said, 'I am no Herr.' 'Then Master,' said the woman.
+'I am no Master either,' he said; 'I am plain Willas.' Then the woman
+said: 'My good plain Willas! My son always licks the cream from my
+milk-pans when he comes home. Will you lick him in return, and that
+with a switch on his back?' While we were laughing at this, he came
+to the door and heard the words I was saying: 'I don't suppose that
+it really so happened; one must always add something to make a good
+story of it.' He imagined we were speaking of him, and that we were
+laughing at him. At meal-time he said to the woman, 'You were very
+merry to-day.' She said, 'Did you not know why? It is because I
+belong to the "Lætter"'[E42] (that was her family name). 'It would be
+a good thing,' he said, 'to put a stop to your laughter altogether;
+you have been laughing at me.' She protested that we had not, that
+his name had not been mentioned (which was the case); but he would
+not regard it. They fell into an altercation. She told me of the
+conversation, and for some days he did not come to the door, and I
+sent him nothing; for just at that time a poor old man was my
+neighbour, and I sent him a drink of wine. Christian came again to
+the door and knocked. He complained very softly of the woman; begged
+that I would reprove her for what she had said to him, as he had
+heard his name mentioned. I protested to him that at the time we were
+not even thinking of him, and that I could not scold her for the
+words we had spoken together. I wished to have repose within our
+closed door. 'Yes,' he answered; 'household peace is good, as the old
+woman said.' With this he went away.
+
+ [112] In the margin: 'In the time of his good humour he had
+ procured me, for money and candles, all that I desired, so that I
+ had both knife and scissors, besides silk, thread, and various
+ things to beguile the time. This vexed him afterwards.'
+
+ [E41] The title 'Herr' was then only given to noblemen and clergy.
+ Master means 'magister,' and was an academical title.
+
+ [E42] The original has here an untranslatable play upon words.
+ _Leth_ is a family name; and the woman says 'I am one of the Letter
+ (the Leths),' but laughter is in Danish 'Latter.'
+
+Afterwards he caused us all sorts of annoyance, and was again
+pacified. Then he wished again that I should write to Skaane.[113] I
+said I was satisfied to know that some of my children were with my
+sister; where my sons were, and how it fared with them, I did not
+know: I left them in God's care. This did not satisfy him, and he
+spoke as if he thought I had no more money; but he did not at that
+time exactly say so. But one day, when he had one of his mad fits, he
+came to the door and had a can with wine (which I gave him at almost
+every meal) in his hand, and he said: 'Can you see me?' (for there
+was a cleft in the outermost door, but at such a distance one could
+not clearly see through). 'Here I am with my cup of wine, and I am
+going to drink your health for the last time.' I asked: 'Why for the
+last time?' 'Yes,' he swore, coming nearer to the door and saying: 'I
+will do no more service for you; so I know well that I shall get no
+more wine.' I said, 'I thank you for the services you have rendered
+me; I desire no more from you, but nevertheless you may still get
+your wine.' 'No!' he said; 'no more service! there is nothing more to
+be fetched.' 'That is true,' I answered. 'You do not know me,' said
+he; 'I am not what you think; it is easy to start with me, but it is
+not easy to get rid of me.' I laughed a little, and said: 'You are
+far better than you make yourself out to be. To-morrow you will be of
+another mind.'
+
+ [113] In the margin: 'Immediately after the girl had been in
+ Skaane, he gave her a box full of pieces of wax, on which were the
+ impressions of all the tower keys; and amongst them was written,
+ "My girl will have these made in Skaane." I had this from the
+ woman, who was just then carrying up the night-stool, and on the
+ following Saturday I gave the box back with many thanks, saying I
+ did not care to escape from the tower in this way. This did not
+ please him, as I well saw.'
+
+He continued to describe himself as very wicked (it was, however, far
+from as bad as he really is). I could do nothing else but laugh at
+him. He drank from the can, and sat himself down on the stool
+outside. I called him and begged him to come to the door, as I wanted
+to speak with him. There he sat like a fool, saying to himself:
+'Should I go to the door? No,' and he swore with a terrible oath,
+'that I will not do! Oh yes, to the door! No, Christian, no!'
+laughing from time to time immoderately, and shouting out that the
+devil might take him and tear him in pieces the day on which he
+should go to my door or render me a service. I went away from the
+door and sat down horrified at the man's madness and audacity. Some
+days passed in silence, and he would accept no wine. No food was
+offered to him, for he continued, in the same way as before, to cut
+the meat before the prison governor came up. As the prison governor
+at this time occasionally again came in to me and talked with me, I
+requested him that Christian, as a prisoner, should not have the
+liberty of messing my food. This was, therefore, forbidden him in
+future.
+
+Some days afterwards he threw the pouch to the woman on the stairs,
+and said: 'Give me some food for to-night in my lad's pouch.'[114]
+This was complied with with the utmost obedience, and a piece of meat
+was placed in the pouch. This somewhat appeased him, so that at noon
+he spoke with the woman, and even asked for a drink of wine; but he
+threatened the woman that he would put an end to the laughing. I did
+not fear the evil he could do to me, but this vexatious life was
+wearisome. I allowed no wine to be offered to him, unless he asked
+for some. He was in the habit every week of procuring me the
+newspapers[E43] for candles, and as he did not bring me the
+newspapers for the candles of the first week, I sent him no more. He
+continued to come every Saturday with the perfuming-pan, and to lock
+my door. When he came in with the fumigating stuff, he fixed his eyes
+upon the wall, and would not look at me. I spoke to him once and
+asked after the doctor, and he made no reply.
+
+ [114] In the margin is added: 'At this time there was a peasant
+ imprisoned in the Dark Church for having answered the bailiff of
+ the manor with bad language. I sent him food. He was a great rogue.
+ I know not whether he were incited by others, but he told Karen
+ that if I would write to my children, he would take care of the
+ letter. I sent him word that I thanked him; I had nothing to say to
+ them and nothing to write with. The rogue answered, "Ah so! Ah
+ so!"'
+
+ [E43] The newspapers in question were probably German papers which
+ were published in Copenhagen at that time weekly, or even twice a
+ week; the Danish _Mercurius_ (a common title for newspapers) was a
+ monthly publication.
+
+Thus it went on for some weeks; then he became appeased, and brought
+the woman the papers from the time that he had withheld them, all
+rolled up together and fastened with a thread. When the prison
+governor came in during the evening and sat and talked (he was
+slightly intoxicated), and Chresten had gone to the cellar, the woman
+gave him back the papers, thanking him in my name, and saying that
+the papers were of no interest to me; I had done without them for so
+many weeks, and could continue to do so. He was so angry that he tore
+the papers in two with his teeth, tore open his coat so that the
+buttons fell on the floor, threw some of the papers into the fire,
+howled, screamed, and gnashed with his teeth. I tried to find
+something over which I could laugh with the prison governor, and I
+spoke as loud as I could, in order to drown Christian's voice.[115]
+The woman came in as pale as a corpse, and looked at me. I signed to
+her that she should go out again. Then Christian came close to my
+door and howled, throwing his slippers up into the air, and then
+against my door, repeating this frequently. When he heard Chresten
+coming up with the cups, he threw himself on the seat on which the
+prison governor was accustomed to lie, and again struck his slippers
+against the wall. Chresten gazed at him with astonishment, as he
+stood with the cups in his hand. He saw well that there was something
+amiss between the woman and Christian, and that the woman was afraid;
+he could not, however, guess the cause, nor could he find it out; he
+thought, moreover, that it had nothing to do with me, since I was
+laughing and talking with the prison governor. When the doors were
+closed, the lamentations found free vent. The woman said that he had
+threatened her; he would forbid her daughter coming on the stairs and
+carrying on her talk, and doing other things that she ought not. I
+begged her to be calm; told her he was now in one of his mad fits,
+but that it would pass away; that he would hesitate before he said
+anything of it, for that he would be afraid that what he had brought
+up to her would also come to light, and then he would himself get
+into misfortune for his trouble; that the prison governor had given
+her daughter leave to come to her, and to whom therefore should he
+complain? (I thought indeed in my own mind that if he adhered to his
+threat, he would probably find some one else to whom he could
+complain, as he had so much liberty; he could bring in and out what
+he chose, and could speak with whom he desired in the watchman's
+gallery.) She wept, was very much affected, and talked with but
+little sense, and said: 'If I have no peace for him, I will--yes, I
+will--.' She got no further, and could not get out what she would do.
+I smiled, and said at last: 'Christian is mad. I will put a stop to
+it to-morrow: let me deal with him! Sleep now quietly!'
+
+ [115] In the margin: 'It was wonderful that the governor did not
+ hear the noise which Christian made. He was telling me, I remember,
+ at the time, how he had frightened one of the court servants with a
+ mouse in a box.'
+
+She fell asleep afterwards, but I did not do so very quickly,
+thinking what might follow such wild fits. Next day towards noon I
+told her what she was to say to Christian; she was to behave as if
+she were dissatisfied, and begin to upbraid him and to say, 'The
+devil take you for all you have taught her! She has pulled off her
+slippers just as you do, and strikes me on the head with them. She is
+angry and no joke, and she took all the pretty stuff she had finished
+and threw it into the night-stool. "There," said she, "no one shall
+have any advantage of that."' At this he laughed like a fool, for it
+pleased him. 'Is she thoroughly angry?' he asked. 'Yes,' she replied;
+'she is indeed.' At this he laughed aloud on the stairs, so that I
+heard it. For a fortnight he behaved tolerably well, now and then
+demanding wine and food; and he came moreover to the door and
+related, among other things, how he had heard that the prince (now
+our king) was going to be married. I had also heard it, though I did
+not say so, for the prison governor had told me of it, and besides I
+received the papers without him. And as I asked him no questions, he
+went away immediately, saying afterwards to the woman, 'She is angry
+and so am I. We will see who first will want the other.' He
+threatened the woman very much. She wished that I would give him fair
+words. I told her that he was not of that character that one could
+get on with him by always showing the friendly side.[116] As he by
+degrees became more insolent than could be tolerated, I said one day
+to the prison governor that I was surprised that he could allow a
+prisoner to unlock and lock my doors, and to do that which was really
+the office of the tower-warder; and I asked him whether it did not
+occur to him that under such circumstances I might manage to get out,
+if I chose to do so without the King's will? Christian was a
+prisoner, under sentence of death; he had already offered to get me
+out of the tower. The prison governor sat and stared like one who
+does not rightly understand, and he made no reply but 'Yes, yes!' but
+he acted in conformity with my warning, so that either he himself
+locked and unlocked, or Chresten did so. (I have seen Christian
+snatching the keys out of Chresten's hand and locking my door, and
+this at the time when he began to make himself so angry.)
+
+ [116] In the margin is added: 'He enticed the prison governor to
+ throw a kitten that I had down from the top of the tower, and he
+ laughed at me ironically as he told the woman of his manly act, and
+ said, "The cat was mangy! the cat was mangy!" I would not let him
+ see that it annoyed me.'
+
+If Christian had not been furious before, he became so now,
+especially at the time that Chresten came in with the perfuming-pan
+when the woman was above. He would then stand straight before me in
+the anteroom, looking at me like a ghost and gnashing his teeth; and
+when he saw that I took the rest of the fumigating stuff from
+Chresten's hand (which he had always himself given me in paper), he
+burst into a defiant laugh. When the doors were unlocked in the
+evening, and Christian began talking with the woman, he said: 'Karen,
+tell her ladyship that I will make out a devilish story with you
+both. I have with my own eyes seen Chresten giving her a letter. Ay,
+that was why she did not let me go in with the perfuming-pan, because
+I would not undertake her message to Skaane. Ay, does she get the
+newspapers also from him? Yes, tell her, great as are the services I
+have rendered her, I will now prepare a great misfortune for her.'
+God knows what a night I had! Not because I feared his threat, for I
+did not in the least regard his words; he himself would have suffered
+the most by far. But the woman was so sad that she did nothing but
+lament and moan, chiefly about her daughter, on account of the
+disgrace it would be to her if they put her mother into the Dark
+Church, nay even took her life. Then she remembered that her daughter
+had spoken with her on the stairs, and she cried out again: 'Oh my
+daughter! my daughter! She will get into the house of correction!'
+For some time I said nothing more than 'Calm yourself; it will not be
+as bad as you think,' as I perceived that she was not capable of
+listening to reason, for she at once exclaimed 'Ach! ach!' as often
+as I tried to speak, sitting up in bed and holding her head between
+her two hands and crying till she was almost deluged. I thought,
+'When there are no more tears to come, she will probably stop.'
+
+I said at length, when she was a little appeased: 'The misfortune
+with which the man threatens us cannot be averted by tears. Calm
+yourself and lie down to sleep. I will do the same, and I will pray
+God to impart to me His wise counsel for the morrow.' This quieted
+her a little; but when I thought she was sleeping, she burst forth
+again with all the things that she feared; she had brought in to me
+slips of paper, knife and scissors, and other things furnished by him
+contrary to order. I answered only from time to time: 'Go to sleep,
+go to sleep! I will talk with you to-morrow!' It was of no avail. The
+clock struck two, when she was still wanting to talk, and saying, 'It
+will go badly with the poor old man down below!'[117] I made as if I
+were asleep, but the whole night, till five o'clock and longer, no
+sleep came to my eyes.
+
+ [117] In the margin is added: '1666. While Karen, Nil's daughter,
+ waited on me, a Nuremberger was my neighbour in the Dark Church; he
+ was accused of having coined base money. She carried food to him
+ every day. He sang and read day and night, and sang very well. He
+ sang the psalm 'Incline thine ear unto me, O Lord,' slowly at my
+ desire. I copied it, and afterwards translated it into Danish. And
+ as he often prayed aloud at night and confessed his sins, praying
+ God for forgiveness and exclaiming again and again, 'Thou must help
+ me, God! Yes, God, thou must help me, or thou art no God. Thou must
+ be gracious;' thus hindering me from sleep, I sent him word through
+ Karen to pray more softly, which he did. He was taken to the Holm
+ for some weeks, and was then set at liberty.
+
+When the door was unlocked at noon, I had already intimated to her
+what she was to say to Christian, and had given her to understand
+that he thought to receive money from her and candles from me by his
+threats, and that he wanted to force us to obey his pleasure; but
+that he had others to deal with than he imagined. She was only to
+behave as if she did not care for his talk, and was to say nothing
+but 'Good day,' unless he spoke to her; and if he enquired what I had
+said, she was to act as if she did not remember that she was to tell
+me anything. If he repeated his message, she was to say: 'I am not
+going to say anything to her about that. Are you still as foolish as
+you were last night? Do what you choose!' and then go away. This
+conversation took place, and he threatened her worse than before. The
+woman remained steadfast, but she was thoroughly cast down when our
+doors were locked; still, as she has a light heart, she often laughed
+with the tears in her eyes. I knew well that Christian would try to
+recover favour again by communicating me all kind of news in writing,
+but I had forbidden the woman to take his slips of paper, so that he
+got very angry. I begged her to tell him that he had better restrain
+himself if he could; that if he indulged his anger, it would be worse
+for him. At this he laughed ironically, and said, 'Tell her, it will
+be worse for her. Whatever I have done for her, she has enticed me to
+by giving me wine: tell her so. I will myself confess everything; and
+if I come to the rack and wheel, Chresten shall get into trouble. He
+brought her letters from her children.' (The rogue well knew that I
+had not allowed the woman to be cognisant neither of the fact that he
+had conveyed for me a message to Skaane to my children, nor of the
+wax in which the tower keys were impressed; this was why he spoke so
+freely to her.) When our doors were locked, this formed the subject
+of our conversation. I laughed at it, and asked the woman what
+disgrace could be so great as to be put on the wheel; I regarded it
+as thoughtless talk, for such it was, and I begged her to tell him
+that he need not trouble himself to give himself up, as I would
+relieve him of the trouble, and (if he chose) tell the prison
+governor everything on the following day that he had done for me; he
+had perhaps forgotten something, but that I could well remember it
+all.
+
+When the woman told him this, he made no answer, but ran down, kept
+quiet for some days, and scarcely spoke to the woman. One Saturday,
+when the woman had gone upstairs with the night-stool, he went up to
+her and tried to persuade her to accept a slip of paper for me, but
+she protested that she dare not. 'Then tell her,' he said, 'that she
+is to give me back the scissors and the knife which I have given her.
+I will have them, and she shall see what I can do. You shall both
+together get into trouble!' She came down as white as a corpse, so
+that I thought she had strained herself. She related the conversation
+and his request, and begged me much to give him back the things, and
+that then he would be quiet. I said: 'What is the matter with you?
+are you in your senses? Does he not say that we shall get into
+trouble if he gets the scissors and knife back again? Now is not the
+time to give them to him. Do you not understand that he is afraid I
+shall let the things be seen? My work, he thinks, is gone, and the
+papers are no longer here, so that there is nothing with which he can
+be threatened except these things. You must not speak with him this
+evening. If he says anything, do not answer him.' In the evening he
+crept in, and said in the anteroom to her, 'Bring me the scissors and
+the knife!' She made no answer. On the following morning, towards
+noon, I begged her to tell him that I had nothing of his; that I had
+paid for both the scissors and knife, and that more than double their
+value. He was angry at the message, and gnashed with his teeth. She
+went away from him, and avoided as much as possible speaking with him
+alone. When he saw that the woman would not take a slip of paper from
+him, he availed himself of a moment when the prison governor was not
+there, and threw in a slip of paper to me on the floor. A strange
+circumstance was near occurring this time: for just as he was
+throwing in the paper, the prison governor's large shaggy dog passed
+in, and the paper fell on the dog's back, but it fell off again in
+the corner, where the dog was snuffling.
+
+Upon the paper stood the words: 'Give me the knife and scissors back,
+or I will bring upon you as much misfortune as I have before rendered
+you good service, and I will pay for the knife and scissors if I have
+to sell my trousers for it. Give them to me at once!' For some days
+he went about like a lunatic, since I did not answer him, nor did I
+send him a message through the woman; so that Chresten asked the
+woman what she had done to Christian, as he went about below gnashing
+his teeth and howling like a madman. She replied that those below
+must best know what was the matter with him; that he must see he was
+spoken with in a very friendly manner here. At noon on Good Friday,
+1667,[118] he was very angry, swore and cursed himself if he did not
+give himself up, repeating all that he had said before, and adding
+that I had enticed him with wine and meat, and had deceived him with
+candles and good words. That he cared but little what happened to
+him; he would gladly die by the hand of the executioner; but that I,
+and she, and Chresten, should not escape without hurt.
+
+ [118] In the MS. this date '1667' is in the _margin_, not in the
+ text.
+
+The afternoon was not very cheerful to us. The woman was depressed. I
+begged her to be calm, told her there was no danger in such madness,
+though it was very annoying, and harder to bear than my captivity;
+but that still I would be a match for the rogue. She took her book
+and read, and I sat down and wrote a hymn upon Christ's sufferings,
+to the tune 'As the hart panteth after the water-springs.'[119]
+
+ [119] In the margin is added: 'This very hymn was afterwards the
+ cause of Christian's being again well-behaved, as he subsequently
+ himself told me, for he heard me one day singing it, and he said
+ that his heart was touched, and that tears filled his eyes. I had
+ at that time no other writing-materials than I have before
+ mentioned.'
+
+Christian had before been in the habit of bringing me coloured eggs
+on Easter-Eve; at this time he was not so disposed. When the door was
+locked, I said to Chresten, 'Do not forget the soft-boiled eggs
+to-morrow.' When the dinner was brought up on Easter-Day, and the
+eggs did not come at once (they were a side dish), Christian looked
+at me, and made a long nose at me three or four times. (I was
+accustomed to go up and down in front of the door of my room when it
+was unlocked.) I remained standing, and looked at him, and shrugged
+my shoulders a little. Soon after these grimaces, Chresten came with
+a dish full of soft-boiled eggs. Christian cast down his eyes at
+first, then he raised them to me, expecting, perhaps, that I should
+make a long nose at him in return; but I intended nothing less. When
+the woman went to the stairs, he said, 'There were no coloured eggs
+there.' She repeated this to me at once, so that I begged her to say
+that I ate the soft-boiled eggs and kept the coloured ones, as he
+might see (and I sent him one of the last year's, on which I had
+drawn some flowers; he had given it to me himself for some candles).
+He accepted it, but wrote me a note in return, which was very
+extraordinary. It was intended to be a highflown composition about
+the egg and the hen. He tried to be witty, but it had no point. I
+cannot now quite remember it, except that he wrote that I had sent
+him a rotten egg; that his egg would be fresh, while mine would be
+rotten.[120] He threw the slip of paper into my room. I made no
+answer to it. Some days passed again, and he said nothing angry; then
+he recommenced. I think he was vexed to see Chresten often receive my
+wine back again in the cup. At times I presented it to the prison
+governor. Moreover, he received no food, either for himself or his
+boy. One day he said to the woman, 'What do you think the prison
+governor would say if he knew that you give the prisoners some of his
+food to eat?' (The food which came from my table was taken down to
+the prison governor.) 'Tell her that!' The woman asked whether she
+was to say so to me, as a message from him. 'As whose message
+otherwise?' he answered. I sent him word that I could take as much as
+I pleased of the food brought me: that it was not measured out and
+weighed for me, and that those who had a right to it could do what
+they liked with what I did not require, as it belonged to no one. On
+this point he could not excite our fear. Then he came back again one
+day to the old subject, that he would have the scissors and the
+knife, and threatening to give himself up; and as it was almost
+approaching the time when I received the Lord's Supper, I said to the
+woman: 'Tell him once for all, if he cannot restrain himself I will
+inform against him as soon as the priest comes, and the first Karen
+shall be made to give evidence; she shall, indeed, be brought
+forward, for she had no rest on his account until I entered into his
+proposals. Whether voluntarily or under compulsion, she shall say the
+truth, and then we shall see who gets into trouble.' He might do, I
+sent word, whatever he liked, but I would be let alone; he might
+spare me his notes, or I would produce them. When the woman told him
+this, he thought a little, and then asked, 'Does she say so?' 'Yes,'
+said the woman, 'she did. She said still further: "What does he
+imagine? Does he think that I, as a prisoner who can go nowhere, will
+suffer for having accepted the services of a prisoner who enjoys a
+liberty which does not belong to him?"' He stood and let his head
+hang down, and made no answer at all. This settled the fellow, and
+from that time I have not heard one unsuitable word from him. He
+spoke kindly and pleasantly with the woman on the stairs, related
+what news he had heard, and was very officious; and when she once
+asked him for his cup to give him some wine, he said sadly, 'I have
+not deserved any wine.' The woman said he could nevertheless have
+some wine, and that I desired no more service from him. So he
+received wine from time to time, but nothing to eat.[121] On the day
+that I received the Lord's Supper, he came to the door and knocked
+softly. I went to the door. He saluted me and wished me joy in a very
+nice manner, and said that he knew I had forgiven those who had done
+aught against me. I answered in the affirmative, and gave no further
+matter for questions; nor did he, but spoke of other trivialities,
+and then went away. Afterwards he came daily to the door, and told me
+what news he had heard; he also received wine and meat again. He told
+me, among other things, that many were of opinion that all the
+prisoners would be set at liberty at the wedding of the prince (our
+present king) which was then talked of; that the bride was to arrive
+within a month (it was the end of April when this conversation took
+place), and that the wedding was to be at the palace.
+
+ [120] What he meant by it I know not; perhaps he meant that I
+ should die in misery, and that he should live in freedom. That
+ anticipation has been just reversed, for his godless life in his
+ liberty threw him subsequently into despair, so that he shot
+ himself. Whether God will give me freedom in this world is known to
+ Him alone.
+
+ [121] In the margin is added: 'He could not prevent his boy Paaske
+ from having a piece of meat placed for him in front of the door.'
+
+The arrival of the bride was delayed till the beginning of June, and
+then the wedding was celebrated in the palace at Nykjöbing in
+Falster. Many were of opinion that it took place there in order that
+the bride might not intercede for me and the doctor.[122] When the
+bride was to be brought to Copenhagen, I said to Christian: 'Now is
+the time for you to gain your liberty. Let your girl wait and fall on
+one knee before the carriage of the bride and hold out a
+supplication, and then I am sure you will gain your liberty.' He
+asked how the girl should come to be supplicating for him. I said,
+'As your bride--' 'No (and he swore with a terrible oath), she is not
+that! She imagines it, perhaps, but (he swore again) I will not have
+her.' 'Then leave her in the idea,' I said, 'and let her make her
+supplication as for her bridegroom.' 'Yes,' he said, in a crestfallen
+tone, 'she may do that.' It was done, as I had advised, and Christian
+was set at liberty on June 11, 1667. He did not bid me good-bye, and
+did not even send me a message through the tower-warder or the boy.
+His gratitude to the girl was that he smashed her window that very
+evening, and made such a drunken noise in the street, that he was
+locked up in the Town-hall cellar.[123] He came out, however, on the
+following day. His lad Paaske took leave of his master. When he asked
+him whether he should say anything from him to us, he answered, 'Tell
+them that I send them to the devil.' Paaske, who brought this
+message, said he had answered Christian, 'Half of that is intended
+for me' (for Christian had already suspected that Paaske had rendered
+services to the woman). We had a hearty laugh over this message; for
+I said that if Paaske was to have half of it, I should get nothing.
+We were not a little glad that we were quit of this godless man.
+
+ [122] In the margin is added: 'The bride had supplicated for me at
+ Nykjöbing, but had not gained her object. This was thought to be
+ dangerous both for the land and people.'
+
+ [123] In the margin is added: 'It was a Sunday; this was the honour
+ he showed to God. He went into the wine-house instead of into God's
+ house. He came out about twelve o'clock.'
+
+We lived on in repose throughout the year 1668. I wrote and was
+furnished with various handiwork, so that Chresten bought nothing for
+me but a couple of books, and these I paid doubly and more than
+doubly with candles. Karen remained with me the first time more than
+three years; and as her daughter was then going to be married, and
+she wished to be at the wedding, she spoke to me as to how it could
+be arranged, for she would gladly have a promise of returning to me
+when the woman whom I was to have in her stead went away. I did not
+know whether this could be arranged; but I felt confident that I
+could effect her exit without her feigning herself ill. The prison
+governor had already then as clerk Peder Jensen Tötzlöff,[E44] who
+now and then performed his duties. To this man I made the proposal,
+mentioning at the same time with compassion the ill health of the
+woman. I talked afterwards with the prison governor himself about it,
+and he was quite satisfied; for he not only liked this Karen very
+much, but he had moreover a woman in the house whom he wished to
+place with me instead.
+
+ [E44] His name was Torslev; see the Introduction and the
+ Autobiography.
+
+Karen, Nils' daughter, left me one evening in 1669, and a German
+named Cathrina ----[E45] came in her place. Karen took her departure
+with many tears. She had wept almost the whole day, and I promised to
+do my utmost that she should come to me when the other went away.
+Cathrina had been among soldiers from her youth up; she had married a
+lieutenant at the time the prison governor was a drummer, and had
+stood godmother to one of his sons. She had fallen into poverty after
+her husband's death, and had sat and spun with the wife of the prison
+governor for her food. She was greatly given to drinking, and her
+hands trembled so that she could not hold the cup, but was obliged to
+support it against her person, and the soup-plate also. The prison
+governor told me before she came up that her hands occasionally
+trembled a little, but not always--that she had been ill a short time
+before, and that it would probably pass off. When I asked herself how
+it came on, she said she had had it for many years. I said, 'You are
+not a woman fit to wait upon me; for if I should be ill, as I was a
+year or somewhat less ago, you could not properly attend to me.' She
+fell at once down on her knees, wept bitterly, and prayed for God's
+sake that she might remain; that she was a poor widow, and that she
+had promised the prison governor half the money she was to earn; she
+would pray heartily to God that I might not be ill, and that she
+would be true to me, aye, even die for me.
+
+ [E45] The name is in blanco; she was probably the Catharina Wolf
+ which is mentioned in the Preface.
+
+It seemed to me that this last was too much of an exaggeration for me
+to believe it (she kept her word, however, and did what I ordered
+her, and I was not ill during her time). She did not care to work.
+She generally laid down when she had eaten, and drew the coverlid
+over her eyes, saying 'Now I can see nothing.' When she perceived
+that I liked her to talk, she related whole comedies in her way,
+often acting them, and representing various personages. If she began
+to tell a story, and I said in the middle of her narrative, 'This
+will have a sorrowful ending,' she would say, 'No, it ends
+pleasantly,' and she would give her story a good ending. She would do
+the reverse, if I said the contrary. She would dance also before me,
+and that for four persons, speaking as she did so for each whom she
+was representing, and pinching together her mouth and fingers. She
+called comedians 'Medicoants.' Various things occurred during her
+time, which prevented me from looking at her and listening to her as
+much as she liked.[124]
+
+ [124] In the margin is added: 'A few months after she had come to
+ me, she had an attack of ague. She wept, and was afraid. I was well
+ satisfied with her, and thought I would see what faith could do, so
+ I wrote something on a slip of paper and hung it round her neck.
+ The fever left her, and she protested that all her bodily pains
+ passed all at once into her legs when I hung the paper round her
+ neck. Her legs immediately became much swollen.'
+
+It happened that Walter,[E46] who in consequence of Dina's affair had
+been exiled from Denmark, came over from Sweden and remained
+incognito at Copenhagen. He was arrested and placed in the tower
+here, below on the ground floor. He was suspected of being engaged
+in some plot. At the same time a French cook and a Swedish baker were
+imprisoned with him, who were accused of having intended to poison
+the King and Queen. The Swede was placed in the Witch Cell,
+immediately after Walter's arrest. Some days elapsed before I was
+allowed to know of Walter's arrival, but I knew of it nevertheless.
+One day at noon, when Walter and the Frenchman were talking aloud
+(for they were always disputing with each other), I asked the prison
+governor who were his guests down below, who were talking French. He
+answered that he had some of various nations, and related who they
+were, but why they were imprisoned he knew not, especially in
+Walter's case.
+
+ [E46] Walter's participation in the plot of Dina is mentioned in
+ the Introduction. He was then ordered to leave the country, but
+ afterwards obtained a pardon and permission to return. He does not
+ seem to have availed himself of this till the year 1668; but his
+ conduct was very suspicious, and he was at once arrested and placed
+ in the Blue Tower, where he died towards the end of April 1670.
+
+The two before-mentioned quarrelled together, so that Walter was
+placed in the Witch Cell with the Swede, and the Frenchman was
+conveyed to the Dark Church, where he was ill, and never even came to
+the peep-hole in the door, but lay just within. I dared not send him
+anything, on account of the accusation against him. Walter was
+imprisoned for a long time, and the Frenchman was liberated. When M.
+Bock came to me, to give me Christ's body and blood, I told him
+before receiving the Lord's Supper of Walter's affair, which had been
+proved, but I mentioned to him that at the time I had been requested
+to leave Denmark through Uldrich Christian Gyldenlöve. Gyldenlöve had
+sworn to me that the king was at the time not thoroughly convinced of
+the matter, and I had complained that his Majesty had not taken pains
+to convince himself; and I requested the priest to ask the
+Stadtholder to manage that Walter should now be examined in Dina's
+affair, and that he and I should be confronted together in the
+presence of some ministers; that this could be done without any
+great noise, for the gentlemen could come through the secret passage
+into the tower. The priest promised to arrange this;[125] he did so,
+and on the third day after Walter was placed in the Dark Church, so
+that I expected for a long time every day that we should be examined,
+but it was prevented by the person whose interest it was to prevent
+it.[E47]
+
+ [125] In the margin is added: 'When the priest left me, he spoke
+ with Walter in front of the grated hole, told him of my desire, and
+ its probable result. Walter laughed ironically, and said, "My hair
+ will not stand on end for fear of that matter being mooted again.
+ The Queen knows that full well. Say that too!" While Walter was in
+ the Witch Cell hole, he had written to the Queen, but the King
+ received the paper.'
+
+ [E47] Leonora alludes, no doubt, to the Queen Sophia Amalia.
+
+Walter remained imprisoned,[126] and quarrelled almost daily with
+Chresten, calling him a thief and a robber. (Chresten had found some
+ducats which Walter had concealed under a stool; the foolish Walter
+allowed the Swede to see that he hid ducats and an ink-bottle between
+the girths under the stool, and he afterwards struck the Swede, who
+betrayed him.) Chresten slyly allowed Walter to take a little
+exercise in the hall of the tower, and in the meanwhile he searched
+the stool. It may well be imagined that at the everlasting scolding
+Chresten was annoyed, and he did not procure Walter particularly good
+food from the kitchen; so that sometimes he could not eat either of
+the two dishes ordered for him; and when Walter said one day, 'If you
+would give me only one dish of which I could eat, it would be quite
+enough,' Chresten arranged it so that Walter only received one dish,
+and often could not eat of that. (This was to Chresten's own damage,
+for he was entitled to the food that was left; but he was ready to
+forego this, so long as he could annoy the others.)
+
+ [126] In the margin is noted: 'I looked through a hole in my
+ outermost door at the time that Walter was brought up in the Dark
+ Church. He wept aloud. I afterwards saw him once in front of the
+ hole of the door of his cell. He was very dirty, and had a large
+ beard full of dirt, very clotted.'
+
+Once Chresten came to him with a dish of rice-porridge, and began at
+once to quarrel with him, so that the other became angry (just as
+children do), and would eat nothing. Chresten carried the porridge
+away again directly, and laughed heartily. I said to Chresten, in the
+prison governor's presence, 'Though God has long delayed to punish
+Walter, his punishment is all the heavier now, for he could scarcely
+have fallen into more unmerciful hands than yours.' He laughed
+heartily at this, and the prison governor did the same. And as there
+is a hole passing from the Dark Church into the outer room, those who
+are inside there can call upstairs, so that one can plainly hear what
+is said. So Walter one day called to the prison governor, and begged
+him to give him a piece of roast meat; the prison governor called to
+him, 'Yes, we will roast a rat for you!' I sent him a piece of roast
+meat through Chresten; when he took it, and heard that I had sent it
+to him, he wept.
+
+Thus the time passed, I had always work to do, and I wrote also a
+good deal.[127] The priest was tired of administering the Lord's
+Supper to me, and he let me wait thirteen and fourteen days; when he
+did come, he performed his office _par manière d'acquit_. I said
+nothing about it, but the woman, who is a German, also received the
+Lord's Supper from him; she made much of it, especially once (the
+last time he confessed her); for then I waited four days for him
+before it suited him to come, and at last he came. It was Wednesday,
+about nine o'clock. He never greeted us, nor did he wish me joy to
+the act I intended to perform. This time he said, as he shook hands,
+'I have not much time to wait, I have a child to baptise.' I knew
+well that this could not be true, but I answered 'In God's name!'
+When he was to receive the woman's confession, he would not sit down,
+but said 'Now go on, I have no time,' and scarcely gave her time to
+confess, absolved her quickly, and read the consecrating service at
+posthaste speed. When he was gone, the woman was very impatient, and
+said that she had received the holy communion in the field from a
+military chaplain, with the whole company (since they were ready to
+attack the enemy on the following day), but that the priest had not
+raced through God's word as this one had done; she had gained nothing
+from it.
+
+ [127] In the margin is added: 'From books which had been secretly
+ lent me, and I did so with the pen and ink I have before mentioned,
+ on any pieces of paper which I happened to procure.'
+
+I comforted her as well as I could, read and sang to her, told her
+she should repent and be sorry for her sins, and labour to amend her
+ways, and not be distracted by the want of devotion in the priest;
+she could appropriate to herself Christ's sufferings and merits for
+the forgiveness of her sins, for the priest had given her his body
+and blood in the bread and wine. 'Yes,' she answered, 'I shall, with
+God's will, be a better Christian.' I said 'Will you keep what you
+have promised me?' Her vow was, not to drink herself tipsy, as she
+had once done. I will not omit to mention this. She received, as I
+have before said, half a pint of French wine at each meal, and I half
+a measure of Rhine wine. She could drink both portions without being
+quite intoxicated, for at her meal she drank the French wine and lay
+down; and when she got up in the afternoon she drank my wine.[128] In
+the evening she kept my wine for breakfast, but once she had in her
+cup both my wine and her own, so that at noon she had two half-pints
+of wine; she sat there and drank it so quietly, and I paid no
+attention to her, being at the moment engaged in a speculation about
+a pattern which I wanted to knit; at length I looked at her because
+it was so long before she laid down; then she turned over all the
+vessels, one after another, and there was nothing in them. I accosted
+her and said, 'How is it? have you drank all the wine?' She could
+scarcely answer. She tried to stand up, and could not. 'To bed, you
+drunken sow,' said I. She tried to move, but could not; she was sick,
+and crept along by the wall to fetch a broom. When she had the broom,
+she could do nothing with it. I told her to crawl into bed and lie
+down; she crawled along and fell with her face on the bed, while her
+feet were on the ground. There she was sick again, and remained so
+lying, and slept. It is easy to imagine how I felt.
+
+ [128] In the margin is noted: 'Chresten was not well satisfied with
+ the woman, for in her time he never received a draught of wine, so
+ that he once stole the wine from her can and substituted something
+ impure in its place; at this she made a great noise, begged me for
+ God's sake to give her leave to strike Chresten with the can. She
+ did not gain permission to do so; she told Chresten afterwards that
+ she had not dared to do it, for my sake. She had a great scar on
+ one cheek, which a soldier had once given her for a similar act.'
+
+She slept in this way for a couple of hours, but still did not quite
+sleep off her intoxication; for when she wanted afterwards to clean
+herself and the room, she remained for a long time sitting on a low
+stool, the broom between her knees and her hair about her ears. She
+took off her bodice to wash it, and so she sat with her bosom
+uncovered, an ugly sight; she kept bemoaning herself, praying to God
+to help her, as she was nigh unto death. I was angry, but I could
+scarcely help laughing at this sad picture. When the moaning and
+lamenting were over, I said angrily, 'Yes, may God help you, you
+drunkard; to the guards' station you ought to go; I will not have
+such a drunkard about me; go and sleep it out, and don't let me hear
+you talk of God when you are not sober, for then God is far from you
+and the d----l is near!' (I laughed afterwards at myself.) She laid
+down again, and about four o'clock she was quite sober, made herself
+perfectly clean, and sat quietly weeping. Then she threw herself with
+great excitement at my feet, clung to them, howled and clamoured, and
+begged for God's sake that I would forgive her this once, and that it
+should never happen again; said how she had kept the wine &c.; that
+if I would only keep her half a year, she would have enough to
+purchase her admission into the hospital at Lübeck.
+
+I thought I would take good care that she did not get so much again
+at once, and also that perhaps if I had another in her place she
+might be worse in other things. Karen could not have come at this
+time, for her daughter was expecting her confinement, and I knew that
+she would then not be quiet. So I promised her to keep her for the
+time she mentioned. She kept her word moreover, and I so arranged it
+six weeks later that she received no more wine, and from this time
+the woman received no wine; my wine alone could not hurt her. She was
+quite intimate with Walter. She had known him formerly, and Chresten
+was of opinion that he had given her all his money before he was ill;
+for he said that Walter had no money any longer. What there was in it
+I know not. Honest she was not, for she stole from me first a brass
+knitting-pin, which I used at that time; it was formed like a bodkin,
+and the woman never imagined but that it was gold. As my room is not
+large, it could soon be searched, but I looked for three days and
+could not find the pin. I was well aware that she had it, for it is
+not so small as not to be seen, so I said afterwards, 'This brass pin
+is of no great importance; I can get another for two pence.' The next
+day she showed me the pin, in a large crevice on the floor between
+the stones. But when she afterwards, shortly before she left, found
+one of my gold earrings which I had lost, and which undoubtedly had
+been left on the pillow, for it was a snake ring, this was never
+returned, say what I would about it. She made a show of looking for
+it in the dirt outside; she knew I dared not say that I had missed
+it.
+
+The prison governor at this time came up but rarely; Peder Jensen
+waited on me.[129] His Majesty was ill for a short time, and died
+suddenly on February 9, 1670. And as on the same day at twelve
+o'clock the palace bell tolled, I was well aware what this indicated,
+though the woman was not. We conversed on the subject, who it might
+be. She could perceive that I was sad, and she said: 'That might be
+for the King, for the last time I saw him on the stairs, getting out
+of the carriage, he could only move with difficulty, and I said to
+myself that it would soon be over with him. If he is dead, you will
+have your liberty, that is certain.' I was silent, and thought
+otherwise, which was the case. About half-past four o'clock the fire
+was generally lighted in the outside stove, and this was done by a
+lad whom Chresten at that time employed. I called him to the door and
+asked him why the bell had tolled for a whole hour at noon. He
+answered, 'I may not say; I am forbidden.' I said that I would not
+betray him. He then told me that the King had died in the morning. I
+gave free vent to my tears, which I had restrained, at which the
+woman was astonished, and talked for a long time.
+
+ [129] In the margin is added: 'At this time I had six prisoners for
+ my neighbours. Three were peasants from Femeren, who were accused
+ of having exported some sheep; the other three were Danish. They
+ were divided in two parties, and as the Danes were next the door, I
+ gave them some food; they had moreover been imprisoned some time
+ before the others. When the Danes, according to their custom, sang
+ the morning and evening psalms, the Germans growled forth with all
+ their might another song in order to drown their voices; they
+ generally sang the song of Dorothea.' [E48]
+
+ [E48] The song of St. Dorothea exists in many German and Danish
+ versions.
+
+I received all that she said in silence, for I never trusted her. I
+begged her to ask Chresten, when he unlocked the door, what the
+tolling intimated. She did so, but Chresten answered that he did not
+know. The prison governor came up the same evening, but he did not
+speak with me. He came up also the next day at noon. I requested to
+speak with him, and enquired why the bell had sounded. He answered
+ironically, 'What is that to you? Does it not ring every day?' I
+replied somewhat angrily: 'What it is to me God knows! This I know,
+that the castle bell is not tolled for your equals!' He took off his
+hat and made me a bow, and said, 'Your ladyship desires nothing
+else?' I answered, 'St. Martin comes for you too.'[E49] 'St. Martin?'
+he said, and laughed, and went away and went out to Walter, standing
+for a long time whispering with him in front of the hole; I could see
+him, as he well knew.[130] He was undoubtedly telling him of the
+King's death, and giving him hope that he would be liberated from
+prison. God designed it otherwise. Walter was ill, and lay for a long
+time in great misery. He behaved very badly to Chresten; took the
+dirt from the floor and threw it into the food; spat into the beer,
+and allowed Chresten to see him do so when he carried the can away.
+Every day Chresten received the titles of thief and rogue, so that it
+may easily be imagined how Chresten tormented him. When I sent him
+some meat, either stewed or roasted, Chresten came back with it and
+said he would not have it. I begged Chresten to leave it with him,
+and he would probably eat it later. This he did once, and then
+Chresten showed me how full it was of dirt and filth.[131]
+
+ [E49] The feast of St. Martin is supposed the proper time for
+ killing pigs in Denmark. It is reported that when Corfitz Uldfeldt,
+ in 1652, had published a defence of his conduct previously to his
+ leaving Denmark the year before, he sent a copy to Peder Vibe, one
+ of his principal adversaries, with this inscription:--
+
+     Chaque pourceau a son St. Martin;
+     Tu n'échapperas pas, mais auras le tien.
+
+ [130] In the margin is added: 'As I was to receive clothes, I asked
+ for mourning clothes. Then the prison governor asked me for whom I
+ wished to mourn, and this in a most ironical manner. I answered:
+ "It is not for your aunt; it is not for me to mourn for her,
+ although your aunt has been dead long. I think you have as good
+ reason for wearing mourning as I." He said he would report it. I
+ did not receive them at once.'
+
+ [131] In the margin is added: 'Chresten showed me once some bread,
+ from which Walter had taken the crumb, and had filled it full of
+ straw and dirt, in fact, of the very worst kind.'
+
+When Chresten had to turn Walter in bed, the latter screamed so
+pitifully that I felt sympathy with him, and begged Chresten not to
+be so unmerciful to him. He laughed and said, 'He is a rogue.' I
+said, 'Then he is in his master's hands.' This pleased Chresten well.
+Walter suffered much pain; at length God released him. His body was
+left in the prison until his brother came, who ordered it to be
+buried in the German Church. When I heard that Karen could come to me
+again, and the time was over which I had promised the other to keep
+her, Cathrina went down and Karen returned to me. This was easily
+effected, for the prison governor was not well pleased with Cathrina;
+she gave him none of her money, as she had promised, but only empty
+words in its place, such as that he was not in earnest, and that he
+surely did not wish to have anything from her, &c.[132] The prison
+governor began immediately to pay me less respect, when he perceived
+that my liberation was not expected.
+
+ [132] In the margin is added; 'The prison governor also severely
+ reprimanded the woman because she had told me that the King was
+ dead; that it would not go as well with me as I thought. She gave
+ him word for word.'
+
+When the time came at which I was accustomed to receive the holy
+communion, I begged the prison governor that he should manage that I
+should have the court preacher, D. Hans Læt, as the former court
+preacher, D. Mathias Foss, had come to me on the first occasion in my
+prison. The prison governor stated my desire, and his Majesty
+assented. D. Hans Læt was already in the tower, down below, but he
+was called back because the Queen Dowager (who was still in the
+palace) would not allow it; and the prison governor sent me word,
+through Peder Jensen, that the King had said I was to be content with
+the clergyman to whom I was accustomed, so that the necessary
+preparation for the Lord's Supper was postponed till the following
+day, when Mag. Buck came to me and greeted me in an unusual manner,
+congratulating me in a long oration on my intention, saluting me
+'your Grace.' When he was seated, he said, 'I should have been glad
+if D. Hans Læt had come in my place.' I replied, 'I had wished it
+also.' 'Yes,' he said, 'I know well why you wished it so. You wish to
+know things, and that is forbidden me. You have already caused one
+man to lose his employ.' I asked him whether I had ever desired to
+know anything from him? 'No,' he replied, 'you know well that you
+would learn nothing from me; for that reason you have asked me
+nothing.' 'Does the Herr Mag, then,' I said, 'mean that I desired D.
+Hans Læt in order to hear news of him?' He hesitated a little, and
+then said, 'You wanted to have D. Hans Læt in order that he might
+speak for you with the King.' I said, 'There may perhaps be something
+in that.' Upon this he began to swear all kinds of oaths (such as I
+have never heard before),[133] that he had spoken for me. (I thought:
+'I have no doubt you have spoken of me, but not in my favour.') He
+had given me a book which I still have; it is 'St. Augustini
+Manuali;' the Statholder Gabel had bought it, as he said more than
+once, protesting by God that it had cost the Herr Statholder a
+rix-dollar. (I thought of the 5,000 rix-dollars which Gabel received,
+that we might be liberated from our confinement at Borringholm, but I
+said nothing; perhaps for this reason he repeated the statement so
+often.) I asked him whom I had caused to lose his employ. He
+answered, 'Hans Balcke.[134] He told you that Treasurer Gabel was
+Statholder, and he ought not to have done so.' I said, 'I do not
+believe that Balcke knew that he ought not to say it, for he did not
+tell it to me as a secret. One might say just as well that H.
+Magister had caused Balcke to lose his place.' He was very angry at
+this, and various disputes arose on the subject. He began again just
+as before, that I wanted to have D. Læt, he knew why. I said, 'I did
+not insist specially on having D. Læt; but if not him, the chaplain
+of the castle, or another.' He asked, 'Why another?' I replied,
+'Because it is not always convenient to the Herr Magister. I have
+been obliged to wait for him ten, twelve, and even fourteen days, and
+the last time he administered his office in great haste, so that it
+is not convenient for him to come when I require him.' He sat turning
+over my words, not knowing what to answer, and at last he said; 'You
+think it will go better with you now because King Frederick is dead.
+No, you deceive yourself! It will go worse with you, it will go worse
+with you!' And as he was growing angry, I became more composed and I
+asked gently why so, and from what could he infer it? He answered, 'I
+infer it from the fact that you have not been able to get your will
+in desiring another clergyman and confessor; so I assure you things
+will not be better with you. If King Frederick is dead, King
+Christian is alive.' I said: 'That is a bad foundation; your words of
+threatening have no basis. If I have not this time been able to
+obtain another confessor, it does not follow that I shall not have
+another at another time. And what have I done, that things should go
+worse with me?' He was more and more angry, and exclaimed aloud
+several times, 'Worse, yes, it will be worse!' Then I also answered
+angrily, 'Well, then let it come.'
+
+ [133] In the margin is added: 'Among his terrible curses was one
+ that his tongue might be paralysed if he had not spoken for me. The
+ following year God struck him with paralysis of the tongue; he had
+ a stroke from anger, and lived eight days afterwards; he was in his
+ senses, but he was not able to speak, and he died; but he lived to
+ see the day when another clergyman administered the holy communion
+ to me.'
+
+ [134] In the margin is added: 'I saw now that this was the cause of
+ Balcke's dismissal.'
+
+Upon this he was quite silent, and I said: 'You have given me a good
+preparation; now, in God's name!' Then I made my confession, and he
+administered his office and went away without any other farewell than
+giving me his hand. I learned afterwards that before M. Buck came to
+me he went to the prison governor, who was in bed, and begged him to
+tell Knud, who was at that time page of the chamber,[E50] what a
+sacramental woman I was; how I had dug a hole in the floor in order
+to speak with the doctor (which was an impossibility), and how I had
+practised climbing up and looking out on the square. He begged him
+several times to tell this to the page of the chamber: 'That is a
+sacramental woman!'[135]
+
+ [E50] This Knud was the favourite of King Christian V., Adam Levin
+ Knuth, one of the many Germans who then exercised a most
+ unfavourable influence on the affairs of Denmark.
+
+ [135] In the margin is added: 'Chresten, who was ill satisfied both
+ with Karen and with me, gave us a different title one day, when he
+ was saying something to one of the house-servants, upon which the
+ latter asked him who had said it? Chresten answered, 'She who is
+ kept up there for her.' When I was told of this, I laughed and
+ said, 'That is quite right, we are two "shes."'
+
+In the end of April in the same year my door was opened one
+afternoon, and the prison governor came in with some ladies, who kept
+somewhat aside until he had said, 'Here are some of the maids of
+honour, who are permitted to speak to you.' There came in first a
+young lady whom I did not know. Next appeared the Lady Augusta of
+Glücksburg, whom I recognised at once, as she was but little altered.
+Next followed the Electoral Princess of Saxony, whom I at once
+recognised from her likeness to her royal father, and last of all our
+gracious Queen, whom I chiefly looked at, and found the lineaments of
+her countenance just as Peder Jensen had described them. I saw also a
+large diamond on her bracelet, and one on her finger, where her glove
+was cut. Her Majesty supported herself against the folding table as
+soon as she had greeted me. Lady Augusta ran up and down into every
+corner, and the Electoral Princess remained at the door. Lady Augusta
+said: 'Fye, what a disgusting room this is! I could not live a day in
+it. I wonder that you have been able to endure it so long.' I
+answered, 'The room is such as pleases God and his Majesty, and so
+long as God will I shall be able to endure it.' She began a
+conversation with the prison governor, who was half tipsy, and spoke
+with him about Balcke's marriage, whose wedding with his third wife
+was taking place on that very day; she spoke against marrying so
+often, and the prison governor replied with various silly speeches.
+She asked me if I was plagued with fleas. I replied that I could
+furnish her with a regiment of fleas, if she would have them. She
+replied hastily with an oath, and swore that she did not want them.
+
+Her question made me somewhat ironical, and I was annoyed at the
+delight she exhibited at my miserable condition; so when she asked me
+whether I had body or wall lice, I answered her with a question, and
+enquired whether my brother-in-law Hanibal Sehested was still alive?
+This question made her somewhat draw in, for she perceived that I
+knew her. She made no answer. The Electoral Princess, who probably
+had heard of my brother-in-law's intrigues with Lady Augusta,[E51]
+went quickly up to the table (the book lay on it, in which Karen used
+to read, and which she had brought in with her), took the book,
+opened it and asked whether it was mine. I replied that it belonged
+to the woman whom I had taught to read, and as I gave the Electoral
+Princess her fitting title of Serene Highness, Lady Augusta said:
+'You err! You are mistaken; she is not the person whom you think.' I
+answered, 'I am not mistaken.' After this she said no more, but gave
+me her hand without a word. The gracious Queen looked sadly on, but
+said nothing. When her Majesty gave me her hand, I kissed it and held
+it fast, and begged her Majesty to intercede for me, at any rate for
+some alleviation of my captivity. Her Majesty replied not with words,
+but with a flood of tears. The virtuous Electoral Princess cried
+also; she wept very sorrowfully. And when they had reached the
+anteroom and my door was closed, both the Queen and the Electoral
+Princess said, 'It is a sin to treat her thus!' They shuddered; and
+each said, 'Would to God that it rested with me! she should not stay
+there.' Lady Augusta urged them to go away, and mentioned it
+afterwards to the Queen Dowager, who said that I had myself to thank
+for it; I had deserved to be worse treated than this.
+
+ [E51] Hannibal Sehested was dead already in 1666, as Leonora was no
+ doubt well aware. The whole passage seems to indicate that he is
+ supposed to have had some love-intrigue with the duchess. Nothing
+ has transpired on this subject from other sources, but it is
+ certain that her husband, Duke Ernst Gynther, for some time at
+ least, was very unfriendly disposed to Hannibal Sehested.
+
+When the King's funeral was over, and the Queen Dowager had left the
+castle, I requested the prison governor that he should execute my
+message and solicit another clergyman for me, either the chaplain of
+the castle or the arsenal chaplain, or the one who usually attended
+to the prisoners; for if I could get no other than M. Buck, they must
+take the sin on their own heads, for that I would not again confess
+to him. A short time elapsed, but at length the chaplain of the
+castle, at that time M. Rodolff Moth, was assigned me. God, who has
+ever stood by me in all my adversity, and who in my sorrow and
+distress has sent me unexpected consolation, gave me peculiar comfort
+in this man. He consoled me with the Word of God; he was a learned
+and conversable man, and he interceded for me with his Majesty. The
+first favour which he obtained for me was, that I was granted another
+apartment on July 16, 1671, and Bishop D. Jesper's postil.
+
+He afterwards by degrees obtained still greater favours for me. I
+received 200 rix-dollars as a gift, to purchase such clothes for
+myself as I desired, and anything I might wish for to beguile the
+time.[136]
+
+ [136] In the margin is noted: 'Some of my money I expended on
+ books, and it is remarkable that I obtained from M. Buck's books
+ (which were sold by auction) among others the great Martilegium, in
+ folio, which he would not lend me. I excerpted and translated
+ various matters from Spanish, Italian, French, and German authors.
+ I especially wrote out and translated into Danish the female
+ personages of different rank and origin, who were mentioned with
+ praise by the authors as valiant, true, chaste and sensible,
+ patient, steadfast and scholarly.' [E52]
+
+ [E52] The Martilegium was probably a German history of Martyrs,
+ entitled 'Martilogium (for martyrologium) der Heiligen' (Strasburg
+ 1484, fol.). The extracts to which she refers were no doubt her
+ earliest collections for her work on Heroines.
+
+In this year her Majesty the Queen became pregnant, and her Majesty's
+mother, the Landgravine of Hesse, came to be with her in her
+confinement. On September 6 her Serene Highness visited me in my
+prison, at first wishing to remain incognito. She had with her a
+Princess of Curland, who was betrothed to the son of the Landgravine;
+her lady in waiting, a Wallenstein by birth; and the wife of her
+master of the household. The Landgravine greeted me with a kiss, and
+the others followed her example. I did not at that time recognise the
+wife of the master of the household, but she had known me formerly in
+my prosperity at the Hague, when she had been in the service of the
+Countess Leuenstein, and the tears stood in her eyes.
+
+The Landgravine lamented my hard fate and my unhappy circumstances. I
+thanked her Serene Highness for the gracious sympathy she felt with
+me, and said that she might help much in alleviating my fetters, if
+not in liberating me from them entirely. The Landgravine smiled and
+said, 'I see well you take me for another than I am.' I said, 'Your
+Serene Highness's deportment and appearance will not allow you to
+conceal your rank, were you even in peasant's attire.' This pleased
+her; she laughed and jested, and said she had not thought of that.
+The lady in waiting agreed with me, and said that I had spoken very
+justly in saying that I had recognised her by her royal appearance.
+Upon this the Landgravine said, 'You do not know her?' pointing to
+the Princess of Curland. She then said who she was, and afterwards
+who her lady in waiting was, and also the wife of the master of the
+household, who was as I have before mentioned. She spoke of the pity
+which this lady felt for me, and added 'Et moy pas moins.' I thanked
+her 'Altesse très-humblement et la prioit en cette occasion de faire
+voir sa généreuse conduite.' Her Serene Highness looked at the prison
+governor as though she would say that we might speak French too long;
+she took off her glove and gave me her hand, pressing mine and
+saying, 'Croyez-moy, je fairez mon possible.' I kissed her Serene
+Highness's hand, and she then took leave of me with a kiss.
+
+The virtuous Landgravine kept her word, but could effect nothing.
+When her Majesty the Queen was in the perils of childbirth, she went
+to the King and obtained from him a solemn promise that if the Queen
+gave birth to a son I should receive my liberty. On October 11, in
+the night between one and two o'clock, God delivered her Majesty in
+safety of our Crown Prince. When all present were duly rejoicing at
+the Prince's birth, the Landgravine said, 'Oh! will not the captive
+rejoice!' The Queen Dowager enquired 'Why?' The Landgravine related
+the King's promise. The Queen Dowager was so angry that she was ill.
+She loosened her jacket, and said she would return home; that she
+would not wait till the child was baptised. Her coach appeared in the
+palace square. The King at length persuaded her to remain till the
+baptism was over, but he was obliged to promise with an oath that I
+should not be liberated. This vexed the virtuous Landgravine not a
+little, that the Queen should have induced her son to break his
+promise; and she persisted in saying that a king ought to keep his
+vow. The Queen Dowager answered, 'My son has before made a vow, and
+this he has broken by his promise to your Serene Highness.' The
+Landgravine said at last: 'If I cannot bring about the freedom of the
+prisoner, at least let her, at my request, be removed to a better
+place, with somewhat more liberty. It is not to the King's
+reputation that she is imprisoned there. She is, after all, a king's
+daughter, and I know that much injustice is done to her.' The Queen
+Dowager was annoyed at these words, and said, 'Now, she shall not
+come out; she shall remain where she is!' The Landgravine answered,
+'If God will, she will assuredly come out, even though your Majesty
+may will it not;' so saying, she rose and went out.
+
+On October 18 the lady in waiting, Wallenstein, sent for Peder Jensen
+Tötzlöff, and delivered to him by command a book entitled, D.
+Heinrich Müller's 'Geistliche Erquickstunden,'[E53] which he gave me
+with a gracious message from the Landgravine. On the same day I sent
+her Serene Highness, through Tötzlöff, my dutiful thanks, and
+Tötzlöff took the book back to the lady in waiting, with the request
+that she would endeavour to prevail on her Highness to show me the
+great favour of placing her name and motto in the book, in
+remembrance of her Highness's generosity and kindness. I lamented my
+condition in this also, that from such a place I could not spread
+abroad her Serene Highness's praise and estimable benefits, and make
+the world acquainted with them; but that I would do what I could, and
+I would include her Serene Highness and all her family in my prayers
+for their welfare both of soul and body. (This I have done, and will
+do, so long as God spares my life.)
+
+ [E53] 'Hours of Spiritual Refreshment.' This very popular book of
+ devotion was first published in 1664, and had an extraordinary run
+ both in Germany and, through translations, in Denmark. The last
+ Danish extract of it was published in 1846, and reached the third
+ edition in 1856.
+
+On October 23 I received the book back through Tötzlöff, and I found
+within it the following lines, written by the Landgravine's own
+hand:
+
+          1671.
+
+      Ce qui n'est pas en ta puissance
+      Ne doit point troubler ton repos;
+      Tu balances mal à propos
+      Entre la crainte et l'espérance.
+      Laisse faire ton Dieu et ton roy,
+      Et suporte avec passience ce qu'il résoud pour toy.
+
+  Je prie Dieu de vous faire cette grâce, et que je vous puisse
+  tesmoigner combien je suis,
+
+          Madame, vostre très-affectionée à vous servir,
+                                            {Monogram}
+
+The book is still in my possession, and I sent word through Tötzlöff
+to the lady in waiting to request her to convey my most humble thanks
+to her Highness; and afterwards, when the Landgravine was about to
+start on her journey, to commend me to her Serene Highness's favour.
+
+In the same year, 1671, Karen, Nils' daughter, left me on account of
+ill health. For one night a woman was with me named Margrete, who was
+a serf from Holstein. She had run away from her master. She was a
+very awkward peasant woman, so towards evening on the following day
+she was sent away, and in her place there came a woman named Inger, a
+person of loose character. This woman gave herself out as the widow
+of a non-commissioned officer, and that she had long been in service
+at Hamburg, and nursed lying-in women. It happened with her, as is
+often the case, that one seeks to obtain a thing, and that to one's
+own vexation. Chresten had spoken for this woman with the prison
+governor, and had praised her before me, but the prison governor took
+upon another recommendation the before-mentioned Margrete. So long as
+there was hope that the Landgravine might obtain my freedom, this
+woman was very amenable, but afterwards she began by degrees to show
+what was in her, and that it was not for nothing that she resembled
+Dina.
+
+She caused me annoyance of various kinds, which I received with
+patience, thinking within myself that it was another trial imposed by
+God upon me, and Dina's intrigues often came into my mind, and I
+thought, 'Suppose she should devise some Dina plot?' (She is capable
+of it, if she had only an instigator, as Dina had.) Among other
+annoyances, which may not be reckoned among the least, was this: I
+was one day not very well, having slept but little or not at all
+during the night, and I had lain down to sleep on the bed in the day;
+and she would give me no rest, but came softly past me in her socks,
+and in order to wake me teased a dog which I had,[137] so that he
+growled. I asked her why she grudged my sleeping? She answered, 'I
+did not know that you were asleep.' 'Why, then,' I said, 'did you go
+by in your stockings?' She replied, 'If you saw that, then you were
+not asleep,' and she laughed heartily by herself. (She sat always in
+front of my table with her back turned to me; whether it was because
+she had lost one eye that she sat in that position to the light, I
+know not.)
+
+ [137] In the margin is added: 'This dog was of an Icelandic breed,
+ not pretty, but very faithful and sagacious. He slept every
+ afternoon on the stool, and when she had fallen asleep, she let her
+ hands hang down. Then the dog would get up and run softly and bite
+ her finger till the blood came. If she threw down her slippers, he
+ would take one and sit upon it. She never got it back again without
+ a bloody finger.'
+
+I did not care for any conversation with her, so I lay still; and
+when she thought I was asleep, she got up again and teased the dog. I
+said, 'You tax my patience sorely; but if once my passion rises, you
+will certainly get something which will astonish you, you base
+accursed thing!' 'Base accursed thing,' she repeated to herself with
+a slight laugh. I prayed to God that he would restrain me, so that I
+might not lay violent hands on this base creature. And as I had the
+other apartment (as I have before mentioned),[138] I went out and
+walked up and down between four and five o'clock. She washed and
+splashed outside, and spilled the water exactly where I was walking.
+I told her several times to leave her splashing, as she spilled the
+water in all directions on the floor, so that I made my clothes
+dirty, and often there was not a drop of water for my dog to drink,
+and the tower-warder had to fetch her water from the kitchen spring.
+This was of no avail. One day it occurred to her, just as the bell
+had sounded four, to go out and pour all the water on the floor, and
+then come back again. When I went to the door, I perceived what she
+had done. Without saying a word, I struck her first on one cheek and
+then on the other, so that the blood ran from her nose and mouth, and
+she fell against her bench, and knocked the skin from her shin-bone.
+She began to be abusive, and said she had never in her life had such
+a box on her ears. I said immediately, 'Hold your tongue, or you will
+have another like it! I am now only a little angry, but if you make
+me really angry I shall strike you harder.' She was silent for the
+time, but she caused me all the small annoyance she could.
+
+ [138] In the margin is this note: 'In the year 1672, on the 4th
+ May, one of the house-servants was arrested for stealing. Adam
+ Knudt, at that time gentleman of the chamber, himself saw him take
+ several ducats early one morning from the King's trousers, which
+ were hanging against the walls. He was at first for some hours my
+ neighbour in the Dark Church. He was then placed in the Witch Cell,
+ and as he was to be tortured, he received secret warning of it
+ (which was forbidden), so that when the executioner came he was
+ found to have hung himself. That is to say, he was said to have
+ hung himself, though to all appearance this was not possible; he
+ was found with a cloth round his neck, which was a swaddling-cloth
+ belonging to one of Chresten, the tower-warder's, children.
+ Chresten became my neighbour, and was ostensibly brought to
+ justice, but he was acquitted and reinstated in his office.
+
+I received it all with gentleness, fearing that I might lay violent
+hands on her. She scarcely knew what to devise to cause me vexation;
+she had a silver thimble on which a strange name was engraved; she
+had found it, she said, in a dust-heap in the street. I once asked
+her where she had found some handkerchiefs which she had of fine
+Dutch linen, with lace on them, which likewise were marked with
+another name; they were embroidered with blue silk, and there was a
+different name on each. She had bought them, she said, at an auction
+at Hamburg.[139] I thought that the damage she had received on one of
+her eyes might very likely have arisen from her having 'found'
+something of that kind,[E54] and as I soon after asked her by what
+accident she had injured her eye, she undoubtedly understood my
+question well, for she was angry and rather quiet, and said, 'What
+injury? There is nothing the matter with my eye; I can, thank God,
+see with both.' I let the matter rest there. Soon after this
+conversation she came down one day from upstairs, feeling in her
+pocket, though she said nothing until the afternoon, when the doors
+were locked, and then she looked through all her rubbish, saying 'If
+I only knew where it could be?' I asked what she was looking for. 'My
+thimble,' she said. 'You will find it,' I said; 'only look
+thoroughly!' And as she had begun to look for it in her pockets
+before she had required it, I thought she might have drawn it out of
+her pocket with some paper which she used, and which she had bought.
+I said this, but it could not be so.
+
+ [139] In the margin is added: 'She was so proud of her knowledge of
+ German that when she sang a morning hymn (which, however rarely
+ happened) she interspersed it with German words. I once asked her
+ if she knew what her mother's cat was called in Danish, and I said
+ something at which she was angry.
+
+ [E54] It was a common superstition that persons who understood the
+ art of showing by magic the whereabouts of stolen goods, had the
+ power, by use of their formulas alone, to deprive the thief of an
+ eye.
+
+On the following day, towards noon, she again behaved as if she were
+looking for it upstairs; and when the door was closed she began to
+give loose to her tongue, and to make a long story about the thimble,
+where it could possibly be. 'There was no one here, and no one came
+in except us two;' and she gave me to understand that I had taken it;
+she took her large box which she had, and rummaged out everything
+that was in it, and said, 'Now you can see that I have not got it.' I
+said that I did not care about it, whether she had it or no, but that
+I saw that she accused me of stealing. She adhered to it, and said,
+'Who else could have taken it? There is no one else here, and I have
+let you see all that is mine, and it is not there.' Then for the
+first time I saw that she wished that I should let her see in the
+same manner what I had in my cardbox, for she had never seen anything
+of the work which I had done before her time. I said, 'I do not care
+at all what you do with your thimble, and I respect myself too much
+to quarrel with you or to mind your coarse and shameless accusation.
+I have, thank God, enough in my imprisonment to buy what I require,
+&c. But as you perhaps have stolen it, you now imagine that it has
+been stolen again from you, if it be true that you have lost it.' To
+this she made no answer, so that I believe she had it herself, and
+only wanted by this invention to gain a sight of my things. As it was
+the Christmas month and very cold, and Chresten was lighting a fire
+in the stove before the evening meal, I said to him in her presence,
+'Chresten, you are fortunate if you are not, like me, accused of
+stealing, for you might have found her thimble upstairs without
+having had it proclaimed from the pulpit; it was before found by
+Inger, and not announced publicly.'
+
+This was like a spark to tinder, and she went to work like a frantic
+being, using her shameless language. She had not stolen it, but it
+had been stolen from her; and she cursed and swore. Chresten ordered
+her to be silent. He desired her to remember who I was, and that she
+was in my service. She answered, 'I will not be silent, not if I were
+standing before the King's bailiff!' The more gently I spoke, the
+more angry was she; at length I said, 'Will you agree with me in one
+wish?--that the person who last had the thimble in her possession may
+see no better with her left eye than she sees with her right.' She
+answered with an oath that she could see with both eyes. I said,
+'Well, then, pray God with me that she may be blind in both eyes who
+last had it.' She growled a little to herself and ran into the inner
+room, and said no more of her thimble, nor did I. God knows that I
+was heartily weary of this intercourse.
+
+I prayed God for patience, and thought 'This is only a trial of
+patience. God spares me from other sorrow which I might have in its
+stead.' I could not avail myself of the occasion of her accusing me
+of theft to get rid of her, but I saw another opportunity not far
+off. The prison governor came one day to me with some thread which
+was offered for sale, rather coarse, but fit for making stockings and
+night-waistcoats. I bought two pounds of it, and he retained a pound,
+saying, 'I suppose the woman can make me a pair of stockings with
+it?' I answered in the affirmative (for she could do nothing else but
+knit). When he was gone, she said, 'There will be a pair of stockings
+for me here also, for I shall get no other pay.' I said, 'That is
+surely enough.' The stockings for the prison governor were finished.
+She sat one day half asleep, and made a false row round the stocking
+below the foot. I wanted her to undo it. 'No,' said she, 'it can
+remain as it is; he won't know but that it is the fashion in
+Hamburg.'[140]
+
+ [140] In the margin is added: 'There was no similar row on the
+ other stocking. The prison governor never mentioned it.'
+
+When his stockings were finished, she began a pair for herself of the
+same thread, and sat and exulted that it was the prison governor's
+thread. This, it seemed to me, furnished me with an opportunity of
+getting rid of her. And as the prison governor rarely came up, and
+she sent him down the stockings by Tötzlöff, I begged Tötzlöff to
+contrive that the prison governor should come up to me, and that he
+should seat himself on the woman's bed and arrange her pillow as if
+he wanted to lean against it (underneath it lay her wool). This was
+done. The prison governor came up, took the knitting in his hand, and
+said to Inger, 'Is this another pair of stockings for me?' 'No, Mr.
+Prison governor,' she answered, 'they are for me. You have got yours.
+I have already sent you them.' 'But,' said he, 'this is of my thread;
+it looks like my thread.' She protested that it was not his thread.
+As he went down to fetch his stockings and the scales, she said to
+me, 'That is not his thread; it is mine now,' and laughed heartily. I
+thought, 'Something more may come of this.'
+
+The prison governor came with the scales and his stockings, compared
+one thread with the other, and the stockings weighed scarcely half a
+pound. He asked her whether she had acted rightly? She continued to
+assert that it was her thread; that she had bought it in Hamburg, and
+had brought it here. The prison governor grew angry, and said that
+she lied, and called her a bitch. She swore on the other hand that
+it was not his thread; that she would swear it by the Sacrament. The
+prison governor went away; such an oath horrified him. I was
+perfectly silent during this quarrel. When the prison governor had
+gone, I said to the woman, 'God forbid! how could you say such words?
+Do you venture to swear a falsehood by the Sacrament, and to say it
+in my presence, when I know that it is the prison governor's thread?
+What a godless creature you are!' She answered, with a half
+ridiculous expression of face, 'I said I would take the Sacrament
+upon it, but I am not going to do so.' 'Oh Dina!' I thought, 'you are
+not like her for nothing; God guard me from you!' And I said, 'Do you
+think that such light words are not a sin, and that God will not
+punish you for them?' She assumed an air of authority, and said, 'Is
+the thread of any consequence? I can pay for it; I have not stolen it
+from him; he gave it to me himself. I have only done what the tailors
+do; they do not steal; it is given to them. He did not weigh out the
+thread for me.' I answered her no more than 'You have taken it from
+him; I shall trouble myself no more about it;' but I begged Tötzlöff
+to do all he could that I should be rid of her, and have another in
+her place of a good character.
+
+Tötzlöff heard that Karen had a desire to return to me; he told me
+so. The prison governor was satisfied with the arrangement. It was
+kept concealed from Inger till all was so settled that Karen could
+come up one evening at supper-time. When the prison governor had
+unlocked the door, and had established himself in the inner room, and
+the woman had come out, he said: 'Now, Inger, pack your bundle! You
+are to go.' 'Yes, Mr. Prison governor,' she answered, and laughed,
+and brought the food to me, and told me what the prison governor had
+said, saying at the same time, 'That is his joke.' 'I heard well,' I
+answered, 'what he said; it is not his joke, it is his real
+earnestness.' She did not believe it; at any rate she acted as if she
+did not, and smiled, saying, 'He cannot be in earnest;' and she went
+out and asked the prison governor whether he was in earnest. He said,
+'Go! go! there is no time for gossip!' She came into me again, and
+asked if I wished to be rid of her. I answered, 'Yes.' 'Why so?' she
+asked. I answered: 'It would take me too long to explain; the other
+woman who is to remain here is below.' 'At any rate,' said she, 'let
+me stay here over the night.' ('Ah, Dina!' I thought.) 'Not a quarter
+of an hour!' I answered; 'go and pack your things! That is soon
+done!' She did so, said no word of farewell, and went out of the
+door.
+
+Thus Karen came to me for the third time, but she did not remain an
+entire year, on account of illness.[141]
+
+ [141] In the margin is noted: 'I must remember one thing about
+ Karen, Nil's daughter. When anything gave her satisfaction, she
+ would take up her book directly and read. I asked her whether she
+ understood what she read. "Yes, of course," she answered, "as truly
+ as God will bless you! When a word comes that I don't understand, I
+ pass it over." I smiled a little in my own mind, but said nothing.'
+
+In the year 1673 M. Moth became vice-bishop in Fyn. I lost much in
+him, and in his place came H. Emmeke Norbye, who became court
+preacher, and who had formerly been a comrade of Griffenfeldt; but
+Griffenfeldt did not acknowledge him subsequently, so that he could
+achieve nothing for me with Griffenfeldt.[E55] He one day brought me
+as answer (when I sent him word among other things that his Majesty
+would be gracious if only some one would speak for me), 'It would be
+as if a pistol had been placed at the King's heart, and he were to
+forgive it.'
+
+ [E55] Griffenfeldt, who was then at the height of his power, was
+ the son of a wine-merchant, by name Schumacher, but had risen by
+ his talents alone to the highest dignities. He was ennobled under
+ the name of Griffenfeldt, and was undoubtedly the ablest statesman
+ Denmark ever possessed. Eventually he was thrust from his high
+ position by an intrigue set on foot by German courtiers and backed
+ by foreign influence. He was accused of treason and kept in prison
+ from 1676 to 1698, the year before he died, to the great, perhaps
+ irreparable damage, of his native country. The principal witness
+ against him was a German doctor, Mauritius, a professional spy, who
+ had served the Danish Government in this capacity. The year after
+ the fall of Griffenfeld, he was himself arrested on a charge of
+ perjury, forgery, and high treason, and placed in the Blue Tower;
+ he was convicted and conducted to Bornholm, where he died. But
+ Griffenfeldt, who had been convicted on his false testimony, was
+ not liberated. Griffenfeldt's ability and patriotism cannot be
+ doubted, but his personal character was not without blemish; and it
+ is a fact that in his prosperity he disclaimed all connection with
+ his earlier friends, and even his near relations.
+
+In the same year my sister Elisabeth Augusta sent me a message
+through Tötzlöff and enquired whether I had a fancy for any fruit, as
+she would send me some. I was surprised at the message, which came to
+me from my sister in the tenth year of my captivity, and I said,
+'Better late than never!' I sent her no answer.
+
+One funny thing I will yet mention, which occurred in the time of
+Karen, Nil's daughter. Chresten, who had to make a fire in the stove
+an hour before supper (since it had no flue), so that the smoke could
+pass out at the staircase door before I supped, did not come one
+evening before six o'clock, and was then quite tipsy. And as I was
+sitting at the time near the stove in the outer apartment on a log of
+wood, which had been hewed as a seat, I said it was late to make the
+fire, as he must now go into the kitchen. He paid no attention to my
+gentle remark, until I threatened him with hard words, and ordered
+him to take the wood out. He was angry, and would not use the tongs
+to take the wood out, nor would he permit Karen to take them out with
+the tongs; but he tore them out with his hands, and said, 'Nothing
+can burn me.' And as some little time elapsed before the wood was
+extinguished, he began to fear that it would give little satisfaction
+if he so long delayed fetching the meal. He seated himself flat on
+the ground and was rather dejected; presently he burst out and said,
+'Oh God, you who have had house and lands, where are you now
+sitting?' I said, 'On a log of wood!' He answered, 'I do not mean
+your ladyship!' I asked, 'Whom does your worship mean, then?' He
+replied, 'I mean Karen.' I laughed, and said no more.
+
+To enumerate all the contemptuous conduct I endured would be too
+lengthy, and not worth the trouble. One thing I will yet mention of
+the tower-warder Chresten, who caused me great annoyance at the end
+of this tenth year of my imprisonment. Among other annoyances he once
+struck my dog, so that it cried. I did not see it, but I heard it,
+and the woman told me it was he who had struck the dog. I was greatly
+displeased at it. He laughed at this, and said, 'It is only a dog.' I
+gave him to understand that he struck the dog because he did not
+venture to strike me. He laughed heartily at the idea, and I said, 'I
+do not care for your anger so long as the prison governor is my
+friend' (this conversation took place while I was at a meal, and the
+prison governor was sitting with me, and Chresten was standing at the
+door of my apartment, stretching out his arms.) I said, 'The prison
+governor and you will both get into heavy trouble, if I choose. Do
+you hear that, good people?' (I knew of too many things, which they
+wished to hide, in more than one respect.) The prison governor sat
+like one deaf and dumb, and remained seated, but Chresten turned away
+somewhat ashamed, without saying another word. He had afterwards some
+fear of me, when he was not too intoxicated; for at such times he
+cared not what he said, as regards high or low. He was afterwards
+insolent to the woman, and said he would strike the dog, and that I
+should see him do so. This, however, he did not do.
+
+Chresten's fool-hardiness increased, so that Peder Tötzlöff informed
+the prison governor of his bad behaviour, and of my complaints of the
+wild doings of the prisoners, who made such a noise by night that I
+could not sleep for it, for Chresten spent the night at his home, and
+allowed the prisoners to do as they chose. Upon this information, the
+prison governor placed a padlock upon the tower door at night, so
+that Chresten could not get out until the door was unlocked in the
+morning. This annoyed him, and he demanded his discharge, which he
+received on April 24, 1674; and in his place there came a man named
+Gert, who had been in the service of the prison governor as a
+coachman.
+
+In this year, the ---- May, I wrote a spiritual 'Song in Remembrance
+of God's Goodness,' after the melody 'Nun ruhen alle Wälder.'
+
+        I.
+
+    My heart! True courage find!
+    God's goodness bear in mind,
+    And how He, ever nigh,
+    Helps me my load to bear,
+    Nor utterly despair
+    Tho' in such heavy bonds I lie.
+
+        II.
+
+    Ne'er from my thoughts shall stray
+    How once I lingering lay
+    In the dark dungeon cell;
+    My cares and bitter fears,
+    And ridicule and tears,
+    And God the Lord upheld me well.
+
+        III.
+
+    Think on my misery
+    And sad captivity
+    Thro' many a dreary year!
+    Yet nought my heart distresses;
+    The Lord He proves and blesses,
+    And He protects me even here!
+
+        IV.
+
+    Come heart and soul elate!
+    And let me now relate
+    The wonders of God's skill!
+    He was my preservation
+    In danger and temptation,
+    And kept me from impending ill.
+
+        V.
+
+    The end seemed drawing near,
+    I wrung my hands with fear,
+    Yet has He helped me e'er;
+    My refuge and my guide,
+    On Him I have relied,
+    And He has ever known my care.
+
+        VI.
+
+    Thanks to Thee, fount of good!
+    Thou canst no evil brood,
+    Thy blows are fatherly;
+    When cruel power oppressed me,
+    Thy hand has ever blessed me,
+    And Thou has sheltered me!
+
+        VII.
+
+    Before Thee, Lord, I lie;
+    Give me my liberty
+    Before my course is run;
+    Thy Gracious Hands extend
+    And let my suffering end!
+    Yet not my will, but Thine, be done.
+
+In this year, on July 25, his royal Majesty was gracious enough to
+have a large window made again in my inner apartment; it had been
+walled up when I had been brought into this chamber. A stove was also
+placed there, the flue of which passed out into the square. The
+prison governor was not well satisfied at this, especially as he was
+obliged to be present during the work; this did not suit his
+laziness. My doors were open during the time; it was twelve days
+before the work was finished. He grumbled, and did not wish that the
+window should be made as low as it had been before I was imprisoned
+here; I persuaded the mason's journeyman to cut down the wall as low
+as it had before been, which the prison governor perceived from the
+palace square, and he came running up and scolded, and was thoroughly
+angry. But it was not to be changed, for the window-frame was already
+made. I asked him what it mattered to him if the window was a stone
+lower; it did not go lower than the iron grating, and it had formerly
+been so. He would have his will, so that the mason walled it up a
+stone higher while the prison governor was there, and removed it
+again afterwards, for the window-frame, which was ready, would not
+otherwise have fitted.
+
+In the same year Karen, Nil's daughter, left me for the third and
+last time, and in her stead came a woman named Barbra, the widow of a
+bookbinder. She is a woman of a melancholy turn. Her conscience is
+aroused sometimes, so that she often enumerates her own misdeeds (but
+not so great as they have been, and as I have found out by enquiry).
+She had two children, and it seems from her own account that she was
+to some extent guilty of their death, for she says: 'Who can have any
+care for a child when one does not love its father?' She left her
+husband two years before he died, and repaired to Hamburg, supporting
+herself by spinning; she had before been in the service of a princess
+as a spinning-maid. Her father is alive, and was bookbinder to the
+King's Majesty; he has just now had a stroke of paralysis, and is
+lying very ill. She has no sympathy with her father, and wishes him
+dead (which would perhaps be the best thing for him); but it vexes me
+that she behaves so badly to her sister, who is the wife of a tailor,
+and I often tell her that in this she is committing a double sin; for
+the needy sister comes from time to time for something to eat. If she
+does not come exactly on the evening which she has agreed upon, she
+gets nothing, and the food is thrown away upstairs. When at some
+length I place her sin before her, she says, 'That meat is bad.' I
+ask her why she let it get bad, and did not give it in time to her
+sister. To this she answers that her sister is not worthy of it. I
+predict evil things which will happen to her in future, as they have
+done to others whom I enumerate to her. At this she throws back her
+head and is silent.
+
+At this time her Majesty the Queen sent me some silkworms to beguile
+the time. When they had finished spinning, I sent them back to her
+Majesty in a box which I had covered with carnation-coloured satin,
+upon which I had embroidered a pattern with gold thread. Inside, the
+box was lined with white taffeta. In the lid I embroidered with black
+silk a humble request that her Majesty would loose my bonds, and
+would fetter me anew with the hand of favour. Her Majesty the
+virtuous Queen would have granted my request had it rested with her.
+
+The prison governor became gradually more sensible and accommodating,
+drank less wine, and made no jokes. I had peace within my doors. The
+woman sat during the day outside in the other apartment, and lay
+there also in the night, so that I began not to fret so much over my
+hard fate. I passed the year with reading, writing, and composing.
+
+For some time past, immediately after I had received the yearly
+pension, I had bought for myself not only historical works in various
+languages, but I had gathered and translated from them all the famous
+female personages, who were celebrated as true, chaste, sensible,
+valorous, virtuous, God-fearing, learned, and steadfast; and in anno
+1675, on January 9, I amused myself with making some rhymes to M.
+Thomas Kingo, under the title, 'To the much-famed Poet M. Thomas
+Kingo, a Request from a Danish Woman in the name of all Danish
+Women.' The request was this, that he would exhibit in befitting
+honour the virtuous and praiseworthy Danish women. There are, indeed,
+virtuous women belonging to other nations, but I requested only his
+praise of the Danish. This never reached Kingo; but if my good friend
+to whom I entrust these papers still lives, it will fall probably
+into your hands, my beloved children.
+
+In the same year, on May 11, I wrote in rhyme a controversial
+conversation between Sense and Reason; entitled, 'Controversial
+Thoughts by the Captive Widow, or the Dispute between Sense and
+Reason.'
+
+Nothing else occurred this year within the doors of my prison which
+is worth recording, except one event--namely, when the outermost door
+of the anteroom was unlocked in the morning for the sake of sweeping
+away the dirt and bringing in fresh water, and the tower-warder
+occasionally let it stand open till meal-time and then closed it
+again, it happened that a fire broke out in the town and the bells
+were tolled. I and the woman ran up to the top of the tower to see
+where it was burning.
+
+When I was on the stairs which led up to the clock-work, the prison
+governor came, and with him was a servant from the silver-chamber. He
+first perceived my dog, then he saw somewhat of the woman, and
+thought probably that I was there also; he was so wise as not to come
+up the stairs, but remained below at the lowest holes, from whence
+one can look out over the town, and left me time enough to get down
+again and shut my door. Gert was sorry, and came afterwards to the
+door and told me of his distress. I consoled him, and said there was
+nothing to fear. Before the prison governor opened the door at noon,
+he struck Gert with his stick, so that he cried, and the prison
+governor said with an oath, 'Thou shalt leave.' When the prison
+governor came in, I was the first to speak, and I said: 'It is not
+right in you to beat the poor devil; he could not help it. The
+executioner came up as he was going to lock my door, and that made
+him forget to do so.' He threatened Gert severely, and said, 'I
+should not have minded it so much had not that other servant been
+with me.'
+
+The words at once occurred to me which he had said to me a long time
+before, namely that no woman could be silent, but that all men could
+be silent (when he had asserted this, I had thought, if this be so,
+then my adversaries might believe that I, had I known of anything
+which they had in view, should not have been able to keep silence).
+So I now answered him thus: 'Well, and what does that signify? It was
+a man; they can all keep silence; there is no harm done.' He could
+not help laughing, and said, 'Well, you are good enough.' I then
+talked to him, and assured him that I had no desire to leave the
+tower without the King's will, even though day and night all the
+tower doors were left open, and I also said that I could have got out
+long ago, if that had been my design. Gert continued in his service,
+and the prison governor never told Gert to shut me in in the
+morning.[142]
+
+ [142] In the margin is noted: 'At my desire the prison governor
+ gave me a rat whose tail he had cut off; this I placed in a
+ parrot's cage, and gave it food, so that it grew very tame. The
+ woman grudged me this amusement; and as the cage hung in the outer
+ apartment, and had a wire grating underneath, so that the dirt
+ might fall out, she burned the rat with a candle from below. It was
+ easy to perceive it, but she denied it.'
+
+At this time I had bought myself a clavicordium, and as Barbra could
+sing well, I played psalms and she sang, so that the time was not
+long to us. She taught me to bind books, so far as I needed.[E56]
+
+ [E56] The MS. itself is bound in a very primitive manner, which
+ renders it probable that Leonora has done it herself.
+
+My father confessor, H. Emmeke, became a preacher at Kiöge anno 1676.
+In the same year my pension was increased, and I received yearly 250
+rix-dollars. It stands in the order that the 200 rix-dollars were to
+be used for the purchase of clothes and the remaining fifty to buy
+anything which might beguile the time.[E57] God bless and keep his
+gracious Majesty, and grant that he may live to enjoy many happy
+years.
+
+ [E57] It appears from the State accounts that ever since the year
+ 1672 a sum of 250 dollars a year had been placed at her disposal.
+ It would seem, therefore, that somehow or other a part of them had
+ been unlawfully abstracted by someone during the first years.
+
+Brant was at this time treasurer.
+
+On December 17 in this same year Barbra left me, and married a
+bookbinder's apprentice; but she repented it afterwards. And as her
+husband died a year and a half after her marriage, and that suddenly,
+suspicion fell upon Barbra. She afterwards went to her brother's
+house and fell ill. Her conscience was awakened, and she sent for
+Tötzlöff and told almost in plain terms that she had poisoned her
+husband, and begged him to tell me so. I was not much astonished at
+it, for according to her own account she had before killed her own
+children; but I told Peder Tötzlöff that he was not to speak of it;
+if God willed that it should be made known, it would be so
+notwithstanding; the brother and the maid in the house knew it; he
+was not to go there again, even if she sent a message to him. She
+became quite insane, and lay in a miserable condition. The brother
+subsequently had her removed to the plague-house.
+
+In Barbra's place there came to me a woman named Sitzel, daughter of
+a certain Klemming; Maren Blocks had brought about her employment, as
+Sitzel owed her money. She is a dissolute woman, and Maren gave her
+out as a spinster; she had a white cap on her head when she came up.
+Sitzel's debt to Maren had arisen in this way: that Maren--since
+Sitzel could make buttons, and the button-makers had quarrelled with
+her--obtained for her a royal licence in order to free her from the
+opposition of the button-makers, under the pretext that she was
+sickly. When the door was locked in the evening, I requested to see
+the royal licence which Maren had obtained for her. And when I saw
+that she was styled in it the sickly woman, I asked her what her
+infirmity was. She replied that she had no infirmity. 'Why, then,' I
+asked, 'have you given yourself out as sickly?' She answered, 'That
+was Maren Block's doing, in order to get for me the royal licence.'
+'In the licence,' I said, 'you are spoken of as a married woman, and
+not as a spinster; have you, then, been seduced?' She hung her head
+and said softly, 'Yes.'
+
+I was not satisfied. I said, 'Maren Block has obtained the royal
+licence for you by lies, and has brought you to me by lies; what,
+then, can I expect from your service?' She begged my pardon, promised
+to serve me well, and never to act contrary to my wishes. She is a
+dangerous person; there is nothing good in her; bold and shameless,
+she is not even afraid of fighting a man. She struck two
+button-makers one day, who wanted to take away her work, till they
+were obliged to run away. With me she had no opportunity of thus
+displaying her evil passions, but still they were perceptible in
+various ways. One day I warded off a scuffle between her and Maren
+Blocks; for when Maren Blocks had got back the money which she had
+expended on the royal licence for Sitzel, she wanted to remove her
+from me, and to bring another into her place; but I sent word to
+Maren Blocks that she must not imagine she could send me another whom
+I must take. It was enough that she had done this time.[143]
+
+ [143] In the margin stood originally the following note, which has
+ afterwards been struck out: 'In this year, 1676, the prison
+ governor married for the third time; he married a woman who herself
+ had had two husbands. Anno 1677, Aug. 9, died my sister Elisabeth
+ Augusta.'
+
+In the place of H. Emmeke Norbye, H. Johan Adolf Borneman became
+palace-preacher; a very learned and sensible man, who now became my
+father confessor, and performed the duties of his office for the
+first time on April 10, 1677.
+
+On October 9, in the same year, my father confessor was Magister
+Hendrich Borneman, dean of the church of Our Lady (a learned and
+excellent man), his brother H. Johan Adolf Borneman having
+accompanied the King's Majesty on a journey.
+
+I have, thank God, spent this year in repose: reading, writing, and
+composing various things.
+
+Anno 1678 it was brought about for me that my father-confessor, H.
+Johan Adolf Borneman, should come to me every six weeks and preach a
+short sermon.
+
+In this year, on Easter-Day, Agneta Sophia Budde was brought to the
+tower. Her prison was above my innermost apartment. She was accused
+of having designed to poison the Countess Skeel; and as she was a
+young person, and had a waiting-woman in her attendance who was also
+young, they clamoured to such an extent all day that I had no peace
+for them. I said nothing, however, about it, thinking she would
+probably be quiet when she knew that her life was at stake. But no!
+she was merry to the day on which she was executed![144]
+
+ [144] On a piece of paper which is fastened to the MS. by a pin is
+ the following note referring to the same matter: 'On March 4, in
+ the same year 1678, a woman named Lucia, who had been in the
+ service of Lady Rigitze Grubbe, became my neighbour. She was
+ accused by Agneta Sophia Budde, as the person who at the
+ instigation of her mistress had persuaded her to poison Countess F.
+ Birrete Skeel, and that Lucia had brought her the poison. There was
+ evidence as to the person from whom Lucia had bought the poison.
+ This woman was a steady faithful servant. She received everything
+ that was imposed upon her with the greatest patience, and held out
+ courageously in the Dark Cell. She had two men as companions, both
+ of whom cried, moaned and wept. From the Countess Skeel (who had to
+ supply her with food) meat was sent her which was full of maggots
+ and mouldy bread. I took pity on her (not for the sake of her
+ mistress, for she had rendered me little good service, and had
+ rewarded me evil for the benefits of former times, but out of
+ sympathy). And I sent her meat and drink and money that she might
+ soften Gert, who was too hard to her. She was tortured, but would
+ not confess any thing of what she was accused, and always defended
+ her mistress. She remained a long time in prison.[E58]
+
+ [E58] The acts of this famous trial are still in existence.
+ Originally the quarrel arose out of the fact that the Countess
+ Parsberg (born Skeel) had obtained a higher rank than Lady Grubbe,
+ and was further envenomed by some dispute about a window in the
+ house of the latter which looked down on the courtyard of the
+ Countess's house. Regitze Grubbe (widow of Hans Ulrik Gyldenlöve,
+ natural son of Christian IV. and half-brother of Ulrik Christian
+ Gyldenlöve, as well as of Leonora Christina), persuaded another
+ noble lady, Agnete Budde, through a servant, to poison Countess
+ Parsberg. Miss Budde was beheaded, the girl Lucie was exiled, and
+ Lady Grubbe relegated for life to the island of Bornholm.
+
+In the same year, on the morning of July 9, the tower-warder Gert was
+killed by a thief who was under sentence of death, and to whom he had
+allowed too great liberty. I will mention this incident somewhat more
+in detail, as I had advised Gert not to give this prisoner so much
+liberty; but to his own misfortune he paid no attention to my advice.
+This thief had broken by night into the house of a clergyman, and had
+stolen a boiling-copper, which he had carried on his head to
+Copenhagen; he was seized with it at the gate in the morning, and was
+placed here in the tower. He was condemned to be hanged (he had
+committed various other thefts). The priest allowed the execution to
+be delayed; he did not wish to have him hanged. Then it was said he
+was to go to the Holm; but he remained long in prison. At first, and
+until the time that his going to the Holm was talked of, he was my
+neighbour in the Dark Church; he behaved quite as a God-fearing man,
+read (apparently) with devotion, and prayed to God for forgiveness of
+his sins with most profound sighs. The rogue knew that I could hear
+him, and I sent him occasionally something to eat. Gert took pity on
+him, and allowed him to go by day about the basement story of the
+tower, and shut him up at night again.
+
+Afterwards he allowed him also at night to remain below. And as I had
+seen the thief once or twice when my door stood open, and he went
+past, it seemed to me that he had a murderous countenance; and for
+this reason, when I heard that the thief was not placed of an evening
+in the Dark Church, I said to Gert that he ventured too far, in
+letting him remain below at night; that there was roguery lurking in
+him; that he would certainly some day escape, and then, on his
+account, Gert would get into trouble. Gert was not of opinion that
+the thief wished to run away; he had no longer any fear of being
+hanged; he had been so delighted that he was to go to the Holm, there
+was no danger in it. I thought 'That is a delight which does not
+reach further than the lips,' and I begged him that he would lock him
+up at night. No; Gert feared nothing; he even went farther, and
+allowed the thief to go up the tower instead of himself, and attend
+to the clock-work.
+
+Three days before the murder took place, I spoke with Gert, when he
+unlocked my door in the morning, of the danger to which he exposed
+himself by the liberty he allowed the thief, but Gert did not fear
+it. Meanwhile my dog placed himself exactly in front of Gert, and
+howled in his face. When we were at dinner, the dog ran down and
+howled three times at the tower-warder's door. Never before had I
+heard the dog howl.
+
+On July 19 (as I have said), when Gert's unfortunate morning had
+arrived, the thief came down from the clock-work, and said that he
+could not manage it alone, as the cords were entangled. The rogue had
+an iron rod ready above, in order to effect his project. Gert went
+upstairs, but was carried down. The thief ran down after Gert was
+dead, opened his box, took out the money, and went out of the tower.
+
+It was a Friday, and the bells were to be rung for service. Those
+whose duty it was to ring them knocked at the tower door, but no one
+opened. Tötzlöff came with the principal key and opened, and spoke to
+me and wondered that Gert was not there at that time of the day. I
+said: 'All is not right; this morning between four and five I was
+rather unwell, and I heard three people going upstairs and after a
+time two coming down again.' Tötzlöff locked my door and went down.
+Just then one of the ringers came down, and informed them that Gert
+was lying upstairs dead. When the dead man was examined, he had more
+than one wound, but all at the back of the head. He was a very bold
+man, courageous, and strong; one man could not be supposed to have
+done this to him.
+
+The thief was seized the same evening, and confessed how it had
+happened: that, namely, a prisoner who was confined in the Witch
+Cell, a licentiate of the name of Moritius, had persuaded him to it.
+This same Moritius had great enmity against Gert. It is true that
+Gert took too much from him weekly for his food. But it is also true
+that this Moritius was a very godless fellow; the priest who
+confesses him gives him no good character. I believe, indeed, that
+Moritius was an accessory, but I believe also that another prisoner,
+who was confined in the basement of the tower, had a hand in the
+game. For who should have locked the tower-door again after the
+imprisoned thief, had not one of these done so? For when the key was
+looked for, it was found hidden above in the tower; this could not
+have been done by the thief after he was out of the tower. The thief,
+moreover, could not have unlocked Gert's box and taken his money
+without the knowledge of Moritius. The other prisoner must also have
+been aware of it. It seems to me that it was hushed up, in order that
+no more should die for this murder; for the matter was not only not
+investigated as was befitting, but the thief was confined down below
+in the tower. He was bound with iron fetters, but Moritius could
+speak with him everyday: and for this reason the thief departed from
+his earlier statement, and said that he alone had committed the
+murder. He was executed on August 8, and Moritius was taken to
+Borringholm, and kept as a prisoner there.[E55b]
+
+ [E55b] Griffenfeldt, who was then at the height of his power, was
+ the son of a wine-merchant, by name Schumacher, but had risen by
+ his talents alone to the highest dignities. He was ennobled under
+ the name of Griffenfeldt, and was undoubtedly the ablest statesman
+ Denmark ever possessed. Eventually he was thrust from his high
+ position by an intrigue set on foot by German courtiers and backed
+ by foreign influence. He was accused of treason and kept in prison
+ from 1676 to 1698, the year before he died, to the great, perhaps
+ irreparable damage, of his native country. The principal witness
+ against him was a German doctor, Mauritius, a professional spy, who
+ had served the Danish Government in this capacity. The year after
+ the fall of Griffenfeld, he was himself arrested on a charge of
+ perjury, forgery, and high treason, and placed in the Blue Tower;
+ he was convicted and conducted to Bornholm, where he died. But
+ Griffenfeldt, who had been convicted on his false testimony, was
+ not liberated. Griffenfeldt's ability and patriotism cannot be
+ doubted, but his personal character was not without blemish; and it
+ is a fact that in his prosperity he disclaimed all connection with
+ his earlier friends, and even his near relations.
+
+In Gert's place a tower-warder of the name of Johan, a Norwegian, was
+appointed--a very simple man. The servants about court often made a
+fool of him. The imprisoned young woman and her attendant did so the
+first time after his arrival that the attendant had to perform some
+menial offices upstairs. The place to which she had to go was not far
+from the door of their prison. The tower-warder went down in the
+meanwhile, and left the door open. They ran about and played. When
+they heard him coming up the stairs, they hid themselves. He found
+the prison empty, and was grieved and lamented. The young woman
+giggled like a child, and thus he found her behind a door. Johan was
+glad, and told me the story afterwards. I asked why he had not
+remained with them. 'What,' he answered, 'was I to remain at their
+dirty work?' There was nothing to say in reply to such foolish talk.
+
+I had repose within my doors, and amused myself with reading, writing
+and various handiwork, and began to make and embroider my shroud, for
+which I had bought calico, white taffeta, and thread.
+
+On April 7 a young lad escaped from the tower, who had been confined
+on the lower story with iron fetters round his legs. This prisoner
+found opportunity to loosen his fetters, and knew, moreover, that the
+booby Johan was wont to keep the tower key under his pillow. He kept
+an iron pin in readiness to unlock the door of the room when the
+tower-warder was asleep; he opened it gently, took the key, locked in
+the booby again, and quitted the tower. The simple man was placed in
+confinement, but after the expiration of six weeks he was set at
+liberty.
+
+In his place there came a man named Olle Mathison, who was from
+Skaane; he had his wife with him in the tower. Towards the end of
+this year, on December 25, I became ill of a fever, and D. Mynchen
+received orders to visit me and to take me under his care--an order
+which he executed with great attention. He is a very sensible man,
+mild and judicious in his treatment. Ten days after I recovered my
+usual health.
+
+In the beginning of the year 1680 Sitzel, Klemming's daughter, was
+persuaded by Maren Blocks to betroth herself to one of the King's
+body-guard. She left me on November 26. In her place I had a woman
+named Margrete. When I first saw her, she appeared to me somewhat
+suspicious, and it seemed to me that she was with child; however, I
+made no remark till the last day of the month of January. Then I put
+a question to her from which she could perceive my opinion. She
+answered me with lies, but I interrupted her at once; and she made
+use of a special trick, which it is not fit to mention here, in order
+to prove her false assertion; but her trick could not stand with me,
+and she was subsequently obliged to confess it. I asked her as to the
+father of the child (I imagined that it was the King's groom of the
+chamber, who had been placed in arrest in the prison governor's room,
+but I did not say so). She did not answer my question at the time,
+but said she was not so far advanced; that her size was owing rather
+to stoutness than to the child, as it was at a very early stage.
+
+This woman, before she came to me, had been in the service of the
+prison governor's wife, and the prison governor had told me she was
+married. So it happened that I one day asked her of her life and
+doings; upon which she told me of her past history, where she had
+served, and that she had had two bastards, each by a different
+father; and pointing to herself, she added: 'A father shall also
+acknowledge this one, and that a brave father! You know him well!' I
+said, 'I have seen the King's groom of the chamber in the square, but
+I do not know him.' She laughed and answered (in her mother-tongue),
+'No, by God, that is not he; it is the good prison governor.' I truly
+did not believe it. She protested it, and related some minute details
+to me.
+
+I thought I had better get rid of her betimes, and I requested to
+speak with the prison governor's wife, who at once came to me. I
+told her my suspicion with regard to the woman, and on what I based
+my suspicion; but I made no remark as to what the woman had confessed
+and said to me. I begged the prison governor's wife to remove the
+woman from me as civilly as she could. She was surprised at my words,
+and doubted if there was truth in them. I said, 'Whether it be so or
+not, remove her; the sooner the better.' She promised that it should
+be done, but it was not. Margrete seemed not to care that it was
+known that she was with child; she told the tower-warder of it, and
+asked him one day, 'Ole, how was it with your wife when she had
+twins?' Ole answered: 'I know nothing about it. Ask Anne!' Margrete
+said that from certain symptoms she fancied she might have twins.
+
+One day, when she was going to sew a cloth on the arms of my
+arm-chair, she said, 'That angel of God is now moving!' And as the
+wife of the prison governor did not adhere to her word, and
+Margrete's sister often came to the tower, I feared that the sister
+might secretly convey her something to remove the child (which was no
+doubt subsequently the case), so I said one day to Margrete: 'You say
+that the prison governor is your child's father, but you do not
+venture to say so to himself.' 'Yes!' she said with an oath, 'as if I
+would not venture! Do you imagine that I will not have something from
+him for the support of my child?' 'Then I will send for him,' I said,
+'on purpose to hear what he will say.' (It was at that time a rare
+occurrence for the prison governor to come to me.) She begged me to
+do so; he could not deny, she said, that he was the father of her
+child. The prison governor came at my request. I began my speech in
+the woman's presence, and said that Margrete, according to her own
+statement, was with child; who the father was, he could enquire if he
+chose. He asked her whether she was with child? She answered, 'Yes,
+and you are the father of it.' 'O!' he said, and laughed, 'what
+nonsense!' She adhered to what she had said, protested that no other
+was the child's father, and related the circumstances of how it had
+occurred. The prison governor said, 'The woman is mad!' She gave free
+vent to her tongue, so that I ordered her to go out; then I spoke
+with the prison governor alone, and begged him speedily to look about
+for another woman for me, before it came to extremities with her. I
+supposed he would find means to stop her tongue. I told him the truth
+in a few words--that he had brought his paramour to wait on me. He
+answered, 'She lies, the malicious woman! I have ordered Tötzlöff
+already to look about for another. My wife has told me what you said
+to her the other day.' After this conversation the prison governor
+went away. Peder Tötzlöff told me that an English woman had desired
+to be with me, but could not come before Easter.
+
+Four days afterwards Margrete began to complain that she felt ill,
+and said to me in the forenoon, 'I think it will probably go badly
+with me; I feel so ill.' I thought at once of what I had feared,
+namely of what the constant visits of her sister indicated, and I
+sent immediately to Peder Tötzlöff, and when he came to me I told him
+of my suspicion respecting Margrete, and begged him to do his utmost
+to procure me the English woman that very day. Meanwhile Margrete
+went up stairs, and remained there about an hour and a quarter, and
+came down looking like a corpse, and said, 'Now it will be all right
+with me.' What I thought I would not say (for I knew that if I had
+enquired the cause of her bad appearance she would have at once
+acknowledged it all, and I did not want to know it), so I said, 'If
+you keep yourself quiet, all will be well. Another woman is coming
+this evening.' This did not please her; she thought she could now
+well remain. I paid no regard to this nor to anything else she said,
+but adhered to it--that another woman was coming. This was arranged,
+and in the evening of March 15 Margrete left, and in her place came
+an English woman, named Jonatha, who had been married to a Dane named
+Jens Pedersen Holme.
+
+When Margrete was gone, I was blamed by the wife of the prison
+governor, who said that I had persuaded Margrete to affirm that her
+husband was the father of Margrete's child.
+
+Although it did not concern me, I will nevertheless mention the
+deceitful manner in which the good people subsequently brought about
+this Margrete's marriage. They informed a bookbinder's apprentice
+that she had been married, and they showed both him and the priest,
+who was to give them the nuptial benediction, her sister's marriage
+certificate.[145]
+
+ [145] In the margin is added: 'Ole the tower-warder was cudgelled
+ on his back by the prison governor when Margrete was gone, and he
+ was charged with having said what Margrete had informed him
+ respecting her size.'
+
+In the same year, on the morning of Christmas Day, God loosened D.
+Otto Sperling's heavy bonds, after he had been imprisoned in the Blue
+Tower seventeen years, eight months, twenty-four days, at the age of
+eighty years minus six days. He had long been ill, but never confined
+to his bed. Doctor München twice visited him with his medicaments. He
+would not allow the tower-warder at any time to make his bed, and was
+quite angry if Ole offered to do so, and implied that the doctor was
+weak. He allowed no one either to be present when he laid down. How
+he came on the floor on Christmas night is not known; he lay there,
+knocking on the ground. The tower-warder could not hear his knocking,
+for he slept far from the doctor's room; but a prisoner who slept on
+the ground floor heard it, and knocked at the tower-warder's door and
+told him that the doctor had been knocking for some time. When Ole
+came in, he found the doctor lying on the floor, half dressed, with a
+clean shirt on. He was still alive, groaned a good deal, but did not
+speak. Ole called a prisoner to help him, and they lifted him on the
+bed and locked the door again. In the morning he was found dead, as I
+have said.
+
+A.D. 1682, in the month of April, I was sick and confined to my bed
+from a peculiar malady which had long troubled me--a stony matter had
+coagulated and had settled low down in my intestines. Doctor München
+used all available means to counteract this weakness; but he could
+not believe that it was of the nature I thought and informed him; for
+I was perfectly aware it was a stone which had settled in the duct of
+the intestines. He was of opinion, if it were so, that the
+medicaments which he used would remove it.[146] At this time the
+doctor was obliged to travel with his Majesty to Holstein. I used the
+remedies according to Doctor München's directions, but things
+remained just as before. It was not till the following morning that
+the remedies produced their effect; and then, besides other matter, a
+large stone was evacuated, and I struck a piece out of it with a
+hammer in order to see what it was inside; I found it to be composed
+of a substance like rays, having the appearance of being gilded in
+some places and in others silvered. It is almost half a finger in
+length and full three fingers thick, and it is still in my
+possession. When Doctor München returned, I sent him word how it was
+with me. He was at the time with the governess of the royal children,
+F. Sitzele Grubbe. Doctor München desired Tötzlöff to request me to
+let him see the stone. I sent him word that if he would come to me,
+he should see it. I would not send it to him, for I well knew that I
+should never get it again.
+
+ [146] In the margin is added: 'Other natural matter was evacuated,
+ but the stone stuck fast in the duct, and seemed to be round, for I
+ could not gain hold of it with an instrument I had procured for the
+ purpose.'
+
+A.D. 1682, June 11, I wrote the following spiritual song.
+
+It can be sung to the melody, 'Siunge wii af Hiærtens-Grund.'[E59]
+
+ [E59] This tune is still in use in Denmark; it is known in the
+ Latin church as 'in natali Domini.'
+
+        I.
+
+    What is this our mortal life
+    Otherwise than daily strife?
+    What is all our labour here,
+    The servitude and yoke we bear?
+    Are they aught but vanity?
+    Art and learning what are ye?
+    Like a vapour all we see.
+
+        II.
+
+    Why, then, is thy anxious breast
+    Filled with trouble? Be at rest!
+    Why, then, dost thou boldly fight
+    The phantoms vain that mock thy sight?
+    Is there any, small or grand,
+    Who can payment duly hand
+    At the creditor's demand?
+
+        III.
+
+    Naked to the world I came,
+    And I leave it just the same;
+    The Lord has given and He takes;
+    It is well whate'er He makes.
+    To the Lord all praises be;
+    I will trust Him heartily!
+    And my near deliverance see.
+
+        IV.
+
+    One thing would I ask of Thee.
+    That Thy House I once may see,
+    And once more with song and praise
+    May my pious offering raise,
+    And magnify Thy grace received,
+    And all that Jesus has achieved
+    For us who have in Him believed.
+
+        V.
+
+    If Thou sayest unto me,
+    'I have no desire in thee,
+    There is no place for thee above;'
+    Oh Jesus! look Thou down in love!
+    Can I not justly to Thee say
+    'Let me but see Thy wounds, I pray:'
+    God's mercy cannot pass away.
+
+On June 27, the Queen sent me some silk and silver, with the request
+that I would embroider her a flower, which was traced on parchment;
+she sent also another flower which was embroidered, that I might see
+how the work should be done, which is called the golden work. I had
+never before embroidered such work, for it affects the eyes quickly;
+but I undertook it, and said I would do it as well as I could. On
+July 9, I sent the flower which I had embroidered to the governess of
+the royal children, F. Sitzele Grubbe, with the request that she
+would present it most humbly to her Majesty the Queen. The Queen was
+much pleased with the flower, and told her that it excelled the
+others which certain countesses had embroidered for her.
+
+I afterwards embroidered nine flowers in silver and silk in this
+golden work, and sent them to the Queen's mistress of the robes, with
+the request that she would present them most humbly to her Majesty
+the Queen. The mistress of the robes assured me of the Queen's
+favour, and told me that her Majesty was going to give me two silver
+flagons, but I have not heard of them yet. In the same year I
+embroidered a table-cover with floss silk, in a new design devised by
+myself, and I trimmed it with taffeta and silver fringe; this also I
+begged Lady Grubbe, the governess of the King's children, to present
+most humbly to her Majesty, and it was graciously received. On
+November 29, I completed the work which I had made for my death-gear.
+It was embroidered with thread. On one end of the pillow I worked the
+following lines:
+
+    Full of anxiety and care, in many a silent night,
+    This shroud have I been weaving with sorrowful delight!
+
+On the other end I embroidered the following: (N.B. The pillow was
+stuffed with my hair).
+
+    When some day on this hair my weary head will lie,
+    My body will be free and my soul to God will fly.
+
+On the cloth for the head I embroidered:
+
+    I know full well, my Jesus, Thou dost live,
+    And my frail body from the dust wilt give,
+    And it with marvellous beauty will array
+    To stand before Thy throne on the great day.
+    Fulfilled with heavenly joy I then shall be,
+    And Thee, great God, in all Thy splendour see.
+    Nor unknown wilt Thou to mine eyes appear!
+    Help Jesus, bridegroom, be Thou ever near!
+
+Her Majesty the Queen was always gracious to me, and sent me again a
+number of silkworms that I might amuse myself with feeding them for
+her, and I was to return what they spun. The virtuous Queen also sent
+me sometimes oranges, lemons, and some of the large almanacs, and
+this she did through a dwarf, who is a thoroughly quick lad. His
+mother and father had been in the service of my deceased sister
+Sophia Elizabeth and my brother-in-law Count Pentz.
+
+The governess of the royal children, F. Sitzel Grubbe, was very
+courteous and good to me, and sent me several times lemons, oranges,
+mulberries, and other fruits, according to the season of the year.
+
+A young lady, by birth a Donep, also twice sent me fruit.
+
+The maids of honour once sent me some entangled silk from silkworms,
+which they wanted to spin, and did not rightly know how to manage it;
+they requested me to arrange it for them. I had other occupation on
+hand which I was unwilling to lay aside (for I was busy collecting my
+heroines), but nevertheless I acceded to their wish.[E60] My
+captivity of nearly twenty years could not touch the heart of the
+Queen Dowager (though with a good conscience I can testify before God
+that I never gave her cause for such inclemency). My most gracious
+hereditary King was gracious enough several times in former years to
+intercede for me with his royal mother, through the high ministers of
+the State. Her answer at that time was very hard; she would entitle
+them 'traitors,' and, 'as good as I was,' and would point them to the
+door. All the favours which the King's majesty showed me--the outer
+apartment, the large window, the money to dispose of for
+myself--annoyed the Queen Dowager extremely; and she made the King's
+majesty feel her displeasure in the most painful manner. And as she
+had also learned (she had plenty of informers) that I possessed a
+clavicordium, this annoyed her especially, and she spoke very angrily
+with the King about it; on which account the prison governor came to
+me one day and said that the King had asked him how he had happened
+to procure me a clavicordium. 'I stood abashed,' said the prison
+governor, 'and knew not what to say.' I thought to myself, 'You know
+but little of what is happening in the tower.' I did not see him more
+than three times a year. I asked who had told the King of the
+clavicordium. He answered: 'The old Queen; she has her spies
+everywhere, and she has spoken so hardly to the King that it is a
+shame because he gives you so much liberty;' so saying, he seized the
+clavicordium just as if he were going to take it away, and said, 'You
+must not have it!' I said, 'Let it alone! I have permission from his
+Majesty, my gracious Sovereign, to buy what I desire for my pastime
+with the money he graciously assigns me. The clavicordium is in no
+one's way, and cannot harm the Queen Dowager.' He pulled at it
+nevertheless, and wanted to take it down; it stood on a closet which
+I had bought. I said, with rather a loud voice, 'You must let it
+remain until you return me the money I gave you for it; then you may
+do with it what you like.' He said, 'I will tell the King that.' I
+begged him to do so. There was nothing afterwards said about it,[147]
+and I still have the clavicordium, though I play on it rarely. I
+write, and hasten to finish my heroines, so that I may have them
+ready, and that no sickness nor death may prevent my completing them,
+nor the friend to whom I confide them may leave me, and so they would
+never fall into your hands, my dearest children.
+
+ [E60] 'I have in my imprisonment also gained some experience with
+ regard to caterpillars. It amused me at one time to watch their
+ changes. The worms were apparently all of one sort, striped alike,
+ and of similar colour. But butterflies did not come from all. It
+ was quite pretty to see how a part when they were about to change,
+ pressed against something, whatever it might be, and made
+ themselves steady with a thread (like silkworm's silk) on each
+ side, passing it over the back about fifty times, always at the
+ same place, and often bending the back to see if the threads were
+ strong enough; if not, they passed still more threads round them.
+ When this was done, they rapidly changed their form and became
+ stout, with a snout in front pointed at the end, not unlike the
+ fish called knorr by the Dutch; they have also similar fins on the
+ back, and a similar head. In this form they remain for sixteen
+ days, and then a white butterfly comes out. But of some
+ caterpillars small worms like maggots come out on both sides,
+ whitish, broad at one end and pointed at the other. These surround
+ themselves with a web with great rapidity, each by itself. Then the
+ worm spins over them tolerably thickly, turning them round till
+ they are almost like a round ball. In this it lies till it is quite
+ dried up; it eats nothing, and becomes as tiny as a fly before it
+ dies. Twelve days afterwards small flies come out of the ball, and
+ then the ball looks like a small bee-hive. I have seen a small
+ living worm come out of the neck of the caterpillar (this I
+ consider the rarest), but it did not live long, and ate nothing.
+ The mother died immediately after the little one had come out.'
+
+ It is perhaps not unnecessary to add that this observation, which is
+ correct as to facts, refers to the habits of certain larvæ of wasps
+ which live as parasites in caterpillars.
+
+ [147] In the margin is added: 'The prison governor told me
+ afterwards that the King laughed when he had told his Majesty my
+ answer about the clavicordium, and had said, "Yes, yes."'
+
+On September 24, M. Johan Adolf, my father confessor, was promoted;
+he became dean of the church of Our Lady. He bade me a very touching
+farewell, having administered the duties of his office to me for
+nearly six years, and been my consolation. God knows how unwillingly
+I parted with him.
+
+At the beginning of this year H. Peder Collerus was my father
+confessor; he was at the time palace-preacher. He also visited me
+with his consolatory discourse every six weeks. He is a learned man,
+but not like Hornemann.
+
+On April 3, an old sickly dog was sent to me in the Queen's name. I
+fancy the ladies of the court sent it, to be quit of the trouble. A
+marten had bit its jaw in two, so that the tongue hung out on one
+side. All the teeth were gone, and a thin film covered one eye. It
+heard but little, and limped on one side. The worst, however, was,
+that one could easily see that it tried to exhibit its affection
+beyond its power. They told me that her Majesty the Queen had been
+very fond of the dog. It was a small 'King Charles;' its name was
+'Cavaillier.' The Queen expressed her opinion that it would not long
+trouble me. I hoped so also.[E66b]
+
+ [E66b] This poem still exists, and is printed in the second volume
+ of Hofman's work on Danish noblemen. It is intended to convey an
+ account of her own and her husband's fate.
+
+On August 12 of this year I finished the work I had undertaken, and
+since my prefatory remarks treated of celebrated women of every kind,
+both of valiant rulers and sensible sovereigns, of true, chaste,
+God-fearing, virtuous, unhappy, learned, and steadfast women, it
+seemed to me that all of these could not be reckoned as heroines; so
+I took some of them out and divided them into three parts, under the
+title, 'The Heroines' Praise.' The first part is to the honour of
+valiant heroines. The second part speaks of true and chaste heroines.
+The third part of steadfast heroines. Each part has its appendix. I
+hope to God that this my prison work may come into your hands, my
+dearest children. Hereafter I intend, so God will, to collect the
+others: namely, the sensible, learned, god-fearing, and virtuous
+women; exhibiting each to view in the circumstances of her life.[E61]
+
+ [E61] It has been stated already that a copy of the first part of
+ this work is still preserved. Amongst the heroines here treated of
+ are modern historical personages, as Queen Margaret of Denmark,
+ Thyre Danobod who built the Dannevirke, Elizabeth of England, and
+ Isabella of Castilia, besides mythical and classic characters, as
+ Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, Marpesia, Tomyris, Zenobia,
+ Artemisia, Victorina, etc. There existed not a few works of this
+ kind--we need only mention Boccacio's 'Donne Illustri,' in which
+ many of these last personages also occur.
+
+I will mention from her own statement somewhat of Jonatha, who now
+attended on me. I will pass over the long story of how she left her
+mother; the fact is, that against her mother's will she married a
+Danish merchant, named Jens Pedersen Holme. But her life and doings
+(according to her own statement) are so strange, that it may be worth
+while to record somewhat of them. After they were married, she says,
+it vexed her, and was always in her mind that she had made her mother
+angry, and had done very wrong. Her mother had sent her also a hard
+letter, which distressed her much; and she behaved refractorily
+towards her husband, and in many ways like a spoilt unreasonable
+child, sometimes even like one who had lost her reason and was
+desperate.
+
+It seems also that her husband treated her as if her mind was
+affected, for he had her looked after like a child, and treated her
+as such. She told him once that she was intending to drown herself in
+the Peblingesö,[E62] and at another time that she would strike him
+dead. The husband feared neither of these threats; still he had her
+watched when she went out, to see which way she took. Once she had
+firmly resolved to drown herself in the Peblingesö, for this place
+pleased her; she was even on her way there, but was brought back. She
+struck her husband, too, once after her fashion. He had come home one
+day half intoxicated, and had laid down on a bed, so that his legs
+rested on the floor. She says she intended at the time to strike him
+dead; she took a stick and tried to see if he were asleep, talking
+loudly to herself and scolding, and touching him softly on the
+shinbone with the stick. He behaved as if he were asleep. Then she
+struck him a little harder. Upon this he seized the stick and took it
+away from her, and asked what she had in her mind. She answered, 'To
+kill you.' 'He was grieved at my madness,' she said, 'and threw
+himself on his knees, praying God to govern me with His good spirit
+and give me reason.' The worst is that it once came into her mind not
+to sleep with her husband, and she laid down on a bench in the room.
+For a long time he gave her fair words, but these availed nothing. At
+last he said, 'Undress yourself and come and lie down, or I shall
+come to you.' She paid no attention to this; so he got up, undressed
+her completely, slapped her with his hand, and threw her into bed.
+She protested that for some days she was too bruised to sit; this
+proved availing, and she behaved in future more reasonably.
+
+ [E62] The Peblingesö is one of three lakes which surround
+ Copenhagen on the land-side, in a semicircle.
+
+Little at peace as she was with her husband when she had him with
+her, she was greatly grieved when he left her to go to the West
+Indies. He sent by return vessels all sorts of goods to sell, and
+she thus maintained herself comfortably.
+
+It happened at last that the man died in the West Indies, and a
+person who brought her the news stated that he had been poisoned by
+the governor of the place named ----, at an entertainment, and this
+because he was on the point of returning home, and the governor was
+afraid that Holme might mention his evil conduct. These tidings
+unsettled her mind so, that she ran at night, in her mere
+night-dress, along the street, and squabbled with the watchmen. She
+went to the admiral at the Holm, and demanded justice upon the absent
+culprit, and accused him, though she could prove nothing.
+
+Thus matters went on for a time, until at last she gained repose, and
+God ordained it that she came to me. My intercourse with her is as
+with a frail glass vessel, for she is weak in many respects. She
+often doubts of her salvation, and enumerates all her sins. She
+laments especially having so deeply offended her mother, and thus
+having drawn down a curse upon her. When this fear comes upon her, I
+console her with God's word, and enter fully into the matter, showing
+her, from Holy Scripture, on what a repentant sinner must rely for
+the mercy of God. Occasionally she is troubled as to the
+interpretation of Holy Scripture, as all passages do not seem to her
+to agree, but to contradict each other. In this I help her so far as
+my understanding goes, so that sometimes she heartily thanks God that
+she is come to me, where she finds rest and consolation.
+
+After she had been with me for a year or two, she learned that the
+governor, whom she suspected, had come to Copenhagen. She said to me,
+'I hear the rogue is come here; I request my dismissal.' I asked her
+why. 'Because,' she replied, 'I will kill him.' I could scarcely keep
+from laughing; but I said, 'Jesus forbid! If you have any such
+design, I shall not let you go.' And as she is a person whose like I
+have never known before--for she could chide with hard words, and yet
+at the same time she was modest and well-behaved--I tried to make her
+tell me and show me how she designed to take the governor's life.
+(She is a small woman, delicately formed.) Then she acted as if her
+enemy were seated on a stool, and she had a large knife under her
+apron. When he said to her, 'Woman, what do you want?' she would
+plunge the knife into him, and exclaim, 'Rogue, thou hast deserved
+this.' She would not move from the place, she would gladly die, if
+she could only take his life. I said, 'Still it is such a disgrace to
+die by the hand of the executioner.' 'Oh, no!' she replied, 'it is
+not a disgrace to die for an honourable deed;' and she had an idea
+that any one thus dying by the hand of the executioner passed away in
+a more Christian manner than such as died on a bed of sickness; and
+that it was no sin to kill a man who, like a rogue, had murdered
+another. I asked her if she did not think that he sinned who killed
+another. 'No,' she replied, 'not when he has brought it upon
+himself.' I said, 'No one may be his own judge, either by the law of
+God or man; and what does the fifth commandment teach us?'[E63] She
+answered as before, that she would gladly die if she could only take
+the rogue's life. (I must add that she said she could not do it on my
+account, for I would not let her out.) She made a sin of that which
+is no sin, and that which is sin she will not regard as such. She
+says it is a sin to kill a dog, a cat, or a bird; the innocent
+animals do no harm; in fact, it is a still greater sin to let the
+poor beasts hunger. I asked her once whether it was a sin to eat
+meat. 'No,' she answered; 'it is only a sin to him who has killed the
+animal.' She protested that if she were obliged to marry, and had to
+choose between a butcher and an executioner, she would prefer the
+latter. She told me of various quarrels she had had with those who
+had either killed animals or allowed them to hunger.
+
+ [E63] The Lutheran Church has retained the division of the
+ Commandments used in the Roman Church; and the Commandment against
+ murder is therefore here described as the fifth, whilst in the
+ English catechism it is the sixth.
+
+One story I will not leave unmentioned, as it is very pretty. She
+sold, she said, one day some pigs to a butcher. When the butcher's
+boy was about to bind the pigs' feet and carry them off hanging from
+a pole, she was sorry for the poor pigs, and said, 'What, will you
+take their life? No, I will not suffer that!' and she threw him back
+his money. I asked her if she did not know that pigs were killed, and
+for what reason she thought the butcher had bought them. 'Yes,' she
+replied, 'I knew that well. Had he let them go on their own legs, I
+should have cared nothing about it; but to bind the poor beasts in
+this way, and to hear them cry, I could not endure that.' It would
+take too long to enumerate all the extravagant whims which she
+related of herself. But with all this she is not foolish, and I well
+believe she is true to any one she loves. She served me very well,
+and with great care.
+
+The above-mentioned governor[E64] was killed by some prisoners on
+board the vessel, when he was returning to the West Indies. By a
+strange chance the vessel with the murderers came to Copenhagen.
+(They were sentenced to death for their crime.) Jonatha declared
+that the governor had had only too good a death, and that it was a
+sin that any one should lose his life on account of it. I practise
+speaking the English language with Jonatha. She has forgotten
+somewhat of her mother tongue, since she has not spoken it for many
+years; and as she always reads the English Bible, and does not at
+once understand all the words, I help her; for I not only can
+perceive the sense from the preceding and following words, but also
+because some words resemble the French, though with another accent.
+And we often talk together about the interpretation of Holy
+Scripture. She calls herself a Calvinist, but she does not hold the
+opinions of Calvinists. I never dispute with her over her opinions.
+She goes to the Lord's Supper in the Queen's church[E65]. Once, when
+she came back to me from there, she said she had had a conversation
+upon religion with a woman, who had told her to her face that she was
+no Calvinist. I asked her of what religion the woman imagined that
+she was. She replied: 'God knows that. I begged her to mind her own
+business, and said, that I was a Christian; I thought of your grace's
+words (but I did not say them), that all those who believe on Christ
+and live a Christian life, are Christians, whatever name they may
+give to their faith.'
+
+ [E64] The name of this governor, which is not mentioned by Leonora,
+ was Jörgen Iversen, the first Danish governor of St. Thomas. In
+ 1682 he returned to the colony from Copenhagen on board a vessel
+ which was to bring some prisoners over to St. Thomas. Very soon
+ after their departure, some of the prisoners and of the crew raised
+ a mutiny, killed the captain and some of the passengers, amongst
+ them the ex-governor Iversen. But one of the prisoners who had not
+ been in the plot afterwards got the mastery of the vessel, and
+ returned to Copenhagen. The vessel struck on a rock, near the
+ Swedish coast, but the crew were saved and sent home to Copenhagen
+ by the Swedish Government, and the murderers were then executed.
+
+ [E65] The Queen's church was a room in the castle where service was
+ held according to the Calvinist rite.
+
+In this year 1684 I saw the Queen Dowager fall from the chair in
+which she was drawn up to the royal apartment. The chair ran down the
+pulleys too quickly, so that she fell on her face and knocked her
+knee. During this year her weakness daily increased, but she thought
+herself stronger than she was. She appeared at table always much
+dressed, and between the meals she remained in her apartments.
+
+I kept myself patient, and wrote the following:--
+
+_Contemplation on Memory and Courage, recorded to the honour of God
+by the suffering Christian woman in the sixty-third year of her life,
+and the almost completed twenty-first year of her captivity._
+
+    The vanished hours can ne'er come back again,
+    Still may the old their youthful joys retain;
+    The past may yet within our memory live,
+    And courage vigour to the old may give.
+    Yet why should I thus sport with Memory's truth,
+    And harrow up the fairer soil of youth?
+    No fruit it brings, fallow and bare it lies,
+    And the dry furrow only pain supplies!
+    In my first youth, in honourable days
+    Upon such things small question did I raise.
+    Then years advanced with trouble in their train,
+    And spite of show my life was fraught with pain.
+    The holy marriage bond--my rank and fame,
+    Increased my foes and made my ill their aim.
+    Go! honour, riches, vanish from my mind!
+    Ye all forsook me and left nought behind.
+    'Twas ye have brought me here thro' years to lie;
+    Thus can man's envy human joy deny!
+    My God alone, He ne'er forsook me here,
+    My cross He lightened, and was ever near;
+    And when my heart was yielding to despair,
+    He spoke of peace and whispered He was there.
+    He gave me power and ever near me stood,
+    And all could see how truly God was good.
+
+    What Courage can achieve I next will heed;
+    He who is blessed with it, is blest indeed.
+    To the tired frame fresh power can Courage give,
+    Raising the weary mind anew to live;
+    I mean that Courage Reason may instil
+    Not the foolhardiness that leads to ill.
+    Far oftener is it that the youth will lie
+    Helpless, when Fortune's favours from him fly,
+    Than that the old man should inactive stay,
+    Who knows full well how Fortune loves to play.
+    Fresh Courage seizes him; from such a shield
+    Rebound the arms malicious foes may wield.
+    Courage imparts repose, and trifles here,
+    Beneath its influence, as nought appear;
+    But a vain loan, which we can only hold
+    Until the lender comes, and life is told.
+    Courage pervades the frame and vigour gives,
+    And a fresh energy each part receives;
+    With appetite and health and cheerful mind,
+    And calm repose in hours of sleep we find,
+    So that no visions in ill dreams appear,
+    And spectre forms filling the heart with fear.
+    Courage gives honied sweetness to our food
+    And prison fare, and makes e'en death seem good.
+    'Tis well! my mind is fresh, my limbs are sound,
+    And no misfortune weighs me to the ground.
+    Reason and judgment come from God alone,
+    And the five senses unimpaired I own.
+    The mighty God in me His power displays,
+    Therefore join with me in a voice of praise
+    And laud His name: For Thou it is, oh God,
+    Who in my fear and anguish nigh me stood.
+    Almighty One, my thanks be ever thine!
+    Let me ne'er waver nor my trust resign.
+    Take not the courage which my hope supplies,
+    Till my soul enters into Paradise.
+
+Written on February 28, 1684, that is the thirty-sixth anniversary
+since the illustrious King Christian the Fourth bade good-night to
+this world, and I to the prosperity of my life.
+
+I have now reached the sixty-third year of my age, and the twentieth
+year, sixth month, and fifteenth day of my imprisonment. I have
+therefore spent the third part of my life in captivity. God be
+praised that so much time is past. I hope the remaining days may not
+be many.
+
+Anno 1685, January 14, I amused myself with making some verses in
+which truth was veiled under the cloak of jest, entitled: 'A Dog,
+named Cavaillier, relates his Fate.'
+
+The rhymes, I suppose, will come into your hands, my dearest
+children.[E66]
+
+ [E66] This poem still exists, and is printed in the second volume
+ of Hofman's work on Danish noblemen. It is intended to convey an
+ account of her own and her husband's fate.
+
+On February 20, the Queen Dowager Sophia Amalia died. She did not
+think that death would overtake her so quickly; but when the doctor
+warned her that her death would not be long delayed, she requested to
+speak with her son. But death would not wait for the arrival of his
+Majesty, so that the Queen Dowager might say a word to him. She was
+still alive; she was sitting on a chair, but she was speechless, and
+soon afterwards, in the same position, she gave up her spirit.
+
+After the death of this Queen I was much on the lips of the people.
+Some thought that I should obtain my liberty; others believed that I
+should probably be brought from the tower to some other place, but
+should not be set free.
+
+Jonatha, who had learned from Ole the tower-warder, some days before
+the death of the Queen, that prayers were being offered up in the
+church for the Queen (it had, however, been going on for six weeks,
+that this prayer had been read from the pulpit), was, equally with
+Ole the tower-warder, quite depressed. Ole, who had consoled himself
+and her hitherto with the tidings from the Queen's lacqueys, that the
+Queen went to table and was otherwise well, though she occasionally
+suffered from a cough, now thought that there was danger, that death
+might result, and that I, if the Queen died, might perhaps leave the
+prison. They did their best to conceal their sorrow, but without
+success. They occasionally shed secretly a few tears. I behaved as if
+I did not remark it, and as no one said anything to me about it, I
+gave no opportunity for speaking on the subject. A long time
+previously I had said to Jonatha (as I had done before to the other
+women) that I did not think I should die in the tower. She remembered
+this and mentioned it. I said: 'All is in God's hand. He knows best
+what is needful for me, both as regards soul and body; to Him I
+commend myself.' Thus Jonatha and Ole lived on between hope and fear.
+
+On March 15, the reigning Queen kept her Easter. Jonatha came quite
+delighted from her Majesty's church, saying that a noble personage
+had told her that I need not think of getting out of the prison,
+although the Queen was dead; she knew better and she insisted upon
+it. However often I asked as to who the personage was, she would not
+tell me her name. I laughed at her, and said, 'Whoever the personage
+may be, she knows just as much about it as you and I do.' Jonatha
+adhered to her opinion that the person knew it well. 'What do you
+mean?' I said; 'the King himself does not know. How should others
+know?' 'Not the King! not the King!' she said quite softly. 'No, not
+the King!' I answered. 'He does not know till God puts it into his
+heart, and as good as says to him, "Now thou shalt let the prisoner
+free!"' She came somewhat more to herself, but said nothing. And as
+she and Ole heard no more rumours concerning me, they were quite
+comforted.
+
+On March 26, the funeral of the Queen Dowager took place, and her
+body was conveyed to Roskild.
+
+On April 21, I supplicated the King's Majesty in the following
+manner. I possessed a portrait engraving of the illustrious King
+Christian the Fourth, rather small and oval in form. This I
+illuminated with colours, and had a carved frame made for it, which
+I gilded myself. On the piece at the back I wrote the following
+words:--
+
+    My grandson, and great namesake,
+    Equal to me in power and state;
+    Vouchsafe my child a hearing,
+    And be like me in mercy great!
+
+Besides this, I wrote to his Excellency Gyldenlöve, requesting him
+humbly to present the Supplique to the King's majesty, and to
+interest himself on my behalf, and assist me to gain my liberty. His
+Excellency was somewhat inconvenienced at the time by his old
+weakness, so that he could not himself speak for me; but he begged a
+good friend to present the engraving with all due respect, and this
+was done on April 24.[E67]
+
+ [E67] This picture is still preserved at the Castle of Rosenbourg,
+ in Copenhagen.
+
+Of all this Jonatha knew nothing. Peder Jensen Tötzlöff was my
+messenger. He has been a comfort to me in my imprisonment, and has
+rendered me various services, so that I am greatly bound to him. And
+I beg you, my dearest children, to requite him in all possible ways
+for the services he has rendered me.
+
+On May 2, it became generally talked of that I should assuredly be
+set at liberty, and some asked the tower-warder whether I had come
+out the evening before, and at what time; so that Ole began to fear,
+and could not bear himself as bravely as he tried to do. He said to
+me in a sad tone: 'My good lady! You will certainly be set at
+liberty. There are some who think you are already free.' I said, 'God
+will bring it to pass.' 'Yes,' said he, 'but how will it fare with me
+then?' I answered, 'You will remain tower-warder, as you now are.'
+'Yes,' said he, 'but with what pleasure?' and he turned, unable to
+restrain his tears, and went away. Jonatha concluded that my
+deliverance was drawing near, and endeavoured to conceal her sorrow.
+She said, 'Ole is greatly cast down, but I am not.' (And the tears
+were standing in her eyes.) 'It is said for certain that the King is
+going away the day after to-morrow. If you are set at liberty, it
+will be this very day.' I said, 'God knows.' Jonatha expressed her
+opinion that I was nevertheless full of hope. I said I had been
+hopeful ever since the first day of my imprisonment; that God would
+at last have mercy on me, and regard my innocence. I had prayed to
+God always for patience to await the time of His succour; and God had
+graciously bestowed it on me. If the moment of succour had now
+arrived, I should pray to God for grace to acknowledge rightly His
+great benefits. Jonatha asked if I were not sure to be set free
+before the King started for Norway; that it was said for certain that
+the King would set out early on the following morning. I said: 'There
+is no certainty as to future things. Circumstances may occur to
+impede the King's journey, and it may also happen that my liberty may
+be prevented, even though at this hour it may perhaps be resolved
+upon. Still I know that my hope will not be confounded. But you do
+not conceal your regret, and I cannot blame you for it. You have
+cause for regret, for with my freedom you lose your yearly income and
+your maintenance.[148] Remember how often I have told you not to
+throw away your money so carelessly on your son. You cannot know what
+may happen to you in your old age. If I die, you will be plunged
+into poverty; for as soon as you receive your money, you expend it
+on the apprenticeship of your son, who returns you no thanks for
+it.[149] You have yourself told me of his bad disposition, and how
+wrongly he has answered you when you have tried to give him good
+advice. Latterly he has not ventured to do so, since I read him a
+lecture, and threatened that I would help to send him to the House of
+Correction. I fear he will be a bad son to you.' Upon this she gave
+free vent to her tears, and begged that if I obtained my liberty I
+would not abandon her. This I promised, so far as lay in my power;
+for I could not know what my circumstances might be.
+
+ [148] In the margin is added: 'The woman who attended on me
+ received eight rix-dollars monthly.'
+
+ [149] In the margin: 'She had him learn wood-carving.'
+
+In this way some days elapsed, and Jonatha and Ole knew not what the
+issue might be.
+
+On May 19, at six o'clock in the morning, Ole knocked softly at my
+outer door. Jonatha went to it. Ole said softly, 'The King is already
+gone; he left at about four o'clock.' I know not if his hope was
+great; at any rate it did not last long. Jonatha told me Ole's news.
+I wished the King's Majesty a prosperous journey (I knew already what
+order he had given), and it seemed to me from her countenance she was
+to some extent contented. At about eight o'clock Tötzlöff came up to
+me and informed me that the Lord Chancellor Count Allefeldt had sent
+the prison governor a royal order that I was to be released from my
+imprisonment, and that I could leave when I pleased. (This order was
+signed by the King's Majesty the day before his Majesty started.)
+
+His Excellency had accompanied the King. Tötzlöff asked whether I
+wished him to lock the doors, as I was now free. I replied, 'So long
+as I remain within the doors of my prison, I am not free. I will
+moreover leave properly. Lock the door and enquire what my sister's
+daughter, Lady Anna Catharina Lindenow, says, whether his
+Excellency[E68] sent any message to her (as he promised) before he
+left. When Tötzlöff was gone, I said to Jonatha, 'Now, in Jesus'
+name, this very evening I shall leave. Gather your things together,
+and pack them up, and I will do the same with mine; they shall remain
+here till I can have them fetched.' She was somewhat startled, but
+not cast down. She thanked God with me, and when the doors were
+unlocked at noon and I dined, she laughed at Ole, who was greatly
+depressed. I told her that Ole might well sigh, for that he would now
+have to eat his cabbage without bacon.
+
+ [E68] The Excellency alluded to is Ulrik Frederik Gyldenlöve, a
+ natural son of Frederik III. Anna Catharina Lindenow was daughter
+ of Leonora's sister, Elizabeth Augusta, who married Hans Lindenow.
+
+Tötzlöff brought me word from my sister's daughter that his
+Excellency had sent to her to say that she was free to accompany me
+from the tower, if she chose. It was therefore settled that she was
+to come for me late the same evening.
+
+The prison governor was in a great hurry to get rid of me, and sent
+the tower-warder to me towards evening, to enquire whether I would
+not go. I sent word that it was still too light (there would probably
+be some curious people who had a desire to see me).
+
+Through a good friend I made enquiry of her Majesty the Queen,
+whether I might be allowed the favour of offering my humble
+submission to her Majesty (I could go into the Queen's apartment
+through the secret passage, so that no one could see me). Her Majesty
+sent me word in reply that she might not speak with me.
+
+At about ten o'clock in the evening, the prison governor opened the
+door for my sister's daughter. (I had not seen him for two years.) He
+said, 'Well, shall we part now?' I answered, 'Yes, the time is now
+come.' Then he gave me his hand, and said 'Ade!' (Adieu). I answered
+in the same manner, and my niece laughed heartily.
+
+Soon after the prison governor had gone, I and my sister's daughter
+left the tower. Her Majesty the Queen thought to see me as I came
+out, and was standing on her balcony, but it was rather dark;
+moreover I had a black veil over my face. The palace-square, as far
+as the bridge and further, was full of people, so that we could
+scarcely press through to the coach.
+
+The time of my imprisonment was twenty-one years, nine months, and
+eleven days.
+
+King Frederick III. ordered my imprisonment on August 8, A.D. 1663;
+King Christian V. gave me my liberty on May 18, 1685. God bless my
+most gracious King with all royal blessing, and give his Majesty
+health and add many years to his life.
+
+This is finished in my prison.
+
+On May 19, at ten o'clock in the evening, I left my prison. To God be
+honour and praise. He graciously vouchsafed that I should recognise
+His divine benefits, and never forget to record them with gratitude.
+
+Dear children! This is the greatest part of the events worth
+mentioning which occurred to me within the doors of my prison. I live
+now in the hope that it may please God and the King's Majesty that I
+may myself show you this record. God in His mercy grant it.
+
+1685. Written at Husum[E69] June 2, where I am awaiting the return of
+the King's Majesty from Norway:
+
+ [E69] This Husum is a village just outside Copenhagen, where
+ Leonora remained for some months before she went to Maribo, as is
+ proved by a letter from her dated Husum, September 18, 1685. Of
+ course the last paragraphs must have been added after she left her
+ prison, and the passage 'This is finished in my prison' refers, at
+ any rate, only to what precedes.
+
+A.D. 1683. New Year's Day. To Myself.
+
+    Men say that Fortune is a rare and precious thing,
+    And they would fain that Power should homage to her bring.
+    Yet Power herself is blind and ofttimes falleth low,
+    Rarely to rise again, wherefore may Heaven know.
+    To-day with humorous wiles she holds her sovereign sway,
+    And could one only trust her, there might be goodly prey.
+    Yet is she like to Fortune, changeful the course she flies,
+    And both, oh earthly pilgrim, are but vain fraud and lies.
+    The former is but frail, the other strives with care,
+    And both alas! are subject to many a plot and snare.
+    Thou hast laid hold on Fortune with an exultant mind,
+    Affixed perhaps to-morrow the fatal _mis_ we find;
+    Then does thy courage fail, this prefix saddens thee,
+    Wert thou thyself Goliath or twice as brave as he.
+    And thou who art so small--already grey with care--
+    Thou know'st not whether evil this year thy lot may share.
+    For Fortune frolics ever, now under, now above,
+    Emerging here and there her varied powers to prove.
+    All that is earthly comes and vanishes again,
+    Therefore I cling to that which will for aye remain.
+
+On March 14, 1683, I wrote the following:--
+
+    True is the sentence we are sometimes told:
+    A friend is worth far more than bags of gold.
+    Yet would I gladly ask, where do we find
+    A friend so virtuous that he is well inclined
+    To help another in his need and gloom
+    Without a thought of recompense to come?
+    Naught is there new in this, for selfish care
+    To every child of Eve has proved a snare.
+    Each generation hears the last complain,
+    And each repeats the same sad tale again;--
+    That the oppressed by the wayside may lie,
+    When naught is gained but God's approving eye.
+
+    See, at Bethesda's pool, how once there came
+    The halting impotent, some help to claim
+    Among those thousands. Each of pity free,
+    Had no hand for him in his misery
+    To bring him to the angel-troubled stream.
+    Near his last breath did the poor sufferer seem,
+    Weary and penniless; when One alone
+    Who without money works His wise own
+    Will, turned where the helpless suppliant lay,
+    And gently bade him rise and go his way.
+
+    Children of grief, rejoice, do not despair;
+    This Helper still is here and still will care
+    What He in mercy wills. He soothes our pain,
+    And He will help, asking for naught again.
+    And in due time He will with gracious hand
+    Unloose thy prison bars and iron band.
+
+A.D. 1684. The first day. To Peder Jensen Tötzlöff.
+
+    Welcome, thou New Year's day, altho' thou dost belong
+    To those by Brahe reckoned the evil days among,
+    Declaring that whatever may on this day begin
+    Can never prosper rightly, nor true success can win.
+    Now I will only ask if from to-day I strive
+    The evil to avoid and henceforth good to live,
+    Will this not bring success? Why should a purpose fail,
+    Altho' on this day made? why should it not prevail?
+    Oh Brahe, I believe, when we aright begin,
+    To-day or when it be, and God's good favour win,
+    The issue must be well, and all that matters here
+    Is to commend our ways to our Redeemer dear.
+
+    Begin with Jesus Christ this as all other days.
+    Pray that thy plans may meet with the Almighty's praise,
+    So may'st thou happy be, and naught that man can do
+    Can hinder thy designs, unless God wills it so!
+    May a rich meed of blessing be on thy head bestow'd,
+    And the Lord Jesus Christ protect thee on thy road
+    With arms of grace. Such is my wish for thee,
+    Based on the love of God; sure, that He answers me.
+
+
+LONDON: PRINTED BY
+SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
+AND PARLIAMENT STREET
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+The following corrections were made:
+
+p. 53: length the good-for-nothing[good-for nothing] fellow came down,
+       and
+
+p. 55: there for ten days[25] a letter from Gul...[Gl...] which he
+
+p. 56: patacoon[patacon] to those who were to restrain her, saying,
+
+p. 59: came to see her, no one in consequence[consequenec] consoled
+       her,
+
+p. 61: When the lawyer had said that they[t hey] had now taken
+
+p. 64: lose in Dan...[Den...].
+
+p. 67: It was necessary[neccessary] to descend the rampart into the
+
+p. 92: he persuaded[pursuaded] me to undertake the English journey,
+
+p. 106: with my attendant. I answered nothing else than[then] that
+
+p. 114: silk camisole[camisolle], in the foot of my stockings there
+        were
+
+p. 132: Castle[Cstale], I had sent a good round present for those in
+
+p. 135: sad day, and I begged them, for Jesus'[Jesu's] sake, that
+
+p. 137: decree? I only beg for Jesus'[Jesu's] sake that what I say
+
+p. 172: might easily injure herself with one.'[[76]]
+
+p. 174: Synge'[[E31]]:--
+
+p. 230: of listening to reason, for she at once exclaimed ‘Ach[!]
+
+p. 239: Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter, left me one evening in 1669,
+
+p. 241: and the Frenchman[Frenchmen] was conveyed to the Dark Church,
+
+p. 241: through Uldrich[Udrich] Christian Gyldenlöve. Gyldenlöve
+
+p. 246: her word moreover, and I so arranged it[at] six weeks
+
+p. 259: In the same year, 1671, Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter, left
+
+p. 264: silent, not if I were standing before the King's
+        bailiff![?][']
+
+p. 268: in the time of Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter. Chresten, who
+
+p. 272: In the same year Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter, left me for
+
+p. 276: and a half after her marriage, and that suddenly,
+        suspicion[suspipicion]
+
+p. 300: Supper in the Queen's church[[E65]]. Once, when she came
+
+p. 311: [60] In[in] the margin is added: ‘The sorrow manifested by
+        many would far
+
+p. 311: [117] In the margin is added: ‘1666. While Karen, Nils'[Nil's]
+        daughter, waited
+
+p. 311: Nils'[Nil's] daughter. When anything gave her satisfaction,
+        she would take
+
+p. 311: to set Copenhagen[Copenagen] on fire in divers places, and
+        also the
+
+p. 311: Autobiography[Autobiograpy] of Leonora as ‘notre vieillard;'
+        he was a faithful
+
+p. 311: which placed it at the disposal of Hannibal
+        Sehested[Schested] when he
+
+p. 311: [E38] ‘Anno 1666, soon after Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter,
+        came to me,
+
+p. 311: [E51] Hannibal Sehested[Schested] was dead already in 1666,
+        as Leonora
+
+p. 311: disposed to Hannibal Sehested[Schested].
+
+p. 311: entitled ‘Martilogium (for martyrologium[matyrologium]) der
+        Heiligen' (Strasburg
+
+
+
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+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Memoirs of Leonora Christina, by Leonora
+Christina Ulfeldt, Translated by F. E. Bunn&egrave;tt</h1>
+<pre>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: Memoirs of Leonora Christina</p>
+<p>       Daughter of Christian IV. of Denmark; Written During Her Imprisonment in the Blue Tower at Copenhagen 1663-1685</p>
+<p>Author: Leonora Christina Ulfeldt</p>
+<p>Release Date: November 24, 2011  [eBook #38128]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF LEONORA CHRISTINA***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h4>E-text prepared by<br />
+    the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br />
+    (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br />
+    from scanned images of public domain material<br />
+    generously made available by<br />
+    the Google Books Library Project<br />
+    (<a href="http://books.google.com/">http://books.google.com/</a>)</h4>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10">
+  <tr>
+    <td valign="top">
+      Note:
+    </td>
+    <td>
+      Images of the original pages are available through
+      the the Google Books Library Project. See
+      <a href="http://books.google.com/books?vid=MaYBAAAAQAAJ&amp;id">
+      http://books.google.com/books?vid=MaYBAAAAQAAJ&amp;id</a>
+   </td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="trnote">
+<h2>Transcriber’s note</h2>
+<p>Obvious word errors have been corrected, but otherwise the original
+spelling has generally been retained, even where several different
+spellings have been used to refer to the same person. A <a href="#trcorrections">list of
+corrections</a> can be found after the book.</p>
+<p>The printed book contained footnotes and endnotes&mdash;these have all
+be placed at the end of the ebook.</p>
+<h3 class="left">Table of Contents of the Ebook</h3>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#PREFACE_PUBL">Preface</a></li>
+<li><a href="#PREFACE_DANISH_EDITION">Preface of the Danish Edition</a></li>
+<li><a href="#CONTENTS">Table of Contents</a></li>
+<li><a href="#INTRODUCTION">Introduction</a></li>
+<li><a href="#AUTOBIOGRAPHY">Autobiography</a></li>
+<li><a href="#A_RECORD_OF_THE_SUFFERINGS">A Record of the Sufferings</a>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#PREFACE_LC">Preface</a></li>
+<li><a href="#REMINISCENCES">Reminiscences</a></li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><a href="#FOOTNOTES">Footnotes</a></li>
+<li><a href="#ENDNOTES">Endnotes</a></li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width:350px">
+<img src="images/portrait.jpg" class="nobord" width="350" height="555" alt="Portrait and signature" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center">Henry S. King &amp; C<sup>o</sup>., 65, Cornhill</p>
+
+<hr class="pagebreak" />
+
+
+<h1 class="center"><span class="smaller">MEMOIRS OF</span><br />
+LEONORA CHRISTINA</h1>
+
+<p class="center italic">DAUGHTER of CHRISTIAN IV. of DENMARK</p>
+
+<p class="center w45">WRITTEN DURING HER IMPRISONMENT IN
+THE BLUE TOWER AT COPENHAGEN<br />
+1663&mdash;1685</p>
+
+<p class="center smcap topmarg">Translated by F. E. Bunnètt</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="center">LONDON<br />
+<span class="smcap">Henry S. King &amp; Co., 65 Cornhill</span><br />
+1872</p>
+
+<hr class="pagebreak" />
+
+<p class="center smaller">LONDON: PRINTED BY<br />
+SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE<br />
+AND PARLIAMENT STREET</p>
+
+
+<p class="center italic">All rights reserved</p>
+
+
+<hr class="pagebreak" />
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii" title="[Pg iii]"></a></p>
+
+<h2><a name="PREFACE_PUBL" id="PREFACE_PUBL"></a>PREFACE.</h2>
+
+
+<p>In placing the present translation of <span class="smcap">Leonora Christina
+Ulfeldt’s</span> Memoirs before the English reading
+public, a few words are due from the Publishers, in
+order to explain the relation between this edition and
+those which have been brought out in Denmark and in
+Germany.</p>
+
+<p>The original autograph manuscript of Leonora
+Christina’s record of her sufferings in her prison,
+written between the years 1674 and 1685, belongs to
+her descendant the Austrian Count Joh. Waldstein,
+and it was discovered only a few years ago. It was
+then, at the desire of Count Waldstein, brought to
+Copenhagen by the Danish Minister at Vienna, M.
+Falbe, in order that its authenticity might be
+thoroughly verified by comparison with documents
+preserved in the Danish archives and libraries, and
+known to be in the hand-writing of the illustrious
+authoress. When the existence of this interesting
+historic and literary relic had become known in Denmark,
+a desire to see it published was naturally expressed<a class="pagenum" name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv" title="[Pg iv]"></a>
+on all sides, and to this the noble owner most
+readily acceded.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the first Danish edition came to light in 1869,
+promoted in every way by Count Waldstein. The
+editor was Mr. Sophus Birket-Smith, assistant librarian
+of the University Library at Copenhagen, who
+enriched the edition with a historical introduction and
+copious notes. A second Danish edition appeared a
+few months later; and in 1871 a German translation of
+the Memoir was edited by M. Ziegler, with a new
+introduction and notes, founded partly on the first
+Danish edition, partly on other printed sources, to
+which were added extracts from some papers found in
+the family archives of Count Waldstein, and which
+were supposed to possess the interest of novelty.</p>
+
+<p>The applause with which this edition was received in
+Germany suggested the idea of an English version,
+and it was at first intended merely to translate M.
+Ziegler’s book into English. During the progress
+of the work, however, it was found preferable to
+adopt the second Danish edition as the basis of
+the English edition. The translation which had
+been made from M. Ziegler’s German, has been carefully
+compared with the Danish original, so as to
+remove any defects arising from the use of the
+German translation, and give it the same value as a
+translation made direct from the Danish; a new introduction
+and notes have been added, for which the
+Danish editor, Mr. Birket-Smith has supplied the
+materials; and instead of the fragments of Ulfeldt’s<a class="pagenum" name="Page_v" id="Page_v" title="[Pg v]"></a>
+Apology and of an extract from Leonora Christina’s
+Autobiography found in the German edition, a complete
+translation of the Autobiography to the point where
+Leonora’s Memoir of her sufferings in prison takes up
+the thread of the narrative, has been inserted, made
+from the original French text, recently published
+by Mr. S. Birket-Smith. As a matter of course the
+preface of Count Waldstein, which appears in this
+edition, is the one prefixed to the Danish edition.
+The manuscript itself of the record of Leonora Christina’s
+sufferings in prison was commenced in 1674, and
+was at first intended to commemorate only what had
+happened during the preceding ten years of her
+captivity; it was afterwards extended to embrace the
+whole period down to 1685, and subjected to a revision
+which resulted in numerous additions and alterations.
+As, however, these do not seem to have been properly
+worked in by the authoress herself, the Memoir is here
+rendered, as in the Danish edition, in its original, more
+perfect shape, and the subsequent alterations made the
+subject of foot notes.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi" title="[Pg vi]"></a><br />
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii" title="[Pg vii]"></a></div>
+
+<h2><a name="PREFACE_DANISH_EDITION" id="PREFACE_DANISH_EDITION"></a>PREFACE<br />
+<span class="smaller">TO<br />
+THE DANISH EDITION.</span></h2>
+
+
+<p>When, in the summer of 1858, I visited the graves of
+my Danish ancestors of the family of Ulfeldt, in the
+little village church at Quærndrup, near the Castle of
+Egeskov, on the island of Fyn, I resolved to honour
+the memory of my pious ancestress Leonora Christina,
+and thus fulfil the duty of a descendant by publishing
+this autograph manuscript which had come to me
+amongst the heirlooms left by my father.</p>
+
+<p>It is well known that the last male representative
+of the family of Ulfeldt, the Chancellor of the
+Court and Realm of Her Majesty the Empress Maria
+Theresia, had only two daughters. One of them,
+Elizabeth, married Georg Christian, Count Waldstein,
+while the younger married Count Thun.</p>
+
+<p>Out of special affection for her younger son
+Emanuel (my late father), my grandmother bequeathed
+all that referred to the Ulfeldts to him, and the
+manuscript which I now&mdash;in consequence of requests
+from various quarters, also from high places&mdash;give to<a class="pagenum" name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii" title="[Pg viii]"></a>
+publicity by the learned assistance of Mr. Sophus
+Birket-Smith, thus came to me through direct descent
+from her father:</p>
+
+<p>‘Corfitz, Count of Ulfeldt of the holy Roman
+Empire, Lord of the lordships Költz-Jenikau, Hof-Kazof,
+Brödlich, Odaslowitz, and the fief Zinltsch,
+Knight of the Golden Vliess, First Treasurer of the
+hereditary lands in Bohemia, Ambassador at the
+Ottoman Porte, afterwards Chancellor of the Court
+and the Empire, sworn Privy Councillor and first
+Lord Steward of his Imperial and Royal Majesty
+Carolus VI., as well as of His Imperial Roman and
+Royal Majesty of Hungary, Bohemia,’ &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>We add: the highly honoured paternal guide of
+Her Majesty the Queen Empress Maria Theresia, of
+glorious memory, during the first year of her government,
+until the time when the gifted Prince Kaunitz,
+whose genius sometimes even was too much for this,
+morally noble lady, became her successor.</p>
+
+<p>I possess more than eleven imposing, closely written
+folio volumes, which contain the manuscripts of the
+Chancellor of the Empire, his negociations with the
+Sublime Porte, afterwards with the States-General of
+the Netherlands, as well as the ministerial protocols
+from the whole time that he held the office of Imperial
+Chancellor; all of which prove his great industry and
+love of order, while the original letters and annotations
+of his exalted mistress, which are inserted in these same
+volumes, testify to the sincere, almost childlike confidence
+with which she honoured him.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix" title="[Pg ix]"></a>
+But this steady and circumspect statesman was the
+direct grandson of the restless and proud</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Corfitz</span>, first Count of Ulfeldt of the Roman
+Empire, High Steward of the Realm in Denmark, &amp;c.,
+and of his devoted and gifted wife <span class="smcap">Leonora Christina</span>,
+through their son</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Leo</span>, Imperial Count Ulfeldt, Privy Councillor,
+Field-marshal, and Viceroy in Catalonia of the Emperor
+Carl VI., and his wife, a born Countess of
+Zinzendorf.</p>
+
+<p>I preserved, therefore with great care this manuscript,
+as well as all other relics and little objects which
+had belonged to my Danish ancestress, whose exalted
+character and sufferings are so highly calculated to
+inspire sympathy, interest, and reverence. Amongst
+these objects are several writings, such as fragments of
+poems, prayers, needlework executed in prison (some
+embroidered with hair of a fair colour); a christening
+robe with cap worked in gold, probably used at the
+christening of her children; a very fine Amulet of
+Christian IV. in blue enamel, and many portraits;
+amongst others the original picture in oil of which a
+copy precedes the title page, &amp;c. &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>Considering that the manuscript has been handed
+down directly from my ancestors from generation to
+generation in direct line, I could not personally have
+any doubt as to its genuineness. Nevertheless I
+yielded to the suggestions of others, in order to have
+the authenticity of the manuscript thoroughly tested.<a class="pagenum" name="Page_x" id="Page_x" title="[Pg x]"></a>
+In what way this was done will be seen from the Introduction
+of the Editor.</p>
+
+<p>Though the final verdict of history may not yet have
+been given on Corfitz Ulfeldt, yet&mdash;tempus omnia sanat&mdash;yon
+ominous pillar, which was to perpetuate the
+memory of his crime into eternity, has been put aside
+as rubbish and left to oblivion. Noble in forgetting
+and pardoning, the great nation of the North has given
+a bright example to those who still refuse to grant to
+Albert, Duke of Friedland&mdash;the great general who
+saved the Empire from the danger that threatened
+it from the North&mdash;the place which this hero ought to
+occupy in the Walhalla at Vienna.</p>
+
+<p>But as to the fiery temper of Corfitz and the mysterious
+springs which govern the deeds and thoughts
+of mankind, it may be permitted to me, his descendant,
+to cherish the belief, which is almost strengthened into
+a conviction, that a woman so highly gifted, of so noble
+sentiments, as Leonora appears to us, would never
+have been able to cling with a love so true, and so
+enduring through all the changes of life, to a man who
+was unworthy of it.</p>
+
+<p class="right smcap">Joh. Count Waldstein.</p>
+
+<p class="left"><span class="smcap">Cairo</span>: <i>December 8, 1868.</i></p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi" title="[Pg xi]"></a></div>
+
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+<p class="toc">&nbsp;<span class="num">Page</span></p>
+<ul class="toc">
+<li><a href="#INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a> <span class="num">1</span></li>
+<li><a href="#AUTOBIOGRAPHY">AUTOBIOGRAPHY</a> <span class="num">31</span>
+<br />A RECORD OF THE SUFFERINGS OF THE IMPRISONED
+COUNTESS:&mdash;
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#PREFACE_LC">PREFACE (TO MY CHILDREN)</a> <span class="num">87</span></li>
+<li><a href="#REMINISCENCES">A REMINISCENCE OF ALL THAT OCCURRED
+TO ME, LEONORA CHRISTINA, IN THE
+BLUE TOWER, FROM AUGUST 8 OF THE
+YEAR 1663, TO JUNE 11 OF THE YEAR 1674</a> <span class="num">102</span></li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_1" id="Page_1" title="[Pg 1]"></a></div>
+
+<h2>MEMOIRS<br />
+OF<br />
+LEONORA CHRISTINA.</h2>
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<h3><a name="INTRODUCTION" id="INTRODUCTION"></a>INTRODUCTION.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Amongst the women celebrated in history, <span class="smcap">Leonora
+Christina</span>, the heroine as well as the authoress of
+the Memoirs which form the subject of this volume,
+occupies a conspicuous place, as one of the noblest
+examples of every womanly virtue and accomplishment,
+displayed under the most trying vicissitudes of fortune.
+Born the daughter of a King, married to one of the
+ablest statesmen of his time, destined, as it seemed, to
+shine in the undisturbed lustre of position and great
+qualities, she had to spend nearly twenty-two years in
+a prison, in the forced company&mdash;more cruel to her
+than solitary confinement&mdash;of male and female gaolers
+of the lowest order, and for a long time deprived of
+every means of rendering herself independent of these
+surroundings by intellectual occupation. She had to
+suffer alone, and innocently, for her husband’s crimes;
+whatever these were, she had no part in them, and she
+endured persecution because she would not forsake
+him in his misfortune. Leonora Christina was the
+victim of despotism guided by personal animosity, and<a class="pagenum" name="Page_2" id="Page_2" title="[Pg 2]"></a>
+she submitted with a Christian meekness and forbearance
+which would be admirable in any, but which her
+exalted station and her great mental qualities bring
+out in doubly strong relief.</p>
+
+<p>It is to these circumstances, which render the fate
+of Leonora so truly tragic, as well as to the fact
+that we have her own authentic and trustworthy
+account before us, that the principal charm of this
+record is due. Besides this, it affords many incidental
+glimpses of the customs and habits of the time, nor
+is it without its purely historical interest. Leonora
+and her husband, Corfits Ulfeldt, were intimately
+connected with the principal political events in the
+North of Europe at their time; even the more minute
+circumstances of their life have, therefore, a certain
+interest.</p>
+
+<p>No wonder that the history of this illustrious couple
+has formed, and still forms, the theme both of laborious
+scientific researches and of poetical compositions.
+Amongst the latter we may here mention in passing a
+well-known novel by Rousseau de la Valette,<a name="FNanchor_1" id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> because
+it has had the undeserved honour of being treated by
+a modern writer as an historical source, to the great
+detriment of his composition. Documents which have
+originated from these two personages are of course
+of great value. Besides letters and public documents,
+there exist several accounts written by both Corfits<a class="pagenum" name="Page_3" id="Page_3" title="[Pg 3]"></a>
+Ulfeldt and Leonora referring to their own life and
+actions. Ulfeldt published in 1652 a defence of his
+political conduct, and composed, shortly before his
+death, another, commonly called the ‘Apology of
+Ulfeldt,’ which has not yet been printed entirely, but
+of which an extract was published in 1695 in the
+supplement of the English edition of Rousseau de la
+Valette’s book. Some extracts from an incomplete
+copy discovered by Count Waldstein in 1870, in the
+family archives at the Castle of Palota, were published
+with the German edition of Leonora’s Memoir; complete
+copies exist in Copenhagen and elsewhere.
+Leonora Christina, who was an accomplished writer,
+has composed at least four partial accounts of her own
+life. One of them, referring to a journey in 1656, to
+be mentioned hereafter, has been printed long ago; of
+another, which treated of her and Ulfeldt’s imprisonment
+at Bornholm, no copy has yet been discovered. The
+third is her Autobiography, carried down to 1673, of
+which an English version follows this Introduction; it
+was written in the Blue Tower, in the form of a letter
+to the Danish antiquarian, Otto Sperling, jun., who
+wished to make use of it for his work, ‘De feminis
+doctis.’<a name="FNanchor_2" id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>About a century ago a so-called Autobiography of
+Leonora was published in Copenhagen, but it was
+easily proved to be a forgery; in fact, the original
+of her own work existed in the Danish archives,
+and had been described by the historian Andreas
+Höier. It has now been lost, it is supposed, in the
+fire which destroyed the Castle of Christiansborg in<a class="pagenum" name="Page_4" id="Page_4" title="[Pg 4]"></a>
+1794, but a complete copy exists in Copenhagen, as
+well as several extracts in Latin; another short extract
+in French belongs to Count Waldstein. Finally,
+Leonora Christina wrote the memoir of her sufferings
+in the prison of the Blue Tower from 1663-1685, of
+which the existence was unknown until discovered by
+Count Waldstein, and given to the public in the manner
+indicated in the Preface.</p>
+
+<p>In introducing these memoirs to the English public,
+a short sketch of the historical events and the persons
+to whom they refer may not be unwelcome, particularly
+as Leonora herself touches only very lightly on them,
+and principally describes her own personal life.</p>
+
+<p><i>Leonora Christina</i> was a daughter of <i>King Christian
+IV.</i> of Denmark and <i>Kirstine Munk</i>. His Queen,
+Anna Catherine, born a princess of Brandenburg, died
+in 1612, leaving three princes (four other children died
+early), and in 1615 the King contracted a morganatic
+marriage with Kirstine Munk, a lady of an ancient and
+illustrious noble family. Leonora was born July 18
+(new style), 1621, at the Castle of Fredriksborg, so
+well known to all who have visited Denmark, which
+the King had built twenty miles north of Copenhagen,
+in a beautiful part of the country, surrounded by smiling
+lakes and extensive forests. But little is known of her
+childhood beyond what she tells herself in her Autobiography.
+Already in her eighth year she was
+promised to her future husband, Corfits Ulfeldt, and in
+1636 the wedding was celebrated with great splendour,
+Leonora being then fifteen years old. The family of
+Ulfeldt has been known since the close of the fourteenth
+century. Corfits’ father had been Chancellor of the
+Realm, and somewhat increased the family possessions,
+though he sold the ancient seat of the family, Ulfeldtsholm,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_5" id="Page_5" title="[Pg 5]"></a>
+in Fyen, to Lady Ellen Marsvin, Kirstine Munk’s
+mother. He had seventeen children, of whom Corfits
+was the seventh; and so far Leonora made only a
+poor marriage. But her husband’s great talents and
+greater ambition made up for this defect. Of his
+youth nothing is known with any certainty, except that
+he travelled abroad, as other young noblemen of his
+time, studied at Padua, and acquired considerable proficiency
+in foreign languages.<a name="FNanchor_3" id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> He became a favourite
+of Christian IV., at whose Court he had every opportunity
+for displaying his social talents. At the marriage
+of the elected successor to the throne, the King’s eldest
+son, Christian, with the Princess Magdalene Sibylle of
+Saxony, in 1634, Corfits Ulfeldt acted as maréchal to the
+special Ambassador Count d’Avaux, whom Louis XIII.
+had sent to Copenhagen on that occasion, in which
+situation Ulfeldt won golden opinions,<a name="FNanchor_4" id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> and he was
+one of the twelve noblemen whom the King on the
+wedding-day made Knights of the Elephant. After a
+visit to Paris in 1635, in order to be cured of a wound
+in the leg which the Danish physicians could not heal,
+he obtained the sanction of the King for his own
+marriage with Leonora, which was solemnised at the
+Castle of Copenhagen, on October 9, 1636, with as much
+splendour as those of the princes and princesses.
+Leonora was the favourite daughter of Christian IV.,
+and as far as royal favour could ensure happiness, it
+might be said to be in store for the newly-married
+pair.</p>
+
+<p>As we have stated, Ulfeldt was a poor nobleman;<a class="pagenum" name="Page_6" id="Page_6" title="[Pg 6]"></a>
+and it is characteristic of them both that one of her
+first acts was to ask him about his debts, which he
+could not but have incurred living as he had done, and
+to pay them by selling her jewels and ornaments, to the
+amount of 36,000 dollars, or more than 7,000<i>l.</i> in
+English money&mdash;then a very large sum. But the King’s
+favour soon procured him what he wanted; he was
+made a member of the Great Council, Governor of
+Copenhagen, and Chancellor of the Exchequer.</p>
+
+<p>He executed several diplomatic missions satisfactorily;
+and when, in 1641, he was sent to Vienna as
+special Ambassador, the Emperor of Germany, Ferdinand
+III., made him a Count of the German Empire.
+Finally, in 1643, he was made Lord High Steward
+of Denmark, the highest dignity and most responsible
+office in the kingdom. He was now at the summit
+of power and influence, and if he had used his
+talents and opportunities in the interests of his
+country, he might have earned the everlasting gratitude
+of his King and his people.</p>
+
+<p>But he was not a great man, though he was a clever
+and ambitious man. He accumulated enormous wealth,
+bought extensive landed estates, spent considerable
+sums in purchasing jewels and costly furniture, and
+lived in a splendid style; but it was all at the cost
+of the country. In order to enrich himself, he struck
+base coin (which afterwards was officially reduced to
+its proper value, 8 per cent. below the nominal value),
+and used probably other unlawful means for this
+purpose, while the Crown was in the greatest need of
+money. At the same time he neglected the defences
+of the country in a shameful manner, and when the
+Swedish Government, in December 1643, suddenly
+ordered its army, which then stood in Germany, engaged<a class="pagenum" name="Page_7" id="Page_7" title="[Pg 7]"></a>
+in the Thirty Years’ War, to attack Denmark
+without any warning, there were no means of stopping
+its victorious progress. In vain the veteran King
+collected a few vessels and compelled the far more
+numerous Swedish fleet to fly, after a furious battle
+near Femern, where he himself received twenty-three
+wounds, and where two of Ulfeldt’s brothers fell
+fighting at his side; there was no army in the land,
+because Corfits, at the head of the nobility, had refused
+the King the necessary supplies. And, although the
+peace which Ulfeldt concluded with Sweden and
+Holland at Brömsebro, in 1645, might have been still
+more disastrous than it was, if the negotiation had been
+entrusted to less skilful hands, yet there was but too
+much truth in the reproachful words of the King, when,
+after ratifying the treaties, he tossed them to Corfits
+saying, ‘There you have them, such as you have made
+them!’</p>
+
+<p>From this time the King began to lose his confidence
+in Ulfeldt, though the latter still retained his
+important offices. In the following year he went to
+Holland and to France on a diplomatic mission, on
+which occasion he was accompanied by Leonora.
+Everywhere their personal qualities, their relationship
+to the sovereign, and the splendour of their appearance,
+procured them the greatest attention and
+the most flattering reception. While at the Hague
+Leonora gave birth to a son, whom the States-General
+offered to grant a pension for life of a
+thousand florins, which, however, Ulfeldt wisely
+refused. In Paris they were loaded with presents; and
+in the Memoirs of Madame Langloise de Motteville on
+the history of Anna of Austria (ed. of Amsterdam,
+1783, ii. 19-22) there is a striking <i lang="fr">récit</i> of the appearance<a class="pagenum" name="Page_8" id="Page_8" title="[Pg 8]"></a>
+and reception of Ulfeldt and Leonora at the
+French Court. On their way home Leonora took an
+opportunity of making a short trip to London, which
+capital she wished to see, while her husband waited
+for her in the Netherlands.</p>
+
+<p>If, however, this journey brought Ulfeldt and his
+wife honours and presents on the part of foreigners,
+it did not give satisfaction at home. The diplomatic
+results of the mission were not what the King had
+hoped, and he even refused to receive Ulfeldt on his
+return. Soon the turning-point in his career arrived.
+In 1648 King Christian IV. died, under circumstances
+which for a short time concentrated extraordinary
+power in Ulfeldt’s hands, but of which he
+did not make a wise use.</p>
+
+<p>Denmark was then still an elective monarchy, and
+the nobles had availed themselves of this and other
+circumstances to free themselves from all burdens,
+and at the same time to deprive both the Crown and
+the other Estates of their constitutional rights to a
+very great extent. All political power was virtually
+vested in the Council of the Realm, which consisted
+exclusively of nobles, and there remained for the king
+next to nothing, except a general supervision of the
+administration, and the nomination of the ministers.
+Every successive king had been obliged to purchase
+his election by fresh concessions to the nobles, and
+the sovereign was little more than the president of
+an aristocratic republic. Christian IV. had caused
+his eldest son Christian to be elected successor in his
+own lifetime; but this prince died in 1647, and when
+the King himself died in 1648, the throne was vacant.</p>
+
+<p>As Lord High Steward, Ulfeldt became president
+of the regency, and could exercise great influence<a class="pagenum" name="Page_9" id="Page_9" title="[Pg 9]"></a>
+on the election. He did not exert himself to bring
+this about very quickly, but there is no ground for
+believing that he meditated the election either of
+himself or of his brother-in-law, Count Valdemar,
+as some have suggested. The children of Kirstine
+Munk being the offspring of a morganatic marriage,
+had not of course equal rank with princes and princesses;
+but in Christian IV.’s lifetime they received
+the same honours, and Ulfeldt made use of the interregnum
+to obtain the passage of a decree by the
+Council, according them rank and honours equal with
+the princes of the royal house.</p>
+
+<p>But as the nobles were in nowise bound to choose
+a prince of the same family, or even a prince at all,
+this decree cannot be interpreted as evidence of a
+design to promote the election of Count Valdemar.
+The overtures of the Duke of Gottorp, who attempted
+to bribe Ulfeldt to support his candidature, were refused
+by him, at least according to his own statement.
+But Ulfeldt did make use of his position to extort a
+more complete surrender of the royal power into the
+hands of the nobility than any king had yet submitted
+to, and the new King, Fredrik III., was compelled
+to promise, amongst other things, to fill up
+any vacancy amongst the ministers with one out of
+three candidates proposed by the Council of the
+Realm. The new King, Fredrik III., Christian IV.’s
+second son, had never been friendly to Ulfeldt. This
+last action of the High Steward did not improve the
+feelings with which he regarded him, and when the
+coronation had taken place (for which Ulfeldt advanced
+the money), he expressed his thoughts at the
+banquet in these words: ‘Corfitz, you have to-day
+bound my hands; who knows, who can bind yours<a class="pagenum" name="Page_10" id="Page_10" title="[Pg 10]"></a>
+in return?’ The new Queen, a Saxon princess, hated
+Ulfeldt and the children of Kirstine Munk on account
+of their pretensions, but particularly Leonora
+Christina, whose beauty and talents she heartily envied.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless Ulfeldt retained his high offices for
+some time, and in 1649 he went again to Holland
+on a diplomatic mission, accompanied by his wife. It
+is remarkable that the question which formed the
+principal subject of the negotiation on that occasion
+was one which has found its proper solution only in
+our days&mdash;namely, that of a redemption of the Sound
+dues. This impost, levied by the Danish Crown
+on all vessels passing the Sound, weighed heavily
+on the shipping interest, and frequently caused disagreement
+between Denmark and the governments
+mostly interested in the Baltic trade, particularly
+Sweden and the Dutch republic.</p>
+
+<p>It was with especial regard to the Sound dues that
+the Dutch Government was constantly interfering in
+the politics of the North, with a view of preventing
+Denmark becoming too powerful; for which purpose
+it always fomented discord between Denmark and
+Sweden, siding now with the one, now with the other,
+but rather favouring the design of Sweden to conquer
+the ancient Danish provinces, Skaane, &amp;c., which were
+east of the Sound, and which now actually belong to
+Sweden. Corfits Ulfeldt calculated that, if the Dutch
+could be satisfied on the point of the Sound dues,
+their unfavourable interference might be got rid of;
+and for this purpose he proposed to substitute an
+annual payment by the Dutch Government for the
+payment of the dues by the individual ships. Christian
+IV. had never assented to this idea, and of course
+the better course would have been the one adopted in<a class="pagenum" name="Page_11" id="Page_11" title="[Pg 11]"></a>
+1857&mdash;namely, the redemption of the dues by all
+States at once for a proportionate consideration paid
+once for all. Still the leading thought was true, and
+worthy of a great statesman.</p>
+
+<p>Ulfeldt concluded a treaty with Holland according
+to his views, but it met with no favour at Copenhagen,
+and on his return he found that in his absence measures
+had been taken to restrict his great power; his conduct
+of affairs was freely criticised, and his enemies had even
+caused the nomination of a committee to investigate
+his past administration, more particularly his financial
+measures.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time the new Court refused Leonora
+Christina and the other children of Kirstine Munk
+the princely honours which they had hitherto enjoyed.
+Amongst other marks of distinction, Christian IV.
+had granted his wife and her children the title of
+Counts and Countesses of Slesvig and Holstein, but
+Fredrik III. declined to acknowledge it, although it
+could have no political importance, being nothing
+but an empty title, as neither Kirstine Munk nor her
+children had anything whatever to do with either of
+these principalities. Ulfeldt would not suffer himself
+to be as it were driven from his high position by these
+indications of disfavour on the part of the King and
+the Queen (the latter was really the moving spring in
+all this), but he resolved to show his annoyance by not
+going to Court, where his wife did not now receive
+the usual honours.</p>
+
+<p>This conduct only served to embolden those who
+desired to oust him from his lucrative offices, not
+because they were better patriots, but because they
+hoped to succeed him. For this purpose a false
+accusation was brought against Ulfeldt and Leonora<a class="pagenum" name="Page_12" id="Page_12" title="[Pg 12]"></a>
+Christina, to the effect that they had the intention of
+poisoning the King and the Queen. Information on
+this plot was given to the Queen personally, by a
+certain Dina Vinhowers, a widow of questionable
+reputation, who declared that she had an illicit connection
+with Ulfeldt, and that she had heard a conversation
+on the subject between Corfits Ulfeldt and
+Leonora, when on a clandestine visit in the High
+Steward’s house. She was prompted by a certain
+Walter, originally a son of a wheelwright, who by
+bravery in the war had risen from the ranks to the
+position of a colonel, and who in his turn was
+evidently a tool in the hands of other parties. The
+information was graciously received at Court; but
+Dina, who, as it seems, was a person of weak or
+unsound mind, secretly, without the knowledge of her
+employers, warned Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina
+of some impending danger, thus creating a seemingly
+inextricable confusion.</p>
+
+<p>At length Ulfeldt demanded a judicial investigation,
+which was at once set on foot, but in which, of course,
+he occupied the position of a defendant on account of
+Dina’s information. In the end Dina was condemned
+to death and Walter was exiled. But the statements
+of the different persons implicated, and particularly of
+Dina herself at different times, were so conflicting, that
+the matter was really never entirely cleared up, and
+though Ulfeldt was absolved of all guilt, his enemies
+did their best in order that some suspicion might
+remain. If Ulfeldt had been wise, he might probably
+have turned this whole affair to his own advantage;
+but he missed the opportunity. Utterly absurd as the
+accusation was, he seems to have felt very keenly the
+change of his position, and on the advice of Leonora,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_13" id="Page_13" title="[Pg 13]"></a>
+who did not doubt that some other expedient would
+be tried by his enemies, perhaps with more success,
+he resolved to leave Denmark altogether.</p>
+
+<p>After having sent away the most valuable part of
+his furniture and movable property, and placed abroad
+his amassed capital, he left Copenhagen secretly and
+at night, on July 14, 1651, three days after the execution
+of Dina. The gates of the fortress were closed
+at a certain hour every evening, but he had a key
+made for the eastern gate, and ere sunrise he and
+Leonora, who was disguised as a valet, were on board
+a vessel on their way to Holland. The consequences
+of this impolitic flight were most disastrous. He had
+not laid down his high offices, much less rendered
+an account of his administration; nothing was more
+natural than to suppose that he wished to avoid an
+investigation. A few weeks later a royal summons was
+issued, calling upon him to appear at the next meeting
+of the Diet, and answer for his conduct; his offices,
+and the fiefs with which he had been beneficed, were
+given to others, and an embargo was laid on his landed
+estates.</p>
+
+<p>Leonora Christina describes in her Autobiography
+how Ulfeldt meanwhile first went to Holland, and
+thence to Sweden, where Queen Christina, who certainly
+was not favourably disposed to Denmark,
+received Ulfeldt with marked distinction, and promised
+him her protection. But she does not tell how Ulfeldt
+here used every opportunity for stirring up enmity
+against Denmark, both in Sweden itself and in other
+countries, whose ambassadors he tried to bring over to
+his ideas. On this painful subject there can be no
+doubt after the publication of so many authentic State
+Papers of that time, amongst which we may mention<a class="pagenum" name="Page_14" id="Page_14" title="[Pg 14]"></a>
+the reports of Whitelock, the envoy of Cromwell, to
+whom Ulfeldt represented that Denmark was too weak
+to resist an attack, and that the British Government
+might easily obtain the abolition of the Sound dues by
+war.</p>
+
+<p>It seems, however, as if Ulfeldt did all this merely
+to terrify the Danish King into a reconciliation with
+him on terms honourable and advantageous to the
+voluntarily exiled magnate. Representations were
+several times made with such a view by the Swedish
+Government, and in 1656 Leonora Christina herself
+undertook a journey to Copenhagen, in order to
+arrange the matter. But the Danish Government was
+inaccessible to all such attempts.</p>
+
+<p>This attitude was intelligible enough, for not only
+had Ulfeldt left Denmark in the most unceremonious
+manner, but in 1652 he published in Stralsund a defence
+against the accusations of which he had been the
+subject, full of gross insults against the King; and in
+the following year he had issued an insolent protest
+against the royal summons to appear and defend
+himself before the Diet, declaring himself a Swedish
+subject. But, above all, the influence of the Queen was
+too great to allow of any arrangement with Ulfeldt.
+The King was entirely led by her; she, from her
+German home, was filled with the most extravagant
+ideas of absolute despotism, and hated the free speech
+and the independent spirit prevailing among the
+Danish nobility, of which Ulfeldt in that respect was
+a true type. Leonora Christina was compelled to
+return in 1656, without even seeing the King, and as
+a fugitive. It is of this journey that she has given a
+Danish account, besides the description in the Autobiography.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_15" id="Page_15" title="[Pg 15]"></a>
+It may be questioned whether it would not have
+been wise, if possible, to conciliate this dangerous man;
+but at any rate it was not done, and Ulfeldt was,
+no doubt, still more exasperated. Queen Christina
+had then resigned, and her successor, Carl Gustav,
+shortly after engaged in a war in Poland. The Danish
+Government, foolishly overrating its strength, took
+the opportunity for declaring war against Sweden, in
+the hope of regaining some of the territory lost in
+1645. But Carl Gustav, well knowing that the Poles
+could not carry the war into Sweden, immediately
+turned his whole force against Denmark, where he met
+with next to no resistance. Ulfeldt was then living
+at Barth, in Pommerania, an estate which he held in
+mortgage for large sums of money advanced to the
+Swedish Government. Carl Gustav summoned Ulfeldt
+to follow him, and Ulfeldt obeyed the summons
+against the advice of Leonora Christina, who certainly
+did not desire her native country to be punished for
+the wrongs, if such they were, inflicted upon her by
+the Court.</p>
+
+<p>The war had been declared on June 1, 1657;
+in August Ulfeldt issued a proclamation to the nobility
+in Jutland, calling on them to transfer their
+allegiance to the Swedish King. In the subsequent
+winter a most unusually severe frost enabled the
+Swedish army to cross the Sounds and Belts on the
+ice, Ulfeldt assisting its progress by persuading the
+commander of the fortress of Nakskov to surrender
+without resistance; and in February the Danish
+Government had to accept such conditions of peace
+as could be obtained from the Swedish King, who
+had halted a couple of days’ march from Copenhagen.
+By this peace Denmark surrendered all her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_16" id="Page_16" title="[Pg 16]"></a>
+provinces to the east of the Sound (Skaane, &amp;c.),
+which constituted one-third of the ancient Danish
+territory, and which have ever since belonged to
+Sweden, besides her fleet, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>But the greatest humiliation was that the negotiation
+on the Swedish side was entrusted to Ulfeldt,
+who did not fail to extort from the Danish Crown
+the utmost that the neutral powers would allow. For
+himself he obtained restitution of his estates, freedom
+to live in Denmark unmolested, and a large
+indemnity for loss of income of his estates since his
+flight in 1651. The King of Sweden also rewarded
+him with the title of a Count of Sölvitsborg and with
+considerable estates in the provinces recently wrested
+from Denmark. Ulfeldt himself went to reside at
+Malmö, the principal town in Skaane, situated on the
+Sound, just opposite Copenhagen, and here he was
+joined by Leonora Christina.</p>
+
+<p>In her Autobiography Leonora does not touch on
+the incidents of the war, but she describes how her
+anxiety for her husband’s safety did not allow her to
+remain quietly at Barth, and how she was afterwards
+called to her mother’s sick-bed, which she had to leave
+in order to nurse her husband, who fell ill at Malmö.
+We may here state that Kirstine Munk had fallen into
+disgrace, when Leonora was still a child, on account
+of her flagrant infidelity to the King, her paramour
+being a German Count of Solms. Kirstine Munk left
+the Court voluntarily in 1629,<a name="FNanchor_5" id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> shortly after the birth of
+a child, whom the King would not acknowledge as<a class="pagenum" name="Page_17" id="Page_17" title="[Pg 17]"></a>
+his own; and after having stayed with her mother for
+a short time, she took up her residence at the old
+manor of Boller, in North Jutland, where she remained
+until her death in 1658.</p>
+
+<p>Various attempts were made to reconcile Christian
+IV. to her, but he steadily refused, and with very
+good reason: he was doubtless well aware that
+Kirstine Munk, as recently published diplomatic documents
+prove, had betrayed his political secrets to
+Gustav Adolf, the King of Sweden, and he considered
+her presence at Court very dangerous. Her
+son-in-law was now openly in the service of another
+Swedish king, but the friendship between them was
+not of long duration. Ulfeldt first incurred the displeasure
+of Carl Gustav by heading the opposition
+of the nobility in the newly acquired provinces
+against certain imposts laid on them by the Swedish
+King, to which they had not been liable under
+Danish rule. Then other causes of disagreement
+arose. Carl Gustav, regretting that he had concluded
+a peace, when in all probability he might have conquered
+the whole of Denmark, recommenced the
+war, and laid siege to Copenhagen. But the Danish
+people now rose as one man; foreign assistance was
+obtained; the Swedes were everywhere beaten; and if
+the Dutch, who were bound by treaty to assist
+Denmark, had not refused their co-operation in transferring
+the Danish troops across the Sound, all the
+lost provinces might easily have been regained.</p>
+
+<p>The inhabitants in some of these provinces also rose
+against their new rulers. Amongst others, the citizens of
+Malmö, where Ulfeldt at the time resided, entered into
+a conspiracy to throw off the Swedish dominion; but it
+was betrayed, and Ulfeldt was indicated as one of the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_18" id="Page_18" title="[Pg 18]"></a>
+principal instigators, although he himself had accepted
+their forced homage to the Swedish King, as his
+deputy. Very probably he had thought that, if he took
+a part in the rising, he might, if this were successful,
+return to Denmark, having as it were thus wiped out
+his former crimes, but having also shown his countrymen
+what a terrible foe he could be. As it was,
+Denmark was prevented by her own allies from regaining
+her losses, and Ulfeldt was placed in custody
+in Malmö, by order of Carl Gustav, in order that his
+conduct might be subjected to a rigorous examination.</p>
+
+<p>Ulfeldt was then apparently seized with a remarkable
+malady, a kind of apoplexy, depriving him of speech,
+and Leonora Christina conducted his defence. She
+wrote three lengthy, vigorous, and skilful replies to the
+charges, which still exist in the originals. He was acquitted,
+or rather escaped by a verdict of Not Proven;
+but as conscience makes cowards, he contrived to escape
+before the verdict was given. Leonora Christina describes
+all this in her Autobiography, according to which
+Ulfeldt was to go to Lubeck, while she would go to
+Copenhagen, and try to put matters straight there.
+Ulfeldt, however, changed his plan without her
+knowledge, and also repaired to Copenhagen, where
+they were both arrested and sent to the Castle of
+Hammershuus, on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic,
+an ancient fortress, now a most picturesque ruin,
+perched at the edge of perpendicular rocks, overhanging
+the sea, and almost surrounded by it.</p>
+
+<p>The Autobiography relates circumstantially, and no
+doubt truthfully, the cruel treatment to which they were
+here subjected by the governor, a Major-General Fuchs.
+After a desperate attempt at escape, they were still
+more rigorously guarded, and at length they had to<a class="pagenum" name="Page_19" id="Page_19" title="[Pg 19]"></a>
+purchase their liberty by surrendering the whole of
+their property, excepting one estate in Fyen. Ulfeldt
+had to make the most humble apologies, and to promise
+not to leave the island of Fyen, where this estate was
+situated, without special permission. He was also
+compelled to renounce on the part of his wife the title
+of a Countess of Slesvig-Holstein, which Fredrik III.
+had never acknowledged. She never made use of that
+title afterwards, nor is she generally known by it in
+history. Corfits Ulfeldt being a Count of the German
+Empire, of course Leonora and her children were, and
+remained, Counts and Countesses of Ulfeldt. This
+compromise was effected in 1661.</p>
+
+<p>Having been conveyed to Copenhagen, Ulfeldt could
+not obtain an audience of the King, and he was obliged,
+kneeling, to tender renewed oath of allegiance before
+the King’s deputies, Count Rantzow, General Hans
+Schack, the Chancellor Redtz, and the Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, Christofer Gabel, all of whom are mentioned
+in Leonora’s account of her subsequent prison life.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after, Corfits Ulfeldt and Leonora
+Christina left Copenhagen, which he was never to
+see again, she only as a prisoner. They retired to
+the estate of Ellensborg, in Fyen, which they had
+still retained. This was the ancient seat of the
+Ulfeldts, which Corfits’ father had sold to Ellen
+Marsvin, Leonora Christina’s grandmother, and which
+had come to Leonora through her mother. In the
+meanwhile it had been renamed and rebuilt such as it
+stands to this day, a picturesque pile of buildings in
+the Elizabethan style. Here Ulfeldt might have ended
+his stormy life in quiet, but his thirst for revenge left
+him no peace. Besides this, a great change had
+taken place in Denmark. The national revival which<a class="pagenum" name="Page_20" id="Page_20" title="[Pg 20]"></a>
+followed the renewal of the war by Carl Gustav in
+1658 led to a total change in the form of government.</p>
+
+<p>It was indisputable that the selfishness of the
+nobles, who refused to undertake any burden for
+the defence of the country, was the main cause of
+the great disasters that had befallen Denmark. The
+abolition of their power was loudly called for, and the
+Queen so cleverly turned this feeling to account, that
+the remedy adopted was not the restoration of the
+other classes of the population to their legitimate constitutional
+influence, but the entire abolition of the
+constitution itself, and the introduction of hereditary,
+unlimited despotism. The title ‘hereditary king,’ which
+so often occurs in Danish documents and writings from
+that time, also in Leonora’s Memoir, has reference to
+this change. Undoubtedly this was very little to
+Ulfeldt’s taste. Already, in the next year after his
+release, 1662, he obtained leave to go abroad for his
+health. But, instead of going to Spaa, as he had pretended,
+he went to Amsterdam, Bruges, and Paris, where
+he sought interviews with Louis XIV. and the French
+ministers; he also placed himself in communication
+with the Elector of Brandenburg, with a view of raising
+up enemies against his native country. The Elector
+gave information to the Danish Government, whilst
+apparently lending an ear to Ulfeldt’s propositions.</p>
+
+<p>When a sufficient body of evidence had been
+collected, it was laid before the High Court of
+Appeal in Copenhagen, and judgment given in his absence,
+whereby he was condemned to an ignominious
+death as a traitor, his property confiscated, his descendants
+for ever exiled from Denmark, and a large
+reward offered for his apprehension. The sentence is
+dated July 24, 1663. Meanwhile Ulfeldt had been<a class="pagenum" name="Page_21" id="Page_21" title="[Pg 21]"></a>
+staying with his family at Bruges. One day one of his
+sons, Christian, saw General Fuchs, who had treated
+his parents so badly at Hammershuus, driving through
+the city in a carriage; immediately he leaped on to
+the carriage and killed Fuchs on the spot. Christian
+Ulfeldt had to fly, but the parents remained in Bruges,
+where they had many friends.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the following spring, on May 24, 1663,
+that Leonora Christina, much against her own inclination,
+left her husband&mdash;as it proved, not to see
+him again alive. Ulfeldt had on many occasions used
+his wealth in order to gain friends, by lending them
+money&mdash;probably the very worst method of all. It is
+proved that at his death he still held bonds for more
+than 500,000 dollars, or 100,000<i>l.</i>, which he had lent
+to various princes and noblemen, and which were never
+paid. Amongst others he had lent the Pretender,
+afterwards Charles II., a large sum, about 20,000
+patacoons, which at the time he had raised with some
+difficulty. He doubted not that the King of England,
+now that he was able to do it, would recognise the debt
+and repay it; and he desired Leonora, who, through her
+father, was cousin of Charles II., once removed, to go
+to England and claim it. She describes this journey
+in her Autobiography.</p>
+
+<p>The Danish Government, hearing of her presence in
+England, thought that Ulfeldt was there too, or hoped
+at any rate to obtain possession of important documents
+by arresting her, and demanded her extradition. The
+British Government ostensibly refused, but underhand
+it gave the Danish minister, Petcum, every assistance.
+Leonora was arrested in Dover, where she had arrived
+on her way back, disappointed in the object of her
+journey. She had obtained enough and to spare of fair<a class="pagenum" name="Page_22" id="Page_22" title="[Pg 22]"></a>
+promises, but no money; and by secretly giving her up
+to the Danish Government, Charles II. in an easy way
+quitted himself of the debt, at the same time that he
+pleased the King of Denmark, without publicly
+violating political propriety. Leonora’s account of
+the whole affair is confirmed in every way by the
+light which other documents throw upon the matter,
+particularly by the extracts contained in the Calendar
+of State Papers, Domestic Series, of the reign of
+Charles II., 1663-64.</p>
+
+<p>Leonora was now conducted to Copenhagen, where
+she was confined in the Blue Tower&mdash;a square tower
+surmounted by a blue spire, which stood in the court
+of the royal castle, and was used as a prison for
+grave offenders (see the engraving). At this point
+the Memoir of her sufferings in the prison takes up
+the thread of her history, and we need not here
+dwell upon its contents.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Ulfeldt heard that the Brandenburg
+Government had betrayed him, and that sentence had
+been passed on him in Copenhagen, he left Bruges.
+No doubt the arrest of Leonora in England was a
+still greater blow to him. The Spanish Government
+would probably have surrendered him to the Danish
+authorities, and he had to flee from place to place,
+pursued by Danish agents demanding his extradition,
+and men anxious to earn the reward offered for his
+apprehension, dead or alive. His last abode was
+Basle, where he passed under a feigned name, until a
+quarrel between one of his sons and a stranger caused
+the discovery of their secret. Not feeling himself safe,
+Ulfeldt left Basle, alone, at night, in a boat descending
+the Rhine; but he never reached his destination. He
+was labouring under a violent attack on the chest, and<a class="pagenum" name="Page_23" id="Page_23" title="[Pg 23]"></a>
+the night air killed him. He breathed his last in the
+boat, on February 20, 1664. The boatmen, concluding
+from the gold and jewels which they found on him
+that he was a person of consequence, brought the
+body on shore, and made the matter known in Basle,
+from whence his sons came and buried him under a
+tree in a field&mdash;no one knows the spot.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the punishment of beheading and quartering
+had been executed on a wooden effigy in Copenhagen.
+His palace was demolished, and the site laid
+out in a public square, on which a pillar of sandstone
+was erected as an everlasting monument of his crimes.
+This pillar was taken away in 1842, and the name was
+changed from Ulfeldt Square to Greyfriars Square, as
+an indication of the forgetting and forgiving spirit of the
+time, or perhaps rather because the treason of Ulfeldt
+was closely connected with the ancient jealousy between
+Danes and Swedes, of which the present generation is
+so anxious to efface the traces.</p>
+
+<p>His children had to seek new homes elsewhere.
+Christian, who killed Fuchs, became a Roman Catholic
+and died as an abbé; and none of them continued
+the name, except the youngest son Leo, who went
+into the service of the German Emperor, and rose
+to the highest dignities. His son Corfits likewise
+filled important offices under Charles VI. and Maria
+Theresa, but left no sons. His two daughters
+married respectively a Count Waldstein and a Count
+Thun, whose descendants therefore now represent
+the family of Ulfeldt.</p>
+
+<p>Leonora Christina remained in prison for twenty-two
+years&mdash;that is, until the death of Sophia Amalia,
+the Queen of Fredrik III. This King, as well as his
+son Christian V., would willingly have set her at<a class="pagenum" name="Page_24" id="Page_24" title="[Pg 24]"></a>
+liberty; but the influence of the Queen over her
+husband and son was so strong that only her death,
+which occurred in 1685, released Leonora.</p>
+
+<p>The Memoir of her life in prison terminates with
+this event, and her after-life does not offer any very
+remarkable incidents. Nevertheless, a few details,
+chiefly drawn from a MS. in the Royal Library at
+Copenhagen, recently published by Mr. Birket Smith,
+may serve to complete the historical image of this
+illustrious lady. The MS. in question is from the
+hand of a Miss Urne, of an ancient Danish family,
+who managed the household of Leonora from 1685 to
+her death in 1698. A royal manor, formerly a convent,
+at Maribo, on the island of Laaland, was granted to
+Leonora shortly after her release from the Blue Tower,
+together with a sufficient pension for a moderate establishment.</p>
+
+<p>‘The first occupation of the Countess,’ says Miss
+Urne, ‘was devotion; for which purpose her household
+was assembled in a room outside her bed-chamber.
+In her daily morning prayer there was this passage:
+“May the Lord help all prisoners, console the guilty,
+and save the innocent!� After that she remained
+the whole forenoon in her bedchamber, occupied in
+reading and writing. She composed a book entitled
+the “Ornament of Heroines,� which Countess
+A. C. Ulfeldt and Count Leon took away with them,
+together with many other rare writings. Her handiwork
+is almost indescribable, and without an equal;
+such as embroidering in silk, gold embroidery, and
+turning in amber and ivory.’</p>
+
+<p>It will be seen from Leonora’s own Memoir that
+needlework was one of her principal occupations in
+her prison. Count Waldstein still possesses some<a class="pagenum" name="Page_25" id="Page_25" title="[Pg 25]"></a>
+of her work; in the Church of Maribo an altar-cloth
+embroidered by her existed still some time ago; and
+at the Castle of Rosenborg, in Copenhagen, there
+is a portrait of Christian V. worked by Leonora in
+silk, in return for which present the King increased
+her annual pension. Miss Urne says that she sent all
+her work to Elizabeth Bek, a granddaughter of Leonora,
+who lived with her for some years. But she
+refused to send her Leonora’s Postille, or manual of
+daily devotion, which had been given Leonora on
+New Year’s Day, in the last year of her captivity, by
+the castellan, Torslev, who is mentioned in Leonora’s
+Memoir, and who had taught her to turn ivory, &amp;c.
+This book has disappeared; but amongst the relics
+of Leonora Christina, the Royal Library at Copenhagen
+preserves some leaves which had been bound
+up with it, and contain verses, &amp;c., by Leonora, and
+other interesting matter.</p>
+
+<p>Her MS. works were taken to Vienna after her
+death. It is not known what has become of some
+of them. A copy of the first part of the book on
+heroines exists in Copenhagen. Miss Urne says that
+she possessed fragments of a play composed by her
+and acted at Maribo Kloster; also the younger
+Sperling speaks of such a composition in Danish
+verse; but the MS. seems to be lost now.</p>
+
+<p>Several of Leonora’s relations stayed with her from
+time to time at Maribo; amongst them the above-mentioned
+Elizabeth Bek, whose mother, Leonora
+Sophie, famous for her beauty, had married Lave Bek,
+the head of an ancient Danish family in Skaane.
+After Ulfeldt’s death Lave Bek demanded of the
+Swedish Government the estates which Carl Gustav
+had given to Ulfeldt in 1658, but which the Swedish<a class="pagenum" name="Page_26" id="Page_26" title="[Pg 26]"></a>
+Government had afterwards confiscated, without any
+legal ground. Leonora Christina herself memorialised
+the Swedish King on the subject, and at least one of
+her memorials on the subject, dated May 23, 1693, still
+exists; but it was not till 1735 that these estates were
+given up to Lave Bek’s sons. Leonora’s eldest
+daughter, Anne Catherina, lived with her mother at
+Maribo for several years, and was present at her
+death. She had married Casetta, a Spanish nobleman,
+mentioned by Leonora Christina in her Memoir, who
+was with her in England when she was arrested.
+After the death of Casetta and their children, Anne
+Catherina Ulfeldt came to live with her mother. She
+followed her brother to Vienna, where she died. It
+was she who transmitted the MS. of Leonora’s Memoir
+of her life in the Blue Tower to the brother, with the
+following letter, which is still preserved with the MS.:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>‘This book treats of what has happened to our late
+lady mother in her prison. I have not been able to
+persuade myself to burn it, although the reading of it
+has given me little pleasure, inasmuch as all those
+events concern her miserable state. After all, it is not
+without its use to know how she has been treated; but
+it is not needful that it should come into the hands of
+strangers, for it might happen to give pleasure to those
+of our enemies who still remain.’</p></div>
+
+<p>The letter is addressed ‘A Monsieur, Monsieur le
+Comte d’Ulfeldt,’ &amp;c., but without date or signature.
+The handwriting is, however, that of Anne Catherina
+Ulfeldt, and she had probably sent it off to Vienna for
+safety immediately after her mother’s death, before she
+knew that her brother would come to Maribo himself.<a class="pagenum" name="Page_27" id="Page_27" title="[Pg 27]"></a>
+Miss Urne says, in the MS. referred to, that the King
+had ordered that he was to be informed immediately
+of Leonora’s demise, in order that she might be buried
+according to her rank and descent; but she had
+beforehand requested that her funeral might be quite
+plain. Her coffin, as well as those of three children
+who had died young, and whose coffins had been provisionally
+placed in a church at Copenhagen, was
+immured in a vault in the church of Maribo; but when
+this was opened some forty years ago, no trace of
+Leonora’s mortal remains could be found, though those
+of the children were there: from which it is concluded
+that a popular report, to the effect that the body had
+been secretly carried abroad, contains more truth than
+was formerly supposed. Count Waldstein states that
+in the family vault at Leitsmischl, there is one metal
+coffin without any inscription, and which may be hers.
+If so, Leonora has, as it were, after her death followed
+her husband into exile. At any rate, the final resting-place
+of neither of them is known with certainty.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_28" id="Page_28" title="[Pg 28]"></a><br />
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_29" id="Page_29" title="[Pg 29]"></a></div>
+
+<h2>AUTOBIOGRAPHY<br />
+OF<br />
+LEONORA CHRISTINA<br />
+1673.</h2>
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_30" id="Page_30" title="[Pg 30]"></a><br />
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_31" id="Page_31" title="[Pg 31]"></a></div>
+
+<h3 class="larger"><a name="AUTOBIOGRAPHY" id="AUTOBIOGRAPHY"></a>AUTOBIOGRAPHY.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Sir,<a name="FNanchor_6" id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a>&mdash;To satisfy your curiosity, I will give you a short
+account of the life of her about whom you desire to be
+informed. She was born at Fredericksborg, in the year
+1621, on June 11.<a name="FNanchor_7" id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> When she was six weeks old her
+grandmother took her with her to Dalum, where she
+remained until the age of four years; her first master
+there being Mr. Envolt, afterward a priest at Roeskild.
+About six months after her return to the Court, her
+father sent her to Holland to his cousin, a Duchess of
+Brunswick, who had married Count Ernest of Nassau,
+and lived at Lewarden.</p>
+
+<p>Her sister Sophia, who was two years and a half
+older than herself, and her brother, who was a year
+younger, had gone to the aforesaid Duchess nearly a
+year before. I must not forget to mention the first
+mischances that befell her at her setting out. She
+went by sea in one of the royal ships of war; having
+been two days and a night at sea, at midnight such a
+furious tempest arose that they all had given up any
+hope of escaping. Her tutor, Wichmann Hassebart
+(afterwards Bishop of Fyn), who attended her, woke
+her and took her in his arms, saying, with tears, that<a class="pagenum" name="Page_32" id="Page_32" title="[Pg 32]"></a>
+they should both die together, for he loved her tenderly.
+He told her of the danger, that God was angry,
+and that they would all be drowned. She caressed
+him, treating him like a father (after her usual wont),
+and begged him not to grieve; she was assured that
+God was not angry, that He would see they would
+not be drowned, beseeching him again and again to
+believe her. Wichmann shed tears at her simplicity,
+and prayed to God to save the rest for her sake, and
+for the sake of the hope that she, an innocent girl,
+reposed in Him. God heard him, and after having
+lost the two mainmasts, they entered at dawn of day
+the harbour of Fleckeröe,<a name="FNanchor_8" id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> where they remained for six
+weeks.</p>
+
+<p>Having received orders to proceed by sea, they
+pursued their route and arrived safely. Her sister
+being informed of her arrival, and being told that she
+had come with a different retinue to herself&mdash;with a
+suite of gentlemen, lady preceptor, servants and attendants,
+&amp;c.&mdash;she burst into tears, and said that she was
+not surprised that this sister always insinuated herself
+and made herself a favourite, and that she would
+be treated there too as such. M. Sophia was not
+mistaken in this; for her sister was in greater favour
+with the Duchess, with her governess, and with many
+others, than she was herself. Count Ernest alone took
+the side of M. Sophia, and this rather for the sake of
+provoking his wife, who liked dispute; for M. Sophia
+exhibited her obstinacy even towards himself. She
+did all the mischief she could to her sister, and persuaded
+her brother to do the same.</p>
+
+<p>To amuse you I will tell you of her first innocent<a class="pagenum" name="Page_33" id="Page_33" title="[Pg 33]"></a>
+predilections. Count Ernest had a son of about eleven
+or twelve years of age; he conceived an affection for
+her, and having persuaded her that he loved her, and
+that she would one day be his wife, but that this must
+be kept secret, she fancied herself already secretly his
+wife. He knew a little drawing, and by stealth he instructed
+her; he even taught her some Latin words.
+They never missed an opportunity of retiring from
+company and conversing with each other.</p>
+
+<p>This enjoyment was of short duration for her; for a
+little more than a year afterwards she fell ill of small-pox,
+and as his elder brother, William, who had always
+ridiculed these affections, urged him to see his well-beloved
+in the condition in which she was, in order to
+disgust him with the sight, he came one day to the
+door to see her, and was so startled that he immediately
+became ill, and died on the ninth day following. His
+death was kept concealed from her. When she was
+better she asked after him, and she was made to believe
+that he was gone away with his mother (who was at this
+time at Brunswick), attending the funeral of her mother.
+His body had been embalmed, and had been placed in a
+glass case. One day her preceptor made her go into
+the hall where his body lay, to see if she recognised it;
+he raised her in his arms to enable her to see it better.
+She knew her dear Moritz at once, and was seized
+with such a shock that she fell fainting to the ground.
+Wichmann in consequence carried her hastily out of
+the hall to recover her, and as the dead boy wore a
+garland of rosemary, she never saw these flowers
+without crying, and had an aversion to their smell,
+which she still retains.</p>
+
+<p>As the wars between Germany and the King of
+Denmark had been the cause of the removal of his<a class="pagenum" name="Page_34" id="Page_34" title="[Pg 34]"></a>
+aforesaid children, they were recalled to Denmark
+when peace was concluded. At the age of seven
+years and two months she was affianced to a gentleman
+of the King’s Chamber. She began very early
+to suffer for his sake. Her governess was at this
+time Mistress Anne Lycke, Qvitzow’s mother. Her
+daughter, who was maid of honour, had imagined
+that this gentleman made his frequent visits for love
+of her. Seeing herself deceived, she did not know in
+what manner to produce estrangement between the
+lovers; she spoke, and made M. Sophia speak, of the
+gentleman’s poverty, and amused herself with ridiculing
+the number of children in the family. She regarded
+all this with indifference, only declaring once that she
+loved him, poor as he was, better than she loved her
+rich gallant.<a name="FNanchor_9" id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p>
+
+<p>At last they grew weary of this, and found
+another opportunity for troubling her&mdash;namely, the
+illness of her betrothed, resulting from a complaint
+in his leg; they presented her with plaisters, ointments,
+and such like things, and talked together of the pleasure
+of being married to a man who had his feet
+diseased, &amp;c. She did not answer a word either for
+good or bad, so they grew weary of this also. A year
+and a half after they had another governess, Catharina
+Sehestedt, sister of Hannibal.<a name="FNanchor_10" id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> M. Sophia thus lost
+her second, and her sister had a little repose in this
+quarter.</p>
+
+<p>When our lady was about twelve years old,
+Francis Albert, Duke of Saxony,<a name="FNanchor_11" id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> came to Kolding<a class="pagenum" name="Page_35" id="Page_35" title="[Pg 35]"></a>
+to demand her in marriage. The King replied that
+she was no longer free, that she was already betrothed;
+but the Duke was not satisfied with this, and spoke to
+herself, and said a hundred fine things to her: that a
+Duke was far different to a gentleman. She told him
+she always obeyed the King, and since it had pleased
+the King to promise her to a gentleman, she was well
+satisfied. The Duke employed the governess to persuade
+her, and the governess introduced him to her
+brother Hannibal, then at the Court, and Hannibal
+went with post-horses to Möen, where her betrothed
+was, who did not linger long on the road in coming to
+her. This was the beginning of the friendship between
+Monsieur and Hannibal, which afterwards caused so
+much injury to Monsieur. But he had not needed to
+trouble himself, for the Duke never could draw from her
+the declaration that she would be ready to give up her
+betrothed if the King ordered her to do so. She told
+him she hoped the King would not retract from his
+first promise. The Duke departed ill satisfied, on the
+very day the evening of which the betrothed arrived.
+(Four years afterwards they quarrelled on this subject
+in the presence of the King, who appeased them with
+his authority.)</p>
+
+<p>It happened the following winter at Skanderborg
+that the governess had a quarrel with the language-master,
+Alexandre de Cuqvelson, who taught our
+lady and her sisters the French language, writing,
+arithmetic, and dancing. M. Sophia was not studious;
+moreover, she had very little memory; for her heart
+was too much devoted to her dolls, and as she perceived<a class="pagenum" name="Page_36" id="Page_36" title="[Pg 36]"></a>
+that the governess did not punish her when Alexandre
+complained of her, she neglected everything, and took
+no trouble about her studies. Our lady imagined
+she knew enough when she knew as much as her
+sister. As this had lasted some time, the governess
+thought she could entrap Alexandre; she accused him
+to the King, said that he treated the children badly,
+rapped their fingers, struck them on the hand, called
+them bad names, &amp;c., and with all this they could not
+even read, much less speak, the French language.
+Besides this, she wrote the same accusations to the
+betrothed of our lady. The betrothed sent his servant
+Wolff to Skanderborg, with menaces to Alexandre.
+At the same time Alexandre was warned that the
+King had sent for the prince,<a name="FNanchor_12" id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> to examine his children,
+since the father-confessor was not acquainted with the
+language.</p>
+
+<p>The tutor was in some dismay; he flattered our
+lady, implored her to save him, which she could
+easily do, since she had a good memory, so that he
+could prove by her that it was not his fault that
+M. Sophia was not more advanced. Our lady did
+not yield readily, but called to his remembrance how
+one day, about half a year ago, she had begged him
+not to accuse her to the governess, but that he had
+paid no attention to her tears, though he knew that
+the governess treated them shamefully. He begged
+her for the love of Jesus, wept like a child, said that
+he should be ruined for ever, that it was an act of
+mercy, that he would never accuse her, and that from
+henceforth she should do nothing but what she wished.
+At length she consented, said she would be diligent,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_37" id="Page_37" title="[Pg 37]"></a>
+and since she had yet three weeks before her, she
+learnt a good deal by heart.<a name="FNanchor_13" id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> Alexandre told her
+one day, towards the time of the examination, that
+there was still a great favour she could render him:
+if she would not repeat the little things which had
+passed at school-time; for he could not always pay
+attention to every word that he said when M.
+Sophia irritated him, and if he had once taken the
+rod to hit her fingers when she had not struck her
+sister strongly enough, he begged her for the love
+of God to pardon it. (It should be mentioned
+that he wished the one to strike the other when they
+committed faults, and the one who corrected the other
+had to beat her, and if she did not do so strongly
+enough, he took the office upon himself; thus he had
+often beaten our lady.)</p>
+
+<p>She made excuses, said that she did not dare to
+tell a lie if they asked her, but that she would not
+accuse him of herself. This promise did not wholly
+satisfy him; he continued his entreaties, and assured
+her that a falsehood employed to extricate a friend
+from danger was not a sin, but was agreeable to
+God; moreover, it was not necessary for her to say
+anything, only not to confess what she had seen and
+heard. She said that the governess would treat her
+ill; so he replied that she should have no occasion to
+do so, for that he would never complain to her. Our
+lady replied that the governess would find pretext
+enough, since she was inclined to ill-treat the children;
+and anyhow, the other master who taught them<a class="pagenum" name="Page_38" id="Page_38" title="[Pg 38]"></a>
+German was a rude man, and an old man who taught
+them the spinette was a torment, therefore she had
+sufficient reason for fear. He did not give way,
+but so persisted in his persuasion that she promised
+everything.</p>
+
+<p>When the prince arrived the governess did not
+forget to besiege him with her complaints, and to beg
+him to use his influence that the tutor might be dismissed.
+At length the day of the examination having
+come, the governess told her young ladies an hour
+before that they were to say how villanously he had
+treated them, beaten them, &amp;c. The prince came
+into the apartments of the ladies accompanied by the
+King’s father-confessor (at that time Dr. Ch(r)estien
+Sar); the governess was present the whole time.</p>
+
+<p>They were first examined in German. M. Sophia
+acquitted herself very indifferently, not being able to
+read fluently. The master Christoffre excused her,
+saying that she was timid. When it came to Alexandre’s
+turn to show what his pupils could do, M. Sophia
+could read little or nothing. When she stammered in
+reading, the governess looked at the prince and
+laughed aloud. There was no difference in the gospel,
+psalms, proverbs, or suchlike things. The governess
+was very glad, and would have liked that the other
+should not have been examined. But when it came
+to her turn to read in the Bible, and she did not
+hesitate, the governess could no longer restrain herself,
+and said, ‘Perhaps it is a passage she knows by heart
+that you have made her read.’ Alexandre begged the
+governess herself to give the lady another passage to
+read. The governess was angry at this also, and
+said, ‘He is ridiculing me because I do not know
+French.’ The prince then opened the Bible and made<a class="pagenum" name="Page_39" id="Page_39" title="[Pg 39]"></a>
+her read other passages, which she did as fluently as
+before. In things by heart she showed such proficiency
+that the prince was too impatient to listen
+to all.</p>
+
+<p>It was then Alexandre’s turn to speak, and to
+say that he hoped His Highness would graciously
+consider that it was not his fault that M. Sophia was
+not more advanced. The governess interrupted him
+saying, ‘You are truly the cause of it, for you treat
+her ill!’ and she began a torrent of accusations,
+asking M. Sophia if they were not true. She
+answered in the affirmative, and that she could not
+conscientiously deny them. Then she asked our lady
+if they were not true. She replied that she had never
+heard nor seen anything of the kind. The governess,
+in a rage, said to the Prince, ‘Your highness must
+make her speak the truth; she dares not do so, for
+Alexandre’s sake.’</p>
+
+<p>The Prince asked her if Alexandre had never
+called her bad names&mdash;if he had never beaten her.
+She replied, ‘Never.’ He asked again if she had
+not seen nor heard that he had ill-treated her sister.
+She replied, ‘No, she had never either heard or seen
+it.’ At this the governess became furious; she spoke
+to the prince in a low voice; the prince replied
+aloud, ‘What do you wish me to do? I have no
+order from the King to constrain her to anything.’
+Well, Alexandre gained his cause; the governess
+could not dislodge him, and our lady gained more
+than she had imagined in possessing the affection of
+the King, the goodwill of the Prince, of the priest,
+and of all those who knew her. But the governess
+from that moment took every opportunity of revenging
+herself on our lady.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_40" id="Page_40" title="[Pg 40]"></a>
+At length she found one, which was rather absurd.
+The old Jean Meinicken, who taught our lady the
+spinette, one day, in a passion, seized the fingers
+of our lady and struck them against the instrument;
+without remembering the presence of her governess,
+she took his hand and retaliated so strongly that the
+strings broke. The governess heard with delight
+the complaints of the old man. She prepared two
+rods; she used them both, and, not satisfied with
+that, she turned the thick end of one, and struck
+our lady on the thigh, the mark of which she bears
+to the present day. More than two months elapsed
+before she recovered from the blow; she could not
+dance, nor could she walk comfortably for weeks
+after. This governess did her so much injury that at
+last our lady was obliged to complain to her betrothed,
+who had a quarrel with the governess at the wedding
+of M. Sophia, and went straight to the King to accuse
+her; she was at once dismissed, and the four children,
+the eldest of which was our lady, went with the
+princess<a name="FNanchor_14" id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> to Niköping, to pass the winter there, until
+the king could get another governess. The King, who
+had a good opinion of the conduct of our lady, who at
+this time was thirteen years and four months old, wrote
+to her and ordered her to take care of her sisters.
+Our lady considered herself half a governess, so she
+took care not to set them a bad example. As to study,
+she gave no thought to it at this time; she occupied
+herself in drawing and arithmetic, of which she was
+very fond, and the princess, who was seventeen years<a class="pagenum" name="Page_41" id="Page_41" title="[Pg 41]"></a>
+of age, delighted in her company. Thus this winter
+passed very agreeably for her.</p>
+
+<p>At the approach of the Diet, which sat eight days
+after Pentecost, the children came to Copenhagen,
+with the prince and princess, and had as governess a
+lady of Mecklenburg of the Blixen family, the mother
+of Philip Barstorp who is still alive. After the Diet,
+the king made a journey to Glückstad in two days and
+a half, and our lady accompanied him; it pleased the
+King that she was not weary, and that she could bear
+up against inconveniences and fatigues. She afterwards
+made several little journeys with the King, and
+she had the good fortune occasionally to obtain the
+pardon of some poor criminals, and to be in favour
+with the king.</p>
+
+<p>Our lady having attained the age of fifteen years
+and about four months, her betrothed obtained permission
+for their marriage, which was celebrated (with
+more pomp than the subsequent weddings of her
+sisters), on October 9, 1636. The winter after her
+marriage she was with her husband at Möen, and as
+she knew that her husband’s father had not left him
+any wealth, she asked him concerning his debts,
+and conjured him to conceal nothing from her. He
+said to her, ‘If I tell you the truth it will perhaps
+frighten you.’ She declared it would not, and that she
+would supply what was needful from her ornaments,
+provided he would assure her that he had told her
+everything<span class="corr" title="was: ,">.</span> He did so, and found that she was not
+afraid to deprive herself of her gold, silver, and jewels,
+in order to pay a sum of thirty-six thousand rix-dollars.
+On April 21, 1637, she went with her husband to
+Copenhagen in obedience to the order of the king,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_42" id="Page_42" title="[Pg 42]"></a>
+who gave him the post of V.R.<a name="FNanchor_15" id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> He was again
+obliged to incur debt in purchasing a house and in
+setting up a larger establishment.</p>
+
+<p>There would be no end were I to tell you all the
+mischances that befell her during the happy period of
+her marriage, and of all the small contrarieties which
+she endured; but since I am assured that this history
+will not be seen by anyone, and that you will not keep
+it after having read it, I will tell you a few points
+which are worthy of attention. Those who were
+envious of the good fortune of our lady could not
+bear that she should lead a tranquil life, nor that she
+should be held in esteem by her father and King; I
+may call him thus, for the King conferred on her more
+honours than were due to her from him. Her husband
+loved and honoured her, enacting the lover more than
+the husband.</p>
+
+<p>She spent her time in shooting, riding, tennis, in
+learning drawing in good earnest from Charles v.
+Mandern, in playing the viol, the flute, the guitar,
+and she enjoyed a happy life. She knew well that
+jealousy is a plague, and that it injures the mind which
+harbours it. Her relations tried to infuse into her
+head that her husband loved elsewhere, especially
+M. Elizabet, and subsequently Anna, sister of her
+husband, who was then in her house. M. Elizabet
+began by mentioning it as a secret, premising that no
+one could tell her and warn her, except her who was
+her sister.</p>
+
+<p>As our lady at first said nothing and only smiled,
+M. Elis... said: ‘The world says that you
+know it well, but that you will not appear to do so.’<a class="pagenum" name="Page_43" id="Page_43" title="[Pg 43]"></a>
+She replied with a question: ‘Why did she tell her
+a thing as a secret, which she herself did not believe to
+be a secret to her? but she would tell her a secret that
+perhaps she did not know, which was, that she had
+given her husband permission to spend his time with
+others, and when she was satisfied the remainder
+would be for others; that she believed there were no
+such jealous women as those who were insatiable, but
+that a wisdom was imputed to her, which she did not
+possess; she begged her, however, to be wise enough
+not to interfere with matters which did not concern her,
+and if she heard others mentioning it (as our lady had
+reason to believe that this was her own invention) that
+she would give them a reprimand. M. Elis... was
+indignant and went away angry, but Anna, Monsieur’s
+sister, who was in the house, adopted another course.
+She drew round her the handsomest women in the
+town, and then played the procuress, spoke to her brother
+of one particularly, who was a flirt, and who was the
+handsomest, and offered him opportunities, &amp;c. As
+she saw that he was proof against it, she told him
+(to excite him) that his wife was jealous, that she had
+had him watched where he went when he had been
+drinking with the King, to know whether he visited
+this woman; she said that his wife was angry, because
+the other woman was so beautiful, said that she
+painted, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>The love borne to our lady by her husband made
+him tell her all, and, moreover, he went but rarely
+afterwards to his sister’s apartments, from which she
+could easily understand that the conversation had not
+been agreeable to him; but our lady betrayed nothing
+of the matter, visited her more than before, caressed
+this lady more than any other, and even made her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_44" id="Page_44" title="[Pg 44]"></a>
+considerable presents. (Anna remained in her house
+as long as she lived.)</p>
+
+<p>All this is of small consideration compared with the
+conduct of her own brother. It is well known to
+you that the Biel... were very intimate in our
+lady’s house. It happened that her brother made
+a journey to Muscovy, and that the youngest of
+the Biel... was in his suite. As this was a very
+lawless youth, and, to say the truth, badly brought
+up, he not only at times failed in respect to our
+lady’s brother, but freely expressed his sentiments
+to him upon matters which did not concern him;
+among other things, he spoke ill of the Holstein
+noblemen, naming especially one, who was then in
+waiting on the King, who he said had deceived our
+lady’s brother. The matter rested there for more
+than a year after their return from this journey. The
+brother of our lady and Biel... played cards together,
+and disputed over them; upon this the brother
+of our lady told the Holstein nobleman what Biel...
+had said of him more than a year before, which B.
+did not remember, and swore that he had never said.
+The Holstein nobleman said insulting things against
+Biel....</p>
+
+<p>Our lady conversed with her brother upon the affair,
+and begged him to quiet the storm he had raised,
+and to consider how it would cause an ill-feeling
+with regard to him among the nobility, and that it
+would seem that he could not keep to himself what
+had been told him in secret; it would be very easy for
+him to mend the matter. Her brother replied that he
+could never retract what he had said, and that he
+should consider the Holstein nobleman as a villain if
+he did not treat B. as a rogue.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_45" id="Page_45" title="[Pg 45]"></a>
+At length the Holstein nobleman behaved in such
+a manner as to constrain B. to send him a challenge.
+B. was killed by his adversary with the sword of
+our lady’s brother, which she did not know till afterwards.
+At noon of the day on which B. had been
+killed in the morning, our lady went to the castle to
+visit her little twin sisters; her brother was there,
+and came forward, laughing loudly and saying, ‘Do
+you know that Ran... has killed B...?’
+She replied, ‘No, that I did not know, but I knew
+that you had killed him. Ran... could do nothing
+less than defend himself, but you placed the sword
+in his hand.’ Her brother, without answering a
+word, mounted his horse and went to seek his
+brother-in-law, who was speaking with our old friend,<a name="FNanchor_16" id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a>
+told him he was the cause of B.’s death, and that
+he had done so because he had understood that his
+sister loved him, and that he did not believe that his
+brother-in-law was so blind as not to have perceived
+it. The husband of our lady did not receive this
+speech in the way the other had imagined, and said,
+‘If you were not her brother, I would stab you with
+this poniard,’ showing it to him. ‘What reason have
+you for speaking thus?’ The good-for-nothing fellow
+was rather taken aback at this, and knew not what to
+say, except that B... was too free and had no
+respect in his demeanour; and that this was a true<a class="pagenum" name="Page_46" id="Page_46" title="[Pg 46]"></a>
+sign of love. At length, after some discussion on
+both sides, the brother of our lady requested that not
+a word might be said to his sister.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as she returned home, her husband told
+her everything in the presence of our old friend, but
+ordered her to feign ignorance. This was all the
+more easy for her, as her husband gave no credence
+to it, but trusted in her innocence. She let nothing
+appear, but lived with her brother as before. But
+some years after, her brother ill-treated his own mother,
+and her side being taken by our lady, they were in
+consequence not good friends.</p>
+
+<p>In speaking to you of the occupations of our lady,
+after having reached the age of twenty-one or thereabouts,
+I must tell you she had a great desire to learn
+Latin. She had a very excellent master,<a name="FNanchor_17" id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> whom you
+know, and who taught her for friendship as well as
+with good will. But she had so many irons in the fire,
+and sometimes it was necessary to take a journey, and
+a yearly accouchement (to the number of ten) prevented
+her making much progress; she understood
+a little easy Latin, but attempted nothing difficult;
+she then learnt a little Italian, which she continued
+studying whenever an opportunity presented itself.</p>
+
+<p>I will not speak of her short journeys to Holstein,
+Jutland, &amp;c.; but in the year 1646 she made a voyage
+with her husband by sea, in the first place to Holland,
+where she gave birth to a son six weeks after her
+arrival at the Hague. From thence she went with
+her husband to France, first to Paris and afterwards to
+Amiens; there they took leave of the King and of the
+Queen Mother, Regent, and as they were returning by
+Dunkirk she had the curiosity to see England, and<a class="pagenum" name="Page_47" id="Page_47" title="[Pg 47]"></a>
+begged her husband to permit her to cross over with a
+small suite, to which he consented, since one of the
+royal vessels lay in the roads. She took a nobleman
+with her who knew the language, our old friend, a
+servant, and the valet of the aforesaid nobleman, and
+this was the whole of her retinue. She embarked, and
+her husband planned to pass through Flanders and
+Brabant, and to await her at Rotterdam. As she was
+on the vessel a day and night, and the wind did not
+favour them, she resolved to land and to follow her
+husband, fancying she could reach him in time to see
+Flanders and Brabant; she had not visited these
+countries before, having passed from Holland by sea to
+Calais.</p>
+
+<p>She found her husband at Ostend, and travelled with
+him to Rotterdam; from thence she pursued her former
+plan, embarked at Helvoot-Sluys, and arrived at Duns,
+went to London, and returned by Dover, making the
+whole voyage in ten days, and she was again enceinte.
+She was an object of suspicion in London. The Prince
+Palatine, then Elector of Heidelberg,<a name="FNanchor_18" id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> belonged to the
+party opposed to the beheaded King, who was then a
+prisoner; and they watched her and surrounded her
+with spies, so she did not make a long sojourn in
+London. Nothing else was imagined, when it was
+known she had been there, but that she had letters from
+the King of Dan... for the King of Engl....
+She returned with her husband to Dan....</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1648 fortune abandoned our lady, for on
+February 28 the King was taken from her by death.
+She had the happiness, however, of attending upon him
+until his last breath. Good God, when I think of what
+this good King said to her the first day, when she<a class="pagenum" name="Page_48" id="Page_48" title="[Pg 48]"></a>
+found him ill in bed at Rosenborg, and wept abundantly,
+my heart is touched. He begged her not to weep,
+caressed her, and said: ‘I have placed you so securely
+that no one can move you.’ Only too much has she
+felt the contrary of the promise of the King who
+succeeded him, for when he was Duke and visited
+her at her house, a few days after the death of the
+King, finding her in tears, he embraced her, saying:
+‘I will be a father to you, do not weep.’ She kissed
+his hand without being able to speak. I find
+that some fathers have been unnatural towards their
+children.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1649 she made another voyage with her
+husband to Holland, and at the Hague gave birth to
+a daughter. When her husband returned from this
+journey, he for the first time perceived the designs of
+Hannibal, of Gerstorp, and Wibe, but too late. He
+absented himself from business, and would not listen
+to what his wife told him. Our old friend shared the
+opinion of our lady, adducing very strong reason for it,
+but all in vain; he said, that he would not be a perpetual
+slave for the convenience of his friends. His
+wife spoke as a prophet to him, told him that he would
+be treated as a slave when he had ceased to have
+authority, that they would suspect him, and envy his
+wealth; all of which took place, though I shall make no
+recital of it, since these events are sufficiently known
+to you.</p>
+
+<p>We will now speak a little of the events which
+occurred afterwards. When they had gained their
+cause,<a name="FNanchor_19" id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> our lady feared that the strong party which
+they had then overcome would not rest without
+ruining them utterly at any cost; so she advised her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_49" id="Page_49" title="[Pg 49]"></a>
+husband to leave the country, since he had the King’s
+permission to do so,<a name="FNanchor_20" id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> and to save his life, otherwise his
+enemies would contrive some other invention which
+would succeed better. He consented to this at length,
+and they took their two eldest children with them, and
+went by sea to Amsterdam. At Utrecht they left the
+children with the servants and a female attendant, and
+our lady disguised herself in male attire and followed
+her husband, who took the route to Lubeck, and from
+thence by sea to Sweden, to ask the protection of
+Queen Christina, which he received; and as the Queen
+knew that his wife was with him in disguise, she
+requested to see her, which she did.</p>
+
+<p>The husband of our lady purposed to remain some
+time in Pomerania, and the Queen lent him a vessel
+to convey him thither. Having been three days at
+sea, the wind carried them towards Dantzig, and not
+being able to enter the town, for it was too late, they
+remained outside the gates at a low inn. An
+adventure fit for a novel here happened to our lady.
+A girl of sixteen, or a little more, believing that our
+lady was a young man, threw herself on her neck with
+caresses, to which our lady responded, and played
+with the girl, but, as our lady perceived what the
+girl meant, and that she could not satisfy her, she
+turned her over to Charles, a man of their suite,
+thinking he would answer her purpose; he offered the
+girl his attentions, but she repelled him rudely, saying,
+she was not for him, and went again to our lady,
+accosting her in the same way. Our lady got rid of<a class="pagenum" name="Page_50" id="Page_50" title="[Pg 50]"></a>
+her, but with difficulty however, for she was somewhat
+impudent, and our lady did not dare to leave her
+apartment. For the sake of amusing you, I must tell
+you, what now occurs to me, that in the fort before
+Stade, the name of which has escaped me, our lady
+played with two soldiers for drink, and her husband,
+who passed for her uncle, paid the expenses; the
+soldiers, willing to lose for the sake of gaining the beer,
+and astonished that she never lost, were, however, civil
+enough to present her with drink.</p>
+
+<p>We must return to Dantzig. The husband of our
+lady, finding himself near Thoren, desired to make
+an excursion there, but his design was interrupted by
+two men, one who had formerly served in Norway
+as Lieutenant-Colonel, and a charlatan who called
+himself Dr. Saar, and who had been expelled from
+Copenhagen. They asked the Mayor of the town
+to arrest these two persons, believing that our lady
+was Ebbe Wl....<a name="FNanchor_21" id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> They were warned by their host
+that these persons said they were so-and-so, and that
+these gentlemen were at the door to prevent their
+going out. Towards evening they grew tired of
+keeping guard, and went away. Before dawn the
+husband of our lady went out of the house first, and
+waited at the gate, and our lady with the two servants
+went in a coach to wait at the other gate until it was
+opened; thus they escaped this time.</p>
+
+<p>They went by land to Stralsund, where our lady
+resumed her own attire, after having been in disguise
+twelve weeks and four days, and having endured
+many inconveniences, not having gone to bed all the
+time, except at Stockholm, Dantzig, and Stettin. She<a class="pagenum" name="Page_51" id="Page_51" title="[Pg 51]"></a>
+even washed the clothes, which inconvenienced her
+much. The winter that they passed at Stralsund,
+her husband taught her, or rather began to teach her,
+Spanish. In the spring they again made a voyage to
+Stockholm, at the desire of Queen Chr.... This
+good Queen, who liked intrigue, tried to excite
+jealousy and to make people jealous, but she did not
+succeed. They were in Sweden until after the abdication
+of the Queen, and the wedding and coronation of
+King Charles and Queen Hedevig, which was in the
+year 1654. They returned to Pomerania for a visit to
+Barth, which they possessed as a mortgage. There,
+our lady passed her time in study, sometimes occupied
+with a Latin book, sometimes with a Spanish one.
+She translated a small Spanish work, entitled <i>Matthias
+de los Reyos</i>; but this book since fell into the hands of
+others, as well as the first part of <i>Cleopatre</i>, which she
+had translated from the French, with matters of greater
+value.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1657,<a name="FNanchor_22" id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> her husband persuaded her to
+make a voyage to Dannem... to try and gain an
+audience with the King, and see if she could not
+obtain some payment from persons who owed them
+money. Our lady found various pleas for not undertaking
+this voyage, seeing a hundred difficulties against
+its successful issue; but her husband besought her to
+attempt it, and our old friend shared her husband’s
+opinion that nothing could be done to her, that she
+was under the protection of the King of Sweden, and
+not banished from Dan... with similar arguments.
+At length she yielded, and made the journey in the
+winter, travelling in a coach with six horses, a secretary,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_52" id="Page_52" title="[Pg 52]"></a>
+a man on horseback, a female attendant, a page
+and a lacquey&mdash;that was all. She went first to see her
+mother in Jutland, and remained there three days;
+this was immediately known at the Court.</p>
+
+<p>When she had passed the Belt, and was within
+cannon-shot of Corsör, she was met by Uldrich Chr.
+Guldenl...,<a name="FNanchor_23" id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> who was on the point of going to
+Jutland to fetch her. He returned with his galley
+and landed; she remained in her vessel, waiting for
+her carriage to be put on shore. Guld... impatient,
+could not wait so long, and sent the burgomaster
+Brant to tell her to come ashore, as he had
+something to say to her. She replied that if he had
+anything to say to her, he ought to show her the
+attention of coming to her. Brant went with this
+answer; awaiting its issue, our lady looked at her
+attendants and perceived a change in them all. Her
+female attendant was seized with an attack from
+which she suffers still, a trembling of the head, while
+her eyes remained fixed. The secretary trembled so
+that his teeth chattered. Charles was quite pale, as
+were all the others. Our lady spoke to them, and
+asked them why they were afraid; for her they had
+nothing to fear, and less for themselves. The
+secretary answered, ‘They will soon let us know
+that.’ Brant returned with the same message, with
+the addition that Gul... was bearer of the King’s
+order, and that our lady ought to come to him at the
+Castle to hear the King’s order. She replied that she
+respected the King’s order there as well as at the
+castle; that she wished that Gul... would please to
+let her know there the order of His Majesty; and when<a class="pagenum" name="Page_53" id="Page_53" title="[Pg 53]"></a>
+Brant tried to persuade her, saying continually, ‘Oh!
+do give in, do give in!’ she used the same expression,
+and said also, ‘Beg Gul... to give in,’ &amp;c. At
+length she said, ‘Give me sufficient time to have two
+horses harnessed, for I cannot imagine he would wish
+me to go on foot.’</p>
+
+<p>When she reached the castle she had the coach
+pulled up. Brant came forward to beg her to enter
+the castle; she refused, and said she would not enter;
+that if he wished to speak to her he must come to
+her, that she had come more than half-way. Brant
+went, and returned once again, but she said the
+same, adding that he might do all that seemed
+good to him, she should not stir from the spot. At
+length the <a class="corr" name="corr_1" id="corr_1" title="was: good-for nothing">good-for-nothing</a> fellow came down, and
+when he was ready to speak to her, she opened the
+coach and got out. He said a few polite words to
+her, and then presented her with an order from the
+King, written in the chancery, the contents of which
+were, that she must hasten to depart from the King’s
+territory, or she would have to thank herself for any
+ill that might befall her. Having read the order she
+bowed, and returned him the order, which was intended
+to warn her, saying, ‘That she hoped to have
+been permitted to kiss the King’s hand, but as her
+enemies had hindered this happiness by such an order,
+there was nothing left for her but to obey in all
+humility, and thanking His Majesty most humbly for
+the warning, she would hasten as quickly as possible
+to obey His Majesty’s commands. She asked if she
+were permitted to take a little refreshment, for that
+they had had contrary winds and had been at sea all
+day. Gul... answered in the negative, that he did
+not dare to give her the permission; and since she had<a class="pagenum" name="Page_54" id="Page_54" title="[Pg 54]"></a>
+obeyed with such great submission, he would not show
+her the other order that he had, asking her at the
+same moment if she wished to see this other order?
+She said, no; that she would abide by the order that
+she had seen, and that she would immediately embark
+on board her ferry-boat to return. Gul... gave
+her his hand, and begged her to make use of his galley.</p>
+
+<p>She did so. They went half the way without speaking;
+at length Gul... broke the silence, and they
+entered into conversation. He told her that the King
+had been made to believe that she had assembled a
+number of noblemen at her mother’s house, and that
+he had orders to disperse this cabal. They had a long
+conversation together, and spoke of Dina’s affair; he
+said the King did not yet know the real truth of it.
+She complained that the King had not tried to know
+it. At length they arrived by night at Nyborg.
+Gul... accompanied her to her hostelry, and went
+to his own, and an hour afterwards sent Scherning<a name="FNanchor_24" id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a>
+to tell her that at dawn of day she must be ready, in
+order that they might arrive at Assens the next
+evening, which it was impossible to do with her own
+horses, as they did not arrive till morning. She
+assented, saying she would act in obedience to his
+orders, began talking with Scherning, and conversed
+with him about other matters. I do not know how,
+but she gained his good graces, and he prevailed so far
+with Gul... that Gul... did not hasten her
+unduly. Towards nine o’clock the next morning he
+came to tell her that he did not think it necessary to
+accompany her further, but he hoped she would follow
+the King’s order, and begged her to speak with Kay v.<a class="pagenum" name="Page_55" id="Page_55" title="[Pg 55]"></a>
+Ahlefeld at Haderslef, when she was passing through;
+he had received orders as to what he had to do. She
+promised this, and Gul... returned to Copenhagen,
+placing a man with our lady to watch her.</p>
+
+<p>Our lady did not think it necessary to speak to
+Kay v. Ahlefeld, for she had nothing to say to him,
+and she did not want to see more orders; she passed
+by Haderslef, and went to Apenrade, and awaited
+there for ten days<a name="FNanchor_25" id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> a letter from <a class="corr" name="corr_2" id="corr_2" title="was: Gl...">Gul...</a> which he
+had promised to write to her; when she saw that he
+was not going to keep his word she started on her
+way to Slesvig, halting half way with the intention of
+dining. Holst, the clerk of the bailiwick of Flensborg,
+here arrived in a coach with two arquebuses larger
+and longer than halberds. He gave orders to close
+the bar of Boy..., sent to the village, which is
+quite close, that the peasants should hold themselves
+ready with their spears and arms, and made four
+persons who were in the tavern take the same arms,
+that is, large poles. Afterwards he entered and made
+a long speech, with no end of compliments to our
+lady, to while away the time. The matter was, that
+the governor<a name="FNanchor_26" id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> desired her to go to Flensborg, as he
+had something to say to her, and he hoped she would
+do him the pleasure to rest a night at Flensborg.</p>
+
+<p>Our lady replied that she had not the pleasure of
+his acquaintance, and therefore she thought he took<a class="pagenum" name="Page_56" id="Page_56" title="[Pg 56]"></a>
+her for someone else; if she could oblige him in
+anything she would remain at Slesvig the following
+day, in order to know in what she could serve him.
+No, it was not that; he repeated his request. She
+ordered Charles to have the horses put to. Holst
+understood this, which was said in French, and begged
+her for the love of God not to set out; he had orders
+not to let her depart. ‘You,’ said she, in a somewhat
+haughty tone, ‘who are you? With what authority
+do you speak thus?’ He said he had no written
+order, but by word of mouth, and that his governor
+would soon arrive; he begged her for the love of God
+to pardon him. He was a servant, he was willing to
+be trodden under her feet. She said: ‘It is not for
+you to pay me compliments, still less to detain me, since
+you cannot show me the King’s order, but it is for me
+to think what I ought to do.’</p>
+
+<p>She went out and ordered her lacquey, who was the
+only determined one of her suite, to make himself
+master of Holst’s chariot and arquebuses. Holst
+followed her, begging her a hundred times, saying, ‘I
+do not dare to let you pass, I do not dare to open
+the bar.’ She said, ‘I do not ask you to open;’ she
+got into the coach. Holst put his hand upon the
+coach-door and sang the old song. Our lady, who
+had always pistols in her carriage when she travelled,
+drew out one and presented it to him saying, ‘Draw
+back, or I will give you the contents of this.’ He was
+not slow in letting go his hold; then she threw a
+<a class="corr" name="corr_3" id="corr_3" title="was: patacon">patacoon</a> to those who were to restrain her, saying,
+‘Here is something for drink; help in letting the
+carriage pass the fosse!’ which they immediately did.</p>
+
+<p>Not a quarter of an hour after she had gone, the
+governor arrived with another chariot. There were<a class="pagenum" name="Page_57" id="Page_57" title="[Pg 57]"></a>
+two men and four guns in each chariot. Our lady
+was warned of the pursuit; she begged her two coachmen,
+whom she had for herself and her baggage, to dispute
+them the road as much as they could; she ordered
+Charles always to remain at the side of her carriage, in
+order that she might throw herself upon the horse if
+she saw that they gained ground. She took off her
+furred robe. They disputed the road up to the bridge,
+which separated the territory of the King from that of
+the Duke.</p>
+
+<p>When she had passed the bridge she stopped, put
+on her robe, and alighted. The others paused on the
+other side of the bridge to look at her, and thus she
+escaped again for this time.<a name="FNanchor_27" id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> But it was amusing to
+see how the secretary perspired, what fright he was in;
+he did not afterwards pretend to bravery, but freely
+confessed that he was half dead with fear. She
+returned to Barth, and found her husband very very
+ill. Our old friend had almost given up all hope of
+his recovery, but her presence acted as a miracle; he
+was sufficiently strong in the morning to be taken out
+of bed, to the great surprise of our old friend.</p>
+
+<p>Just as our lady was thinking of passing some days
+in tranquillity, occupied in light study, in trifling work,
+distillations, confectionery, and such like things, her
+husband mixed himself in the wars. The King of
+Sweden sent after him to Stettin; he told his wife
+that he would have nothing to do with them. He did
+not keep his word, however; he did not return to Barth,
+but went straight off with the King. She knew he
+was not provided with anything; she saw the danger<a class="pagenum" name="Page_58" id="Page_58" title="[Pg 58]"></a>
+to which he was exposed, she wished to share it; she
+equipped herself in haste, and, without his sending for
+her, went to join him at Ottensen. He wished to
+persuade her to return to Hamburgh, and spoke to
+her of the great danger; she said the danger was the
+reason why she wished to bear him company, and
+to share it with him; so she went with him, and
+passed few days without uneasiness, especially when
+Friderichsodde was taken; she feared for both
+husband and son. There she had the happiness of
+reconciling the C. Wrangel and the C. Jaques,<a name="FNanchor_28" id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> which
+her husband had believed impossible, not having been
+able to succeed. She had also the good fortune to
+cure her eldest son and eight of her servants of a
+malignant fever named Sprinckeln; there was no
+doctor at that time with the army, our old friend
+having left.</p>
+
+<p>When her husband passed with the King to Seeland,
+she remained at Fyen. The day that she had resolved
+to set out on the following to return to Schone,
+a post arrived with news that her mother was at the
+point of death and wished to speak to her; she posted
+to Jutland, found Madame very ill and with no hope
+of life. She had only been there one night, when her
+husband sent a messenger to say that if she wished
+to see him alive she must lose no time. Our lady
+was herself ill; she had to leave her mother, who was
+already half dead; she had to take her last farewell in
+great sorrow, and to go with all speed to seek her
+husband, who was very ill at Malmöe. Two days
+afterwards she received the tidings of her mother’s
+death, and as soon as the health of her husband<a class="pagenum" name="Page_59" id="Page_59" title="[Pg 59]"></a>
+permitted it, she went to Jutland to give the necessary
+orders for her mother’s funeral. She returned once
+more to Schone before the burial; after the funeral<a name="FNanchor_29" id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a>
+she went to Copenhagen and revisited Malmöe one
+day before the King of Sweden began the war for the
+second time and appeared before Kopenh....</p>
+
+<p>In the year 1659 the King of Sweden ordered her
+husband to be arrested at Malmöe. She went immediately
+to Helsingör to speak to the King, but had
+not the happiness of speaking to him; on the contrary,
+the King sent two of his counsellors to tell her that
+she was free to choose whether she would return to her
+estates and superintend them, or go back to Malmöe
+and be arrested with her husband. She thanked His
+Majesty very humbly for the favour of the choice;
+she chose to suffer with her husband, and was glad to
+have the happiness of serving him in his affliction,
+and bearing the burden with him which would lighten
+it to him.</p>
+
+<p>She returned to Malmöe with these news; her husband
+exhibited too much grief that she was not permitted
+to solicit on his behalf, and she consoled him as well
+as she was able. A few days after, an officer came to
+their house and irritated her husband so much by his
+impertinent manner that he had a fit of apoplexy.
+Our lady was overwhelmed with sorrow; she sent for
+the priest the next morning, made her husband receive
+the holy communion, and received it herself. She
+knew not at what hour she might be a widow; no one
+came to see her, no one in <a class="corr" name="corr_4" id="corr_4" title="was: consequenec">consequence</a> consoled her,
+and she had to console herself. She had a husband<a class="pagenum" name="Page_60" id="Page_60" title="[Pg 60]"></a>
+who was neither living nor dead; he ate and drank;
+he spoke, but no one could understand him.</p>
+
+<p>About eight months after, the King began to take
+proceedings against her husband, and in order to make
+her answer for her husband they mixed her up in
+certain points as having asked for news: whence the
+young lady was taken whom her husband brought to
+Copenhagen? who was Trolle? and that she had kept
+the property of a Danish nobleman in her house.<a name="FNanchor_30" id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a>
+Since her husband was ill, the King graciously permitted
+her to answer for him; thus they proceeded
+with her for nine weeks in succession; she had no
+other assistance in copying her defence than her eldest
+daughter, then very young. She was permitted to
+make use of Wolff, for receiving the accusations and
+taking back the replies, but he wrote nothing for her.
+If you are interested in knowing the proceedings, Kield<a name="FNanchor_31" id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a>
+can give you information respecting them.</p>
+
+<p>When the proceedings had lasted so many weeks,
+and she had answered with regard to the conversations
+which it was said her husband had had with one
+and another, they fancied that her husband feigned
+illness. Four doctors were sent with the commandant
+to visit the sick man, and they found that he was
+really ill; not content with this, they established the
+Court in his house, for they were ashamed to make
+her come to them. They caused the city magistrate
+to come, placing him on one side of the hall, and on<a class="pagenum" name="Page_61" id="Page_61" title="[Pg 61]"></a>
+the other the Danish noblemen who were under arrest,
+all as witnesses; eight Commissioners sat at a round
+table, the lawyer in front of the table and two clerks
+at another table; having made these arrangements,
+our lady was desired to enter.</p>
+
+<p>We must mention, in the first place, that two of the
+delinquents who were executed afterwards, and another,
+together with one of the servants of her husband,
+were brought there. The principal delinquents were
+summoned first, and afterwards the others, to take an
+oath that they would speak the truth. We must
+mention that these gentlemen were already condemned,
+and were executed a few days afterwards.
+When the lawyer had said that <a class="corr" name="corr_5" id="corr_5" title="was: t hey">they</a> had now taken
+their oaths according to the law, our lady said, ‘Post
+festum! After having proceeded against my husband
+so many weeks, having based everything on the
+tattle of these delinquents, you come, after they are
+condemned to suffer for their trespasses, and make
+them take an oath. I do not know if this is conformable
+to law!’</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer made no reply to this, and, thinking to
+confuse our lady, said that he found things contrary
+the one to the other, cited passages, leaves, lines, and
+asked her if she could make these things agree.
+She, having at that time a good memory, remembered
+well what her own judgment had dictated to her, and
+said that they would not find her replies what the
+lawyer said, but so-and-so, and asked that they should
+be read openly, which was done. The lawyer made
+three attempts of the same kind; when they saw
+there was nothing to be gained by this, the Commissioners
+attacked her three at a time, one putting one
+question and another, another. She said to them<a class="pagenum" name="Page_62" id="Page_62" title="[Pg 62]"></a>
+quietly, ‘Messieurs, with your permission, let one speak
+at a time, for I am but one, and I cannot answer three
+at once!’ At which they were all a little ashamed.</p>
+
+<p>The principal point to which they adhered was, that
+her husband was a vassal by oath, and a servant of the
+King, with which assertion they parried every objection.
+She proved that it was not so, that her husband was
+neither vassal nor a servant; he had his lands under
+the King just as many Swedes had elsewhere, without
+on that account being vassals; that he had never taken
+an oath of fidelity to the King of Sweden, but that
+he had shown him much fidelity; that he owed him
+no obligation&mdash;this she showed by a letter from the
+King, in which he thanked him for his services, and
+hoped so to act that he would render him still more.
+She shut the mouth of the delinquent,<a name="FNanchor_32" id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> and begged the
+Commissioners to reflect on what she had said.</p>
+
+<p>When all was over, after the space of three hours,
+she requested that the protocol might be read before
+her. The President said that she need have no doubt
+the protocol was correct, that she should have a copy
+of it, that they now understood the matter, and would
+make a faithful report of it to the King. No sentence
+was passed, and they remained under arrest. The
+King of Sweden died, and peace was concluded, but
+they remained under arrest. A friend came to inform
+them, one day, that there was a vessel of war in the
+roads, which was to take them to Finland. When
+she saw her husband a little recovered, that he could
+use his judgment, she advised him to escape and go to
+Lubeck. She would go to Copenhagen and try to
+arrange the matter. He consented to it, and she<a class="pagenum" name="Page_63" id="Page_63" title="[Pg 63]"></a>
+contrived to let him out in spite of all the guards
+round the house (thirty-six in number).</p>
+
+<p>When she received the news that he had passed
+and could reckon that he was on his way to Lubeck,
+she escaped also, and went straight to Copenh....
+Having arrived there, she found her husband arrived
+before her; she was much surprised and vexed,
+fearing what happened afterwards, but he had flattered
+himself so with the comfortable hope that he would
+enter into the good graces of the King. The next day
+they were both arrested and brought to Borringh...<a name="FNanchor_33" id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a>;
+her husband was ill; on arriving at Borr... they
+placed him on a litter and brought him from the town
+to the castle, a distance of about two leagues.</p>
+
+<p>It would weary you to tell you of all that passed
+at Borr... If you take pleasure in knowing it, there
+is a man in Hamburgh who can tell it you.<a name="FNanchor_34" id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> I will
+tell you, however, a part and the chief of what I
+remember concerning it. At Rönne, the town where
+they disembarked at Borringh&mdash;&mdash;, our lady wrote
+to the King and to the Queen in the name of her
+husband, who was ill, as I have already said, and gave
+the memorials to Colonel Rantzou, who promised to
+deliver them, and who gave hopes of success.<a name="FNanchor_35" id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> There
+Fos arrived and conveyed them to the Castle of
+Hammershuus. The governor Fos saw that our lady
+had a small box with her, and was seized with the
+desire to know what was in it and to possess himself
+of it. He sent one Dina, the wife of the warder to our
+lady, to offer to procure a boat for their escape. There<a class="pagenum" name="Page_64" id="Page_64" title="[Pg 64]"></a>
+is no doubt she accepted the offer, and promised in
+return five hundred crowns. This was enough for
+Fos; he went one night with the Major to their
+apartment, thundered like a madman, said that they
+wished to betray him, &amp;c.; the end of the farce was,
+that he took the box, but, for the sake of a little
+ceremony, he sealed it with her husband’s seal,
+promising to keep it for its safety.</p>
+
+<p>About three weeks after, he took the two prisoners
+to walk a little in the fields; the husband would not
+go, but the wife went out to take the air. The traitor
+gave her a long history of his past adventures, how
+many times he had been in prison, some instances of
+how great lords had been saved by the assistance of
+those they had gained over, and made their fortune.
+He thought they would do the same. She said she
+had not much to dispose of, but besides that, they
+would find other means for rewarding such a service.
+He said he would think of it, that he had nothing to
+lose in <a class="corr" name="corr_6" id="corr_6" title="was: Den...">Dan...</a>.</p>
+
+<p>After various discussions from day to day, her
+husband wished her to offer him 20,000 rix-dollars;
+this sum seemed to him too little, and he asked 50,000
+dollars. She said that she could easily promise it, but
+could not keep her word, but provided it was twenty
+she would pay it. He asked for a security; her
+husband had a note which would give security, but
+our lady did not think it good that he should see this
+note, and told Fos that in her box there was a letter
+that could secure it; she did not know that he had
+already opened the box. Some days after, she asked
+him if he had made up his mind? He said, ‘I will
+not do it for less than 50,000, and there is no letter in
+your box which would secure it to me. I have opened<a class="pagenum" name="Page_65" id="Page_65" title="[Pg 65]"></a>
+it; to-morrow I will send it to Copenh....’ She
+asked him quietly if he had done right in breaking her
+husband’s seal; he answered rudely that he would take
+the responsibility.</p>
+
+<p>Towards autumn, Hannibal and the other heirs of
+our lady’s mother sent to her husband to notify to him
+that they could not longer delay dividing the inheritance,
+and since they knew that he had in his possession
+papers of importance, they requested to be
+informed of them. Her husband stated in his reply
+that Fos had taken his letters, and that in a rude
+manner. This answer having been read in the presence
+of Fos, he flew in a thundering rage, used
+abusive language first to the husband and then to the
+wife, her husband having firmly promised our lady not
+to dispute with this villain, for she feared some evil
+might result, but to leave her to answer, for Fos would
+be answered.</p>
+
+<p>She was not angry; she ridiculed him and his
+invectives. At length he told her that she had offered
+him 20,000 dollars to induce him to become a traitor;
+she replied with calmness, ‘If it had been 50,000,
+what then?’ Fos leapt into the air like an enraged
+animal, and said that she lied like a &mdash;&mdash;, &amp;c. She
+was not moved, but said ‘You speak like an ass!’
+Upon this he loaded her with abuse, and then retracted
+all that he had just said. She said quite quietly, ‘I
+am not going to appeal to these gentlemen who are
+present (there were four) to be witnesses, for this is
+an affair that will never be judicially settled, and
+nothing can efface this insult but blood.’ ‘Oh!’ said
+he, seizing his sword, and drawing it a little out of the
+scabbard, ‘this is what I wear for you, madam.’ She,
+smiling, drew the bodkin from her hair, saying, ‘Here<a class="pagenum" name="Page_66" id="Page_66" title="[Pg 66]"></a>
+are all the arms at present which I have for you.’ He
+manifested a little shame, and said that it was not for
+her but her sons, if she still had four.<a name="FNanchor_36" id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> She, moreover,
+ridiculed him, and said that it was no use his
+acting the brave there. In short, books could be filled
+with all the quarrels between these two persons from
+time to time. He shouted at times with all his might,
+he spoke like a torrent, and foamed at the mouth, and
+the next moment he would speak low like another
+man. When he shouted so loudly, our lady said,
+‘The fever is attacking him again!’ He was enraged
+at this.</p>
+
+<p>Some weeks afterwards he came to visit them, and
+assumed a humble manner. Our lady took no notice
+of it, and spoke with him on indifferent subjects; but
+her husband would not speak to him, and never afterwards
+was he able to draw from him more than a few
+words. Towards Christmas, Fos treated the prisoners
+very ill, more so than formerly, so that Monsieur sent
+the servant to beg him to treat him as a gentleman
+and not as a peasant. Fos went to them immediately,
+after having abused Monsieur’s servant; and as he
+entered, Monsieur left the apartment and went into
+another, and refused to give him his hand. Fos was
+enraged at this, and would not remain, nor would he
+speak a word to our lady, who begged him to hear her.
+A moment after, he caused the door to be bolted,
+so that they could not go out to take the air, for
+they before had free access to a loft. At every
+Festival he devised means of annoying them; he
+closed all the windows, putting to some bars of iron,
+and to others wooden framework and boxes; and as to<a class="pagenum" name="Page_67" id="Page_67" title="[Pg 67]"></a>
+their food, it was worse than ever. They had to
+endure that winter in patience; but as they perceived
+that Fos’s design was that they should die of hunger,
+they resolved to hazard an escape, and made preparation
+through the winter, in order to escape as soon
+as the thaw would set in.</p>
+
+<p>Our lady, who had three pairs of sheets that her
+children had sent her, undid some articles of clothing
+and made cordage and a sail; she sewed them with
+silk, for she had no thread. Her husband and the
+servant worked at the oars. When the moon was
+favourable to them in the month of April, they
+wished to carry out the plan they had been projecting
+for so long a time. Our lady was the first to make
+the descent: the height was seventy-two feet; she
+went on to the ravelin to await the others. Some
+time elapsed before her husband came, so she returned,
+and at last she heard a great noise among
+the ropes, her husband having lost a shoe in his
+descent. They had still to wait for the valet; he had
+forgotten the cord, and said that he could not carry it
+with him.</p>
+
+<p>It was <a class="corr" name="corr_7" id="corr_7" title="was: neccessary">necessary</a> to descend the rampart into the
+moats, which were dry; the height is about forty feet.
+Our lady was the first to descend; she helped her
+husband, for his strength was already failing. When
+they were all three in the fosse, the moon was obscured
+and a little rain fell. This was unfortunate, as they
+could not see which road to take. Her husband said
+it would be better to remain where they were till daylight,
+for they might break their necks in descending
+the rocks. The servant said he knew the way, as he had
+observed it when the window was free; that he would
+go in front. He went in advance, gliding in a sitting<a class="pagenum" name="Page_68" id="Page_68" title="[Pg 68]"></a>
+position, after him our lady, and then her husband;
+they could not see an inch before them; the man fell
+from an incredible height, and did not speak; our lady
+stopped, shouted to him, and asked him to answer if
+he was alive.</p>
+
+<p>He was some time before he answered, so she
+and her husband considered him dead; at length he
+answered, and said he should never get out of this
+ravine; our lady asked him if he judged the depth to
+be greater than one of the cords could reach? She
+would tie two together, and throw the end to him to draw
+him up. He said that one cord would be sufficient,
+but that she could not draw him up, that she would
+not be strong enough; she said she could, she would
+hold firm, and he should help himself with his knees.
+He took courage, and she drew him up; the greatest
+marvel was, that on each side of her there was a
+precipice deeper than that over which he fell, and
+that she had nothing by which to support herself,
+except a small projection, which they believed to be of
+earth, against which she placed her left foot, finding
+no resting-place for the right one.</p>
+
+<p>We can truly say that God had granted her his
+protection, for to escape from such a danger, and draw
+another out of it, could not have been done by
+unaided man. Our fool Fos explained it otherwise,
+and used it for his own purposes, saying that without
+the assistance of the devil it would have been impossible
+to stand firm in such a place, still less to
+assist another; he impressed this so well on the
+Queen, that she is still of the opinion that our lady
+exercises sorcery. Fos would take the glory from
+God to give it to the devil, and this calumny
+has to be endured with many others. But let us<a class="pagenum" name="Page_69" id="Page_69" title="[Pg 69]"></a>
+return to our miserable fugitives, whom we left in the
+fosse. Our lady, who had shouted to her husband
+not to advance, as soon as she heard the valet fall,
+called to him to keep back, turn quietly, and to climb
+upwards, for that there was no passage there; this was
+done, and they remounted the fosse and kept themselves
+quiet. Her husband wished that they should
+remain there, since they did not know which road to
+take.</p>
+
+<p>While they were deliberating, the moon shone
+forth a little, and our lady saw where she was, and she
+remembered a good passage which she had seen on
+the day when she walked out with the governor; she
+persuaded her husband to follow her; he complained
+of his want of strength; she told him that God would
+assist him, and that he did not require great strength
+to let himself glide down, that the passage was
+not difficult, and that in ascending on the opposite
+side, which was not high, the valet and herself
+could assist him. He resolved, but he found it
+difficult enough; at length, however, they succeeded;
+they had then to go half a quarter of a league to
+reach the place where the boats were.</p>
+
+<p>Her husband, wearied out, could not walk, and
+begged her, for the love of God, to leave him where
+he was; he was ready to die; she consoled him, and
+gave him restoratives, and told him that he had but a
+little step to make; he begged her to leave him there,
+and to save herself with the servant: she would find
+means afterwards to rescue him from prison. She
+said no, she would not abandon him; that he knew
+well the opportunities she had had to escape before,
+if she had wished to forsake him; that she would
+never quit him nor leave him in the hands of this<a class="pagenum" name="Page_70" id="Page_70" title="[Pg 70]"></a>
+tyrant; that if Fos ventured to touch him, she was
+resolved on avenging herself upon him.</p>
+
+<p>After having taken a little breath, he began again
+to proceed. Our lady, who was loaded with so many
+ropes and clothes, could scarcely walk, but necessity
+gave her strength. She begged her husband to lean
+on her and on the valet, so he supported himself
+between them, and in this way arrived where the boats
+were; but too late, for it was already day. As our
+lady saw the patrol coming in the distance, she begged
+her husband to stop there with the valet, saying that
+she would go forward in advance, which she did. She
+was scarcely a musket-shot distant from a little town
+where the major lodged, when she spoke with the
+guard, and asked them after the major. One of them
+went for the major, whose name was Kratz.</p>
+
+<p>The major saw our lady with great consternation;
+he asked after her husband. She told him where
+he was, and in a few words she requested that he
+would go to the castle and tell Major-General Fos
+that his ill-treatment had been the cause of the
+desperate resolution they had taken, and to beg him
+not to ill-treat them; they were at present sick at heart;
+they could not endure anything; she begged him to
+consider that those who had resolved to face more
+than one form of death, would not fear it in any shape.
+Kratz conducted the prisoners to his house, mounted
+his horse, and went in search of the governor, who
+was still in bed, and told him the affair.</p>
+
+<p>The governor got out of bed like a furious creature,
+swore, menaced; after having recovered a little, the
+major told him what our lady had begged him to
+say. Then he was for some time thoughtful, and said,
+‘I confess it; they had reason to seek their liberty,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_71" id="Page_71" title="[Pg 71]"></a>
+for otherwise they would never have had it.’ He did
+not immediately come for the prisoners, for he had
+another apartment prepared for them. As he entered,
+he assumed a pleasant manner, and asked if they ought
+to be there; he did not say an unkind word, but, on the
+contrary, said he should have done the same. They
+were conducted to the Royal Hall to warm themselves,
+for they were all wet with the rain; our lady
+had then an opportunity of speaking to the valet, and
+of taking from him the papers that he had, which
+contained all that had passed during the time of their
+imprisonment,<a name="FNanchor_37" id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> and she counselled the valet to lay
+aside the arms that he had upon him, and that if he
+had anything which he wished to secure that he would
+deliver it up to her keeping. The valet gave her
+what she asked, followed her orders, threw away his
+arms, but as regarded his own papers he would not
+give them up, for he did not share her fears; but he
+knew afterwards, for Fos caused him to be entirely
+stripped, and took away everything from him, and made
+him pay well for having noted down the dishes that
+they had on the first day of the Festivals, and on the
+rest.</p>
+
+<p>At length towards evening our lady and her
+husband were conveyed into another apartment, and
+the valet into the body-guard loaded with irons. They
+were there together thirteen weeks, until Fos received
+orders from the Court to separate them; meanwhile, he
+encased the prisons in iron. I may well use such a
+term, for he caused plates of iron to be placed on the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_72" id="Page_72" title="[Pg 72]"></a>
+walls, double bars and irons round the windows.<a name="FNanchor_38" id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a>
+When he had permission to separate them, he entered
+one day to begin a quarrel, and spoke of the past; our
+lady begged him not to say more, but he would go on; he
+was determined to quarrel. He said to her, ‘Madame,
+you are so haughty, I will humble you; I will make
+you so&mdash;so small,’ and he made a measurement with
+his hand from the floor. ‘You have been lifted up and
+I will bring you down.’ She laughed, and said, ‘You
+may do with me whatever you will, but you can never
+humble me so that I shall cease to remember that you
+were a servant of a servant of the King my father;’ at
+last, he so forgot himself as to hold his fist in her face.
+She said to him, keeping her hand on her knife which
+she had in her pocket, ‘Make use of your foul mouth
+and accursed tongue, but keep your hands quiet.’ He
+drew back, and made a profound bow in ridicule,
+calling her ‘your grace,’ asked her pardon, and what he
+had to fear. She said, ‘You have nothing to fear; if
+you take liberties, you will meet with resistance&mdash;feeble
+enough, but such as I have strength to give you.’</p>
+
+<p>After some further invectives, he said farewell, and
+begged they might be good friends; he came once more
+and conducted himself in the same manner, but less
+violently. He said to a captain who was present, of
+the name of Bolt, that he did it expressly in order to
+have a quarrel with her husband, that he might revenge
+himself for her conduct upon him, but that her husband
+would not speak to him. At length the unhappy day
+of their separation came, and Fos entered to tell them
+that they must be prepared to bid each other a final
+farewell, for that he had orders to separate them, and in<a class="pagenum" name="Page_73" id="Page_73" title="[Pg 73]"></a>
+this life they would never see each other again; he
+gave them an hour to converse together for the last
+time. You can easily imagine what passed in this
+hour; but as they had been prepared for this separation
+weeks before, having been warned of it by their guard
+with whom they could talk, it did not surprise them.
+Our lady had gained over four of the guards, who
+were ready to let them escape easily enough, but
+her husband would not undertake it, always saying
+that he had no strength, but that she might do it.
+Well, they had to abide by it; after this sad day<a name="FNanchor_39" id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a>
+they were separated, he in one prison below and she
+in another above, one above another, bars before the
+windows, he without a servant, and she without a waiting
+woman.</p>
+
+<p>About three weeks after, our lady fell ill; she requested
+a woman or girl to wait upon her, and a priest.
+Fos sent answer, with regard to a woman or girl to
+wait upon her, he did not know anyone who would do
+it, but that there was a wench who had killed her child,
+and who would soon be beheaded, and if she wished
+for her, she could have her. As to a priest, he had no
+orders, and she would have no priest even if death were
+on her lips. Our lady said nothing but ‘Patience; I
+commend it to God.’ Our lady had the happiness of
+being able to give her husband signs daily, and to
+receive such, and when the wind was not too strong
+they could speak to one another. They spoke Italian
+together, and took their opportunity before the reveille.
+Towards the close of the governorship of this villain,
+he was informed of this. He then had a kind of machine
+made which is used to frighten the cattle from the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_74" id="Page_74" title="[Pg 74]"></a>
+corn in the summer, and which makes a great noise,
+and he desired the sentinel to move this machine in
+order to hinder them hearing each other.</p>
+
+<p>Fifteen days before Count Rantzow came to Borringholm
+to treat with them, Fos had news of it from
+Copenhagen from his intimate friend Jaques P...;
+he visited our lady, told her on entering that her
+children had been expelled from Skaane by the
+Swedes; our lady said, ‘Well, the world is wide, they
+will find a place elsewhere.’ He then told her that
+Bolt had come from Copenhagen with the tidings that
+they would never be let at liberty; she replied, ‘Never
+is a long time; this imprisonment will not last a
+hundred years, much less an eternity&mdash;in the twinkling
+of an eye much may change; the hand of God, in
+whom are the hearts of kings, can change everything.’
+He said, ‘You have plenty of hope; you think perhaps
+if the King died, you would be free?’ She replied,
+‘God preserve the King. I believe that he will give
+me liberty, and no one else.’ He chatted about a
+great many things, and played the flatterer.</p>
+
+<p>At length Count Rantzow came and made a stay
+at Borringh... of eleven weeks. He visited the
+prisoners, and did them the favour of having the
+husband to dine with him, and in the evening our lady
+supped with him, and he conferred with them separately.
+Our lady asked him of what she was accused;
+he replied, ‘Will you ask that? that is not the way to
+get out of Borringholm; do you know that you have
+said the King is your brother? and kings do not
+recognise either sisters or brothers.’ She replied, ‘To
+whom had I need to say that the King is my brother?
+who is so ignorant in Denmark as not to know that? I
+have always known, and know still, the respect that is<a class="pagenum" name="Page_75" id="Page_75" title="[Pg 75]"></a>
+due to the King; I have never given him any other
+title than my King and Lord; I have never called him
+my brother, in speaking of him; kings are gracious
+enough to recognise their sisters and brothers as such;
+for example, the King of England gives the title of
+sister to his brother’s wife, although she is of very
+mediocre extraction.<a name="FNanchor_40" id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> Rantzow replied, ‘Our King does
+not wish it, and he does not know yet the truth about
+Dina’s affair.’ She said, ‘I think the King does not
+wish to know.’ He replied, ‘Indeed, by God he desires
+with all his heart to be informed of it.’ She answered,
+‘If the King will desire Walter to tell him, and this with
+some earnestness, he will be informed of it.’ Rantzow
+made no reply.</p>
+
+<p>When he had concluded everything with her
+husband, whom he had obliged to yield up all his
+possessions, Rantzow acquainted our lady with the
+fact; she said that her husband had power to give
+up what was his, but that the half belonged to her,
+and that this she would not give up, not being able to
+answer for it before God nor before her children; she
+had committed no crime; liberty should be given to her
+husband for the half of their lands, and that if the King
+thought he could retain her with a good conscience she
+would endure it. Rantzow with a serious air replied,
+‘Do not think that your husband will ever be set at
+liberty, if you do not sign with him.’ She said that the
+conditions were too severe; that they should do better
+for their children to die as prisoners, God and all the
+world knowing their innocence, than to leave so many
+children beggars. Rantzow said, ‘If you die in prison,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_76" id="Page_76" title="[Pg 76]"></a>
+all your lands and property are forfeited, and your
+children will have nothing; but at this moment you can
+have your liberty, live with your husband; who knows,
+the King may still leave you an estate, and may always
+show you favour, when he sees that you yield to his
+will.’ Our lady said that since there was no other
+prospect for her husband’s liberty, she would consent.
+Rantzow ordered her husband and herself separately to
+place in writing the complaints they had to bring
+forward against Fos, and all that had happened with
+regard to their attempt at escape; which was done.
+Our lady was gracious in her demeanour to Fos, but
+her husband could not make up his mind even to speak
+to him. Rantzow returned to Copenh... and
+eighteen days afterwards the galley of Gabel came with
+orders to the new governor (Lieutenant-Colonel
+Lytkens, a very well-bred man and brave soldier, his
+wife a noble lady of the Manteuffel family, very polite
+and pretty), that he should make the prisoners sign the
+papers sent, and when the signature was done, should
+send them on together.</p>
+
+<p>The governor sent first to the husband, as was
+befitting, who made difficulties about signing because
+they had added points here and there, and among
+other things principally this, that they were never to
+plead against Fos. The husband said he would rather
+die. The good governor went in search of the wife
+and told her everything, begging her to speak to her
+husband from the window; when he knew that she had
+spoken to him, he would return. She thanked the
+governor, and when he had gone out she spoke to her
+husband, and persuaded him to sign. Then the
+governor made her sign also; and after that, towards
+nine o’clock in the evening, her husband came to her,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_77" id="Page_77" title="[Pg 77]"></a>
+having been separated just twenty-six weeks.<a name="FNanchor_41" id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> They
+were separated on a Saturday, and they met again on a
+Saturday. Fos was still at the castle; it is easy to
+believe that he was in great rage. Time does not
+permit to dwell on it. Two days afterwards they
+embarked and came to Copenhagen, and were received
+on the Custom-house pier by C. Rantzow and Gabel.
+The Queen knew nothing of it. When she was told
+of it she was so angry that she would not go to table.
+In a few words the King held his ground, and as she
+would not accept the thanks of Monsieur and his wife,
+the King ordered her to receive them in writing.
+They spent the Christmas of 1660 in the house of C.
+Rantzow. Afterwards they went to Fyen, to the estate
+of Ellensborg, which was graciously left to them.<a name="FNanchor_42" id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a></p>
+
+<p>Her husband having permission to go to France to
+take the waters for eighteen months, left Ell... with
+his family in the month of June 1662, and landed at
+Amsterdam. Our lady went from thence to Bruges to
+hire a house, and returned to Amsterdam. Her
+daughter Helena fell ill of the small-pox; she remained
+with her, and her husband and the other children went
+to Bruges. When her daughter had recovered, she
+went to rejoin her husband and children. She
+accompanied her husband, who went to France. Having<a class="pagenum" name="Page_78" id="Page_78" title="[Pg 78]"></a>
+arrived at Paris, the doctors did not find it advisable
+that he should take the waters, and he returned to
+Bruges. Her husband begged our lady to make a
+journey to England, and to take her eldest son with
+her. She raised obstacles, and showed him plainly
+that she should obtain nothing; that she should only be
+at great expense. She had examples before her which
+showed her that the King of England would never
+pay her husband. He would not have been turned
+from his purpose at this time but for their son’s rencontre
+with Fos, which prevented the journey that
+winter, and postponed the misfortunes of our lady,
+though it did not ultimately prevent them.</p>
+
+<p>But towards the spring the same design was again
+brought forward; our lady was assisted by the nobleman
+who followed her afterwards<a name="FNanchor_43" id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> in dissuading her
+husband; but no reasoning could avail; he believed
+the King could not forget the benefits received, and
+refuse to pay his cousin. Our lady prepared for her
+departure, since her husband wished it. The day that
+she bade him her last farewell&mdash;a fatal day, indeed&mdash;her
+husband’s heart did not tell him that these would
+be the last embraces he would give her, for he was so
+satisfied and so full of joy that she and all were astonished.
+She, on the contrary, was sad. The last
+day of their intercourse was May 24, 1663. She had
+many contretemps at first, and some time elapsed
+before she had the honour of speaking to the King.</p>
+
+<p>The King greeted her after the fashion of the
+country, treated her as his cousin,<a name="FNanchor_44" id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> and promised her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_79" id="Page_79" title="[Pg 79]"></a>
+all sorts of satisfaction; that he would send his secretary<a name="FNanchor_45" id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a>
+to her to see her papers, which he did. The
+secretary made her fine promises, but the time was
+always postponed. The minister resident, Petkum,
+minister of the King of Danem..., came to visit
+her (he had placed some obstacles in the way of her
+demands, from what was told her). She showed him
+her papers, informed him of the affair, told him that
+the King of Denmark had had all the papers in his
+hands, and had graciously returned them. The traitor
+made a semblance of understanding the affair, and
+promised that he would himself help in securing the
+payment of her demands. But this Judas always intended
+to betray her, asking her if she did not like to
+make excursions, speaking to her of beautiful houses,
+gardens and parks, and offering her his coach. But
+our lady was not inclined to make excursions.</p>
+
+<p>When he saw that he could not catch her in this
+way, he obtained an order to arrest her. Our poor
+lady knew nothing of all this; she had letter upon letter
+from her husband requesting her return. She took
+leave of the King by letter, gave her papers to a
+lawyer<a name="FNanchor_46" id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> upon a receipt, and set out from London.
+Having arrived at Dover, and intending to embark the
+same evening for Flanders, a lieutenant of the name of
+Braten<a name="FNanchor_47" id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> appeared, who came to show her an order
+from the King of Anglet... which she read herself,
+the purport of which was that the governor was to
+arrest such a lady, and to place her in the castle till
+further orders. She asked the reason why. He said
+that she had left without permission from the King.<a class="pagenum" name="Page_80" id="Page_80" title="[Pg 80]"></a>
+She told him that she had taken leave of the King by
+letter, and had spoken the day before her departure
+with the Prime Minister and Vice-Admiral Aschew,<a name="FNanchor_48" id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a>
+who had bade her farewell.<a name="FNanchor_49" id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a></p>
+
+<p>When she came to the castle, the emissary of
+Petkum presented himself, by name Peter Dreyer.
+Then the Lieutenant said, ‘It is the King of Danemarc
+who has ordered you to be arrested.’ She
+asked the cause. He replied, ‘You undoubtedly set
+out incognito from Danemarck.’ She replied to this
+that the King of Danem... had given her husband
+leave of absence for a term of eighteen months, which
+had not yet expired. They ordered her boxes and
+those of the nobleman who accompanied her to be
+opened, and they took all the papers. Afterwards<a class="pagenum" name="Page_81" id="Page_81" title="[Pg 81]"></a>
+Dreyer spoke to her, and she asked him why she
+was treated thus? He said he did not know the real
+cause, but that he believed it was for the death of
+Fos, and that she was believed to have been the cause
+of his death. They always mentioned this to her, and
+no other cause.</p>
+
+<p>This double traitor Braten enacted the gallant,
+entertained her, made her speak English (as she was
+bolder in speaking this language than any other), for
+she had just begun to learn it well, having had a
+language-master in London. One day he told that
+they intended conducting her to Danemarck. She
+told him there was no need to send her to Danem...;
+she could go there very well by herself. He said,
+‘You know yourself what suits you; if you will not go
+there willingly, I will manage so that you may go to
+Flanders.’ She did not see that this was feasible,
+even if he was willing; she spoke with him as to the
+means, saw that he did not satisfy her, and did not
+trust his conversation; as he was cunning, he made her
+believe that the King wished her to go secretly, and
+that he would take it all upon himself; that the King
+had his reasons why he did not wish to deliver her
+into the hands of the King of Danem....</p>
+
+<p>This deception had such good colouring, for she had
+written several times to the King during her arrest,
+and had begged him not to reward her husband’s
+services by a long arrest, only speaking of what she
+had done at the Hague for him: she had taken her
+jewels and rings and given them to him, when his
+host would not any longer supply him with food.<a name="FNanchor_50" id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a><a class="pagenum" name="Page_82" id="Page_82" title="[Pg 82]"></a>
+Her claim was not small; it exceeded 20,000 patacoons.<a name="FNanchor_51" id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a></p>
+
+<p>Our lady allowed herself to be persuaded that the
+King of England wished her to leave secretly. The
+traitor Braten told her that he thought it best that she
+should disguise herself as a man. She said that there
+was no necessity she should disguise herself; that no
+one would pursue her; and even if it were so, that she
+would not go in disguise with any man who was not
+her husband. After having been detained seventeen
+days at Dover, she allowed herself to be conducted by
+Braten, at night, towards the ramparts, descended by a
+high ladder which broke during her descent, passed
+the fosse, which was not difficult; on the other side
+there was a horse waiting for her, but the nobleman,
+her attendant, and the nobleman’s valet, went on foot;
+they would not allow her valet to go with them; Braten
+made an excuse of not being able to find him, and that
+time pressed; it was because they were afraid that
+there would be an effort at defence.</p>
+
+<p>When she arrived where the traitors were, her guide
+gave a signal by knocking two stones one against
+another. At this, four armed men advanced; Petkum
+and Dreyer were a little way off; one held a pistol to
+her breast, the other a sword, and said, ‘I take you
+prisoner.’ The other two traitors said, ‘We will conduct
+you to Ostend.’ She had always suspected
+treachery, and had spoken with her companion, in case
+it happened, what it would be best to do, to give
+herself up or to defend herself? She decided on
+allowing herself to be betrayed without a struggle,
+since she had no reason to fear that her life would be<a class="pagenum" name="Page_83" id="Page_83" title="[Pg 83]"></a>
+attempted because her son had avenged the wrong
+done to his parents. Thus she made no resistance,
+begged them not to take so much trouble, that she
+would go of herself; for two men held her with so
+much force that they hurt her arm. They came with
+a bottle of dry wine to quench her thirst, but she would
+not drink; she had a good way to go on foot, for she
+would not again mount the horse.</p>
+
+<p>She showed some anger towards her guide, begged
+him in English to give her respects to the governor,<a name="FNanchor_52" id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a>
+but to convey to the traitor Braten all the abuse that
+she could hurriedly call to mind in this language, which
+was not quite familiar to her. She advanced towards
+the boat; the vessel which was to convey her was in
+the roads, near the Downs. She bade farewell to the
+nobleman. She had two bracelets with diamonds
+which she wished to give him to convey to her children;
+but as he feared they would be taken from him, she
+replaced them without troubling him with them. She
+gave a pistol to her servant, and a mariner then carried
+her to the boat; she was placed in an English frigate
+that Petkum had hired, and Dreyer went with her.<a name="FNanchor_53" id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a><a class="pagenum" name="Page_84" id="Page_84" title="[Pg 84]"></a>
+She was thirteen days on the road, and arrived near
+the Custom-house pier on August 8, 1663, at nine
+o’clock in the morning.</p>
+
+<p>[The remaining part of the Autobiography treats of
+the commencement of her imprisonment in the Blue
+Tower, which forms the subject of the following
+Memoir.]</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_85" id="Page_85" title="[Pg 85]"></a></div>
+
+<h2><a name="A_RECORD_OF_THE_SUFFERINGS" id="A_RECORD_OF_THE_SUFFERINGS"></a>A RECORD<br />
+OF<br />
+THE SUFFERINGS OF THE IMPRISONED COUNTESS<br />
+LEONORA CHRISTINA.</h2>
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_86" id="Page_86" title="[Pg 86]"></a><br />
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_87" id="Page_87" title="[Pg 87]"></a></div>
+
+<h3><a name="PREFACE_LC" id="PREFACE_LC"></a>PREFACE.<br />
+<span class="smaller italic">TO MY CHILDREN.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>Beloved children, I may indeed say with Job, ‘Oh,
+that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my
+calamity laid in the balances together! For now it
+would be heavier than the sand of the sea.’ My
+sufferings are indeed great and many; they are heavy
+and innumerable. My mind has long been uncertain
+with regard to this history of my sufferings, as I could
+not decide whether I ought not rather to endeavour
+to forget them than to bear them in memory. At
+length, however, certain reasons have induced me, not
+only to preserve my sorrow in my own memory, but
+to compose a record of it, and to direct it to you, my
+dear children.<a name="FNanchor_54" id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a></p>
+
+<p>The first of these reasons is the remembrance of
+the omnipotence of God; for I cannot recall to mind
+my sorrow and grief, my fears and distresses, without
+at the same time remembering the almighty power of
+God, who in all my sufferings, my misery, my affliction,
+and anxiety, has been my strength and help, my consolation
+and assistance; for never has God laid a
+burden upon me, without at the same time giving me
+strength in proportion, so that the burden, though it<a class="pagenum" name="Page_88" id="Page_88" title="[Pg 88]"></a>
+has weighed me down and heavily oppressed me, has
+not overwhelmed me and crushed me; for which I
+praise and extol through eternity the almighty power
+of the incomprehensible God.</p>
+
+<p>I wish, therefore, not alone to record my troubles and
+to thank God for His gracious support in all the misfortunes
+that have befallen me, but also to declare to
+you, my dear children, God’s goodness to me, that you
+may not only admire with me the inconceivable help of
+the Almighty, but that you may be able to join with
+me in rendering Him thanks. For you may say with
+reason that God has dealt wonderfully with me; that
+He was mighty in my weakness and has shown His
+power in me, the frailest of His instruments. For
+how would it have been possible for me to resist such
+great, sudden, and unexpected misfortunes, had not His
+spirit imparted to me strength? It was God who Himself
+entered with me into the Tower-gate; it was He
+who extended to me His hand, and wrestled for me in
+that prison cell for malefactors, which is called ‘the
+Dark Church.’</p>
+
+<p>Since then, now for almost eleven years, He has
+always been within the gate of my prison as well as
+of my heart; He has strengthened me, comforted
+me, refreshed me, and often even cheered me. God
+has done wonderful things in me, for it is more than
+inconceivable that I should have been able to survive
+the great misfortunes that have befallen me, and
+at the same time should have retained my reason,
+sense, and understanding. It is a matter of the
+greatest wonder that my limbs are not distorted and
+contracted from lying and sitting, that my eyes are
+not dim and even wholly blind from weeping, and
+from smoke and soot; that I am not short-breathed<a class="pagenum" name="Page_89" id="Page_89" title="[Pg 89]"></a>
+from candle smoke and exhalation, from stench and
+close air. To God alone be the honour!</p>
+
+<p>The other cause that impels me is the consolation it
+will be to you, my dear children, to be assured through
+this account of my sufferings that I suffer innocently;
+that nothing whatever has been imputed to me, nor
+have I been accused of anything for which you, my
+dear children, should blush or cast down your eyes in
+shame. I suffer for having loved a virtuous lord and
+husband, and for not having abandoned him in misfortune.
+I was suspected of being privy to an act of
+treason for which he has never been prosecuted
+according to law, much less convicted of it, and the
+cause of the accusation was never explained to me,
+humbly and sorrowfully as I desired that it should be.
+Let it be your consolation, my dear children, that I
+have a gracious God, a good conscience, and can
+boldly maintain that I have never committed a dishonourable
+act. ‘This is thankworthy,’ says the
+apostle St. Peter, ‘if a man for conscience toward God
+endure grief, suffering wrongfully.’ I suffer, thank
+God, not for my misdeeds, for that were no glory to
+me; yet I can boast that from my youth up I have
+been a bearer of the cross of Christ, and had incredibly
+secret sufferings, which were very heavy to
+endure at such an early age.</p>
+
+<p>Although this record of my sufferings contains and
+reveals nothing more than what has occurred to me in
+this prison, where I have now been for eleven years,
+I must not neglect in this preface briefly to recall to
+your minds, my dear children, my earlier misfortunes,
+thanking God at the same time that I have overcome
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Not only you, my dear children, know, but it is<a class="pagenum" name="Page_90" id="Page_90" title="[Pg 90]"></a>
+known throughout the whole country, what great
+sorrow and misfortune Dina and Walter, with their
+powerful adherents, inflicted on our house in the year
+1651.</p>
+
+<p>Although I will not mention the many fatiguing
+and difficult journeys, the perils by sea, and various
+dangers which I have endured in foreign countries, I
+will only remind you of that journey which my lord
+requested me to undertake to Denmark, contrary to
+my wish, in the year 1657.<a name="FNanchor_E1" id="FNanchor_E1" href="#Footnote_E1" class="fnanchor">[E1]</a> It was winter time, and
+therefore difficult and dangerous. I endured scorn
+and persecution; and had not God given me courage
+and taken it from him who was to have arrested me,
+I should not at that time have escaped the misery of
+captivity.</p>
+
+<p>You will remember, my dear children, what I suffered
+and endured during fourteen months in custody at
+Malmöe; how the greatest favour which His Majesty,
+King Charles X. of Sweden, at that time showed
+me, was that he left it to my free will, either to remain
+at liberty, taking care of our property, or to be in
+prison with my lord. I acknowledged the favour, and
+chose the latter as my duty, esteeming it a happiness
+to be allowed to console and to serve my anxious
+husband, afflicted as he subsequently was by illness.
+I accepted it also as a favour that I was allowed (when
+my lord could not do it himself on account of illness)
+to appear before the tribunal in his stead. What
+anxiety and sorrow I had for my sick lord, what
+trouble, annoyance and distress, the trial caused me
+(it was carried on daily for more than nine weeks), is
+known to the most high God, who was my consolation,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_91" id="Page_91" title="[Pg 91]"></a>
+assistance, and strength, and who inspired me with
+heart and courage to defend the honour of my lord in
+the presence of his judges.</p>
+
+<p>You will probably not have forgotten how quickly
+one misfortune followed another, how one sorrow was
+scarcely past when a greater one followed in its track;
+we fared, according to the words of the poet:</p>
+
+<div class="poem" lang="la"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Incidit in Scyllam, qui vult vitare Charibdin.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>We escaped custody and then fell into strict captivity,
+without doubt by the dispensation of God, who inspired
+my lord with the idea of repairing, contrary to our
+agreement, to Copenhagen instead of Lübeck. No
+pen can describe how sorrowful I was when, contrary
+to all expectation, I met my lord in Copenhagen, when
+I had imagined him escaped from the power and
+violence of all his enemies. I expected just that which
+my lord did not believe would happen, but which
+followed immediately&mdash;namely, our arrest. The second
+day after my arrival (which they had waited for) we
+were apprehended and conveyed to Bornholm, where
+we were in close imprisonment for seventeen months.
+I have given a full description of what I suffered, and
+this I imagine is in your keeping, my dear children;
+and from it you see what I and my sick lord endured;
+how often I warded off greater misery, because my
+lord could not always brook patiently the bad treatment
+of the governor, Adolf Foss, who called himself
+Fux.</p>
+
+<p>It was hard and bitter indeed to be scorned and
+scoffed at by a peasant’s son; to have to suffer hunger
+at his will, and to be threatened and harassed by him;
+but still harder and more bitter was it to be sick
+beneath his power, and to hear from him the words<a class="pagenum" name="Page_92" id="Page_92" title="[Pg 92]"></a>
+that even if death were on my lips no minister of
+God’s word should come to me. Oh monstrous
+tyranny! His malice was so thoroughly beyond all
+bounds, that he could not endure that we should
+lighten each other’s cross; and for this reason he contrived,
+after the lapse of eleven months, to have us
+separated from each other, and to place us each in the
+hardest confinement.</p>
+
+<p>My husband (at that time already advancing in years)
+without a servant, and I without an attendant, was only
+allowed a light so long as the evening meal lasted. I
+cannot forbear bitterly recalling to mind the six months
+of long and hard separation, and the sad farewell which
+we took of each other; for to all human sight there
+was no other prospect than that which the governor
+announced to us&mdash;namely, that we were seeing and
+speaking with each other for the last time in this world.
+God knows best how hard our sufferings were, for it
+was He who consoled us, who gave us hope contrary
+to all expectation, and who inspired me with courage
+when the governor visited me and endeavoured to fill
+me with despair.</p>
+
+<p>God confirmed my hope. Money and property
+loosened the bonds of our captivity, and we were
+allowed to see and speak with each other once more.
+Sad as my lord had been when we were separated at
+Borringholm, he was joyous when two years afterwards
+he <a class="corr" name="corr_8" id="corr_8" title="was: pursuaded">persuaded</a> me to undertake the English journey,
+not imagining that this was to part us for ever. My
+lord, who entertained too good an opinion of the King
+of England, thought that now that he had come to
+the throne he would remember not only his great
+written and spoken promises, but that he would also
+bear in mind how, at the time of his need and exile,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_93" id="Page_93" title="[Pg 93]"></a>
+I had drawn the rings from my fingers and had pawned
+them for meals for him and his servants. But how
+unwillingly I undertook this journey is well known to
+some of you, my dear children, as I was well aware
+that from an ungrateful person there is nothing else to
+be expected but ingratitude. I had the example of
+others by whom to take warning; but it was thus
+destined to be.</p>
+
+<p>Bitter bread was in store for me, and bitter gall
+was to fill my cup in the Blue Tower of Copenhagen
+Castle; thither was I to go to eat it and drink
+it out. It is not unknown to you how falsely the
+King of England acted towards me; how well he
+received me on my arrival; how he welcomed me with
+a Judas kiss and addressed me as his cousin; and how
+both he himself and all his high ministers assured me
+of the royal favour, and promised me payment of the
+money advanced. You know how cunningly (at the
+desire of His Majesty the King of Denmark) he had
+me arrested at Dover, and subsequently sent me word
+through the traitor Lieutenant Braten that he would
+let me escape secretly, at the same time delivering me
+into the hand of the Danish Minister Simon Petcon,
+who had me arrested by eight armed men; keeping
+aloof, however, himself, and never venturing to come
+near me. They held sword and pistol to my breast,
+and two of them took me between them and placed
+me in a boat, which conveyed me to a vessel held in
+readiness by the said Minister; a man of the name of
+Peter Dreyer having received orders to conduct me to
+Copenhagen.</p>
+
+<p>From this period this record of my suffering begins.
+It contains all that happened to me within the gates
+of the Blue Tower. Reflect, my dear children, on<a class="pagenum" name="Page_94" id="Page_94" title="[Pg 94]"></a>
+these hard sufferings; but remember also God’s great
+goodness towards me. Verily, He has freed me from
+six calamities; rest assured that He will not leave me
+to perish in the seventh. No! for the honour of His
+name, He will mightily deliver me.</p>
+
+<p>The narrative of my sufferings is sad to hear, and
+must move the hardest heart to pity; yet in reading it,
+do not be more saddened than can be counterbalanced
+by joy. Consider my innocence, courage, and patience;
+rejoice over these.</p>
+
+<p>I have passed over various petty vexations and
+many daily annoyances for the sake of brevity, although
+the smallest of them rankled sore in the wounds of my
+bitter sorrow.</p>
+
+<p>I acknowledge my weaknesses, and do not shrink
+from confessing them to you. I am a human being,
+and am full of human imperfections. Our first emotions
+are not under our own power; we are often overhasty
+before we are able to reflect. God knows that I
+have often made myself deaf and blind, in order not
+to be carried away by passion. I am ashamed to
+mention and to enumerate the unchaste language, bad
+words and coarse invectives, of the prison governor
+Johan Jaeger, of Kresten Maansen, the tower warder,
+of Karen the daughter of Ole, and of Catharina Wolff;
+they would offend courtly ears. Yet I can assure you
+they surpass everything that can be imagined as indecent,
+ugly, churlish and unbecoming; for coarse words
+and foul language were the tokens of their friendliness
+and clemency, and disgusting oaths were the ornament
+and embellishment of their untruthfulness; so that their
+intercourse was most disagreeable to me. I was never
+more glad than when the gates were closed between
+me and those who were to guard me. Then I had only<a class="pagenum" name="Page_95" id="Page_95" title="[Pg 95]"></a>
+the woman alone, whom I brought to silence, sometimes
+amicably, and at others angrily and with threats.</p>
+
+<p>I have also had, and have still, pleasant intercourse
+with persons whose services and courtesies I shall
+remember as long as I live. You, my dear children,
+will also repay them to every one as far as you are
+able.</p>
+
+<p>You will find also in this record of my sufferings
+two of the chief foes of our house, namely Jörgen
+Walter and Jörgen Skröder,<a name="FNanchor_E2" id="FNanchor_E2" href="#Footnote_E2" class="fnanchor">[E2]</a> with regard to whom God
+has revenged me, and decreed that they should have
+need of me, and that I should comfort them. Walter
+gives me cause to state more respecting him than was
+my intention.</p>
+
+<p>Of the psalms and hymns which I have composed
+and translated, I only insert a few, in order that you,
+my dear children, may see and know how I have
+ever clung steadfastly to God, who has been and
+still is my wall of defence against every attack, and
+my refuge in every kind of misfortune and adversity.
+Do not regard the rhymes; they are not according to
+the rules which poets make; but regard the matter, the
+sense, and the purport. Nor have I left my other
+small pastime unmentioned, for you may perceive the
+repose of my mind from the fact that I have had no
+unemployed hours; even a rat, a creature so abominable
+to others, affording me amusement<span class="corr" title="added: .">.</span></p>
+
+<p>I have recorded two observations, which though they
+treat of small and contemptible animals, yet are remarkable,
+and I doubt whether any naturalist hitherto
+has observed them. For I do not think it has been
+recorded hitherto that there exists a kind of caterpillar
+which brings forth small living grubs like itself, nor<a class="pagenum" name="Page_96" id="Page_96" title="[Pg 96]"></a>
+either that a flea gives birth to a fully-formed flea, and
+not that a nit comes from a nit.<a name="FNanchor_55" id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p>
+
+<p>In conclusion, I beg you, my dear children, not to
+let it astonish you that I would not avail myself of the
+opportunity by which I might have gained my freedom.
+If you rightly consider it, it would not have been
+expedient either for you or me. I confess that if my
+deceased lord had been alive, I should not only have
+accepted the proposal, but I should have done my
+utmost to have escaped from my captivity, in order to
+go in quest of him, and to wait on him and serve him
+till his last breath; my duty would have required this.
+But since he was at that time in rest and peace with
+God, and needed no longer any human service, I have
+with reason felt that self-obtained liberty would have
+been in every respect more prejudicial than useful to
+us, and that this would not be the way to gain the
+possessions taken from us, for which reason I refused
+it and endeavoured instead to seek repose of mind and
+to bear patiently the cross laid upon me. If God so
+ordains it, and it is His divine will that through royal
+mercy I should obtain my freedom, I will joyfully
+exert myself for you, my beloved children, to the utmost
+of my ability, and prove in deed that I have never
+deviated from my duty, and that I am no less a good
+and right-minded mother than I have been a faithful
+wife. Meanwhile let God’s will be your will. He will
+turn and govern all things so that they may benefit
+you and me in soul and body, to whose safe keeping
+I confidently recommend you all, praying that He will
+be your father and mother, your counsellor and guide.
+Pray in return for me, that God may direct me by His<a class="pagenum" name="Page_97" id="Page_97" title="[Pg 97]"></a>
+good spirit, and grant me patience in the future as
+heretofore. This is all that is requested from you by,</p>
+
+<p class="b0">My dearly beloved children, your affectionate
+mother,</p>
+
+<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Leonora Christina</span>, V.E.G.</p>
+
+<p>Written in the Blue Tower, anno 1674, the 18th
+of July, the eleventh year of imprisonment, my birthday,
+and fifty-third year of my age.<a name="FNanchor_56" id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>I bear also in mind, with the greatest humility and
+gratitude, our gracious hereditary King’s favour towards
+me, immediately after His Majesty came to the throne.
+I remember also the sympathy of our most gracious
+Queen Regent, and of Her Highness the Electoral
+Princess of Saxony in my unfortunate fate; also the
+special favour of Her Majesty the Queen.</p>
+
+<p>I have also not forgotten to bear duly in mind the
+favour shown towards me by Her Majesty the Queen
+Mother, the virtuous Landgravine of Hesse.</p>
+
+<p>I have also recorded various things which occurred in
+my imprisonment during the period from the year 1663
+to the year 1674, intending with these to conclude the
+record of my sufferings; as I experienced a pleasure,
+and often consoled myself, in feeling that it is better to
+remain innocently in captivity than to be free and to
+have deserved imprisonment. I remember having read
+that captivity has served many as a protection from<a class="pagenum" name="Page_98" id="Page_98" title="[Pg 98]"></a>
+greater dangers, and has guarded them from falling
+into the hands of their enemies. There have been
+some who have escaped from their prison and immediately
+after have been murdered. There have also
+been some who have had a competence in prison and
+afterwards have suffered want in freedom. Innocent
+imprisonment does not diminish honour, but rather
+increases it. Many a one has acquired great learning
+in captivity, and has gained a knowledge of things
+which he could not master before. Yes, imprisonment
+leads to heaven. I have often said to myself: ‘Comfort
+thyself, thou captive one, thou art happy.’</p>
+
+<p>Since the year 1674 constituted only half the period
+of my captivity, I have added in this record of my
+sufferings some facts that occurred since that time
+within my prison-gates. I am on the eve of my
+liberty, May 19, 1685. To God alone be the honour,
+who has moved His Royal Majesty to justice! I will
+here mention those of whose death I have been informed
+during my captivity.</p>
+
+<p>1. The Prime Minister of His Majesty, Count
+Christian of Rantzow<a name="FNanchor_E3" id="FNanchor_E3" href="#Footnote_E3" class="fnanchor">[E3]</a>, died in the month of September,
+1663. He did not live to drink the health of our
+Princess and of the Electoral Prince of Saxony at the
+feast of their betrothal. Still less did he live long
+enough to see a wooden effigy quartered in mockery
+of my lord, according to his suggestion. Death was
+very bitter to him.</p>
+
+<p>2. The Mistress of the Robes of the Queen
+Dowager, who was so severe on me in my greatest
+sorrow, had a long and painful illness; she said with
+impatience that the pain of hell was not greater than<a class="pagenum" name="Page_99" id="Page_99" title="[Pg 99]"></a>
+her pain. Her screams could often be heard in the
+tower. She was carried on a bed into the town, and
+died there.</p>
+
+<p>3. The death of Able Catherine was very painful.
+As she had formerly sought for letters on the private
+parts of my person, so she was afterwards herself
+handled by the surgeons, as she had boils all over her.
+She was cut and burnt. She endured all this pain,
+hoping to live, but neither the art of the surgeons
+nor the visits of the Queen could save her from
+death.<a name="FNanchor_E4" id="FNanchor_E4" href="#Footnote_E4" class="fnanchor">[E4]</a></p>
+
+<p>4. Secretary Erich Krag, who had displayed the
+malice of his heart in my imprisonment in the ‘Dark
+Church,’ was snatched away by death in a place of
+impurity. He was lively and well, had invited guests
+to dinner, sat and wrote at his table, went out to obey
+the necessities of nature, and was found dead by his
+attendants when they had waited some time for him.</p>
+
+<p>5. Major-General Fridrich von Anfeldte,<a name="FNanchor_E5" id="FNanchor_E5" href="#Footnote_E5" class="fnanchor">[E5]</a> who had
+more than once manifested his delight at my misfortunes,
+died as he had lived. He was a godless man
+and a blasphemer. He fell a victim to jealousy, and went
+mad, because another obtained an honorary title which
+he had coveted; this was indeed little enough to deprive
+him of sense and reason. He would hear nothing of God,
+nor would he be reconciled with God. Both Queens, the
+Queen Dowager and the Queen Regent, persuaded
+him at length to be so. When he had received the
+sacrament, he said, ‘Now your Majesties have had
+your desire; but what is the good of it?’ He continued
+to curse and to swear, and so died.</p>
+
+<p>6. General Schak died after a long illness.</p>
+
+<p>7. Chancellor Peter Retz likewise.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_100" id="Page_100" title="[Pg 100]"></a>
+8. His Royal Majesty King Friedrich III.’s death
+accelerated the death of the Stadtholder Cristoffer
+Gabel. He felt that the hate of the Queen Dowager
+could injure him greatly, and he desired death. God
+heard him.<a name="FNanchor_E6" id="FNanchor_E6" href="#Footnote_E6" class="fnanchor">[E6]</a></p>
+
+<p>9. It has pleased God that I should be myself a
+witness of Walter’s miserable death; indeed, that I
+should compassionate him. When I heard him scream,
+former times came to my mind, and I often thought how
+a man can allow himself to be led to do evil to those
+from whom he had only received kindness and
+honour.</p>
+
+<p>10. Magister Buch, my father-confessor, who acted
+so ill to me, suffered much pain on his bed of languishing.
+He was three days speechless before he died.</p>
+
+<p>11. When the rogue and blasphemer, Christian, who
+caused me so much annoyance in my captivity, had
+regained his liberty and returned to his landlord, Maans
+Armfeld in Jutland, he came into dispute with the
+parish priest, who wanted him to do public penance for
+having seduced a woman. The rogue set fire to the
+parsonage; the minister’s wife was burnt to death in
+trying to save some of her property, and all the
+minister’s possessions were left in ashes. The
+minister would not bring the rogue to justice. He commended
+him to the true Judge, and left vengeance to
+Him. The incendiary’s conscience began to be
+awakened; for a long time he lived in dread, and was
+frightened if he saw anyone coming at all quickly, and
+he would call out and say tremblingly, ‘Now they are
+going to take me!’ and would run hither and thither,
+not knowing where to go. At length he was found
+dead on the field, having shot himself; for a long rifle<a class="pagenum" name="Page_101" id="Page_101" title="[Pg 101]"></a>
+was found lying between his legs, the barrel towards
+his breast, and a long ramrod in his hand, with which
+he had touched the trigger. He did not, therefore, die
+in as Christian a manner as if he had perished under
+the hand of the executioner, of which he had so lightly
+said that he should not care for it at all, so long as he
+could bring someone else into trouble.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_102" id="Page_102" title="[Pg 102]"></a></div>
+
+<h3><a name="REMINISCENCES" id="REMINISCENCES"></a>A RECORD OF SUFFERING;</h3>
+
+<div class="blockquot italic"><p>OR, A REMINISCENCE OF ALL THAT OCCURRED TO
+ME, LEONORA CHRISTINA, IN THE BLUE TOWER,
+FROM AUGUST 8 OF THE YEAR 1663, TO JUNE 11<a name="FNanchor_57" id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a>
+OF THE YEAR 1674.</p></div>
+
+
+<p>The past is rarely remembered without sorrow, for it
+has been either better or worse than the present. If it
+was more joyous, more happy, and full of honour, its
+remembrance justly saddens us, and in proportion as
+the present is full of care, unhappiness, and dishonour.
+If past times were sadder, more miserable, and more
+deplorable than the present, the remembrance of them
+is equally sorrowful, for we recover and feel once
+more all the past misfortunes and adversities which
+have been endured in the course of time. But all
+things have, as it were, two handles by which they
+may be raised, as Epictetus says. The one handle,
+he says, is bearable; the other is not bearable; and
+it rests with our will which handle we grasp, the bearable
+or the unbearable one. If we grasp the bearable
+one, we can recall all that is transitory, however sad
+and painful it may have been, rather with joy than with
+sorrow.<a name="FNanchor_E7" id="FNanchor_E7" href="#Footnote_E7" class="fnanchor">[E7]</a> So I will seize the bearable handle, and in the
+name of Jesus I will pass rapidly through my memory,
+and recount all the wretchedness and misery, all the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_103" id="Page_103" title="[Pg 103]"></a>
+grief, scorn and suffering, contempt and adversity, which
+have befallen me in this place, and which I have overcome
+with God’s help. I will, moreover, in no wise
+grieve over it; but, on the contrary, I will remind
+myself at every step of the goodness of God, and will
+thank the Most High who has been constantly near
+me with His mighty help and consolation; who has
+ruled my heart, that it should not depart from God;
+who has preserved my mind and my reason, that it has
+not become obscured; who has maintained my limbs
+in their power and natural strength, and even has
+given, and still gives me, repose of mind and joyfulness.
+To Thee, incomprehensible God, be honour
+and praise for ever!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width:400px">
+<img src="images/castle.jpg" width="400" height="421" alt="" title="THE OLD CASTLE OF COPENHAGEN." />
+<div class="caption"><span lang="de">DAS ALTE SCHLOSS IN COPENHAGEN<br />
+<span class="smaller">MIT DEM BLAUEN THURM.</span></span><br />
+<hr class="w25 tight" />
+THE OLD CASTLE OF COPENHAGEN.<br />
+<span class="smaller">SHOWING THE BLUE TOWER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BACK-GROUND.</span></div>
+</div>
+
+<p>And now to proceed with my design. I consider it
+necessary to begin the record of my sufferings with
+the commencement of the day which concluded with
+the fatal evening of my captivity, and to mention
+somewhat of that which befell me on the vessel.
+After the captain had cast anchor a little outside the
+pier of St. Anna, on August 8, 1663, at nine o’clock
+in the forenoon, he was sent on shore with letters by
+Peter Dreyer, who was commissioned by Petcon, at that
+time the minister resident in England, of his Majesty
+the King of Denmark, to take charge of me. I dressed
+myself and sat down in one of the cabins of the sailors
+on the deck, with a firm resolution to meet courageously
+all that lay before me;<a name="FNanchor_58" id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> yet I in no wise
+expected what happened; for although I had a good
+conscience, and had nothing evil with which to reproach<a class="pagenum" name="Page_104" id="Page_104" title="[Pg 104]"></a>
+myself, I had at various times asked the before-mentioned
+Peter Dreyer the reason why I had been thus
+brought away. To this question he always gave me
+the reply which the traitor Braten had given me at
+Dover (when I asked of him the cause of my arrest);
+namely, that I was, perhaps, charged with the death
+of Major-General Fux, and, that it was thought I
+had persuaded my son to slay him; saying, that he
+knew of no other cause. At twelve o’clock Nils
+Rosenkrantz, at that time Lieutenant-Colonel, and
+Major Steen Anderson Bilde, came on board with
+some musketeers. Lieutenant-Colonel Rosenkrantz
+did not salute me. The Major walked up and down
+and presently passed near me. I asked him, en passant,
+what was the matter? He gave me no other answer
+than, ‘<span lang="fr">Bonne mine, mauvais jeu</span>;’ which left me just
+as wise as before. About one o’clock Captain Bendix
+Alfeldt came on board with several more musketeers,
+and after he had talked some time with Peter Dreyer,
+Dreyer came to me and said, ‘It is ordered that you
+should go into the cabin.’ I said, ‘Willingly;’ and
+immediately went. Soon after, Captain Alfeldt came
+in to me, and said he had orders to take from me my
+letters, my gold, silver, money, and my knife. I
+replied, ‘Willingly.’ I took off my bracelets and
+rings, gathered in a heap all my gold, silver, and
+money, and gave it to him. I had nothing written
+with me, except copies of the letters which I had
+addressed to the King of England, notes respecting
+one thing or another relating to my journey, and some
+English vocabularies; these I also gave up to him.
+All these Alfeldt placed in a silver utensil which I had
+with me, sealed it in my presence, and left the vessel
+with it. An hour, or somewhat more, afterwards,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_105" id="Page_105" title="[Pg 105]"></a>
+Major-General Friderich von Anfeldt,<a name="FNanchor_59" id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a> Commandant
+in Copenhagen, arrived, and desired that I should come
+to him outside the cabin. I obeyed immediately. He
+greeted me, gave me his hand, and paid me many
+compliments, always speaking French. He was
+pleased to see me in health, he feared the sea might
+have inconvenienced me; I must not allow the time
+to seem long to me; I should soon be accommodated
+otherwise. I caught at the last word and said, smiling,
+‘Monsieur says otherwise, but not better.’ ‘Yes,
+indeed,’ he replied, ‘you shall be well accommodated;
+the noblest in the kingdom will visit you.’ I understood
+well what he meant by this, but I answered: ‘I
+am accustomed to the society of great people, therefore
+that will not appear strange to me.’ Upon this, he
+called a servant and asked for the before-mentioned
+silver utensil (which Captain Alfeldt had taken away
+with him). The paper which Captain Alfeldt had
+sealed over it was torn off. The Major-General
+turned to me, and said: ‘Here you have your jewels,
+your gold, silver, and money back; Captain Alfeldt
+made a mistake&mdash;they were only letters which he had
+orders to demand, and these only have been taken out,
+and have been left at the Castle; you may dispose of
+the rest as you wish yourself.’ ‘In God’s name,’ I
+answered, ‘am I, therefore, at liberty to put on again
+my bracelets and rings?’ ‘O Jesus,’ he said, ‘they
+are yours; you may dispose of them as you choose.’
+I put on the bracelets and rings, and gave the rest to
+my attendant. The Major-General’s delight not
+only appeared in his countenance, but he was full
+of laughter, and was overflowing with merriment.<a class="pagenum" name="Page_106" id="Page_106" title="[Pg 106]"></a>
+Among other things he said that he had had the
+honour of making the acquaintance of two of my sons;
+that he had been in their society in Holland; and he
+praised them warmly. I complimented him in return,
+as was proper, and I behaved as if I believed that he
+was speaking in good faith. He indulged in various
+jokes, especially with my attendant; said that she was
+pretty, and that he wondered I could venture to keep
+such a pretty maiden; when Holstein ladies kept pretty
+maids it was only to put their husbands in good
+humour; he held a long discourse on how they managed,
+with other unmannerly jests which he carried on
+with my attendant. I answered nothing else <a class="corr" name="corr_9" id="corr_9" title="was: then">than</a> that
+he probably spoke from experience. He said all kinds
+of foolish jokes to my servant, but she did not answer
+a word. Afterwards the prison governor told me
+that he (von Anfeldt) had made the King believe, at
+first, that my attendant was my daughter, and that the
+King had been long of that opinion. At length, after
+a long conversation, the Major-General took his leave,
+saying that I must not allow the time to seem long to
+me; that he should soon come again; and he asked
+what he should say to his Majesty the King. I begged
+him to recommend me in the best manner to their
+Majesties’ favour, adding that I knew not well what to
+say or for what to make request, as I was ignorant of
+what intentions they had with regard to me. Towards
+three o’clock Major-General von Anfeldt returned; he
+was full of laughter and merriment, and begged me to
+excuse him for being so long away. He hoped the
+time had not appeared long to me; I should soon get
+to rest; he knew well that the people (with this he
+pointed to the musketeers, who stood all along both
+sides of the vessel) were noisy, and inconvenienced me,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_107" id="Page_107" title="[Pg 107]"></a>
+and that rest would be best for me. I answered that
+the people did not inconvenience me at all; still I
+should be glad of rest, since I had been at sea for
+thirteen days, with rather bad weather. He went on
+with his compliments, and said that when I came into
+the town his wife would do herself the honour of
+waiting on me, and, ‘as it seems to me,’ he continued,
+‘that you have not much luggage with you, and
+perhaps, not the clothes necessary, she will procure for
+you whatever you require.’ I thanked him, and said
+that the honour was on my side if his wife visited me,
+but that my luggage was as much as I required at the
+time; that if I needed anything in the future, I hoped
+she might be spared this trouble; that I had not the
+honour of knowing her, but I begged him, nevertheless,
+to offer her my respects. He found various subjects
+of discourse upon Birgitte Speckhans<a name="FNanchor_E8" id="FNanchor_E8" href="#Footnote_E8" class="fnanchor">[E8]</a> and other trifles,
+to pass away the time; but it is not worth the
+trouble to recall them to mind, and still less to write
+them down. At last a message came that he was to
+conduct me from the vessel, when he said to me with
+politeness: ‘Will it please you, madame, to get into
+this boat, which is lying off the side of the ship?’ I
+answered, ‘I am pleased to do anything that I must
+do, and that is commanded by His Majesty the King.’
+The Major-General went first into the boat, and held
+out his hand to me; the Lieutenant-Colonel Rosenkrantz,
+Captain Alfeldt, Peter Dreyer, and my attendant,
+went with me in the boat. And as a great crowd of
+people had assembled to look at the spectacle, and
+many had even gone in boats in order to see me as
+they wished, he never took his eyes off me; and when<a class="pagenum" name="Page_108" id="Page_108" title="[Pg 108]"></a>
+he saw that I turned sometimes to one side and sometimes
+to another, in order to give them this pleasure,
+he said, ‘The people are delighted.’ I saw no one
+truly who gave any signs of joy, except himself, so I
+answered, ‘He who rejoices to-day, cannot know that
+he may not weep to-morrow; yet I see, that, whether
+for joy or sorrow, the people are assembling in crowds,
+and many are gazing with amazement at one human
+being.’ When we were advanced a little further, I
+saw the well-known wicked Birgitte Ulfeldt,<a name="FNanchor_E9" id="FNanchor_E9" href="#Footnote_E9" class="fnanchor">[E9]</a> who
+exhibited great delight. She was seated in an open
+carriage; behind her was a young man, looking like a
+student. She was driving along the shore. When I
+turned to that side, she was in the carriage and laughed
+with all her might, so that it sounded loudly. I looked
+at her for some time, and felt ashamed of her impudence,
+and at the disgrace which she was bringing on
+herself; but for the rest, this conduct did not trouble
+me more than the barking of the dogs, for I esteemed
+both equally.<a name="FNanchor_60" id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> The Major-General went on talking
+incessantly, and never turned his eyes from me; for he
+feared (as he afterwards said) that I should throw
+myself into the water. (He judged me by himself; he
+could not endure the change of fortune, as his end
+testified, for it was only on account of an honorary
+title which another received in his stead that he lost
+his mind. He did not know that I was governed by
+another spirit than he, which gave me strength and
+courage, whilst the spirit he served led him into<a class="pagenum" name="Page_109" id="Page_109" title="[Pg 109]"></a>
+despair.<a name="FNanchor_61" id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a>) When the boat arrived at the small pier
+near the office of the Exchequer, Captain Alfeldt
+landed and gave me his hand, and conducted me up
+towards the castle bridge. Regiments of horse and
+foot were drawn up in the open place outside the castle;
+musketeers were standing on both sides as I walked
+forwards. On the castle bridge stood Jockum Walburger,
+the prison governor, who went before me; and as
+the people had placed themselves in a row on either side
+up to the King’s Stairs, the prison governor made as if
+he were going thither; but he turned round abruptly,
+and said to Alfeldt, ‘This way,’ and went to the gate of
+the Blue Tower; stood there for some time and fumbled
+with the key; acted as if he could not unlock it, in
+order that I might remain as long as possible a
+spectacle to the people. And as my heart was turned
+to God, and I had placed all my confidence in the
+Most High, I raised my eyes to heaven, sought
+strength, power, and safety from thence, and it was
+graciously vouchsafed me. (One circumstance I will
+not leave unnoticed&mdash;namely, that as I raised my eyes
+to heaven, a screaming raven flew over the Tower,
+followed by a flock of doves, which were flying in the
+same direction.) At length, after a long delay, the prison
+governor opened the Tower gate, and I was conducted
+into the Tower by the before-mentioned Captain
+Alfeldt. My attendant, who was preparing to follow
+me, was called back by Major-General von Anfeldt, and
+told to remain behind. The prison governor went up
+the stairs, and showed Alfeldt the way to a prison for
+malefactors, to which the name of the ‘Dark Church’
+has been given. There Alfeldt quitted me with a<a class="pagenum" name="Page_110" id="Page_110" title="[Pg 110]"></a>
+sigh and a slight reverence. I can truly say of him
+that his face expressed pity, and that he obeyed the
+order unwillingly. The clock was striking half-past
+five when Jockum closed the door of my prison. I
+found before me a small low table, on which stood a
+brass candlestick with a lighted candle, a high chair,
+two small chairs, a fir-wood bedstead without hangings
+and with old and hard bedding, a night-stool and
+chamber utensil. At every side to which I turned I
+was met with stench; and no wonder, for three peasants
+who had been imprisoned here, and had been
+removed on that very day, and placed elsewhere, had
+used the walls for their requirements. Soon after the
+door had been closed, it was opened again, and there
+entered Count Christian Rantzow, Prime Minister,
+Peter Zetz, Chancellor, Christoffer von Gabel, at that
+time Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Erich Krag,
+at that time Secretary, all of whom gave me their
+hands with civility. The Chancellor spoke and said:
+‘His Royal Majesty, my gracious master and hereditary
+king, sends you word, madame, that His Majesty has
+great cause for what he is doing against you, as you
+will learn.’ I replied: ‘It is much to be regretted by
+me, if cause should be found against me; I will, however,
+hope that it may not be of such a kind that His
+Majesty’s displeasure may be lasting. When I know the
+cause I can defend myself.’ Count Rantzow answered:
+‘You will obtain permission to defend yourself.’ He
+whispered something to the Chancellor, upon which
+the Chancellor put a few questions: first, Whether on
+my last journey I had been in France with my husband?
+To which I answered in the affirmative.
+Then, What my husband was doing there? To which
+I replied, that he was consulting physicians about<a class="pagenum" name="Page_111" id="Page_111" title="[Pg 111]"></a>
+his health, whether it would be serviceable to him to
+use the warm baths in the country, which no one would
+advise him to do; he had even been dissuaded from
+trying them by a doctor in Holland of the name of
+Borro,<a name="FNanchor_E10" id="FNanchor_E10" href="#Footnote_E10" class="fnanchor">[E10]</a> when he had asked his opinion. Thirdly,
+What I had purposed doing in England? To this
+I replied that my intention had been to demand payment
+of a sum of money which the King of England
+owed us, and which we had lent him in the time of his
+misfortune. Fourthly, Who had been in England
+with me? I mentioned those who were with me in
+England&mdash;namely, a nobleman named Cassetta, my
+attendant who had come hither with me, a lacquey
+named Frantz, who had remained in England, and the
+nobleman’s servant. Fifthly, Who visited my husband
+in Bruges? I could not exactly answer this, as
+my lord received his visits in a private chamber, where
+I was not admitted. Count Rantzow said, ‘You know,
+I suppose, who came to him oftenest?’ I answered,
+that the most frequent visitors among those I knew
+were two brothers named Aranda,<a name="FNanchor_E11" id="FNanchor_E11" href="#Footnote_E11" class="fnanchor">[E11]</a> the before-mentioned
+Cassetta, and a nobleman named Ognati.
+Sixthly the Chancellor asked, With whom I had
+corresponded here in the country? To which I
+answered, that I had written to H. Hendrick Bielcke,
+to Olluff Brockenhuuss, Lady Elsse Passberg, and
+Lady Marie Ulfeldt;<a name="FNanchor_E12" id="FNanchor_E12" href="#Footnote_E12" class="fnanchor">[E12]</a> I did not remember any more.
+Count Rantzow enquired if I had more letters than
+those which I had given up? To which I answered
+in the negative, that I had no more. He asked
+further, Whether I had more jewels with me than
+those he had seen? I answered that I had two strings<a class="pagenum" name="Page_112" id="Page_112" title="[Pg 112]"></a>
+of small round pearls on my hat, and a ring with a
+diamond, which I had given a lieutenant named Braten
+in Dover (it was he who afterwards betrayed me).
+Count Rantzow asked, How much the pearls might
+have been worth? This I could not exactly say. He
+said, that he supposed I knew their approximate value.
+I said they might be worth 200 rix-dollars, or somewhat
+more. Upon this they were all silent for a little.
+I complained of the severity of my imprisonment, and
+that I was so badly treated. Count Rantzow answered,
+‘Yes Madame, His Royal Majesty has good cause for
+it; if you will confess the truth, and that quickly, you
+may perhaps look for mercy. Had Maréchal de Birron<a name="FNanchor_E13" id="FNanchor_E13" href="#Footnote_E13" class="fnanchor">[E13]</a>
+confessed the matter respecting which he was interrogated
+by order of the King, when the royal mercy
+was offered to him if he would speak the truth, it
+would not have fared with him as it did. I have heard
+as a truth that the King of France would have pardoned
+him his crime, had he confessed at once; therefore,
+bethink yourself, madame!’ I answered, ‘Whatever
+I am asked by order of His Majesty, and whatever I
+am cognizant of, I will gladly say in all submission.’
+Upon this Count Rantzow offered me his hand, and I
+reminded him in a few words of the severity of my
+imprisonment. Count Rantzow promised to mention
+this to the King. Then the others shook hands with
+me and went away. My prison was closed for a little.
+I therefore profited by the opportunity, and concealed
+here and there in holes, and among the rubbish, a gold
+watch, a silver pen which gave forth ink and was filled
+with ink, and a scissor-sheath worked with silver and
+tortoiseshell. This was scarcely done when the door<a class="pagenum" name="Page_113" id="Page_113" title="[Pg 113]"></a>
+was again opened, and there entered the Queen’s
+Mistress of the Robes, her woman of the bed-chamber,
+and the wife of the commissariat clerk, Abel Catharina.
+I knew the last. She and the Queen’s woman of the
+bed-chamber carried clothes over their arm; these
+consisted of a long dressing-gown stitched with silk,
+made of flesh-coloured taffeta and lined with white
+silk, a linen under-petticoat, printed over with a black
+lace pattern, a pair of silk stockings, a pair of slippers,
+a shift, an apron, a night-dress, and two combs. They
+made me no greeting. Abel Cath. spoke for them,
+and said: ‘It is the command of Her Majesty the
+Queen that we should take away your clothes, and that
+you should have these in their place.’ I answered, ‘In
+God’s name!’ Then they removed the pad from my
+head, in which I had sown up rings and many loose
+diamonds. Abel Cath. felt all over my head to see
+if anything was concealed in my hair; then she said
+to the others, ‘There is nothing there; we do not
+require the combs.’ Abel Cath. demanded the bracelets
+and rings, which were a second time taken from
+me. I took them off and gave them to them, except
+one small ring which I wore on the last joint of my
+little finger, and which could not be worth more than
+a rix-dollar, this I begged to be allowed to keep.
+‘No,’ said the Mistress of the Robes, ‘You are to
+retain nothing.’ Abel Cath. said, ‘We are strictly forbidden
+to leave you the smallest thing; I have been
+obliged to swear upon my soul to the Queen that I
+would search you thoroughly, and not leave you the
+smallest thing; but you shall not lose it; they will all
+be sealed up and kept for you, for this I swear the
+Queen has said.’ ‘Good, good, in God’s name!’ I
+answered. She drew off all my clothes. In my under-petticoat<a class="pagenum" name="Page_114" id="Page_114" title="[Pg 114]"></a>
+I had concealed some ducats under the broad
+gold lace; there was a small diamond ornament in my
+silk <a class="corr" name="corr_10" id="corr_10" title="was: camisolle">camisole</a>, in the foot of my stockings there were
+some Jacobuses’, and there were sapphires in my shoes.
+When she attempted to remove my chemise, I begged
+to be allowed to retain it. No; she swore upon her
+soul that she dared not. She stripped me entirely,
+and the Mistress of the Robes gave Abel Cath. a nod,
+which she did not at once understand; so the Mistress
+of the Robes said: ‘Do you not remember your
+orders?’ Upon this, Abel Cath. searched my person
+still more closely, and said to the lady in waiting: ‘No,
+by God! there is nothing there.’ I said: ‘You act
+towards me in an unchristian and unbecoming manner.’
+Abel Cath. answered: ‘We are only servants; we
+must do as we are ordered; we are to search for letters
+and for nothing else; all the rest will be given back to
+you; it will be well taken care of.’ After they had
+thus despoiled me, and had put on me the clothes they
+had brought, the servant of the Mistress of the Robes
+came in and searched everywhere with Abel Cath.,
+and found every thing that I had concealed. God
+blinded their eyes so that they did not observe my
+diamond earrings, nor some ducats which had been
+sown into leather round one of my knees; I also saved
+a diamond worth 200 rix-dollars; while on board the
+ship I had bitten it out of the gold, and thrown the
+gold in the sea; the stone I had then in my mouth.<a name="FNanchor_62" id="FNanchor_62" href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a></p>
+
+<p>The Mistress of the Robes was very severe; they
+could not search thoroughly enough for her. She<a class="pagenum" name="Page_115" id="Page_115" title="[Pg 115]"></a>
+laughed at me several times, and could not endure
+that I sat down, asking whether I could not stand,
+and whether anything was the matter with me. I
+answered, ‘There is only too much the matter with me,
+yet I can stand when it is necessary.’ (It was no wonder
+that the Mistress of the Robes could so well execute
+the order to plunder, for she had frequently accompanied
+her deceased husband. Colonel Schaffshaussen<a name="FNanchor_E14" id="FNanchor_E14" href="#Footnote_E14" class="fnanchor">[E14]</a>,
+in war.) When she had searched every part
+thoroughly, they took all my clothes, except a taffeta
+cap for the head, and went away. Then the prison
+governor came in with his hat on, and said, ‘Leonora,
+why have you concealed your things?’ I answered
+him not a word; for I had made the resolution not to
+answer him, whatever he might say; his qualities were
+known to me; I was aware that he was skilful in improving
+a report, and could twist words in the manner
+he thought would be acceptable, to the damage of those
+who were in trouble. He asked again with the same
+words, adding ‘Do you not hear?’ I looked at him
+over my shoulder, and would not allow his disrespect
+to excite me. The table was then spread, and four
+dishes were brought in, but I had no appetite, although
+I had eaten little or nothing the whole day.</p>
+
+<p>An hour afterwards, when the dishes had been carried
+away, a girl came in named Maren Blocks, and said
+that she had orders from the Queen to remain the
+night with me. The prison governor joked a good
+deal with the before-mentioned Maren, and was very
+merry, indulging in a good deal of loose talk. At
+last, when it was nearly ten o’clock, he said good night
+and closed the two doors of my prison, one of which is<a class="pagenum" name="Page_116" id="Page_116" title="[Pg 116]"></a>
+cased with copper. When Maren found herself alone
+with me, she pitied my condition, and informed me that
+many, whom she mentioned by name (some of whom
+were known to me) had witnessed my courage with grief
+and tears, especially the wife of H. Hendrick Bielcke<a name="FNanchor_E12B" id="FNanchor_E12B" href="#Footnote_E12B" class="fnanchor">[E12b]</a>,
+who had fainted with weeping. I said, ‘The good
+people have seen me in prosperity; it is no wonder
+that they deplore the instability of fortune;’ and I
+wished that God might preserve every one of those
+from misfortune, who had taken my misfortune to
+heart. I consoled myself with God and a good conscience;
+I was conscious of nothing wrong, and I asked
+who she was, and whom she served? She said she was
+in the Queen’s private kitchen, and had the silver in
+her keeping (from which I concluded that she had probably
+to clean the silver, which was the case). She
+said that the Queen could get no one who would be
+alone with me, for that I was considered evil; it was
+said also that I was very wise, and knew future
+events. I answered, ‘If I possessed this wisdom, I
+scarcely think that I should have come in here, for I
+should then have been able to guard myself against
+it.’ Maren said we might know things and still not be
+able to guard against them.</p>
+
+<p>She told me also that the Queen had herself spoken
+with her, and had said to her, ‘You are to be this
+night with Leonora; you need not be afraid, she can
+now do no evil. With all her witchcraft she is now
+in prison and has nothing with her; and if she strikes
+you, I give you leave to strike her back again till the
+blood comes.’ Maren said also, ‘The Queen knows
+well that my mind has been affected by acute illness,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_117" id="Page_117" title="[Pg 117]"></a>
+and therefore she wished that I should be with you.’
+So saying she threw her arms round my neck as I
+was sitting, and caressed me in her manner, saying,
+‘Strike me, dear heart, strike me!’ ‘I will not<span class="corr" title="was: .’ She">,’ she</span>
+swore, ‘strike again.’ I was rather alarmed, fearing
+that the frenzy might come on. She said further
+that when she saw me coming over the bridge, she
+felt as if her heart would burst. She informed
+me with many words how much she loved me, and
+how the maid of honour, Carisius, who was standing
+with her in the window, had praised me, and wished
+to be able to do something for my deliverance, with
+many such words and speeches. I accepted the
+unusual caress, as under the circumstances I could not
+help it, and said that it would be contrary to all justice
+to offer blows to one who manifested such great affection
+as she had done, especially to one of her sex;
+adding, that I could not think how the Queen had
+imagined that I struck people, as I had never even
+given a box on the ears to a waiting-woman. I
+thanked her for her good opinion of me, and told her
+that I hoped all would go well, dark as things looked;
+that I would hold fast to God, who knew my innocence,
+and that I had done nothing unjustifiable; that I would
+commend my cause to Him, and I did not doubt that
+He would rescue me: if not immediately He would do
+so some day, I was well assured.</p>
+
+<p>Maren began to speak of different things; among
+others of my sister Elizabeth Augusta<a name="FNanchor_E15" id="FNanchor_E15" href="#Footnote_E15" class="fnanchor">[E15]</a>, how she had
+sat in her porch as I had been conveyed past as a
+prisoner, and had said that if I were guilty there
+was nothing to say against it, but that if I were innocent<a class="pagenum" name="Page_118" id="Page_118" title="[Pg 118]"></a>
+they were going too far. I said nothing to this,
+nor did I answer anything to much other tittle-tattle.
+She began to speak of her own persecution, which
+she did with great diffuseness, interspersing it with
+other stories, so that the conversation (in the present
+circumstances) was very wearisome to me; I was
+besides very tired, and worn out with care, so I said
+I would try to sleep and bid her good-night. My
+thoughts prevented me from sleeping. I reflected on
+my present condition, and could in no wise reconcile
+myself to it, or discover the cause of such a great
+misfortune. It was easy to perceive that somewhat
+besides Fux’s death was imputed to me, since I was
+treated with such disrespect.</p>
+
+<p>When I had long lain with my face to the wall, I
+turned round and perceived that Maren was silently
+weeping, so I asked her the reason of her tears. She
+denied at first that she was crying, but afterwards confessed
+that she had fallen into thinking over this whole
+affair. It had occurred to her that she had heard so
+much of Lady Leonora and her splendour, &amp;c., of how
+the King loved her, and how every one praised her, &amp;c.,
+and now she was immured in this execrable thieves’
+prison, into which neither sun nor moon shone, and
+where there was a stench enough to poison a person
+only coming in and out, far more one who had to
+remain in it. I thought the cause of her weeping
+was that she should be shut up with me in the
+terrible prison; so I consoled her, and said that she
+would only remain with me until another had been
+fixed upon, since she was in other service; but that I
+for my part did not now think of past times, as the
+present gave me sufficient to attend to; if I were to
+call to mind the past, I would remember also the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_119" id="Page_119" title="[Pg 119]"></a>
+misfortunes of great men, emperors, kings, princes,
+and other high personages, whose magnificence and
+prosperity had far exceeded mine, and whose misfortunes
+had been far greater than mine; for they had
+fallen into the hands of tyrants, who had treated them
+inhumanly, but this king was a Christian king, and a
+conscientious man, and better thoughts would occur to
+him when he had time to reflect, for my adversaries
+now left him no leisure to do so. When I said this,
+she wept even more than before, but said nothing,
+thinking in herself (as she declared to me some days
+afterwards) that I did not know what an infamous
+sentence had been pronounced upon my late lord,<a name="FNanchor_E16" id="FNanchor_E16" href="#Footnote_E16" class="fnanchor">[E16]</a> and
+weeping all the more because I trusted the King so
+firmly. Thus we went on talking through the night.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of August 9, at six o’clock, the
+prison governor came in, bade me good morning, and
+enquired whether we would have some brandy. I
+answered nothing. He asked Maren whether I was
+asleep; she replied that she did not know, came up to
+my bed, and put the same question to me. I thanked
+her, adding that it was a kind of drink which I had never
+tasted. The prison governor chattered with Maren, was
+very merry considering the early hour, told her his
+dreams, which he undoubtedly invented merely for the
+sake of talking. He told her, secretly, that she was to
+come to the Queen, and ordered her to say aloud that
+she wished to go out a little. He said that he would
+remain with me in the meanwhile, until she returned,
+which he did, speaking occasionally to me, and asking
+me whether I wished for anything? whether I had
+slept? whether Maren had watched well? But he<a class="pagenum" name="Page_120" id="Page_120" title="[Pg 120]"></a>
+got no answer, so that the time seemed very long to
+him. He went out towards the stairs and came back
+again, sang a morning psalm, screamed out sometimes
+to one, and sometimes to another, though he knew
+they were not there.</p>
+
+<p>There was a man named Jon who helped to bring
+up the meals with Rasmus the tower warder, and
+to him he called more than forty times and that in
+a singing tone, changing his key from high to low, and
+screaming occasionally as loud as he could, and
+answering himself ‘Father, he is not here! by God,
+he is not here!’ then laughing at himself; and then
+he began calling again either for Jon or for Rasmus,
+so that it seemed to me that he had been tasting the
+brandy. About eight o’clock Maren came back, and
+said that at noon two women would come to relieve her.
+After some conversation between the prison governor
+and Maren, he went out and shut the doors. Maren
+told me how the Queen had sent for her, and asked
+her what I was doing, and that she answered that I
+was lying down quietly, and not saying anything. The
+Queen had asked whether I wept much. Maren
+replied, ‘Yes indeed, she weeps silently.’ ‘For,’
+continued Maren, ‘if I had said that you did not weep,
+the Queen would have thought that you had not yet
+enough to weep for.’ Maren warned me that one of
+the two women who were to watch me was the wife of
+the King’s shoemaker, a German, who was very much
+liked by the Queen. Her Majesty had employed her
+to attend Uldrich Christian Gyldenlöwe in the severe
+and raving illness of which he died, and this woman
+had much influence with the Queen. With regard to
+the other woman, Maren had no idea who she might<a class="pagenum" name="Page_121" id="Page_121" title="[Pg 121]"></a>
+be, but the last-mentioned had spoken with the Queen
+in Maren’s presence, and had said that she did not trust
+herself to be alone with me. The women did not
+come before four o’clock in the afternoon. The prison
+governor accompanied them, and unlocked the door for
+them. The first was the wife of the shoemaker, a
+woman named Anna, who generally would not suffer
+anybody else to speak. The other was the wife of the
+King’s groom, a woman named Catharina, also a
+German. After greeting me, Anna said that her
+Majesty the Queen had ordered them to pass a day or
+two with me and wait upon me. ‘In God’s name,’ I
+answered.</p>
+
+<p>Anna, who was very officious, asked me, ‘Does
+my lady wish for anything? She will please only
+say so, and I will solicit it from the Queen.’ I
+thanked her, and said that I should like to have some
+of my clothes, such as two night-jackets, one lined with
+silk and another braided with white, my stomacher,
+something for my head, and above all my bone box of
+perfume, which I much needed. She said she would
+at once arrange this, which she did, for she went immediately
+and proffered my request. The things were all
+delivered to me by the prison governor at six o’clock,
+except my box of perfume, which had been lost, and in
+its place they sent me a tin box with a very bad kind
+of perfume. When the time arrived for the evening
+meal, Catharina spread a stool by the side of my bed,
+but I had no desire to eat. I asked for a lemon with
+sugar, and they gave it me. The prison governor sat
+down at the table with the two women, and did the part
+of jester, so much so that no one could have said that
+they were in a house of mourning, but rather in one of<a class="pagenum" name="Page_122" id="Page_122" title="[Pg 122]"></a>
+festivity. I inwardly prayed to God for strength and
+patience, that I might not forget myself. God heard
+my prayer, praised be His name. When the prison
+governor was tired of the idle talking and laughing, he
+bade good night after ten o’clock, and told the women
+to knock if they wanted anything, as the tower warder
+was just underneath. After he had locked both the
+doors, I got up, and Catharina made my bed. Anna
+had brought a prayer-book with her, from which I
+read the evening prayer, and other prayers for them;
+then I laid down and bid them good night. They laid
+on a settle-bed which had been brought in for them.
+I slumbered from time to time, but only for short
+intervals.</p>
+
+<p>About six o’clock on the morning of August 10 the
+prison governor opened the door, to the great delight of
+the women, who were sincerely longing for him, especially
+Catharina, who was very stout; she could not endure
+the oppressive atmosphere, and was ill almost the whole
+night. When the prison governor, after greeting them,
+had inquired how it fared with them, and whether they
+were still alive, he offered them brandy, which they
+readily accepted. When it was seven o’clock, they
+requested to go home, which they did, but they first
+reported to the Queen all that had happened during the
+half-day and the night. The prison governor remained
+with me.</p>
+
+<p>When it was near nine o’clock, he brought in a
+chair without saying anything. I perceived from
+this that visitors were coming, and I was not wrong;
+for immediately afterwards there entered Count
+Rantzow, prime minister, chancellor H. Peter Retz,
+Christoffer Gabel, the chancellor of the exchequer, and
+secretary Erick Krag, who all shook hands with me<a class="pagenum" name="Page_123" id="Page_123" title="[Pg 123]"></a>
+and seated themselves by my bed. Krag, who had
+paper, pen and ink with him, seated himself at the
+table. Count Rantzow whispered something to the
+chancellor. The chancellor upon this began to address
+me as on the previous occasion, saying that his Majesty
+the King had great cause for his treatment of me.
+‘His Majesty,’ he went on to say, ‘entertains suspicion
+with regard to you, and that not without reason.’ I
+inquired in what the suspicion consisted. The chancellor
+said, ‘Your husband has offered the kingdom
+of Denmark to a foreign lord.’ I inquired if the kingdom
+of Denmark belonged to my husband, that he
+could thus offer it, and as no one answered, I continued
+and said, ‘Good gentlemen, you all know my lord; you
+know that he has been esteemed as a man of understanding,
+and I can assure you that when I took leave
+of him he was in perfect possession of his senses.
+Now it is easy to perceive that no sensible man would
+offer that which was not in his own power, and which
+he had no right to dispose of. He is holding no post,
+he has neither power nor authority; how should he,
+therefore, be so foolish as to make such an offer, and
+what lord would accept it?’</p>
+
+<p>Count Rantzow said: ‘Nevertheless it is so, madame;
+he has offered Denmark to a foreign potentate; you
+know it well.’ I answered, ‘God is my witness that I
+know of no such thing.’ ‘Yes,’ said Count Rantzow,
+‘your husband concealed nothing from you, and therefore
+you must know it.’ I replied, ‘My husband certainly
+never concealed from me anything that concerned
+us both. I never troubled myself in former days with
+that which related to his office; but that which affected
+us both he never concealed from me, so that I am sure,
+had he entertained any such design, he would not have<a class="pagenum" name="Page_124" id="Page_124" title="[Pg 124]"></a>
+held it a secret from me. And I can say, with truth,
+that I am not the least aware of it.’ Count Rantzow
+said: ‘Madame, confess it while the King still asks
+you to do so.’</p>
+
+<p>I answered, ‘If I knew it I would gladly say so;
+but as truly as God lives I do not know it, and as
+truly am I unable to believe that my husband would
+have acted so foolishly, for he is a sick man. He
+urged me to go to England in order to demand the
+money that had been lent; I undertook the journey,
+unwillingly, chiefly because he was so very weak. He
+could not go up a few steps of the stairs without
+resting to get his breath; how should he, then, undertake
+a work of such labour? I can say with truth
+that he is not eight days without an attack, sometimes
+of one kind sometimes of another.’ Count Rantzow
+again whispered with the chancellor, and the chancellor
+continued: ‘Madame, say without compulsion how the
+matter stands, and who is privy to it; say it now, while
+you are asked freely to do so. His Majesty is an
+absolute Sovereign; he is not fettered by law; he can
+do as he will; say it.’ I answered: ‘I know well that
+his Majesty is an absolute Sovereign, and I know also,
+that he is a Christian and a conscientious man; therefore,
+his Majesty will do nothing but what he can justify
+before God in heaven. See, here I am! You can do
+with me what you will; that which I do not know I
+cannot say.’</p>
+
+<p>Count Rantzow began again to bring forward the
+Maréchal de Birron, and made a long speech about
+it. To this I at length replied, that the Maréchal de
+Birron in nowise concerned me; that I had no answer
+to make on the matter, and that it seemed to me
+that it was not a case in point. Count Rantzow asked<a class="pagenum" name="Page_125" id="Page_125" title="[Pg 125]"></a>
+me why, when I was demanded with whom I had
+corresponded in the kingdom, I had not said that I
+had written to him and to the treasurer Gabel. To
+this I replied that I thought those who asked me
+knew it well, so that it was not necessary for me to
+mention it; I had only said that of which they probably
+did not know. Count Rantzow again whispered
+to the chancellor, and the chancellor said: ‘In a
+letter to Lady Elsse Passberg you have written
+respecting another state of things in Denmark,’ (as
+he said this, he looked at Count Rantzow and asked
+if it was not so, or how it was); ‘what did you mean
+by that, madame?’ I replied that I could not recollect
+what cause her letter had given me to answer
+it in this way; what came before or what followed,
+would, without a doubt, explain my meaning; if I
+might see the letter, it would prove at once that
+I had written nothing which I could not justify.<span class="corr" title="removed: ‘"></span></p>
+
+<p>Nothing more was said with regard to it. Count
+Rantzow asked me what foreign ministers had
+been with my lord in Bruges. ‘None,’ I answered,
+<span class="corr" title="added: ‘">‘</span>that I am aware of.’ He asked further whether any
+Holstein noblemen had been with him. I answered,
+‘I do not know.’ Then he enumerated every Prince
+in Germany, from the Emperor to the Prince of
+Holstein, and enquired respecting each separately
+whether any of their Ministers had been with my
+husband. I gave the same answer as before to each
+question, that I was not aware that any one of them
+had been with him. Then he said, ‘Now, madame,
+confess! I beg you; remember Maréchal de Birron!
+you will not be asked again.’ I was somewhat tired of
+hearing Birron mentioned so often, and I answered
+rather hastily: ‘I do not care about the Maréchal<a class="pagenum" name="Page_126" id="Page_126" title="[Pg 126]"></a>
+de Birron; I cannot tell what I do not know anything
+about.’</p>
+
+<p>Secretary Krag had written somewhat hurriedly it
+seemed, for when at my desire he read aloud what
+he had written, the answers did not accord with the
+questions; this probably partly arose from hurry, and
+partly from malice, for he was not amicably inclined
+towards my late lord. I protested against this
+when he read the minutes. The chancellor agreed
+with me in every item, so that Krag was obliged to
+re-write it. After this they got up and took their
+leave. I requested to beg His Majesty the King to be
+gracious to me, and not to believe what he had been
+informed with regard to my husband. I could not
+imagine they would find that he had ever deviated
+from his duty. ‘Yes,’ answered Count Rantzow, ‘if
+you will confess, madame, and tell us who is concerned
+in this business and the details of it, you might perhaps
+find him a gracious lord and king.’ I protested by
+the living God that I knew nothing of it; I knew of
+nothing of the kind, much less of accomplices. With
+this they went away, after having spent nearly three
+hours with me, and then the prison governor and the
+women entered. They spread the table and brought
+up the meal, but I took nothing but a draught of beer.
+The prison governor sat down to table with the women.
+If he had been merry before, he was still more so now,
+and he told one indecent story after another.</p>
+
+<p>When they had had enough of feasting and talking
+he went away and locked the door; he came as usual
+again about four o’clock in the afternoon, and let the
+women go out, staying with me until they returned,
+which generally was not for two hours. When the
+women were alone with me, Anna told Catharina of her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_127" id="Page_127" title="[Pg 127]"></a>
+grief for her first husband, and nothing else was talked
+of. I behaved as if I were asleep, and I did the same
+when the prison governor was alone with me, and he
+then passed the time in singing and humming. The
+evening meal was also very merry for the women, for
+the prison governor amused them by telling them of his
+second marriage; how he had wooed without knowing
+whom, and that he did not know it until the betrothal.
+The story was as ludicrous as it was diffuse. I noticed
+that it lasted an hour and a quarter.</p>
+
+<p>When he had said good night, Anna sat down on
+my bed and began to talk to Catharina, and said,
+‘Was it not a horrible story of that treacherous design
+to murder the King and Queen and the whole royal
+family?’ Catharina answered, ‘Thank God the King
+and Queen and the whole family are still alive!’
+‘Yes,’ said Anna, ‘it was no merit of the traitors,
+though, that they are so; it was too quickly discovered;
+the King knew it three months before he
+would reveal it to the Queen. He went about sorrowfully,
+pondering over it, unable quite to believe it;
+afterwards, when he was quite certain of it, he told
+the Queen; then the body-guard were doubled, as
+you know.’ Catherina enquired how they had learnt
+it. Anna answered, ‘That God knows; it is kept so
+secret that no one is allowed as much as to ask from
+whom it came.’ I could not help putting in a word;
+it seemed to me a pity that they could not find out
+the informer, and it was remarkable that no one
+ventured to confess having given the information.
+Catherina said, ‘I wonder whether it is really true?’
+‘What do you mean?’ answered Anna; ‘would the
+King do as he is doing without knowing for certain
+that it is true? How can you talk so?’ I regarded<a class="pagenum" name="Page_128" id="Page_128" title="[Pg 128]"></a>
+this conversation as designed to draw some words
+from me, so I answered but little, only saying that until
+now I had seen nothing which gave credibility to the
+report, and that therefore I felt myself at liberty not to
+believe it until I saw certain proof of it. Anna adhered
+to her statement, wondered that there could be such
+evil people as could wish to murder the good King,
+and was very diffuse on the matter.<a name="FNanchor_E17" id="FNanchor_E17" href="#Footnote_E17" class="fnanchor">[E17]</a> She could be at
+no loss for material, for she always began again from
+the beginning; but at last she had to stop, since she
+spoke alone and was not interrupted either by Catharina
+or by me.</p>
+
+<p>I got up and requested to have my bed made,
+which Catharina always did. Anna attended to the
+light during the night, for she was more watchful than
+Catharina. I read aloud to them from Anna’s book,
+commended myself to God, and laid down to sleep.
+But my sleep was light, the promenades of the rats
+woke me, and there were great numbers of them.
+Hunger made them bold; they ate the candle as it
+stood burning. Catharina, moreover, was very uncomfortable
+all night, so that this also prevented my
+sleeping. Early on the morning of August 11 the
+prison governor came as usual with his brandy attentions,
+although they had a whole bottle with them. Catharina
+complained a good deal, and said she could not endure
+the oppressive air; that when she came in at the door it
+seemed as if it would stifle her; if she were to remain
+there a week she was certain that she would be carried
+out dead. The prison governor laughed at this.</p>
+
+<p>The women went away, and he remained with me.
+He presented me Major-General von Anfeldt’s compliments,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_129" id="Page_129" title="[Pg 129]"></a>
+and a message from him, that I ‘should be of
+good courage; all would now soon be well.’ I made
+no reply. He enquired how I was, and whether I had
+slept a little; and answered himself, ‘I fancy not much.’
+He asked whether I would have anything, again
+answering himself, ‘No, I do not think you wish for
+anything.’ Upon this he walked up and down, humming
+to himself; then he came to my bedside and said: ‘Oh,
+the dear King! he is indeed a kind master! Be at
+peace; he is a gracious sovereign, and has always held
+you in esteem. You are a woman, a weak instrument.
+Poor women are soon led away. No one likes to harm
+them, when they confess the truth. The dear Queen,
+she is indeed a dear Queen! She is not angry with
+you. I am sure if she knew the truth from you, she
+would herself pray for you. Listen! if you will write
+to the Queen and tell her all about the matter, and
+keep nothing back, I will bring you pen, ink, and
+paper. I have no wish, on my soul! to read it. No,
+God take me if I will look at it; and that you may be
+sure of this, I will give you wax that you may seal it.
+But I imagine you have probably no seal?’ As I
+answered him not a word, he seized my hand and shook
+it rather strongly, saying, ‘Do you not hear? Are
+you asleep?’ I raised my head threateningly; I should
+like to have given him a box on the ears, and I turned
+round to the wall.</p>
+
+<p>He was angry that his design had failed, and he
+went on grumbling to himself for more than an hour.
+I could not understand a word beyond, ‘Yes, yes!
+you will not speak.’ Then he muttered somewhat
+between his teeth: ‘You will not answer; well, well,
+they will teach you. Yes, by God! hum, hum, hum.’
+He continued thus until the tower warder, Rasmus,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_130" id="Page_130" title="[Pg 130]"></a>
+came and whispered something to him; then he went
+out. It seemed to me that there was someone speaking
+with him, and so far as I could perceive it must
+have been someone who asked him if the ink and
+paper should be brought up, for he answered, ‘No, it
+is not necessary; she will not.’ The other said,
+‘Softly, softly!’ The prison governor, however, could
+not well speak softly, and I heard him say, ‘She cannot
+hear that; she is in bed.’ When he came in again he
+went on muttering to himself, and stamped because I
+would not answer; he meant it kindly; the Queen was
+not so angry as I imagined. He went on speaking
+half aloud; he wished the women would come; he did
+nothing else but beg Rasmus to look for them.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after Rasmus came and said that they were
+now going up the King’s Stairs. Still almost an hour
+passed before they came in and released him. When
+they had their dinner (my own meal consisted of some
+slices of lemon with sugar) the prison governor was not
+nearly so merry as he was wont to be, though he
+chattered of various things that had occurred in former
+times, while he was a quarter-master. He also retired
+sooner than was his custom. The women, who remained,
+talked of indifferent matters. I also now and
+then put in a word, and asked them after their husbands
+and children. Anna read some prayers and hymns
+from her book, and thus the day passed till four o’clock,
+when the prison governor let them out. He had
+brought a book with him, which he read in a tolerably
+low tone, while he kept watch by me. I was well
+pleased at this, as it gave me rest.</p>
+
+<p>At the evening meal the prison governor began
+amongst other conversation to tell the women that a
+prisoner had been brought here who was a Frenchman;<a class="pagenum" name="Page_131" id="Page_131" title="[Pg 131]"></a>
+he could not remember his name; he sat cogitating
+upon the name just as if he could not rightly hit upon
+it. Carl or Char, he did not know what he was called,
+but he had been formerly several years in Denmark.
+Anna enquired what sort of a man he was. He replied
+that he was a man who was to be made to sing,<a name="FNanchor_63" id="FNanchor_63" href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a> but he
+did not know for a certainty whether he was here or
+not. (There was nothing in all this.) He only said
+this in order to get an opportunity of asking me, or to
+perceive whether it troubled me.</p>
+
+<p>He had undoubtedly been ordered to do this; for
+when he was gone Anna began a conversation with
+Catharina upon this same Carl, and at last asked
+me whether we had had a Frenchman in our employ.
+I replied that we had had more than one.
+She enquired further whether there was one among
+them named Carl, who had long been in our service.
+‘We had a servant,’ I answered, ‘a Frenchman
+named Charle; he had been with us a long time.’
+‘Yes, yes,’ she said, ‘it is he. But I do not think
+he has arrived here yet; they are looking for him.’
+I said, ‘Then he is easy to find, he was at Bruges
+when I left that town.’ Anna said she fancied he
+had been in England with me, and she added, ‘That
+fellow knows a good deal if they get him.’ I answered,
+‘Then it were to be wished that they had him for the
+sake of his information.’ When she perceived that I
+troubled myself no further about him she let the conversation
+drop, and spoke of my sister Elizabeth
+Augusta, saying that she passed her every day. She
+was standing in her gateway or sitting in the porch,
+and that she greeted her, but never uttered a word of<a class="pagenum" name="Page_132" id="Page_132" title="[Pg 132]"></a>
+enquiry after her sister, though she knew well that she
+was waiting on me in the Tower. I said I thought
+my sister did not know what would be the best for her
+to do. ‘I cannot see,’ said Anna, ‘that she is depressed.’
+I expressed my opinion that the less we grieved over
+things the better. Other trifles were afterwards talked
+of, and I concluded the day with reading, commended
+myself to the care of Jesus, and slept tolerably well
+through the night.</p>
+
+<p>August 12 passed without anything in particular
+occurring, only that Anna tried to trouble me by
+saying that a chamber next to us was being put in
+order, for whom she did not know; they were of
+course expecting someone in it. I could myself hear
+the masons at work. On the same day Catharina
+said that she had known me in prosperity, and blessed
+me a thousand times for the kindness I had shown
+her. I did not remember having ever seen her. She
+said she had been employed in the storeroom in the
+service of the Princess Magdalena Sybille, and that
+when I had visited the Princess, and had slept in the
+<a class="corr" name="corr_11" id="corr_11" title="was: Cstale">Castle</a>, I had sent a good round present for those in
+the storeroom, and that she had had a share in it, and
+that this she now remembered with gratitude. Anna
+was not pleased with the conversation, and she interrupted
+it three times; Catharina, however, did not
+answer her, but adhered to the subject till she had
+finished. The prison governor was not in good humour
+on this day also, so that neither at dinner nor at supper
+were any indecent stories related.</p>
+
+<p>On August 13, after the women had been into the
+town and had returned, the prison governor opened the
+door at about nine o’clock, and whispered something to
+them. He then brought in another small seat; from this<a class="pagenum" name="Page_133" id="Page_133" title="[Pg 133]"></a>
+I perceived that I was to be visited by one more than
+on the previous occasion. At about ten o’clock Count
+Rantzow, General Skack, Chancellor Retz, Treasurer
+Gabel, and Secretary Krag entered. They all saluted
+me with politeness; the four first seated themselves
+on low seats by my bedside, and Krag placed himself
+with his writing materials at the table. The Chancellor
+was spokesman, and said, ‘His royal Majesty, my
+gracious Sovereign and hereditary King, sends you
+word, madame, that his Majesty has great cause for
+all that he is doing, and that he entertains suspicions
+with regard to you that you are an accomplice in the
+treason designed by your husband; and his royal
+Majesty had hoped that you would confess without
+compulsion who have participated in it, and the real
+truth about it.’</p>
+
+<p>When the Chancellor ceased speaking, I replied
+that I was not aware that I had done anything
+which could render me suspected; and I called God
+to witness that I knew of no treason, and therefore
+I could mention no names. Count Rantzow said,
+‘Your husband has not concealed it from you, hence
+you know it well.’ I replied, ‘Had my husband
+entertained so evil a design, I believe surely he would
+have told me; but I can swear with a good conscience,
+before God in Heaven, that I never heard him speak
+of anything of the kind. Yes, I can truly say he
+never wished evil to the King in my hearing, and
+therefore I fully believe that this has been falsely
+invented by his enemies.’ Count Rantzow and the
+Chancellor bent their heads together across to the
+General, and whispered with each other for some time.
+At length the Chancellor asked me whether, if my
+husband were found guilty, I would take part in his<a class="pagenum" name="Page_134" id="Page_134" title="[Pg 134]"></a>
+condemnation. This was a remarkable question, so I
+reflected a little, and said, ‘If I may know on what
+grounds he is accused, I will answer to it so far as I
+know, and so much as I can.’ The Chancellor said,
+‘Consider well whether you will.’ I replied as before,
+that I would answer for him as to all that I knew, if
+I were informed of what he was accused. Count
+Rantzow whispered with Krag, and Krag went out, but
+returned immediately.</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterward some one (whom I do not know)
+came from the Chancellor’s office, bringing with him
+some large papers. Count Rantzow and the Chancellor
+whispered again. Then the Chancellor said,
+‘There is nothing further to do now than to let you
+know what sort of a husband you have, and to let
+you hear his sentence.’ Count Rantzow ordered the
+man who had brought in the papers to read them
+aloud. The first paper read was to the effect that
+Corfitz, formerly Count of Ulfeldt, had offered the
+kingdom of Denmark to a foreign sovereign, and had
+told the same sovereign that he had ecclesiastical and
+lay magnates on his side, so that it was easy for him
+to procure the crown of Denmark for the before-mentioned
+sovereign.</p>
+
+<p>A paper was then read which was the defence of
+the clergy, in which they protested that Corfitz, Count
+of Ulfeldt, had never had any communication with any
+of them; that he had at no time shown himself a friend
+of the clergy, and had far less offered them participation
+in his evil design. They assured his royal Majesty
+of their fidelity and subjection, &amp;c. Next, a paper was
+read, written by the Burgomaster and council in Copenhagen,
+nearly similar in purport, that they had had no
+correspondence with Count Corfitz Ulfeldt, and<a class="pagenum" name="Page_135" id="Page_135" title="[Pg 135]"></a>
+equally assuring his royal Majesty of their humble
+fidelity. Next followed the reading of the unprecedented
+and illegal sentence which, without a hearing,
+had been passed on my lord. This was as unexpected
+and grievous as it was disgraceful, and unjustifiable
+before God and all right-loving men. No documents
+were brought forward upon which the sentence had
+been given. There was nothing said about prosecution
+or defence; there was no other foundation but mere
+words; that he had been found guilty of having
+offered the crown of Denmark to a foreign sovereign,
+and had told him that he had on his side ecclesiastical
+and lay magnates, who had shown by their signed
+protestations that this was not the case, for which
+reason he had been condemned as a criminal.</p>
+
+<p>When the sentence with all the names subjoined to it
+had been read, the reader brought it to me, and placed
+it before me on the bed. Everyone can easily imagine
+how I felt; but few or none can conceive how it was
+that I was not stifled by the unexpected misery, and
+did not lose my sense and reason. I could not utter a
+word for weeping. Then a prayer was read aloud
+which had been pronounced from the pulpit, in which
+Corfitz was anathematised, and God was prayed not
+to allow his gray hair to go to the grave in peace.
+But God, who is just, did not listen to the impious
+prayer of the unrighteous, praised be His name for
+ever.</p>
+
+<p>When all had been read, I bemoaned with sighs
+and sorrowful tears that I had ever lived to see this
+sad day, and I begged them, for <a class="corr" name="corr_12" id="corr_12" title="was: Jesu’s">Jesus’</a> sake, that
+they would allow me to see on what the hard judgment
+was based. Count Rantzow answered, ‘You can well
+imagine, madame, that there are documents upon<a class="pagenum" name="Page_136" id="Page_136" title="[Pg 136]"></a>
+which we have acted: some of your friends are in the
+council.’ ‘May God better it!’ I said. ‘I beg you,
+for God’s sake, to let me see the documents. <span lang="fr">Les
+apparences sont bien souvent trompeuses</span>. What had
+not my husband to suffer from that Swede in Skaane,
+during that long imprisonment, because he was
+suspected of having corresponded with his Majesty,
+the King of Denmark, and with his Majesty’s
+ministers? Now, no one knows better than his
+Majesty, and you my good lords, how innocently he
+suffered at that time, and so this also may be apparently
+credible, and yet may not be so in truth.
+Might I not see the documents?’ To this no answer
+was given. I continued and said, ‘How is it possible
+that a man who must himself perceive that death is at
+hand should undertake such a work, and be so led
+away from the path of duty, when he did not do so at
+a time when he acknowledged no master, and when
+such great promises were made him by the Prince of
+Holstein, as the Prince’s letters show, which are now
+in his Majesty’s hands.’ Count Rantzow interrupted
+me and said, ‘We did not find those letters.’ ‘God
+knows,’ I replied, ‘they were there; of that I am
+certain.’ I said also, ‘At that time he might have
+done something to gratify a foreign sovereign; at that
+time he had power and physical vigour, and almost
+the entire government was in his hands; but he never
+looked to his own advantage, but pawned his own
+property to hasten the King’s coronation, so that no
+impediment might come between.<a name="FNanchor_64" id="FNanchor_64" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> This is his reward!<a class="pagenum" name="Page_137" id="Page_137" title="[Pg 137]"></a>
+Good gentlemen, take an example of me, you who
+have seen me in prosperity, and have compassion on
+me. Pray his royal Majesty to be mild, and not to
+proceed to such severity.’</p>
+
+<p>The Chancellor and Treasurer were moved by this,
+so that the tears came into their eyes. Count Rantzow
+said to the General and the Chancellor, ‘I think it is a
+fortnight ago since the sentence was published?’ The
+Chancellor answered, ‘It is seventeen days ago.’<a name="FNanchor_E18" id="FNanchor_E18" href="#Footnote_E18" class="fnanchor">[E18]</a> I
+said, ‘At that time I was still in England, and now I
+am asked for information on the matter! Oh, consider
+this, for God’s sake! and that there was no one present
+to speak on my husband’s behalf.’ Count Rantzow
+enquired whether I wished to appeal against it?<span class="corr" title="removed: ‘"></span> I
+replied, ‘How am I to appeal against a judicial
+decree? I only beg for <a class="corr" name="corr_13" id="corr_13" title="was: Jesu’s">Jesus’</a> sake that what I say
+may be considered, and that I may have the satisfaction
+of seeing the documents upon which the
+sentence is based.’</p>
+
+<p>Count Rantzow answered as before, that there
+were documents, and that some of my friends had
+sat in the council, and added that all had been agreed,
+and that not one had had anything to say against
+it. I dared not say what I thought. I knew well
+how matters are done in such absolute governments:
+there is no such thing as opposition, they merely
+say, ‘Sign, the King wishes it; and ask not wherefore,
+or the same condemnation awaits thee.’<a name="FNanchor_65" id="FNanchor_65" href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> I was<a class="pagenum" name="Page_138" id="Page_138" title="[Pg 138]"></a>
+silent, and bewailed my unhappiness, which was irremediable.
+When Krag read aloud the minutes he
+had written, namely, that when I was asked whether I
+would participate in my husband’s sentence, I had
+answered that I would consider of it. I asked, ‘How
+was that?’ The Chancellor immediately replied,
+‘No, she did not say so, but she requested to know
+the accusation brought against her husband.’ I repeated
+my words again,<a name="FNanchor_66" id="FNanchor_66" href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> I know not whether Krag
+wrote them or not; for a great part of that which I
+said was not written. Krag yielded too much to his
+feelings in the matter, and would gladly have made bad
+worse. He is now gone where no false writings avail;
+God took him away suddenly in an unclean place, and
+called him to judgment without warning. And Count
+Rantzow, who was the principal mover and inventor
+of that illegal sentence, the like of which was never
+known in Denmark, did not live to see his desire
+fulfilled in the execution of a wooden image.<a name="FNanchor_E19" id="FNanchor_E19" href="#Footnote_E19" class="fnanchor">[E19]</a> When
+this was done, they rose and shook hands with me.
+This painful visit lasted more than four hours.</p>
+
+<p>They went away, leaving me full of anxiety, sighing
+and weeping&mdash;a sad and miserable captive woman,
+forsaken by all; without help, exposed to power and
+violence, fearing every moment that her husband
+might fall into their hands, and that they might vent
+their malice on him. God performed on that day a
+great miracle, by manifesting His power in my weakness,
+preserving my brain from bewilderment, and my<a class="pagenum" name="Page_139" id="Page_139" title="[Pg 139]"></a>
+tongue from overflowing with impatience. Praised be
+God a thousand times! I will sing Thy praise, so
+long as my tongue can move, for Thou wast at this
+time and at all times my defence, my rock, and my
+shield!</p>
+
+<p>When the gentlemen were gone away, the prison
+governor came and the women, and a stool was
+spread by the side of my bed. The prison governor
+said to me, ‘Eat, Leonora; will you not eat?’ As
+he said this, he threw a knife to me on the bed. I
+took up the knife with angry mind, and threw it
+on the ground. He picked up the knife, saying,
+‘You are probably not hungry? No, no! you have
+had a breakfast to-day which has satisfied you, have
+you not? Is it not so?’ Well, well, come dear
+little women (addressing the two women), let us eat
+something! You must be hungry, judging from my
+own stomach.’ When they had sat down to table, he
+began immediately to cram himself, letting it fall as
+if inadvertently from his mouth, and making so many
+jokes that it was sad to see how the old man could
+not conceal his joy at my unhappiness.</p>
+
+<p>When the meal was finished, and the prison governor
+had gone away, Anna sat down by my bed
+and began to speak of the sorrow and affliction which
+we endure in this world, and of the joy and delights of
+heaven; how the pain that we suffer here is but small
+compared with eternal blessedness and joy, wherefore
+we should not regard suffering, but should rather think
+of dying with a good conscience, keeping it unsullied by
+confessing everything that troubles us, for there is no
+other way. ‘God grant,’ she added, ‘that no one may
+torment himself for another’s sake.’ After having
+repeated this remark several times, she said to me, ‘Is<a class="pagenum" name="Page_140" id="Page_140" title="[Pg 140]"></a>
+it not true, my lady?’ ‘Yes, certainly it is true,’ I
+replied; ‘you speak in a Christian manner, and according
+to the scriptures.’ ‘Why will you, then,’ she went on
+to say, ‘let yourself be tormented for others, and not
+say what you know of them?’ I asked whom she
+meant. She answered, ‘I do not know them.’ I
+replied, ‘Nor do I.’ She continued in the same strain,
+however, saying that she would not suffer and be tormented
+for the sake of others, whoever they might be;
+if they were guilty they must suffer; she would not
+suffer for them; a woman was easily led away, but
+happiness was more than all kindred and friends.</p>
+
+<p>As she seemed unable to cease chattering, I wished
+to divert her a little, so I asked whether she were a
+clergyman’s daughter; and since she had before told
+me of her parentage, she resented this question all the
+more, and was thoroughly angry; saying, ‘If I am not
+a clergyman’s daughter, I am the daughter of a good
+honest citizen, and not one of the least. In my time,
+when I was still unmarried, I never thought that I
+should marry a shoemaker.’ I said, ‘But your first
+husband, too, was also a shoemaker.’ ‘That is true,’
+she replied, ‘but this marriage came about in a very
+foolish manner,’ and she began to narrate a whole
+history of the matter, so that I was left in peace.
+Catharina paced up and down, and when Anna was
+silent for a little, she said, with folded hands, ‘O God,
+Thou who art almighty, and canst do everything, preserve
+this man for whom they are seeking, and never
+let him fall into the hands of his enemies. Oh God,
+hear me!’ Anna said angrily to her, ‘Catharina, do
+you know what you are saying? How can you speak
+so?’ Catharina answered, ‘Yes, I know well what I
+am saying. God preserve him, and let him never fall<a class="pagenum" name="Page_141" id="Page_141" title="[Pg 141]"></a>
+into the hands of his enemies. Jesus, be Thou his
+guide!’ She uttered these words with abundant tears.
+Anna said, ‘I think that woman is not in her senses.’
+Catharina’s kind wish increased my tears, and I said,
+‘Catharina shows that she is a true Christian, and
+sympathises with me; God reward her, and hear her
+and me!’ Upon this Anna was silent, and has not
+been so talkative ever since. O God, Thou who art a
+recompenser of all that is good, remember this in
+favour of Catharina, and as Thou heardest her at that
+time, hear her prayer in future, whatever may be her
+request! And you, my dear children, know that if
+ever fortune so ordains it that you can be of any
+service either to her or her only son, you are bound to
+render it for my sake; for she was a comfort to me in
+my greatest need, and often took an opportunity to say
+a word which she thought would alleviate my sorrow.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor came as usual, about four o’clock,
+and let the women out, seating himself on the bench and
+placing the high stool with the candle in front of him.
+He had brought a book with him, and read aloud
+prayers for a happy end, prayers for the hour of death,
+and prayers for one suffering temporal punishment for
+his misdeeds. He did not forget a prayer for one who
+is to be burnt; in reading this he sighed, so religious
+had he grown in the short time. When he had read
+all the prayers, he got up and walked up and down,
+singing funeral hymns; when he knew no more, he
+began again with the first, till the women released him.
+Catharina complained that her son had been ill, and
+was greatly grieved about it. I entered into her
+sorrow, and said that she ought to mention her son’s
+illness to the Queen, and then another would probably
+be appointed in her place; and I begged her to<a class="pagenum" name="Page_142" id="Page_142" title="[Pg 142]"></a>
+compose herself, as the child would probably be better
+again. During the evening meal the prison governor
+was very merry, and related all sorts of coarse stories.
+When he was gone, Anna read the evening prayer. I
+felt very ill during this night, and often turned about
+in bed; there was a needle in the bed, with which I
+scratched myself; I got it out, and still have it.<a name="FNanchor_67" id="FNanchor_67" href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a></p>
+
+<p>On August 14, when the prison governor opened the
+door early, the women told him that I had been very ill
+in the night. ‘Well, well,’ he answered, ‘it will soon
+be better.’ And when the women were ready to go to
+the Queen (which they were always obliged to do),
+Anna said to Catharina, outside the door, ‘What shall
+we say to the Queen?’ Catharina answered: ‘What
+shall we say, but that she is silent and will say nothing!’
+‘You know very well that the Queen is displeased at
+it.’ ‘Nevertheless, we cannot tell a lie;’ answered
+Catharina; ‘she says nothing at all, so it would be a
+sin.’<a name="FNanchor_68" id="FNanchor_68" href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> Catharina came back to the mid-day meal, and
+said that the Queen had promised to appoint another
+in her stead; in the afternoon, she managed secretly
+to say a word to me about the next chamber, which
+she imagined was being put in readiness for me and
+for no one else; she bid me good night, and promised
+to remember me constantly in her prayers. I thanked
+her for her good services, and for her kind feeling
+towards me.</p>
+
+<p>About four o’clock the prison governor let her
+and Anna out. He sang one hymn after another,
+went to the stairs, and the time appeared long to him,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_143" id="Page_143" title="[Pg 143]"></a>
+till six o’clock, when Anna returned with Maren Blocks.
+At the evening meal the prison governor again told
+stories of his marriage, undoubtedly for the sake of
+amusing Maren. Anna left me alone, and I lay quiet
+in silence. Maren could not find an opportunity of
+speaking with me the whole evening, on account of
+Anna. Nothing particular happened on August 15
+and 16.</p>
+
+<p>When the prison governor let out Anna in the
+morning and afternoon, Maren Blocks remained with
+me, and the prison governor went his own way and
+locked the door, so that Maren had opportunity of
+talking with me alone. She told me different things;
+among others, that the Queen had given my clothes
+to the three women who had undressed me, that
+they might distribute them amongst themselves. She
+asked me whether I wished to send a message to
+my sister Elizabeth. I thanked her, but said that I
+had nothing good to tell her. I asked Maren for
+needles and thread, in order to test her. She replied
+she would gladly procure them for me if she dared, but
+that it would risk her whole well-being if the Queen
+should know it; for she had so strictly forbidden
+that anyone should give me either pins or needles.
+I inquired ‘For what reason?’ ‘For this reason,’
+she replied, ‘that you may not kill yourself.’ I assured
+her that God had enlightened me better than that I
+should be my own murderer. I felt that my cross
+came from the hand of the Lord, that He was chastising
+me as His child; He would also help me to bear
+it; I trusted in Him to do so. ‘Then I hope, dear
+heart,’ said Maren, ‘that you will not kill yourself; then
+you shall have needles and thread; but what will you
+sew?’ I alleged that I wished to sew some buttons on<a class="pagenum" name="Page_144" id="Page_144" title="[Pg 144]"></a>
+my white night-dress, and I tore off a pair, in order to
+show her afterwards that I had sewn them on.</p>
+
+<p>Now it happened that I had sewn up some ducats in
+a piece of linen round my knee; these I had kept, as I
+pulled off the stockings myself when they undressed me,
+and Anna had at my desire given me a rag, as I pretended
+that I had hurt my leg. I sewed this rag over
+the leather. They all imagined that I had some secret
+malady, for I lay in the linen petticoat they had given
+me, and went to bed in my stockings. Maren imagined
+that I had an issue on one leg, and she confided to me
+that a girl at the court, whom she mentioned by name,
+and who was her very good friend, had an issue of
+which no one knew but herself, not even the woman
+who made her bed. I thought to myself, you keep
+your friend’s secret well; I did not, however, make her
+any wiser, but let her believe in this case whatever she
+would. I was very weak on those two days, and as I
+took nothing more than lemon and beer, my stomach
+became thoroughly debilitated and refused to retain
+food. When Maren told the prison governor of this,
+he answered, ‘All right, her heart is thus getting rid of
+its evil.’ Anna was no longer so officious, but the
+prison governor was as merry as ever.</p>
+
+<p>On August 17 the prison governor did not open the
+door before eight o’clock, and Anna asked him how it
+was that he had slept so long. He joked a little; presently
+he drew her to the door and whispered with her.
+He went out and in, and Anna said so loudly to Maren,
+that I could hear it (although she spoke as if she were
+whispering), ‘I am so frightened that my whole body
+trembles, although it does not concern me. Jesus keep
+me! I wish I were down below!’ Maren looked sad,
+but she neither answered nor spoke a word. Maren<a class="pagenum" name="Page_145" id="Page_145" title="[Pg 145]"></a>
+came softly up to my bed and said, ‘I am sure some
+one is coming to you.’ I answered, ‘Let him come,
+in God’s name.’ Presently I heard a running up and
+down stairs, and also overhead, for the Commissioners
+came always through the apartments, in order not to
+cross the square. My doors were closed again. Each
+time that some one ran by on the stairs, Anna shuddered
+and said, ‘I quite tremble.’</p>
+
+<p>This traffic lasted till about eleven. When the
+prison governor opened the door, he said to me,
+‘Leonora, you are to get up and go to the gentlemen.’
+God knows that I could hardly walk, and Anna
+frightened me by saying to Maren, ‘Oh! the poor
+creature!’ Maren’s hands trembled when she put
+on my slippers. I could not imagine anything else
+than that I was to be tortured, and I consoled myself
+with thinking that my pain could not last long,
+for my body was so weary that it seemed as if God
+might at any moment take me away. When Maren
+fastened the apron over my long dress, I said: ‘They
+are indeed sinning heavily against me; may God
+give me strength.’ The prison governor hurried me,
+and when I was ready, he took me by the arm and
+led me. I would gladly have been free of his help,
+but I could not walk alone. He conducted me up to
+the next story, and there sat Count Rantzow, Skack,
+Retz, Gabel, and Krag, round the table.</p>
+
+<p>They all rose when I entered, and I made them
+a reverence as well as I was able. A small low seat
+had been placed for me in the middle, in front of
+the table. The Chancellor asked me whether I had
+not had more letters than those taken from me in
+England. I answered that I had not had more; that
+all my letters had been then taken from me. He<a class="pagenum" name="Page_146" id="Page_146" title="[Pg 146]"></a>
+asked further, whether I had at that time destroyed
+any letters. ‘Yes,’ I answered, ‘one I tore in two,
+and threw it in a closet.’ ‘Why did you do so?’
+enquired Count Rantzow. ‘Because’ I replied, ‘there
+were cyphers in it; and although they were of
+no importance, I feared, notwithstanding, that they
+might excite suspicion.’ Count Rantzow said: ‘Supposing
+the pieces were still forthcoming?’ ‘That were
+to be wished,’ I replied, ‘for then it could be seen that
+there was nothing suspicious in it, and it vexed me
+afterwards that I had torn it in two.’ Upon this the
+Chancellor drew forth a sheet of paper upon which,
+here and there, pieces of this very letter were pasted,
+and handed it to Krag, who gave it to me. Count
+Rantzow asked me if it were not my husband’s handwriting.
+I answered that it was. He said: ‘A part
+of the pieces which you tore in two have been found,
+and a part are lost. All that has been found has been
+collected and copied.’ He then asked the Chancellor
+for the copy, who gave it to Count Rantzow, and he
+handed it to me, saying, ‘See there what is wanting,
+and tell us what it is that is missing.’ I took it, and
+looked over it and said: ‘In some places, where there
+are not too many words missing, I think I can guess
+what is lost, but where a whole sentence is wanting, I
+cannot know.’</p>
+
+<p>Most of the letter had been collected without
+loss of intervening pieces, and it all consisted of mirth
+and jest. He was telling me that he had heard from
+Denmark that the Electoral Prince of Saxony was to
+be betrothed with the Princess of Denmark;<a name="FNanchor_E20" id="FNanchor_E20" href="#Footnote_E20" class="fnanchor">[E20]</a> and he
+joked, saying that they would grease their throats and
+puff out their cheeks in order that with good grace<a class="pagenum" name="Page_147" id="Page_147" title="[Pg 147]"></a>
+and voice they might duly trumpet forth each their
+own titles, and more of the same kind, all in high
+colouring. He described the way in which Count
+Rantzow contrived to let people know his titles; when
+he had a dinner-party, there was a man employed to
+read aloud his titles to the guests, asking first each
+separately, whether he knew his titles; if there was
+anyone who did not know them, the secretary must
+forthwith come and read them aloud.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed that Count Rantzow referred all this to
+himself, for he asked me what my husband meant by
+it. I replied that I did not know that he meant anything
+but what he had written; he meant undoubtedly those
+who did such things. The Chancellor averted his face
+from Count Rantzow, and his lips smiled a little; Gabel
+also did the same. Among other things there were
+some remarks about the Electoral Prince, that he probably
+cherished the hope of inheriting the Crown of
+Denmark; ‘<span lang="fr">mais j’espère ... cela ne se fera point</span>.’
+Count Rantzow enquired as to the words which were
+wanting. I said, if I remembered rightly, the words
+had been, ‘<span lang="fr">qu’en 300 ans</span>.’ He enquired further as
+to the expressions lacking here and there, some of
+which I could not remember exactly, though they were
+of no importance. I expressed my opinion that they
+could easily gather what was wanting from the preceding
+and following words; it was sufficiently evident
+that all was jest, and this was apparent also to Gabel,
+who said, ‘<span lang="fr">Ce n’est que raillerie</span>.’ But Count Rantzow
+and the General would not allow it to pass as jest.</p>
+
+<p>Skack said: ‘One often means something else under
+the cloak of jest, and names are used when others are
+intended.’ For in the letter there was something said
+about drinking out; there was also an allusion made to<a class="pagenum" name="Page_148" id="Page_148" title="[Pg 148]"></a>
+the manners of the Swiss at table, and all the titles of
+the canton nobles were enumerated, from which Skack
+thought that the names of the cities might have
+another signification. I did not answer Skack; but as
+Count Rantzow continued to urge me to say what my
+husband had meant by it, I replied that I could not
+know whether he had had another meaning than that
+which was written. Skack shook his head and thought
+he had, so I said: ‘I know no country where the same
+customs are in vogue at meals as in Switzerland; if
+there are other places where the same customs prevail,
+he may perhaps have meant these also, for he is only
+speaking of drinking.’</p>
+
+<p>Gabel said again, ‘It is only jest.’ The cyphers,
+for the sake of which I had torn the letter in two,
+were fortunately complete, and nothing was missing.
+Count Rantzow gave me a sheet of paper, to which
+pieces of my lord’s letter were pasted, and asked
+me what the cyphers meant. I replied, ‘I have
+not the key, and cannot solve them out of my
+head.’ He expressed his opinion that I could do it.
+I said I could not. ‘Well, they have been read,’ he
+said, ‘and we know what they signify.’ ‘All the
+better,’ I answered. Upon this, he gave me the interpretation
+to read, and the purport of it was that our
+son had written from Rome, asking for money, which
+was growing short, for the young nobleman was not at
+home. I gave the paper back to Count Rantzow without
+saying anything. Count Rantzow requested the
+Treasurer that he should read the letter, and Rantzow
+began again with his questions wherever anything was
+wanting, requesting that I should say what it was. I
+gave him the same answer as before; but when in one
+passage, where some words were missing, he pressed<a class="pagenum" name="Page_149" id="Page_149" title="[Pg 149]"></a>
+me hard to say them, and it was evident from the
+context that they were ironical (since an ironical word
+was left written), I said: ‘You can add as much of the
+same kind as pleases you, if one is not enough; I do
+not know them.’ Gabel again said, ‘<span lang="fr">Ce n’est que
+raillerie</span>.’<a name="FNanchor_E21" id="FNanchor_E21" href="#Footnote_E21" class="fnanchor">[E21]</a></p>
+
+<p>No further questions were then made respecting
+the letters; but Count Rantzow enquired as to my
+jewels, and asked where the large diamond was
+which my husband had received in France.<a name="FNanchor_E22" id="FNanchor_E22" href="#Footnote_E22" class="fnanchor">[E22]</a> I replied
+that it had long been sold. He further asked where
+my large drop pearls where, which I had worn as a
+feather on my hat, and where my large pearl head-ornament
+was. ‘All these,’ I replied, ‘have long been
+sold.’ He asked further whether I had then no more
+jewels. I answered, ‘I have none now.’ ‘I mean,’
+he said, <span class="corr" title="added: ‘">‘</span>elsewhere.’ I replied, ‘I left some behind.’
+‘Where, then?’ he asked. ‘At Bruges,’ I replied.
+Then he said: ‘I have now somewhat to ask you,
+madame, that concerns myself. Did you visit my
+sister in Paris the last time you were there?’ I replied,
+‘Yes.’ He asked whether I had been with her in the
+convent, and what was the name of the convent. I
+informed him that I had been in the convent, and that
+it was the Convent des Filles Bleues. At this he
+nodded, as if to confirm it. He also wished to know
+whether I had seen her. I said that no one in the
+convent might be seen by anyone but parents; even
+brothers and sisters were not allowed to see them.<a name="FNanchor_E23" id="FNanchor_E23" href="#Footnote_E23" class="fnanchor">[E23]</a>
+‘That is true,’ he said, and then rose and gave me his
+hand. I begged him to induce his gracious Majesty
+to have pity on me, but he made no answer. When<a class="pagenum" name="Page_150" id="Page_150" title="[Pg 150]"></a>
+the Treasurer Gabel gave me his hand, I begged the
+same favour of him. He replied, ‘Yes, if you will
+confess,’ and went out without waiting for a reply.</p>
+
+<p>For more than three hours they had kept up the interrogation.
+Then the prison governor came in and said
+to me: ‘Now you are to remain in here; it is a beautiful
+chamber, and has been freshly whitewashed; you may
+now be contented.’ Anna and Maren also came in.
+God knows, I was full of care, tired and weary, and
+had insufferable headache; yet, before I could go to
+rest, I had to sit waiting until the bedstead had been
+taken out of the ‘Dark Church’ and brought hither.
+Anna occupied herself meanwhile in the Dark Church,
+in scraping out every hole; she imagined she might
+find something there, but in vain. The woman who
+was to remain with me alone then came in. Her pay
+was two rix-dollars a week; her name is Karen, the
+daughter of Ole. After the prison governor had supped
+with the woman and Maren, Anna and Maren Blocks
+bade me good night; the latter exhibited great affection.
+The prison governor bolted two doors before my innermost
+prison. In the innermost door there is a square
+hole, which is secured with iron cross-bars. The prison
+governor was going to attach a lock to this hole, but he
+forebore at Karen’s request, for she said she could not
+breathe if this hole were closed. He then affixed locks
+to the door of the outer chamber, and to the door leading
+to the stairs; he had, therefore, four locks and
+doors twice a day to lock and unlock.</p>
+
+<p>I will here describe my prison. It is a chamber,
+seven of my paces long and six wide; there are in
+it two beds, a table, and two stools. It was freshly
+whitewashed, which caused a terrible smell; the floor,
+moreover was so thick with dirt, that I imagined it<a class="pagenum" name="Page_151" id="Page_151" title="[Pg 151]"></a>
+was of loam, though it was really laid with bricks. It
+is eighteen feet high, with a vaulted ceiling, and
+very high up is a window which is two feet square.
+In front of it are double thick iron bars, besides a
+wire-work, which is so close that one could not put
+one’s little finger into the holes. This wire-work had
+been thus ordered with great care by Count Rantzow
+(so the prison governor afterwards told me), so that
+no pigeons might bring in a letter&mdash;a fact which
+he had probably read in a novel as having happened.
+I was weak and deeply grieved in my heart; I looked
+for a merciful deliverance, and an end to my sorrow,
+and I sat silent and uncomplaining, answering little
+when the woman spoke to me. Sometimes in my
+reverie I scratched at the wall, which made the woman
+imagine that I was confused in my head; she told this
+to the prison governor, who reported it to the Queen,
+and during every meal-time, when the door was open,
+she never failed to send messengers to enquire how it
+fared with me, what I said, and what I was doing.</p>
+
+<p>The woman had, however, not much to tell in obedience
+to the oath she, according to her own statement,
+had taken in the presence of the prison governor. But
+afterwards she found some means to ingratiate herself.
+And as my strength daily decreased, I rejoiced at the
+prospect of my end, and on August 21 I sent for the
+prison governor, and requested him to apply for a
+clergyman who could give me the sacrament. This was
+immediately granted, and His Majesty’s Court preacher,
+Magister Mathias Foss, received orders to perform for
+me the duties of his office, and exhorted me, both on
+behalf of his office and in consequence of the command
+he had received, not to burden my conscience; I might
+rest assured, he said, that in this world I should never<a class="pagenum" name="Page_152" id="Page_152" title="[Pg 152]"></a>
+see my husband again, and he begged me to say what
+I knew of the treason. I could scarcely utter a word
+for weeping; but I said that I could attest before God
+in heaven, from whom nothing is hidden, that I knew
+nothing of this treason. I knew well I should never
+see my husband again in this life; I commended him
+to the Almighty, who knew my innocence; I prayed
+God only for a blessed end and departure from this
+evil world; I desired nothing from the clergyman but
+that he should remember me in his prayers, that God
+might by death put an end to my affliction. The
+clergyman promised faithfully to grant my request.
+It has not pleased God to hear me in this: He has
+willed to prove my faith still further, by sending to me
+since this time much care, affliction, and adversity.
+He has helped me also to bear the cross, and has
+Himself supported its heaviest end; His name be
+praised for ever. When I had received the Lord’s
+Supper, M. Foss comforted me and bid me farewell.</p>
+
+<p>I lay silently for three days after this, taking little
+or nothing. The prison governor often enquired
+whether I wished for anything to eat or drink, or
+whether he should say anything to the King. I
+thanked him, but said I required nothing.</p>
+
+<p>On August 25 the prison governor importuned me at
+once with his conversation, expressing his belief that I
+entertained an evil opinion of the Queen. He inferred
+it from this: the day before he had said to me that
+His Majesty had ordered that whatever I desired from
+the kitchen and cellar should be at once brought to
+me, to which I had answered, ‘God preserve His
+Majesty; he is a good sovereign; may he show clemency
+to evil men!’ He had then said, ‘The Queen is also
+good,’ to which I had made no answer. He had then<a class="pagenum" name="Page_153" id="Page_153" title="[Pg 153]"></a>
+tried to turn the conversation to the Queen, and to hear
+if he could not draw out a word from me; he had said:
+‘The Queen is sorry for you that you have been so
+led away. It grieves her that you have willed your
+own unhappiness; she is not angry; she pities you.’
+And when I made no answer, he repeated it again,
+saying from time to time, ‘Yes, yes, my dear lady, it is
+as I say.’ I was annoyed at the talk, and said, ‘<span lang="fr">Dieu
+vous punisse</span>!’ ‘Ho, ho!’ he said, misinterpreting my
+words, and calling Karen, he went out and closed the
+doors. Thus unexpectedly I got rid of him. It was
+ridiculous that the woman now wanted to oblige me to
+attend to what the prison governor had said. I begged
+her to remember that she was now not attending on a
+child (she had before been nurse to children). She
+could not so easily depart from her habit, and for a
+long time treated me as a child, until at length I made
+her comprehend that this was not required.</p>
+
+<p>When I perceived that my stomach desired food and
+could retain it, I became impatient that I could not die,
+but must go on living in such misery. I began to
+dispute with God, and wanted to justify myself with
+Him. It seemed to me that I had not deserved such
+misfortune. I imagined myself far purer than David
+was from great sins, and yet he could say, ‘Verily I
+have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands
+in innocency. For all the day long have I been
+plagued, and chastened every morning.’ I thought I
+had not deserved so exceedingly great a chastisement
+as that which I was receiving. I said with Job,
+‘Show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it
+good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou
+shouldest despise the work of thine hands?’ I repeated
+all Job’s expressions when he tried to justify himself,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_154" id="Page_154" title="[Pg 154]"></a>
+and it seemed to me that I could justly apply them to
+myself. I cursed with him and Jeremiah the day of
+my birth, and was very impatient; keeping it, however,
+to myself, and not expressing it aloud. If at times a
+word escaped me, it was in German (since I had
+generally read the Bible in German), and therefore the
+woman did not understand what I was saying. I was
+very restless from coughing, and turned from side to
+side on the bed. The woman often asked me how I
+was. I begged her to leave me quiet and not to speak
+to me. I was never more comfortable than in the
+night when I observed that she was sleeping; then,
+unhindered, I could let my tears flow and give free
+vent to my thoughts. Then I called God to account.
+I enumerated everything that I had innocently suffered
+and endured during my life, and I enquired of God
+whether I had deviated from my duty? Whether I
+ought to have done less for my husband than I had
+done? Whether the present was my recompense for
+not having left him in his adversity? Whether I was
+to be now tortured, tormented, and scorned for this?
+Whether all the indescribable misfortunes which I had
+endured with him were not enough, that I had been
+reserved for this irremediable and great trouble? I do
+not wish to conceal my unreasonableness. I will confess
+my sins. I asked if still worse misfortunes were in store
+for me for which I was to live? Whether there was any
+affliction on earth to be compared to mine? I prayed
+God to put an end to my sufferings, for it redounded in
+no wise to his honour to let me live and be so tormented.
+I was after all not made of steel and iron, but of flesh
+and blood. I prayed that He would suggest to me, or
+inform me in a dream, what I was to do to shorten my
+misery.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_155" id="Page_155" title="[Pg 155]"></a>
+When I had long thus disputed and racked my
+brains, and had also wept so bitterly that it seemed
+as if no more tears remained, I fell asleep, but
+awoke with terror, for I had horrible fancies in my
+dreams, so that I feared to sleep, and began again to
+bewail my misery. At length God looked down upon
+me with his eye of mercy, so that on August 31 I had
+a night of quiet sleep, and just as day was dawning I
+awoke with the following words on my lips: ‘My son,
+faint not when thou art rebuked of the Lord; for whom
+the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every
+son whom he receiveth.’ I uttered the last words
+aloud, thinking that the woman was sleeping; possibly
+she awoke at the moment, and she asked me whether
+I wished for anything. I answered ‘No.’ ‘You were
+speaking,’ she said, ‘and you mentioned your stockings;
+I could not understand the rest.’ I replied, ‘It must
+have been then in my sleep. I wish for nothing.’</p>
+
+<p>I then lay quietly thinking. I perceived and confessed
+my folly, that I, who am only dust and ashes, and
+decay, and am only fit for the dunghill, should call God
+to account, should dispute with my Creator and his
+decrees, and should wish to censure and question them.
+I began to weep violently, and I prayed fervently and
+from my heart for mercy and forgiveness. While I
+had before boasted with David, and been proud of my
+innocence, now I confessed with him that before God
+there is none that doeth good; no, not one. While
+before I had spoken foolishly with Job, I now said
+with him that I had ‘uttered that I understood not;
+things too wonderful for me which I knew not.’ I
+besought God to have mercy on me, relying on his
+great compassion. I cited Moses, Joshua, David,
+Jeremiah, Job, Jonah, and others, all highly endowed<a class="pagenum" name="Page_156" id="Page_156" title="[Pg 156]"></a>
+men, and yet so weak that in the time of calamity they
+grumbled and murmured against God. I prayed that
+He would in his mercy forgive me, the frailest of
+earthen vessels, as I could not after all be otherwise
+than as He had created me. All things were in his
+power; it was easy to Him to give me patience, as He
+had before imparted to me power and courage to endure
+hard blows and shocks. And I prayed God (after
+asking forgiveness of my sins) for nothing else than
+good patience to await the period of my deliverance.
+God graciously heard me. He pardoned not only my
+foolish sins, but He gave me that also for which I had
+not prayed, for day by day my patience increased.
+While I had often said with David, ‘Will the Lord
+cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?
+Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise
+fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious?
+Hath He in anger shut up his tender mercies?’ I now
+continued with him, ‘This is my infirmity, but I will
+remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.’
+I said also with Psalm cxix.: ‘It is good for me that I
+have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.’</p>
+
+<p>The power of God was working within me. Many
+consolatory sentences from the Holy Scriptures came
+into my mind; especially these:&mdash;‘If so be that we suffer
+with Christ, that we may be also glorified together.’
+Also: ‘We know that all things work together for
+good to them that love God.’ Also: ‘My grace is
+sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect
+in weakness.’ I thought especially often of Christ’s
+words in St. Luke, ‘Shall not God avenge his own
+elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he
+bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge
+them speedily.’ I felt in my trouble how useful it is<a class="pagenum" name="Page_157" id="Page_157" title="[Pg 157]"></a>
+to have learned psalms and passages from the Bible in
+youth. Believe me, my children, that it has been a
+great consolation to me in my misery. Therefore,
+cultivate now in your youth what your parents taught
+you in childhood; now, while trouble visits you less
+severely, so that when it comes, you may be ready to
+receive it and to comfort yourselves with the Word of
+God.</p>
+
+<p>I began by degrees to feel more at peace, and to speak
+with the woman, and to answer the prison governor when
+he addressed me. The woman told me sundry things, and
+said that the prison governor had ordered her to tell him
+everything that I spoke or did, but that she was too wise
+to do such a thing; that she understood now better than
+she had done at first how to behave. He went out, but
+she remained shut up with me, and she would be true
+to me. And as it appeared that I did not at once believe
+what she said, she swore it solemnly, and prayed God to
+punish her if ever she acted falsely towards me. She
+stroked and patted my hand, and laid it against her
+cheek, and begged that I would believe her, using the
+words, ‘My dearest lady, you can believe me; as truly
+as I am a child of God, I will never deceive you! Now,
+is not that enough?’ I answered, ‘I will believe you;’
+thinking at the same time that I would do and say
+nothing but what she might divulge. She was very
+glad that she had induced me to speak, and said,
+‘When you lay so long silent, and I had no one with
+whom I could speak, I was sad, and determined that I
+would not long lead this life, even if they gave me
+double as much, for I should have become crazed. I
+was afraid for you, but still more for myself, that my
+head would give way.’</p>
+
+<p>She went on talking in this way, introducing also<a class="pagenum" name="Page_158" id="Page_158" title="[Pg 158]"></a>
+various merry stories. When she was young she
+had been in the service of a clergyman, who encouraged
+his domestics in the fear of God, and there
+she had learned prayers and sentences from the Bible
+by heart; she knew also the Children’s Primer,
+with the explanatory remarks, and sang tolerably
+well. She knew in some measure how she should
+walk before God and behave towards her neighbour;
+but she acted contrary to her knowledge&mdash;for she had
+a malicious temper. She was an elderly woman,
+but she liked to reckon herself as middle-aged. It
+appeared that in her youth she had been pretty and
+rather dissolute, since even now she could not lay
+aside her levity, but joked with the tower-warder, and
+the prison governor’s coachman, a man of the name of
+Peder, and with a prisoner named Christian (more will
+presently be said with regard to this prisoner; he was
+free to go about the tower).<a name="FNanchor_69" id="FNanchor_69" href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p>
+
+<p>Maren Blocks often sent me a message through
+this coachman, besides various kinds of candied sugar
+and citron, letting me know from time to time whether
+anything new was occurring. All this had to be
+done through the woman. One day she came in when
+the doors were closed, and brought me a message
+from Maren Blocks, saying, ‘My lady, if you will
+now write to your children in Skaane, there is a
+safe opportunity for you to do so.’ I answered, ‘My
+children are not in Skaane, yet if I can send a message
+to Skaane, I have a friend there who will probably let
+me know how it fares with my children.’ She gave
+me a piece of crumpled paper and a pencil. I wrote a<a class="pagenum" name="Page_159" id="Page_159" title="[Pg 159]"></a>
+few words to F. Margrete Rantzow,<a name="FNanchor_E24" id="FNanchor_E24" href="#Footnote_E24" class="fnanchor">[E24]</a> saying that she
+probably knew of my miserable condition, but supposing
+that her friendship was not lessened by it, and begging
+her to let me know how my children were, and from
+what cause they had come to Skaane, as I had been
+informed was the case, though I did not believe it.
+This was what I wrote and gave to the woman. I
+heard nothing further of it, and I imagine that she
+had been ordered to find out to whom I wrote, &amp;c.
+(They have been busy with the idea that some of you,
+my dear children, might come to Skaane.) I sewed
+up the letter or slip of paper in such a manner that it
+could not be opened without making it apparent. I
+asked the woman several times if she knew whether
+the letter had been sent away. She always answered
+that she did not know, and that with a morose expression,
+and at last she said (when I once more asked her
+to enquire of Peder), ‘I suppose that the person who
+ought to have it has got it.’ This answer made me
+reflect, and since then I asked no further.</p>
+
+<p>I remained all this time in bed, partly because I had
+nothing with which to beguile the time, and partly
+because of the cold, for no stove was placed in my
+prison till after the New Year. Occasionally I requested
+the woman to manage, through Peder, that
+I should have a little silk or thread, that I might
+beguile the time by embroidering a piece of cloth that
+I had; but the answer I received was that he dared
+not. A long time afterwards it came to my knowledge
+that she had never asked Peder for it. There was
+trouble enough, however, to occupy my thoughts without
+my needing to employ the time in handiwork.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_160" id="Page_160" title="[Pg 160]"></a>
+It was on September 2 that I heard some one
+moving early overhead, so I asked the woman if
+she knew whether there was a chamber there (for the
+woman went up every Saturday with the night-stool).
+She answered that there was a prison there like this,
+and outside was the rack (which is also the case).
+She observed that I showed signs of fear, and she
+said, ‘God help! Whoever it is that is up there is
+most assuredly to be tortured.’ I said, ‘Ask Peder,
+when the doors are unlocked, whether there is a
+prisoner there.’ She said she would do so, and
+meanwhile she kept asking herself and me who it
+might be. I could not guess; still less did I venture
+to confess my fear to her, which she nevertheless
+perceived, and therefore increased; for after she had
+spoken with Peder, about noon,<a name="FNanchor_70" id="FNanchor_70" href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a> and the doors were
+locked, she said, ‘God knows who it is that is imprisoned
+there! Peder would tell me nothing.’ She said
+the same at the evening meal, but added that she had
+asked him, and that he would give no answer. I
+calmed myself, as I heard no more footsteps above, and
+I said, ‘There is no prisoner up there.’<a name="FNanchor_71" id="FNanchor_71" href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> ‘How do
+you know that?’ she asked. ‘I gather it from the
+fact,’ I said, ‘that since this morning I have heard no
+one above; I think if there were anyone there, they
+would probably give him something to eat.’ She was
+not pleased that my mind was quieted, and therefore
+she and Peder together endeavoured to trouble me.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day, when the doors were being
+locked after the mid-day dinner (which was generally
+Peder’s task), and he was pulling to my innermost door,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_161" id="Page_161" title="[Pg 161]"></a>
+which opens inside, he put in his head and said, ‘<span class="sic" title="[sic]">Casset</span>!’
+She was standing beside the door, and appeared
+as if she had not rightly understood him, saying, ‘Peder
+spoke of some one who is in prison, but I could not
+understand who it is.’ I understood him at once, but
+also behaved as if I had not. No one knows but God
+what a day and night I had. I turned it over in my
+mind. It often seemed to me that it might be that
+they had seized him, although Cassetta was a subject
+of the King of Spain; for if treason is suspected, there
+is no thought given as to whose subject the man suspected
+may be. I lay in the night secretly weeping
+and lamenting that the brave man should have come
+into trouble for my sake, because he had executed my
+lord’s will, and had followed me to England, where
+we parted, I should say, when Petcon and his company
+separated us and carried me away.</p>
+
+<p>I lay without sleep till towards day, then I fell into
+a dream which frightened me. I suppose my thoughts
+caused it. It came before me that Cassetta was being
+tortured in the manner he had once described to me
+that a Spaniard had been tortured: four cords were
+fastened round his hands and feet, and each cord was
+made secure in a corner of the room, and a man sometimes
+pulled one cord and sometimes another; and
+since it seemed to me that Cassetta never screamed, I
+supposed that he was dead, and I shrieked aloud and
+awoke. The woman, who had long been awake, said:
+‘O God! dear lady, what ails you? Are you ill?
+You have been groaning a long time, and now you
+screamed loudly.’ I replied, ‘It was in my dream;
+nothing ails me.’ She said further, ‘Then you have
+had a bad dream?’ ‘That may well be,’ I answered.
+‘Oh, tell me what you have dreamt; I can interpret<a class="pagenum" name="Page_162" id="Page_162" title="[Pg 162]"></a>
+dreams.’ I replied, ‘When I screamed I forgot my
+dream, otherwise no one can interpret dreams better
+than I.’ I thank God I do not regard dreams;
+and this dream had no other cause than what I have
+said. When the door was locked after the mid-day
+meal, the woman said of herself (for I asked no
+further respecting the prisoners), ‘There is no one
+imprisoned there; shame on Peder for his nonsense!’
+I asked him who was imprisoned there, and he laughed
+at me heartily. ‘There is no one there, so let your
+mind be at peace.’ I said, ‘If my misfortunes were
+to involve others, it would be very painful to me.’</p>
+
+<p>Thus matters went on till the middle of September,
+and then two of our servants were brought as prisoners
+and placed in arrest; one Nils Kaiberg, who had acted
+as butler, and the other Frans, who had been in our
+service as a lacquey. After having been kept in
+prison for a few weeks and examined they were set at
+liberty. At the same time two Frenchmen were
+brought as prisoners: an old man named La Rosche,
+and a young man whose name I do not know. La
+Rosche was brought to the tower and was placed in
+the witch-cell; a feather-bed had been thrown down,
+and on this he lay; for some months he was never
+out of his clothes. His food consisted of bread and
+wine; he refused everything else. He was accused
+of having corresponded with Corfitz, and of having
+promised the King of France that he would deliver
+Crooneborg into his hands.<a name="FNanchor_72" id="FNanchor_72" href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a> This information had
+been given by Hannibal Sehested, who was at that
+time in France, and he had it from a courtesan who
+was then intimate with Hannibal, but had formerly<a class="pagenum" name="Page_163" id="Page_163" title="[Pg 163]"></a>
+been in connection with La Rosche, and probably
+afterwards had quarrelled with him. There was no
+other proof in favour of the accusation. Probably suspicion
+had been raised by the fact that this La Rosche,
+with the other young man, had desired to see me
+when I was in arrest in Dover, which had been permitted,
+and they had paid me their respects. It is
+possible that he had wished to speak with me and to
+tell me what he had heard in London, and which, it
+seemed to him, excited no fears in me. But as I was
+playing at cards with some ladies who had come to
+look at me, he could not speak with me; so he asked
+me whether I had the book of plays which the
+Countess of Pembroke had published.<a name="FNanchor_E25" id="FNanchor_E25" href="#Footnote_E25" class="fnanchor">[E25]</a> I replied, ‘No’.
+He promised to send it me, and as I did not receive it,
+I think he had written in it some warning to me, which
+Braten afterwards turned to his advantage.</p>
+
+<p>However all this may be, La Rosche suffered innocently,
+and could prove upon oath that he had never
+spoken with my lord in his life, and still less had corresponded
+with him.<a name="FNanchor_73" id="FNanchor_73" href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a> In short, after some months of innocent
+suffering, he was set at liberty and sent back to
+France. The other young man was confined in an
+apartment near the servants’ hall. He had only been
+apprehended as a companion to the other, but no further
+accusation was brought against him.<a name="FNanchor_E26" id="FNanchor_E26" href="#Footnote_E26" class="fnanchor">[E26]</a> At first, when
+these men were imprisoned, there was a whispering and
+talking between the prison governor and the woman,
+and also between Peder and her; the prison governor
+moreover himself locked my door. I plainly perceived
+that there was something in the wind, but I made no enquiries.<a class="pagenum" name="Page_164" id="Page_164" title="[Pg 164]"></a>
+Peder at length informed the woman that they
+were two Frenchmen, and he said something about the
+affair, but not as it really was. Shortly before they
+were set at liberty the prison governor said, ‘I have
+two parle mi franço in prison; what they have done I
+know not.’ I made no further enquiries, but he jested
+and said, ‘Now I can learn French.’ ‘That will take
+time,’ said I.</p>
+
+<p>In the same month of September died Count
+Rantzow. He did not live to see the execution of an
+effigy, which he so confidently had hoped for, being
+himself the one who first had introduced this kind of
+mockery in these countries.<a name="FNanchor_E27" id="FNanchor_E27" href="#Footnote_E27" class="fnanchor">[E27]</a></p>
+
+<p>On October 9 our Princess Anna Sophia was
+betrothed to the Electoral Prince of Saxony. On the
+morning of the day on which the festivities were to
+take place I said to the woman, ‘To-day we shall
+fast till evening.’ For I thought they would not think
+of me, and that I should not receive any of the remains
+until the others had been treated, at any rate, to
+dinner. She wished to know the reason why we were
+to fast. I answered, ‘You shall know it this evening.’
+I lay and thought of the change of fortune: that I, who
+twenty-eight years ago had enjoyed as great state as
+the Princess, should now be lying a captive, close by
+the very wall where my bridal chamber had been;
+thank God, that it afflicted me but little. Towards
+noonday, when the trumpets and kettledrums were
+sounding, I said, ‘Now they are conducting the bride
+across the square to the great hall.’ ‘How do you
+know that?’ said the woman. ‘I know it,’ I said; ‘my
+spirit tells me so.’ ‘What sort of spirit is that?’ she<a class="pagenum" name="Page_165" id="Page_165" title="[Pg 165]"></a>
+asked. ‘That I cannot tell you,’ I replied. And as
+the trumpets blew every time that a new course of
+dishes and sweets were produced, I mentioned it; and
+before they were served the kettledrums were sounded.
+And as they were served on the square in front of the
+kitchen, I said each time, ‘We shall have no dinner
+yet.’ When it was nearly three o’clock, the woman said,
+‘My stomach is quite shrunk up; when shall we have
+dinner?’ I answered, ‘Not for a long time yet;
+the second course is only now on the table; we shall
+have something at about seven o’clock, and not before.’
+It was as I said. About half-past seven the prison
+governor came and excused himself, saying that he
+had asked for the dinner, but that all hands in the
+kitchen were occupied. The woman, who had always
+entertained the idea that I was a witch, was now confirmed
+in her opinion.<a name="FNanchor_74" id="FNanchor_74" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a></p>
+
+<p>On the following day knights were dubbed, and
+each time when the trumpets blew I did not only say,
+‘Now they have made a knight’ (for I could hear the
+herald calling from the window, though I could not
+understand what he said), but even who had been made
+a knight; for this I guessed, knowing who were in the
+Council who were not knights before; and because it
+was as I said, the woman believed for certain that I
+was an enchantress. I perceived this, as she put
+questions to me concerning things which I could not
+know, and to which I often gave equivocal answers. I
+thought perhaps that the fear she had that I could know
+what would happen might hinder her from entangling
+me with lies. Since then she whispered much less<a class="pagenum" name="Page_166" id="Page_166" title="[Pg 166]"></a>
+with the prison governor. She told of a person
+whom she regarded as a witch, whose power, however,
+consisted in nothing else than in the science of curing
+French pox, and causing the miscarriage of bad
+women, and other improprieties. She had had much
+intercourse with this woman.</p>
+
+<p>Some time after the departure of the Electoral
+Prince it was determined that a wooden effigy should
+be subjected to capital punishment, and on the forenoon
+my chamber was opened, swept, cleaned, and
+strewed with sand.<a name="FNanchor_75" id="FNanchor_75" href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> When it was opened, towards
+noon, and the woman had been on the stairs, talking
+with the coachman, she came in, and walking up to my
+bed, stood as if startled, and said hurriedly, ‘Oh, Jesus!
+Lady, they are bringing your husband!’ The news
+terrified me, which she observed; for as she uttered it,
+I raised myself in the bed and stretched out my right
+arm, and was not able to draw it back again at once.
+Perhaps this vexed her, for I remained sitting in this
+way and not speaking a word; so she said, ‘My dearest
+lady, it is your husband’s effigy.’ To this I said, ‘May
+God punish you!’ She then gave full vent to her evil
+tongue, and expressed her opinion that I deserved
+punishment, and not she, and used many unprofitable
+words. I was quite silent, for I was very weak, and
+scarcely knew where I was. In the afternoon I heard
+a great murmuring of people in the inner palace square,
+and I saw the effigy brought across the street by the
+executioner on a wheelbarrow, and placed in the tower
+below my prison.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, at about nine o’clock, the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_167" id="Page_167" title="[Pg 167]"></a>
+effigy was <span class="sic" title="[sic]">wofully</span> treated by the executioner, but
+no sound came from it. At the mid-day meal the
+prison governor told the woman how the executioner
+had cut off its head, and had divided the body into
+four quarters, which were then placed on four wheels,
+and attached to the gallows, while the head was exhibited
+on the town hall. The prison governor stood
+in the outer chamber, but he narrated all this in a loud
+tone, so that I might hear it, and repeated it three
+times.<a name="FNanchor_E28" id="FNanchor_E28" href="#Footnote_E28" class="fnanchor">[E28]</a> I lay and thought what I should do; I could
+not show that I made but little of it, for then something
+else perhaps would be devised to trouble me, and
+in the hurry I could think of nothing else than saying
+to the woman with sadness, ‘Oh, what a shame! speak
+to the prison governor and tell him to beg the King to
+allow the effigy to be taken down and not to remain as
+it is!’ The woman went out, and spoke softly with the
+prison governor; but he answered aloud and said, ‘Yes,
+indeed, taken down! There will be more put up; yes,
+more up;’ and kept on repeating these words a good
+while.</p>
+
+<p>I lay silently thinking; I said nothing, but indulged
+in my own reflections. Sometimes I consoled myself,
+and hoped that this treatment of the effigy was a
+token that they could not get the man; then again
+fear asserted its sway. I did not care for the dishonour,
+for there are too many instances of great men
+in France whose effigies have been burnt by the
+executioner, and who subsequently arrived again at
+great honour.</p>
+
+<p>When the door was unlocked again for the evening
+meal, there was a whispering between the prison<a class="pagenum" name="Page_168" id="Page_168" title="[Pg 168]"></a>
+governor and the woman. A lacquey was also sent,
+who stood outside the outer door and called the prison
+governor to him (my bed stands just opposite the doors,
+and thus when all three doors are opened I can see the
+staircase door, which is the fourth). I do not know
+what the woman can have told the prison governor, for
+I had not spoken all day, except to ask her to give me
+what I required; I said, moreover, nothing more than
+this for several days, so that the prison governor grew
+weary of enquiring longer of the woman; for she had
+nothing to communicate to him respecting me, and she
+tormented him always with her desire to get away; she
+could not longer spend her life in this way.</p>
+
+<p>But as she received no other consolation from him
+than that he swore to her that she would never get away
+as long as she lived, for some days she did nothing
+else than weep; and since I would not ask her why
+she wept, she came one day up to my bedside crying,
+and said, ‘I am a miserable being!’ I asked her why?
+what ailed her? ‘I ail enough,’ she answered; ‘I have
+been so stupid, and have allowed myself to be shut up
+here for the sake of money, and now you are cross with
+me and will not speak with me.’ I said, ‘What am I
+to say? you wish perhaps to have something to communicate
+to the prison governor?’ Upon this she began
+to call down curses on herself if she had ever repeated
+to the prison governor a word that I had said or done;
+she wished I could believe her and speak with her;
+why should she be untrue to me? we must at any rate
+remain together as long as we lived. She added many
+implorations as to my not being angry; I had indeed
+cause to be so; she would in future give me no cause
+for anger, for she would be true to me. I thought,
+‘You shall know no more than is necessary.’</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_169" id="Page_169" title="[Pg 169]"></a>
+I let her go on talking and relating the whole history
+of her life&mdash;such events as occur among peasants. She
+had twice married cottagers, and after her last widowhood
+she had been employed as nurse to the wife of
+Holger Wind, so that she had no lack of stories. By
+her first husband she had had a child, who had never
+reached maturity, and her own words led me to have
+a suspicion that she had herself helped to shorten the
+child’s days; for once when she was speaking of widows
+marrying again, she said among other things, ‘Those
+who wish to marry a second time ought not to have
+children, for in that case the husband is never one with
+the wife.’ I had much to say against this, and I asked
+her what a woman was to do who had a child by her
+first husband. She answered quickly, ‘Put a pillow
+on its head.’ This I could only regard as a great sin,
+and I explained it to her. ‘What sin could there be,’
+she said, ‘when the child was always sickly, and the
+husband angry in consequence?’ I answered as I
+ought, and she seemed ill at ease. Such conversation
+as this gave me no good reason to believe in the fidelity
+which she had promised me.</p>
+
+<p>The woman then took a different tack, and brought
+me word from the coachman of all that was occurring.
+Maren Blocks sent me a prayer-book through her, and
+that secretly, for I was allowed no book of any kind,
+nor any needles and pins; respecting these the woman
+had by the Queen’s order taken an oath to the prison
+governor. Thus the year passed away. On New
+Year’s day, 1664, the woman wished me a happy year.
+I thanked her, and said, ‘That is in God’s hands.’
+‘Yes,’ she said, ‘if He wills it.’ ‘And if He does not
+will it,’ I answered, ‘it will not be, and then He will give
+me patience to bear my heavy cross.’ ‘It is heavy,’ she<a class="pagenum" name="Page_170" id="Page_170" title="[Pg 170]"></a>
+said, ‘even to me; what must it not be to you? May
+it only remain as it is, and not be worse with you!’ It
+seemed to me as if it could not be worse, but better;
+for death, in whatever form, would put an end to my
+misery. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘is it not all one how one dies?’
+‘That is true,’ I answered; ‘one dies in despair,
+another with free courage.’ The prison governor did
+not say a word to me that day. The woman had a long
+talk with the coachman; she no doubt related to him
+our conversation.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of March the prison governor came in
+and assumed a particularly gentle manner, and said,
+among other things, ‘Now you are a widow; now you
+can tell the state of all affairs.’ I answered him with a
+question, ‘Can widows tell the state of all affairs?’ He
+laughed and said, ‘I do not mean that; I mean this
+treason!’ I answered, ‘You can ask others about it
+who know of it; I know of no treason.’ And as it
+seemed to him that I did not believe that my husband
+was dead,<a name="FNanchor_E29" id="FNanchor_E29" href="#Footnote_E29" class="fnanchor">[E29]</a> he took out a newspaper and let me read it,
+perhaps chiefly because my husband was badly treated
+in it. I did not say much about it&mdash;nothing more than,
+‘Writers of newspapers do not always speak the truth.’
+This he might take as he liked.</p>
+
+<p>I lay there silently hoping that it might be so, that
+my husband had by death escaped his enemies; and
+I thought with the greatest astonishment that I
+should have lived to see the day when I should
+wish my lord dead; then sorrowful thoughts took
+possession of me, and I did not care to talk. The
+woman imagined that I was sad because my lord
+was dead, and she comforted me, and that in a<a class="pagenum" name="Page_171" id="Page_171" title="[Pg 171]"></a>
+reasonable manner; but the remembrance of past
+times was only strengthened by her consolatory remarks,
+and for a long time my mind could not again
+regain repose. Your condition, my dearest children,
+troubled me. You had lost your father, and with him
+property and counsel. I am captive and miserable,
+and cannot help you, either with counsel or deed; you
+are fugitives and in a foreign land. For my three
+eldest sons I am less anxious than for my daughters
+and my youngest son.<a name="FNanchor_E30" id="FNanchor_E30" href="#Footnote_E30" class="fnanchor">[E30]</a> I sat up whole nights in my
+bed, for I could not sleep, and when I have headache
+I cannot lay my head on the pillow. From my heart
+I prayed to God for a gracious deliverance. It has not
+pleased God to grant this, but He gave me patience to
+bear my heavy cross.</p>
+
+<p>My cross was so much heavier to me at first, as it
+was strictly forbidden to give me either knife, scissors,
+thread, or anything that might have beguiled the time
+to me. Afterwards, when my mind became a little
+calmer, I began to think of something wherewith to
+occupy myself; and as I had a needle, as I have before
+mentioned, I took off the ribands of my night-dress,
+which were broad flesh-coloured taffeta. With the
+silk I embroidered the piece of cloth that I had with
+different flowers worked in small stitches. When this
+was finished, I drew threads out of my sheet, twisted
+them, and sewed with them. When this was nearly
+done, the woman said one day, ‘What will you do
+now when this is finished?’ I answered, ‘Oh, I shall
+get something to do; if it is brought to me by the
+ravens, I shall have it.’ Then she asked me if I could
+do anything with a broken wooden spoon. I answered,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_172" id="Page_172" title="[Pg 172]"></a>
+‘Perhaps you know of one?’ After having laughed a
+while, she drew one forth, the bowl of which was half
+broken off. ‘I could indeed make something with that,’
+I said, ‘if I had only a tool for the purpose. Could
+you persuade the prison governor or Peder the coachman
+to lend me a knife?’ ‘I will beg for one,’ she
+answered, ‘but I know well that they will not.’ That
+she said something about it to the prison governor
+I could perceive from his answer, for he replied aloud,
+‘She wants no knife; I will cut her food for her. She
+might easily injure herself with one.’<a class="corr" name="corr_14" id="corr_14" title="added footnote anchor"></a><a name="FNanchor_76" id="FNanchor_76" href="#Footnote_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a></p>
+
+<p>What she said to the coachman I know not (this I
+know, that she did not desire me to obtain a knife,
+for she was afraid of me, as I afterwards discovered).
+The woman brought the answer from the coachman
+that he dared not for his life. I said, ‘If I can but
+have a piece of glass, I will see what I can make that
+is useful with the piece of spoon.’ I begged her to
+look in a corner in the outermost room, where all
+rubbish was thrown; this she did, and found not only
+glass, but even a piece of a pewter cover which had
+belonged to a jug. By means of the glass I formed
+the spoon handle into a pin with two prongs, on which
+I made riband, which I still have in use (the silk for
+this riband I took from the border of my night-dress).
+I bent the piece of pewter in such a manner that
+it afterwards served me as an inkstand. It also is
+still in my keeping. As a mark of fidelity, the woman
+brought me at the same time a large pin, which was
+a good tool for beginning the division between the
+prongs, which I afterwards scraped with glass.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_173" id="Page_173" title="[Pg 173]"></a>
+She asked me whether I could think of anything
+to play with, as the time was so long to her. I said,
+‘Coax Peder, and he will bring you a little flax for
+money and a distaff.’ ‘What!’ she answered, ‘shall
+I spin? The devil may spin! For whom should I
+spin?’ I said, ‘To beguile the time, I would spin,
+if I only had what is necessary for it.’ ‘That you may
+not have, dear lady,’ said she; ‘I have done the very
+utmost for you in giving you what I have done.’ ‘If
+you wish something to play with,’ said I, ‘get some
+nuts, and we will play with them.’ She did so, and we
+played with them like little children. I took three of
+the nuts, and made them into dice, placing two kinds
+of numbers on each, and we played with these also.
+And that we might know the &#8857; which I made with
+the large pin,<a name="FNanchor_77" id="FNanchor_77" href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a> I begged her to procure for me a piece
+of chalk, which she did, and I rubbed chalk into it.
+These dice were lost, I know not how; my opinion is
+that the coachman got possession of them, perhaps at
+the time that he cheated the woman out of the candles
+and sugar left. For he came to her one day at noon
+quite out of breath, and said she was to give him the
+candles and the sugar which he had brought her from
+Maren Blocks, and whatever there was that was not
+to be seen, as our quarters were to be searched. She
+ran out with the things under her apron, and never
+said anything to me about it until the door was locked.
+I concealed on myself, as well as I was able, my pin,
+my silk, and the pieces of sewing with the needle and
+pin. Nothing came of the search, and it was only a<a class="pagenum" name="Page_174" id="Page_174" title="[Pg 174]"></a>
+<i>ruse</i> of the coachman, in order to get the candles that
+were left, for which she often afterwards abused him,
+and also for the sugar.</p>
+
+<p>I was always at work, so long as I had silk from my
+night-dress and stockings, and I netted on the large
+pin, so that it might last a long time. I have still
+some of the work in my possession, as well as the
+bobbins, which I made out of wooden pegs. By means
+of bags filled with sand I made cords which I formed
+into a bandage (which is worn out), for I was not
+allowed a corset, often as I begged for one; the reason
+why is unknown to me. I often beguiled the time
+with the piece of chalk, painting with it on a piece of
+board and on the table, wiping it away again, and
+making rhymes and composing hymns. The first of
+these, however, I composed before I had the chalk.
+I never sang it, but repeated it to myself.</p>
+
+<p>A morning hymn, to the tune, ‘<span lang="da">Ieg wil din Priiss ud
+Synge</span>’<a class="corr" name="corr_15" id="corr_15" title="added footnote anchor"></a><a name="FNanchor_E31" id="FNanchor_E31" href="#Footnote_E31" class="fnanchor">[E31]</a>:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">I<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">God’s praise I will be singing<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In every waking hour.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My grateful tribute bringing<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">To magnify his power;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And his almighty love,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">His angel watchers sending,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">My couch with mercy tending,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And watching from above.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">II<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">In salt drops streaming ever<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">The tears flowed from my eyes;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I often thought I never<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Should see the morning rise.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet has the Lord instilled<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Sleep in his own good pleasure;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And sleep in gracious measure<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Has his command fulfilled.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_175" id="Page_175" title="[Pg 175]"></a>
+<span class="i6">III<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Oh Christ! Lord of the living,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Thine armour place on me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which manly vigour giving,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Right valiant shall I be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">‘Gainst Satan, death, and sin.<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And every carnal feeling,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">That nought may come concealing<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy sway my heart within.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">IV<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Help me! Thy arms extending;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">My cross is hard and sore:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Support its heaviest ending,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Or I can bear no more.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Too much am I oppressed!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">My trust is almost waning<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">With pain and vain complaining!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thine arrows pierce my breast.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">V<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">In mercy soothe the sorrow<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">That weighs the fatherless;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Vouchsafe a happier morrow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">And all my children bless!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Strength to their father yield,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">In their hard fate respect them,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">From enemies protect them;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My strength, be Thou their shield.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">VI<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I am but dust and ashes,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Yet one request I crave:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let me not go at unawares<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Into the silent grave.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With a clear mind and breast<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">My course in this world closing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Let me, on Thee reposing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pass to Thy land of rest.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>I composed the following hymn in German and often
+sang it, as they did not understand German; a hymn,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_176" id="Page_176" title="[Pg 176]"></a>
+somewhat to the air of ‘<span lang="de">Was ist doch auff dieser Welt,
+das nicht fehlt</span>?’ &amp;c.:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">I<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Reason speaketh to my soul:<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Fret not Soul,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou hast a better goal!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">It is not for thee restricted<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">That with thee<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Past should be<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">All the wrongs inflicted.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">II<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Why then shouldst thou thus fret thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Anxiously,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ever sighing, mournfully?<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Thou canst not another sorrow<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Change with this,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">For that is<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Which shall be on the morrow.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">III<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Loss of every earthly gain<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Bringeth pain;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fresh courage seek to obtain!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Much was still superfluous ceded,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Nature’s call<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">After all<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Makes but little needed.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">IV<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Is the body captive here?<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Do not fear:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou must not hold all too dear;<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Thou art free&mdash;a captive solely;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Can no tower<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Have the power<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Thee to fetter wholly?<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">V<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">All the same is it at last<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">When thou hast<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The long path of striving past,<br /></span>
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_177" id="Page_177" title="[Pg 177]"></a>
+<span class="i2">And thou must thy life surrender;<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Death comes round,<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Whether found<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">On couch hard or tender.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">VI<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Courage then, my soul, arise!<br /></span>
+<span class="i6">Heave no sighs<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That nought yet thy rest supplies!<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">God will not leave thee in sorrow:<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">Well He knows<br /></span>
+<span class="i4">When He chose<br /></span>
+<span class="i2">Help for thee to borrow.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Thus I peacefully beguiled the time, until Doctor
+Otto Sperling<a name="FNanchor_E32" id="FNanchor_E32" href="#Footnote_E32" class="fnanchor">[E32]</a> was brought to the tower; his prison
+is below the ‘dark church.’ His fate is pitiable.
+When he was brought to the tower his feet and hands
+were chained in irons. The prison governor, who had
+formerly not been friendly with him, rejoiced heartily at
+the doctor’s misfortune, and that he had fallen into his
+hands, so that the whole evening he did nothing but
+sing and hum. He said to the woman, ‘My Karen,
+will you dance? I will sing.’ He left the doctor to
+pass the night in his irons. We could hear that a
+prisoner had been brought in from the murmuring, and
+the concourse of people, as well as from the locking
+of the prison, which was below mine (where iron bolts
+were placed against the door).<a name="FNanchor_78" id="FNanchor_78" href="#Footnote_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a> The joy exhibited by
+the prison governor excited my fear, also that he not
+only himself opened and shut my door, but that he prevented
+the woman from going out on the stairs, by
+leaning against the outermost door of my prison. The
+coachman stood behind the prison governor making<a class="pagenum" name="Page_178" id="Page_178" title="[Pg 178]"></a>
+signs; but as the prison governor turned from side to
+side, I could not rightly see him.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day, at about eight o’clock, I
+heard the iron bolts drawn and the door below
+opened; I could also hear that the inner prison was
+opened (the doctor was then taken out for examination).
+The woman said, ‘There is certainly a prisoner
+there; who can it be?’ I said: ‘It seems indeed
+that a prisoner has been brought in, for the prison
+governor is so merry. You will find it out from Peder;
+if not to-day, another time. I pity the poor man,
+whoever he may be.’ (God knows my heart was not
+as courageous as I appeared.) When my door was
+opened at noon (which was after twelve o’clock, for
+they did not open my door till the doctor had been
+conveyed to his cell again), the prison governor was
+still merrier than usual, and danced about and sang,
+‘Cheer up! courage! It will come to pass!’</p>
+
+<p>When he had cut up the dinner, he leaned
+against the outer door of my prison and prevented the
+woman from going out, saying to me, ‘I am to
+salute you from the Major-General von Alfeldt;
+he says all will now soon be well, and you may
+console yourself. Yes, yes, all will now soon be
+well!’ I behaved as if I received his words in their
+apparent meaning, and I begged him to thank the
+Major-General for his consolation; and then he repeated
+the same words, and added, ‘Yes, indeed! he
+said so.’ I replied with a question: ‘What may it
+arise from that the Major-General endeavours to cheer
+me? May God cheer him in return! I never knew him
+before.’ To this the prison governor made no answer
+at all. While the prison governor was talking with me,
+the coachman was standing behind him, and showed by<a class="pagenum" name="Page_179" id="Page_179" title="[Pg 179]"></a>
+gestures how the prisoner had been bound hand and
+foot, that he had a beard and a calotte on his head, and
+a handkerchief round his neck. This could not make
+me wiser than I was, but it could indeed grieve me still
+more. At the evening meal the woman was again prevented
+speaking with the coachman, and the coachman
+again made the same signs, for the prison governor was
+standing in his usual place; but he said nothing, nor
+did I.<a name="FNanchor_79" id="FNanchor_79" href="#Footnote_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a> On the following morning the Doctor was again
+brought up for examination, and the prison governor
+behaved as before. As he stood there ruminating, I
+asked him who the prisoner below was. He answered
+that there was no one below. I let the matter rest for
+the time, and as we proceeded to speak of other things,
+the woman slipped out to Peder, who told her quickly
+who it was. Some days went by in the same manner.
+When sentence had been pronounced on the Doctor, and
+his execution was being postponed,<a name="FNanchor_80" id="FNanchor_80" href="#Footnote_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a> and I said nothing
+to the prison governor but when he accosted me, he
+came in and said: ‘I see that you can judge that there
+is a prisoner below. It is true, but I am forbidden to
+tell you who it is!’ I answered: ‘Then I do not desire
+to know.’ He began to feel some compassion, and said:
+‘Don’t fret, my dear lady; it is not your husband, nor
+your son, nor daughter, nor brother-in-law, nor any
+relative; it is a bird which ought to sing,<a name="FNanchor_81" id="FNanchor_81" href="#Footnote_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> and will not,
+but he must, he must!’ I said: ‘I ought to be able<a class="pagenum" name="Page_180" id="Page_180" title="[Pg 180]"></a>
+to guess from your words who it is. If the bird can
+sing what can ring in their ears, he will probably do
+so; but he cannot sing a melody which he does not
+know!’ Upon this he was silent, and turned away
+and went out.</p>
+
+<p>By degrees all became quiet with regard to the
+Doctor, and no more was said about the matter, and
+the prison governor came in from time to time when the
+door was opened, and often made himself merry with
+the woman, desiring her to make a curtsey to him, and
+showing her how she should place her feet and carry
+her body, after the fashion of a dancing-master. He
+related also different things that had occurred in former
+times, some of them evidently intended to sadden me
+with the recollection of my former prosperity: all that
+had happened at my wedding, how the deceased King
+had loved me. He gave long accounts of this, not
+forgetting how I was dressed, and all this he said for
+the benefit of no one else but myself, for the woman
+meanwhile stood on the stairs talking with the tower
+warder, the coachman, and the prisoner Christian.</p>
+
+<p>Maren Blocks, who constantly from time to time sent
+me messages and kept me informed of what was going
+on, also intimated to me that she was of opinion that I
+could practise magic, for she wrote me a slip of paper<a name="FNanchor_82" id="FNanchor_82" href="#Footnote_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a>
+with the request that I should sow dissension between
+the Lady Carisse and an Alfelt, explaining at length that
+Alfelt was not worthy of her, but that Skinckel was a
+brave fellow (Carisse afterwards married Skinckel). As
+the letter was open, the coachman knew its contents, and<a class="pagenum" name="Page_181" id="Page_181" title="[Pg 181]"></a>
+the woman also. I was angry at it, but I said nothing.
+The woman could easily perceive that I was displeased
+at it, and she said, ‘Lady, I know well what Maren
+wishes.’ I replied, ‘Can you help her in it?’ ‘No,’
+she declared, and laughed heartily. I asked what
+there was to laugh at. ‘I am laughing,’ said she,
+‘because I am thinking of the clever Cathrine, of whom
+I have spoken before, who once gave advice to some
+one desiring to sow discord between good friends.’
+I enquired what advice she had given. She said that
+they must collect some hairs in a place where two
+cats had been fighting, and throw these between
+the two men whom it was desired to set at variance.
+I enquired whether the trick succeeded. She replied,
+‘It was not properly tried.’ ‘Perhaps,’ I said, ‘the
+cats were not both black?’ ‘Ho, ho!’ said she,
+‘I see that you know how it should be done.’ ‘I
+have heard more than that,’ I replied; ‘show her the
+trick, and you will get some more sugar-candy, but do
+not let yourself be again cheated of it by Peder as you
+were lately. Seriously, however, Peder must beg
+Maren Blocks to spare me such requests!’ That she
+as well as Maren believed that I could practise magic
+was evident in many ways. My own remarks often
+gave cause for this. I remembered how my deceased
+lord used to say (when in his younger days he wished
+to make anyone imagine that he understood the black
+art), that people feared those of whom they had this
+opinion, and never ventured to do them harm. It
+happened one day at the mid-day meal, when the prison
+governor was sitting talking with me, that the woman
+carried on a long conversation on the stairs with the
+others respecting the witches who had been seized in
+Jutland, and that the supreme judge in Jutland at<a class="pagenum" name="Page_182" id="Page_182" title="[Pg 182]"></a>
+that time sided with the witches and said they were
+not witches.<a name="FNanchor_E33" id="FNanchor_E33" href="#Footnote_E33" class="fnanchor">[E33]</a> When the door was locked we had much
+talk about witches, and she said, ‘This judge is of your
+opinion, that it is a science and not magic.’ I said, as
+I had before said, that some had more knowledge than
+others, and that some used their knowledge to do evil;
+although it might happen naturally and not with the
+devil’s art, still it was not permitted in God’s Word to
+use nature for evil purposes; it was also not fair to
+give the devil the honour which did not belong to him.
+We talked on till she grew angry, laid down and slept
+a little, and thus the anger passed away.</p>
+
+<p>Some days after she said: ‘Your maid is sitting below
+in the prison governor’s room, and asks with much
+solicitude after you and what you are doing. I have
+told Peder of what you have sewed, and of the ribbons
+you have made, but he has promised solemnly not to
+mention it to anyone except to Maren, Lars’ daughter;
+she would like so much to be here with you.’ I replied:
+‘It would be no good for her to sit with me in prison; it
+would only destroy her own happiness; for who knows
+how long I may live?’ I related of this same waiting-maid
+that she had been in my employ since she was
+eight years old, all that I had had her taught, and how
+virtuous she was. To this she replied, ‘The girl will
+like to see what you have sewed; you shall have it
+again directly.’ I handed it to her, and the first time
+the doors were unlocked she gave it to the prison
+governor, who carried it to the Queen. (Two years
+afterwards the prison governor told me this himself, and
+that when the King had said, ‘She might have something
+given her to do,’ the Queen had answered, ‘That<a class="pagenum" name="Page_183" id="Page_183" title="[Pg 183]"></a>
+is not necessary. It is good enough for her! She has
+not wished for anything better.’) I often enquired for
+the piece of sewing, but was answered that Peder was
+not able to get it back from the girl.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the autumn the prison governor began to
+sicken: he was ill and could not do much, so he let the
+coachman frequently come alone to lock and unlock
+both the doctor’s door below and mine. The iron bars
+were no longer placed before the outermost prison below,
+but four doors were locked upon me. One day, when
+Peder was locking up, he threw me a skein of silk,<a name="FNanchor_83" id="FNanchor_83" href="#Footnote_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a>
+saying, ‘Make me some braces for my breeches out of it.’
+I appeared not to have heard, and asked the woman
+what it was that he had said. She repeated the same
+words. I behaved as if I did not believe it, and
+laughed, saying, ‘If I make the braces for him, he will
+next wish that you should fasten them to his breeches.’
+A good deal of absurd chatter followed. As meal-time
+was approaching, I said to the woman, ‘Give Peder
+back his silk, and say that I have never before made a
+pair of braces; I do not know how they are made.’
+(Such things I had to endure with smiles.)</p>
+
+<p>At the time that our former palace here in the city
+(which we had ceded by a deed when we were imprisoned
+at Borringholm) was pulled down, and a
+pillar (or whatever it is) was raised to my lord’s shame,
+the prison governor came in when he unlocked at noon,
+and seated himself on my bed (I was somewhat indisposed
+at the time), and began to talk of former times (I
+knew already that they were pulling down the palace),<a class="pagenum" name="Page_184" id="Page_184" title="[Pg 184]"></a>
+enumerating everything the loss of which he thought
+might sadden me, even to my coach and the horses.
+‘But,’ he said, ‘all this is nothing compared with the
+beautiful palace!’ (and he praised it to the utmost); ‘it is
+now down, and not one stone is left on another. Is not
+that a pity, my dear lady?’ I replied: ‘The King can do
+what he will with his own; the palace has not been
+ours for some time.’ He continued bewailing the beautiful
+house and the garden buildings which belonged
+to it. I asked him what had become of Solomon’s
+temple? Not a stone of that beautiful building was
+now to be found; not even could the place be pointed
+out where the temple and costly royal palace had once
+stood. He made no answer, hung his head, and
+pondered a little, and went out. I do not doubt he
+has reported what I said. Since that day he began to
+behave himself more and more courteously, saying even
+that His Majesty had ordered him to ask me whether
+I wished for anything from the kitchen, the cellar, or
+the confectioner, as it should be given me; that he had
+also been ordered to bring me twice a week confectionery
+and powdered sugar, which was done.<a name="FNanchor_84" id="FNanchor_84" href="#Footnote_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a> I
+begged the prison governor to thank the King’s Majesty
+for the favour shown me, and praised, as was proper, the
+King’s goodness most humbly. The prison governor
+would have liked to praise the Queen had he only been
+able to find cause for so doing; he said, ‘The Queen is
+also a dear Queen!’ I made no answer to this. He
+came also some time afterwards with an order from the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_185" id="Page_185" title="[Pg 185]"></a>
+King that I should ask for any clothes and linen I required:
+this was written down, and I received it later,
+except a corset, and that the Queen would not allow me.
+I never could learn the cause of this. The Queen also
+was not well pleased that I obtained a bottle-case with
+six small bottles, in which was sprinkling-water, headwater,
+and a cordial. All this, she said, I could well
+do without; but when she saw that in the lid there was
+an engraving representing the daughter of Herod with
+the head of St. John on a charger, she laughed and
+said, ‘That will be a cordial to her!’ This engraving
+set me thinking that Herodias had still sisters on
+earth.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor continued his politeness, and lent
+me at my desire a German Bible, saying at the same time,
+‘This I do out of kindness, I have no order to do so;
+the Queen does not know it.’ ‘I believe that,’ I replied,
+and thanked him; but I am of opinion that the King
+knew it well. Some days afterwards Maren Blocks
+sent for her prayer-book back again. I had taught
+the woman a morning and evening prayer by heart,
+and all the morning and evening hymns, which she
+repeated to me night and morning. I offered to teach
+her to read if she would procure an A B C. She
+laughed at this jeeringly, and said, ‘People would think
+me crazed if I were to learn to read now.’ I tried to
+persuade her by argument, in order that I might thus
+get something to beguile the time with; but far from
+it; she knew as much as she needed. I sought everywhere
+for something to divert my thoughts, and as I
+perceived that the potter, when he had placed the
+stove, had left a piece of clay lying outside in the other
+room, I begged the woman to give it to me.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor saw that she had taken it, but<a class="pagenum" name="Page_186" id="Page_186" title="[Pg 186]"></a>
+did not ask the reason. I mixed the clay with beer, and
+made various things, which I frequently altered again
+into something else; among other things I made the
+portraits of the prison governor and the woman, and
+small jugs and vases. And as it occurred to me to try
+whether I were able to make anything on which I could
+place a few words to the King, so that the prison
+governor should not observe it (for I knew well that the
+woman did not always keep silence; she would probably
+some time say what I did), I moulded a goblet over the
+half of the glass in which wine was brought to me,
+made it round underneath, placed it on three knobs,
+and wrote the King’s name on the side&mdash;underneath the
+bottom these words ... <span lang="fr">il y a un ... un Auguste</span>.<a name="FNanchor_E34" id="FNanchor_E34" href="#Footnote_E34" class="fnanchor">[E34]</a></p>
+
+<p>I kept it for a long time, not knowing in what way I
+could manage to get it reported what I was doing,
+since the woman had solemnly sworn to me not to mention
+it: so I said one day: ‘Does the prison governor
+ask you what I am doing?’ ‘Yes, indeed he does,’
+she replied, ‘but I say that you are doing nothing but
+reading the Bible.’ I said: ‘You may ingratiate yourself
+in his favour and say that I am making portraits in
+clay; there is no reason that he should not know that.’
+She did so, and three days after he came to me, and
+was quite gentle, and asked how I passed my time.
+I answered, ‘In reading the Bible.’ He expressed his
+opinion that I must weary of this. I said I liked at
+intervals to have something else to do, but that this
+was not allowed me. He enquired what I had wanted
+the clay for, which the woman had brought in to me;
+he had seen it when she had brought it in. I said, ‘I
+have made some small trifles.’ He requested to see<a class="pagenum" name="Page_187" id="Page_187" title="[Pg 187]"></a>
+them. So I showed him first the woman’s portrait;
+that pleased him much, as it resembled her; then a
+small jug, and last of all the goblet. He said at once:
+‘I will take all this with me and let the King see it;
+you will perhaps thus obtain permission to have somewhat
+provided you for pastime,’<a name="FNanchor_85" id="FNanchor_85" href="#Footnote_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a> I was well satisfied.
+This took place at the mid-day meal. At supper he
+did not come in. The next day he said to me: ‘Well,
+my dear lady, you have nearly brought me into trouble!’
+‘How so?’ I asked. ‘I took the King a petition
+from you! the Queen did not catch sight of it, but the
+King saw it directly and said, “So you are now
+bringing me petitions from Leonora?� I shrank back
+with terror, and said, “Gracious King! I have brought
+nothing in writing!� “See here!� exclaimed the King,
+and he pointed out to me some French writing at the
+bottom of the goblet. The Queen asked why I had
+brought anything written that I did not understand. I
+asserted that I had paid no attention to it, and begged
+for pardon. The good King defended me, and the <i>invention</i>
+did not please him ill. Yes, yes, my dear lady!
+be assured that the King is a gracious sovereign to you,
+and if he were certain that your husband were dead,
+you would not remain here!’ I was of opinion that
+my enemies well knew that my husband was dead. I
+felt that I must therefore peacefully resign myself to
+the will of God and the King.</p>
+
+<p>I received nothing which might have beguiled the
+time to me, except that which I procured secretly, and
+the prison governor has since then never enquired what<a class="pagenum" name="Page_188" id="Page_188" title="[Pg 188]"></a>
+I was doing, though he came in every evening and sat
+for some time talking with me; he was weak, and it
+was a labour to him to mount so many steps. Thus
+we got through the year together.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor gradually began to feel pity
+for me, and gave me a book which is very pretty,
+entitled ‘Wunderwerck.’<a name="FNanchor_E35" id="FNanchor_E35" href="#Footnote_E35" class="fnanchor">[E35]</a> It is a folio, rather old,
+and here and there torn; but I was well pleased with
+the gift. And as he sat long of an evening with me,
+frequently till nine o’clock, talking with me, the malicious
+woman was irritated.<a name="FNanchor_86" id="FNanchor_86" href="#Footnote_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> She said to Peder, ‘If I
+were in the prison governor’s place, I would not trust
+her in the way he does. He is weak; what if she were
+now to run out and take the knife which is lying on the
+table outside, and were to stab him? She could easily
+take my life, so I sit in there with my life hanging on
+a thread.’</p>
+
+<p>Absurd as the idea was, the knife was not only in
+consequence hidden under the table, but the prison
+governor for a long time did not venture to come to
+me, but sat outside by my outermost door and talked
+there just as long as before, so that I was no gainer.<a name="FNanchor_87" id="FNanchor_87" href="#Footnote_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a>
+(I did not know what the woman had said till three
+years afterwards, when it was mentioned by the prisoner
+Christian, who had heard the woman’s chatter.)</p>
+
+<p>One day when the prison governor intended to go to<a class="pagenum" name="Page_189" id="Page_189" title="[Pg 189]"></a>
+the holy communion, he stood outside my outermost
+door and took off his hat, and begged for my forgiveness;
+he knew, he said, that he had done much to annoy
+me, but that he was a servant. I answered, ‘I forgive
+you gladly!’ Then he went away, and Peder closed
+the door. The woman said something to Peder about
+the prison governor, but I could not understand what.
+Probably she was blaming the prison governor, for she
+was so angry that she puffed; she could not restrain her
+anger, but said: ‘Fye upon the old fool! The devil
+take him! I ought to beg pardon too? No’ (she
+added with an oath), ‘I would not do it for God’s
+bitter death! No! no!’ and she spat on the ground.
+I said afterwards: ‘What does it matter to you that the
+prison governor asks me for my friendship? Do you
+lose anything by it? If you will not live like a Christian
+and according to the ordinances of the Church, do not
+at any rate be angry with one who does. Believe
+assuredly that God will punish you, if you do not
+repent of what evil you have done and will not be
+reconciled with your adversaries before you seek to be
+reconciled with God!’</p>
+
+<p>She thought that he had done nothing else than
+what he was ordered to do. I said, ‘You good
+people know best yourselves what has been ordered
+you.’ She asked, ‘Do I do anything to you?’ I
+answered, ‘I know not what you do. You can tell
+any amount of untruths about me without my knowing
+it.’ Upon this she began a long story, swearing by
+and asserting her fidelity; she had never lied to
+anyone nor done anyone a wrong. I said: ‘I hear;
+you are justifying yourself with the Pharisee.’ She
+started furiously from her seat and said, ‘What! do
+you abuse me as a Pharisee?’ ‘Softly, softly!’ I<a class="pagenum" name="Page_190" id="Page_190" title="[Pg 190]"></a>
+said; ‘while only one of us is angry, it is of no consequence;
+but if I get angry also, something may
+come of it!’ She sat down with an insolent air, and
+said, ‘I should well imagine that you are not good
+when you are angry! It is said of you that in former
+days you could bear but little, and that you struck at
+once. But now’&mdash;&mdash;(with this she was silent). ‘What
+more?’ I said. ‘Do you think I could not do anything
+to anyone if I chose, just as well as then, if anyone
+behaved to me in a manner that I could not endure?
+Now much more than then! You need not refuse me
+a knife because I may perhaps kill you; I could do so
+with my bare hands. I can strangle the strongest
+fellow with my bare hands, if I can seize him unawares,
+and what more could happen to me than is happening?
+Therefore only keep quiet!’</p>
+
+<p>She was silent, and assumed no more airs; she was
+cast down, and did not venture to complain to the prison
+governor. What she said to the others on the stairs
+I know not, but when she came in, when the room was
+locked at night, she had been weeping.<a name="FNanchor_88" id="FNanchor_88" href="#Footnote_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a></p>
+
+<p>On Sunday at noon I congratulated<a name="FNanchor_E36" id="FNanchor_E36" href="#Footnote_E36" class="fnanchor">[E36]</a> the prison governor
+and said: ‘You are happy! You can reconcile
+yourself with God, and partake of His body and blood;
+this is denied to me (I had twice during two years
+requested spiritual consolation, but had received in
+answer that I could not sin as I was now in prison; that
+I did not require religious services). And as I talked<a class="pagenum" name="Page_191" id="Page_191" title="[Pg 191]"></a>
+upon this somewhat fully with the prison governor, I
+said that those who withheld from me the Lord’s
+Supper must take my sins upon themselves; that one
+sinned as much in thought as in word and deed; so
+the prison governor promised that he would never desist
+from desiring that a clergyman should come to me;
+and asked whom I wished for. I said: ‘The King’s
+Court preacher, whom I had in the beginning of my
+troubles.’ He said: ‘That could scarcely be.’ I was
+satisfied whoever it was.</p>
+
+<p>A month afterwards I received the holy communion
+from the German clergyman, M. Hieronimus Buk,
+who behaved very properly the first time, but spoke
+more about the law than the gospel. The prison
+governor congratulated me, and I thanked him, for he
+had brought it about.</p>
+
+<p>1665. In this year, on Whitsun-eve, the prison governor
+ordered May-trees to be placed in my inner prison,
+and also in the anteroom. I broke small twigs from
+the branches, rubbed off the bark with glass, softened
+them in water, laid them to press under a board, which
+was used for carrying away the dirt from the floor, and
+thus made them flat, then fastened them together and
+formed them into a weaver’s reed. Peder the coachman
+was then persuaded to give me a little coarse
+thread, which I used for a warp. I took the silk from
+the new silk stockings which they had given me, and
+made some broad ribbons of it (The implements and
+a part of the ribbons are still in my possession.) One
+of the trees (which was made of the thick end of a
+branch which Peder had cut off) was tied to the stove,
+and the other I fastened to my own person. The
+woman held the warp: she was satisfied, and I have
+no reason to think that she spoke about it, for the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_192" id="Page_192" title="[Pg 192]"></a>
+prison governor often lamented that I had nothing with
+which to beguile the time, and he knew well that this
+had been my delight in former times, &amp;c.<a name="FNanchor_89" id="FNanchor_89" href="#Footnote_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a></p>
+
+<p>He remained now again a long time with me after
+meals, for his fear had passed away, or he had, perhaps,
+forgotten, as his memory began to fail him. He
+said then many things which he ought not. He
+declined perceptibly, and was very weak; he would
+remain afterwards sitting outside, reading aloud, and
+praying God to spare his life. ‘Yes,’ he would say,
+‘only a few years!’ When he had some alleviation,
+he talked unceasingly. Creeping along the wall to the
+door, he said, ‘I should like to know two things: one
+is, who will be prison governor after me? The other
+is, who is to to have my Tyrelyre?’ (That was Tyre,
+his wife.) I replied: ‘That is a knowledge which you
+cannot obtain now, especially who will woo your wife.
+You might, perhaps, have already seen both, but at your
+age you may yet have long to live.’ ‘Oh!’ said he,
+‘God grant it!’ and looked up to the window. ‘Do
+you think so, my dear lady?’ ‘Yes, I do,’ I replied.
+A few days afterwards, he begged me again to forgive
+him, if he had done me any wrong since the last time,
+for he wished to make reconciliation with God before
+he became weaker, and he wept and protested, saying,
+‘It indeed grieves me still that I should have often
+annoyed you, and you comfort me.’ On Sunday at
+noon I congratulated him on his spiritual feast.</p>
+
+<p>Thus he dragged on with great difficulty for about<a class="pagenum" name="Page_193" id="Page_193" title="[Pg 193]"></a>
+fourteen days, and as I heard that two men were
+obliged almost to carry him up the stairs, I sent him
+word that he might remain below on the ground floor
+of the tower, and that he might rest assured I would
+go nowhere. He thanked me, crawled up for the last
+time to my door, and said, ‘If I did that and the
+Queen heard of it, my head would answer for it.’ I
+said: ‘Then confess your weakness and remain in bed.
+It may be better again; another could meanwhile
+attend for you.’ He took off his cap in recognition of
+my advice, and bade me farewell. I have never seen
+him again since then. One day afterwards he crawled
+up in the tower-chamber, but came no farther.</p>
+
+<p>A man of the name of Hans Balcke was appointed
+in his place to keep watch over the prisoners. He
+was very courteous. He was a cabinet-maker by
+trade; his father, who had also been a cabinet-maker,
+had worked a good deal for me in the days of my
+prosperity. This man had travelled for his trade both
+in Italy and Germany, and knew a little Italian. I
+found intercourse with him agreeable, and as he dined
+in the anteroom outside, in the tower, I begged him to
+dine with me, which he did for fourteen days. One
+day, when he carved the joint outside, I sent him word
+requesting him to come in. He excused himself,
+which appeared strange to me.</p>
+
+<p>After he had dined, he said that Peder the coachman
+had jeered at him, and that he had been forbidden
+to dine with me. When he afterwards remained
+rather long with me talking, I begged him myself to
+go, so that this also might not be forbidden. He had
+on one occasion a large pin stuck in his sleeve, and I
+begged him for it. He said, ‘I may not give it you,
+but if you take it yourself, I can’t help it.’ So I took<a class="pagenum" name="Page_194" id="Page_194" title="[Pg 194]"></a>
+it, and it has often been of use to me. He gave me
+several books to read, and was in every way courteous
+and polite. His courtesy was probably the reason
+why the prisons were not long entrusted to him, for he
+was also very good to Doctor Sperling, giving him
+slices of the meat which came up to me, and other
+good food. In his childhood he had been a playfellow
+of the doctor’s children. He talked also occasionally
+a long time with the doctor, both on unlocking and locking
+his door, which did not please the servants.<a name="FNanchor_90" id="FNanchor_90" href="#Footnote_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> The
+prison governor lay constantly in bed; he endeavoured
+as often as he could to come up again, but there was
+little prospect of it. So long as the keys were not
+taken from him, he was satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>My maid Maren, Lars’ daughter, had risen so high
+in favour at court, that she often sat in the women’s
+apartment, and did various things. One day the
+woman said to me, ‘That is a very faithful maiden
+whom you have! She speaks before them up there in
+a manner you would never believe.’ I replied: ‘I have
+permitted her to say all she knows. I have no fear of
+her calumniating me.’ ‘Have you not?’ she said
+ironically. ‘Why does she throw herself, then, on her
+bare knees, and curse herself if she should think of
+returning to you?’ I said: ‘She wished to remain with
+me (according to your own statement), but she was not
+allowed; so she need not curse herself.’ ‘Why then
+do you think,’ said she, ‘that she is so much in favour
+at court?’ ‘Do you mean,’ I replied, ‘that if anyone
+is in favour at court, it is because their lips are full of<a class="pagenum" name="Page_195" id="Page_195" title="[Pg 195]"></a>
+lies? I am assured my maid has calumniated no one,
+least of all me; I am not afraid.’</p>
+
+<p>The woman was angry, and pouted in consequence
+for some time. Some weeks afterwards Maren, Lars’
+daughter, was set at liberty, and became waiting-maid
+to the Countess Friis: and Balcke brought me some
+linen which she still had belonging to me. The
+woman was not a little angry at this, especially as I
+said: ‘So faithful I perceive is my maid to me, that she
+will not keep the linen, which she might easily have
+done, for I could not know whether it had not been
+taken from her with the rest.’</p>
+
+<p>All my guards were very ill satisfied with Balcke,
+especially the woman, who was angry for several
+reasons. He slighted her, she said, for he had supplied
+a basin for the night-stool which was heavier than the
+former one (which leaked); but she was chiefly angry
+because he told her that she lived like a heathen, since
+she never went to the sacrament. For when I once
+received the holy communion, while Balcke was
+attending to me, he asked her if she would not wish to
+communicate also, to which she answered, ‘I do not
+know German.’ Balcke said, ‘I will arrange that the
+clergyman shall come to you whose office it is to
+administer the Lord’s Supper to the prisoners.’ She
+replied that in this place she could not go with the
+proper devotion: if she came out, she would go gladly.
+Balcke admonished her severely, as a clergyman might
+have done. When the door was closed, she gave
+vent to puffing and blowing, and she always unfastened
+her jacket when she was angry.</p>
+
+<p>I said nothing, but I thought the evil humour must
+have vent, or she will be choked; and this was the
+case, for she abused Balcke with the strongest language<a class="pagenum" name="Page_196" id="Page_196" title="[Pg 196]"></a>
+that occurred to her. She used unheard-of curses,
+which were terrible to listen to: among others, ‘God
+damn him for ever, and then I need not curse him
+every day.’ Also, ‘May God make him evaporate
+like the dew before the sun!’ I could not endure this
+cursing, and I said, ‘Are you cursing this man because
+he held before you the word of God, and desires that
+you should be reconciled with God and repent your
+sins?’ ‘I do not curse him for that,’ she said, ‘but on
+account of the heavy basin which the accursed fellow
+has given me, and which I have to carry up the steep
+stairs;<a name="FNanchor_91" id="FNanchor_91" href="#Footnote_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a> the devil must have moved him to choose it!
+Does he want to make a priest of himself? Well, he
+is probably faultless, the saucy fellow!’ and she began
+again with her curses.</p>
+
+<p>I reproved her and said: ‘If he now knew that you
+were cursing him in this way, do you not think he
+would bring it about that you must do penitence? It
+is now almost two years since you were at the Lord’s
+table, and you can have the clergyman and you will
+not.’ This softened her a little, and she said, ‘How
+should he know it, unless you tell him?’ I said,
+‘What passes here and is said here concerns no one
+but us two; it is not necessary that others should
+know.’ With this all was well; she lay down to sleep,
+and her anger passed away; but the hate remained.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor continued to lie in great pain,
+and could neither live nor die. One day at noon, when
+Balcke unlocked (it was just twenty weeks since he
+had come to me), a man came in with him, very badly
+dressed, in a grey, torn, greasy coat, with few buttons
+that could be fastened, with an old hat to which was<a class="pagenum" name="Page_197" id="Page_197" title="[Pg 197]"></a>
+attached a drooping feather that had once been white
+but was now not recognisable from dirt. He wore
+linen stockings and a pair of worn-out shoes fastened
+with packthread.<a name="FNanchor_92" id="FNanchor_92" href="#Footnote_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a> Balcke went to the table outside
+and carved the joint; he then went to the door of the
+outer apartment, stood with his hat in his hand, made
+a low reverence, and said, ‘Herewith I take my departure;
+this man is to be prison governor.’ I enquired
+whether he would not come again to me. He replied,
+‘No, not after this time.’ Upon this I thanked him for
+his courteous attendance, and wished him prosperity.<a name="FNanchor_93" id="FNanchor_93" href="#Footnote_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a></p>
+
+<p>Peder the coachman locked the door, and the new
+prison governor, whose name was Johan Jäger,<a name="FNanchor_E37" id="FNanchor_E37" href="#Footnote_E37" class="fnanchor">[E37]</a> never
+appeared before me the whole day, nor during the
+evening. I said to the woman in the morning, ‘Ask
+Peder who the man is;’ which she did, and returned
+to me with the answer that it was the man who had
+taken the Doctor prisoner; and that now he was to be
+prison governor, but that he had not yet received the
+keys. Not many days passed before he came with the
+Lord Steward to the old prison governor, and the keys
+were taken from the old man and given to him. The<a class="pagenum" name="Page_198" id="Page_198" title="[Pg 198]"></a>
+old man lived only to the day after this occurred. In
+both respects his curiosity was satisfied; he saw the
+man who was to be prison governor after him (to his
+grief), and the doctor who attended him obtained his
+Tyrelyre before the year was ended.</p>
+
+<p>The new prison governor Jäger<a name="FNanchor_E37B" id="FNanchor_E37B" href="#Footnote_E37B" class="fnanchor">[E37b]</a> did not salute me for
+several weeks, and never spoke to me. He rarely
+locked my doors, but he generally opened them himself.
+At length one day, when he had got new shoes
+on, he took his hat off when he had opened the door,
+and said ‘Good morning.’ I answered him, ‘Many
+thanks.’ The woman was very pleased while this
+lasted. She had her free talk with Peder the coachman
+(who still for a couple of months came to the
+tower as before) and with the prisoner Christian, who
+had great freedom, and obtained more and more freedom
+in this prison governor’s time, especially as
+Rasmus the tower-warder was made gatekeeper, and a
+man of the name of Chresten was appointed in his
+place. Among other idle talk which she repeated to
+me, she said that this prison governor was forbidden
+to speak with me. I said, ‘I am very glad, as he then
+can tell no lies about me.’ I am of opinion that he did
+not venture to speak with me so long as Peder brought
+up the food to the tower, and was in waiting there;
+for when he had procured Peder’s dismissal on account
+of stealing, he came in afterwards from time to time.
+The very first time he was intoxicated. He knew what
+Peder had said of Balcke, and he informed me of it.<a name="FNanchor_94" id="FNanchor_94" href="#Footnote_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a></p>
+
+<p>Before I mention anything of the prisoner Christian’s<a class="pagenum" name="Page_199" id="Page_199" title="[Pg 199]"></a>
+designs against me, I will in a few words state the
+crime for which he was in prison. He had been a
+lacquey in the employ of Maans Armfelt. With some
+other lacqueys he had got into a quarrel with a man
+who had been a father to Christian, and who had
+brought him up from his youth and had taken the
+utmost care of him. The man was fatally wounded,
+and called out in the agonies of death: ‘God punish
+thee, Christian! What a son you have been! It was
+your hand that struck me!’ The other lacqueys ran
+away, but Christian was seized. His dagger was found
+bloody. He denied, and said it was not he who had
+stabbed the man. He was sentenced to death; but as
+the dead man’s widow would not pay for the execution,
+Christian remained for the time in prison, and his
+master paid for his maintenance. He had been there
+three years already when I came to the prison, and
+three times he was removed; first from the Witch
+Cell to the Dark Church; and then here where I am
+imprisoned.<a name="FNanchor_95" id="FNanchor_95" href="#Footnote_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a> When I was brought here, he was placed
+where the Doctor is, and when the Doctor was brought
+in, Christian was allowed to go freely about the tower.
+He wound the clock for the tower-warder, locked and
+unlocked the cells below, and had often even the keys
+of the tower.</p>
+
+<p>I remember once, when Rasmus the tower-warder
+was sitting at dinner with the prison governor in my
+outermost cell, and the prison governor wished to
+send Peder on a message, he said to Rasmus: ‘Go
+and open! I want Peder to order something.<a class="pagenum" name="Page_200" id="Page_200" title="[Pg 200]"></a>
+‘Father,’ said Rasmus, ‘Christian has the key.’
+‘Indeed!’ said the prison governor; ‘that is pretty
+work!’ And there it rested, for Rasmus said, ‘I am
+perfectly sure that Christian will not go away.’ Thus
+by degrees Christian’s freedom and power increased
+after Peder the coachman left, and he waited on the
+prison governor at meals in my outermost room.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when the woman had come down from
+above, where she had been emptying the utensils in
+my room, and the doors were locked, she said to me:
+‘This Christian who is here has been just speaking with
+me upstairs. He says he cannot describe the Doctor’s
+miserable condition, how severe is his imprisonment,
+and what bad food he gets, since Balcke left. He
+has no longer any candle except during meal-time,
+and no light reaches him but through the hole in his
+door leading into the outer room. He begged me to
+tell you of it; his eyes were full of tears, such great
+pity had he for him.’ I said: ‘That is all that one can
+do, and it is the duty of a Christian to sympathise with
+the misfortune of one’s neighbour. The poor man
+must have patience as well as I, and we must console
+ourselves with a good conscience. The harder he
+suffers the sooner comes the end; he is an old man.’</p>
+
+<p>Two days afterwards she came again with some talk
+from Christian. The Doctor sent me his compliments,
+and he asked constantly if I was well; she said also,
+that Christian would give him anything I liked to send
+him. I regarded this as a snare, but I said that
+Christian could take a piece of roast meat when the
+prison governor was with me, and that he should look
+about for something into which wine could be poured,
+and then she could secretly give some from my glass,
+and beg Christian to give my compliments to the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_201" id="Page_201" title="[Pg 201]"></a>
+Doctor. This was accepted, and I had rest for a few
+days. Christian conformed entirely to the woman,
+caused a dispute between her and the tower-warder,
+and made it immediately right again; so that there was
+no lack of chatter. At last she said one day: ‘That is
+an honest fellow, this Christian! He has told me how
+innocently he got into prison and was sentenced. He
+is afraid that you may think he eats and drinks all
+that you send to the Doctor. He swore with a solemn
+oath that he would be true to you, if you would write a
+word to the Doctor.<a name="FNanchor_96" id="FNanchor_96" href="#Footnote_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> I hope you do not doubt my
+fidelity!’ and she began to swear and to curse herself
+if she would deceive me. She said, he had taken a no
+less solemn oath, before she believed him. I said: ‘I
+have nothing to write to him. I do not know what I
+have to write.’ ‘Oh!’ said she, ‘write only two
+words, so that the old man may see that he can trust
+him! If you wish for ink, Christian can give you
+some.’ I replied: ‘I have something to write with,
+if I choose to do so, and I can write without ink and
+paper.’</p>
+
+<p>This she could not understand; so I took some pieces
+of sugared almonds, and made some letters on them
+with the large pin, placing on four almonds the words:
+<i lang="la">non ti fidar</i>! I divided the word <i lang="la">fidar</i>, and placed
+half on each almond. I had in this way rest for a day,
+and somewhat to beguile the time. Whether the
+Doctor could not see what was written on the almonds,
+or whether he wished to test Christian’s fidelity, I know
+not, but Christian brought the woman a slip of paper
+from the Doctor to me, full of lamentations at our condition,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_202" id="Page_202" title="[Pg 202]"></a>
+and stating that my daughter Anna Cathrina, or
+else Cassetta, were the cause of his misfortune.</p>
+
+<p>I wished to know more of this, so I wrote to him
+desiring information (we wrote to each other in
+Italian). He replied that one or the other had left his
+letter lying somewhere on the table, where it was found
+and despatched; for that a letter of his was the cause
+of his misfortune. I wrote back to him that it was not
+credible, but that he was suspected of having corresponded
+with my lord, and hence his letters had been
+seized. The more I tried to impress this upon him
+the more opinionated he became,<a name="FNanchor_97" id="FNanchor_97" href="#Footnote_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a> and he wrote afterwards
+saying that it was a scheme of Cassetta’s to get
+him into the net, in order to bring me out of it. When
+he began to write in this way, I acquired a strange
+opinion of him, and fancied he was trying to draw something
+out of me which he could bring forward; and I
+reflected for some days whether I should answer. At
+last I answered him in this strain, that no one knew
+better than he that I was not aware of any treason;
+that the knowledge as to how his correspondence with
+my lord had become known was of no use to him; that
+I had no idea why he was sentenced, and that no sentence
+had been passed on me. Some weeks elapsed
+before the Doctor wrote. At last he communicated to
+me in a few words the sentence passed upon him, and
+we corresponded from time to time with each other.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor became gradually more accessible,
+came in at every meal-time, and related all sorts
+of jokes and buffooneries, which he had carried on in his
+youth: how he had been a drummer, and had made a
+Merry Andrew of himself for my brother-in-law Count
+Pentz, and how he had enacted a dog for the sake of<a class="pagenum" name="Page_203" id="Page_203" title="[Pg 203]"></a>
+favour and money, and had crawled under the table,
+frightening the guests and biting a dog for a ducat’s
+reward. When he had been drinking (which was often
+the case) he juggled and played Punch, sometimes a
+fortune-teller, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>When Chresten the tower-warder, and Christian
+the prisoner, heard the prison governor carrying on his
+jokes, they did the same, and made such a noise with
+the woman in the antechamber that we could not hear
+ourselves speak. She sat on Christian’s lap, and
+behaved herself in a wanton manner. One day she
+was not very well, and made herself some warm beer
+and bread, placing it outside on the stove. The
+prison governor was sitting with me and talking,
+Chresten and Christian were joking with her outside,
+and Christian was to stir the warm beer and bread, and
+taste if it was hot enough. Chresten said to Christian,
+‘Drink it up if you are thirsty.’ The words were no
+sooner said than the deed was done, and almost at the
+same moment the prison governor got up and went
+away. When the door was locked, the woman seemed
+to be almost fainting. I thought she was ill, and I was
+fearful that she might die suddenly, and that the guilt of
+her death might be laid on me, and I asked quickly,
+‘Are you ill?’ She answered, ‘I am bad enough,’ confirming
+it with a terrible oath and beginning to unbutton
+her jacket. Then I saw that she was angry,
+and I knew well that she would give vent to a burst of
+execrations, which was the case.</p>
+
+<p>She cursed and scolded those who had so treated
+her; a poor sick thing as she was, and she had not had
+anything to eat or drink all day. I said, ‘Be quiet, and
+you shall have some warm beer.’ She swore with a
+solemn oath, asking how it was to be got here? it was<a class="pagenum" name="Page_204" id="Page_204" title="[Pg 204]"></a>
+summer and there was no fire in the stove, and it was
+no use calling, as no one could hear. I said, ‘If you
+will be silent, I will cause the pot to boil.’ ‘Yes,’
+and she swore with another fearful oath, ‘I can indeed
+be silent, and will never speak of it.’ So I made
+her take three pieces of brick, which were lying behind
+the night-stool, and place on these her pot of beer and
+bread (everything that she was to do was to be done
+in silence; she might not answer me with words but
+only with signs, when I asked her anything). She sat
+down besides the pot, stirring it with a spoon. I sat
+always on my bed during the day, and then the table
+was placed before me. I had a piece of chalk, and I
+wrote various things on the table, asking from time to
+time whether the pot boiled. She kept peeping in and
+shaking her head. When I had asked three times and
+she turned to me and saw that I was laughing, she
+behaved herself like a mad woman, throwing the spoon
+from her hand, turning over the stool, tearing open her
+jacket, and exclaiming, ‘The devil may be jeered at like
+this!’ I said, ‘You are not worthy of anything better,
+as you believe that I can practise magic.’ ‘Oh (and
+she repeated a solemn oath) had I not believed that
+you could practise magic, I should never have consented
+to be locked up with you; do you know that?’
+I reflected for a moment what answer to give, but I
+said nothing, smiled, and let her rave on.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards she wept and bemoaned her condition.
+‘Now, now,’ I said<span class="corr" title="added: ,">,</span> ‘be quiet! I will make the pot boil
+without witchcraft.’ And as we had a tinder-box, I
+ordered her to strike a light, and to kindle three ends of
+candles, which she was to place under the pot. This
+made the pot boil, and she kissed her hand to me and
+was very merry. Once or twice afterwards I gave her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_205" id="Page_205" title="[Pg 205]"></a>
+leave to warm beer in this way: it could not always be
+done, for if the wind blew against the window (which
+was opened with a long pike) the smoke could not pass
+away. I said, ‘Remember your oath and do not talk
+of what takes place here, or the lights will be taken
+from us; at any rate we shall lose some of them.’
+She asserted that she would not. I heard nothing
+of it at the time, but some years afterwards I found
+that she had said that I had taken up two half-loose
+stones from the floor (this was afterwards related in
+another manner by a clergyman, as will be mentioned
+afterwards). She had also said that I had climbed up and
+looked at the rope-dancers in the castle square, which
+was true. For as Chresten one day told the woman
+that rope-dancers would be exhibiting in the inner castle
+yard, and she informed me of it and enquired what they
+were, and I explained to her, she lamented that she could
+not get a sight of them. I said it could easily be done,
+if she would not talk about it afterwards. She swore,
+as usual, with an oath that she would not. So I took the
+bedclothes from the bed and placed the boards on the
+floor and set the bed upright in front of the window,
+and the night-stool on the top of it. In order to get
+upon the bedstead, the table was placed at the side,
+and a stool by the table in order to get upon the table,
+and a stool upon the table, in order to get upon the
+night-stool, and a stool on the night-stool, so that we
+could stand and look comfortably, though not both at
+once. I let her climb up first, and I stood and took
+care that the bed did not begin to give way; she was
+to keep watch when I was on the top. I knew, moreover,
+well that the dancers did not put forth their
+utmost skill at first.<a name="FNanchor_98" id="FNanchor_98" href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_206" id="Page_206" title="[Pg 206]"></a>
+I could see the faces of the King and Queen: they
+were standing in the long hall, and I wondered afterwards
+that they never turned their eyes to the place
+where I stood. I did not let the woman perceive that
+I saw them. During this woman’s time I once had a
+desire to see the people go to the castle-church and
+return from it. The bed was again placed upright,
+and I sat for a long time on the top, until everyone had
+come out of church. The woman did not venture to
+climb up; she said that she had been afraid enough the
+last time, and was glad when she had come down.</p>
+
+<p>The first time I received the holy communion during
+this prison governor’s time, two brass candlesticks which
+did not match were brought in, with tallow candles.
+This displeased the woman, though she said nothing to
+me. But when at length she was compelled to take
+the sacrament, after more than three years had elapsed
+since she had been at the Lord’s table, she begged
+Chresten, the tower-warder, to go to her daughter (who
+was in the service of a carpenter in the town), and to
+get the loan of a pair of beautiful brass candlesticks
+and a couple of wax candles. If she could also procure
+for her a fine linen cloth, she was to do her best; she
+would pay for it.</p>
+
+<p>Whether the woman had before thought of the
+candlesticks and candles which had been placed for me,
+or whether Chresten himself thought that it would not
+be proper to provide better for her, I know not, but
+shortly before the priest came, Chresten unlocked the
+outer door of my prison and said, ‘Karen, hand me
+out the candlestick you have, and two candles.’ Her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_207" id="Page_207" title="[Pg 207]"></a>
+behaviour is not to be described: she asked if he had
+not spoken with her daughter, and much of the same
+kind (I did not at the time know what she had desired
+of Chresten). He made no reply to her question, but
+asked for the candlestick and candles. For a long time
+she would not give them, but cursed and scolded. I was
+still lying down, and I asked her if I should be her
+maid, and should do it for her? whether she could
+withhold from him what he requested? So she handed
+them to him through the hole of the inner door, with so
+many execrations against him that it was terrible to
+listen to. He laughed aloud, and went away. This
+made her still more angry. I did my best to appease
+her, telling her that such conduct was a most improper
+preparation, and holding before her the sinfulness
+of her behaviour. She said she thought that the
+sin belonged to him who had given cause for it. I
+asked her, at last, in what the Lord’s Supper consisted?
+whether it consisted in candlesticks and candles?
+I rebuked her for looking to externals and not to the
+essential; and I begged her to fall on her knees and
+pray heartily to God for forgiveness of her sins, that
+He might not impute her folly to her. She answered
+that she would do so, but she did not do it at once.</p>
+
+<p>I imagine that the clergyman<a name="FNanchor_99" id="FNanchor_99" href="#Footnote_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a> was well informed by
+Chresten of all that concerned her, as he put to her so
+many questions: where she was born? whom she
+had served? and more of the same kind, and finally,
+whether she had her certificate of confession, and how
+long it was since she had received the Lord’s Supper?
+After this he confessed her in a strange manner; at first
+as one who had deserved to do public penance for great<a class="pagenum" name="Page_208" id="Page_208" title="[Pg 208]"></a>
+sins, then as a criminal under sentence of death who
+was preparing for her end; at last consoling her, and
+performing his office. When all was over and she
+came in to me, I wished her joy. ‘Joy, indeed’ (she
+answered); ‘there is not much good in it! This does
+me more harm than good! If I could only get out, I
+would indeed go straight to the sacrament; I reckon
+this as nothing!’ I interrupted her quickly, and said:
+‘Reflect upon what you are saying! blaspheme not
+God&mdash;I will not hear that! You know well what God’s
+Word says of those who receive Christ’s body and
+blood unworthily and have trodden under foot his
+body?’ ‘Under foot?’ said she. ‘Yes, under foot!’ I
+said, and I made a whole sermon upon it. She
+listened decently; but when I was silent, she said:
+‘He looked upon me as a malefactor, and as one under
+sentence of death. I have never murdered anyone (I
+thought, we know not what);<a name="FNanchor_100" id="FNanchor_100" href="#Footnote_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a> why should I die?
+God Almighty grant’&mdash;&mdash;and with this she was silent.
+I preached to her again, and said that she had deserved
+eternal death on account of her sins, and especially
+because she had so long kept aloof from the Lord’s
+table. ‘This confession,’ she said, ‘I have to thank
+Chresten for; Balcke was also probably concerned in
+it.’ And she began to curse them both. I threatened
+her with a second confession, if she did not restrain
+such words. I told her I could not justify myself before
+God to keep silence to it, and I said, ‘If you speak in
+this way to Chresten, you may be sure he will inform
+against you.’ This kept her somewhat in check, and
+she did not go out upon the stairs that noon.<a name="FNanchor_101" id="FNanchor_101" href="#Footnote_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_209" id="Page_209" title="[Pg 209]"></a>
+After that time she was not so merry by far with the
+man. She often complained to me that she was weak,
+and had strained herself lifting the new basin which
+Balcke had given her; she could not long hold out, she
+said, and she had asked the prison governor to let her
+go away, but that he had answered that she was to die
+in the tower. I said, ‘The prison governor cannot yet
+rightly understand you; ask Chresten to speak for you.’
+This she did, but came back with the same answer.
+One day she said: ‘I see well, dear lady, that you would
+be as gladly free of me as I should be to go. What
+have I for all my money? I cannot enjoy it, and I
+cannot be of service to you.’ I said: ‘Money can do
+much. Give some money to the prison-governor, and
+then he will speak for you. Request one of the charwomen
+to carry the basin instead of you, and this you
+could pay with very little.’ She did the latter for some
+weeks; at length one day she said to me, ‘I have had a
+silver cup made for the prison governor. (Her daughter
+came to her on the stairs as often as she desired, and
+she had permission to remain downstairs the whole
+afternoon, under pretext of speaking with her daughter.
+Whether she gave him presents for this, I know not,
+but I was well contented to be alone. She was, however,
+once afraid that I should tell the priest of it.)
+The fact was, the prison-governor did not dare to speak
+for her with the King. She asked my advice on the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_210" id="Page_210" title="[Pg 210]"></a>
+matter. I said, ‘Remain in bed when the dinner is
+going on, and I will go out and speak with the
+prison-governor.’ This was done. At first he raised
+some difficulties, and said, ‘The Queen will say that
+there is some trick at the bottom of it.’ I said they
+could visit and examine the woman when she came out;
+that we had not been such intimate friends; that I knew
+the woman had been sent to wait on me; when she
+could do so no longer, but lay in bed, I had no attendance
+from her, and still less was I inclined to wait
+on her; she did her work for money, and there were
+women enough who would accept the employment.</p>
+
+<p>Three days afterwards, when the King came from
+Fridrichsborg, the prison-governor came in and said
+that the woman could go down in the evening; that
+he had another whom Chresten had recommended, and
+who was said to be a well-behaved woman (which
+she is).</p>
+
+<p>Karen the daughter of Ole therefore went down, and
+Karen the daughter of Nels came up in her place.
+And I can truly say that it was one of the happiest
+days during my severe imprisonment; for I was freed
+of a faithless, godless, lying<a name="FNanchor_102" id="FNanchor_102" href="#Footnote_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a> and ill-behaved woman,
+and I received in her stead a Christian, true, and
+thoroughly good (perhaps too good) woman. When
+the first took her departure, she said, ‘Farewell, lady!
+we are now both pleased.’ I answered, ‘That is
+perhaps one of the truest words you have ever spoken
+in your life.’ She made no reply, but ran as fast as<a class="pagenum" name="Page_211" id="Page_211" title="[Pg 211]"></a>
+she could, so that no weakness nor illness were perceptible
+in her. She lived scarcely a year afterwards,
+suffering severe pain for six weeks in her bed, before
+she died; the nature of her malady I know not.</p>
+
+<p>On the day after this Karen’s arrival, she sat
+thoroughly depressed all the afternoon. I asked her
+what was the matter. She said, ‘Oh! I have nothing
+to do, and I might not bring work with me! I weary
+to death.’ I enquired what work she could do.
+‘Spinning,’ she answered, ‘is my work principally; I
+can also do plain needlework and can knit a little.’ I
+had nothing to help her in this way; but I drew out
+some ends of silk, which I had kept from what I cut
+off, and which are too short to work with, and other
+tufts of silk from night-jackets and stockings; I had
+made a flax-comb of small pins,<a name="FNanchor_103" id="FNanchor_103" href="#Footnote_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a> fastened to a piece of
+wood; with this I combed the silk and made it available
+for darning caps; and I said to her, ‘There is
+something for you to do; comb that for me!’ She
+was so heartily pleased that it was quite a delight to
+me. I found from her account of this and that which
+had occurred in her life, that she had a good heart,
+and that she had often been deceived owing to her
+credulity. She had also known me in my prosperity;
+she had been in the service of a counsellor’s lady who
+had been present at my wedding, and she could well
+remember the display of fireworks and other festivities;
+she wept as she spoke of it, and showed great sympathy<a class="pagenum" name="Page_212" id="Page_212" title="[Pg 212]"></a>
+with me. She was a peasant’s daughter from Jutland,
+but had married the quarter-master of a regiment. By
+degrees I felt an affection for her, and begged her to
+speak to Christian and to enquire how the Doctor was;
+I told her that Christian could occasionally perform
+small services for us, and could buy one thing or
+another for us; for he had a lad, in fact sometimes two,
+who executed commissions for him, but that I had
+never trusted the other woman, so that he had never
+bought anything for me; besides, the other woman had
+not cared to spin; but that Christian should now procure
+us what we wanted in return for our candles.
+And as she did not care to drink wine (for at each
+meal the woman received at that time half-a-pint of
+French wine), I said: ‘Give Chresten your wine as I
+give wine to Christian, then Chresten can let it stay with
+the cellar-clerk and can take it weekly, which will give
+him a profit on it, and then he will see nothing even if
+he remarks anything.’</p>
+
+<p>This was done, and Christian got us two hand-distaffs.
+Mine was but small, but hers was a proper
+size. I spun a little and twisted it into thread, which
+is still in my possession. Christian procured her as
+much flax as she desired, and brought her up a whole
+wreath in his trousers. She spun a good deal on the
+hand-distaff, and I arranged my loom on a stool, which
+I placed on the table, fastening one beam with ribbon
+and cord which I had made myself, so that when the
+key was put into the staircase-door, I could in one pull
+loosen my loom and unfasten the other beam which
+was fastened to myself, and put all away before the
+inner door was opened. I made myself also a wooden
+skewer (I had before used a warp), so that I could
+weave alone; I had also obtained a real weaver’s<a class="pagenum" name="Page_213" id="Page_213" title="[Pg 213]"></a>
+comb; so we were very industrious, each at her own
+work.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor was full of foolish jokes, and
+played tricks such as boys enjoy; he tried to jest with
+the woman, but she would not join him. Almost every
+day he was drunk at dinner-time when he came up.
+Afterwards he came rarely of an evening, but sent a
+servant instead, who would lie and sleep on the wall in
+the window. He wanted to jest with me also, and
+opened his mouth, telling me to throw something in
+and see if I could hit his mouth. I laughed and said,
+‘How foolish you are!’ and begged him to come
+nearer, and I would see if I could hit him. ‘No, no,’
+said he; ‘I am not such a fool; I daresay you would box
+my ears.’ One day he came up with a peculiar kind of
+squirt, round in form like a ball, and he placed a small
+tube in it, so small as scarcely to be seen; it was quite
+pretty. When pressed in any part, the water squirted
+out quite high and to a distance. He was saucy, and
+squirted me. When he saw that I was angry, he came
+to me with the squirt, ran away and sat down with his
+mouth as wide open as possible and begged me to squirt
+into it if I could. I would not begin playing with
+him, for I knew his coarseness well from his stories,
+and I gave him back the squirt. When Karen was
+bringing in the meat, the prison governor had the squirt
+between his legs, and was seated on a low stool, from
+which he could squirt into the woman’s face; he was
+some distance from her, and the ball was not larger
+than a large plum. She knew nothing of the squirt
+(she is somewhat hasty in her words), and she exclaimed,
+‘May God send you a misfortune, Mr. governor!
+Are you insulting me?’ The prison governor
+laughed like an insane man, so pleased was he at this.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_214" id="Page_214" title="[Pg 214]"></a>
+By degrees he became less wild; he rarely came up
+sober, and he would lie on the woman’s bed and sleep
+while I dined, so that Chresten and the woman had to
+help him off the bed when they had woke him.
+The keys of the prisons lay by his side, and the principal
+key close by (did he not take good care of his
+prisoners?).<a name="FNanchor_104" id="FNanchor_104" href="#Footnote_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a> He was not afraid that I should murder
+him. One evening he was intoxicated, and behaved
+as such; and began, after his fashion, to try and caress
+me, endeavouring to feel my knee and seized the edge
+of my petticoat. I thrust him away with my foot, and
+said nothing more than: ‘When you are intoxicated,
+remain away from me, and do not come in, I tell you.’
+He said nothing, got up and went away; but he did
+not come in afterwards when he was tipsy, but remained
+outside in the anteroom, lying down in the
+window, where there was a broad stone bench against
+the wall; there he lay and slept for some time after
+my doors were locked, then the coachman and
+Chresten came and dragged him down. Occasionally
+he came in when he was not drunk, and he gave me
+at my request some old cards, which I sewed together
+and made into a box. Christian covered it
+with thin sticks of fir, which I afterwards stitched
+over, and I even secretly contrived to paint it. I
+have it in my possession. The prison governor saw it
+afterwards, but he never asked where the covering had<a class="pagenum" name="Page_215" id="Page_215" title="[Pg 215]"></a>
+come from.<a name="FNanchor_105" id="FNanchor_105" href="#Footnote_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a> In this box (if I may call it so) I keep
+all my work and implements, and it stands by day on
+my bed.</p>
+
+<p>Christian’s power increased. He waited not only
+outside at dinner, but he even locked my door in the
+face of the tower-warder. He came with the perfuming-pan
+into my room when the woman took away
+the night-stool; in fact, he subsequently became so
+audacious that he did everything he chose, and had
+full command over the prisoners below. Chresten
+availed himself also of the slack surveillance of the
+prison governor, and stayed sometimes the whole night
+out in the town, often coming in tipsy to supper. One
+evening Chresten was intoxicated, and had broken
+some panes of glass below with his hand, so that his
+fingers were bloody; he dashed my wine-cup on the
+ground, so that it cracked and was bent; and as the
+cup was quite bloody outside when he came in to me,
+and some blood seemed to have got into the wine,
+I spoke somewhat seriously with the prison governor
+about it. He said nothing but ‘The man is mad,’ took
+the cup and went himself down into the cellar, and had
+the cup washed and other wine put in it. How they
+afterwards made it up I know not. The indentations
+on the cup have been beaten out, but the crack on the
+edge is still there; this suits the cellar-clerk well, for
+now scarcely half a pint goes into the cup. Christian
+held his own manfully against the prison governor, when
+he had a quarrel with some of the prisoners below;<a class="pagenum" name="Page_216" id="Page_216" title="[Pg 216]"></a>
+and Chresten complained of this to the prison governor,
+who came in and wanted to place Christian in the Witch
+Cell; but he thrust the prison governor away, and said
+that he had nothing to do with him, and that he had not
+put him into the prison; and then harangued him in
+such a style that the Governor thanked God when he
+went away. Christian then called after him from the
+window, and said, ‘I know secret tricks of yours, but
+you know none of mine.’ (One I knew of, of which
+he was aware, and that not a small one. There was
+a corporal who had stabbed a soldier, and was sought for
+with the beating of drums: the prison governor concealed
+him for several weeks in the tower.) On the
+following morning Christian repented, and he feared
+that he might be locked up, and came to my door before
+it had been opened<a name="FNanchor_106" id="FNanchor_106" href="#Footnote_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a> (it often happened that the anteroom
+was unlocked before the food was brought up,
+and always in the winter mornings, when a fire was
+made in the stove outside), and he begged me to speak
+for him with the prison governor, which I did; so that
+things remained as they were, and Christian was as
+bold as before.</p>
+
+<p>The woman and I lived in good harmony together.
+Occasionally there were small disputes between Christian
+and her, but at that time they were of no importance.
+I quieted his anger with wine and candles.
+This woman had a son, who died just after she had
+come to me, and a daughter who is still alive; at that
+time she was in the service of a tailor, but she is now
+married to a merchant. The daughter received permission<a class="pagenum" name="Page_217" id="Page_217" title="[Pg 217]"></a>
+occasionally to come and speak with her
+mother on the stairs. This annoyed Christian, as he
+thought that through her all sorts of things were
+obtained; and he threatened often that he would say
+what he thought, though he did not know it, and this
+frequently troubled the woman (she easily weeps and
+easily laughs). I could soon comfort her. We spent
+our time very well. I taught her to read, beginning
+with A B C, for she did not know a single letter. I
+kept to fixed hours for teaching her. She was at the
+time sixty years of age. And when she could spell
+a little,<a name="FNanchor_107" id="FNanchor_107" href="#Footnote_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a> she turned the book one day over and over,
+and began to rub her eyes and exclaimed, ‘Oh God,
+how strange it is! I do not know (and she swore by
+God) a single letter.’ I was standing behind her, and
+could scarcely keep from laughing. She rubbed her
+eyes again, and (as she is rather hasty with her words)
+she pointed quickly to an O, and said, ‘Is not that an
+O?’ ‘Yes,’ I said, and I laughed when she turned to
+me. She then for the first time perceived that she
+was holding the book upside down; she threw herself
+on the bed and laughed till I thought she would burst.</p>
+
+<p>One day when she was to read, and did not like to
+lay aside her distaff, it did not go smoothly, and she
+gave it up, and said, ‘Am I not foolish to wish to
+learn to read in my old age? What good does it do
+me? I have spent much money on my son to have
+him taught to read, and see, is he not dead?’ I knew
+how much she was able to do, and I let her go on
+speaking. She threw the book on her bed, sat down to<a class="pagenum" name="Page_218" id="Page_218" title="[Pg 218]"></a>
+her work, and said, ‘What do I need to learn to read
+in a book? I can, thank God, read my morning and
+evening prayer.’ (I thought to myself, ‘badly enough.’
+She knew very little of her catechism.) I said (gently):
+‘That is true, Karen. It is not necessary for you to
+learn to read a book, as you can read very nicely by
+heart.’ I had scarcely said this than she jumped up,
+took her book again, and began to spell. I neither
+advised her nor dissuaded her, but treated her like a
+good simple child.<a name="FNanchor_108" id="FNanchor_108" href="#Footnote_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a></p>
+
+<p>I fell ill during this year,<a name="FNanchor_109" id="FNanchor_109" href="#Footnote_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a> and as the prison governor
+no longer came in to me and sent the servant up of an
+evening, I begged the woman to tell him that I was ill,
+and that I wished a doctor to come to me. The
+woman told him this (for by this time he understood
+Danish, and the woman understood a little German),
+and when she said, ‘I am afraid she will die,’ he
+answered, ‘Why the d&mdash;&mdash; let her die!’ I had daily
+fevers, heat, but no shivering; and as an obstruction
+was the chief cause of my illness, I desired a remedy.
+The prison governor ridiculed the idea. When I heard
+this, I requested he would come to me, which he did. I
+spoke to him rather seriously; told him that it was not
+the King’s will that he should take no more care of me
+than he did, that he had more care for his dog than for
+me (which was the case). Upon this his manner<a class="pagenum" name="Page_219" id="Page_219" title="[Pg 219]"></a>
+improved, and he enquired what I wished for, and I
+said what I desired, and obtained it. I had become
+rather excited at the conversation, so that I felt weak.
+The woman cried and said: ‘I am afraid you will die,
+dear lady! and then the bad maids from the wash-house
+will wash your feet and hands.’ (One of the maids below
+had sent very uncivil messages to me.) I replied that I
+should not say a word against that. ‘What?’ said she
+angrily, ‘will you suffer that? No,’ she added with an
+asseveration, ‘I would not! I would not suffer it if I
+were in your place.’ So I said, like that philosopher,
+‘Place the stick with the candlestick at my side, and
+with that I can keep them away from me when I am
+dead.’<a name="FNanchor_110" id="FNanchor_110" href="#Footnote_110" class="fnanchor">[110]</a> This brought her to reason again, and she
+talked of the grave and of burial. I assured her that
+this did not trouble me at all; that when I was dead,
+it was all one to me; even if they threw my body in
+the sea, it would, together with my soul, appear before
+the throne of God at the last day, and might come off
+better perhaps than many who were lying in coffins
+mounted with silver and in splendid vaults. But that I
+would not say, as the prison governor did in his levity,
+that I should like to be buried on the hill of Valdby, in
+order to be able to look around me. I desired nothing
+else than a happy end. We spoke of the prison
+governor’s coarseness; of various things which he did,
+on account of which it would go badly with him if the
+Queen knew it; of his godlessness, how that when he
+had been to the Lord’s Supper, he said he had passed
+muster; and other things. There was no fear of God
+in him.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_220" id="Page_220" title="[Pg 220]"></a>
+I requested to have the sacrament, and asked M.
+Buck to come to me at seven o’clock in the morning,
+for at about half-past eight o’clock the fever began.
+The priest did not come till half-past nine, when the
+fever heat had set in (for it began now somewhat later).
+When I had made my confession, he began to preach
+about murder and homicide; about David, who was
+guilty of Uriah’s death, although he had not killed him
+with his own hand. He spoke of sin as behoved him,
+and of the punishment it brings with it. ‘You,’ he
+said, ‘have killed General Fux, for you have bribed a
+servant to kill him.’ I replied, ‘That is not true! I
+have not done so!’ ‘Yes, truly,’ he said; ‘the servant
+is in Hamburg, and he says it himself.’ I replied: ‘If
+he has so said, he has lied, for my son gave Fux his
+death-blow with a stiletto. I did not know that Fux
+was in Bruges until I heard of his death. How could
+the servant, then, say that I had done it? It was not
+done by my order, but that I should not have rejoiced
+that God should have punished the villain I am free to
+confess.<span class="corr" title="added: ’">’</span> To this he answered, ‘I should have done so
+myself.’ I said: ‘God knows how Fux treated us in our
+imprisonment at Borringholm. That is now past, and I
+think of it no more.’ ‘There you are right,’ he said, as he
+proceeded in his office. When all was over, he spoke
+with the prison governor outside the door of my anteroom,
+just in front of the door of the Dark Church, and
+said that I made myself ill; that I was not ill; that my
+face was red from pure anger; that he had spoken the
+truth to me, and that I had been angry in consequence.
+Christian was standing inside the door of the Dark
+Church, for at this time there were no prisoners there,
+and he heard the conversation, and related it to me when
+I began to get up again and spoke with him at the door.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_221" id="Page_221" title="[Pg 221]"></a>
+Some time afterwards Christian said to me, quite
+secretly, ‘If you like, I will convey a message from you
+to your children in Skaane.’ I enquired how this
+could be done. He said: ‘Through my girl; she is
+thoroughly true; she shall go on purpose.’ He knew
+that I had some ducats left, for Peder the coachman had
+confided it to him, as he himself told me. I accepted
+his offer and wrote to my children, and gave him a
+ducat for the girl’s journey.<a name="FNanchor_111" id="FNanchor_111" href="#Footnote_111" class="fnanchor">[111]</a> She executed the
+commission well, and came back with a letter from
+them and from my sister.<a name="FNanchor_E40" id="FNanchor_E40" href="#Footnote_E40" class="fnanchor">[E40]</a> The woman knew nothing
+of all this.</p>
+
+<p>By degrees Christian began to be insolent in various
+ways. When he came with his boy’s pouch, in which
+the woman was to give him food, he would throw it at
+her, and he was angry if meat was not kept for himself
+for the evening; and when he could not at once get
+the pouch back again, he would curse the day when he
+had come to my door and had spoken with me or had
+communicated anything to me. She was sad, but she
+said nothing to me. This lasted only for a day, and
+then he knocked again at the door and spoke as usual
+of what news he had heard. The woman was sitting
+on the bed, crossing herself fifteen times (he could
+not see her, nor could he see me). When he was gone,
+she related how fearfully he had been swearing, &amp;c.
+I said: ‘You must not regard this; in the time of the
+other Karen he has done as much.’ His courage daily
+increased. The dishes were often brought up half-an-hour
+before the prison-governor came. In the meanwhile
+Christian cut the meat, and took himself the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_222" id="Page_222" title="[Pg 222]"></a>
+piece he preferred (formerly at every meal I had sent
+him out a piece of fish, or anything else he desired).
+The stupid prison governor allowed it to go on; he
+was glad, I imagine, that he was spared the trouble,
+and paid no attention to the fact that there was anything
+missing in the dish. I let it go on for a time, for
+it did not happen regularly every day. But when he
+wanted food for his boy, he would say nothing but
+‘Some food in my boy’s pouch!’ We often laughed
+over this afterwards, when he was away, but not at the
+time, for it grew worse from day to day. He could not
+endure that we should laugh and be merry; if he heard
+anything of the kind outside, he was angry. But if one
+spoke despondingly, he would procure what was in his
+power.<a name="FNanchor_112" id="FNanchor_112" href="#Footnote_112" class="fnanchor">[112]</a> One day he listened, and heard that we were
+laughing; for the woman was just relating an amusing
+story of the mother of a schoolboy in Frederichsborg (she
+had lived there); how the mother of the boy did not
+know how to address the schoolmaster, and called him
+Herr Willas.<a name="FNanchor_E41" id="FNanchor_E41" href="#Footnote_E41" class="fnanchor">[E41]</a> He said, ‘I am no Herr.’ ‘Then Master,’
+said the woman. ‘I am no Master either,’ he said;
+‘I am plain Willas.’ Then the woman said: ‘My good
+plain Willas! My son always licks the cream from my
+milk-pans when he comes home. Will you lick him in
+return, and that with a switch on his back?’ While we
+were laughing at this, he came to the door and heard the
+words I was saying: ‘I don’t suppose that it really so
+happened; one must always add something to make a
+good story of it.’ He imagined we were speaking of
+him, and that we were laughing at him. At meal-time<a class="pagenum" name="Page_223" id="Page_223" title="[Pg 223]"></a>
+he said to the woman, ‘You were very merry to-day.’
+She said, ‘Did you not know why? It is because I
+belong to the “Lætter�’<a name="FNanchor_E42" id="FNanchor_E42" href="#Footnote_E42" class="fnanchor">[E42]</a> (that was her family name).
+‘It would be a good thing,’ he said, ‘to put a stop to
+your laughter altogether; you have been laughing at
+me.’ She protested that we had not, that his name
+had not been mentioned (which was the case); but he
+would not regard it. They fell into an altercation. She
+told me of the conversation, and for some days he did
+not come to the door, and I sent him nothing; for just
+at that time a poor old man was my neighbour, and I
+sent him a drink of wine. Christian came again to the
+door and knocked. He complained very softly of the
+woman; begged that I would reprove her for what she
+had said to him, as he had heard his name mentioned.
+I protested to him that at the time we were not even
+thinking of him, and that I could not scold her for the
+words we had spoken together. I wished to have repose
+within our closed door. ‘Yes,’ he answered; ‘household
+peace is good, as the old woman said.’ With this
+he went away.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards he caused us all sorts of annoyance, and
+was again pacified. Then he wished again that I
+should write to Skaane.<a name="FNanchor_113" id="FNanchor_113" href="#Footnote_113" class="fnanchor">[113]</a> I said I was satisfied to know
+that some of my children were with my sister; where
+my sons were, and how it fared with them, I did not
+know: I left them in God’s care. This did not satisfy
+him, and he spoke as if he thought I had no more<a class="pagenum" name="Page_224" id="Page_224" title="[Pg 224]"></a>
+money; but he did not at that time exactly say so.
+But one day, when he had one of his mad fits, he came
+to the door and had a can with wine (which I gave
+him at almost every meal) in his hand, and he said:
+‘Can you see me?’ (for there was a cleft in the outermost
+door, but at such a distance one could not clearly
+see through). ‘Here I am with my cup of wine, and
+I am going to drink your health for the last time.’ I
+asked: ‘Why for the last time?’ ‘Yes,’ he swore,
+coming nearer to the door and saying: ‘I will do no
+more service for you; so I know well that I shall get
+no more wine.’ I said, ‘I thank you for the services
+you have rendered me; I desire no more from you,
+but nevertheless you may still get your wine.’ ‘No!’
+he said; ‘no more service! there is nothing more to
+be fetched.’ ‘That is true,’ I answered. ‘You do
+not know me,’ said he; ‘I am not what you think;
+it is easy to start with me, but it is not easy to get rid
+of me.’ I laughed a little, and said: ‘You are far
+better than you make yourself out to be. To-morrow
+you will be of another mind.’</p>
+
+<p>He continued to describe himself as very wicked (it
+was, however, far from as bad as he really is). I could
+do nothing else but laugh at him. He drank from the
+can, and sat himself down on the stool outside. I
+called him and begged him to come to the door, as I
+wanted to speak with him. There he sat like a fool,
+saying to himself: ‘Should I go to the door? No,’ and
+he swore with a terrible oath, ‘that I will not do! Oh
+yes, to the door! No, Christian, no!’ laughing from
+time to time immoderately, and shouting out that the
+devil might take him and tear him in pieces the day
+on which he should go to my door or render me a
+service. I went away from the door and sat down<a class="pagenum" name="Page_225" id="Page_225" title="[Pg 225]"></a>
+horrified at the man’s madness and audacity. Some
+days passed in silence, and he would accept no wine.
+No food was offered to him, for he continued, in the
+same way as before, to cut the meat before the prison
+governor came up. As the prison governor at this time
+occasionally again came in to me and talked with me,
+I requested him that Christian, as a prisoner, should not
+have the liberty of messing my food. This was, therefore,
+forbidden him in future.</p>
+
+<p>Some days afterwards he threw the pouch to the
+woman on the stairs, and said: ‘Give me some food
+for to-night in my lad’s pouch.’<a name="FNanchor_114" id="FNanchor_114" href="#Footnote_114" class="fnanchor">[114]</a> This was complied
+with with the utmost obedience, and a piece of meat
+was placed in the pouch. This somewhat appeased
+him, so that at noon he spoke with the woman, and
+even asked for a drink of wine; but he threatened the
+woman that he would put an end to the laughing. I
+did not fear the evil he could do to me, but this vexatious
+life was wearisome. I allowed no wine to be
+offered to him, unless he asked for some. He was in
+the habit every week of procuring me the newspapers<a name="FNanchor_E43" id="FNanchor_E43" href="#Footnote_E43" class="fnanchor">[E43]</a>
+for candles, and as he did not bring me the newspapers
+for the candles of the first week, I sent him no more.
+He continued to come every Saturday with the perfuming-pan,
+and to lock my door. When he came in
+with the fumigating stuff, he fixed his eyes upon the
+wall, and would not look at me. I spoke to him once
+and asked after the doctor, and he made no reply.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_226" id="Page_226" title="[Pg 226]"></a>
+Thus it went on for some weeks; then he became
+appeased, and brought the woman the papers from the
+time that he had withheld them, all rolled up together
+and fastened with a thread. When the prison governor
+came in during the evening and sat and talked (he was
+slightly intoxicated), and Chresten had gone to the
+cellar, the woman gave him back the papers, thanking
+him in my name, and saying that the papers were of no
+interest to me; I had done without them for so many
+weeks, and could continue to do so. He was so angry
+that he tore the papers in two with his teeth, tore
+open his coat so that the buttons fell on the floor, threw
+some of the papers into the fire, howled, screamed,
+and gnashed with his teeth. I tried to find something
+over which I could laugh with the prison governor,
+and I spoke as loud as I could, in order to drown
+Christian’s voice.<a name="FNanchor_115" id="FNanchor_115" href="#Footnote_115" class="fnanchor">[115]</a> The woman came in as pale as a
+corpse, and looked at me. I signed to her that she
+should go out again. Then Christian came close to
+my door and howled, throwing his slippers up into the
+air, and then against my door, repeating this frequently.
+When he heard Chresten coming up with the cups, he
+threw himself on the seat on which the prison governor
+was accustomed to lie, and again struck his slippers
+against the wall. Chresten gazed at him with astonishment,
+as he stood with the cups in his hand. He saw well
+that there was something amiss between the woman
+and Christian, and that the woman was afraid; he could
+not, however, guess the cause, nor could he find it out;
+he thought, moreover, that it had nothing to do with
+me, since I was laughing and talking with the prison<a class="pagenum" name="Page_227" id="Page_227" title="[Pg 227]"></a>
+governor. When the doors were closed, the lamentations
+found free vent. The woman said that he had
+threatened her; he would forbid her daughter coming
+on the stairs and carrying on her talk, and doing other
+things that she ought not. I begged her to be calm; told
+her he was now in one of his mad fits, but that it would
+pass away; that he would hesitate before he said anything
+of it, for that he would be afraid that what he had
+brought up to her would also come to light, and then
+he would himself get into misfortune for his trouble; that
+the prison governor had given her daughter leave to
+come to her, and to whom therefore should he complain?
+(I thought indeed in my own mind that if he
+adhered to his threat, he would probably find some one
+else to whom he could complain, as he had so much
+liberty; he could bring in and out what he chose, and
+could speak with whom he desired in the watchman’s
+gallery.) She wept, was very much affected, and talked
+with but little sense, and said: ‘If I have no peace for
+him, I will&mdash;yes, I will&mdash;.’ She got no further, and could
+not get out what she would do. I smiled, and said at
+last: ‘Christian is mad. I will put a stop to it to-morrow:
+let me deal with him! Sleep now quietly!’</p>
+
+<p>She fell asleep afterwards, but I did not do so very
+quickly, thinking what might follow such wild fits. Next
+day towards noon I told her what she was to say to
+Christian; she was to behave as if she were dissatisfied,
+and begin to upbraid him and to say, ‘The devil take
+you for all you have taught her! She has pulled off
+her slippers just as you do, and strikes me on the head
+with them. She is angry and no joke, and she took
+all the pretty stuff she had finished and threw it into
+the night-stool. “There,� said she, “no one shall have
+any advantage of that.�’ At this he laughed like a fool,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_228" id="Page_228" title="[Pg 228]"></a>
+for it pleased him. ‘Is she thoroughly angry?’ he
+asked. ‘Yes,’ she replied; ‘she is indeed.’ At this
+he laughed aloud on the stairs, so that I heard it. For
+a fortnight he behaved tolerably well, now and then
+demanding wine and food; and he came moreover to
+the door and related, among other things, how he had
+heard that the prince (now our king) was going to be
+married. I had also heard it, though I did not say so,
+for the prison governor had told me of it, and besides I
+received the papers without him. And as I asked him
+no questions, he went away immediately, saying afterwards
+to the woman, ‘She is angry and so am I. We
+will see who first will want the other.’ He threatened
+the woman very much. She wished that I would give
+him fair words. I told her that he was not of that
+character that one could get on with him by always
+showing the friendly side.<a name="FNanchor_116" id="FNanchor_116" href="#Footnote_116" class="fnanchor">[116]</a> As he by degrees became
+more insolent than could be tolerated, I said
+one day to the prison governor that I was surprised that
+he could allow a prisoner to unlock and lock my doors,
+and to do that which was really the office of the tower-warder;
+and I asked him whether it did not occur to
+him that under such circumstances I might manage to
+get out, if I chose to do so without the King’s will?
+Christian was a prisoner, under sentence of death; he had
+already offered to get me out of the tower. The prison
+governor sat and stared like one who does not rightly
+understand, and he made no reply but ‘Yes, yes!’ but
+he acted in conformity with my warning, so that either
+he himself locked and unlocked, or Chresten did so.
+(I have seen Christian snatching the keys out of<a class="pagenum" name="Page_229" id="Page_229" title="[Pg 229]"></a>
+Chresten’s hand and locking my door, and this at the
+time when he began to make himself so angry.)</p>
+
+<p>If Christian had not been furious before, he became
+so now, especially at the time that Chresten came in
+with the perfuming-pan when the woman was above.
+He would then stand straight before me in the anteroom,
+looking at me like a ghost and gnashing his
+teeth; and when he saw that I took the rest of the
+fumigating stuff from Chresten’s hand (which he had
+always himself given me in paper), he burst into a
+defiant laugh. When the doors were unlocked in the
+evening, and Christian began talking with the woman,
+he said: ‘Karen, tell her ladyship that I will make
+out a devilish story with you both. I have with my
+own eyes seen Chresten giving her a letter. Ay, that
+was why she did not let me go in with the perfuming-pan,
+because I would not undertake her message to
+Skaane. Ay, does she get the newspapers also from
+him? Yes, tell her, great as are the services I have
+rendered her, I will now prepare a great misfortune
+for her.’ God knows what a night I had! Not because
+I feared his threat, for I did not in the least regard
+his words; he himself would have suffered the most
+by far. But the woman was so sad that she did nothing
+but lament and moan, chiefly about her daughter, on
+account of the disgrace it would be to her if they put
+her mother into the Dark Church, nay even took her
+life. Then she remembered that her daughter had
+spoken with her on the stairs, and she cried out again:
+‘Oh my daughter! my daughter! She will get into the
+house of correction!’ For some time I said nothing
+more than ‘Calm yourself; it will not be as bad as
+you think,’ as I perceived that she was not capable
+of listening to reason, for she at once exclaimed ‘Ach<a class="corr" name="corr_16" id="corr_16" title="added: !">!</a><a class="pagenum" name="Page_230" id="Page_230" title="[Pg 230]"></a>
+ach!’ as often as I tried to speak, sitting up in bed
+and holding her head between her two hands and
+crying till she was almost deluged. I thought, ‘When
+there are no more tears to come, she will probably
+stop.’</p>
+
+<p>I said at length, when she was a little appeased:
+‘The misfortune with which the man threatens us
+cannot be averted by tears. Calm yourself and lie
+down to sleep. I will do the same, and I will pray
+God to impart to me His wise counsel for the morrow.’
+This quieted her a little; but when I thought she was
+sleeping, she burst forth again with all the things that
+she feared; she had brought in to me slips of paper,
+knife and scissors, and other things furnished by him
+contrary to order. I answered only from time to time:
+‘Go to sleep, go to sleep! I will talk with you to-morrow!’
+It was of no avail. The clock struck two,
+when she was still wanting to talk, and saying, ‘It
+will go badly with the poor old man down below!’<a name="FNanchor_117" id="FNanchor_117" href="#Footnote_117" class="fnanchor">[117]</a>
+I made as if I were asleep, but the whole night, till
+five o’clock and longer, no sleep came to my eyes.</p>
+
+<p>When the door was unlocked at noon, I had already
+intimated to her what she was to say to Christian, and
+had given her to understand that he thought to receive
+money from her and candles from me by his threats,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_231" id="Page_231" title="[Pg 231]"></a>
+and that he wanted to force us to obey his pleasure;
+but that he had others to deal with than he imagined.
+She was only to behave as if she did not care for his
+talk, and was to say nothing but ‘Good day,’ unless he
+spoke to her; and if he enquired what I had said, she
+was to act as if she did not remember that she was to
+tell me anything. If he repeated his message, she
+was to say: ‘I am not going to say anything to her
+about that. Are you still as foolish as you were last
+night? Do what you choose!’ and then go away.
+This conversation took place, and he threatened her
+worse than before. The woman remained steadfast,
+but she was thoroughly cast down when our doors
+were locked; still, as she has a light heart, she often
+laughed with the tears in her eyes. I knew well that
+Christian would try to recover favour again by communicating
+me all kind of news in writing, but I had
+forbidden the woman to take his slips of paper, so that
+he got very angry. I begged her to tell him that he
+had better restrain himself if he could; that if he
+indulged his anger, it would be worse for him. At
+this he laughed ironically, and said, ‘Tell her, it will be
+worse for her. Whatever I have done for her, she has
+enticed me to by giving me wine: tell her so. I will
+myself confess everything; and if I come to the rack
+and wheel, Chresten shall get into trouble. He brought
+her letters from her children.’ (The rogue well knew
+that I had not allowed the woman to be cognisant
+neither of the fact that he had conveyed for me a
+message to Skaane to my children, nor of the wax in
+which the tower keys were impressed; this was why
+he spoke so freely to her.) When our doors were
+locked, this formed the subject of our conversation.
+I laughed at it, and asked the woman what disgrace<a class="pagenum" name="Page_232" id="Page_232" title="[Pg 232]"></a>
+could be so great as to be put on the wheel; I regarded
+it as thoughtless talk, for such it was, and I begged her
+to tell him that he need not trouble himself to give
+himself up, as I would relieve him of the trouble, and
+(if he chose) tell the prison governor everything on
+the following day that he had done for me; he had
+perhaps forgotten something, but that I could well remember
+it all.</p>
+
+<p>When the woman told him this, he made no answer,
+but ran down, kept quiet for some days, and scarcely
+spoke to the woman. One Saturday, when the woman
+had gone upstairs with the night-stool, he went up
+to her and tried to persuade her to accept a slip of
+paper for me, but she protested that she dare not.
+‘Then tell her,’ he said, ‘that she is to give me back
+the scissors and the knife which I have given her. I
+will have them, and she shall see what I can do. You
+shall both together get into trouble!’ She came down
+as white as a corpse, so that I thought she had strained
+herself. She related the conversation and his request,
+and begged me much to give him back the things, and
+that then he would be quiet. I said: ‘What is the
+matter with you? are you in your senses? Does he
+not say that we shall get into trouble if he gets the
+scissors and knife back again? Now is not the time
+to give them to him. Do you not understand that he
+is afraid I shall let the things be seen? My work, he
+thinks, is gone, and the papers are no longer here, so
+that there is nothing with which he can be threatened
+except these things. You must not speak with him
+this evening. If he says anything, do not answer him.’
+In the evening he crept in, and said in the anteroom to
+her, ‘Bring me the scissors and the knife!’ She made
+no answer. On the following morning, towards noon,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_233" id="Page_233" title="[Pg 233]"></a>
+I begged her to tell him that I had nothing of his;
+that I had paid for both the scissors and knife, and
+that more than double their value. He was angry at
+the message, and gnashed with his teeth. She went
+away from him, and avoided as much as possible
+speaking with him alone. When he saw that the
+woman would not take a slip of paper from him, he
+availed himself of a moment when the prison governor
+was not there, and threw in a slip of paper to me on
+the floor. A strange circumstance was near occurring
+this time: for just as he was throwing in the paper,
+the prison governor’s large shaggy dog passed in,
+and the paper fell on the dog’s back, but it fell off again
+in the corner, where the dog was snuffling.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the paper stood the words: ‘Give me the
+knife and scissors back, or I will bring upon you as
+much misfortune as I have before rendered you good
+service, and I will pay for the knife and scissors if I
+have to sell my trousers for it. Give them to me at
+once!’ For some days he went about like a lunatic,
+since I did not answer him, nor did I send him a
+message through the woman; so that Chresten asked
+the woman what she had done to Christian, as he went
+about below gnashing his teeth and howling like a
+madman. She replied that those below must best
+know what was the matter with him; that he must see
+he was spoken with in a very friendly manner here.
+At noon on Good Friday, 1667,<a name="FNanchor_118" id="FNanchor_118" href="#Footnote_118" class="fnanchor">[118]</a> he was very angry,
+swore and cursed himself if he did not give himself up,
+repeating all that he had said before, and adding that
+I had enticed him with wine and meat, and had
+deceived him with candles and good words. That he
+cared but little what happened to him; he would gladly<a class="pagenum" name="Page_234" id="Page_234" title="[Pg 234]"></a>
+die by the hand of the executioner; but that I, and
+she, and Chresten, should not escape without hurt.</p>
+
+<p>The afternoon was not very cheerful to us. The
+woman was depressed. I begged her to be calm, told
+her there was no danger in such madness, though it was
+very annoying, and harder to bear than my captivity;
+but that still I would be a match for the rogue. She
+took her book and read, and I sat down and wrote a
+hymn upon Christ’s sufferings, to the tune ‘As the
+hart panteth after the water-springs.’<a name="FNanchor_119" id="FNanchor_119" href="#Footnote_119" class="fnanchor">[119]</a></p>
+
+<p>Christian had before been in the habit of bringing
+me coloured eggs on Easter-Eve; at this time he was
+not so disposed. When the door was locked, I said to
+Chresten, ‘Do not forget the soft-boiled eggs to-morrow.’
+When the dinner was brought up on Easter-Day,
+and the eggs did not come at once (they were a
+side dish), Christian looked at me, and made a long
+nose at me three or four times. (I was accustomed to
+go up and down in front of the door of my room when
+it was unlocked.) I remained standing, and looked at
+him, and shrugged my shoulders a little. Soon after
+these grimaces, Chresten came with a dish full of soft-boiled
+eggs. Christian cast down his eyes at first, then
+he raised them to me, expecting, perhaps, that I should
+make a long nose at him in return; but I intended
+nothing less. When the woman went to the stairs, he
+said, ‘There were no coloured eggs there.’ She
+repeated this to me at once, so that I begged her to
+say that I ate the soft-boiled eggs and kept the
+coloured ones, as he might see (and I sent him one of<a class="pagenum" name="Page_235" id="Page_235" title="[Pg 235]"></a>
+the last year’s, on which I had drawn some flowers; he
+had given it to me himself for some candles). He
+accepted it, but wrote me a note in return, which was
+very extraordinary. It was intended to be a highflown
+composition about the egg and the hen. He tried to be
+witty, but it had no point. I cannot now quite remember
+it, except that he wrote that I had sent him
+a rotten egg; that his egg would be fresh, while mine
+would be rotten.<a name="FNanchor_120" id="FNanchor_120" href="#Footnote_120" class="fnanchor">[120]</a> He threw the slip of paper into
+my room. I made no answer to it. Some days passed
+again, and he said nothing angry; then he recommenced.
+I think he was vexed to see Chresten often receive
+my wine back again in the cup. At times I presented it
+to the prison governor. Moreover, he received no food,
+either for himself or his boy. One day he said to the
+woman, ‘What do you think the prison governor would
+say if he knew that you give the prisoners some of his
+food to eat?’ (The food which came from my table
+was taken down to the prison governor.) ‘Tell her
+that!<span class="corr" title="added: ’">’</span> The woman asked whether she was to say so to
+me, as a message from him. ‘As whose message otherwise?’
+he answered. I sent him word that I could
+take as much as I pleased of the food brought me:
+that it was not measured out and weighed for me, and
+that those who had a right to it could do what they
+liked with what I did not require, as it belonged to
+no one. On this point he could not excite our fear.
+Then he came back again one day to the old
+subject, that he would have the scissors and the knife,
+and threatening to give himself up; and as it was<a class="pagenum" name="Page_236" id="Page_236" title="[Pg 236]"></a>
+almost approaching the time when I received the
+Lord’s Supper, I said to the woman: ‘Tell him once
+for all, if he cannot restrain himself I will inform
+against him as soon as the priest comes, and the first
+Karen shall be made to give evidence; she shall,
+indeed, be brought forward, for she had no rest on his
+account until I entered into his proposals. Whether
+voluntarily or under compulsion, she shall say the
+truth, and then we shall see who gets into trouble.’
+He might do, I sent word, whatever he liked, but I
+would be let alone; he might spare me his notes, or I
+would produce them. When the woman told him this,
+he thought a little, and then asked, ‘Does she say so?’
+‘Yes,’ said the woman, ‘she did. She said still
+further: “What does he imagine? Does he think
+that I, as a prisoner who can go nowhere, will suffer for
+having accepted the services of a prisoner who enjoys
+a liberty which does not belong to him?�’ He stood
+and let his head hang down, and made no answer at
+all. This settled the fellow, and from that time I have
+not heard one unsuitable word from him. He spoke
+kindly and pleasantly with the woman on the stairs,
+related what news he had heard, and was very
+officious; and when she once asked him for his cup to
+give him some wine, he said sadly, ‘I have not
+deserved any wine.’ The woman said he could nevertheless
+have some wine, and that I desired no more
+service from him. So he received wine from time to
+time, but nothing to eat.<a name="FNanchor_121" id="FNanchor_121" href="#Footnote_121" class="fnanchor">[121]</a> On the day that I received
+the Lord’s Supper, he came to the door and knocked
+softly. I went to the door. He saluted me and
+wished me joy in a very nice manner, and said that he<a class="pagenum" name="Page_237" id="Page_237" title="[Pg 237]"></a>
+knew I had forgiven those who had done aught against
+me. I answered in the affirmative, and gave no
+further matter for questions; nor did he, but spoke of
+other trivialities, and then went away. Afterwards he
+came daily to the door, and told me what news he had
+heard; he also received wine and meat again. He
+told me, among other things, that many were of opinion
+that all the prisoners would be set at liberty at the
+wedding of the prince (our present king) which was then
+talked of; that the bride was to arrive within a month
+(it was the end of April when this conversation took
+place), and that the wedding was to be at the palace.</p>
+
+<p>The arrival of the bride was delayed till the beginning
+of June, and then the wedding was celebrated in
+the palace at Nykjöbing in Falster. Many were of
+opinion that it took place there in order that the bride
+might not intercede for me and the doctor.<a name="FNanchor_122" id="FNanchor_122" href="#Footnote_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</a> When
+the bride was to be brought to Copenhagen, I said to
+Christian: ‘Now is the time for you to gain your
+liberty. Let your girl wait and fall on one knee before
+the carriage of the bride and hold out a supplication,
+and then I am sure you will gain your liberty.’ He
+asked how the girl should come to be supplicating for
+him. I said, ‘As your bride&mdash;’ ‘No (and he swore
+with a terrible oath), she is not that! She imagines it,
+perhaps, but (he swore again) I will not have her.’
+‘Then leave her in the idea,’ I said, ‘and let her make
+her supplication as for her bridegroom.’ ‘Yes,’ he said,
+in a crestfallen tone, ‘she may do that.’ It was done,
+as I had advised, and Christian was set at liberty on
+June 11, 1667. He did not bid me good-bye, and did<a class="pagenum" name="Page_238" id="Page_238" title="[Pg 238]"></a>
+not even send me a message through the tower-warder
+or the boy. His gratitude to the girl was that he
+smashed her window that very evening, and made such
+a drunken noise in the street, that he was locked up in
+the Town-hall cellar.<a name="FNanchor_123" id="FNanchor_123" href="#Footnote_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</a> He came out, however, on the
+following day. His lad Paaske took leave of his
+master. When he asked him whether he should say
+anything from him to us, he answered, ‘Tell them that I
+send them to the devil.’ Paaske, who brought this
+message, said he had answered Christian, ‘Half of that
+is intended for me’ (for Christian had already suspected
+that Paaske had rendered services to the woman).
+We had a hearty laugh over this message; for I said
+that if Paaske was to have half of it, I should get
+nothing. We were not a little glad that we were
+quit of this godless man.</p>
+
+<p>We lived on in repose throughout the year 1668. I
+wrote and was furnished with various handiwork, so
+that Chresten bought nothing for me but a couple of
+books, and these I paid doubly and more than doubly
+with candles. Karen remained with me the first time
+more than three years; and as her daughter was then
+going to be married, and she wished to be at the
+wedding, she spoke to me as to how it could be
+arranged, for she would gladly have a promise of
+returning to me when the woman whom I was to have
+in her stead went away. I did not know whether this
+could be arranged; but I felt confident that I could
+effect her exit without her feigning herself ill. The
+prison governor had already then as clerk Peder Jensen
+Tötzlöff,<a name="FNanchor_E44" id="FNanchor_E44" href="#Footnote_E44" class="fnanchor">[E44]</a> who now and then performed his duties.<a class="pagenum" name="Page_239" id="Page_239" title="[Pg 239]"></a>
+To this man I made the proposal, mentioning at
+the same time with compassion the ill health of the
+woman. I talked afterwards with the prison governor
+himself about it, and he was quite satisfied; for he not
+only liked this Karen very much, but he had moreover
+a woman in the house whom he wished to place with
+me instead.</p>
+
+<p>Karen, <a class="corr" name="corr_17" id="corr_17" title="was: Nil’s">Nils’</a> daughter, left me one evening in 1669,
+and a German named Cathrina &mdash;&mdash;<a name="FNanchor_E45" id="FNanchor_E45" href="#Footnote_E45" class="fnanchor">[E45]</a> came in her place.
+Karen took her departure with many tears. She had
+wept almost the whole day, and I promised to do my
+utmost that she should come to me when the other
+went away. Cathrina had been among soldiers from
+her youth up; she had married a lieutenant at the time
+the prison governor was a drummer, and had stood
+godmother to one of his sons. She had fallen into
+poverty after her husband’s death, and had sat and
+spun with the wife of the prison governor for her food.
+She was greatly given to drinking, and her hands
+trembled so that she could not hold the cup, but was
+obliged to support it against her person, and the soup-plate
+also. The prison governor told me before she
+came up that her hands occasionally trembled a little,
+but not always&mdash;that she had been ill a short time
+before, and that it would probably pass off. When I
+asked herself how it came on, she said she had had it
+for many years. I said, ‘You are not a woman fit to
+wait upon me; for if I should be ill, as I was a year
+or somewhat less ago, you could not properly attend
+to me.’ She fell at once down on her knees, wept
+bitterly, and prayed for God’s sake that she might
+remain; that she was a poor widow, and that she had
+promised the prison governor half the money she was<a class="pagenum" name="Page_240" id="Page_240" title="[Pg 240]"></a>
+to earn; she would pray heartily to God that I might not
+be ill, and that she would be true to me, aye, even die
+for me.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to me that this last was too much of an
+exaggeration for me to believe it (she kept her word,
+however, and did what I ordered her, and I was not ill
+during her time). She did not care to work. She
+generally laid down when she had eaten, and drew the
+coverlid over her eyes, saying ‘Now I can see nothing.’
+When she perceived that I liked her to talk, she
+related whole comedies in her way, often acting them,
+and representing various personages. If she began to
+tell a story, and I said in the middle of her narrative,
+‘This will have a sorrowful ending,’ she would say,
+‘No, it ends pleasantly,’ and she would give her story
+a good ending. She would do the reverse, if I said
+the contrary. She would dance also before me, and
+that for four persons, speaking as she did so for each
+whom she was representing, and pinching together her
+mouth and fingers. She called comedians ‘Medicoants.’
+Various things occurred during her time, which prevented
+me from looking at her and listening to her as
+much as she liked.<a name="FNanchor_124" id="FNanchor_124" href="#Footnote_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</a></p>
+
+<p>It happened that Walter,<a name="FNanchor_E46" id="FNanchor_E46" href="#Footnote_E46" class="fnanchor">[E46]</a> who in consequence of
+Dina’s affair had been exiled from Denmark, came
+over from Sweden and remained incognito at Copenhagen.
+He was arrested and placed in the tower here,
+below on the ground floor. He was suspected of being<a class="pagenum" name="Page_241" id="Page_241" title="[Pg 241]"></a>
+engaged in some plot. At the same time a French
+cook and a Swedish baker were imprisoned with him,
+who were accused of having intended to poison the
+King and Queen. The Swede was placed in the Witch
+Cell, immediately after Walter’s arrest. Some days
+elapsed before I was allowed to know of Walter’s
+arrival, but I knew of it nevertheless. One day at
+noon, when Walter and the Frenchman were talking
+aloud (for they were always disputing with each other),
+I asked the prison governor who were his guests down
+below, who were talking French. He answered that
+he had some of various nations, and related who
+they were, but why they were imprisoned he knew not,
+especially in Walter’s case.</p>
+
+<p>The two before-mentioned quarrelled together, so that
+Walter was placed in the Witch Cell with the Swede,
+and the <a class="corr" name="corr_18" id="corr_18" title="was: Frenchmen">Frenchman</a> was conveyed to the Dark Church,
+where he was ill, and never even came to the peep-hole
+in the door, but lay just within. I dared not send him
+anything, on account of the accusation against him.
+Walter was imprisoned for a long time, and the
+Frenchman was liberated. When M. Bock came to
+me, to give me Christ’s body and blood, I told him
+before receiving the Lord’s Supper of Walter’s affair,
+which had been proved, but I mentioned to him that
+at the time I had been requested to leave Denmark
+through <a class="corr" name="corr_19" id="corr_19" title="was: Udrich">Uldrich</a> Christian Gyldenlöve. Gyldenlöve
+had sworn to me that the king was at the time not
+thoroughly convinced of the matter, and I had complained
+that his Majesty had not taken pains to convince
+himself; and I requested the priest to ask the
+Stadtholder to manage that Walter should now be
+examined in Dina’s affair, and that he and I should be
+confronted together in the presence of some ministers;<a class="pagenum" name="Page_242" id="Page_242" title="[Pg 242]"></a>
+that this could be done without any great noise, for the
+gentlemen could come through the secret passage into
+the tower. The priest promised to arrange this;<a name="FNanchor_125" id="FNanchor_125" href="#Footnote_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</a> he
+did so, and on the third day after Walter was placed in the
+Dark Church, so that I expected for a long time every
+day that we should be examined, but it was prevented
+by the person whose interest it was to prevent it.<a name="FNanchor_E47" id="FNanchor_E47" href="#Footnote_E47" class="fnanchor">[E47]</a></p>
+
+<p>Walter remained imprisoned,<a name="FNanchor_126" id="FNanchor_126" href="#Footnote_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</a> and quarrelled almost
+daily with Chresten, calling him a thief and a robber.
+(Chresten had found some ducats which Walter had
+concealed under a stool; the foolish Walter allowed
+the Swede to see that he hid ducats and an ink-bottle
+between the girths under the stool, and he afterwards
+struck the Swede, who betrayed him.) Chresten slyly
+allowed Walter to take a little exercise in the hall of
+the tower, and in the meanwhile he searched the stool.
+It may well be imagined that at the everlasting scolding
+Chresten was annoyed, and he did not procure
+Walter particularly good food from the kitchen; so that
+sometimes he could not eat either of the two dishes
+ordered for him; and when Walter said one day, ‘If
+you would give me only one dish of which I could eat,
+it would be quite enough,’ Chresten arranged it so
+that Walter only received one dish, and often could not
+eat of that. (This was to Chresten’s own damage, for he<a class="pagenum" name="Page_243" id="Page_243" title="[Pg 243]"></a>
+was entitled to the food that was left; but he was ready
+to forego this, so long as he could annoy the others.)</p>
+
+<p>Once Chresten came to him with a dish of rice-porridge,
+and began at once to quarrel with him, so
+that the other became angry (just as children do), and
+would eat nothing. Chresten carried the porridge away
+again directly, and laughed heartily. I said to Chresten,
+in the prison governor’s presence, ‘Though God has
+long delayed to punish Walter, his punishment is all
+the heavier now, for he could scarcely have fallen into
+more unmerciful hands than yours.’ He laughed
+heartily at this, and the prison governor did the same.
+And as there is a hole passing from the Dark Church
+into the outer room, those who are inside there can call
+upstairs, so that one can plainly hear what is said. So
+Walter one day called to the prison governor, and
+begged him to give him a piece of roast meat; the prison
+governor called to him, ‘Yes, we will roast a rat for
+you!’ I sent him a piece of roast meat through
+Chresten; when he took it, and heard that I had sent
+it to him, he wept.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the time passed, I had always work to do, and
+I wrote also a good deal.<a name="FNanchor_127" id="FNanchor_127" href="#Footnote_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</a> The priest was tired of
+administering the Lord’s Supper to me, and he let me
+wait thirteen and fourteen days; when he did come, he
+performed his office <i lang="fr">par manière d’acquit</i>. I said
+nothing about it, but the woman, who is a German, also
+received the Lord’s Supper from him; she made much
+of it, especially once (the last time he confessed her);
+for then I waited four days for him before it suited him
+to come, and at last he came. It was Wednesday, about
+nine o’clock. He never greeted us, nor did he wish<a class="pagenum" name="Page_244" id="Page_244" title="[Pg 244]"></a>
+me joy to the act I intended to perform. This time
+he said, as he shook hands, ‘I have not much time to
+wait, I have a child to baptise.’ I knew well that this
+could not be true, but I answered ‘In God’s name!’
+When he was to receive the woman’s confession, he
+would not sit down, but said ‘Now go on, I have no
+time,’ and scarcely gave her time to confess, absolved
+her quickly, and read the consecrating service at posthaste
+speed. When he was gone, the woman was very
+impatient, and said that she had received the holy
+communion in the field from a military chaplain, with
+the whole company (since they were ready to attack the
+enemy on the following day), but that the priest had not
+raced through God’s word as this one had done; she
+had gained nothing from it.</p>
+
+<p>I comforted her as well as I could, read and sang to
+her, told her she should repent and be sorry for her
+sins, and labour to amend her ways, and not be distracted
+by the want of devotion in the priest; she could
+appropriate to herself Christ’s sufferings and merits for
+the forgiveness of her sins, for the priest had given her
+his body and blood in the bread and wine. ‘Yes,’ she
+answered, ‘I shall, with God’s will, be a better Christian.’
+I said ‘Will you keep what you have promised me?’
+Her vow was, not to drink herself tipsy, as she had
+once done. I will not omit to mention this. She received,
+as I have before said, half a pint of French wine
+at each meal, and I half a measure of Rhine wine. She
+could drink both portions without being quite intoxicated,
+for at her meal she drank the French wine and
+lay down; and when she got up in the afternoon she
+drank my wine.<a name="FNanchor_128" id="FNanchor_128" href="#Footnote_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</a> In the evening she kept my wine for<a class="pagenum" name="Page_245" id="Page_245" title="[Pg 245]"></a>
+breakfast, but once she had in her cup both my wine and
+her own, so that at noon she had two half-pints of
+wine; she sat there and drank it so quietly, and I paid
+no attention to her, being at the moment engaged in a
+speculation about a pattern which I wanted to knit; at
+length I looked at her because it was so long before
+she laid down; then she turned over all the vessels, one
+after another, and there was nothing in them. I accosted
+her and said, ‘How is it? have you drank all the
+wine?’ She could scarcely answer. She tried to stand
+up, and could not. ‘To bed, you drunken sow,’ said I.
+She tried to move, but could not; she was sick, and crept
+along by the wall to fetch a broom. When she had
+the broom, she could do nothing with it. I told her to
+crawl into bed and lie down; she crawled along and fell
+with her face on the bed, while her feet were on the
+ground. There she was sick again, and remained so
+lying, and slept. It is easy to imagine how I felt.</p>
+
+<p>She slept in this way for a couple of hours, but still
+did not quite sleep off her intoxication; for when she
+wanted afterwards to clean herself and the room, she
+remained for a long time sitting on a low stool, the
+broom between her knees and her hair about her ears.
+She took off her bodice to wash it, and so she sat with
+her bosom uncovered, an ugly sight; she kept bemoaning
+herself, praying to God to help her, as she was
+nigh unto death. I was angry, but I could scarcely
+help laughing at this sad picture. When the moaning
+and lamenting were over, I said angrily, ‘Yes, may God<a class="pagenum" name="Page_246" id="Page_246" title="[Pg 246]"></a>
+help you, you drunkard; to the guards’ station you
+ought to go; I will not have such a drunkard about
+me; go and sleep it out, and don’t let me hear you talk
+of God when you are not sober, for then God is far
+from you and the d&mdash;&mdash;l is near!’ (I laughed afterwards
+at myself.) She laid down again, and about four
+o’clock she was quite sober, made herself perfectly clean,
+and sat quietly weeping. Then she threw herself with
+great excitement at my feet, clung to them, howled and
+clamoured, and begged for God’s sake that I would
+forgive her this once, and that it should never happen
+again; said how she had kept the wine &amp;c.; that if I
+would only keep her half a year, she would have
+enough to purchase her admission into the hospital at
+Lübeck.</p>
+
+<p>I thought I would take good care that she did not
+get so much again at once, and also that perhaps if I
+had another in her place she might be worse in other
+things. Karen could not have come at this time, for
+her daughter was expecting her confinement, and I
+knew that she would then not be quiet. So I promised
+her to keep her for the time she mentioned. She kept
+her word moreover, and I so arranged <a class="corr" name="corr_20" id="corr_20" title="was: at">it</a> six weeks
+later that she received no more wine, and from this
+time the woman received no wine; my wine alone
+could not hurt her. She was quite intimate with
+Walter. She had known him formerly, and Chresten
+was of opinion that he had given her all his money
+before he was ill; for he said that Walter had no money
+any longer. What there was in it I know not.
+Honest she was not, for she stole from me first a brass
+knitting-pin, which I used at that time; it was formed
+like a bodkin, and the woman never imagined but that
+it was gold. As my room is not large, it could soon<a class="pagenum" name="Page_247" id="Page_247" title="[Pg 247]"></a>
+be searched, but I looked for three days and could not
+find the pin. I was well aware that she had it, for it
+is not so small as not to be seen, so I said afterwards,
+‘This brass pin is of no great importance; I can get
+another for two pence.’ The next day she showed
+me the pin, in a large crevice on the floor between the
+stones. But when she afterwards, shortly before
+she left, found one of my gold earrings which I had
+lost, and which undoubtedly had been left on the pillow,
+for it was a snake ring, this was never returned, say
+what I would about it. She made a show of looking
+for it in the dirt outside; she knew I dared not say that
+I had missed it.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor at this time came up but rarely;
+Peder Jensen waited on me.<a name="FNanchor_129" id="FNanchor_129" href="#Footnote_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</a> His Majesty was ill for
+a short time, and died suddenly on February 9, 1670.
+And as on the same day at twelve o’clock the palace bell
+tolled, I was well aware what this indicated, though the
+woman was not. We conversed on the subject, who it
+might be. She could perceive that I was sad, and she
+said: ‘That might be for the King, for the last time I
+saw him on the stairs, getting out of the carriage, he
+could only move with difficulty, and I said to myself
+that it would soon be over with him. If he is dead,
+you will have your liberty, that is certain.’ I was silent,
+and thought otherwise, which was the case. About
+half-past four o’clock the fire was generally lighted in<a class="pagenum" name="Page_248" id="Page_248" title="[Pg 248]"></a>
+the outside stove, and this was done by a lad whom
+Chresten at that time employed. I called him to the
+door and asked him why the bell had tolled for a whole
+hour at noon. He answered, ‘I may not say; I am
+forbidden.’ I said that I would not betray him. He
+then told me that the King had died in the morning.
+I gave free vent to my tears, which I had restrained, at
+which the woman was astonished, and talked for a long
+time.</p>
+
+<p>I received all that she said in silence, for I never
+trusted her. I begged her to ask Chresten, when he
+unlocked the door, what the tolling intimated. She did
+so, but Chresten answered that he did not know. The
+prison governor came up the same evening, but he did
+not speak with me. He came up also the next day at
+noon. I requested to speak with him, and enquired
+why the bell had sounded. He answered ironically,
+‘What is that to you? Does it not ring every day?’
+I replied somewhat angrily: ‘What it is to me God
+knows! This I know, that the castle bell is not tolled
+for your equals!’ He took off his hat and made me a
+bow, and said, ‘Your ladyship desires nothing else?’
+I answered, ‘St. Martin comes for you too.’<a name="FNanchor_E49" id="FNanchor_E49" href="#Footnote_E49" class="fnanchor">[E49]</a> ‘St.
+Martin?’ he said, and laughed, and went away and
+went out to Walter, standing for a long time whispering
+with him in front of the hole; I could see him, as he
+well knew.<a name="FNanchor_130" id="FNanchor_130" href="#Footnote_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</a> He was undoubtedly telling him of the
+King’s death, and giving him hope that he would be<a class="pagenum" name="Page_249" id="Page_249" title="[Pg 249]"></a>
+liberated from prison. God designed it otherwise.
+Walter was ill, and lay for a long time in great misery.
+He behaved very badly to Chresten; took the dirt from
+the floor and threw it into the food; spat into the beer,
+and allowed Chresten to see him do so when he
+carried the can away. Every day Chresten received
+the titles of thief and rogue, so that it may easily be
+imagined how Chresten tormented him. When I sent
+him some meat, either stewed or roasted, Chresten
+came back with it and said he would not have it. I
+begged Chresten to leave it with him, and he would
+probably eat it later. This he did once, and then
+Chresten showed me how full it was of dirt and filth.<a name="FNanchor_131" id="FNanchor_131" href="#Footnote_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</a></p>
+
+<p>When Chresten had to turn Walter in bed, the latter
+screamed so pitifully that I felt sympathy with him,
+and begged Chresten not to be so unmerciful to him.
+He laughed and said, ‘He is a rogue.’ I said, ‘Then
+he is in his master’s hands.’ This pleased Chresten
+well. Walter suffered much pain; at length God
+released him. His body was left in the prison until
+his brother came, who ordered it to be buried in the
+German Church. When I heard that Karen could
+come to me again, and the time was over which I had
+promised the other to keep her, Cathrina went down
+and Karen returned to me. This was easily effected,
+for the prison governor was not well pleased with
+Cathrina; she gave him none of her money, as she had
+promised, but only empty words in its place, such as that
+he was not in earnest, and that he surely did not wish
+to have anything from her, &amp;c.<a name="FNanchor_132" id="FNanchor_132" href="#Footnote_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</a> The prison governor<a class="pagenum" name="Page_250" id="Page_250" title="[Pg 250]"></a>
+began immediately to pay me less respect, when he
+perceived that my liberation was not expected.</p>
+
+<p>When the time came at which I was accustomed to
+receive the holy communion, I begged the prison
+governor that he should manage that I should have
+the court preacher, D. Hans Læt, as the former court
+preacher, D. Mathias Foss, had come to me on the first
+occasion in my prison. The prison governor stated
+my desire, and his Majesty assented. D. Hans Læt
+was already in the tower, down below, but he was called
+back because the Queen Dowager (who was still in the
+palace) would not allow it; and the prison governor
+sent me word, through Peder Jensen, that the King had
+said I was to be content with the clergyman to whom I
+was accustomed, so that the necessary preparation for
+the Lord’s Supper was postponed till the following day,
+when Mag. Buck came to me and greeted me in an
+unusual manner, congratulating me in a long oration on
+my intention, saluting me ‘your Grace.’ When he was
+seated, he said, ‘I should have been glad if D. Hans
+Læt had come in my place.’ I replied, ‘I had wished
+it also.’ ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I know well why you wished
+it so. You wish to know things, and that is forbidden
+me. You have already caused one man to lose his employ.’
+I asked him whether I had ever desired to know
+anything from him? ‘No,’ he replied, ‘you know well
+that you would learn nothing from me; for that reason
+you have asked me nothing.’ ‘Does the Herr Mag,
+then,’ I said, ‘mean that I desired D. Hans Læt
+in order to hear news of him?’ He hesitated a little,
+and then said, ‘You wanted to have D. Hans Læt
+in order that he might speak for you with the King.’
+I said, ‘There may perhaps be something in that.’
+Upon this he began to swear all kinds of oaths (such<a class="pagenum" name="Page_251" id="Page_251" title="[Pg 251]"></a>
+as I have never heard before),<a name="FNanchor_133" id="FNanchor_133" href="#Footnote_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</a> that he had spoken for
+me. (I thought: ‘I have no doubt you have spoken of
+me, but not in my favour.’) He had given me a book
+which I still have; it is ‘St. Augustini Manuali;’ the
+Statholder Gabel had bought it, as he said more than
+once, protesting by God that it had cost the Herr Statholder
+a rix-dollar. (I thought of the 5,000 rix-dollars
+which Gabel received, that we might be liberated from
+our confinement at Borringholm, but I said nothing;
+perhaps for this reason he repeated the statement so
+often.) I asked him whom I had caused to lose his
+employ. He answered, ‘Hans Balcke.<a name="FNanchor_134" id="FNanchor_134" href="#Footnote_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</a> He told you
+that Treasurer Gabel was Statholder, and he ought not
+to have done so.’ I said, ‘I do not believe that Balcke
+knew that he ought not to say it, for he did not tell it
+to me as a secret. One might say just as well that
+H. Magister had caused Balcke to lose his place.’
+He was very angry at this, and various disputes arose
+on the subject. He began again just as before, that I
+wanted to have D. Læt, he knew why. I said, ‘I did
+not insist specially on having D. Læt; but if not him,
+the chaplain of the castle, or another.’ He asked,
+‘Why another?’ I replied, ‘Because it is not always
+convenient to the Herr Magister. I have been
+obliged to wait for him ten, twelve, and even fourteen
+days, and the last time he administered his office in
+great haste, so that it is not convenient for him to come
+when I require him.’ He sat turning over my words,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_252" id="Page_252" title="[Pg 252]"></a>
+not knowing what to answer, and at last he said; ‘You
+think it will go better with you now because King
+Frederick is dead. No, you deceive yourself! It will
+go worse with you, it will go worse with you!’ And
+as he was growing angry, I became more composed
+and I asked gently why so, and from what could
+he infer it? He answered, ‘I infer it from the fact
+that you have not been able to get your will in desiring
+another clergyman and confessor; so I assure you
+things will not be better with you. If King Frederick
+is dead, King Christian is alive.’ I said: ‘That is a
+bad foundation; your words of threatening have no
+basis. If I have not this time been able to obtain
+another confessor, it does not follow that I shall not
+have another at another time. And what have I done,
+that things should go worse with me?’ He was more
+and more angry, and exclaimed aloud several times,
+‘Worse, yes, it will be worse!’ Then I also answered
+angrily, ‘Well, then let it come.’</p>
+
+<p>Upon this he was quite silent, and I said: ‘You
+have given me a good preparation; now, in God’s
+name!’ Then I made my confession, and he administered
+his office and went away without any other
+farewell than giving me his hand. I learned afterwards
+that before M. Buck came to me he went to
+the prison governor, who was in bed, and begged
+him to tell Knud, who was at that time page of the
+chamber,<a name="FNanchor_E50" id="FNanchor_E50" href="#Footnote_E50" class="fnanchor">[E50]</a> what a sacramental woman I was; how
+I had dug a hole in the floor in order to speak
+with the doctor (which was an impossibility), and
+how I had practised climbing up and looking out on
+the square. He begged him several times to tell this<a class="pagenum" name="Page_253" id="Page_253" title="[Pg 253]"></a>
+to the page of the chamber: ‘That is a sacramental
+woman!’<a name="FNanchor_135" id="FNanchor_135" href="#Footnote_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the end of April in the same year my door was
+opened one afternoon, and the prison governor came in
+with some ladies, who kept somewhat aside until he had
+said, ‘Here are some of the maids of honour, who are
+permitted to speak to you.’ There came in first a
+young lady whom I did not know. Next appeared the
+Lady Augusta of Glücksburg, whom I recognised at
+once, as she was but little altered. Next followed the
+Electoral Princess of Saxony, whom I at once recognised
+from her likeness to her royal father, and last of all our
+gracious Queen, whom I chiefly looked at, and found
+the lineaments of her countenance just as Peder Jensen
+had described them. I saw also a large diamond on her
+bracelet, and one on her finger, where her glove was
+cut. Her Majesty supported herself against the folding
+table as soon as she had greeted me. Lady Augusta
+ran up and down into every corner, and the Electoral
+Princess remained at the door. Lady Augusta said:
+‘Fye, what a disgusting room this is! I could not live
+a day in it. I wonder that you have been able to
+endure it so long.’ I answered, ‘The room is such
+as pleases God and his Majesty, and so long as God
+will I shall be able to endure it.’ She began a conversation
+with the prison governor, who was half tipsy, and
+spoke with him about Balcke’s marriage, whose wedding
+with his third wife was taking place on that very day;
+she spoke against marrying so often, and the prison<a class="pagenum" name="Page_254" id="Page_254" title="[Pg 254]"></a>
+governor replied with various silly speeches. She
+asked me if I was plagued with fleas. I replied that I
+could furnish her with a regiment of fleas, if she would
+have them. She replied hastily with an oath, and
+swore that she did not want them.</p>
+
+<p>Her question made me somewhat ironical, and I was
+annoyed at the delight she exhibited at my miserable
+condition; so when she asked me whether I had body
+or wall lice, I answered her with a question, and
+enquired whether my brother-in-law Hanibal Sehested
+was still alive? This question made her somewhat
+draw in, for she perceived that I knew her. She made
+no answer. The Electoral Princess, who probably
+had heard of my brother-in-law’s intrigues with
+Lady Augusta,<a name="FNanchor_E51" id="FNanchor_E51" href="#Footnote_E51" class="fnanchor">[E51]</a> went quickly up to the table (the book
+lay on it, in which Karen used to read, and which she
+had brought in with her), took the book, opened it and
+asked whether it was mine. I replied that it belonged
+to the woman whom I had taught to read, and as I
+gave the Electoral Princess her fitting title of Serene
+Highness, Lady Augusta said: ‘You err! You are
+mistaken; she is not the person whom you think.’ I
+answered, ‘I am not mistaken.’ After this she said no
+more, but gave me her hand without a word. The
+gracious Queen looked sadly on, but said nothing. When
+her Majesty gave me her hand, I kissed it and held it
+fast, and begged her Majesty to intercede for me, at any
+rate for some alleviation of my captivity. Her Majesty
+replied not with words, but with a flood of tears. The
+virtuous Electoral Princess cried also; she wept very
+sorrowfully. And when they had reached the anteroom
+and my door was closed, both the Queen and the
+Electoral Princess said, ‘It is a sin to treat her thus!’<a class="pagenum" name="Page_255" id="Page_255" title="[Pg 255]"></a>
+They shuddered; and each said, ‘Would to God that
+it rested with me! she should not stay there.’ Lady
+Augusta urged them to go away, and mentioned it
+afterwards to the Queen Dowager, who said that I had
+myself to thank for it; I had deserved to be worse
+treated than this.</p>
+
+<p>When the King’s funeral was over, and the Queen
+Dowager had left the castle, I requested the prison
+governor that he should execute my message and solicit
+another clergyman for me, either the chaplain of the
+castle or the arsenal chaplain, or the one who usually
+attended to the prisoners; for if I could get no other
+than M. Buck, they must take the sin on their own
+heads, for that I would not again confess to him. A
+short time elapsed, but at length the chaplain of the
+castle, at that time M. Rodolff Moth, was assigned me.
+God, who has ever stood by me in all my adversity,
+and who in my sorrow and distress has sent me unexpected
+consolation, gave me peculiar comfort in this
+man. He consoled me with the Word of God; he was
+a learned and conversable man, and he interceded for
+me with his Majesty. The first favour which he
+obtained for me was, that I was granted another apartment
+on July 16, 1671, and Bishop D. Jesper’s postil.</p>
+
+<p>He afterwards by degrees obtained still greater
+favours for me. I received 200 rix-dollars as a gift, to
+purchase such clothes for myself as I desired, and anything
+I might wish for to beguile the time.<a name="FNanchor_136" id="FNanchor_136" href="#Footnote_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</a></p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_256" id="Page_256" title="[Pg 256]"></a>
+In this year her Majesty the Queen became pregnant,
+and her Majesty’s mother, the Landgravine of Hesse,
+came to be with her in her confinement. On September
+6 her Serene Highness visited me in my prison, at
+first wishing to remain incognito. She had with her a
+Princess of Curland, who was betrothed to the son
+of the Landgravine; her lady in waiting, a Wallenstein
+by birth; and the wife of her master of the household.
+The Landgravine greeted me with a kiss, and the
+others followed her example. I did not at that time
+recognise the wife of the master of the household, but
+she had known me formerly in my prosperity at the
+Hague, when she had been in the service of the
+Countess Leuenstein, and the tears stood in her eyes.</p>
+
+<p>The Landgravine lamented my hard fate and my
+unhappy circumstances. I thanked her Serene Highness
+for the gracious sympathy she felt with me, and
+said that she might help much in alleviating my fetters,
+if not in liberating me from them entirely. The Landgravine
+smiled and said, ‘I see well you take me for
+another than I am.’ I said, ‘Your Serene Highness’s
+deportment and appearance will not allow you to
+conceal your rank, were you even in peasant’s attire.’
+This pleased her; she laughed and jested, and said she
+had not thought of that. The lady in waiting agreed
+with me, and said that I had spoken very justly in
+saying that I had recognised her by her royal appearance.
+Upon this the Landgravine said, ‘You do not
+know her?’ pointing to the Princess of Curland. She
+then said who she was, and afterwards who her lady in
+waiting was, and also the wife of the master of the
+household, who was as I have before mentioned. She
+spoke of the pity which this lady felt for me, and
+added ‘<span lang="fr">Et moy pas moins</span>.’ I thanked her ‘<span lang="fr">Altesse<a class="pagenum" name="Page_257" id="Page_257" title="[Pg 257]"></a>
+très-humblement et la prioit en cette occasion de faire
+voir sa généreuse conduite</span>.’ Her Serene Highness
+looked at the prison governor as though she would say
+that we might speak French too long; she took off
+her glove and gave me her hand, pressing mine and
+saying, ‘<span lang="fr">Croyez-moy, je fairez mon possible</span>.’ I kissed
+her Serene Highness’s hand, and she then took leave
+of me with a kiss.</p>
+
+<p>The virtuous Landgravine kept her word, but could
+effect nothing. When her Majesty the Queen was in
+the perils of childbirth, she went to the King and
+obtained from him a solemn promise that if the Queen
+gave birth to a son I should receive my liberty. On
+October 11, in the night between one and two o’clock,
+God delivered her Majesty in safety of our Crown
+Prince. When all present were duly rejoicing at the
+Prince’s birth, the Landgravine said, ‘Oh! will not
+the captive rejoice!’ The Queen Dowager enquired
+‘Why?’ The Landgravine related the King’s promise.
+The Queen Dowager was so angry that she was ill. She
+loosened her jacket, and said she would return home;
+that she would not wait till the child was baptised. Her
+coach appeared in the palace square. The King at
+length persuaded her to remain till the baptism was over,
+but he was obliged to promise with an oath that I should
+not be liberated. This vexed the virtuous Landgravine
+not a little, that the Queen should have induced her
+son to break his promise; and she persisted in saying
+that a king ought to keep his vow. The Queen
+Dowager answered, ‘My son has before made a vow,
+and this he has broken by his promise to your Serene
+Highness.’ The Landgravine said at last: ‘If I cannot
+bring about the freedom of the prisoner, at least
+let her, at my request, be removed to a better place,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_258" id="Page_258" title="[Pg 258]"></a>
+with somewhat more liberty. It is not to the King’s
+reputation that she is imprisoned there. She is, after
+all, a king’s daughter, and I know that much injustice
+is done to her.’ The Queen Dowager was annoyed
+at these words, and said, ‘Now, she shall not come
+out; she shall remain where she is!’ The Landgravine
+answered, ‘If God will, she will assuredly come out,
+even though your Majesty may will it not;’ so saying,
+she rose and went out.</p>
+
+<p>On October 18 the lady in waiting, Wallenstein, sent
+for Peder Jensen Tötzlöff, and delivered to him by
+command a book entitled, D. Heinrich Müller’s ‘<span lang="de">Geistliche
+Erquickstunden</span>,’<a name="FNanchor_E53" id="FNanchor_E53" href="#Footnote_E53" class="fnanchor">[E53]</a> which he gave me with a gracious
+message from the Landgravine. On the same
+day I sent her Serene Highness, through Tötzlöff, my
+dutiful thanks, and Tötzlöff took the book back to the
+lady in waiting, with the request that she would endeavour
+to prevail on her Highness to show me the great
+favour of placing her name and motto in the book, in
+remembrance of her Highness’s generosity and kindness.
+I lamented my condition in this also, that from
+such a place I could not spread abroad her Serene
+Highness’s praise and estimable benefits, and make the
+world acquainted with them; but that I would do what
+I could, and I would include her Serene Highness
+and all her family in my prayers for their welfare both
+of soul and body. (This I have done, and will do, so
+long as God spares my life.)</p>
+
+<p>On October 23 I received the book back through
+Tötzlöff, and I found within it the following lines,
+written by the Landgravine’s own hand:</p>
+
+<div><a class="pagenum" name="Page_259" id="Page_259" title="[Pg 259]"></a></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot" lang="fr">
+<p class="center">1671.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Ce qui n’est pas en ta puissance<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ne doit point troubler ton repos;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tu balances mal à propos<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Entre la crainte et l’espérance.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Laisse faire ton Dieu et ton roy,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Et suporte avec passience ce qu’il résoud pour toy.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Je prie Dieu de vous faire cette grâce, et que je vous puisse tesmoigner
+combien je suis,</p>
+
+<p>Madame, vostre très-affectionée à vous servir,</p>
+
+<p class="right"><img src="images/monogram.png" width="35" height="31" alt="Monogram" /></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The book is still in my possession, and I sent word
+through Tötzlöff to the lady in waiting to request her
+to convey my most humble thanks to her Highness; and
+afterwards, when the Landgravine was about to start on
+her journey, to commend me to her Serene Highness’s
+favour.</p>
+
+<p>In the same year, 1671, Karen, <a class="corr" name="corr_21" id="corr_21" title="was: Nil’s">Nils’</a> daughter, left
+me on account of ill health. For one night a woman
+was with me named Margrete, who was a serf from
+Holstein. She had run away from her master. She was
+a very awkward peasant woman, so towards evening
+on the following day she was sent away, and in her
+place there came a woman named Inger, a person of
+loose character. This woman gave herself out as the
+widow of a non-commissioned officer, and that she had
+long been in service at Hamburg, and nursed lying-in
+women. It happened with her, as is often the case, that
+one seeks to obtain a thing, and that to one’s own vexation.
+Chresten had spoken for this woman with the
+prison governor, and had praised her before me, but the
+prison governor took upon another recommendation the
+before-mentioned Margrete. So long as there was hope
+that the Landgravine might obtain my freedom, this
+woman was very amenable, but afterwards she began by<a class="pagenum" name="Page_260" id="Page_260" title="[Pg 260]"></a>
+degrees to show what was in her, and that it was not
+for nothing that she resembled Dina.</p>
+
+<p>She caused me annoyance of various kinds, which I
+received with patience, thinking within myself that it
+was another trial imposed by God upon me, and Dina’s
+intrigues often came into my mind, and I thought,
+‘Suppose she should devise some Dina plot?’ (She is
+capable of it, if she had only an instigator, as Dina had.)
+Among other annoyances, which may not be reckoned
+among the least, was this: I was one day not very
+well, having slept but little or not at all during the
+night, and I had lain down to sleep on the bed in the
+day; and she would give me no rest, but came softly
+past me in her socks, and in order to wake me teased a
+dog which I had,<a name="FNanchor_137" id="FNanchor_137" href="#Footnote_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</a> so that he growled. I asked her why
+she grudged my sleeping? She answered, ‘I did not
+know that you were asleep.’ ‘Why, then,’ I said, ‘did
+you go by in your stockings?’ She replied, ‘If you
+saw that, then you were not asleep,’ and she laughed
+heartily by herself. (She sat always in front of my table
+with her back turned to me; whether it was because
+she had lost one eye that she sat in that position
+to the light, I know not.)</p>
+
+<p>I did not care for any conversation with her, so I
+lay still; and when she thought I was asleep, she got
+up again and teased the dog. I said, ‘You tax my
+patience sorely; but if once my passion rises, you will
+certainly get something which will astonish you, you
+base accursed thing!’ ‘Base accursed thing,’ she<a class="pagenum" name="Page_261" id="Page_261" title="[Pg 261]"></a>
+repeated to herself with a slight laugh. I prayed to
+God that he would restrain me, so that I might not lay
+violent hands on this base creature. And as I had the
+other apartment (as I have before mentioned),<a name="FNanchor_138" id="FNanchor_138" href="#Footnote_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</a> I went
+out and walked up and down between four and five
+o’clock. She washed and splashed outside, and spilled
+the water exactly where I was walking. I told her
+several times to leave her splashing, as she spilled the
+water in all directions on the floor, so that I made my
+clothes dirty, and often there was not a drop of water
+for my dog to drink, and the tower-warder had to fetch
+her water from the kitchen spring. This was of no
+avail. One day it occurred to her, just as the bell had
+sounded four, to go out and pour all the water on the
+floor, and then come back again. When I went to the
+door, I perceived what she had done. Without saying a
+word, I struck her first on one cheek and then on the
+other, so that the blood ran from her nose and mouth,
+and she fell against her bench, and knocked the skin
+from her shin-bone. She began to be abusive, and
+said she had never in her life had such a box on her
+ears. I said immediately, ‘Hold your tongue, or you
+will have another like it! I am now only a little angry,
+but if you make me really angry I shall strike you<a class="pagenum" name="Page_262" id="Page_262" title="[Pg 262]"></a>
+harder.’ She was silent for the time, but she caused
+me all the small annoyance she could.</p>
+
+<p>I received it all with gentleness, fearing that I might
+lay violent hands on her. She scarcely knew what to
+devise to cause me vexation; she had a silver thimble
+on which a strange name was engraved; she had found
+it, she said, in a dust-heap in the street. I once asked
+her where she had found some handkerchiefs which she
+had of fine Dutch linen, with lace on them, which
+likewise were marked with another name; they were
+embroidered with blue silk, and there was a different
+name on each. She had bought them, she said, at an
+auction at Hamburg.<a name="FNanchor_139" id="FNanchor_139" href="#Footnote_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</a> I thought that the damage she
+had received on one of her eyes might very likely have
+arisen from her having ‘found’ something of that kind,<a name="FNanchor_E54" id="FNanchor_E54" href="#Footnote_E54" class="fnanchor">[E54]</a>
+and as I soon after asked her by what accident she
+had injured her eye, she undoubtedly understood my
+question well, for she was angry and rather quiet, and
+said, ‘What injury? There is nothing the matter with
+my eye; I can, thank God, see with both.’ I let the
+matter rest there. Soon after this conversation she
+came down one day from upstairs, feeling in her
+pocket, though she said nothing until the afternoon,
+when the doors were locked, and then she looked
+through all her rubbish, saying ‘If I only knew where
+it could be?’ I asked what she was looking for. ‘My
+thimble,’ she said. ‘You will find it,’ I said; ‘only look
+thoroughly!’ And as she had begun to look for it in her
+pockets before she had required it, I thought she might<a class="pagenum" name="Page_263" id="Page_263" title="[Pg 263]"></a>
+have drawn it out of her pocket with some paper which
+she used, and which she had bought. I said this, but
+it could not be so.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day, towards noon, she again behaved
+as if she were looking for it upstairs; and when the
+door was closed she began to give loose to her tongue,
+and to make a long story about the thimble, where
+it could possibly be. ‘There was no one here, and no
+one came in except us two;’ and she gave me to understand
+that I had taken it; she took her large box which
+she had, and rummaged out everything that was in it,
+and said, ‘Now you can see that I have not got it.’ I
+said that I did not care about it, whether she had it or
+no, but that I saw that she accused me of stealing.
+She adhered to it, and said, ‘Who else could have
+taken it? There is no one else here, and I have let
+you see all that is mine, and it is not there.’ Then for
+the first time I saw that she wished that I should let
+her see in the same manner what I had in my cardbox,
+for she had never seen anything of the work which
+I had done before her time. I said, ‘I do not care at
+all what you do with your thimble, and I respect myself
+too much to quarrel with you or to mind your coarse
+and shameless accusation. I have, thank God, enough
+in my imprisonment to buy what I require, &amp;c. But
+as you perhaps have stolen it, you now imagine that it
+has been stolen again from you, if it be true that you
+have lost it.’ To this she made no answer, so that I
+believe she had it herself, and only wanted by this
+invention to gain a sight of my things. As it was the
+Christmas month and very cold, and Chresten was
+lighting a fire in the stove before the evening meal, I
+said to him in her presence, ‘Chresten, you are fortunate
+if you are not, like me, accused of stealing, for<a class="pagenum" name="Page_264" id="Page_264" title="[Pg 264]"></a>
+you might have found her thimble upstairs without
+having had it proclaimed from the pulpit; it was
+before found by Inger, and not announced publicly.’</p>
+
+<p>This was like a spark to tinder, and she went to
+work like a frantic being, using her shameless language.
+She had not stolen it, but it had been stolen from her;
+and she cursed and swore. Chresten ordered her to be
+silent. He desired her to remember who I was, and that
+she was in my service. She answered, ‘I will not be
+silent, not if I were standing before the King’s bailiff<a class="corr" name="corr_22" id="corr_22" title="was: ?">!’</a>
+The more gently I spoke, the more angry was she; at
+length I said, ‘Will you agree with me in one wish?&mdash;that
+the person who last had the thimble in her possession
+may see no better with her left eye than she sees
+with her right.’ She answered with an oath that she
+could see with both eyes. I said, ‘Well, then, pray God
+with me that she may be blind in both eyes who last
+had it.’ She growled a little to herself and ran into the
+inner room, and said no more of her thimble, nor did I.
+God knows that I was heartily weary of this intercourse.</p>
+
+<p>I prayed God for patience, and thought ‘This is only
+a trial of patience. God spares me from other sorrow
+which I might have in its stead.’ I could not avail
+myself of the occasion of her accusing me of theft to
+get rid of her, but I saw another opportunity not far off.
+The prison governor came one day to me with some
+thread which was offered for sale, rather coarse, but fit
+for making stockings and night-waistcoats. I bought
+two pounds of it, and he retained a pound, saying, ‘I
+suppose the woman can make me a pair of stockings
+with it?’ I answered in the affirmative (for she could
+do nothing else but knit). When he was gone, she
+said, ‘There will be a pair of stockings for me here
+also, for I shall get no other pay.’ I said, ‘That is<a class="pagenum" name="Page_265" id="Page_265" title="[Pg 265]"></a>
+surely enough.’ The stockings for the prison governor
+were finished. She sat one day half asleep, and made a
+false row round the stocking below the foot. I wanted
+her to undo it. ‘No,’ said she, ‘it can remain as it is;
+he won’t know but that it is the fashion in Hamburg.’<a name="FNanchor_140" id="FNanchor_140" href="#Footnote_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</a></p>
+
+<p>When his stockings were finished, she began a pair
+for herself of the same thread, and sat and exulted that
+it was the prison governor’s thread. This, it seemed to
+me, furnished me with an opportunity of getting rid
+of her. And as the prison governor rarely came up,
+and she sent him down the stockings by Tötzlöff, I
+begged Tötzlöff to contrive that the prison governor
+should come up to me, and that he should seat himself
+on the woman’s bed and arrange her pillow as if he
+wanted to lean against it (underneath it lay her wool).
+This was done. The prison governor came up, took
+the knitting in his hand, and said to Inger, ‘Is this
+another pair of stockings for me?’ ‘No, Mr. Prison
+governor,’ she answered, ‘they are for me. You have
+got yours. I have already sent you them.’ ‘But,’ said
+he, ‘this is of my thread; it looks like my thread.’
+She protested that it was not his thread. As he went
+down to fetch his stockings and the scales, she said to
+me, ‘That is not his thread; it is mine now,’ and
+laughed heartily. I thought, ‘Something more may
+come of this.’</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor came with the scales and his
+stockings, compared one thread with the other, and the
+stockings weighed scarcely half a pound. He asked
+her whether she had acted rightly? She continued to
+assert that it was her thread; that she had bought it
+in Hamburg, and had brought it here. The prison
+governor grew angry, and said that she lied, and called<a class="pagenum" name="Page_266" id="Page_266" title="[Pg 266]"></a>
+her a bitch. She swore on the other hand that it was
+not his thread; that she would swear it by the Sacrament.
+The prison governor went away; such an oath
+horrified him. I was perfectly silent during this
+quarrel. When the prison governor had gone, I said
+to the woman, ‘God forbid! how could you say such
+words? Do you venture to swear a falsehood by the
+Sacrament, and to say it in my presence, when I know
+that it is the prison governor’s thread? What a godless
+creature you are!’ She answered, with a half ridiculous
+expression of face, ‘I said I would take the
+Sacrament upon it, but I am not going to do so.’
+‘Oh Dina!’ I thought, ‘you are not like her for
+nothing; God guard me from you!’ And I said, ‘Do
+you think that such light words are not a sin, and that
+God will not punish you for them?’ She assumed an
+air of authority, and said, ‘Is the thread of any consequence?
+I can pay for it; I have not stolen it from
+him; he gave it to me himself. I have only done what
+the tailors do; they do not steal; it is given to them.
+He did not weigh out the thread for me.’ I answered
+her no more than ‘You have taken it from him; I
+shall trouble myself no more about it;’ but I begged
+Tötzlöff to do all he could that I should be rid of her,
+and have another in her place of a good character.</p>
+
+<p>Tötzlöff heard that Karen had a desire to return to
+me; he told me so. The prison governor was satisfied
+with the arrangement. It was kept concealed from
+Inger till all was so settled that Karen could come up
+one evening at supper-time. When the prison governor
+had unlocked the door, and had established himself
+in the inner room, and the woman had come out, he
+said: ‘Now, Inger, pack your bundle! You are to
+go.’ ‘Yes, Mr. Prison governor,’ she answered, and
+laughed, and brought the food to me, and told me what<a class="pagenum" name="Page_267" id="Page_267" title="[Pg 267]"></a>
+the prison governor had said, saying at the same time,
+‘That is his joke.’ ‘I heard well,’ I answered, ‘what
+he said; it is not his joke, it is his real earnestness.’
+She did not believe it; at any rate she acted as if she
+did not, and smiled, saying, ‘He cannot be in earnest;’
+and she went out and asked the prison governor
+whether he was in earnest. He said, ‘Go! go! there
+is no time for gossip!’ She came into me again, and
+asked if I wished to be rid of her. I answered,
+‘Yes.’ ‘Why so?’ she asked. I answered: ‘It would
+take me too long to explain; the other woman who is
+to remain here is below.’ ‘At any rate,’ said she,
+‘let me stay here over the night.’ (‘Ah, Dina!’ I
+thought.) ‘Not a quarter of an hour!’ I answered;
+‘go and pack your things! That is soon done!’ She did
+so, said no word of farewell, and went out of the door.</p>
+
+<p>Thus Karen came to me for the third time, but she
+did not remain an entire year, on account of illness.<a name="FNanchor_141" id="FNanchor_141" href="#Footnote_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the year 1673 M. Moth became vice-bishop in
+Fyn. I lost much in him, and in his place came H.
+Emmeke Norbye, who became court preacher, and
+who had formerly been a comrade of Griffenfeldt; but
+Griffenfeldt did not acknowledge him subsequently, so
+that he could achieve nothing for me with Griffenfeldt.<a name="FNanchor_E55" id="FNanchor_E55" href="#Footnote_E55" class="fnanchor">[E55]</a>
+He one day brought me as answer (when I sent him
+word among other things that his Majesty would be
+gracious if only some one would speak for me), ‘It
+would be as if a pistol had been placed at the King’s
+heart, and he were to forgive it.’</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_268" id="Page_268" title="[Pg 268]"></a>
+In the same year my sister Elisabeth Augusta sent
+me a message through Tötzlöff and enquired whether
+I had a fancy for any fruit, as she would send me some.
+I was surprised at the message, which came to me from
+my sister in the tenth year of my captivity, and I said,
+‘Better late than never!’ I sent her no answer.</p>
+
+<p>One funny thing I will yet mention, which occurred
+in the time of Karen, <a class="corr" name="corr_23" id="corr_23" title="was: Nil’s">Nils’</a> daughter. Chresten, who
+had to make a fire in the stove an hour before supper
+(since it had no flue), so that the smoke could pass
+out at the staircase door before I supped, did not come
+one evening before six o’clock, and was then quite
+tipsy. And as I was sitting at the time near the stove
+in the outer apartment on a log of wood, which had
+been hewed as a seat, I said it was late to make the
+fire, as he must now go into the kitchen. He paid no
+attention to my gentle remark, until I threatened him
+with hard words, and ordered him to take the wood
+out. He was angry, and would not use the tongs to
+take the wood out, nor would he permit Karen to take
+them out with the tongs; but he tore them out with his
+hands, and said, ‘Nothing can burn me.’ And as some
+little time elapsed before the wood was extinguished,
+he began to fear that it would give little satisfaction if
+he so long delayed fetching the meal. He seated himself
+flat on the ground and was rather dejected; presently
+he burst out and said, ‘Oh God, you who have had
+house and lands, where are you now sitting?’ I said,
+‘On a log of wood!’ He answered, ‘I do not mean
+your ladyship!’ I asked, ‘Whom does your worship<span class="corr" title="removed: ,"></span>
+mean, then?’ He replied, ‘I mean Karen.’ I
+laughed, and said no more.</p>
+
+<p>To enumerate all the contemptuous conduct I
+endured would be too lengthy, and not worth the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_269" id="Page_269" title="[Pg 269]"></a>
+trouble. One thing I will yet mention of the tower-warder
+Chresten, who caused me great annoyance at the end
+of this tenth year of my imprisonment. Among other
+annoyances he once struck my dog, so that it cried. I
+did not see it, but I heard it, and the woman told me it
+was he who had struck the dog. I was greatly displeased
+at it. He laughed at this, and said, ‘It is
+only a dog.’ I gave him to understand that he struck
+the dog because he did not venture to strike me. He
+laughed heartily at the idea, and I said, ‘I do not care
+for your anger so long as the prison governor is my
+friend’ (this conversation took place while I was at a
+meal, and the prison governor was sitting with me, and
+Chresten was standing at the door of my apartment,
+stretching out his arms.) I said, ‘The prison governor
+and you will both get into heavy trouble, if I choose.
+Do you hear that, good people?’ (I knew of too many
+things, which they wished to hide, in more than one
+respect.) The prison governor sat like one deaf and
+dumb, and remained seated, but Chresten turned away
+somewhat ashamed, without saying another word. He
+had afterwards some fear of me, when he was not too
+intoxicated; for at such times he cared not what he said,
+as regards high or low. He was afterwards insolent to
+the woman, and said he would strike the dog, and that I
+should see him do so. This, however, he did not do.</p>
+
+<p>Chresten’s fool-hardiness increased, so that Peder
+Tötzlöff informed the prison governor of his bad behaviour,
+and of my complaints of the wild doings of the
+prisoners, who made such a noise by night that I could
+not sleep for it, for Chresten spent the night at his
+home, and allowed the prisoners to do as they chose.
+Upon this information, the prison governor placed a
+padlock upon the tower door at night, so that Chresten<a class="pagenum" name="Page_270" id="Page_270" title="[Pg 270]"></a>
+could not get out until the door was unlocked in the
+morning. This annoyed him, and he demanded his
+discharge, which he received on April 24, 1674; and in
+his place there came a man named Gert, who had been
+in the service of the prison governor as a coachman.</p>
+
+<p>In this year, the &mdash;&mdash; May, I wrote a spiritual
+‘Song in Remembrance of God’s Goodness,’ after the
+melody ‘<span lang="de">Nun ruhen alle Wälder</span>.’</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">I.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">My heart! True courage find!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">God’s goodness bear in mind,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And how He, ever nigh,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Helps me my load to bear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor utterly despair<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tho’ in such heavy bonds I lie.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">II.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Ne’er from my thoughts shall stray<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How once I lingering lay<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In the dark dungeon cell;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My cares and bitter fears,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And ridicule and tears,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And God the Lord upheld me well.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">III.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Think on my misery<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And sad captivity<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thro’ many a dreary year!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet nought my heart distresses;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Lord He proves and blesses,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And He protects me even here!<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">IV.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Come heart and soul elate!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And let me now relate<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The wonders of God’s skill!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He was my preservation<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In danger and temptation,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And kept me from impending ill.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_271" id="Page_271" title="[Pg 271]"></a>
+<span class="i6">V.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The end seemed drawing near,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I wrung my hands with fear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet has He helped me e’er;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My refuge and my guide,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On Him I have relied,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And He has ever known my care.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">VI.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Thanks to Thee, fount of good!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou canst no evil brood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy blows are fatherly;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When cruel power oppressed me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy hand has ever blessed me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Thou has sheltered me!<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">VII.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Before Thee, Lord, I lie;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Give me my liberty<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Before my course is run;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy Gracious Hands extend<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And let my suffering end!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet not my will, but Thine, be done.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>In this year, on July 25, his royal Majesty was
+gracious enough to have a large window made again in
+my inner apartment; it had been walled up when I
+had been brought into this chamber. A stove was also
+placed there, the flue of which passed out into the square.
+The prison governor was not well satisfied at this,
+especially as he was obliged to be present during the
+work; this did not suit his laziness. My doors were
+open during the time; it was twelve days before the
+work was finished. He grumbled, and did not wish
+that the window should be made as low as it had been
+before I was imprisoned here; I persuaded the mason’s
+journeyman to cut down the wall as low as it had before
+been, which the prison governor perceived from the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_272" id="Page_272" title="[Pg 272]"></a>
+palace square, and he came running up and scolded, and
+was thoroughly angry. But it was not to be changed,
+for the window-frame was already made. I asked him
+what it mattered to him if the window was a stone
+lower; it did not go lower than the iron grating, and it
+had formerly been so. He would have his will, so that
+the mason walled it up a stone higher while the
+prison governor was there, and removed it again afterwards,
+for the window-frame, which was ready, would
+not otherwise have fitted.</p>
+
+<p>In the same year Karen, <a class="corr" name="corr_24" id="corr_24" title="was: Nil’s">Nils’</a> daughter, left me for
+the third and last time, and in her stead came a woman
+named Barbra, the widow of a bookbinder. She is a
+woman of a melancholy turn. Her conscience is
+aroused sometimes, so that she often enumerates her
+own misdeeds (but not so great as they have been, and
+as I have found out by enquiry). She had two children,
+and it seems from her own account that she was to
+some extent guilty of their death, for she says: ‘Who
+can have any care for a child when one does not love
+its father?’ She left her husband two years before he
+died, and repaired to Hamburg, supporting herself by
+spinning; she had before been in the service of a
+princess as a spinning-maid. Her father is alive, and
+was bookbinder to the King’s Majesty; he has just
+now had a stroke of paralysis, and is lying very ill.
+She has no sympathy with her father, and wishes him
+dead (which would perhaps be the best thing for him);
+but it vexes me that she behaves so badly to her sister,
+who is the wife of a tailor, and I often tell her that in
+this she is committing a double sin; for the needy
+sister comes from time to time for something to eat.
+If she does not come exactly on the evening which she
+has agreed upon, she gets nothing, and the food is<a class="pagenum" name="Page_273" id="Page_273" title="[Pg 273]"></a>
+thrown away upstairs. When at some length I place
+her sin before her, she says, ‘That meat is bad.’ I ask
+her why she let it get bad, and did not give it in time
+to her sister. To this she answers that her sister is
+not worthy of it. I predict evil things which will
+happen to her in future, as they have done to others
+whom I enumerate to her. At this she throws back
+her head and is silent.</p>
+
+<p>At this time her Majesty the Queen sent me some
+silkworms to beguile the time. When they had
+finished spinning, I sent them back to her Majesty in
+a box which I had covered with carnation-coloured
+satin, upon which I had embroidered a pattern with
+gold thread. Inside, the box was lined with white
+taffeta. In the lid I embroidered with black silk a
+humble request that her Majesty would loose my
+bonds, and would fetter me anew with the hand of
+favour. Her Majesty the virtuous Queen would have
+granted my request had it rested with her.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor became gradually more sensible
+and accommodating, drank less wine, and made no jokes.
+I had peace within my doors. The woman sat during
+the day outside in the other apartment, and lay there
+also in the night, so that I began not to fret so much
+over my hard fate. I passed the year with reading,
+writing, and composing.</p>
+
+<p>For some time past, immediately after I had received
+the yearly pension, I had bought for myself not only
+historical works in various languages, but I had
+gathered and translated from them all the famous
+female personages, who were celebrated as true, chaste,
+sensible, valorous, virtuous, God-fearing, learned, and
+steadfast; and in anno 1675, on January 9, I amused
+myself with making some rhymes to M. Thomas<a class="pagenum" name="Page_274" id="Page_274" title="[Pg 274]"></a>
+Kingo, under the title, ‘To the much-famed Poet M.
+Thomas Kingo, a Request from a Danish Woman in
+the name of all Danish Women.’ The request was this,
+that he would exhibit in befitting honour the virtuous
+and praiseworthy Danish women. There are, indeed,
+virtuous women belonging to other nations, but I
+requested only his praise of the Danish. This never
+reached Kingo; but if my good friend to whom I
+entrust these papers still lives, it will fall probably into
+your hands, my beloved children.</p>
+
+<p>In the same year, on May 11, I wrote in rhyme a
+controversial conversation between Sense and Reason;
+entitled, ‘Controversial Thoughts by the Captive
+Widow, or the Dispute between Sense and Reason.’</p>
+
+<p>Nothing else occurred this year within the doors of
+my prison which is worth recording, except one event&mdash;namely,
+when the outermost door of the anteroom was
+unlocked in the morning for the sake of sweeping away
+the dirt and bringing in fresh water, and the tower-warder
+occasionally let it stand open till meal-time and
+then closed it again, it happened that a fire broke out
+in the town and the bells were tolled. I and the
+woman ran up to the top of the tower to see where it
+was burning.</p>
+
+<p>When I was on the stairs which led up to the clock-work,
+the prison governor came, and with him was a
+servant from the silver-chamber. He first perceived my
+dog, then he saw somewhat of the woman, and thought
+probably that I was there also; he was so wise as not
+to come up the stairs, but remained below at the lowest
+holes, from whence one can look out over the town, and
+left me time enough to get down again and shut my
+door. Gert was sorry, and came afterwards to the door
+and told me of his distress. I consoled him, and said<a class="pagenum" name="Page_275" id="Page_275" title="[Pg 275]"></a>
+there was nothing to fear. Before the prison governor
+opened the door at noon, he struck Gert with his stick, so
+that he cried, and the prison governor said with an oath,
+‘Thou shalt leave.’ When the prison governor came in,
+I was the first to speak, and I said: ‘It is not right in
+you to beat the poor devil; he could not help it. The
+executioner came up as he was going to lock my door,
+and that made him forget to do so.’ He threatened
+Gert severely, and said, ‘I should not have minded it
+so much had not that other servant been with me.’</p>
+
+<p>The words at once occurred to me which he had
+said to me a long time before, namely that no woman
+could be silent, but that all men could be silent (when
+he had asserted this, I had thought, if this be so, then
+my adversaries might believe that I, had I known of
+anything which they had in view, should not have
+been able to keep silence). So I now answered him
+thus: ‘Well, and what does that signify? It was a
+man; they can all keep silence; there is no harm done.’
+He could not help laughing, and said, ‘Well, you are
+good enough.’ I then talked to him, and assured him
+that I had no desire to leave the tower without the
+King’s will, even though day and night all the tower
+doors were left open, and I also said that I could have
+got out long ago, if that had been my design. Gert
+continued in his service, and the prison governor never
+told Gert to shut me in in the morning.<a name="FNanchor_142" id="FNanchor_142" href="#Footnote_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</a></p>
+
+<p>At this time I had bought myself a clavicordium, and
+as Barbra could sing well, I played psalms and she<a class="pagenum" name="Page_276" id="Page_276" title="[Pg 276]"></a>
+sang, so that the time was not long to us. She taught
+me to bind books, so far as I needed.<a name="FNanchor_E56" id="FNanchor_E56" href="#Footnote_E56" class="fnanchor">[E56]</a></p>
+
+<p>My father confessor, H. Emmeke, became a preacher
+at Kiöge anno 1676. In the same year my pension was
+increased, and I received yearly 250 rix-dollars. It
+stands in the order that the 200 rix-dollars were to be
+used for the purchase of clothes and the remaining
+fifty to buy anything which might beguile the time.<a name="FNanchor_E57" id="FNanchor_E57" href="#Footnote_E57" class="fnanchor">[E57]</a>
+God bless and keep his gracious Majesty, and grant
+that he may live to enjoy many happy years.</p>
+
+<p>Brant was at this time treasurer.</p>
+
+<p>On December 17 in this same year Barbra left me,
+and married a bookbinder’s apprentice; but she repented
+it afterwards. And as her husband died a year
+and a half after her marriage, and that suddenly, <a class="corr" name="corr_25" id="corr_25" title="was: suspipicion">suspicion</a>
+fell upon Barbra. She afterwards went to her
+brother’s house and fell ill. Her conscience was
+awakened, and she sent for Tötzlöff and told almost in
+plain terms that she had poisoned her husband, and
+begged him to tell me so. I was not much astonished
+at it, for according to her own account she had before
+killed her own children; but I told Peder Tötzlöff that
+he was not to speak of it; if God willed that it should
+be made known, it would be so notwithstanding; the
+brother and the maid in the house knew it; he was not
+to go there again, even if she sent a message to him.
+She became quite insane, and lay in a miserable condition.
+The brother subsequently had her removed to
+the plague-house.</p>
+
+<p>In Barbra’s place there came to me a woman named
+Sitzel, daughter of a certain Klemming; Maren Blocks
+had brought about her employment, as Sitzel owed her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_277" id="Page_277" title="[Pg 277]"></a>
+money. She is a dissolute woman, and Maren gave
+her out as a spinster; she had a white cap on her head
+when she came up. Sitzel’s debt to Maren had arisen
+in this way: that Maren&mdash;since Sitzel could make
+buttons, and the button-makers had quarrelled with
+her&mdash;obtained for her a royal licence in order to free
+her from the opposition of the button-makers, under
+the pretext that she was sickly. When the door was
+locked in the evening, I requested to see the royal
+licence which Maren had obtained for her. And when
+I saw that she was styled in it the sickly woman, I
+asked her what her infirmity was. She replied that
+she had no infirmity. ‘Why, then,’ I asked, ‘have you
+given yourself out as sickly?’ She answered, ‘That
+was Maren Block’s doing, in order to get for me the
+royal licence.’ ‘In the licence,’ I said, ‘you are spoken
+of as a married woman, and not as a spinster; have
+you, then, been seduced?’ She hung her head and
+said softly, ‘Yes.’</p>
+
+<p>I was not satisfied. I said, ‘Maren Block has
+obtained the royal licence for you by lies, and has
+brought you to me by lies; what, then, can I expect
+from your service?’ She begged my pardon, promised
+to serve me well, and never to act contrary to my
+wishes. She is a dangerous person; there is nothing
+good in her; bold and shameless, she is not even
+afraid of fighting a man. She struck two button-makers
+one day, who wanted to take away her work,
+till they were obliged to run away. With me she had
+no opportunity of thus displaying her evil passions,
+but still they were perceptible in various ways. One
+day I warded off a scuffle between her and Maren
+Blocks; for when Maren Blocks had got back the
+money which she had expended on the royal licence<a class="pagenum" name="Page_278" id="Page_278" title="[Pg 278]"></a>
+for Sitzel, she wanted to remove her from me, and to
+bring another into her place; but I sent word to Maren
+Blocks that she must not imagine she could send me
+another whom I must take. It was enough that she
+had done this time.<a name="FNanchor_143" id="FNanchor_143" href="#Footnote_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the place of H. Emmeke Norbye, H. Johan
+Adolf Borneman became palace-preacher; a very
+learned and sensible man, who now became my father
+confessor, and performed the duties of his office for the
+first time on April 10, 1677.</p>
+
+<p>On October 9, in the same year, my father
+confessor was Magister Hendrich Borneman, dean of
+the church of Our Lady (a learned and excellent man),
+his brother H. Johan Adolf Borneman having accompanied
+the King’s Majesty on a journey.</p>
+
+<p>I have, thank God, spent this year in repose:
+reading, writing, and composing various things.</p>
+
+<p>Anno 1678 it was brought about for me that my
+father-confessor, H. Johan Adolf Borneman, should
+come to me every six weeks and preach a short
+sermon.</p>
+
+<p>In this year, on Easter-Day, Agneta Sophia Budde
+was brought to the tower. Her prison was above my
+innermost apartment. She was accused of having
+designed to poison the Countess Skeel; and as she was
+a young person, and had a waiting-woman in her
+attendance who was also young, they clamoured to
+such an extent all day that I had no peace for them.
+I said nothing, however, about it, thinking she would
+probably be quiet when she knew that her life was at<a class="pagenum" name="Page_279" id="Page_279" title="[Pg 279]"></a>
+stake. But no! she was merry to the day on which
+she was executed!<a name="FNanchor_144" id="FNanchor_144" href="#Footnote_144" class="fnanchor">[144]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the same year, on the morning of July 9, the
+tower-warder Gert was killed by a thief who was
+under sentence of death, and to whom he had allowed
+too great liberty. I will mention this incident somewhat
+more in detail, as I had advised Gert not to give
+this prisoner so much liberty; but to his own misfortune
+he paid no attention to my advice. This
+thief had broken by night into the house of a clergyman,
+and had stolen a boiling-copper, which he had
+carried on his head to Copenhagen; he was seized
+with it at the gate in the morning, and was placed here
+in the tower. He was condemned to be hanged (he
+had committed various other thefts). The priest
+allowed the execution to be delayed; he did not wish
+to have him hanged. Then it was said he was to go
+to the Holm; but he remained long in prison. At
+first, and until the time that his going to the Holm<a class="pagenum" name="Page_280" id="Page_280" title="[Pg 280]"></a>
+was talked of, he was my neighbour in the Dark
+Church; he behaved quite as a God-fearing man, read
+(apparently) with devotion, and prayed to God for
+forgiveness of his sins with most profound sighs. The
+rogue knew that I could hear him, and I sent him
+occasionally something to eat. Gert took pity on him,
+and allowed him to go by day about the basement
+story of the tower, and shut him up at night again.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards he allowed him also at night to remain
+below. And as I had seen the thief once or twice
+when my door stood open, and he went past, it seemed
+to me that he had a murderous countenance; and for
+this reason, when I heard that the thief was not placed
+of an evening in the Dark Church, I said to Gert that
+he ventured too far, in letting him remain below at
+night; that there was roguery lurking in him; that
+he would certainly some day escape, and then, on his
+account, Gert would get into trouble. Gert was not of
+opinion that the thief wished to run away; he had no
+longer any fear of being hanged; he had been so
+delighted that he was to go to the Holm, there was no
+danger in it. I thought ‘That is a delight which does
+not reach further than the lips,’ and I begged him that
+he would lock him up at night. No; Gert feared
+nothing; he even went farther, and allowed the thief
+to go up the tower instead of himself, and attend to the
+clock-work.</p>
+
+<p>Three days before the murder took place, I spoke
+with Gert, when he unlocked my door in the morning,
+of the danger to which he exposed himself by the
+liberty he allowed the thief, but Gert did not fear it.
+Meanwhile my dog placed himself exactly in front of
+Gert, and howled in his face. When we were at
+dinner, the dog ran down and howled three times at<a class="pagenum" name="Page_281" id="Page_281" title="[Pg 281]"></a>
+the tower-warder’s door. Never before had I heard
+the dog howl.</p>
+
+<p>On July 19 (as I have said), when Gert’s unfortunate
+morning had arrived, the thief came down from the
+clock-work, and said that he could not manage it
+alone, as the cords were entangled. The rogue had
+an iron rod ready above, in order to effect his project.
+Gert went upstairs, but was carried down. The thief
+ran down after Gert was dead, opened his box, took
+out the money, and went out of the tower.</p>
+
+<p>It was a Friday, and the bells were to be rung for
+service. Those whose duty it was to ring them
+knocked at the tower door, but no one opened. Tötzlöff
+came with the principal key and opened, and
+spoke to me and wondered that Gert was not there at
+that time of the day. I said: ‘All is not right; this
+morning between four and five I was rather unwell,
+and I heard three people going upstairs and after a
+time two coming down again.’ Tötzlöff locked my
+door and went down. Just then one of the ringers
+came down, and informed them that Gert was lying
+upstairs dead. When the dead man was examined,
+he had more than one wound, but all at the back of
+the head. He was a very bold man, courageous, and
+strong; one man could not be supposed to have done
+this to him.</p>
+
+<p>The thief was seized the same evening, and confessed
+how it had happened: that, namely, a prisoner who
+was confined in the Witch Cell, a licentiate of the
+name of Moritius, had persuaded him to it. This same
+Moritius had great enmity against Gert. It is true
+that Gert took too much from him weekly for his food.
+But it is also true that this Moritius was a very godless
+fellow; the priest who confesses him gives him no<a class="pagenum" name="Page_282" id="Page_282" title="[Pg 282]"></a>
+good character. I believe, indeed, that Moritius was
+an accessory, but I believe also that another prisoner,
+who was confined in the basement of the tower, had a
+hand in the game. For who should have locked the
+tower-door again after the imprisoned thief, had not
+one of these done so? For when the key was looked
+for, it was found hidden above in the tower; this could
+not have been done by the thief after he was out of
+the tower. The thief, moreover, could not have unlocked
+Gert’s box and taken his money without the
+knowledge of Moritius. The other prisoner must also
+have been aware of it. It seems to me that it was
+hushed up, in order that no more should die for this
+murder; for the matter was not only not investigated
+as was befitting, but the thief was confined down
+below in the tower. He was bound with iron fetters,
+but Moritius could speak with him everyday: and for
+this reason the thief departed from his earlier statement,
+and said that he alone had committed the
+murder. He was executed on August 8, and Moritius
+was taken to Borringholm, and kept as a prisoner
+there.<a name="FNanchor_E55B" id="FNanchor_E55B" href="#Footnote_E55B" class="fnanchor">[E55b]</a></p>
+
+<p>In Gert’s place a tower-warder of the name of
+Johan, a Norwegian, was appointed&mdash;a very simple
+man. The servants about court often made a fool of
+him. The imprisoned young woman and her attendant
+did so the first time after his arrival that the attendant
+had to perform some menial offices upstairs. The
+place to which she had to go was not far from the door
+of their prison. The tower-warder went down in the
+meanwhile, and left the door open. They ran about
+and played. When they heard him coming up the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_283" id="Page_283" title="[Pg 283]"></a>
+stairs, they hid themselves. He found the prison
+empty, and was grieved and lamented. The young
+woman giggled like a child, and thus he found her
+behind a door. Johan was glad, and told me the
+story afterwards. I asked why he had not remained
+with them. ‘What,’ he answered, ‘was I to remain at
+their dirty work?’ There was nothing to say in reply
+to such foolish talk.</p>
+
+<p>I had repose within my doors, and amused myself
+with reading, writing and various handiwork, and began
+to make and embroider my shroud, for which I had
+bought calico, white taffeta, and thread.</p>
+
+<p>On April 7 a young lad escaped from the tower,
+who had been confined on the lower story with iron
+fetters round his legs. This prisoner found opportunity
+to loosen his fetters, and knew, moreover, that the
+booby Johan was wont to keep the tower key under
+his pillow. He kept an iron pin in readiness to unlock
+the door of the room when the tower-warder was
+asleep; he opened it gently, took the key, locked in
+the booby again, and quitted the tower. The simple
+man was placed in confinement, but after the expiration
+of six weeks he was set at liberty.</p>
+
+<p>In his place there came a man named Olle Mathison,
+who was from Skaane; he had his wife with him in the
+tower. Towards the end of this year, on December
+25, I became ill of a fever, and D. Mynchen received
+orders to visit me and to take me under his care&mdash;an
+order which he executed with great attention. He is a
+very sensible man, mild and judicious in his treatment.
+Ten days after I recovered my usual health.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning of the year 1680 Sitzel, Klemming’s
+daughter, was persuaded by Maren Blocks to betroth
+herself to one of the King’s body-guard. She left me<a class="pagenum" name="Page_284" id="Page_284" title="[Pg 284]"></a>
+on November 26. In her place I had a woman named
+Margrete. When I first saw her, she appeared to me
+somewhat suspicious, and it seemed to me that she
+was with child; however, I made no remark till the
+last day of the month of January. Then I put a
+question to her from which she could perceive my
+opinion. She answered me with lies, but I interrupted
+her at once; and she made use of a special trick, which
+it is not fit to mention here, in order to prove her false
+assertion; but her trick could not stand with me, and
+she was subsequently obliged to confess it. I asked
+her as to the father of the child (I imagined that it
+was the King’s groom of the chamber, who had been
+placed in arrest in the prison governor’s room, but I did
+not say so). She did not answer my question at the time,
+but said she was not so far advanced; that her size
+was owing rather to stoutness than to the child, as it
+was at a very early stage.</p>
+
+<p>This woman, before she came to me, had been in the
+service of the prison governor’s wife, and the prison
+governor had told me she was married. So it happened
+that I one day asked her of her life and doings; upon
+which she told me of her past history, where she had
+served, and that she had had two bastards, each by a different
+father; and pointing to herself, she added: ‘A
+father shall also acknowledge this one, and that a
+brave father! You know him well!’ I said, ‘I have seen
+the King’s groom of the chamber in the square, but I
+do not know him.’ She laughed and answered (in her
+mother-tongue), ‘No, by God, that is not he; it is the
+good prison governor.’ I truly did not believe it. She
+protested it, and related some minute details to me.</p>
+
+<p>I thought I had better get rid of her betimes, and I
+requested to speak with the prison governor’s wife, who<a class="pagenum" name="Page_285" id="Page_285" title="[Pg 285]"></a>
+at once came to me. I told her my suspicion with regard
+to the woman, and on what I based my suspicion; but
+I made no remark as to what the woman had confessed
+and said to me. I begged the prison governor’s wife to
+remove the woman from me as civilly as she could.
+She was surprised at my words, and doubted if there
+was truth in them. I said, ‘Whether it be so or not,
+remove her; the sooner the better.’ She promised
+that it should be done, but it was not. Margrete
+seemed not to care that it was known that she was
+with child; she told the tower-warder of it, and asked
+him one day, ‘Ole, how was it with your wife when
+she had twins?’ Ole answered: ‘I know nothing
+about it. Ask Anne!’ Margrete said that from certain
+symptoms she fancied she might have twins.</p>
+
+<p>One day, when she was going to sew a cloth on the
+arms of my arm-chair, she said, ‘That angel of God is
+now moving!’ And as the wife of the prison governor
+did not adhere to her word, and Margrete’s sister often
+came to the tower, I feared that the sister might secretly
+convey her something to remove the child (which
+was no doubt subsequently the case), so I said one
+day to Margrete: ‘You say that the prison governor is
+your child’s father, but you do not venture to say so to
+himself.’ ‘Yes!’ she said with an oath, ‘as if I would
+not venture! Do you imagine that I will not have
+something from him for the support of my child?’
+‘Then I will send for him,’ I said, ‘on purpose to
+hear what he will say.’ (It was at that time a rare
+occurrence for the prison governor to come to me.) She
+begged me to do so; he could not deny, she said, that he
+was the father of her child. The prison governor came
+at my request. I began my speech in the woman’s
+presence, and said that Margrete, according to her<a class="pagenum" name="Page_286" id="Page_286" title="[Pg 286]"></a>
+own statement, was with child; who the father was, he
+could enquire if he chose. He asked her whether she
+was with child? She answered, ‘Yes, and you are
+the father of it.’ ‘O!’ he said, and laughed, ‘what
+nonsense!’ She adhered to what she had said, protested
+that no other was the child’s father, and related
+the circumstances of how it had occurred. The prison
+governor said, ‘The woman is mad!’ She gave free
+vent to her tongue, so that I ordered her to go out;
+then I spoke with the prison governor alone, and begged
+him speedily to look about for another woman for me,
+before it came to extremities with her. I supposed he
+would find means to stop her tongue. I told him the
+truth in a few words&mdash;that he had brought his paramour
+to wait on me. He answered, ‘She lies, the malicious
+woman! I have ordered Tötzlöff already to look about
+for another. My wife has told me what you said to
+her the other day.’ After this conversation the prison
+governor went away. Peder Tötzlöff told me that an
+English woman had desired to be with me, but could
+not come before Easter.</p>
+
+<p>Four days afterwards Margrete began to complain
+that she felt ill, and said to me in the forenoon, ‘I
+think it will probably go badly with me; I feel so ill.’
+I thought at once of what I had feared, namely of
+what the constant visits of her sister indicated, and I
+sent immediately to Peder Tötzlöff, and when he came
+to me I told him of my suspicion respecting Margrete,
+and begged him to do his utmost to procure me the
+English woman that very day. Meanwhile Margrete
+went up stairs, and remained there about an hour and
+a quarter, and came down looking like a corpse, and
+said, ‘Now it will be all right with me.’ What I
+thought I would not say (for I knew that if I had<a class="pagenum" name="Page_287" id="Page_287" title="[Pg 287]"></a>
+enquired the cause of her bad appearance she would
+have at once acknowledged it all, and I did not want
+to know it), so I said, ‘If you keep yourself quiet, all
+will be well. Another woman is coming this evening.’
+This did not please her; she thought she could now
+well remain. I paid no regard to this nor to anything
+else she said, but adhered to it&mdash;that another woman
+was coming. This was arranged, and in the evening
+of March 15 Margrete left, and in her place came an
+English woman, named Jonatha, who had been married
+to a Dane named Jens Pedersen Holme.</p>
+
+<p>When Margrete was gone, I was blamed by the wife
+of the prison governor, who said that I had persuaded
+Margrete to affirm that her husband was the father of
+Margrete’s child.</p>
+
+<p>Although it did not concern me, I will nevertheless
+mention the deceitful manner in which the
+good people subsequently brought about this Margrete’s
+marriage. They informed a bookbinder’s apprentice
+that she had been married, and they showed both him
+and the priest, who was to give them the nuptial benediction,
+her sister’s marriage certificate.<a name="FNanchor_145" id="FNanchor_145" href="#Footnote_145" class="fnanchor">[145]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the same year, on the morning of Christmas Day,
+God loosened D. Otto Sperling’s heavy bonds, after
+he had been imprisoned in the Blue Tower seventeen
+years, eight months, twenty-four days, at the age of
+eighty years minus six days. He had long been ill,
+but never confined to his bed. Doctor München
+twice visited him with his medicaments. He would
+not allow the tower-warder at any time to make his
+bed, and was quite angry if Ole offered to do so, and<a class="pagenum" name="Page_288" id="Page_288" title="[Pg 288]"></a>
+implied that the doctor was weak. He allowed no one
+either to be present when he laid down. How he
+came on the floor on Christmas night is not known;
+he lay there, knocking on the ground. The tower-warder
+could not hear his knocking, for he slept far
+from the doctor’s room; but a prisoner who slept on
+the ground floor heard it, and knocked at the tower-warder’s
+door and told him that the doctor had been
+knocking for some time. When Ole came in, he
+found the doctor lying on the floor, half dressed, with
+a clean shirt on. He was still alive, groaned a good
+deal, but did not speak. Ole called a prisoner to help
+him, and they lifted him on the bed and locked the
+door again. In the morning he was found dead, as I
+have said.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1682, in the month of April, I was sick and
+confined to my bed from a peculiar malady which had
+long troubled me&mdash;a stony matter had coagulated and
+had settled low down in my intestines. Doctor München
+used all available means to counteract this weakness;
+but he could not believe that it was of the nature
+I thought and informed him; for I was perfectly aware
+it was a stone which had settled in the duct of the
+intestines. He was of opinion, if it were so, that the
+medicaments which he used would remove it.<a name="FNanchor_146" id="FNanchor_146" href="#Footnote_146" class="fnanchor">[146]</a> At
+this time the doctor was obliged to travel with his
+Majesty to Holstein. I used the remedies according to
+Doctor München’s directions, but things remained just
+as before. It was not till the following morning that
+the remedies produced their effect; and then, besides
+other matter, a large stone was evacuated, and I struck<a class="pagenum" name="Page_289" id="Page_289" title="[Pg 289]"></a>
+a piece out of it with a hammer in order to see what it
+was inside; I found it to be composed of a substance
+like rays, having the appearance of being gilded in some
+places and in others silvered. It is almost half a finger
+in length and full three fingers thick, and it is still in
+my possession. When Doctor München returned, I
+sent him word how it was with me. He was at the
+time with the governess of the royal children, F. Sitzele
+Grubbe. Doctor München desired Tötzlöff to request
+me to let him see the stone. I sent him word that if
+he would come to me, he should see it. I would not
+send it to him, for I well knew that I should never get
+it again.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1682, June 11, I wrote the following spiritual
+song.</p>
+
+<p>It can be sung to the melody, ‘<span lang="da">Siunge wii af Hiærtens-Grund</span>.’<a name="FNanchor_E59" id="FNanchor_E59" href="#Footnote_E59" class="fnanchor">[E59]</a></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">I.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">What is this our mortal life<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Otherwise than daily strife?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What is all our labour here,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The servitude and yoke we bear?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Are they aught but vanity?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Art and learning what are ye?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like a vapour all we see.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">II.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Why, then, is thy anxious breast<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Filled with trouble? Be at rest!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Why, then, dost thou boldly fight<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The phantoms vain that mock thy sight?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is there any, small or grand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who can payment duly hand<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At the creditor’s demand?<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_290" id="Page_290" title="[Pg 290]"></a>
+<span class="i6">III.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Naked to the world I came,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And I leave it just the same;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Lord has given and He takes;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It is well whate’er He makes.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the Lord all praises be;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I will trust Him heartily!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And my near deliverance see.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">IV.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">One thing would I ask of Thee.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That Thy House I once may see,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And once more with song and praise<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">May my pious offering raise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And magnify Thy grace received,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all that Jesus has achieved<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For us who have in Him believed.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i6">V.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">If Thou sayest unto me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">‘I have no desire in thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">There is no place for thee above;’<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh Jesus! look Thou down in love!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Can I not justly to Thee say<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">‘Let me but see Thy wounds, I pray:’<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">God’s mercy cannot pass away.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>On June 27, the Queen sent me some silk and silver,
+with the request that I would embroider her a flower,
+which was traced on parchment; she sent also another
+flower which was embroidered, that I might see how
+the work should be done, which is called the golden
+work. I had never before embroidered such work, for
+it affects the eyes quickly; but I undertook it, and said
+I would do it as well as I could. On July 9, I sent the
+flower which I had embroidered to the governess of
+the royal children, F. Sitzele Grubbe, with the request
+that she would present it most humbly to her Majesty
+the Queen. The Queen was much pleased with the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_291" id="Page_291" title="[Pg 291]"></a>
+flower, and told her that it excelled the others which
+certain countesses had embroidered for her.</p>
+
+<p>I afterwards embroidered nine flowers in silver and
+silk in this golden work, and sent them to the Queen’s
+mistress of the robes, with the request that she would
+present them most humbly to her Majesty the Queen.
+The mistress of the robes assured me of the Queen’s
+favour, and told me that her Majesty was going to give
+me two silver flagons, but I have not heard of them
+yet. In the same year I embroidered a table-cover
+with floss silk, in a new design devised by myself, and
+I trimmed it with taffeta and silver fringe; this also I
+begged Lady Grubbe, the governess of the King’s children,
+to present most humbly to her Majesty, and it was
+graciously received. On November 29, I completed
+the work which I had made for my death-gear. It
+was embroidered with thread. On one end of the
+pillow I worked the following lines:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Full of anxiety and care, in many a silent night,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">This shroud have I been weaving with sorrowful delight!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>On the other end I embroidered the following: (N.B.
+The pillow was stuffed with my hair).</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">When some day on this hair my weary head will lie,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My body will be free and my soul to God will fly.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>On the cloth for the head I embroidered:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">I know full well, my Jesus, Thou dost live,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And my frail body from the dust wilt give,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And it with marvellous beauty will array<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To stand before Thy throne on the great day.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fulfilled with heavenly joy I then shall be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Thee, great God, in all Thy splendour see.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor unknown wilt Thou to mine eyes appear!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Help Jesus, bridegroom, be Thou ever near!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_292" id="Page_292" title="[Pg 292]"></a>
+Her Majesty the Queen was always gracious to me,
+and sent me again a number of silkworms that I might
+amuse myself with feeding them for her, and I was to
+return what they spun. The virtuous Queen also
+sent me sometimes oranges, lemons, and some of the
+large almanacs, and this she did through a dwarf, who
+is a thoroughly quick lad. His mother and father had
+been in the service of my deceased sister Sophia
+Elizabeth and my brother-in-law Count Pentz.</p>
+
+<p>The governess of the royal children, F. Sitzel
+Grubbe, was very courteous and good to me, and sent
+me several times lemons, oranges, mulberries, and
+other fruits, according to the season of the year.</p>
+
+<p>A young lady, by birth a Donep, also twice sent me
+fruit.</p>
+
+<p>The maids of honour once sent me some entangled
+silk from silkworms, which they wanted to spin, and
+did not rightly know how to manage it; they requested
+me to arrange it for them. I had other occupation on
+hand which I was unwilling to lay aside (for I was
+busy collecting my heroines), but nevertheless I acceded
+to their wish.<a name="FNanchor_E60" id="FNanchor_E60" href="#Footnote_E60" class="fnanchor">[E60]</a> My captivity of nearly twenty
+years could not touch the heart of the Queen Dowager
+(though with a good conscience I can testify before
+God that I never gave her cause for such inclemency).
+My most gracious hereditary King was gracious enough
+several times in former years to intercede for me with
+his royal mother, through the high ministers of the
+State. Her answer at that time was very hard; she
+would entitle them ‘traitors,’ and, ‘as good as I was,’
+and would point them to the door. All the favours
+which the King’s majesty showed me&mdash;the outer apartment,
+the large window, the money to dispose of for<a class="pagenum" name="Page_293" id="Page_293" title="[Pg 293]"></a>
+myself&mdash;annoyed the Queen Dowager extremely; and
+she made the King’s majesty feel her displeasure in the
+most painful manner. And as she had also learned (she
+had plenty of informers) that I possessed a clavicordium,
+this annoyed her especially, and she spoke very angrily
+with the King about it; on which account the prison
+governor came to me one day and said that the King
+had asked him how he had happened to procure me
+a clavicordium. ‘I stood abashed,’ said the prison
+governor, ‘and knew not what to say.’ I thought
+to myself, ‘You know but little of what is happening
+in the tower.’ I did not see him more than three
+times a year. I asked who had told the King of the
+clavicordium. He answered: ‘The old Queen; she
+has her spies everywhere, and she has spoken so
+hardly to the King that it is a shame because he
+gives you so much liberty;’ so saying, he seized the
+clavicordium just as if he were going to take it away,
+and said, ‘You must not have it!’ I said, ‘Let it alone!
+I have permission from his Majesty, my gracious Sovereign,
+to buy what I desire for my pastime with the
+money he graciously assigns me. The clavicordium is
+in no one’s way, and cannot harm the Queen Dowager.’
+He pulled at it nevertheless, and wanted to take it
+down; it stood on a closet which I had bought. I
+said, with rather a loud voice, ‘You must let it remain
+until you return me the money I gave you for it; then
+you may do with it what you like.’ He said, ‘I will
+tell the King that.’ I begged him to do so. There
+was nothing afterwards said about it,<a name="FNanchor_147" id="FNanchor_147" href="#Footnote_147" class="fnanchor">[147]</a> and I still have
+the clavicordium, though I play on it rarely. I write,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_294" id="Page_294" title="[Pg 294]"></a>
+and hasten to finish my heroines, so that I may have
+them ready, and that no sickness nor death may prevent
+my completing them, nor the friend to whom I
+confide them may leave me, and so they would never
+fall into your hands, my dearest children.</p>
+
+<p>On September 24, M. Johan Adolf, my father confessor,
+was promoted; he became dean of the church
+of Our Lady. He bade me a very touching farewell,
+having administered the duties of his office to me for
+nearly six years, and been my consolation. God
+knows how unwillingly I parted with him.</p>
+
+<p>At the beginning of this year H. Peder Collerus
+was my father confessor; he was at the time palace-preacher.
+He also visited me with his consolatory
+discourse every six weeks. He is a learned man, but
+not like Hornemann.</p>
+
+<p>On April 3, an old sickly dog was sent to me in the
+Queen’s name. I fancy the ladies of the court sent it,
+to be quit of the trouble. A marten had bit its jaw in
+two, so that the tongue hung out on one side. All the
+teeth were gone, and a thin film covered one eye. It
+heard but little, and limped on one side. The worst,
+however, was, that one could easily see that it tried to
+exhibit its affection beyond its power. They told me
+that her Majesty the Queen had been very fond of the
+dog. It was a small ‘King Charles;’ its name was
+‘Cavaillier.’ The Queen expressed her opinion that it
+would not long trouble me. I hoped so also.<a name="FNanchor_E66B" id="FNanchor_E66B" href="#Footnote_E66B" class="fnanchor">[E66b]</a></p>
+
+<p>On August 12 of this year I finished the work I had
+undertaken, and since my prefatory remarks treated
+of celebrated women of every kind, both of valiant
+rulers and sensible sovereigns, of true, chaste, God-fearing,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_295" id="Page_295" title="[Pg 295]"></a>
+virtuous, unhappy, learned, and steadfast
+women, it seemed to me that all of these could not be
+reckoned as heroines; so I took some of them out and
+divided them into three parts, under the title, ‘The
+Heroines’ Praise.’ The first part is to the honour of
+valiant heroines. The second part speaks of true and
+chaste heroines. The third part of steadfast heroines.
+Each part has its appendix. I hope to God that this
+my prison work may come into your hands, my dearest
+children. Hereafter I intend, so God will, to collect
+the others: namely, the sensible, learned, god-fearing,
+and virtuous women; exhibiting each to view in the
+circumstances of her life.<a name="FNanchor_E61" id="FNanchor_E61" href="#Footnote_E61" class="fnanchor">[E61]</a></p>
+
+<p>I will mention from her own statement somewhat of
+Jonatha, who now attended on me. I will pass over
+the long story of how she left her mother; the fact is,
+that against her mother’s will she married a Danish
+merchant, named Jens Pedersen Holme. But her
+life and doings (according to her own statement) are so
+strange, that it may be worth while to record somewhat
+of them. After they were married, she says, it vexed
+her, and was always in her mind that she had made
+her mother angry, and had done very wrong. Her
+mother had sent her also a hard letter, which distressed
+her much; and she behaved refractorily towards her
+husband, and in many ways like a spoilt unreasonable
+child, sometimes even like one who had lost her reason
+and was desperate.</p>
+
+<p>It seems also that her husband treated her as if her
+mind was affected, for he had her looked after like a
+child, and treated her as such. She told him once that
+she was intending to drown herself in the Peblingesö,<a name="FNanchor_E62" id="FNanchor_E62" href="#Footnote_E62" class="fnanchor">[E62]</a><a class="pagenum" name="Page_296" id="Page_296" title="[Pg 296]"></a>
+and at another time that she would strike him dead.
+The husband feared neither of these threats; still he had
+her watched when she went out, to see which way she
+took. Once she had firmly resolved to drown herself
+in the Peblingesö, for this place pleased her; she
+was even on her way there, but was brought back.
+She struck her husband, too, once after her fashion.
+He had come home one day half intoxicated, and had
+laid down on a bed, so that his legs rested on the floor.
+She says she intended at the time to strike him dead;
+she took a stick and tried to see if he were asleep,
+talking loudly to herself and scolding, and touching
+him softly on the shinbone with the stick. He behaved
+as if he were asleep. Then she struck him a little
+harder. Upon this he seized the stick and took it
+away from her, and asked what she had in her mind.
+She answered, ‘To kill you.’ ‘He was grieved at
+my madness,’ she said, ‘and threw himself on his
+knees, praying God to govern me with His good spirit
+and give me reason.’ The worst is that it once came
+into her mind not to sleep with her husband, and she
+laid down on a bench in the room. For a long time
+he gave her fair words, but these availed nothing. At
+last he said, ‘Undress yourself and come and lie
+down, or I shall come to you.’ She paid no attention
+to this; so he got up, undressed her completely, slapped
+her with his hand, and threw her into bed. She protested
+that for some days she was too bruised to sit;
+this proved availing, and she behaved in future more
+reasonably.</p>
+
+<p>Little at peace as she was with her husband when
+she had him with her, she was greatly grieved when
+he left her to go to the West Indies. He sent by<a class="pagenum" name="Page_297" id="Page_297" title="[Pg 297]"></a>
+return vessels all sorts of goods to sell, and she thus
+maintained herself comfortably.</p>
+
+<p>It happened at last that the man died in the West
+Indies, and a person who brought her the news stated
+that he had been poisoned by the governor of the place
+named &mdash;&mdash;, at an entertainment, and this because
+he was on the point of returning home, and the
+governor was afraid that Holme might mention his
+evil conduct. These tidings unsettled her mind so,
+that she ran at night, in her mere night-dress, along
+the street, and squabbled with the watchmen. She
+went to the admiral at the Holm, and demanded justice
+upon the absent culprit, and accused him, though she
+could prove nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Thus matters went on for a time, until at last she
+gained repose, and God ordained it that she came
+to me. My intercourse with her is as with a frail
+glass vessel, for she is weak in many respects. She
+often doubts of her salvation, and enumerates all
+her sins. She laments especially having so deeply
+offended her mother, and thus having drawn down a
+curse upon her. When this fear comes upon her, I
+console her with God’s word, and enter fully into the
+matter, showing her, from Holy Scripture, on what a
+repentant sinner must rely for the mercy of God.
+Occasionally she is troubled as to the interpretation of
+Holy Scripture, as all passages do not seem to her to
+agree, but to contradict each other. In this I help her
+so far as my understanding goes, so that sometimes
+she heartily thanks God that she is come to me, where
+she finds rest and consolation.</p>
+
+<p>After she had been with me for a year or two, she
+learned that the governor, whom she suspected, had
+come to Copenhagen. She said to me, ‘I hear the<a class="pagenum" name="Page_298" id="Page_298" title="[Pg 298]"></a>
+rogue is come here; I request my dismissal.’ I asked
+her why. ‘Because,’ she replied, ‘I will kill him.’ I
+could scarcely keep from laughing; but I said, ‘Jesus
+forbid! If you have any such design, I shall not let
+you go.’ And as she is a person whose like I have
+never known before&mdash;for she could chide with hard
+words, and yet at the same time she was modest and
+well-behaved&mdash;I tried to make her tell me and show
+me how she designed to take the governor’s life. (She
+is a small woman, delicately formed.) Then she acted
+as if her enemy were seated on a stool, and she had a
+large knife under her apron. When he said to her,
+‘Woman, what do you want?’ she would plunge the
+knife into him, and exclaim, ‘Rogue, thou hast deserved
+this.’ She would not move from the place, she would
+gladly die, if she could only take his life. I said,
+‘Still it is such a disgrace to die by the hand of the
+executioner.’ ‘Oh, no!’ she replied, ‘it is not a
+disgrace to die for an honourable deed;’ and she had
+an idea that any one thus dying by the hand of the
+executioner passed away in a more Christian manner
+than such as died on a bed of sickness; and that it was
+no sin to kill a man who, like a rogue, had murdered
+another. I asked her if she did not think that he
+sinned who killed another. ‘No,’ she replied, ‘not
+when he has brought it upon himself.’ I said, ‘No one
+may be his own judge, either by the law of God or
+man; and what does the fifth commandment teach us?’<a name="FNanchor_E63" id="FNanchor_E63" href="#Footnote_E63" class="fnanchor">[E63]</a>
+She answered as before, that she would gladly die if
+she could only take the rogue’s life. (I must add that
+she said she could not do it on my account, for I would
+not let her out.) She made a sin of that which is no sin,<a class="pagenum" name="Page_299" id="Page_299" title="[Pg 299]"></a>
+and that which is sin she will not regard as such. She
+says it is a sin to kill a dog, a cat, or a bird; the innocent
+animals do no harm; in fact, it is a still greater
+sin to let the poor beasts hunger. I asked her once
+whether it was a sin to eat meat. ‘No,’ she answered;
+‘it is only a sin to him who has killed the animal.’
+She protested that if she were obliged to marry, and had
+to choose between a butcher and an executioner, she
+would prefer the latter. She told me of various
+quarrels she had had with those who had either killed
+animals or allowed them to hunger.</p>
+
+<p>One story I will not leave unmentioned, as it is very
+pretty. She sold, she said, one day some pigs to
+a butcher. When the butcher’s boy was about to bind
+the pigs’ feet and carry them off hanging from a pole,
+she was sorry for the poor pigs, and said, ‘What, will
+you take their life? No, I will not suffer that!’ and
+she threw him back his money. I asked her if she did
+not know that pigs were killed, and for what reason she
+thought the butcher had bought them. ‘Yes,’ she
+replied, ‘I knew that well. Had he let them go on
+their own legs, I should have cared nothing about it;
+but to bind the poor beasts in this way, and to hear
+them cry, I could not endure that.’ It would take too
+long to enumerate all the extravagant whims which she
+related of herself. But with all this she is not foolish,
+and I well believe she is true to any one she loves.
+She served me very well, and with great care.</p>
+
+<p>The above-mentioned governor<a name="FNanchor_E64" id="FNanchor_E64" href="#Footnote_E64" class="fnanchor">[E64]</a> was killed by some
+prisoners on board the vessel, when he was returning
+to the West Indies. By a strange chance the vessel
+with the murderers came to Copenhagen. (They were<a class="pagenum" name="Page_300" id="Page_300" title="[Pg 300]"></a>
+sentenced to death for their crime.) Jonatha declared
+that the governor had had only too good a death, and
+that it was a sin that any one should lose his life on
+account of it. I practise speaking the English language
+with Jonatha. She has forgotten somewhat of her mother
+tongue, since she has not spoken it for many years;
+and as she always reads the English Bible, and does
+not at once understand all the words, I help her; for I
+not only can perceive the sense from the preceding and
+following words, but also because some words resemble
+the French, though with another accent. And we
+often talk together about the interpretation of Holy
+Scripture. She calls herself a Calvinist, but she does
+not hold the opinions of Calvinists. I never dispute
+with her over her opinions. She goes to the Lord’s
+Supper in the Queen’s church<a class="corr" name="corr_26" id="corr_26" title="added footnote anchor"></a><a name="FNanchor_E65" id="FNanchor_E65" href="#Footnote_E65" class="fnanchor">[E65]</a>. Once, when she came
+back to me from there, she said she had had a conversation
+upon religion with a woman, who had told her
+to her face that she was no Calvinist. I asked her of
+what religion the woman imagined that she was. She
+replied: ‘God knows that. I begged her to mind
+her own business, and said, that I was a Christian; I
+thought of your grace’s words (but I did not say them),
+that all those who believe on Christ and live a Christian
+life, are Christians, whatever name they may give to
+their faith.’</p>
+
+<p>In this year 1684 I saw the Queen Dowager fall from
+the chair in which she was drawn up to the royal
+apartment. The chair ran down the pulleys too
+quickly, so that she fell on her face and knocked her
+knee. During this year her weakness daily increased,
+but she thought herself stronger than she was. She
+appeared at table always much dressed, and between
+the meals she remained in her apartments.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_301" id="Page_301" title="[Pg 301]"></a>
+I kept myself patient, and wrote the following:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Contemplation on Memory and Courage, recorded to the honour of God
+by the suffering Christian woman in the sixty-third year of her life,
+and the almost completed twenty-first year of her captivity.</i></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The vanished hours can ne’er come back again,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Still may the old their youthful joys retain;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The past may yet within our memory live,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And courage vigour to the old may give.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet why should I thus sport with Memory’s truth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And harrow up the fairer soil of youth?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No fruit it brings, fallow and bare it lies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the dry furrow only pain supplies!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In my first youth, in honourable days<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Upon such things small question did I raise.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then years advanced with trouble in their train,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And spite of show my life was fraught with pain.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The holy marriage bond&mdash;my rank and fame,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Increased my foes and made my ill their aim.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Go! honour, riches, vanish from my mind!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Ye all forsook me and left nought behind.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">’Twas ye have brought me here thro’ years to lie;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thus can man’s envy human joy deny!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My God alone, He ne’er forsook me here,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My cross He lightened, and was ever near;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And when my heart was yielding to despair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He spoke of peace and whispered He was there.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He gave me power and ever near me stood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all could see how truly God was good.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">What Courage can achieve I next will heed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He who is blessed with it, is blest indeed.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the tired frame fresh power can Courage give,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Raising the weary mind anew to live;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I mean that Courage Reason may instil<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Not the foolhardiness that leads to ill.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Far oftener is it that the youth will lie<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Helpless, when Fortune’s favours from him fly,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Than that the old man should inactive stay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who knows full well how Fortune loves to play.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fresh Courage seizes him; from such a shield<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rebound the arms malicious foes may wield.<br /></span>
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_302" id="Page_302" title="[Pg 302]"></a>
+<span class="i0">Courage imparts repose, and trifles here,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Beneath its influence, as nought appear;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But a vain loan, which we can only hold<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Until the lender comes, and life is told.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Courage pervades the frame and vigour gives,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And a fresh energy each part receives;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With appetite and health and cheerful mind,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And calm repose in hours of sleep we find,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">So that no visions in ill dreams appear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And spectre forms filling the heart with fear.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Courage gives honied sweetness to our food<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And prison fare, and makes e’en death seem good.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">’Tis well! my mind is fresh, my limbs are sound,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And no misfortune weighs me to the ground.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Reason and judgment come from God alone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the five senses unimpaired I own.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The mighty God in me His power displays,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Therefore join with me in a voice of praise<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And laud His name: For Thou it is, oh God,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who in my fear and anguish nigh me stood.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Almighty One, my thanks be ever thine!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let me ne’er waver nor my trust resign.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Take not the courage which my hope supplies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Till my soul enters into Paradise.<br /></span>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p>Written on February 28, 1684, that is the thirty-sixth
+anniversary since the illustrious King Christian the
+Fourth bade good-night to this world, and I to the
+prosperity of my life.</p>
+
+<p>I have now reached the sixty-third year of my age,
+and the twentieth year, sixth month, and fifteenth day
+of my imprisonment. I have therefore spent the third
+part of my life in captivity. God be praised that so
+much time is past. I hope the remaining days may not
+be many.</p>
+
+<p>Anno 1685, January 14, I amused myself with
+making some verses in which truth was veiled under
+the cloak of jest, entitled: ‘A Dog, named Cavaillier,
+relates his Fate.’</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_303" id="Page_303" title="[Pg 303]"></a>
+The rhymes, I suppose, will come into your hands,
+my dearest children.<a name="FNanchor_E66" id="FNanchor_E66" href="#Footnote_E66" class="fnanchor">[E66]</a></p>
+
+<p>On February 20, the Queen Dowager Sophia
+Amalia died. She did not think that death would
+overtake her so quickly; but when the doctor warned
+her that her death would not be long delayed, she
+requested to speak with her son. But death would
+not wait for the arrival of his Majesty, so that the
+Queen Dowager might say a word to him. She was
+still alive; she was sitting on a chair, but she was
+speechless, and soon afterwards, in the same position,
+she gave up her spirit.</p>
+
+<p>After the death of this Queen I was much on the
+lips of the people. Some thought that I should obtain
+my liberty; others believed that I should probably be
+brought from the tower to some other place, but should
+not be set free.</p>
+
+<p>Jonatha, who had learned from Ole the tower-warder,
+some days before the death of the Queen, that prayers
+were being offered up in the church for the Queen (it
+had, however, been going on for six weeks, that this
+prayer had been read from the pulpit), was, equally with
+Ole the tower-warder, quite depressed. Ole, who had
+consoled himself and her hitherto with the tidings from
+the Queen’s lacqueys, that the Queen went to table and
+was otherwise well, though she occasionally suffered
+from a cough, now thought that there was danger,
+that death might result, and that I, if the Queen
+died, might perhaps leave the prison. They did their
+best to conceal their sorrow, but without success. They
+occasionally shed secretly a few tears. I behaved as if
+I did not remark it, and as no one said anything to me<a class="pagenum" name="Page_304" id="Page_304" title="[Pg 304]"></a>
+about it, I gave no opportunity for speaking on the subject.
+A long time previously I had said to Jonatha (as
+I had done before to the other women) that I did not
+think I should die in the tower. She remembered this
+and mentioned it. I said: ‘All is in God’s hand. He
+knows best what is needful for me, both as regards soul
+and body; to Him I commend myself.’ Thus Jonatha
+and Ole lived on between hope and fear.</p>
+
+<p>On March 15, the reigning Queen kept her Easter.
+Jonatha came quite delighted from her Majesty’s
+church, saying that a noble personage had told her
+that I need not think of getting out of the prison,
+although the Queen was dead; she knew better and
+she insisted upon it. However often I asked as to who
+the personage was, she would not tell me her name. I
+laughed at her, and said, ‘Whoever the personage may
+be, she knows just as much about it as you and I do.’
+Jonatha adhered to her opinion that the person knew it
+well. ‘What do you mean?’ I said; ‘the King himself
+does not know. How should others know?’ ‘Not the
+King! not the King!’ she said quite softly. ‘No, not
+the King!’ I answered. ‘He does not know till God
+puts it into his heart, and as good as says to him,
+“Now thou shalt let the prisoner free!�’ She came
+somewhat more to herself, but said nothing. And as
+she and Ole heard no more rumours concerning me,
+they were quite comforted.</p>
+
+<p>On March 26, the funeral of the Queen Dowager
+took place, and her body was conveyed to Roskild.</p>
+
+<p>On April 21, I supplicated the King’s Majesty in the
+following manner. I possessed a portrait engraving of
+the illustrious King Christian the Fourth, rather small
+and oval in form. This I illuminated with colours, and<a class="pagenum" name="Page_305" id="Page_305" title="[Pg 305]"></a>
+had a carved frame made for it, which I gilded myself.
+On the piece at the back I wrote the following words:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">My grandson, and great namesake,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Equal to me in power and state;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Vouchsafe my child a hearing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And be like me in mercy great!<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Besides this, I wrote to his Excellency Gyldenlöve,
+requesting him humbly to present the Supplique to
+the King’s majesty, and to interest himself on my
+behalf, and assist me to gain my liberty. His
+Excellency was somewhat inconvenienced at the time
+by his old weakness, so that he could not himself
+speak for me; but he begged a good friend to present
+the engraving with all due respect, and this was done
+on April 24.<a name="FNanchor_E67" id="FNanchor_E67" href="#Footnote_E67" class="fnanchor">[E67]</a></p>
+
+<p>Of all this Jonatha knew nothing. Peder Jensen
+Tötzlöff was my messenger. He has been a comfort
+to me in my imprisonment, and has rendered me
+various services, so that I am greatly bound to him.
+And I beg you, my dearest children, to requite him in
+all possible ways for the services he has rendered me.</p>
+
+<p>On May 2, it became generally talked of that I
+should assuredly be set at liberty, and some asked the
+tower-warder whether I had come out the evening
+before, and at what time; so that Ole began to fear,
+and could not bear himself as bravely as he tried to
+do. He said to me in a sad tone: ‘My good lady!
+You will certainly be set at liberty. There are some
+who think you are already free.’ I said, ‘God will
+bring it to pass.’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘but how will it fare
+with me then?’ I answered, ‘You will remain
+tower-warder, as you now are.’ ‘Yes,’ said he, ‘but<a class="pagenum" name="Page_306" id="Page_306" title="[Pg 306]"></a>
+with what pleasure?’ and he turned, unable to restrain
+his tears, and went away. Jonatha concluded that my
+deliverance was drawing near, and endeavoured to conceal
+her sorrow. She said, ‘Ole is greatly cast down,
+but I am not.’ (And the tears were standing in her
+eyes.) ‘It is said for certain that the King is going
+away the day after to-morrow. If you are set at
+liberty, it will be this very day.’ I said, ‘God knows.’
+Jonatha expressed her opinion that I was nevertheless
+full of hope. I said I had been hopeful ever since the
+first day of my imprisonment; that God would at
+last have mercy on me, and regard my innocence.
+I had prayed to God always for patience to await
+the time of His succour; and God had graciously
+bestowed it on me. If the moment of succour had
+now arrived, I should pray to God for grace to
+acknowledge rightly His great benefits. Jonatha
+asked if I were not sure to be set free before the King
+started for Norway; that it was said for certain that
+the King would set out early on the following morning.
+I said: ‘There is no certainty as to future things.
+Circumstances may occur to impede the King’s journey,
+and it may also happen that my liberty may be prevented,
+even though at this hour it may perhaps be
+resolved upon. Still I know that my hope will not be
+confounded. But you do not conceal your regret, and
+I cannot blame you for it. You have cause for regret,
+for with my freedom you lose your yearly income and
+your maintenance.<a name="FNanchor_148" id="FNanchor_148" href="#Footnote_148" class="fnanchor">[148]</a> Remember how often I have told
+you not to throw away your money so carelessly on
+your son. You cannot know what may happen to you
+in your old age. If I die, you will be plunged into<a class="pagenum" name="Page_307" id="Page_307" title="[Pg 307]"></a>
+poverty; for as soon as you receive your money, you
+expend it on the apprenticeship of your son, who
+returns you no thanks for it.<a name="FNanchor_149" id="FNanchor_149" href="#Footnote_149" class="fnanchor">[149]</a> You have yourself told
+me of his bad disposition, and how wrongly he has answered
+you when you have tried to give him good
+advice. Latterly he has not ventured to do so, since I
+read him a lecture, and threatened that I would help to
+send him to the House of Correction. I fear he
+will be a bad son to you.’ Upon this she gave free
+vent to her tears, and begged that if I obtained my
+liberty I would not abandon her. This I promised,
+so far as lay in my power; for I could not know what
+my circumstances might be.</p>
+
+<p>In this way some days elapsed, and Jonatha and Ole
+knew not what the issue might be.</p>
+
+<p>On May 19, at six o’clock in the morning, Ole
+knocked softly at my outer door. Jonatha went to it.
+Ole said softly, ‘The King is already gone; he left at
+about four o’clock.’ I know not if his hope was great;
+at any rate it did not last long. Jonatha told me
+Ole’s news. I wished the King’s Majesty a prosperous
+journey (I knew already what order he had given), and
+it seemed to me from her countenance she was to some
+extent contented. At about eight o’clock Tötzlöff
+came up to me and informed me that the Lord Chancellor
+Count Allefeldt had sent the prison governor a
+royal order that I was to be released from my imprisonment,
+and that I could leave when I pleased. (This
+order was signed by the King’s Majesty the day before
+his Majesty started.)</p>
+
+<p>His Excellency had accompanied the King. Tötzlöff
+asked whether I wished him to lock the doors, as I was<a class="pagenum" name="Page_308" id="Page_308" title="[Pg 308]"></a>
+now free. I replied, ‘So long as I remain within the
+doors of my prison, I am not free. I will moreover leave
+properly. Lock the door and enquire what my sister’s
+daughter, Lady Anna Catharina Lindenow, says,
+whether his Excellency<a name="FNanchor_E68" id="FNanchor_E68" href="#Footnote_E68" class="fnanchor">[E68]</a> sent any message to her (as
+he promised) before he left. When Tötzlöff was gone,
+I said to Jonatha, ‘Now, in Jesus’ name, this very
+evening I shall leave. Gather your things together,
+and pack them up, and I will do the same with mine;
+they shall remain here till I can have them fetched.’
+She was somewhat startled, but not cast down. She
+thanked God with me, and when the doors were
+unlocked at noon and I dined, she laughed at Ole, who
+was greatly depressed. I told her that Ole might well
+sigh, for that he would now have to eat his cabbage
+without bacon.</p>
+
+<p>Tötzlöff brought me word from my sister’s daughter
+that his Excellency had sent to her to say that she
+was free to accompany me from the tower, if she
+chose. It was therefore settled that she was to come
+for me late the same evening.</p>
+
+<p>The prison governor was in a great hurry to get rid of
+me, and sent the tower-warder to me towards evening,
+to enquire whether I would not go. I sent word that
+it was still too light (there would probably be some
+curious people who had a desire to see me).</p>
+
+<p>Through a good friend I made enquiry of her
+Majesty the Queen, whether I might be allowed the
+favour of offering my humble submission to her Majesty
+(I could go into the Queen’s apartment through the
+secret passage, so that no one could see me). Her
+Majesty sent me word in reply that she might not
+speak with me.</p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_309" id="Page_309" title="[Pg 309]"></a>
+At about ten o’clock in the evening, the prison governor
+opened the door for my sister’s daughter. (I had
+not seen him for two years.) He said, ‘Well, shall we
+part now?’ I answered, ‘Yes, the time is now come.’
+Then he gave me his hand, and said ‘Ade!’ (Adieu).
+I answered in the same manner, and my niece laughed
+heartily.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the prison governor had gone, I and my
+sister’s daughter left the tower. Her Majesty the Queen
+thought to see me as I came out, and was standing on
+her balcony, but it was rather dark; moreover I had a
+black veil over my face. The palace-square, as far as
+the bridge and further, was full of people, so that we
+could scarcely press through to the coach.</p>
+
+<p>The time of my imprisonment was twenty-one years,
+nine months, and eleven days.</p>
+
+<p>King Frederick III. ordered my imprisonment on
+August 8, <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1663; King Christian V. gave me my
+liberty on May 18, 1685. God bless my most gracious
+King with all royal blessing, and give his Majesty
+health and add many years to his life.</p>
+
+<p>This is finished in my prison.</p>
+
+<p>On May 19, at ten o’clock in the evening, I left my
+prison. To God be honour and praise. He graciously
+vouchsafed that I should recognise His divine benefits,
+and never forget to record them with gratitude.</p>
+
+<p>Dear children! This is the greatest part of the
+events worth mentioning which occurred to me within
+the doors of my prison. I live now in the hope that
+it may please God and the King’s Majesty that I
+may myself show you this record. God in His mercy
+grant it.</p>
+
+<p>1685. Written at Husum<a name="FNanchor_E69" id="FNanchor_E69" href="#Footnote_E69" class="fnanchor">[E69]</a> June 2, where I am
+awaiting the return of the King’s Majesty from Norway<span class="corr" title="added: :">:</span></p>
+
+<p><a class="pagenum" name="Page_310" id="Page_310" title="[Pg 310]"></a>
+<span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1683. New Year’s Day. To Myself.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Men say that Fortune is a rare and precious thing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And they would fain that Power should homage to her bring.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet Power herself is blind and ofttimes falleth low,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rarely to rise again, wherefore may Heaven know.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To-day with humorous wiles she holds her sovereign sway,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And could one only trust her, there might be goodly prey.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet is she like to Fortune, changeful the course she flies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And both, oh earthly pilgrim, are but vain fraud and lies.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The former is but frail, the other strives with care,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And both alas! are subject to many a plot and snare.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou hast laid hold on Fortune with an exultant mind,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Affixed perhaps to-morrow the fatal <i>mis</i> we find;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then does thy courage fail, this prefix saddens thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Wert thou thyself Goliath or twice as brave as he.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And thou who art so small&mdash;already grey with care&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou know’st not whether evil this year thy lot may share.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For Fortune frolics ever, now under, now above,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Emerging here and there her varied powers to prove.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All that is earthly comes and vanishes again,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Therefore I cling to that which will for aye remain.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>On March 14, 1683, I wrote the following:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">True is the sentence we are sometimes told:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A friend is worth far more than bags of gold.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet would I gladly ask, where do we find<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A friend so virtuous that he is well inclined<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To help another in his need and gloom<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Without a thought of recompense to come?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Naught is there new in this, for selfish care<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To every child of Eve has proved a snare.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Each generation hears the last complain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And each repeats the same sad tale again;&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That the oppressed by the wayside may lie,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When naught is gained but God’s approving eye.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">See, at Bethesda’s pool, how once there came<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The halting impotent, some help to claim<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Among those thousands. Each of pity free,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Had no hand for him in his misery<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To bring him to the angel-troubled stream.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Near his last breath did the poor sufferer seem,<br /></span>
+<a class="pagenum" name="Page_311" id="Page_311" title="[Pg 311]"></a>
+<span class="i0">Weary and penniless; when One alone<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who without money works His wise own<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Will, turned where the helpless suppliant lay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And gently bade him rise and go his way.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Children of grief, rejoice, do not despair;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">This Helper still is here and still will care<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What He in mercy wills. He soothes our pain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And He will help, asking for naught again.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And in due time He will with gracious hand<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Unloose thy prison bars and iron band.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1684. The first day. To Peder Jensen Tötzlöff.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Welcome, thou New Year’s day, altho’ thou dost belong<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To those by Brahe reckoned the evil days among,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Declaring that whatever may on this day begin<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Can never prosper rightly, nor true success can win.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Now I will only ask if from to-day I strive<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The evil to avoid and henceforth good to live,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Will this not bring success? Why should a purpose fail,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Altho’ on this day made? why should it not prevail?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh Brahe, I believe, when we aright begin,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To-day or when it be, and God’s good favour win,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The issue must be well, and all that matters here<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Is to commend our ways to our Redeemer dear.<br /></span>
+</div><br /><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Begin with Jesus Christ this as all other days.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Pray that thy plans may meet with the Almighty’s praise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">So may’st thou happy be, and naught that man can do<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Can hinder thy designs, unless God wills it so!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">May a rich meed of blessing be on thy head bestow’d,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the Lord Jesus Christ protect thee on thy road<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With arms of grace. Such is my wish for thee,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Based on the love of God; sure, that He answers me.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<hr class="chapbreak" />
+
+<p class="center">LONDON: PRINTED BY<br />
+SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE<br />
+AND PARLIAMENT STREET</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h2><a name="FOOTNOTES" id="FOOTNOTES"></a>FOOTNOTES</h2>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1" id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i lang="fr">Le Comte d’Ulfeld, Grand Maistre de Danemarc.</i> <i lang="fr">Nouvelle historique</i>,
+i.-ii. Paris, 1678. 8vo. An English translation, with a supplement, appeared
+1695: <i>The Life of Count Ulfeldt, Great Master of Denmark, and
+of the Countess Eleonora his Wife.</i> Done out of French. With a supplement.
+London. 1695. 8vo.
+</p><p>
+Another novel by the same author, called <i>Casimir King of Poland</i>, is
+perhaps better known in this country, through a translation by F. Spence
+in vol. ii. of <i>Modern Novels</i>, 1692.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2" id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> It is by a slip of memory that Mr. Birket Smith, in his first Danish
+edition of Leonora Christina’s memoir of her life in prison, describes
+this work under the name of <i lang="la">De feminis eruditis</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3" id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> La Valette’s account of his participation in the Thirty Years’ War is
+entirely fictitious, as almost all that he tells of Ulfeldt’s travels, &amp;c.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4" id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> See <i lang="la">Caroli Ogerii Ephemerides sive, Iter Danicum, Svecicum, Polonicum,
+&amp;c.</i> Paris, 1656. 8vo. p. 36, 37, 40, by D’Avaux’s secretary, Ogier.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5" id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> La Valette’s account of a lawsuit instituted by the King against Kirstine
+Munk, in which she was defended by Ulfeldt&mdash;of Ulfeldt’s duel
+with Hannibal Sehested, afterwards his brother-in-law, &amp;c.&mdash;is entirely
+fictitious. No such things took place.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6" id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> This autobiographical sketch is written in the form of a letter to Dr.
+Otto Sperling the younger, the son of Corfits Ulfeldt’s old friend, who
+was for some years Leonora’s fellow-prisoner in the Blue Tower.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7" id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> It is curious that Leonora seems for a long time to have been
+under a mistake as to the date of her birthday. The right date is
+July 18, new style.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8" id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> On the South Coast of Norway.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9" id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Count Christian Pentz, to whom Sophia was married in 1634.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10" id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Hannibal Sehestedt afterwards married Leonora’s younger sister
+Christiana; he became a powerful antagonist of Ulfeldt, and is mentioned
+often in the following Memoir.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11" id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Frantz Albrecht, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, the same who in the
+Thirty Years’ War alternately served the Protestants and the Imperialists.
+In the battle of Lützen he was near Gustav Adolf when he fell, and
+he was regarded by many as the one who treacherously fired the fatal
+shot.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12" id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> That is, the King’s eldest son Christian, who was elected his successor,
+but died before him.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13" id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> In the margin the following addition is inserted: ‘She had at that
+time an unusual memory. She could at one and the same time recite
+one psalm by heart, write another, and attend to the conversation.
+She had tried this more than once, but I think that she has thereby
+spoilt her memory, which is not now so good.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14" id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Namely, Magdalena Sybilla of Saxony, then newly married (October
+5, 1634) to Prince Christian, the eldest son and elected successor of
+Christian IV. M. Sophia’s wedding to Chr. Pentz was celebrated on the
+10th of the same month.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15" id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> V.R. probably stands for Viceroy, by which term Leonora no doubt
+indicates the post of Governor of Copenhagen.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16" id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> The old friend is Dr. Otto Sperling, sen., a physician in extensive
+practice at Copenhagen, and intimate friend of Ulfeldt. Mr. Biel...
+signifies most probably a certain Christian Bielke, whose portrait
+still exists at Rosenborg Castle, in Copenhagen, with an inscription that
+he was killed in a duel by Bartram Rantzau on Easter eve 1642. If this
+date is true, Bielke cannot have accompanied Leonora’s brother Count
+Valdemar on his journey to Russia, as this journey only took place in
+1643. Count Valdemar was to marry a Russian princess, but it was
+broken off on his refusing to join the Greek church.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17" id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Dr. Otto Sperling, senior.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18" id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Prince Ruprecht, Duke of Cumberland, nephew of Charles I.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19" id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Namely, the process against Dina. <i>See</i> Introduction.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20" id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Ulfeldt had not really the permission of the King to leave the country
+in the way he did. These words must therefore be understood to mean
+that the favourable termination of the trial concerning Dina’s accusations
+had liberated Ulfeldt from the special obligation to remain in Copenhagen,
+which his position in reference to that case imposed upon him.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21" id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> That is, Ebbe Ulfeldt,&mdash;a relative of Corfitz who left Denmark in 1651
+and afterwards lived in Sweden.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22" id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> This date is erroneous; the journey took place in November and
+December 1656.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23" id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> U.C. Gyldenlöve, illegitimate son of Christian IV. and half-brother
+of Leonora.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24" id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Probably Povl Tscherning, a well-known man of the time, who held
+the office of Auditor-General.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25" id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> In order to understand how she could wait for ten days at Apenrade,
+it must be borne in mind that the duchy of Slesvig was at that time
+divided into several parts, of which some belonged to the King, others to
+the Duke of Gottorp. Haderslev and Flensborg belonged to the King,
+but Apenrade to the Duke; in this town, therefore, she was safe from
+the pursuit of the Danish authorities.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26" id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> The governor of Flensborg at that time was Detlef v. Ahlefeld, the
+same who in 1663 was sent to Königsberg to receive information from the
+court of Brandenburg on the last intrigues of Ulfeldt.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27" id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> The clerk Holst was shortly after, when the Swedes occupied Flensborg,
+put to a heavy ransom by Ulfeldt, in punishment of his conduct to
+Leonora. Documents which still exist show that he applied to the
+Danish Government for compensation, but apparently in vain.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28" id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Count Jakob Casimir de la Gardie, a Swedish nobleman. Count
+Wrangel was the Swedish General.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29" id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> The funeral took place with great pomp in the church of St. Knud, at
+Odense, on June 23, 1658, together with that of Sophia Elizabeth, Leonora’s
+sister, who is mentioned in the beginning of the Autobiography.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30" id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> The young lady was Birgitte Rantzau, who was engaged to Korfits
+Trolle, a Danish nobleman, who had been very active in preparing the
+intended rising of the citizens of Malmöe against the Swedes. Ulfeldt
+was accused of having favoured and assisted this design (<i>see</i> the Introduction),
+and he had brought Trolle’s bride over to Copenhagen, or accompanied
+them thither.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31" id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Wolf and Kield were servants of Ulfeldt.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32" id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> The person alluded to is a Bartholomæus Mikkelsen, who was executed
+as ringleader of the conspiracy.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33" id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Bornholm. (<i>See</i> the Introduction.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34" id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> She refers no doubt to a servant who accompanied them of the name
+of Pflügge.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35" id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> The original of this letter to the King exists still.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36" id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> It will be remembered from the Introduction that Fuchs was killed
+two years after by one of Leonora’s sons at Bruges.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37" id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> This account of what happened during their imprisonment at Hammershuus,
+written by Leonora herself, is also mentioned in her Record of
+her prison-life in the Blue Tower. But no copy of it has yet come to
+light. Uhlfeldt’s so-called apology contains much information on this
+subject.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38" id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Fuchs’ own report on this subject still exists, and in it he estimates
+the iron employed at three tons.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39" id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> The precise date was June 15, 1661, but the order for their separation
+is dated already on the 4th of April.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40" id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Leonora alludes to the wife of the then Duke of York, afterwards
+James II., who was the daughter of Lord Edward Clarendon.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41" id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> The apology of Uhlfeldt contains an account of this whole transaction.
+He states that when he asked his wife through the window
+whether they ought to sign and live rather than die in prison, which
+would otherwise be their lot, Leonora answered with the following
+Latin verse:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Rebus in adversis facile est contemnere mortem,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fortius ille facit, qui miser esse potest.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Accidit in puncto, quod non speratur in anno.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42" id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Ellensborg was the ancient seat of the Ulfeldt family, which had been
+sold to Ellen Marsvin, Leonora’s grandmother, and Leonora inherited it from
+her mother. It is now called Holckenhavn, and the seat of Count Holck.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43" id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Namely Casetta, a Spanish nobleman, who afterwards married their
+daughter Anna Katherine, but both he and their children died soon. (<i>See</i>
+the Introduction.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44" id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Charles the Second’s Grandmother, Anna, the Queen of James I. was
+sister of Leonora Christina’s father, Christian IV.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45" id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Sir Henry Bennet, afterwards Lord Arlington.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46" id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> A certain Mr. Mowbray.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47" id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> Elsewhere she writes the name Broughton.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48" id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> Sir George Askew.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49" id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> Compare with this account the following extracts in the <i>Calendar of
+State Papers</i>, domestic series, 1663, 1664, pp. 196, 197<span class="corr" title="added: ,">,</span> 200:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1663&mdash;<i>July 8.</i>&mdash;Warrant to Captain Strode, governor of Dover Castle, to
+detain Elionora Christiana, Countess of Uhlfeldt, with her husband, if he
+be found with her, and their servants; to keep her close prisoner, and
+secure all her papers, according to instructions to be given by Thos.
+Parnell.</p>
+
+<p><i>July 8.</i>&mdash;Warrant to Thos. Parnell to observe the movements of the
+said Countess of Uhlfeldt; to seize her should she attempt to embark at
+Gravesend with her papers, and to detain her close prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>(<i>July</i>).&mdash;Instructions (by Sec. Bennet) to Thos. Parnell, to go to Dover
+Castle to deliver instructions, and assist in their execution, relative to a
+certain lady (the Countess of Uhlfeldt), who is not to be permitted to
+depart, whether she have a pass or not; but to be invited, or if needful
+compelled, to lodge at the castle, where the best accommodation is to be
+provided for her. It is suspected that her husband lies concealed in the
+kingdom, and will also try to pass with his lady, but he also is to be detained,
+and her servants also.</p>
+
+<p><i>July 11.</i>&mdash;Thos. Parnell to Williamson. ‘Found the Countess (of Uhlfeldt)
+at Dover, and by the aid of the Lieut.-Governor sent the searcher to
+her inn, to demand her pass. She said she had none, not knowing it would
+be wanted. She submitted patiently to be taken to the castle, and lodged
+there till a message was sent to town. The Regent’s gentleman, the bearer
+will give an account of all things.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50" id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> Several letters written by Leonora during her imprisonment at Dover
+to Charles II., Sir Henry Bennet, &amp;c., are printed in a Danish periodical,
+<i lang="da">Danske Samlinger</i>, vol. vi.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51" id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Reckoning the patacoon to 4s. 8d., this claim would be nearly 5,000<i>l.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52" id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> Leonora did not know that the governor of the castle was in the plot.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53" id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> Additional light is thrown on the arrest of Leonora Christina at Dover
+by the following extracts in the <i>Calendar of State Papers</i>, p. 224,
+225:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>August 1</i>, <i>Whitehall</i>.&mdash;(Sec. Bennet) to Capt. Strode. The King is
+satisfied with his account of the lady’s escape and his own behaviour;
+continue the same mask, of publishing His Majesty’s displeasure against
+all who contributed to it, especially his lieutenant, and this more particularly
+in presence of M. Cassett, lest he may suspect connivance.
+Cassett is to continue prisoner some time. The Danish Resident is satisfied
+with the discretion used, but says his point would not have been
+secured had the lady gone to sea without interruption.</p>
+
+<p><i>August 1</i>?&mdash;Account (proposed to be sent to the Gazette?) relative to
+Count Uhlfeldt&mdash;recording his submission in 1661, the present sentence
+against him, his further relapse into crime after a solemn recantation, also
+signed by his wife who was his accomplice, though her blood saved her
+from sharing his sentence, but who has now betrayed herself into the hands
+of the King of Denmark. She was in England when the conspiracy
+against the King of Denmark’s life was detected. The King of England
+had her movements watched, when she suddenly went off without a pass,
+for want of which she was stayed by the Governor of Dover Castle, who
+accommodated her in the castle. The Resident of Denmark posted to
+Dover, and secured the master of a ship then in the road, with whom he
+expected her to tamper, which she did, escaped through the castle window,
+and entering a shallop to go on board, was seized and conveyed to Denmark.
+With note (by Lord Chancellor Clarendon) that he is not satisfied
+with this account, but will prepare a better for another week.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54" id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘As I now hope that what I write may
+come into your hands, my captivity during the last three years also
+having been much lightened.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55" id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> A pen has afterwards been drawn through this paragraph, but the
+observations occur in the manuscript.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56" id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> The conclusion of the Preface, from the words ‘Meanwhile let the
+will of God,’ etc. has afterwards been erased, when the manuscript
+was continued beyond the date assigned in the Preface; and the following
+paragraphs, ‘I bear also in mind,’ etc. were intended to form a
+new conclusion, but do not seem to have been properly worked in.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57" id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Afterwards altered to anno 1685, the 19th of May.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58" id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘I had a ring on with a table-diamond worth
+200 rix-dollars. I bit this out, threw the gold in the sea, and kept the
+stone in my mouth. It could not be observed by my speech that there
+was anything in my mouth.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59" id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> That is the <span class="sic" title="[sic]">Aulefeldt</span> mentioned in the Preface under the name of
+Anfeldt.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60" id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> <a class="corr" name="corr_27" id="corr_27" title="was: in">In</a> the margin is added: ‘The sorrow manifested by many would far
+rather have depressed me; for several people, both men and women,
+shed tears, even those whom I did not know.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61" id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> This paragraph was afterwards struck out, the contents being transferred
+to the Preface.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62" id="Footnote_62" href="#FNanchor_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> This passage was afterwards altered thus: ‘God blinded their eyes
+so that they did not perceive my earrings, in each of which there is a
+large rose diamond, and from which I have now removed the stones.
+The gold, which is in form of a serpent, is still in my ears. They also
+did not perceive that something was fastened round my knee.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63" id="Footnote_63" href="#FNanchor_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> That is, give information.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_64" id="Footnote_64" href="#FNanchor_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> In the margin the following explanatory note is added: ‘When
+his Majesty (Christian IV.) was dead, there was no prince elected,
+so that the States were free to choose the king whom they desired,
+wherefore the Duke of Holstein, Duke Frederick, promised my deceased
+lord that if he would contrive that he should be elected king, the land of
+Fyen should belong to him and a double alliance between his children
+and ours should be concluded. But my lord rejected this proposal and
+would not assist in dispossessing the son of Christian IV. of the kingdom.
+The prince had obtained several votes, but my lord contested them.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_65" id="Footnote_65" href="#FNanchor_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> It had happened as I thought. There were some in the council who
+refused to sign, some because they had not been present at the time of
+the procedure, and others because they had not seen on what the sentence
+was founded; but they were nevertheless compelled to sign with the
+others, on the peril of the king’s displeasure. [Marginal note.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_66" id="Footnote_66" href="#FNanchor_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> In the margin is added, ‘and asked whether I was permitted to appeal
+against this sentence. All were silent.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_67" id="Footnote_67" href="#FNanchor_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> In the margin: ‘The feather-bed had an old cover, and was fresh
+filled when I was lying in the roads; the needle, in the hurry, had therefore
+been left in.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_68" id="Footnote_68" href="#FNanchor_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> In the margin: ‘I myself heard this conversation.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_69" id="Footnote_69" href="#FNanchor_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> When I took my meals, the woman had opportunity of talking with
+the three men. The coachman helped the tower-warder Rasmus to
+bring up the food. [Marginal note.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_70" id="Footnote_70" href="#FNanchor_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> I could not see when she spoke with any one, for she did so on the
+stairs. [Marginal note.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_71" id="Footnote_71" href="#FNanchor_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘There was none.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_72" id="Footnote_72" href="#FNanchor_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> Did not this accord well with the statement that my lord had offered
+the kingdom of Denmark to two potentates? [Marginal note.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_73" id="Footnote_73" href="#FNanchor_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> In the margin is noted: ‘I had never seen La Rosche nor his companion
+till I did so at Dover.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_74" id="Footnote_74" href="#FNanchor_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘The prison governor told the woman about
+the magnificence of the festivity and Peder also told her of it, so that it
+seemed to her that I could know somewhat from customs of former times.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_75" id="Footnote_75" href="#FNanchor_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> The Queen wished that this wooden statue should be brought into my
+outer chamber, and so placed in front of the door that it would tumble into
+me when my inner door was opened; but the King would not permit it.
+[Addition in the margin.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_76" id="Footnote_76" href="#FNanchor_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> In the margin is this note: ‘Once when I asked the prison governor for
+some scissors to cut my nails, he answered, and that loudly, “What!
+what! her nails shall grow like eagles’ claws, and her hair like eagles’
+feathers!� I know well what I thought&mdash;if I had only claws and wings!’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_77" id="Footnote_77" href="#FNanchor_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> I removed my nails with the needle, scratching them till they came
+away. I let the nail of the little finger of my right hand grow, in order to
+see how long it would become; but I knocked it off unawares, and I still
+have it. [Marginal note.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_78" id="Footnote_78" href="#FNanchor_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> The prison cell is outside that in which the doctor is immured. It is
+quite dark where he is. [Note in the margin.]</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_79" id="Footnote_79" href="#FNanchor_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘When the prison governor was singing to
+himself on those first days, he said, “You must sing, my bird; where is
+your velvet robe?� laughing at the same time most heartily. I inferred
+from that song who it was.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_80" id="Footnote_80" href="#FNanchor_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘In order to grieve the Doctor and to
+frighten him, the prison governor unlocked his cell early on the morning
+after sentence had been passed, and behaved as if the priest were coming
+to him.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_81" id="Footnote_81" href="#FNanchor_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> That is, give information.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_82" id="Footnote_82" href="#FNanchor_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Peder had some time before thrown into
+me eight ducats in a paper, saying, as he closed the door, “Your maid!�
+And as the woman knew it, I gave her one of them and Peder one. I
+know not whether my maid had given him more; she had many more
+concealed on her person.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_83" id="Footnote_83" href="#FNanchor_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘As my linen was washed in the servants’
+hall, it once happened that a maid there must unawares have forgotten
+a whole skein of thread in a clean chemise, at which I said to the
+woman: “You see how the ravens bring me thread!� She was angry
+and abused me; I laughed, and answered her jestingly.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_84" id="Footnote_84" href="#FNanchor_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘I wrote different things from the Bible
+on the paper in which the sugar was given me. My ink-bottle was made
+of the piece of pewter lid which the woman had found, the ink was
+made from the smoke of the candle collected on a spoon, and the pen
+from a fowl’s feather cut by the piece of glass. I have this still in my
+possession.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_85" id="Footnote_85" href="#FNanchor_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘The prison governor told me afterwards
+that the clay things were placed in the King’s art-cabinet, besides a rib of
+mutton, which I used as a knife, which he also gave to the King;
+hoping (he said) in this way to obtain a knife for me.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_86" id="Footnote_86" href="#FNanchor_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘The day that the prison governor had taken
+away the clay things the woman was very angry with me, because I gave
+him a small jug which I had made; she said it was made in ridicule
+of her, the old slut with the jug! I ought to have given him the cat which
+I had also made. I said, “I can still do so.�’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_87" id="Footnote_87" href="#FNanchor_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘At first when the prison governor’s fear was
+so great, he did not venture to be alone in the outer room. Peder and
+the tower warder were not allowed both to leave him at the same time. I
+did not know the reason for this.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_88" id="Footnote_88" href="#FNanchor_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Some time after this dispute I had a
+quarrel with her about some beer, which she was in the habit of emptying
+on the floor, saying, “This shall go to the subterraneous folk.� I had
+forbidden her to do so, but she did it again, so I took her by the head and
+pushed it back with my hand. She was frightened, for this feels just as if
+one’s head was falling off. I said, “That is a foretaste.�’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_89" id="Footnote_89" href="#FNanchor_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘I made the snuffers serve as scissors. When
+Balcke came to me and brought me at my desire material for drawers, and
+requested to know the size, I said I could make them myself. He
+laughed, and said, “Who will cut them out?� I replied I could do it
+myself with the snuffers. He begged to see me do it, and looked on
+with no little astonishment.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_90" id="Footnote_90" href="#FNanchor_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘While Balcke filled the place of prison
+governor, he drank my wine at every meal, which had formerly fallen to
+the tower warder, the coachman, or the prisoner Christian, when the old
+prison governor had not wished for it, so that this also contributed to
+Balcke’s dismissal.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_91" id="Footnote_91" href="#FNanchor_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> In the margin: ‘It is indeed a bad flight of stairs to the place
+where the basin was emptied.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_92" id="Footnote_92" href="#FNanchor_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Gabel had said (I was afterwards informed)
+that I was frightened at the appearance of the man, and thought it was
+the executioner. I did not regard him as such, but as a poor cavalier,
+and I imagined he was to undertake the duties which Peder the coachman
+performed.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_93" id="Footnote_93" href="#FNanchor_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> In the margin: ‘Balcke has waited upon me for twenty weeks,
+and he was accused of having told me what happened outside. In
+proof of this it was alleged that he had told me that Gabel had been
+made Statholder, to whom I afterwards gave this title in M. Buck’s hearing.
+Balcke one day could not restrain himself from laughing, for while
+he was standing and talking with me, the woman and the man were
+standing on the stairs outside, chuckling and laughing; and he said,
+“Outside there is the chatter market. Why does not Peder so arrange
+it that it is forbidden? You can get to know all that goes on in the
+world without me.�’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_94" id="Footnote_94" href="#FNanchor_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘While Balcke waited on me, a folding table
+was brought in for the bread and glasses, and also for the woman’s
+food, which she did not take till the doors had been locked. There was
+nothing there before but the night-stool to place the dishes on: that was
+the woman’s table.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_95" id="Footnote_95" href="#FNanchor_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘At that time there was a large double window
+with iron grating, which was walled up when I was brought here;
+and Christian told me afterwards how the maids in the store-room had
+supplied him with many a can of beer, which he had drawn up by a cord.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_96" id="Footnote_96" href="#FNanchor_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> In the margin is this note: ‘Christian had at that time given me some
+pieces of flint which are so sharp that I can cut fine linen with them by
+the thread. The pieces are still in my possession, and with this implement
+I executed various things.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_97" id="Footnote_97" href="#FNanchor_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Such is his character.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_98" id="Footnote_98" href="#FNanchor_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘These rope-dancers did things that I had
+never seen before. One had a basket attached to each leg, and in each
+basket was a boy of five years of age, and a woman fell upon the rope and
+jumped up again. But during the time of the other woman, I saw a man
+suspended by his chin and springing back upon the rope.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_99" id="Footnote_99" href="#FNanchor_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘This was the priest who attended to the
+prisoners, and as he confessed her in the anteroom, I heard every word said
+by him, but not her replies.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_100" id="Footnote_100" href="#FNanchor_100"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Her child.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_101" id="Footnote_101" href="#FNanchor_101"><span class="label">[101]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘She was in every respect a malicious
+woman, and grudged a little meat to any prisoner. A poor sacristan
+was my neighbour in the Dark Church, and I gave her a piece of meat
+for him. She would not take it to him, which she could easily have
+done without anyone seeing. When I saw the meat afterwards, I found
+fault with her. Then she said, “Why should I give it to him? He has
+never given me anything. I get nothing for it.� I said, “You give nothing
+of your own away.� This sacristan was imprisoned because he had taken
+back his own horse, the man to whom he had sold it not having paid him.
+He sang all day long, and on Sunday he went through the service like
+a clergyman, with the responses, &amp;c.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_102" id="Footnote_102" href="#FNanchor_102"><span class="label">[102]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘She had begged Chresten, for more than
+half a year before she left, to tell the prison-governor that her life hung on
+a thread; that I had a ball of clay in my handkerchief, and that I had
+threatened to break her head to pieces with it (I had said one day that
+a person with a ball of that kind could kill another). She invented
+several similar lies, as I subsequently heard.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_103" id="Footnote_103" href="#FNanchor_103"><span class="label">[103]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘The pins I had obtained some time ago from
+the first woman. She had procured them with some needles, and, thinking
+to hide them from me, she carried them in her bosom in a paper and forgot
+them. In the evening when she dropped her petticoat to go to bed,
+the paper fell on the floor. I knew from the sound what it was. One
+Saturday, when she went upstairs with the night-stool, I took the pins out
+of her box, and she never ventured to ask for them; she saw me using them
+afterwards, and said nothing about them.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_104" id="Footnote_104" href="#FNanchor_104"><span class="label">[104]</span></a> In the margin is noted: ‘I said one day to the woman, “Were it not
+for the Queen, who would make the King angry with me, I would retaliate
+upon the prison governor for having decoyed Doctor Sperling. I would
+take the keys when he was sleeping, and wait for Chresten to come with the
+cups, and then I would go up the King’s stairs and take the keys to the
+King, just as the lacquey did with the old prison-governor. But I should
+gain nothing from this King, and perhaps should be still more strictly
+confined.�’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_105" id="Footnote_105" href="#FNanchor_105"><span class="label">[105]</span></a> In the margin is noted: ‘At first, when this Karen did not know the
+prison governor, she did not venture so boldly to the prisoners in the Dark
+Church to give them anything, for she said, “The prison governor stares at
+me so.� I said, “It is with him as with little children; they look staring
+at a thing, and do not know what it is.� It is the case with him, he does
+not trouble himself about anything.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_106" id="Footnote_106" href="#FNanchor_106"><span class="label">[106]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘The hinges of my outer door are so far
+from the wall that they are open more than a hand’s breadth, so that I have
+got in large things between them; and above they are still more open, and
+when I put my arm through the peep-hole of the inner door and stretch it
+out, I can reach to the top of the outer one, though the woman cannot.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_107" id="Footnote_107" href="#FNanchor_107"><span class="label">[107]</span></a> In the margin: ‘She has a curious manner of spelling. She cannot
+spell a word of three syllables; for when she has to add the two syllables
+to the third, she has forgotten the first. If I urge her, however, she can
+read the word correctly when she has spelt the first syllable. She spells
+words of two syllables and reads those of four.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_108" id="Footnote_108" href="#FNanchor_108"><span class="label">[108]</span></a> In the margin: ‘Once she asked me whether she could not get a book
+in which there was neither <i>q</i> nor <i>x</i>, for she could not remember these
+letters. I answered, “Yes, if you will yourself have such a book printed.�’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_109" id="Footnote_109" href="#FNanchor_109"><span class="label">[109]</span></a> In the margin of the MS. is added: ‘When this Karen came to me
+she left me no peace till I allowed her to clean the floor; for I feared
+that which happened, namely that the smell would cause sickness. In
+one place there was an accumulation of dirt a couple of feet thick. When
+she had loosened it, it had to remain till the door was opened. I went to
+bed, threw the bed-clothes over my head, and held my nose.’<a name="FNanchor_E38" id="FNanchor_E38" href="#Footnote_E38" class="fnanchor">[E38]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_110" id="Footnote_110" href="#FNanchor_110"><span class="label">[110]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘On the stick there was a tin candlestick,
+which was occasionally placed at the side of my bed. I used it for fixing
+my knitting.’<a name="FNanchor_E39" id="FNanchor_E39" href="#Footnote_E39" class="fnanchor">[E39]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_111" id="Footnote_111" href="#FNanchor_111"><span class="label">[111]</span></a> In the margin: ‘The girl was a prostitute to whom he had promised
+marriage, and the tower-warder&mdash;both the former one and Chresten&mdash;let
+her in to Christian, went out himself, and left them alone.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_112" id="Footnote_112" href="#FNanchor_112"><span class="label">[112]</span></a> In the margin: ‘In the time of his good humour he had procured me,
+for money and candles, all that I desired, so that I had both knife and
+scissors, besides silk, thread, and various things to beguile the time. This
+vexed him afterwards.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_113" id="Footnote_113" href="#FNanchor_113"><span class="label">[113]</span></a> In the margin: ‘Immediately after the girl had been in Skaane, he gave
+her a box full of pieces of wax, on which were the impressions of all the
+tower keys; and amongst them was written, “My girl will have these made
+in Skaane.� I had this from the woman, who was just then carrying up the
+night-stool, and on the following Saturday I gave the box back with many
+thanks, saying I did not care to escape from the tower in this way. This
+did not please him, as I well saw.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_114" id="Footnote_114" href="#FNanchor_114"><span class="label">[114]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘At this time there was a peasant imprisoned
+in the Dark Church for having answered the bailiff of the manor with
+bad language. I sent him food. He was a great rogue. I know not
+whether he were incited by others, but he told Karen that if I would write
+to my children, he would take care of the letter. I sent him word that I
+thanked him; I had nothing to say to them and nothing to write with.
+The rogue answered, “Ah so! Ah so!�’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_115" id="Footnote_115" href="#FNanchor_115"><span class="label">[115]</span></a> In the margin: ‘It was wonderful that the governor did not hear the
+noise which Christian made. He was telling me, I remember, at the time,
+how he had frightened one of the court servants with a mouse in a box.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_116" id="Footnote_116" href="#FNanchor_116"><span class="label">[116]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘He enticed the prison governor to throw a
+kitten that I had down from the top of the tower, and he laughed at me
+ironically as he told the woman of his manly act, and said, “The cat was
+mangy! the cat was mangy!� I would not let him see that it annoyed me.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_117" id="Footnote_117" href="#FNanchor_117"><span class="label">[117]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘1666. While Karen, <a class="corr" name="corr_28" id="corr_28" title="was: Nil’s">Nils’</a> daughter, waited
+on me, a Nuremberger was my neighbour in the Dark Church; he was
+accused of having coined base money. She carried food to him every day.
+He sang and read day and night, and sang very well. He sang the psalm
+‘Incline thine ear unto me, O Lord,’ slowly at my desire. I copied it, and
+afterwards translated it into Danish. And as he often prayed aloud at
+night and confessed his sins, praying God for forgiveness and exclaiming
+again and again, ‘Thou must help me, God! Yes, God, thou must help
+me, or thou art no God. Thou must be gracious;’ thus hindering me from
+sleep, I sent him word through Karen to pray more softly, which he did.
+He was taken to the Holm for some weeks, and was then set at liberty.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_118" id="Footnote_118" href="#FNanchor_118"><span class="label">[118]</span></a> In the MS. this date ‘1667’ is in the <i>margin</i>, not in the text.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_119" id="Footnote_119" href="#FNanchor_119"><span class="label">[119]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘This very hymn was afterwards the cause of
+Christian’s being again well-behaved, as he subsequently himself told me,
+for he heard me one day singing it, and he said that his heart was
+touched, and that tears filled his eyes. I had at that time no other writing-materials
+than I have before mentioned.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_120" id="Footnote_120" href="#FNanchor_120"><span class="label">[120]</span></a> What he meant by it I know not; perhaps he meant that I should die
+in misery, and that he should live in freedom. That anticipation has been
+just reversed, for his godless life in his liberty threw him subsequently
+into despair, so that he shot himself. Whether God will give me freedom
+in this world is known to Him alone.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_121" id="Footnote_121" href="#FNanchor_121"><span class="label">[121]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘He could not prevent his boy Paaske from
+having a piece of meat placed for him in front of the door.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_122" id="Footnote_122" href="#FNanchor_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘The bride had supplicated for me at
+Nykjöbing, but had not gained her object. This was thought to be dangerous
+both for the land and people.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_123" id="Footnote_123" href="#FNanchor_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘It was a Sunday; this was the honour he
+showed to God. He went into the wine-house instead of into God’s
+house. He came out about twelve o’clock.<span class="corr" title="added: ’">’</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_124" id="Footnote_124" href="#FNanchor_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘A few months after she had come to me, she
+had an attack of ague. She wept, and was afraid. I was well satisfied
+with her, and thought I would see what faith could do, so I wrote something
+on a slip of paper and hung it round her neck. The fever left her,
+and she protested that all her bodily pains passed all at once into her legs
+when I hung the paper round her neck. Her legs immediately became
+much swollen.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_125" id="Footnote_125" href="#FNanchor_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘When the priest left me, he spoke with
+Walter in front of the grated hole, told him of my desire, and its probable
+result. Walter laughed ironically, and said, “My hair will not stand on
+end for fear of that matter being mooted again. The Queen knows that
+full well. Say that too!� While Walter was in the Witch Cell hole, he
+had written to the Queen, but the King received the paper.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_126" id="Footnote_126" href="#FNanchor_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></a> In the margin is noted: ‘I looked through a hole in my outermost
+door at the time that Walter was brought up in the Dark Church. He
+wept aloud. I afterwards saw him once in front of the hole of the door
+of his cell. He was very dirty, and had a large beard full of dirt, very
+clotted.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_127" id="Footnote_127" href="#FNanchor_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘From books which had been secretly lent
+me, and I did so with the pen and ink I have before mentioned, on any
+pieces of paper which I happened to procure.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_128" id="Footnote_128" href="#FNanchor_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></a> In the margin is noted: ‘Chresten was not well satisfied with the
+woman, for in her time he never received a draught of wine, so that he
+once stole the wine from her can and substituted something impure in its
+place; at this she made a great noise, begged me for God’s sake to give
+her leave to strike Chresten with the can. She did not gain permission
+to do so; she told Chresten afterwards that she had not dared to do it,
+for my sake. She had a great scar on one cheek, which a soldier had once
+given her for a similar act.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_129" id="Footnote_129" href="#FNanchor_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘At this time I had six prisoners for my
+neighbours. Three were peasants from Femeren, who were accused of
+having exported some sheep; the other three were Danish. They were
+divided in two parties, and as the Danes were next the door, I gave them
+some food; they had moreover been imprisoned some time before the
+others. When the Danes, according to their custom, sang the morning
+and evening psalms, the Germans growled forth with all their might
+another song in order to drown their voices; they generally sang the
+song of Dorothea.’ <a name="FNanchor_E48" id="FNanchor_E48" href="#Footnote_E48" class="fnanchor">[E48]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_130" id="Footnote_130" href="#FNanchor_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘As I was to receive clothes, I asked for
+mourning clothes. Then the prison governor asked me for whom I wished
+to mourn, and this in a most ironical manner. I answered: “It is not for
+your aunt; it is not for me to mourn for her, although your aunt has been
+dead long. I think you have as good reason for wearing mourning as
+I.� He said he would report it. I did not receive them at once.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_131" id="Footnote_131" href="#FNanchor_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Chresten showed me once some bread, from
+which Walter had taken the crumb, and had filled it full of straw and dirt,
+in fact, of the very worst kind.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_132" id="Footnote_132" href="#FNanchor_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></a> In the margin is added; ‘The prison governor also severely reprimanded
+the woman because she had told me that the King was dead; that it would
+not go as well with me as I thought. She gave him word for word.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_133" id="Footnote_133" href="#FNanchor_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Among his terrible curses was one that his
+tongue might be paralysed if he had not spoken for me. The following
+year God struck him with paralysis of the tongue; he had a stroke from
+anger, and lived eight days afterwards; he was in his senses, but he was
+not able to speak, and he died; but he lived to see the day when another
+clergyman administered the holy communion to me.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_134" id="Footnote_134" href="#FNanchor_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘I saw now that this was the cause of Balcke’s
+dismissal.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_135" id="Footnote_135" href="#FNanchor_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Chresten, who was ill satisfied both with
+Karen and with me, gave us a different title one day, when he was saying
+something to one of the house-servants, upon which the latter asked him
+who had said it? Chresten answered, ‘She who is kept up there for her.’
+When I was told of this, I laughed and said, ‘That is quite right, we are
+two “shes.�’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_136" id="Footnote_136" href="#FNanchor_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></a> In the margin is noted: ‘Some of my money I expended on books,
+and it is remarkable that I obtained from M. Buck’s books (which were
+sold by auction) among others the great Martilegium, in folio, which he
+would not lend me. I excerpted and translated various matters from
+Spanish, Italian, French, and German authors. I especially wrote out
+and translated into Danish the female personages of different rank and
+origin, who were mentioned with praise by the authors as valiant, true,
+chaste and sensible, patient, steadfast and scholarly.’ <a name="FNanchor_E52" id="FNanchor_E52" href="#Footnote_E52" class="fnanchor">[E52]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_137" id="Footnote_137" href="#FNanchor_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘This dog was of an Icelandic breed, not
+pretty, but very faithful and sagacious. He slept every afternoon on the
+stool, and when she had fallen asleep, she let her hands hang down. Then
+the dog would get up and run softly and bite her finger till the blood came.
+If she threw down her slippers, he would take one and sit upon it. She
+never got it back again without a bloody finger.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_138" id="Footnote_138" href="#FNanchor_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></a> In the margin is this note: ‘In the year 1672, on the 4th May, one
+of the house-servants was arrested for stealing. Adam Knudt, at that
+time gentleman of the chamber, himself saw him take several ducats early
+one morning from the King’s trousers, which were hanging against the
+walls. He was at first for some hours my neighbour in the Dark Church.
+He was then placed in the Witch Cell, and as he was to be tortured, he
+received secret warning of it (which was forbidden), so that when the executioner
+came he was found to have hung himself. That is to say, he
+was said to have hung himself, though to all appearance this was not
+possible; he was found with a cloth round his neck, which was a swaddling-cloth
+belonging to one of Chresten, the tower-warder’s, children.
+Chresten became my neighbour, and was ostensibly brought to justice,
+but he was acquitted and reinstated in his office.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_139" id="Footnote_139" href="#FNanchor_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘She was so proud of her knowledge of German
+that when she sang a morning hymn (which, however rarely happened)
+she interspersed it with German words. I once asked her if she
+knew what her mother’s cat was called in Danish, and I said something
+at which she was angry.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_140" id="Footnote_140" href="#FNanchor_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘There was no similar row on the other
+stocking. The prison governor never mentioned it.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_141" id="Footnote_141" href="#FNanchor_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></a> In the margin is noted: ‘I must remember one thing about Karen,
+<a class="corr" name="corr_29" id="corr_29" title="was: Nil’s">Nils’</a> daughter. When anything gave her satisfaction, she would take
+up her book directly and read. I asked her whether she understood what
+she read. “Yes, of course,� she answered, “as truly as God will bless you!
+When a word comes that I don’t understand, I pass it over.� I smiled a
+little in my own mind, but said nothing.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_142" id="Footnote_142" href="#FNanchor_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></a> In the margin is noted: ‘At my desire the prison governor gave me a
+rat whose tail he had cut off; this I placed in a parrot’s cage, and gave it
+food, so that it grew very tame. The woman grudged me this amusement;
+and as the cage hung in the outer apartment, and had a wire grating
+underneath, so that the dirt might fall out, she burned the rat with a candle
+from below. It was easy to perceive it, but she denied it.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_143" id="Footnote_143" href="#FNanchor_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></a> In the margin stood originally the following note, which has afterwards
+been struck out: ‘In this year, 1676, the prison governor married for
+the third time; he married a woman who herself had had two husbands.
+Anno 1677, Aug. 9, died my sister Elisabeth Augusta.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_144" id="Footnote_144" href="#FNanchor_144"><span class="label">[144]</span></a> On a piece of paper which is fastened to the MS. by a pin is the
+following note referring to the same matter: ‘On March 4, in the same
+year 1678, a woman named Lucia, who had been in the service of Lady
+Rigitze Grubbe, became my neighbour. She was accused by Agneta
+Sophia Budde, as the person who at the instigation of her mistress had
+persuaded her to poison Countess F. Birrete Skeel, and that Lucia had
+brought her the poison. There was evidence as to the person from whom
+Lucia had bought the poison. This woman was a steady faithful servant.
+She received everything that was imposed upon her with the greatest
+patience, and held out courageously in the Dark Cell. She had two men
+as companions, both of whom cried, moaned and wept. From the
+Countess Skeel (who had to supply her with food) meat was sent her
+which was full of maggots and mouldy bread. I took pity on her (not
+for the sake of her mistress, for she had rendered me little good service,
+and had rewarded me evil for the benefits of former times, but out of sympathy).
+And I sent her meat and drink and money that she might soften
+Gert, who was too hard to her. She was tortured, but would not confess any
+thing of what she was accused, and always defended her mistress. She
+remained a long time in prison.<a name="FNanchor_E58" id="FNanchor_E58" href="#Footnote_E58" class="fnanchor">[E58]</a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_145" id="Footnote_145" href="#FNanchor_145"><span class="label">[145]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Ole the tower-warder was cudgelled on his
+back by the prison governor when Margrete was gone, and he was charged
+with having said what Margrete had informed him respecting her size.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_146" id="Footnote_146" href="#FNanchor_146"><span class="label">[146]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘Other natural matter was evacuated, but
+the stone stuck fast in the duct, and seemed to be round, for I could not
+gain hold of it with an instrument I had procured for the purpose.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_147" id="Footnote_147" href="#FNanchor_147"><span class="label">[147]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘The prison governor told me afterwards that
+the King laughed when he had told his Majesty my answer about the
+clavicordium, and had said, “Yes, yes.�’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_148" id="Footnote_148" href="#FNanchor_148"><span class="label">[148]</span></a> In the margin is added: ‘The woman who attended on me received
+eight rix-dollars monthly.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_149" id="Footnote_149" href="#FNanchor_149"><span class="label">[149]</span></a> In the margin: ‘She had him learn wood-carving.’</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+<h2><a name="ENDNOTES" id="ENDNOTES"></a>ENDNOTES</h2>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E1" id="Footnote_E1" href="#FNanchor_E1"><span class="label">[E1]</span></a> This journey really took place in November and December,
+1656.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E2" id="Footnote_E2" href="#FNanchor_E2"><span class="label">[E2]</span></a> This man was a German by birth, but settled in Denmark,
+where he was nobilitated under the name of Lövenklau.
+His bad conduct obliged him to leave the country, and he
+went to Sweden, where he had lived before he came to
+Denmark, and where Ulfeldt, then in Sweden, procured him
+an appointment as a colonel in the army. This kindness he
+repaid by informing the Danish Government against Ulfeldt
+in 1654, in consequence of which he was not only allowed to
+return to Denmark, but even obtained a lucrative office in
+Norway. Here he quarrelled with the viceroy, Niels Trolle,
+and tried to serve him as he had served Ulfeldt; but he
+failed to establish his accusations against Trolle, and was
+condemned into the forfeiture of his office and of his patent
+of nobility. He then left Denmark at least for a season, and
+how he came to apply to Leonora Christina for assistance is
+not known, as she has omitted to mention it in the Memoir
+itself, though she evidently intended to do so.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E3" id="Footnote_E3" href="#FNanchor_E3"><span class="label">[E3]</span></a> This Count Rantzow was the same who had negotiated
+the compromise with Ulfeldt and Leonora at Bornholm
+in 1661, and in fact brought it about. It was currently reported
+in Copenhagen at the time that he had received a large
+sum of money from Ulfeldt on that occasion, and he afterwards
+showed his friendly disposition towards him by promising
+him to intercede with the King for Christian Ulfeldt when
+the latter had killed Fuchs. Leonora, however, speaks of him
+as an enemy probably because he presided in the High Court
+of Appeal which condemned Ulfeldt as a traitor. But the facts
+of the case left him scarcely any other alternative than that
+of judging as he did, nor would it have been surprising if
+Ulfeldt’s last conduct had altered Rantzow’s feelings towards
+him. Rantzow also presided in the commission which examined
+Leonora in the Blue Tower.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E4" id="Footnote_E4" href="#FNanchor_E4"><span class="label">[E4]</span></a> Abel Catharina is mentioned in the Memoir itself as the
+person who searched Leonora when she first entered her
+prison, and did so in a very unbecoming manner; she acted,
+however, under the orders of the Mistress of the Robes, M. v.
+Haxthausen. Abel Catharina is otherwise chiefly known as
+the founder of a charity for old women in Copenhagen, which
+still bears her name.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E5" id="Footnote_E5" href="#FNanchor_E5"><span class="label">[E5]</span></a> This name is mis-spelt for Ahlefeldt. This officer received
+Leonora on her arrival at Copenhagen, as she relates herself.
+He had distinguished himself in the siege of Copenhagen in
+1659, and died as a Lieutenant-General.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E6" id="Footnote_E6" href="#FNanchor_E6"><span class="label">[E6]</span></a> Christoffer Gabel is mentioned several times in the Autobiography.
+He was an influential man at the time, in great
+favour at court, and he had a great part in effecting the release
+of Ulfeldt from the prison at Bornholm, for which he,
+according to Leonora’s statement, received 5,000 dollars from
+Ulfeldt. Both he and Reedtz were members of the court
+which condemned Ulfeldt.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E7" id="Footnote_E7" href="#FNanchor_E7"><span class="label">[E7]</span></a> The passage alluded to occurs in Epictet’s Encheiridion,
+chap. 43 (in some editions chap. 65), where he says: ‘Every
+matter has two handles, one by which it may be carried (or
+endured), the other by which it cannot be carried (or endured).
+If thy brother has done thee injury, do not lay hold of this
+matter from the fact that he has done thee an injury, for this
+is the handle by which it cannot be carried (or endured); but
+rather from this side: that he is thy brother, educated with
+thee; and thou wilt lay hold of the matter from that side from
+which it may be managed.’ It is easily seen how Leonora
+makes use of the double meaning of the Greek word [Greek: phorêtos],
+which is equally well used of an object which can be carried
+in the literal physical sense, and of a matter which can be
+endured or borne with.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E8" id="Footnote_E8" href="#FNanchor_E8"><span class="label">[E8]</span></a> Birgitte Speckhans was the wife of Frants v. Speckhans,
+master of ceremonies, afterwards Privy Councillor, &amp;c. She
+had formerly been in the service of Leonora Christina, who
+was then at the height of her position, and ever afterwards
+proved herself a friend of her and Ulfeldt. It was in her
+house that they stayed after escaping from Malmöe, and she
+kept some of their movable goods for them during their
+imprisonment at Hammershuus.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E9" id="Footnote_E9" href="#FNanchor_E9"><span class="label">[E9]</span></a> Birgitte Ulfeldt was a younger sister of Corfitz, who, in
+a letter to Sperling, declares her to be his and Leonora’s
+bitterest enemy. What is known of her life is certainly not
+to her advantage.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E10" id="Footnote_E10" href="#FNanchor_E10"><span class="label">[E10]</span></a> This is the famous Jos. Borro or Burrhus, physician and
+<span class="sic" title="[sic]">alchymist</span>. He is often mentioned in books of the seventeenth
+century, on account of his wonderful cures and alleged knowledge
+of the art of making gold. In 1667 he came to Denmark,
+where King Fredrik III. spent considerable sums on
+the establishment of large laboratories for him, in a building
+which is still known as ‘The Gold-house.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E11" id="Footnote_E11" href="#FNanchor_E11"><span class="label">[E11]</span></a> D’Aranda was one of the most influential families in
+Bruges. One of them, by name Bernard, was some time in
+the Danish army, afterwards secretary to Corfitz Ulfeldt, and
+employed by him in diplomatic missions. He died in 1658,
+but when Ulfeldt came to Bruges in 1662 he lived for some
+time with one of Bernard’s brothers.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E12" id="Footnote_E12"></a><a name="Footnote_E12B" id="Footnote_E12B"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_E12">[E12]</a><br /><a href="#FNanchor_E12B">[E12b]</a></span> H. Bielke was Admiral of the realm; his wife was an
+Ulfeldt, and it was he who procured Corfitz Ulfeldt his leave
+of absence in 1662, of which he made such regretable use.
+He, too, was one of the judges that convicted him. Oluf
+Brokkenhuus was Corfitz Ulfeldt’s brother-in-law; Elizabeth
+Parsbjerg was the widow of his elder brother Lauridts Ulfeldt.
+Marie Ulfeldt was sister of Corfitz.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E13" id="Footnote_E13" href="#FNanchor_E13"><span class="label">[E13]</span></a> Charles de Goutant, Duc de Biron, a celebrated French
+General, some time favourite of Henry IV. King of France,
+was found guilty of conspiring against his master with the
+courts of Spain and Savoy. Henry IV. forgave him, but he
+recommenced his intrigues. It is supposed that the King
+would have forgiven him a second time if he had confessed
+his crime; but he refused to do so, and was beheaded in 1602.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E14" id="Footnote_E14" href="#FNanchor_E14"><span class="label">[E14]</span></a> This lady is known under the name of Haxthausen;
+and Schaffshausen is probably a mistake on Leonora’s part,
+although of course she may have been married to an officer of
+this name before she married N. v. Haxthausen. She was a
+German by birth.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E15" id="Footnote_E15" href="#FNanchor_E15"><span class="label">[E15]</span></a> Elizabeth Augusta, a younger sister of Leonora, married
+Hans Lindenow, a Danish nobleman, who died in the siege
+of Copenhagen, 1659.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E16" id="Footnote_E16" href="#FNanchor_E16"><span class="label">[E16]</span></a> That Leonora here speaks of her husband as her ‘late
+lord,’ is due only to the fact that the Memoir was not written
+till after his death; at the time of these events he was still
+alive.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E17" id="Footnote_E17" href="#FNanchor_E17"><span class="label">[E17]</span></a> When the sentence on Ulfeldt had become publicly known,
+the most absurd rumours circulated in Copenhagen, and
+found their way to foreign newspapers. For instance <i>the
+kingdom’s</i> Intelligencer, No. 33, Aug. 10-17, 1663, says, in a
+correspondence from Hamburg: ‘They say the traitors intended
+to set <a class="corr" name="corr_30" id="corr_30" title="was: Copenagen">Copenhagen</a> on fire in divers places, and also the
+fleet, to destroy the King and family, to blow up the King’s
+palace, and deliver the crown over to another.’ The Government
+itself, on hearing of Ulfeldt’s plots, made great military
+preparations.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E18" id="Footnote_E18" href="#FNanchor_E18"><span class="label">[E18]</span></a> The sentence on Ulfeldt was given on July 24, but probably
+not published till a few days later.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E19" id="Footnote_E19" href="#FNanchor_E19"><span class="label">[E19]</span></a> A line has been drawn in the MS. through the two last
+paragraphs, and their contents transferred to the continuation
+of the Preface.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E20" id="Footnote_E20" href="#FNanchor_E20"><span class="label">[E20]</span></a> Leonora refers to the betrothal of Prince Johan George
+of Saxony and Anna Sophia, the eldest daughter of
+Fredrik III., of which an account occurs in the sequel.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E21" id="Footnote_E21" href="#FNanchor_E21"><span class="label">[E21]</span></a> A copy of the fragments which had been recovered of this
+letter is still in existence.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E22" id="Footnote_E22" href="#FNanchor_E22"><span class="label">[E22]</span></a> Ulfeldt received this present probably in 1647, when in
+France as ambassador, on which occasion Queen Anna is
+known to have presented to Leonora a gold watch set with
+diamonds of great value.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E23" id="Footnote_E23" href="#FNanchor_E23"><span class="label">[E23]</span></a> The lady alluded to is Helvig Margaretha Elizabeth
+Rantzow, widow of the famous General Josias Rantzow, who
+died as a maréchal of France. She had become a Romanist,
+and took the veil after her husband’s death. Subsequently
+she founded the new order of the Annunciata. In 1666 the
+first convent of this order, of which she was abbess, removed
+to Hildesheim, where she died in 1706.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E24" id="Footnote_E24" href="#FNanchor_E24"><span class="label">[E24]</span></a> Margrete Rantzow was the sister of that Birgitte Rantzow
+to whom there is an allusion in the Autobiography of
+Leonora, where she relates the examination to which she
+was subjected at Malmöe. Margrete’s husband was Ove
+Thott, a nobleman in Skaane, who had taken an important
+part in the preparations for a rising against the Swedes, in
+which Corfitz Ulfeldt was implicated.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E25" id="Footnote_E25" href="#FNanchor_E25"><span class="label">[E25]</span></a> The book in question is probably Philip Sidney’s work, ‘The
+Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia,’ a famous book of its time,
+which Leonora, who does not seem to have known it, has
+understood to be a book by the Countess of Pembroke. It is
+true, however, that Philip’s sister, Mary Sidney, Countess of
+Pembroke, had translated a French play, Antonius (1592,
+and again 1595).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E26" id="Footnote_E26" href="#FNanchor_E26"><span class="label">[E26]</span></a> La Roche Tudesquin had some time been in the Danish<span class="corr" title="removed: ,"></span>
+army, but had returned to France when Hannibal Sehested,
+while in Paris as Ambassador from the King of Denmark,
+received information from a certain Demoiselle Langlois that
+La Roche was implicated in a conspiracy for surrendering the
+principal Danish fortresses to a foreign prince. He and a friend
+of his, Jaques Beranger, were arrested in Brussels in September
+1663, but not, as Leonora says, immediately brought to
+Copenhagen. The Spanish Government did not consent to their
+extradition till the following year, and they were not placed
+in the Blue Tower till June 1664. La Roche seems to have
+been guilty of peculation while in the Danish service, but the
+accusation of treason seems to have been unfounded.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E27" id="Footnote_E27" href="#FNanchor_E27"><span class="label">[E27]</span></a> In the MS. a pen is drawn through this paragraph, of
+which the contents were to form part of the Preface. The date
+of Count Rantzow is moreover not correctly given; he died
+on November 8, five days before the execution of Ulfeldt’s
+effigy.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E28" id="Footnote_E28" href="#FNanchor_E28"><span class="label">[E28]</span></a> The execution took place on November 13. The King’s
+order concerning it to the prison governor, Jochum Waltpurger,
+exists still. It is to this effect: ‘V. G. T., Know that you
+have to command the executioner in our name, that to-day,
+November 13, he is to take the effigy of Corfitz, formerly
+called Count of Ulfeldt, from the Blue Tower where it is now,
+and bring it on a car to the ordinary place in the square in
+front of the castle; and when he has come to the place of
+justice, strike off the right hand and the head, whereafter he
+is to divide the body into four parts on the spot, and carry
+them away with him, whilst the head is to be placed on a
+spike on the Blue Tower for remembrance and execration.’
+The order was afterwards altered in this particular, that the
+head was to be placed on the town hall, and the four parts of
+the body one at each of the gates of the city. The executioner
+was subsequently ordered to efface the arms of Corfitz and his
+wife wherever they occurred in the town; for instance, on their
+pews in the churches. Leonora states in her Autobiography that
+the prison governor some time after told her that the Queen
+had desired that the effigy should be placed in the antechamber
+of Leonora’s prison, and that she should be ordered
+to see it there; but that the king refused his consent.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E29" id="Footnote_E29" href="#FNanchor_E29"><span class="label">[E29]</span></a> The date of Ulfeldt’s death is variously given as the
+20th or the 27th of February, 1664. The latter date is given
+in a letter from his son Christian to Sperling, and elsewhere,
+(for instance, in a short Latin Biography of Ulfeldt called
+‘<span class="la">Machinationes Cornificii Ulefeldii</span>,’ published soon after); but
+the better evidence points to the earlier date. Christian
+Ulfeldt was not, it seems, at Basle at the time, and may have
+made a mistake as to the date, though he indicates the right
+day of the week (a Saturday), or he may have had reason for
+purposely making a misleading statement. In Copenhagen
+the report of his death was long suspected to be a mere trick.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E30" id="Footnote_E30" href="#FNanchor_E30"><span class="label">[E30]</span></a> Ulfeldt and Leonora had twelve children in all, of which
+seven were alive when Corfitz died; and it so happened as,
+explained before, that the youngest, Leo, was the only one
+who continued the name. It is from him that Count Waldstein,
+the owner of the MS., is descended.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E31" id="Footnote_E31" href="#FNanchor_E31"><span class="label">[E31]</span></a> This hymn-tune is still in use in the Danish Church.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E32" id="Footnote_E32" href="#FNanchor_E32"><span class="label">[E32]</span></a> Dr. Otto Sperling, the elder, is often alluded to in the
+<a class="corr" name="corr_31" id="corr_31" title="was: Autobiograpy">Autobiography</a> of Leonora as ‘<span lang="fr">notre vieillard</span>;’ he was a faithful
+friend of Ulfeldt, and in 1654 he settled in Hamburg, where
+he educated Corfitz’s youngest son Leo. He was implicated
+in Ulfeldt’s intrigues, and a compromising correspondence
+between them fell into the hands of the Spanish Government,
+which placed it at the disposal of Hannibal <a class="corr" name="corr_32" id="corr_32" title="was: Schested">Sehested</a> when he
+passed through the Netherlands on his way home from his
+mission to France in 1663. In order to obtain possession of
+Sperling’s person, the Danish authorities used the ruse of sending
+a Danish officer to his house in Hamburg, and request
+him to visit professionally a sick person just across the Danish
+frontier, paying in advance a considerable fee. Sperling, who
+did not suspect the transaction, was arrested immediately on
+crossing the boundary, and brought to Copenhagen. He was
+condemned to death July 28, 1664; but the sentence was
+commuted, and he died in the Blue Tower December 25,
+1681. Otto Sperling, jun., to whom Leonora sent the MS.
+of her Autobiography, and who often visited her at Maribo,
+was his son.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E33" id="Footnote_E33" href="#FNanchor_E33"><span class="label">[E33]</span></a> The name of this judge was Villum Lange, and it is a
+curious coincidence that a letter from him of a somewhat later
+time (1670), has been found in one of the archives, in which
+he speaks of this very affair, and in which he expresses himself
+very much in the sense here indicated.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E34" id="Footnote_E34" href="#FNanchor_E34"><span class="label">[E34]</span></a> The words ‘under the bottom ... to ... Auguste,’ inclusive,
+have been struck out in the MS., and it has been impossible
+to read more than what here is rendered. In the
+Autobiography, where the same occurrence is related, Leonora
+says that she put on it the names both of the King and of the
+Queen; that on the bottom she wrote to the Queen, and that
+it was the Queen who discovered the inscription; from which
+it would appear that the Queen at all events was included in
+her ingeniously contrived supplique.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E35" id="Footnote_E35" href="#FNanchor_E35"><span class="label">[E35]</span></a> This book was doubtless the German translation of Conr.
+Lycosthenes’ work, ‘<span class="la">Prodigiorum ac Ostentorum Chronicon</span>.’
+It is an amusing illustrated volume, much read in its time.
+The translation in question appeared in Basle, 1557.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E36" id="Footnote_E36" href="#FNanchor_E36"><span class="label">[E36]</span></a> This custom of congratulating persons who intend to
+communicate, or just have done so, is still retained by many
+of the older generation in Denmark.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E37" id="Footnote_E37"></a><a name="Footnote_E37B" id="Footnote_E37B"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_E37">[E37]</a><br /><a href="#FNanchor_E37B">[E37b]</a></span> It was a Colonel Hagedorn that entrapped and arrested
+Dr. Sperling, and Jäger played only a subordinate part in
+that transaction. He is stated to have been a cousin of Gabel,
+and to have been formerly a commander in the navy. He
+was appointed prison governor on June 12, 1665, and Balcke
+therefore doubtless only held the appointment provisionally.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E38" id="Footnote_E38" href="#FNanchor_E38"><span class="label">[E38]</span></a> ‘Anno 1666, soon after Karen, <a class="corr" name="corr_33" id="corr_33" title="was: Nil’s">Nils’</a> daughter, came to me,
+we first discovered that there was a stone floor to my prison
+chamber, as she broke loose a piece of rubbish cemented
+together, and the stones were apparent. I had before thought
+it a loam floor. The former Karen, Ole’s daughter, was one
+of those who spread the dirt but do not take it away. This
+Karen tormented me unceasingly, almost daily, that we must
+remove it everywhere, and that at once&mdash;it would soon be
+done. I was of opinion that it would make us ill if it was
+done all at once, as we required water to soften it, and the
+stench in this oppressive hole would cause sickness, but that
+it would be easier and less uncomfortable to remove one piece
+after another. She adhered to her opinion and to her desire,
+and thought that she could persuade the prison governor and
+the tower-warder to let the door remain open till all had been
+made clean. But when the tower-warder had brought in a
+tub of water, he locked the door. I went to bed and covered
+my face closely, while she scraped and swept up the dirt.
+The quantity of filth was incredible. It had been collecting
+for years, for this had been a malefactors’ prison, and the floor
+had never been cleaned. She laid all the dirt in a heap in
+the corner, and there was as much as a cartload. It was left
+there until evening at supper-time, when the doors were
+opened. It was as I feared: we were both ill. The woman
+recovered first, for she could get out into the air, but I remained
+in the oppressive hole, where there was scarcely light.
+We gained this from it, that we were tormented day and night
+with numbers of fleas, and they came to her more than to me,
+so much so that she was often on the point of weeping. I
+laughed and made fun of it, saying that she would now have
+always something to do, and would have enough to beguile
+the time. We could not, however, work. The fleas were
+thick on our stockings, so that the colour of the stockings
+was not to be perceived, and we wiped them off into the
+water-basin. I then discovered that one flea produces another.
+For when I examined them, and how they could swim, I
+perceived that some small feet appeared behind the flea, and
+I thought it was a peculiar kind. At last I saw what it was,
+and I took the flea from which the small one was emerging on
+my finger, and it left behind evidences of birth: it hopped
+immediately, but the mother remained a little, until she
+recovered herself, and the first time she could not hop so far.
+This amusement I had more than once, till the fleas came to
+an end. Whether all fleas are born in this manner I cannot
+tell, but that they are produced from dirt and loam I have
+seen in my prison, and I have observed how they become
+gradually perfect and of the peculiar colour of the material
+from which they have been generated. I have seen them pair.’
+</p><p>
+It is scarcely necessary to say that, as far as natural history
+is concerned, Leonora has committed a mistake.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E39" id="Footnote_E39" href="#FNanchor_E39"><span class="label">[E39]</span></a> Leonora alludes to an anecdote told by ‘Cicero in
+Tuscul. Quæst. lib. i. c. 43.’ He recounts that the cynic
+Diogenes had ordered that his body should not be buried after
+his death but left uninterred. His friends asked, ‘As a prey
+to birds and wild beasts?<span class="corr" title="added: ’">’</span> ‘Not at all,’ answered Diogenes;
+place a stick by me, wherewith I may drive them away.’
+‘But how can you?’ rejoined these; ‘you won’t know!’ ‘But
+what then,’ was his reply, ‘concern the attacks of the wild
+beasts me, when I don’t feel them?’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E40" id="Footnote_E40" href="#FNanchor_E40"><span class="label">[E40]</span></a> This sister was Hedvig, who married Ebbe Ulfeldt, a
+relative of Corfitz Ulfeldt. He was obliged to leave Denmark
+in 1651, on account of irregularities in the conduct of
+his office, and went to Sweden, where he became a major-general
+in the army. He is the person alluded to in the
+Autobiography. Several of Leonora’s children lived in Sweden
+with their relatives after the death of Corfitz Ulfeldt; but in
+1668 the Danish Government obtained that they were forbidden
+the country.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E41" id="Footnote_E41" href="#FNanchor_E41"><span class="label">[E41]</span></a> The title ‘Herr’ was then only given to noblemen and
+clergy. Master means ‘magister,’ and was an academical
+title.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E42" id="Footnote_E42" href="#FNanchor_E42"><span class="label">[E42]</span></a> The original has here an untranslatable play upon words.
+<i>Leth</i> is a family name; and the woman says ‘I am one of
+the Letter (the Leths),’ but laughter is in Danish ‘Latter.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E43" id="Footnote_E43" href="#FNanchor_E43"><span class="label">[E43]</span></a> The newspapers in question were probably German papers
+which were published in Copenhagen at that time weekly,
+or even twice a week; the Danish <i>Mercurius</i> (a common
+title for newspapers) was a monthly publication.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E44" id="Footnote_E44" href="#FNanchor_E44"><span class="label">[E44]</span></a> His name was Torslev; see the Introduction and the
+Autobiography.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E45" id="Footnote_E45" href="#FNanchor_E45"><span class="label">[E45]</span></a> The name is in blanco; she was probably the Catharina
+Wolf which is mentioned in the Preface.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E46" id="Footnote_E46" href="#FNanchor_E46"><span class="label">[E46]</span></a> Walter’s participation in the plot of Dina is mentioned
+in the Introduction. He was then ordered to leave the
+country, but afterwards obtained a pardon and permission to
+return. He does not seem to have availed himself of this till
+the year 1668; but his conduct was very suspicious, and he
+was at once arrested and placed in the Blue Tower, where he
+died towards the end of April 1670.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E47" id="Footnote_E47" href="#FNanchor_E47"><span class="label">[E47]</span></a> Leonora alludes, no doubt, to the Queen Sophia Amalia.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E48" id="Footnote_E48" href="#FNanchor_E48"><span class="label">[E48]</span></a> The song of St. Dorothea exists in many German and
+Danish versions.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E49" id="Footnote_E49" href="#FNanchor_E49"><span class="label">[E49]</span></a> The feast of St. Martin is supposed the proper time for
+killing pigs in Denmark. It is reported that when Corfitz
+Uldfeldt, in 1652, had published a defence of his conduct
+previously to his leaving Denmark the year before, he sent
+a copy to Peder Vibe, one of his principal adversaries, with
+this inscription:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem" lang="fr"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Chaque pourceau a son St. Martin;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Tu n’échapperas pas, mais auras le tien.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E50" id="Footnote_E50" href="#FNanchor_E50"><span class="label">[E50]</span></a> This Knud was the favourite of King Christian V., Adam
+Levin Knuth, one of the many Germans who then exercised
+a most unfavourable influence on the affairs of Denmark.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E51" id="Footnote_E51" href="#FNanchor_E51"><span class="label">[E51]</span></a> Hannibal <a class="corr" name="corr_34" id="corr_34" title="was: Schested">Sehested</a> was dead already in 1666, as Leonora
+was no doubt well aware. The whole passage seems to
+indicate that he is supposed to have had some love-intrigue
+with the duchess. Nothing has transpired on this subject
+from other sources, but it is certain that her husband, Duke
+Ernst Gynther, for some time at least, was very unfriendly
+disposed to Hannibal <a class="corr" name="corr_35" id="corr_35" title="was: Schested">Sehested</a>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E52" id="Footnote_E52" href="#FNanchor_E52"><span class="label">[E52]</span></a> The Martilegium was probably a German history of Martyrs,
+entitled ‘<span lang="de">Martilogium (<span lang="en">for</span> <a class="corr" name="corr_36" id="corr_36" title="was: matyrologium">martyrologium</a>) der Heiligen</span>’ (Strasburg
+1484, fol.). The extracts to which she refers were no
+doubt her earliest collections for her work on Heroines.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E53" id="Footnote_E53" href="#FNanchor_E53"><span class="label">[E53]</span></a> ‘Hours of Spiritual Refreshment.’ This very popular
+book of devotion was first published in 1664, and had an extraordinary
+run both in Germany and, through translations, in
+Denmark. The last Danish extract of it was published in
+1846, and reached the third edition in 1856.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E54" id="Footnote_E54" href="#FNanchor_E54"><span class="label">[E54]</span></a> It was a common superstition that persons who understood
+the art of showing by magic the whereabouts of stolen
+goods, had the power, by use of their formulas alone, to deprive
+the thief of an eye.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E55" id="Footnote_E55"></a><a name="Footnote_E55B" id="Footnote_E55B"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_E55">[E55]</a><br /><a href="#FNanchor_E55B">[E55b]</a></span> Griffenfeldt, who was then at the height of his power,
+was the son of a wine-merchant, by name Schumacher, but
+had risen by his talents alone to the highest dignities. He
+was ennobled under the name of Griffenfeldt, and was undoubtedly
+the ablest statesman Denmark ever possessed.
+Eventually he was thrust from his high position by an intrigue
+set on foot by German courtiers and backed by foreign influence.
+He was accused of treason and kept in prison from
+1676 to 1698, the year before he died, to the great, perhaps
+irreparable damage, of his native country. The principal witness
+against him was a German doctor, Mauritius, a professional
+spy, who had served the Danish Government in this capacity.
+The year after the fall of Griffenfeld, he was himself arrested
+on a charge of perjury, forgery, and high treason, and placed
+in the Blue Tower; he was convicted and conducted to Bornholm,
+where he died. But Griffenfeldt, who had been convicted
+on his false testimony, was not liberated. Griffenfeldt’s
+ability and patriotism cannot be doubted, but his personal
+character was not without blemish; and it is a fact that in his
+prosperity he disclaimed all connection with his earlier friends,
+and even his near relations.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E56" id="Footnote_E56" href="#FNanchor_E56"><span class="label">[E56]</span></a> The MS. itself is bound in a very primitive manner, which
+renders it probable that Leonora has done it herself.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E57" id="Footnote_E57" href="#FNanchor_E57"><span class="label">[E57]</span></a> It appears from the State accounts that ever since the
+year 1672 a sum of 250 dollars a year had been placed at
+her disposal. It would seem, therefore, that somehow or
+other a part of them had been unlawfully abstracted by someone
+during the first years.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E58" id="Footnote_E58" href="#FNanchor_E58"><span class="label">[E58]</span></a> The acts of this famous trial are still in existence.
+Originally the quarrel arose out of the fact that the Countess
+Parsberg (born Skeel) had obtained a higher rank than Lady
+Grubbe, and was further envenomed by some dispute about a
+window in the house of the latter which looked down on the
+courtyard of the Countess’s house. Regitze Grubbe (widow
+of Hans Ulrik Gyldenlöve, natural son of Christian IV. and
+half-brother of Ulrik Christian Gyldenlöve, as well as of
+Leonora Christina), persuaded another noble lady, Agnete
+Budde, through a servant, to poison Countess Parsberg. Miss
+Budde was beheaded, the girl Lucie was exiled, and Lady
+Grubbe relegated for life to the island of Bornholm.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E59" id="Footnote_E59" href="#FNanchor_E59"><span class="label">[E59]</span></a> This tune is still in use in Denmark; it is known in the
+Latin church as ‘<span class="lang">in natali Domini</span>.’</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E60" id="Footnote_E60" href="#FNanchor_E60"><span class="label">[E60]</span></a> ‘I have in my imprisonment also gained some experience
+with regard to caterpillars. It amused me at one time to
+watch their changes. The worms were apparently all of one
+sort, striped alike, and of similar colour. But butterflies did
+not come from all. It was quite pretty to see how a part
+when they were about to change, pressed against something,
+whatever it might be, and made themselves steady with a
+thread (like silkworm’s silk) on each side, passing it over the
+back about fifty times, always at the same place, and often
+bending the back to see if the threads were strong enough;
+if not, they passed still more threads round them. When
+this was done, they rapidly changed their form and became
+stout, with a snout in front pointed at the end, not unlike the
+fish called knorr by the Dutch; they have also similar fins on
+the back, and a similar head. In this form they remain for
+sixteen days, and then a white butterfly comes out. But of
+some caterpillars small worms like maggots come out on both
+sides, whitish, broad at one end and pointed at the other.
+These surround themselves with a web with great rapidity,
+each by itself. Then the worm spins over them tolerably
+thickly, turning them round till they are almost like a round
+ball. In this it lies till it is quite dried up; it eats nothing,
+and becomes as tiny as a fly before it dies. Twelve days
+afterwards small flies come out of the ball, and then the ball
+looks like a small bee-hive. I have seen a small living worm
+come out of the neck of the caterpillar (this I consider the
+rarest), but it did not live long, and ate nothing. The
+mother died immediately after the little one had come out.’
+</p><p>
+It is perhaps not unnecessary to add that this observation,
+which is correct as to facts, refers to the habits of certain
+larvæ of wasps which live as parasites in caterpillars.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E61" id="Footnote_E61" href="#FNanchor_E61"><span class="label">[E61]</span></a> It has been stated already that a copy of the first part
+of this work is still preserved. Amongst the heroines here
+treated of are modern historical personages, as Queen Margaret
+of Denmark, Thyre <span class="sic" title="[sic]">Danobod</span> who built the Dannevirke,
+Elizabeth of England, and Isabella of Castilia, besides mythical
+and classic characters, as Penthesilea, Queen of the
+Amazons, Marpesia, Tomyris, Zenobia, Artemisia, Victorina,
+etc. There existed not a few works of this kind&mdash;we need
+only mention Boccacio’s ‘Donne Illustri,’ in which many of
+these last personages also occur.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E62" id="Footnote_E62" href="#FNanchor_E62"><span class="label">[E62]</span></a> The Peblingesö is one of three lakes which surround
+Copenhagen on the land-side, in a semicircle.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E63" id="Footnote_E63" href="#FNanchor_E63"><span class="label">[E63]</span></a> The Lutheran Church has retained the division of the
+Commandments used in the Roman Church; and the Commandment
+against murder is therefore here described as the
+fifth, whilst in the English catechism it is the sixth.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E64" id="Footnote_E64" href="#FNanchor_E64"><span class="label">[E64]</span></a> The name of this governor, which is not mentioned by
+Leonora, was Jörgen Iversen, the first Danish governor of
+St. Thomas. In 1682 he returned to the colony from Copenhagen
+on board a vessel which was to bring some prisoners
+over to St. Thomas. Very soon after their departure, some
+of the prisoners and of the crew raised a mutiny, killed the
+captain and some of the passengers, amongst them the
+ex-governor Iversen. But one of the prisoners who had
+not been in the plot afterwards got the mastery of the
+vessel, and returned to Copenhagen. The vessel struck on
+a rock, near the Swedish coast, but the crew were saved
+and sent home to Copenhagen by the Swedish Government,
+and the murderers were then executed.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E65" id="Footnote_E65" href="#FNanchor_E65"><span class="label">[E65]</span></a> The Queen’s church was a room in the castle where service
+was held according to the Calvinist rite.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E66" id="Footnote_E66"></a><a name="Footnote_E66B" id="Footnote_E66B"></a><span class="label"><a href="#FNanchor_E66">[E66]</a><br /><a href="#FNanchor_E66B">[E66b]</a></span> This poem still exists, and is printed in the second volume
+of Hofman’s work on Danish noblemen. It is intended
+to convey an account of her own and her husband’s fate.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p> repeated note.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E67" id="Footnote_E67" href="#FNanchor_E67"><span class="label">[E67]</span></a> This picture is still preserved at the Castle of Rosenbourg,
+in Copenhagen.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E68" id="Footnote_E68" href="#FNanchor_E68"><span class="label">[E68]</span></a> The Excellency alluded to is Ulrik Frederik Gyldenlöve,
+a natural son of Frederik III. Anna Catharina Lindenow
+was daughter of Leonora’s sister, Elizabeth Augusta, who
+married Hans Lindenow.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E69" id="Footnote_E69" href="#FNanchor_E69"><span class="label">[E69]</span></a> This Husum is a village just outside Copenhagen, where
+Leonora remained for some months before she went to Maribo,
+as is proved by a letter from her dated Husum, September
+18, 1685. Of course the last paragraphs must have been
+added after she left her prison, and the passage ‘This
+is finished in my prison’ refers, at any rate, only to what
+precedes.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="trnote">
+<h2><a name="trcorrections" id="trcorrections"></a>Transcriber’s corrections</h2>
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#corr_1">p. 53</a>: length the good-for-nothing[good-for nothing] fellow came down, and</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_2">p. 55</a>: there for ten days[25] a letter from Gul...[Gl...] which he</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_3">p. 56</a>: patacoon[patacon] to those who were to restrain her, saying,</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_4">p. 59</a>: came to see her, no one in consequence[consequenec] consoled her,</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_5">p. 61</a>: When the lawyer had said that they[t hey] had now taken</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_6">p. 64</a>: lose in Dan...[Den...].</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_7">p. 67</a>: It was necessary[neccessary] to descend the rampart into the</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_8">p. 92</a>: he persuaded[pursuaded] me to undertake the English journey,</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_9">p. 106</a>: with my attendant. I answered nothing else than[then] that</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_10">p. 114</a>: silk camisole[camisolle], in the foot of my stockings there were</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_11">p. 132</a>: Castle[Cstale], I had sent a good round present for those in</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_12">p. 135</a>: sad day, and I begged them, for Jesus’[Jesu’s] sake, that</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_13">p. 137</a>: decree? I only beg for Jesus’[Jesu’s] sake that what I say</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_14">p. 172</a>: might easily injure herself with one.’[[76]]</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_15">p. 174</a>: Synge’[[E31]]:&mdash;</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_16">p. 230</a>: of listening to reason, for she at once exclaimed ‘Ach[!]</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_17">p. 239</a>: Karen, Nils’[Nil’s] daughter, left me one evening in 1669,</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_18">p. 241</a>: and the Frenchman[Frenchmen] was conveyed to the Dark Church,</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_19">p. 241</a>: through Uldrich[Udrich] Christian Gyldenlöve. Gyldenlöve</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_20">p. 246</a>: her word moreover, and I so arranged it[at] six weeks</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_21">p. 259</a>: In the same year, 1671, Karen, Nils’[Nil’s] daughter, left</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_22">p. 264</a>: silent, not if I were standing before the King’s bailiff![?][’]</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_23">p. 268</a>: in the time of Karen, Nils’[Nil’s] daughter. Chresten, who</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_24">p. 272</a>: In the same year Karen, Nils’[Nil’s] daughter, left me for</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_25">p. 276</a>: and a half after her marriage, and that suddenly, suspicion[suspipicion]</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_26">p. 300</a>: Supper in the Queen’s church[[E65]]. Once, when she came</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_27">p. 311</a>: [60] In[in] the margin is added: ‘The sorrow manifested by many would far</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_28">p. 311</a>: [117] In the margin is added: ‘1666. While Karen, Nils’[Nil’s] daughter, waited</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_29">p. 311</a>: Nils’[Nil’s] daughter. When anything gave her satisfaction, she would take</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_30">p. 311</a>: to set Copenhagen[Copenagen] on fire in divers places, and also the</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_31">p. 311</a>: Autobiography[Autobiograpy] of Leonora as ‘notre vieillard;’ he was a faithful</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_32">p. 311</a>: which placed it at the disposal of Hannibal Sehested[Schested] when he</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_33">p. 311</a>: [E38] ‘Anno 1666, soon after Karen, Nils’[Nil’s] daughter, came to me,</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_34">p. 311</a>: [E51] Hannibal Sehested[Schested] was dead already in 1666, as Leonora</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_35">p. 311</a>: disposed to Hannibal Sehested[Schested].</li>
+<li><a href="#corr_36">p. 311</a>: entitled ‘Martilogium (for martyrologium[matyrologium]) der Heiligen’ (Strasburg</li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF LEONORA CHRISTINA***</p>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Memoirs of Leonora Christina, by Leonora
+Christina Ulfeldt, Translated by F. E. Bunnètt
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Memoirs of Leonora Christina
+       Daughter of Christian IV. of Denmark; Written During Her Imprisonment in the Blue Tower at Copenhagen 1663-1685
+
+
+Author: Leonora Christina Ulfeldt
+
+
+
+Release Date: November 24, 2011  [eBook #38128]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF LEONORA CHRISTINA***
+
+
+E-text prepared by the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Obvious typographical errors have been corrected, but
+      otherwise the original spelling has generally been retained,
+      even where several different spellings have been used to
+      refer to the same person.
+
+      The printed book contained footnotes and endnotes. The
+      endnotes have been treated as footnotes, and marked with
+      anchors prefixed by E, as in [E01]. When one endnote is
+      referenced twice, the second occurence is marked by adding
+      a b, as in [E12b], and the text of the endnote is repeated
+      in the appropriate place.
+
+      The printed book contained a few features, such as Greek
+      text and illustrations, that could not be reproduced in this
+      format. These have been marked in the text using {curly
+      braces}.
+
+      A list of corrections is at the end of this e-book.
+
+
+
+
+
+MEMOIRS OF  LEONORA CHRISTINA
+
+Daughter of Christian IV. of Denmark
+
+Written During Her Imprisonment in the Blue Tower at Copenhagen
+1663-1685
+
+Translated by F. E. Bunnett
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+London
+Henry S. King & Co., 65 Cornhill
+1872
+
+London: Printed by
+Spottiswoode and Co., New-Street Square
+and Parliament Street
+
+All rights reserved
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+In placing the present translation of LEONORA CHRISTINA ULFELDT'S
+Memoirs before the English reading public, a few words are due from
+the Publishers, in order to explain the relation between this edition
+and those which have been brought out in Denmark and in Germany.
+
+The original autograph manuscript of Leonora Christina's record of
+her sufferings in her prison, written between the years 1674 and
+1685, belongs to her descendant the Austrian Count Joh. Waldstein,
+and it was discovered only a few years ago. It was then, at the
+desire of Count Waldstein, brought to Copenhagen by the Danish
+Minister at Vienna, M. Falbe, in order that its authenticity might be
+thoroughly verified by comparison with documents preserved in the
+Danish archives and libraries, and known to be in the hand-writing of
+the illustrious authoress. When the existence of this interesting
+historic and literary relic had become known in Denmark, a desire to
+see it published was naturally expressed on all sides, and to this
+the noble owner most readily acceded.
+
+Thus the first Danish edition came to light in 1869, promoted in
+every way by Count Waldstein. The editor was Mr. Sophus Birket-Smith,
+assistant librarian of the University Library at Copenhagen, who
+enriched the edition with a historical introduction and copious
+notes. A second Danish edition appeared a few months later; and in
+1871 a German translation of the Memoir was edited by M. Ziegler,
+with a new introduction and notes, founded partly on the first Danish
+edition, partly on other printed sources, to which were added
+extracts from some papers found in the family archives of Count
+Waldstein, and which were supposed to possess the interest of
+novelty.
+
+The applause with which this edition was received in Germany
+suggested the idea of an English version, and it was at first
+intended merely to translate M. Ziegler's book into English. During
+the progress of the work, however, it was found preferable to adopt
+the second Danish edition as the basis of the English edition. The
+translation which had been made from M. Ziegler's German, has been
+carefully compared with the Danish original, so as to remove any
+defects arising from the use of the German translation, and give it
+the same value as a translation made direct from the Danish; a new
+introduction and notes have been added, for which the Danish editor,
+Mr. Birket-Smith has supplied the materials; and instead of the
+fragments of Ulfeldt's Apology and of an extract from Leonora
+Christina's Autobiography found in the German edition, a complete
+translation of the Autobiography to the point where Leonora's Memoir
+of her sufferings in prison takes up the thread of the narrative, has
+been inserted, made from the original French text, recently published
+by Mr. S. Birket-Smith. As a matter of course the preface of Count
+Waldstein, which appears in this edition, is the one prefixed to the
+Danish edition. The manuscript itself of the record of Leonora
+Christina's sufferings in prison was commenced in 1674, and was at
+first intended to commemorate only what had happened during the
+preceding ten years of her captivity; it was afterwards extended to
+embrace the whole period down to 1685, and subjected to a revision
+which resulted in numerous additions and alterations. As, however,
+these do not seem to have been properly worked in by the authoress
+herself, the Memoir is here rendered, as in the Danish edition, in
+its original, more perfect shape, and the subsequent alterations made
+the subject of foot notes.
+
+
+
+
+ PREFACE
+ TO
+ THE DANISH EDITION.
+
+
+When, in the summer of 1858, I visited the graves of my Danish
+ancestors of the family of Ulfeldt, in the little village church at
+Quaerndrup, near the Castle of Egeskov, on the island of Fyn, I
+resolved to honour the memory of my pious ancestress Leonora
+Christina, and thus fulfil the duty of a descendant by publishing
+this autograph manuscript which had come to me amongst the heirlooms
+left by my father.
+
+It is well known that the last male representative of the family of
+Ulfeldt, the Chancellor of the Court and Realm of Her Majesty the
+Empress Maria Theresia, had only two daughters. One of them,
+Elizabeth, married Georg Christian, Count Waldstein, while the
+younger married Count Thun.
+
+Out of special affection for her younger son Emanuel (my late
+father), my grandmother bequeathed all that referred to the Ulfeldts
+to him, and the manuscript which I now--in consequence of requests
+from various quarters, also from high places--give to publicity by
+the learned assistance of Mr. Sophus Birket-Smith, thus came to me
+through direct descent from her father:
+
+'Corfitz, Count of Ulfeldt of the holy Roman Empire, Lord of the
+lordships Koeltz-Jenikau, Hof-Kazof, Broedlich, Odaslowitz, and the
+fief Zinltsch, Knight of the Golden Vliess, First Treasurer of the
+hereditary lands in Bohemia, Ambassador at the Ottoman Porte,
+afterwards Chancellor of the Court and the Empire, sworn Privy
+Councillor and first Lord Steward of his Imperial and Royal Majesty
+Carolus VI., as well as of His Imperial Roman and Royal Majesty of
+Hungary, Bohemia,' &c.
+
+We add: the highly honoured paternal guide of Her Majesty the Queen
+Empress Maria Theresia, of glorious memory, during the first year of
+her government, until the time when the gifted Prince Kaunitz, whose
+genius sometimes even was too much for this, morally noble lady,
+became her successor.
+
+I possess more than eleven imposing, closely written folio volumes,
+which contain the manuscripts of the Chancellor of the Empire, his
+negociations with the Sublime Porte, afterwards with the
+States-General of the Netherlands, as well as the ministerial
+protocols from the whole time that he held the office of Imperial
+Chancellor; all of which prove his great industry and love of order,
+while the original letters and annotations of his exalted mistress,
+which are inserted in these same volumes, testify to the sincere,
+almost childlike confidence with which she honoured him.
+
+But this steady and circumspect statesman was the direct grandson of
+the restless and proud
+
+CORFITZ, first Count of Ulfeldt of the Roman Empire, High Steward of
+the Realm in Denmark, &c., and of his devoted and gifted wife LEONORA
+CHRISTINA, through their son
+
+LEO, Imperial Count Ulfeldt, Privy Councillor, Field-marshal, and
+Viceroy in Catalonia of the Emperor Carl VI., and his wife, a born
+Countess of Zinzendorf.
+
+I preserved, therefore with great care this manuscript, as well as
+all other relics and little objects which had belonged to my Danish
+ancestress, whose exalted character and sufferings are so highly
+calculated to inspire sympathy, interest, and reverence. Amongst
+these objects are several writings, such as fragments of poems,
+prayers, needlework executed in prison (some embroidered with hair of
+a fair colour); a christening robe with cap worked in gold, probably
+used at the christening of her children; a very fine Amulet of
+Christian IV. in blue enamel, and many portraits; amongst others the
+original picture in oil of which a copy precedes the title page, &c.
+&c.
+
+Considering that the manuscript has been handed down directly from my
+ancestors from generation to generation in direct line, I could not
+personally have any doubt as to its genuineness. Nevertheless I
+yielded to the suggestions of others, in order to have the
+authenticity of the manuscript thoroughly tested. In what way this
+was done will be seen from the Introduction of the Editor.
+
+Though the final verdict of history may not yet have been given on
+Corfitz Ulfeldt, yet--tempus omnia sanat--yon ominous pillar, which
+was to perpetuate the memory of his crime into eternity, has been put
+aside as rubbish and left to oblivion. Noble in forgetting and
+pardoning, the great nation of the North has given a bright example
+to those who still refuse to grant to Albert, Duke of Friedland--the
+great general who saved the Empire from the danger that threatened it
+from the North--the place which this hero ought to occupy in the
+Walhalla at Vienna.
+
+But as to the fiery temper of Corfitz and the mysterious springs
+which govern the deeds and thoughts of mankind, it may be permitted
+to me, his descendant, to cherish the belief, which is almost
+strengthened into a conviction, that a woman so highly gifted, of so
+noble sentiments, as Leonora appears to us, would never have been
+able to cling with a love so true, and so enduring through all the
+changes of life, to a man who was unworthy of it.
+
+                                    JOH. COUNT WALDSTEIN.
+
+  Cairo: December 8, 1868.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                         PAGE
+
+ INTRODUCTION                                               1
+
+ AUTOBIOGRAPHY                                             31
+
+ A RECORD OF THE SUFFERINGS OF THE IMPRISONED COUNTESS:--
+
+   PREFACE (TO MY CHILDREN)                                87
+
+   A REMINISCENCE OF ALL THAT OCCURRED TO ME, LEONORA
+     CHRISTINA, IN THE BLUE TOWER, FROM AUGUST 8 OF THE
+     YEAR 1663, TO JUNE 11 OF THE YEAR 1674               102
+
+
+
+
+ MEMOIRS
+ OF
+ LEONORA CHRISTINA.
+
+
+
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+Amongst the women celebrated in history, LEONORA CHRISTINA, the
+heroine as well as the authoress of the Memoirs which form the
+subject of this volume, occupies a conspicuous place, as one of the
+noblest examples of every womanly virtue and accomplishment,
+displayed under the most trying vicissitudes of fortune. Born the
+daughter of a King, married to one of the ablest statesmen of his
+time, destined, as it seemed, to shine in the undisturbed lustre of
+position and great qualities, she had to spend nearly twenty-two
+years in a prison, in the forced company--more cruel to her than
+solitary confinement--of male and female gaolers of the lowest order,
+and for a long time deprived of every means of rendering herself
+independent of these surroundings by intellectual occupation. She had
+to suffer alone, and innocently, for her husband's crimes; whatever
+these were, she had no part in them, and she endured persecution
+because she would not forsake him in his misfortune. Leonora
+Christina was the victim of despotism guided by personal animosity,
+and she submitted with a Christian meekness and forbearance which
+would be admirable in any, but which her exalted station and her
+great mental qualities bring out in doubly strong relief.
+
+It is to these circumstances, which render the fate of Leonora so
+truly tragic, as well as to the fact that we have her own authentic
+and trustworthy account before us, that the principal charm of this
+record is due. Besides this, it affords many incidental glimpses of
+the customs and habits of the time, nor is it without its purely
+historical interest. Leonora and her husband, Corfits Ulfeldt, were
+intimately connected with the principal political events in the North
+of Europe at their time; even the more minute circumstances of their
+life have, therefore, a certain interest.
+
+No wonder that the history of this illustrious couple has formed, and
+still forms, the theme both of laborious scientific researches and of
+poetical compositions. Amongst the latter we may here mention in
+passing a well-known novel by Rousseau de la Valette,[01] because it
+has had the undeserved honour of being treated by a modern writer as
+an historical source, to the great detriment of his composition.
+Documents which have originated from these two personages are of
+course of great value. Besides letters and public documents, there
+exist several accounts written by both Corfits Ulfeldt and Leonora
+referring to their own life and actions. Ulfeldt published in 1652 a
+defence of his political conduct, and composed, shortly before his
+death, another, commonly called the 'Apology of Ulfeldt,' which has
+not yet been printed entirely, but of which an extract was published
+in 1695 in the supplement of the English edition of Rousseau de la
+Valette's book. Some extracts from an incomplete copy discovered by
+Count Waldstein in 1870, in the family archives at the Castle of
+Palota, were published with the German edition of Leonora's Memoir;
+complete copies exist in Copenhagen and elsewhere. Leonora Christina,
+who was an accomplished writer, has composed at least four partial
+accounts of her own life. One of them, referring to a journey in
+1656, to be mentioned hereafter, has been printed long ago; of
+another, which treated of her and Ulfeldt's imprisonment at Bornholm,
+no copy has yet been discovered. The third is her Autobiography,
+carried down to 1673, of which an English version follows this
+Introduction; it was written in the Blue Tower, in the form of a
+letter to the Danish antiquarian, Otto Sperling, jun., who wished to
+make use of it for his work, 'De feminis doctis.'[02]
+
+ [01] _Le Comte d'Ulfeld, Grand Maistre de Danemarc._ _Nouvelle
+ historique_, i.-ii. Paris, 1678. 8vo. An English translation, with
+ a supplement, appeared 1695: _The Life of Count Ulfeldt, Great
+ Master of Denmark, and of the Countess Eleonora his Wife._ Done out
+ of French. With a supplement. London. 1695. 8vo.
+
+ Another novel by the same author, called _Casimir King of Poland_,
+ is perhaps better known in this country, through a translation by
+ F. Spence in vol. ii. of _Modern Novels_, 1692.
+
+ [02] It is by a slip of memory that Mr. Birket Smith, in his first
+ Danish edition of Leonora Christina's memoir of her life in prison,
+ describes this work under the name of _De feminis eruditis_.
+
+About a century ago a so-called Autobiography of Leonora was
+published in Copenhagen, but it was easily proved to be a forgery; in
+fact, the original of her own work existed in the Danish archives,
+and had been described by the historian Andreas Hoeier. It has now
+been lost, it is supposed, in the fire which destroyed the Castle of
+Christiansborg in 1794, but a complete copy exists in Copenhagen, as
+well as several extracts in Latin; another short extract in French
+belongs to Count Waldstein. Finally, Leonora Christina wrote the
+memoir of her sufferings in the prison of the Blue Tower from
+1663-1685, of which the existence was unknown until discovered by
+Count Waldstein, and given to the public in the manner indicated in
+the Preface.
+
+In introducing these memoirs to the English public, a short sketch of
+the historical events and the persons to whom they refer may not be
+unwelcome, particularly as Leonora herself touches only very lightly
+on them, and principally describes her own personal life.
+
+_Leonora Christina_ was a daughter of _King Christian IV._ of Denmark
+and _Kirstine Munk_. His Queen, Anna Catherine, born a princess of
+Brandenburg, died in 1612, leaving three princes (four other children
+died early), and in 1615 the King contracted a morganatic marriage
+with Kirstine Munk, a lady of an ancient and illustrious noble
+family. Leonora was born July 18 (new style), 1621, at the Castle of
+Fredriksborg, so well known to all who have visited Denmark, which
+the King had built twenty miles north of Copenhagen, in a beautiful
+part of the country, surrounded by smiling lakes and extensive
+forests. But little is known of her childhood beyond what she tells
+herself in her Autobiography. Already in her eighth year she was
+promised to her future husband, Corfits Ulfeldt, and in 1636 the
+wedding was celebrated with great splendour, Leonora being then
+fifteen years old. The family of Ulfeldt has been known since the
+close of the fourteenth century. Corfits' father had been Chancellor
+of the Realm, and somewhat increased the family possessions, though
+he sold the ancient seat of the family, Ulfeldtsholm, in Fyen, to
+Lady Ellen Marsvin, Kirstine Munk's mother. He had seventeen
+children, of whom Corfits was the seventh; and so far Leonora made
+only a poor marriage. But her husband's great talents and greater
+ambition made up for this defect. Of his youth nothing is known with
+any certainty, except that he travelled abroad, as other young
+noblemen of his time, studied at Padua, and acquired considerable
+proficiency in foreign languages.[03] He became a favourite of
+Christian IV., at whose Court he had every opportunity for displaying
+his social talents. At the marriage of the elected successor to the
+throne, the King's eldest son, Christian, with the Princess Magdalene
+Sibylle of Saxony, in 1634, Corfits Ulfeldt acted as marechal to the
+special Ambassador Count d'Avaux, whom Louis XIII. had sent to
+Copenhagen on that occasion, in which situation Ulfeldt won golden
+opinions,[04] and he was one of the twelve noblemen whom the King on
+the wedding-day made Knights of the Elephant. After a visit to Paris
+in 1635, in order to be cured of a wound in the leg which the Danish
+physicians could not heal, he obtained the sanction of the King for
+his own marriage with Leonora, which was solemnised at the Castle of
+Copenhagen, on October 9, 1636, with as much splendour as those of
+the princes and princesses. Leonora was the favourite daughter of
+Christian IV., and as far as royal favour could ensure happiness, it
+might be said to be in store for the newly-married pair.
+
+ [03] La Valette's account of his participation in the Thirty Years'
+ War is entirely fictitious, as almost all that he tells of
+ Ulfeldt's travels, &c.
+
+ [04] See _Caroli Ogerii Ephemerides sive, Iter Danicum, Svecicum,
+ Polonicum, &c._ Paris, 1656. 8vo. p. 36, 37, 40, by D'Avaux's
+ secretary, Ogier.
+
+As we have stated, Ulfeldt was a poor nobleman; and it is
+characteristic of them both that one of her first acts was to ask him
+about his debts, which he could not but have incurred living as he
+had done, and to pay them by selling her jewels and ornaments, to the
+amount of 36,000 dollars, or more than 7,000_l._ in English
+money--then a very large sum. But the King's favour soon procured him
+what he wanted; he was made a member of the Great Council, Governor
+of Copenhagen, and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
+
+He executed several diplomatic missions satisfactorily; and when, in
+1641, he was sent to Vienna as special Ambassador, the Emperor of
+Germany, Ferdinand III., made him a Count of the German Empire.
+Finally, in 1643, he was made Lord High Steward of Denmark, the
+highest dignity and most responsible office in the kingdom. He was
+now at the summit of power and influence, and if he had used his
+talents and opportunities in the interests of his country, he might
+have earned the everlasting gratitude of his King and his people.
+
+But he was not a great man, though he was a clever and ambitious man.
+He accumulated enormous wealth, bought extensive landed estates,
+spent considerable sums in purchasing jewels and costly furniture,
+and lived in a splendid style; but it was all at the cost of the
+country. In order to enrich himself, he struck base coin (which
+afterwards was officially reduced to its proper value, 8 per cent.
+below the nominal value), and used probably other unlawful means for
+this purpose, while the Crown was in the greatest need of money. At
+the same time he neglected the defences of the country in a shameful
+manner, and when the Swedish Government, in December 1643, suddenly
+ordered its army, which then stood in Germany, engaged in the Thirty
+Years' War, to attack Denmark without any warning, there were no
+means of stopping its victorious progress. In vain the veteran King
+collected a few vessels and compelled the far more numerous Swedish
+fleet to fly, after a furious battle near Femern, where he himself
+received twenty-three wounds, and where two of Ulfeldt's brothers
+fell fighting at his side; there was no army in the land, because
+Corfits, at the head of the nobility, had refused the King the
+necessary supplies. And, although the peace which Ulfeldt concluded
+with Sweden and Holland at Broemsebro, in 1645, might have been still
+more disastrous than it was, if the negotiation had been entrusted to
+less skilful hands, yet there was but too much truth in the
+reproachful words of the King, when, after ratifying the treaties, he
+tossed them to Corfits saying, 'There you have them, such as you have
+made them!'
+
+From this time the King began to lose his confidence in Ulfeldt,
+though the latter still retained his important offices. In the
+following year he went to Holland and to France on a diplomatic
+mission, on which occasion he was accompanied by Leonora. Everywhere
+their personal qualities, their relationship to the sovereign, and
+the splendour of their appearance, procured them the greatest
+attention and the most flattering reception. While at the Hague
+Leonora gave birth to a son, whom the States-General offered to grant
+a pension for life of a thousand florins, which, however, Ulfeldt
+wisely refused. In Paris they were loaded with presents; and in the
+Memoirs of Madame Langloise de Motteville on the history of Anna of
+Austria (ed. of Amsterdam, 1783, ii. 19-22) there is a striking
+_recit_ of the appearance and reception of Ulfeldt and Leonora at
+the French Court. On their way home Leonora took an opportunity of
+making a short trip to London, which capital she wished to see, while
+her husband waited for her in the Netherlands.
+
+If, however, this journey brought Ulfeldt and his wife honours and
+presents on the part of foreigners, it did not give satisfaction at
+home. The diplomatic results of the mission were not what the King
+had hoped, and he even refused to receive Ulfeldt on his return. Soon
+the turning-point in his career arrived. In 1648 King Christian IV.
+died, under circumstances which for a short time concentrated
+extraordinary power in Ulfeldt's hands, but of which he did not make
+a wise use.
+
+Denmark was then still an elective monarchy, and the nobles had
+availed themselves of this and other circumstances to free themselves
+from all burdens, and at the same time to deprive both the Crown and
+the other Estates of their constitutional rights to a very great
+extent. All political power was virtually vested in the Council of
+the Realm, which consisted exclusively of nobles, and there remained
+for the king next to nothing, except a general supervision of the
+administration, and the nomination of the ministers. Every successive
+king had been obliged to purchase his election by fresh concessions
+to the nobles, and the sovereign was little more than the president
+of an aristocratic republic. Christian IV. had caused his eldest son
+Christian to be elected successor in his own lifetime; but this
+prince died in 1647, and when the King himself died in 1648, the
+throne was vacant.
+
+As Lord High Steward, Ulfeldt became president of the regency, and
+could exercise great influence on the election. He did not exert
+himself to bring this about very quickly, but there is no ground for
+believing that he meditated the election either of himself or of his
+brother-in-law, Count Valdemar, as some have suggested. The children
+of Kirstine Munk being the offspring of a morganatic marriage, had
+not of course equal rank with princes and princesses; but in
+Christian IV.'s lifetime they received the same honours, and Ulfeldt
+made use of the interregnum to obtain the passage of a decree by the
+Council, according them rank and honours equal with the princes of
+the royal house.
+
+But as the nobles were in nowise bound to choose a prince of the same
+family, or even a prince at all, this decree cannot be interpreted as
+evidence of a design to promote the election of Count Valdemar. The
+overtures of the Duke of Gottorp, who attempted to bribe Ulfeldt to
+support his candidature, were refused by him, at least according to
+his own statement. But Ulfeldt did make use of his position to extort
+a more complete surrender of the royal power into the hands of the
+nobility than any king had yet submitted to, and the new King,
+Fredrik III., was compelled to promise, amongst other things, to fill
+up any vacancy amongst the ministers with one out of three candidates
+proposed by the Council of the Realm. The new King, Fredrik III.,
+Christian IV.'s second son, had never been friendly to Ulfeldt. This
+last action of the High Steward did not improve the feelings with
+which he regarded him, and when the coronation had taken place (for
+which Ulfeldt advanced the money), he expressed his thoughts at the
+banquet in these words: 'Corfitz, you have to-day bound my hands; who
+knows, who can bind yours in return?' The new Queen, a Saxon
+princess, hated Ulfeldt and the children of Kirstine Munk on account
+of their pretensions, but particularly Leonora Christina, whose
+beauty and talents she heartily envied.
+
+Nevertheless Ulfeldt retained his high offices for some time, and in
+1649 he went again to Holland on a diplomatic mission, accompanied by
+his wife. It is remarkable that the question which formed the
+principal subject of the negotiation on that occasion was one which
+has found its proper solution only in our days--namely, that of a
+redemption of the Sound dues. This impost, levied by the Danish Crown
+on all vessels passing the Sound, weighed heavily on the shipping
+interest, and frequently caused disagreement between Denmark and the
+governments mostly interested in the Baltic trade, particularly
+Sweden and the Dutch republic.
+
+It was with especial regard to the Sound dues that the Dutch
+Government was constantly interfering in the politics of the North,
+with a view of preventing Denmark becoming too powerful; for which
+purpose it always fomented discord between Denmark and Sweden, siding
+now with the one, now with the other, but rather favouring the design
+of Sweden to conquer the ancient Danish provinces, Skaane, &c., which
+were east of the Sound, and which now actually belong to Sweden.
+Corfits Ulfeldt calculated that, if the Dutch could be satisfied on
+the point of the Sound dues, their unfavourable interference might be
+got rid of; and for this purpose he proposed to substitute an annual
+payment by the Dutch Government for the payment of the dues by the
+individual ships. Christian IV. had never assented to this idea, and
+of course the better course would have been the one adopted in
+1857--namely, the redemption of the dues by all States at once for a
+proportionate consideration paid once for all. Still the leading
+thought was true, and worthy of a great statesman.
+
+Ulfeldt concluded a treaty with Holland according to his views, but
+it met with no favour at Copenhagen, and on his return he found that
+in his absence measures had been taken to restrict his great power;
+his conduct of affairs was freely criticised, and his enemies had
+even caused the nomination of a committee to investigate his past
+administration, more particularly his financial measures.
+
+At the same time the new Court refused Leonora Christina and the
+other children of Kirstine Munk the princely honours which they had
+hitherto enjoyed. Amongst other marks of distinction, Christian IV.
+had granted his wife and her children the title of Counts and
+Countesses of Slesvig and Holstein, but Fredrik III. declined to
+acknowledge it, although it could have no political importance, being
+nothing but an empty title, as neither Kirstine Munk nor her children
+had anything whatever to do with either of these principalities.
+Ulfeldt would not suffer himself to be as it were driven from his
+high position by these indications of disfavour on the part of the
+King and the Queen (the latter was really the moving spring in all
+this), but he resolved to show his annoyance by not going to Court,
+where his wife did not now receive the usual honours.
+
+This conduct only served to embolden those who desired to oust him
+from his lucrative offices, not because they were better patriots,
+but because they hoped to succeed him. For this purpose a false
+accusation was brought against Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina, to the
+effect that they had the intention of poisoning the King and the
+Queen. Information on this plot was given to the Queen personally, by
+a certain Dina Vinhowers, a widow of questionable reputation, who
+declared that she had an illicit connection with Ulfeldt, and that
+she had heard a conversation on the subject between Corfits Ulfeldt
+and Leonora, when on a clandestine visit in the High Steward's house.
+She was prompted by a certain Walter, originally a son of a
+wheelwright, who by bravery in the war had risen from the ranks to
+the position of a colonel, and who in his turn was evidently a tool
+in the hands of other parties. The information was graciously
+received at Court; but Dina, who, as it seems, was a person of weak
+or unsound mind, secretly, without the knowledge of her employers,
+warned Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina of some impending danger, thus
+creating a seemingly inextricable confusion.
+
+At length Ulfeldt demanded a judicial investigation, which was at
+once set on foot, but in which, of course, he occupied the position
+of a defendant on account of Dina's information. In the end Dina was
+condemned to death and Walter was exiled. But the statements of the
+different persons implicated, and particularly of Dina herself at
+different times, were so conflicting, that the matter was really
+never entirely cleared up, and though Ulfeldt was absolved of all
+guilt, his enemies did their best in order that some suspicion might
+remain. If Ulfeldt had been wise, he might probably have turned this
+whole affair to his own advantage; but he missed the opportunity.
+Utterly absurd as the accusation was, he seems to have felt very
+keenly the change of his position, and on the advice of Leonora, who
+did not doubt that some other expedient would be tried by his
+enemies, perhaps with more success, he resolved to leave Denmark
+altogether.
+
+After having sent away the most valuable part of his furniture and
+movable property, and placed abroad his amassed capital, he left
+Copenhagen secretly and at night, on July 14, 1651, three days after
+the execution of Dina. The gates of the fortress were closed at a
+certain hour every evening, but he had a key made for the eastern
+gate, and ere sunrise he and Leonora, who was disguised as a valet,
+were on board a vessel on their way to Holland. The consequences of
+this impolitic flight were most disastrous. He had not laid down his
+high offices, much less rendered an account of his administration;
+nothing was more natural than to suppose that he wished to avoid an
+investigation. A few weeks later a royal summons was issued, calling
+upon him to appear at the next meeting of the Diet, and answer for
+his conduct; his offices, and the fiefs with which he had been
+beneficed, were given to others, and an embargo was laid on his
+landed estates.
+
+Leonora Christina describes in her Autobiography how Ulfeldt
+meanwhile first went to Holland, and thence to Sweden, where Queen
+Christina, who certainly was not favourably disposed to Denmark,
+received Ulfeldt with marked distinction, and promised him her
+protection. But she does not tell how Ulfeldt here used every
+opportunity for stirring up enmity against Denmark, both in Sweden
+itself and in other countries, whose ambassadors he tried to bring
+over to his ideas. On this painful subject there can be no doubt
+after the publication of so many authentic State Papers of that time,
+amongst which we may mention the reports of Whitelock, the envoy of
+Cromwell, to whom Ulfeldt represented that Denmark was too weak to
+resist an attack, and that the British Government might easily obtain
+the abolition of the Sound dues by war.
+
+It seems, however, as if Ulfeldt did all this merely to terrify the
+Danish King into a reconciliation with him on terms honourable and
+advantageous to the voluntarily exiled magnate. Representations were
+several times made with such a view by the Swedish Government, and in
+1656 Leonora Christina herself undertook a journey to Copenhagen, in
+order to arrange the matter. But the Danish Government was
+inaccessible to all such attempts.
+
+This attitude was intelligible enough, for not only had Ulfeldt left
+Denmark in the most unceremonious manner, but in 1652 he published in
+Stralsund a defence against the accusations of which he had been the
+subject, full of gross insults against the King; and in the following
+year he had issued an insolent protest against the royal summons to
+appear and defend himself before the Diet, declaring himself a
+Swedish subject. But, above all, the influence of the Queen was too
+great to allow of any arrangement with Ulfeldt. The King was entirely
+led by her; she, from her German home, was filled with the most
+extravagant ideas of absolute despotism, and hated the free speech
+and the independent spirit prevailing among the Danish nobility, of
+which Ulfeldt in that respect was a true type. Leonora Christina was
+compelled to return in 1656, without even seeing the King, and as a
+fugitive. It is of this journey that she has given a Danish account,
+besides the description in the Autobiography.
+
+It may be questioned whether it would not have been wise, if
+possible, to conciliate this dangerous man; but at any rate it was
+not done, and Ulfeldt was, no doubt, still more exasperated. Queen
+Christina had then resigned, and her successor, Carl Gustav, shortly
+after engaged in a war in Poland. The Danish Government, foolishly
+overrating its strength, took the opportunity for declaring war
+against Sweden, in the hope of regaining some of the territory lost
+in 1645. But Carl Gustav, well knowing that the Poles could not carry
+the war into Sweden, immediately turned his whole force against
+Denmark, where he met with next to no resistance. Ulfeldt was then
+living at Barth, in Pommerania, an estate which he held in mortgage
+for large sums of money advanced to the Swedish Government. Carl
+Gustav summoned Ulfeldt to follow him, and Ulfeldt obeyed the summons
+against the advice of Leonora Christina, who certainly did not desire
+her native country to be punished for the wrongs, if such they were,
+inflicted upon her by the Court.
+
+The war had been declared on June 1, 1657; in August Ulfeldt issued a
+proclamation to the nobility in Jutland, calling on them to transfer
+their allegiance to the Swedish King. In the subsequent winter a most
+unusually severe frost enabled the Swedish army to cross the Sounds
+and Belts on the ice, Ulfeldt assisting its progress by persuading
+the commander of the fortress of Nakskov to surrender without
+resistance; and in February the Danish Government had to accept such
+conditions of peace as could be obtained from the Swedish King, who
+had halted a couple of days' march from Copenhagen. By this peace
+Denmark surrendered all her provinces to the east of the Sound
+(Skaane, &c.), which constituted one-third of the ancient Danish
+territory, and which have ever since belonged to Sweden, besides her
+fleet, &c.
+
+But the greatest humiliation was that the negotiation on the Swedish
+side was entrusted to Ulfeldt, who did not fail to extort from the
+Danish Crown the utmost that the neutral powers would allow. For
+himself he obtained restitution of his estates, freedom to live in
+Denmark unmolested, and a large indemnity for loss of income of his
+estates since his flight in 1651. The King of Sweden also rewarded
+him with the title of a Count of Solvitsborg and with considerable
+estates in the provinces recently wrested from Denmark. Ulfeldt
+himself went to reside at Malmo, the principal town in Skaane,
+situated on the Sound, just opposite Copenhagen, and here he was
+joined by Leonora Christina.
+
+In her Autobiography Leonora does not touch on the incidents of the
+war, but she describes how her anxiety for her husband's safety did
+not allow her to remain quietly at Barth, and how she was afterwards
+called to her mother's sick-bed, which she had to leave in order to
+nurse her husband, who fell ill at Malmo. We may here state that
+Kirstine Munk had fallen into disgrace, when Leonora was still a
+child, on account of her flagrant infidelity to the King, her
+paramour being a German Count of Solms. Kirstine Munk left the Court
+voluntarily in 1629,[05] shortly after the birth of a child, whom the
+King would not acknowledge as his own; and after having stayed with
+her mother for a short time, she took up her residence at the old
+manor of Boller, in North Jutland, where she remained until her death
+in 1658.
+
+ [05] La Valette's account of a lawsuit instituted by the King
+ against Kirstine Munk, in which she was defended by Ulfeldt--of
+ Ulfeldt's duel with Hannibal Sehested, afterwards his
+ brother-in-law, &c.--is entirely fictitious. No such things took
+ place.
+
+Various attempts were made to reconcile Christian IV. to her, but he
+steadily refused, and with very good reason: he was doubtless well
+aware that Kirstine Munk, as recently published diplomatic documents
+prove, had betrayed his political secrets to Gustav Adolf, the King
+of Sweden, and he considered her presence at Court very dangerous.
+Her son-in-law was now openly in the service of another Swedish king,
+but the friendship between them was not of long duration. Ulfeldt
+first incurred the displeasure of Carl Gustav by heading the
+opposition of the nobility in the newly acquired provinces against
+certain imposts laid on them by the Swedish King, to which they had
+not been liable under Danish rule. Then other causes of disagreement
+arose. Carl Gustav, regretting that he had concluded a peace, when in
+all probability he might have conquered the whole of Denmark,
+recommenced the war, and laid siege to Copenhagen. But the Danish
+people now rose as one man; foreign assistance was obtained; the
+Swedes were everywhere beaten; and if the Dutch, who were bound by
+treaty to assist Denmark, had not refused their co-operation in
+transferring the Danish troops across the Sound, all the lost
+provinces might easily have been regained.
+
+The inhabitants in some of these provinces also rose against their
+new rulers. Amongst others, the citizens of Malmo, where Ulfeldt at
+the time resided, entered into a conspiracy to throw off the Swedish
+dominion; but it was betrayed, and Ulfeldt was indicated as one of
+the principal instigators, although he himself had accepted their
+forced homage to the Swedish King, as his deputy. Very probably he
+had thought that, if he took a part in the rising, he might, if this
+were successful, return to Denmark, having as it were thus wiped out
+his former crimes, but having also shown his countrymen what a
+terrible foe he could be. As it was, Denmark was prevented by her own
+allies from regaining her losses, and Ulfeldt was placed in custody
+in Malmo, by order of Carl Gustav, in order that his conduct might be
+subjected to a rigorous examination.
+
+Ulfeldt was then apparently seized with a remarkable malady, a kind
+of apoplexy, depriving him of speech, and Leonora Christina conducted
+his defence. She wrote three lengthy, vigorous, and skilful replies
+to the charges, which still exist in the originals. He was acquitted,
+or rather escaped by a verdict of Not Proven; but as conscience makes
+cowards, he contrived to escape before the verdict was given. Leonora
+Christina describes all this in her Autobiography, according to which
+Ulfeldt was to go to Lubeck, while she would go to Copenhagen, and
+try to put matters straight there. Ulfeldt, however, changed his plan
+without her knowledge, and also repaired to Copenhagen, where they
+were both arrested and sent to the Castle of Hammershuus, on the
+island of Bornholm in the Baltic, an ancient fortress, now a most
+picturesque ruin, perched at the edge of perpendicular rocks,
+overhanging the sea, and almost surrounded by it.
+
+The Autobiography relates circumstantially, and no doubt truthfully,
+the cruel treatment to which they were here subjected by the
+governor, a Major-General Fuchs. After a desperate attempt at escape,
+they were still more rigorously guarded, and at length they had to
+purchase their liberty by surrendering the whole of their property,
+excepting one estate in Fyen. Ulfeldt had to make the most humble
+apologies, and to promise not to leave the island of Fyen, where this
+estate was situated, without special permission. He was also
+compelled to renounce on the part of his wife the title of a Countess
+of Slesvig-Holstein, which Fredrik III. had never acknowledged. She
+never made use of that title afterwards, nor is she generally known
+by it in history. Corfits Ulfeldt being a Count of the German Empire,
+of course Leonora and her children were, and remained, Counts and
+Countesses of Ulfeldt. This compromise was effected in 1661.
+
+Having been conveyed to Copenhagen, Ulfeldt could not obtain an
+audience of the King, and he was obliged, kneeling, to tender renewed
+oath of allegiance before the King's deputies, Count Rantzow, General
+Hans Schack, the Chancellor Redtz, and the Chancellor of the
+Exchequer, Christofer Gabel, all of whom are mentioned in Leonora's
+account of her subsequent prison life.
+
+A few days after, Corfits Ulfeldt and Leonora Christina left
+Copenhagen, which he was never to see again, she only as a prisoner.
+They retired to the estate of Ellensborg, in Fyen, which they had
+still retained. This was the ancient seat of the Ulfeldts, which
+Corfits' father had sold to Ellen Marsvin, Leonora Christina's
+grandmother, and which had come to Leonora through her mother. In the
+meanwhile it had been renamed and rebuilt such as it stands to this
+day, a picturesque pile of buildings in the Elizabethan style. Here
+Ulfeldt might have ended his stormy life in quiet, but his thirst for
+revenge left him no peace. Besides this, a great change had taken
+place in Denmark. The national revival which followed the renewal of
+the war by Carl Gustav in 1658 led to a total change in the form of
+government.
+
+It was indisputable that the selfishness of the nobles, who refused
+to undertake any burden for the defence of the country, was the main
+cause of the great disasters that had befallen Denmark. The abolition
+of their power was loudly called for, and the Queen so cleverly
+turned this feeling to account, that the remedy adopted was not the
+restoration of the other classes of the population to their
+legitimate constitutional influence, but the entire abolition of the
+constitution itself, and the introduction of hereditary, unlimited
+despotism. The title 'hereditary king,' which so often occurs in
+Danish documents and writings from that time, also in Leonora's
+Memoir, has reference to this change. Undoubtedly this was very
+little to Ulfeldt's taste. Already, in the next year after his
+release, 1662, he obtained leave to go abroad for his health. But,
+instead of going to Spaa, as he had pretended, he went to Amsterdam,
+Bruges, and Paris, where he sought interviews with Louis XIV. and the
+French ministers; he also placed himself in communication with the
+Elector of Brandenburg, with a view of raising up enemies against his
+native country. The Elector gave information to the Danish
+Government, whilst apparently lending an ear to Ulfeldt's
+propositions.
+
+When a sufficient body of evidence had been collected, it was laid
+before the High Court of Appeal in Copenhagen, and judgment given in
+his absence, whereby he was condemned to an ignominious death as a
+traitor, his property confiscated, his descendants for ever exiled
+from Denmark, and a large reward offered for his apprehension. The
+sentence is dated July 24, 1663. Meanwhile Ulfeldt had been staying
+with his family at Bruges. One day one of his sons, Christian, saw
+General Fuchs, who had treated his parents so badly at Hammershuus,
+driving through the city in a carriage; immediately he leaped on to
+the carriage and killed Fuchs on the spot. Christian Ulfeldt had to
+fly, but the parents remained in Bruges, where they had many friends.
+
+It was in the following spring, on May 24, 1663, that Leonora
+Christina, much against her own inclination, left her husband--as it
+proved, not to see him again alive. Ulfeldt had on many occasions
+used his wealth in order to gain friends, by lending them
+money--probably the very worst method of all. It is proved that at
+his death he still held bonds for more than 500,000 dollars, or
+100,000_l._, which he had lent to various princes and noblemen, and
+which were never paid. Amongst others he had lent the Pretender,
+afterwards Charles II., a large sum, about 20,000 patacoons, which at
+the time he had raised with some difficulty. He doubted not that the
+King of England, now that he was able to do it, would recognise the
+debt and repay it; and he desired Leonora, who, through her father,
+was cousin of Charles II., once removed, to go to England and claim
+it. She describes this journey in her Autobiography.
+
+The Danish Government, hearing of her presence in England, thought
+that Ulfeldt was there too, or hoped at any rate to obtain possession
+of important documents by arresting her, and demanded her
+extradition. The British Government ostensibly refused, but underhand
+it gave the Danish minister, Petcum, every assistance. Leonora was
+arrested in Dover, where she had arrived on her way back,
+disappointed in the object of her journey. She had obtained enough
+and to spare of fair promises, but no money; and by secretly giving
+her up to the Danish Government, Charles II. in an easy way quitted
+himself of the debt, at the same time that he pleased the King of
+Denmark, without publicly violating political propriety. Leonora's
+account of the whole affair is confirmed in every way by the light
+which other documents throw upon the matter, particularly by the
+extracts contained in the Calendar of State Papers, Domestic Series,
+of the reign of Charles II., 1663-64.
+
+Leonora was now conducted to Copenhagen, where she was confined in
+the Blue Tower--a square tower surmounted by a blue spire, which
+stood in the court of the royal castle, and was used as a prison for
+grave offenders (see the engraving). At this point the Memoir of her
+sufferings in the prison takes up the thread of her history, and we
+need not here dwell upon its contents.
+
+As soon as Ulfeldt heard that the Brandenburg Government had betrayed
+him, and that sentence had been passed on him in Copenhagen, he left
+Bruges. No doubt the arrest of Leonora in England was a still greater
+blow to him. The Spanish Government would probably have surrendered
+him to the Danish authorities, and he had to flee from place to
+place, pursued by Danish agents demanding his extradition, and men
+anxious to earn the reward offered for his apprehension, dead or
+alive. His last abode was Basle, where he passed under a feigned
+name, until a quarrel between one of his sons and a stranger caused
+the discovery of their secret. Not feeling himself safe, Ulfeldt left
+Basle, alone, at night, in a boat descending the Rhine; but he never
+reached his destination. He was labouring under a violent attack on
+the chest, and the night air killed him. He breathed his last in the
+boat, on February 20, 1664. The boatmen, concluding from the gold and
+jewels which they found on him that he was a person of consequence,
+brought the body on shore, and made the matter known in Basle, from
+whence his sons came and buried him under a tree in a field--no one
+knows the spot.
+
+Meanwhile the punishment of beheading and quartering had been
+executed on a wooden effigy in Copenhagen. His palace was demolished,
+and the site laid out in a public square, on which a pillar of
+sandstone was erected as an everlasting monument of his crimes. This
+pillar was taken away in 1842, and the name was changed from Ulfeldt
+Square to Greyfriars Square, as an indication of the forgetting and
+forgiving spirit of the time, or perhaps rather because the treason
+of Ulfeldt was closely connected with the ancient jealousy between
+Danes and Swedes, of which the present generation is so anxious to
+efface the traces.
+
+His children had to seek new homes elsewhere. Christian, who killed
+Fuchs, became a Roman Catholic and died as an abbe; and none of them
+continued the name, except the youngest son Leo, who went into the
+service of the German Emperor, and rose to the highest dignities. His
+son Corfits likewise filled important offices under Charles VI. and
+Maria Theresa, but left no sons. His two daughters married
+respectively a Count Waldstein and a Count Thun, whose descendants
+therefore now represent the family of Ulfeldt.
+
+Leonora Christina remained in prison for twenty-two years--that is,
+until the death of Sophia Amalia, the Queen of Fredrik III. This
+King, as well as his son Christian V., would willingly have set her
+at liberty; but the influence of the Queen over her husband and son
+was so strong that only her death, which occurred in 1685, released
+Leonora.
+
+The Memoir of her life in prison terminates with this event, and her
+after-life does not offer any very remarkable incidents.
+Nevertheless, a few details, chiefly drawn from a MS. in the Royal
+Library at Copenhagen, recently published by Mr. Birket Smith, may
+serve to complete the historical image of this illustrious lady. The
+MS. in question is from the hand of a Miss Urne, of an ancient Danish
+family, who managed the household of Leonora from 1685 to her death
+in 1698. A royal manor, formerly a convent, at Maribo, on the island
+of Laaland, was granted to Leonora shortly after her release from the
+Blue Tower, together with a sufficient pension for a moderate
+establishment.
+
+'The first occupation of the Countess,' says Miss Urne, 'was
+devotion; for which purpose her household was assembled in a room
+outside her bed-chamber. In her daily morning prayer there was this
+passage: "May the Lord help all prisoners, console the guilty, and
+save the innocent!" After that she remained the whole forenoon in her
+bedchamber, occupied in reading and writing. She composed a book
+entitled the "Ornament of Heroines," which Countess A. C. Ulfeldt and
+Count Leon took away with them, together with many other rare
+writings. Her handiwork is almost indescribable, and without an
+equal; such as embroidering in silk, gold embroidery, and turning in
+amber and ivory.'
+
+It will be seen from Leonora's own Memoir that needlework was one of
+her principal occupations in her prison. Count Waldstein still
+possesses some of her work; in the Church of Maribo an altar-cloth
+embroidered by her existed still some time ago; and at the Castle of
+Rosenborg, in Copenhagen, there is a portrait of Christian V. worked
+by Leonora in silk, in return for which present the King increased
+her annual pension. Miss Urne says that she sent all her work to
+Elizabeth Bek, a granddaughter of Leonora, who lived with her for
+some years. But she refused to send her Leonora's Postille, or manual
+of daily devotion, which had been given Leonora on New Year's Day, in
+the last year of her captivity, by the castellan, Torslev, who is
+mentioned in Leonora's Memoir, and who had taught her to turn ivory,
+&c. This book has disappeared; but amongst the relics of Leonora
+Christina, the Royal Library at Copenhagen preserves some leaves
+which had been bound up with it, and contain verses, &c., by Leonora,
+and other interesting matter.
+
+Her MS. works were taken to Vienna after her death. It is not known
+what has become of some of them. A copy of the first part of the book
+on heroines exists in Copenhagen. Miss Urne says that she possessed
+fragments of a play composed by her and acted at Maribo Kloster; also
+the younger Sperling speaks of such a composition in Danish verse;
+but the MS. seems to be lost now.
+
+Several of Leonora's relations stayed with her from time to time at
+Maribo; amongst them the above-mentioned Elizabeth Bek, whose mother,
+Leonora Sophie, famous for her beauty, had married Lave Bek, the head
+of an ancient Danish family in Skaane. After Ulfeldt's death Lave Bek
+demanded of the Swedish Government the estates which Carl Gustav had
+given to Ulfeldt in 1658, but which the Swedish Government had
+afterwards confiscated, without any legal ground. Leonora Christina
+herself memorialised the Swedish King on the subject, and at least
+one of her memorials on the subject, dated May 23, 1693, still
+exists; but it was not till 1735 that these estates were given up to
+Lave Bek's sons. Leonora's eldest daughter, Anne Catherina, lived
+with her mother at Maribo for several years, and was present at her
+death. She had married Casetta, a Spanish nobleman, mentioned by
+Leonora Christina in her Memoir, who was with her in England when she
+was arrested. After the death of Casetta and their children, Anne
+Catherina Ulfeldt came to live with her mother. She followed her
+brother to Vienna, where she died. It was she who transmitted the MS.
+of Leonora's Memoir of her life in the Blue Tower to the brother,
+with the following letter, which is still preserved with the MS.:--
+
+  'This book treats of what has happened to our late lady mother in
+  her prison. I have not been able to persuade myself to burn it,
+  although the reading of it has given me little pleasure, inasmuch
+  as all those events concern her miserable state. After all, it is
+  not without its use to know how she has been treated; but it is
+  not needful that it should come into the hands of strangers, for
+  it might happen to give pleasure to those of our enemies who
+  still remain.'
+
+The letter is addressed 'A Monsieur, Monsieur le Comte d'Ulfeldt,'
+&c., but without date or signature. The handwriting is, however, that
+of Anne Catherina Ulfeldt, and she had probably sent it off to Vienna
+for safety immediately after her mother's death, before she knew that
+her brother would come to Maribo himself. Miss Urne says, in the MS.
+referred to, that the King had ordered that he was to be informed
+immediately of Leonora's demise, in order that she might be buried
+according to her rank and descent; but she had beforehand requested
+that her funeral might be quite plain. Her coffin, as well as those
+of three children who had died young, and whose coffins had been
+provisionally placed in a church at Copenhagen, was immured in a
+vault in the church of Maribo; but when this was opened some forty
+years ago, no trace of Leonora's mortal remains could be found,
+though those of the children were there: from which it is concluded
+that a popular report, to the effect that the body had been secretly
+carried abroad, contains more truth than was formerly supposed. Count
+Waldstein states that in the family vault at Leitsmischl, there is
+one metal coffin without any inscription, and which may be hers. If
+so, Leonora has, as it were, after her death followed her husband
+into exile. At any rate, the final resting-place of neither of them
+is known with certainty.
+
+
+
+
+ AUTOBIOGRAPHY
+ OF
+ LEONORA CHRISTINA
+
+ 1673.
+
+
+
+
+AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
+
+
+Sir,[06]--To satisfy your curiosity, I will give you a short account
+of the life of her about whom you desire to be informed. She was born
+at Fredericksborg, in the year 1621, on June 11.[07] When she was six
+weeks old her grandmother took her with her to Dalum, where she
+remained until the age of four years; her first master there being
+Mr. Envolt, afterward a priest at Roeskild. About six months after
+her return to the Court, her father sent her to Holland to his
+cousin, a Duchess of Brunswick, who had married Count Ernest of
+Nassau, and lived at Lewarden.
+
+ [06] This autobiographical sketch is written in the form of a
+ letter to Dr. Otto Sperling the younger, the son of Corfits
+ Ulfeldt's old friend, who was for some years Leonora's
+ fellow-prisoner in the Blue Tower.
+
+ [07] It is curious that Leonora seems for a long time to have been
+ under a mistake as to the date of her birthday. The right date is
+ July 18, new style.
+
+Her sister Sophia, who was two years and a half older than herself,
+and her brother, who was a year younger, had gone to the aforesaid
+Duchess nearly a year before. I must not forget to mention the first
+mischances that befell her at her setting out. She went by sea in one
+of the royal ships of war; having been two days and a night at sea,
+at midnight such a furious tempest arose that they all had given up
+any hope of escaping. Her tutor, Wichmann Hassebart (afterwards
+Bishop of Fyn), who attended her, woke her and took her in his arms,
+saying, with tears, that they should both die together, for he loved
+her tenderly. He told her of the danger, that God was angry, and that
+they would all be drowned. She caressed him, treating him like a
+father (after her usual wont), and begged him not to grieve; she was
+assured that God was not angry, that He would see they would not be
+drowned, beseeching him again and again to believe her. Wichmann shed
+tears at her simplicity, and prayed to God to save the rest for her
+sake, and for the sake of the hope that she, an innocent girl,
+reposed in Him. God heard him, and after having lost the two
+mainmasts, they entered at dawn of day the harbour of Fleckeroe,[08]
+where they remained for six weeks.
+
+ [08] On the South Coast of Norway.
+
+Having received orders to proceed by sea, they pursued their route
+and arrived safely. Her sister being informed of her arrival, and
+being told that she had come with a different retinue to
+herself--with a suite of gentlemen, lady preceptor, servants and
+attendants, &c.--she burst into tears, and said that she was not
+surprised that this sister always insinuated herself and made herself
+a favourite, and that she would be treated there too as such. M.
+Sophia was not mistaken in this; for her sister was in greater favour
+with the Duchess, with her governess, and with many others, than she
+was herself. Count Ernest alone took the side of M. Sophia, and this
+rather for the sake of provoking his wife, who liked dispute; for M.
+Sophia exhibited her obstinacy even towards himself. She did all the
+mischief she could to her sister, and persuaded her brother to do the
+same.
+
+To amuse you I will tell you of her first innocent predilections.
+Count Ernest had a son of about eleven or twelve years of age; he
+conceived an affection for her, and having persuaded her that he
+loved her, and that she would one day be his wife, but that this must
+be kept secret, she fancied herself already secretly his wife. He
+knew a little drawing, and by stealth he instructed her; he even
+taught her some Latin words. They never missed an opportunity of
+retiring from company and conversing with each other.
+
+This enjoyment was of short duration for her; for a little more than
+a year afterwards she fell ill of small-pox, and as his elder
+brother, William, who had always ridiculed these affections, urged
+him to see his well-beloved in the condition in which she was, in
+order to disgust him with the sight, he came one day to the door to
+see her, and was so startled that he immediately became ill, and died
+on the ninth day following. His death was kept concealed from her.
+When she was better she asked after him, and she was made to believe
+that he was gone away with his mother (who was at this time at
+Brunswick), attending the funeral of her mother. His body had been
+embalmed, and had been placed in a glass case. One day her preceptor
+made her go into the hall where his body lay, to see if she
+recognised it; he raised her in his arms to enable her to see it
+better. She knew her dear Moritz at once, and was seized with such a
+shock that she fell fainting to the ground. Wichmann in consequence
+carried her hastily out of the hall to recover her, and as the dead
+boy wore a garland of rosemary, she never saw these flowers without
+crying, and had an aversion to their smell, which she still retains.
+
+As the wars between Germany and the King of Denmark had been the
+cause of the removal of his aforesaid children, they were recalled
+to Denmark when peace was concluded. At the age of seven years and
+two months she was affianced to a gentleman of the King's Chamber.
+She began very early to suffer for his sake. Her governess was at
+this time Mistress Anne Lycke, Qvitzow's mother. Her daughter, who
+was maid of honour, had imagined that this gentleman made his
+frequent visits for love of her. Seeing herself deceived, she did not
+know in what manner to produce estrangement between the lovers; she
+spoke, and made M. Sophia speak, of the gentleman's poverty, and
+amused herself with ridiculing the number of children in the family.
+She regarded all this with indifference, only declaring once that she
+loved him, poor as he was, better than she loved her rich
+gallant.[09]
+
+ [09] Count Christian Pentz, to whom Sophia was married in 1634.
+
+At last they grew weary of this, and found another opportunity for
+troubling her--namely, the illness of her betrothed, resulting from a
+complaint in his leg; they presented her with plaisters, ointments,
+and such like things, and talked together of the pleasure of being
+married to a man who had his feet diseased, &c. She did not answer a
+word either for good or bad, so they grew weary of this also. A year
+and a half after they had another governess, Catharina Sehestedt,
+sister of Hannibal.[10] M. Sophia thus lost her second, and her
+sister had a little repose in this quarter.
+
+ [10] Hannibal Sehestedt afterwards married Leonora's younger sister
+ Christiana; he became a powerful antagonist of Ulfeldt, and is
+ mentioned often in the following Memoir.
+
+When our lady was about twelve years old, Francis Albert, Duke of
+Saxony,[11] came to Kolding to demand her in marriage. The King
+replied that she was no longer free, that she was already betrothed;
+but the Duke was not satisfied with this, and spoke to herself, and
+said a hundred fine things to her: that a Duke was far different to a
+gentleman. She told him she always obeyed the King, and since it had
+pleased the King to promise her to a gentleman, she was well
+satisfied. The Duke employed the governess to persuade her, and the
+governess introduced him to her brother Hannibal, then at the Court,
+and Hannibal went with post-horses to Moen, where her betrothed was,
+who did not linger long on the road in coming to her. This was the
+beginning of the friendship between Monsieur and Hannibal, which
+afterwards caused so much injury to Monsieur. But he had not needed
+to trouble himself, for the Duke never could draw from her the
+declaration that she would be ready to give up her betrothed if the
+King ordered her to do so. She told him she hoped the King would not
+retract from his first promise. The Duke departed ill satisfied, on
+the very day the evening of which the betrothed arrived. (Four years
+afterwards they quarrelled on this subject in the presence of the
+King, who appeased them with his authority.)
+
+ [11] Frantz Albrecht, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, the same who in the
+ Thirty Years' War alternately served the Protestants and the
+ Imperialists. In the battle of Luetzen he was near Gustav Adolf when
+ he fell, and he was regarded by many as the one who treacherously
+ fired the fatal shot.
+
+It happened the following winter at Skanderborg that the governess
+had a quarrel with the language-master, Alexandre de Cuqvelson, who
+taught our lady and her sisters the French language, writing,
+arithmetic, and dancing. M. Sophia was not studious; moreover, she
+had very little memory; for her heart was too much devoted to her
+dolls, and as she perceived that the governess did not punish her
+when Alexandre complained of her, she neglected everything, and took
+no trouble about her studies. Our lady imagined she knew enough when
+she knew as much as her sister. As this had lasted some time, the
+governess thought she could entrap Alexandre; she accused him to the
+King, said that he treated the children badly, rapped their fingers,
+struck them on the hand, called them bad names, &c., and with all
+this they could not even read, much less speak, the French language.
+Besides this, she wrote the same accusations to the betrothed of our
+lady. The betrothed sent his servant Wolff to Skanderborg, with
+menaces to Alexandre. At the same time Alexandre was warned that the
+King had sent for the prince,[12] to examine his children, since the
+father-confessor was not acquainted with the language.
+
+ [12] That is, the King's eldest son Christian, who was elected his
+ successor, but died before him.
+
+The tutor was in some dismay; he flattered our lady, implored her to
+save him, which she could easily do, since she had a good memory, so
+that he could prove by her that it was not his fault that M. Sophia
+was not more advanced. Our lady did not yield readily, but called to
+his remembrance how one day, about half a year ago, she had begged
+him not to accuse her to the governess, but that he had paid no
+attention to her tears, though he knew that the governess treated
+them shamefully. He begged her for the love of Jesus, wept like a
+child, said that he should be ruined for ever, that it was an act of
+mercy, that he would never accuse her, and that from henceforth she
+should do nothing but what she wished. At length she consented, said
+she would be diligent, and since she had yet three weeks before her,
+she learnt a good deal by heart.[13] Alexandre told her one day,
+towards the time of the examination, that there was still a great
+favour she could render him: if she would not repeat the little
+things which had passed at school-time; for he could not always pay
+attention to every word that he said when M. Sophia irritated him,
+and if he had once taken the rod to hit her fingers when she had not
+struck her sister strongly enough, he begged her for the love of God
+to pardon it. (It should be mentioned that he wished the one to
+strike the other when they committed faults, and the one who
+corrected the other had to beat her, and if she did not do so
+strongly enough, he took the office upon himself; thus he had often
+beaten our lady.)
+
+ [13] In the margin the following addition is inserted: 'She had at
+ that time an unusual memory. She could at one and the same time
+ recite one psalm by heart, write another, and attend to the
+ conversation. She had tried this more than once, but I think that
+ she has thereby spoilt her memory, which is not now so good.'
+
+She made excuses, said that she did not dare to tell a lie if they
+asked her, but that she would not accuse him of herself. This promise
+did not wholly satisfy him; he continued his entreaties, and assured
+her that a falsehood employed to extricate a friend from danger was
+not a sin, but was agreeable to God; moreover, it was not necessary
+for her to say anything, only not to confess what she had seen and
+heard. She said that the governess would treat her ill; so he replied
+that she should have no occasion to do so, for that he would never
+complain to her. Our lady replied that the governess would find
+pretext enough, since she was inclined to ill-treat the children; and
+anyhow, the other master who taught them German was a rude man, and
+an old man who taught them the spinette was a torment, therefore she
+had sufficient reason for fear. He did not give way, but so persisted
+in his persuasion that she promised everything.
+
+When the prince arrived the governess did not forget to besiege him
+with her complaints, and to beg him to use his influence that the
+tutor might be dismissed. At length the day of the examination having
+come, the governess told her young ladies an hour before that they
+were to say how villanously he had treated them, beaten them, &c. The
+prince came into the apartments of the ladies accompanied by the
+King's father-confessor (at that time Dr. Ch(r)estien Sar); the
+governess was present the whole time.
+
+They were first examined in German. M. Sophia acquitted herself very
+indifferently, not being able to read fluently. The master
+Christoffre excused her, saying that she was timid. When it came to
+Alexandre's turn to show what his pupils could do, M. Sophia could
+read little or nothing. When she stammered in reading, the governess
+looked at the prince and laughed aloud. There was no difference in
+the gospel, psalms, proverbs, or suchlike things. The governess was
+very glad, and would have liked that the other should not have been
+examined. But when it came to her turn to read in the Bible, and she
+did not hesitate, the governess could no longer restrain herself, and
+said, 'Perhaps it is a passage she knows by heart that you have made
+her read.' Alexandre begged the governess herself to give the lady
+another passage to read. The governess was angry at this also, and
+said, 'He is ridiculing me because I do not know French.' The prince
+then opened the Bible and made her read other passages, which she
+did as fluently as before. In things by heart she showed such
+proficiency that the prince was too impatient to listen to all.
+
+It was then Alexandre's turn to speak, and to say that he hoped His
+Highness would graciously consider that it was not his fault that M.
+Sophia was not more advanced. The governess interrupted him saying,
+'You are truly the cause of it, for you treat her ill!' and she began
+a torrent of accusations, asking M. Sophia if they were not true. She
+answered in the affirmative, and that she could not conscientiously
+deny them. Then she asked our lady if they were not true. She replied
+that she had never heard nor seen anything of the kind. The
+governess, in a rage, said to the Prince, 'Your highness must make
+her speak the truth; she dares not do so, for Alexandre's sake.'
+
+The Prince asked her if Alexandre had never called her bad names--if
+he had never beaten her. She replied, 'Never.' He asked again if she
+had not seen nor heard that he had ill-treated her sister. She
+replied, 'No, she had never either heard or seen it.' At this the
+governess became furious; she spoke to the prince in a low voice; the
+prince replied aloud, 'What do you wish me to do? I have no order
+from the King to constrain her to anything.' Well, Alexandre gained
+his cause; the governess could not dislodge him, and our lady gained
+more than she had imagined in possessing the affection of the King,
+the goodwill of the Prince, of the priest, and of all those who knew
+her. But the governess from that moment took every opportunity of
+revenging herself on our lady.
+
+At length she found one, which was rather absurd. The old Jean
+Meinicken, who taught our lady the spinette, one day, in a passion,
+seized the fingers of our lady and struck them against the
+instrument; without remembering the presence of her governess, she
+took his hand and retaliated so strongly that the strings broke. The
+governess heard with delight the complaints of the old man. She
+prepared two rods; she used them both, and, not satisfied with that,
+she turned the thick end of one, and struck our lady on the thigh,
+the mark of which she bears to the present day. More than two months
+elapsed before she recovered from the blow; she could not dance, nor
+could she walk comfortably for weeks after. This governess did her so
+much injury that at last our lady was obliged to complain to her
+betrothed, who had a quarrel with the governess at the wedding of M.
+Sophia, and went straight to the King to accuse her; she was at once
+dismissed, and the four children, the eldest of which was our lady,
+went with the princess[14] to Nikoping, to pass the winter there,
+until the king could get another governess. The King, who had a good
+opinion of the conduct of our lady, who at this time was thirteen
+years and four months old, wrote to her and ordered her to take care
+of her sisters. Our lady considered herself half a governess, so she
+took care not to set them a bad example. As to study, she gave no
+thought to it at this time; she occupied herself in drawing and
+arithmetic, of which she was very fond, and the princess, who was
+seventeen years of age, delighted in her company. Thus this winter
+passed very agreeably for her.
+
+ [14] Namely, Magdalena Sybilla of Saxony, then newly married
+ (October 5, 1634) to Prince Christian, the eldest son and elected
+ successor of Christian IV. M. Sophia's wedding to Chr. Pentz was
+ celebrated on the 10th of the same month.
+
+At the approach of the Diet, which sat eight days after Pentecost,
+the children came to Copenhagen, with the prince and princess, and
+had as governess a lady of Mecklenburg of the Blixen family, the
+mother of Philip Barstorp who is still alive. After the Diet, the
+king made a journey to Glueckstad in two days and a half, and our lady
+accompanied him; it pleased the King that she was not weary, and that
+she could bear up against inconveniences and fatigues. She afterwards
+made several little journeys with the King, and she had the good
+fortune occasionally to obtain the pardon of some poor criminals, and
+to be in favour with the king.
+
+Our lady having attained the age of fifteen years and about four
+months, her betrothed obtained permission for their marriage, which
+was celebrated (with more pomp than the subsequent weddings of her
+sisters), on October 9, 1636. The winter after her marriage she was
+with her husband at Moen, and as she knew that her husband's father
+had not left him any wealth, she asked him concerning his debts, and
+conjured him to conceal nothing from her. He said to her, 'If I tell
+you the truth it will perhaps frighten you.' She declared it would
+not, and that she would supply what was needful from her ornaments,
+provided he would assure her that he had told her everything. He did
+so, and found that she was not afraid to deprive herself of her gold,
+silver, and jewels, in order to pay a sum of thirty-six thousand
+rix-dollars. On April 21, 1637, she went with her husband to
+Copenhagen in obedience to the order of the king, who gave him the
+post of V.R.[15] He was again obliged to incur debt in purchasing a
+house and in setting up a larger establishment.
+
+ [15] V.R. probably stands for Viceroy, by which term Leonora no
+ doubt indicates the post of Governor of Copenhagen.
+
+There would be no end were I to tell you all the mischances that
+befell her during the happy period of her marriage, and of all the
+small contrarieties which she endured; but since I am assured that
+this history will not be seen by anyone, and that you will not keep
+it after having read it, I will tell you a few points which are
+worthy of attention. Those who were envious of the good fortune of
+our lady could not bear that she should lead a tranquil life, nor
+that she should be held in esteem by her father and King; I may call
+him thus, for the King conferred on her more honours than were due to
+her from him. Her husband loved and honoured her, enacting the lover
+more than the husband.
+
+She spent her time in shooting, riding, tennis, in learning drawing
+in good earnest from Charles v. Mandern, in playing the viol, the
+flute, the guitar, and she enjoyed a happy life. She knew well that
+jealousy is a plague, and that it injures the mind which harbours it.
+Her relations tried to infuse into her head that her husband loved
+elsewhere, especially M. Elizabet, and subsequently Anna, sister of
+her husband, who was then in her house. M. Elizabet began by
+mentioning it as a secret, premising that no one could tell her and
+warn her, except her who was her sister.
+
+As our lady at first said nothing and only smiled, M. Elis... said:
+'The world says that you know it well, but that you will not appear
+to do so.' She replied with a question: 'Why did she tell her a
+thing as a secret, which she herself did not believe to be a secret
+to her? but she would tell her a secret that perhaps she did not
+know, which was, that she had given her husband permission to spend
+his time with others, and when she was satisfied the remainder would
+be for others; that she believed there were no such jealous women as
+those who were insatiable, but that a wisdom was imputed to her,
+which she did not possess; she begged her, however, to be wise enough
+not to interfere with matters which did not concern her, and if she
+heard others mentioning it (as our lady had reason to believe that
+this was her own invention) that she would give them a reprimand. M.
+Elis... was indignant and went away angry, but Anna, Monsieur's
+sister, who was in the house, adopted another course. She drew round
+her the handsomest women in the town, and then played the procuress,
+spoke to her brother of one particularly, who was a flirt, and who
+was the handsomest, and offered him opportunities, &c. As she saw
+that he was proof against it, she told him (to excite him) that his
+wife was jealous, that she had had him watched where he went when he
+had been drinking with the King, to know whether he visited this
+woman; she said that his wife was angry, because the other woman was
+so beautiful, said that she painted, &c.
+
+The love borne to our lady by her husband made him tell her all, and,
+moreover, he went but rarely afterwards to his sister's apartments,
+from which she could easily understand that the conversation had not
+been agreeable to him; but our lady betrayed nothing of the matter,
+visited her more than before, caressed this lady more than any other,
+and even made her considerable presents. (Anna remained in her house
+as long as she lived.)
+
+All this is of small consideration compared with the conduct of her
+own brother. It is well known to you that the Biel... were very
+intimate in our lady's house. It happened that her brother made a
+journey to Muscovy, and that the youngest of the Biel... was in his
+suite. As this was a very lawless youth, and, to say the truth, badly
+brought up, he not only at times failed in respect to our lady's
+brother, but freely expressed his sentiments to him upon matters
+which did not concern him; among other things, he spoke ill of the
+Holstein noblemen, naming especially one, who was then in waiting on
+the King, who he said had deceived our lady's brother. The matter
+rested there for more than a year after their return from this
+journey. The brother of our lady and Biel... played cards together,
+and disputed over them; upon this the brother of our lady told the
+Holstein nobleman what Biel... had said of him more than a year
+before, which B. did not remember, and swore that he had never said.
+The Holstein nobleman said insulting things against Biel....
+
+Our lady conversed with her brother upon the affair, and begged him
+to quiet the storm he had raised, and to consider how it would cause
+an ill-feeling with regard to him among the nobility, and that it
+would seem that he could not keep to himself what had been told him
+in secret; it would be very easy for him to mend the matter. Her
+brother replied that he could never retract what he had said, and
+that he should consider the Holstein nobleman as a villain if he did
+not treat B. as a rogue.
+
+At length the Holstein nobleman behaved in such a manner as to
+constrain B. to send him a challenge. B. was killed by his adversary
+with the sword of our lady's brother, which she did not know till
+afterwards. At noon of the day on which B. had been killed in the
+morning, our lady went to the castle to visit her little twin
+sisters; her brother was there, and came forward, laughing loudly and
+saying, 'Do you know that Ran... has killed B...?' She replied, 'No,
+that I did not know, but I knew that you had killed him. Ran... could
+do nothing less than defend himself, but you placed the sword in his
+hand.' Her brother, without answering a word, mounted his horse and
+went to seek his brother-in-law, who was speaking with our old
+friend,[16] told him he was the cause of B.'s death, and that he had
+done so because he had understood that his sister loved him, and that
+he did not believe that his brother-in-law was so blind as not to
+have perceived it. The husband of our lady did not receive this
+speech in the way the other had imagined, and said, 'If you were not
+her brother, I would stab you with this poniard,' showing it to him.
+'What reason have you for speaking thus?' The good-for-nothing fellow
+was rather taken aback at this, and knew not what to say, except that
+B... was too free and had no respect in his demeanour; and that this
+was a true sign of love. At length, after some discussion on both
+sides, the brother of our lady requested that not a word might be
+said to his sister.
+
+ [16] The old friend is Dr. Otto Sperling, sen., a physician in
+ extensive practice at Copenhagen, and intimate friend of Ulfeldt.
+ Mr. Biel... signifies most probably a certain Christian Bielke,
+ whose portrait still exists at Rosenborg Castle, in Copenhagen,
+ with an inscription that he was killed in a duel by Bartram Rantzau
+ on Easter eve 1642. If this date is true, Bielke cannot have
+ accompanied Leonora's brother Count Valdemar on his journey to
+ Russia, as this journey only took place in 1643. Count Valdemar was
+ to marry a Russian princess, but it was broken off on his refusing
+ to join the Greek church.
+
+As soon as she returned home, her husband told her everything in the
+presence of our old friend, but ordered her to feign ignorance. This
+was all the more easy for her, as her husband gave no credence to it,
+but trusted in her innocence. She let nothing appear, but lived with
+her brother as before. But some years after, her brother ill-treated
+his own mother, and her side being taken by our lady, they were in
+consequence not good friends.
+
+In speaking to you of the occupations of our lady, after having
+reached the age of twenty-one or thereabouts, I must tell you she had
+a great desire to learn Latin. She had a very excellent master,[17]
+whom you know, and who taught her for friendship as well as with good
+will. But she had so many irons in the fire, and sometimes it was
+necessary to take a journey, and a yearly accouchement (to the number
+of ten) prevented her making much progress; she understood a little
+easy Latin, but attempted nothing difficult; she then learnt a little
+Italian, which she continued studying whenever an opportunity
+presented itself.
+
+ [17] Dr. Otto Sperling, senior.
+
+I will not speak of her short journeys to Holstein, Jutland, &c.; but
+in the year 1646 she made a voyage with her husband by sea, in the
+first place to Holland, where she gave birth to a son six weeks after
+her arrival at the Hague. From thence she went with her husband to
+France, first to Paris and afterwards to Amiens; there they took
+leave of the King and of the Queen Mother, Regent, and as they were
+returning by Dunkirk she had the curiosity to see England, and
+begged her husband to permit her to cross over with a small suite, to
+which he consented, since one of the royal vessels lay in the roads.
+She took a nobleman with her who knew the language, our old friend, a
+servant, and the valet of the aforesaid nobleman, and this was the
+whole of her retinue. She embarked, and her husband planned to pass
+through Flanders and Brabant, and to await her at Rotterdam. As she
+was on the vessel a day and night, and the wind did not favour them,
+she resolved to land and to follow her husband, fancying she could
+reach him in time to see Flanders and Brabant; she had not visited
+these countries before, having passed from Holland by sea to Calais.
+
+She found her husband at Ostend, and travelled with him to Rotterdam;
+from thence she pursued her former plan, embarked at Helvoot-Sluys,
+and arrived at Duns, went to London, and returned by Dover, making
+the whole voyage in ten days, and she was again enceinte. She was an
+object of suspicion in London. The Prince Palatine, then Elector of
+Heidelberg,[18] belonged to the party opposed to the beheaded King,
+who was then a prisoner; and they watched her and surrounded her with
+spies, so she did not make a long sojourn in London. Nothing else was
+imagined, when it was known she had been there, but that she had
+letters from the King of Dan... for the King of Engl.... She returned
+with her husband to Dan....
+
+ [18] Prince Ruprecht, Duke of Cumberland, nephew of Charles I.
+
+In the year 1648 fortune abandoned our lady, for on February 28 the
+King was taken from her by death. She had the happiness, however, of
+attending upon him until his last breath. Good God, when I think of
+what this good King said to her the first day, when she found him
+ill in bed at Rosenborg, and wept abundantly, my heart is touched. He
+begged her not to weep, caressed her, and said: 'I have placed you so
+securely that no one can move you.' Only too much has she felt the
+contrary of the promise of the King who succeeded him, for when he
+was Duke and visited her at her house, a few days after the death of
+the King, finding her in tears, he embraced her, saying: 'I will be a
+father to you, do not weep.' She kissed his hand without being able
+to speak. I find that some fathers have been unnatural towards their
+children.
+
+In the year 1649 she made another voyage with her husband to Holland,
+and at the Hague gave birth to a daughter. When her husband returned
+from this journey, he for the first time perceived the designs of
+Hannibal, of Gerstorp, and Wibe, but too late. He absented himself
+from business, and would not listen to what his wife told him. Our
+old friend shared the opinion of our lady, adducing very strong
+reason for it, but all in vain; he said, that he would not be a
+perpetual slave for the convenience of his friends. His wife spoke as
+a prophet to him, told him that he would be treated as a slave when
+he had ceased to have authority, that they would suspect him, and
+envy his wealth; all of which took place, though I shall make no
+recital of it, since these events are sufficiently known to you.
+
+We will now speak a little of the events which occurred afterwards.
+When they had gained their cause,[19] our lady feared that the strong
+party which they had then overcome would not rest without ruining
+them utterly at any cost; so she advised her husband to leave the
+country, since he had the King's permission to do so,[20] and to save
+his life, otherwise his enemies would contrive some other invention
+which would succeed better. He consented to this at length, and they
+took their two eldest children with them, and went by sea to
+Amsterdam. At Utrecht they left the children with the servants and a
+female attendant, and our lady disguised herself in male attire and
+followed her husband, who took the route to Lubeck, and from thence
+by sea to Sweden, to ask the protection of Queen Christina, which he
+received; and as the Queen knew that his wife was with him in
+disguise, she requested to see her, which she did.
+
+ [19] Namely, the process against Dina. _See_ Introduction.
+
+ [20] Ulfeldt had not really the permission of the King to leave the
+ country in the way he did. These words must therefore be understood
+ to mean that the favourable termination of the trial concerning
+ Dina's accusations had liberated Ulfeldt from the special
+ obligation to remain in Copenhagen, which his position in reference
+ to that case imposed upon him.
+
+The husband of our lady purposed to remain some time in Pomerania,
+and the Queen lent him a vessel to convey him thither. Having been
+three days at sea, the wind carried them towards Dantzig, and not
+being able to enter the town, for it was too late, they remained
+outside the gates at a low inn. An adventure fit for a novel here
+happened to our lady. A girl of sixteen, or a little more, believing
+that our lady was a young man, threw herself on her neck with
+caresses, to which our lady responded, and played with the girl, but,
+as our lady perceived what the girl meant, and that she could not
+satisfy her, she turned her over to Charles, a man of their suite,
+thinking he would answer her purpose; he offered the girl his
+attentions, but she repelled him rudely, saying, she was not for him,
+and went again to our lady, accosting her in the same way. Our lady
+got rid of her, but with difficulty however, for she was somewhat
+impudent, and our lady did not dare to leave her apartment. For the
+sake of amusing you, I must tell you, what now occurs to me, that in
+the fort before Stade, the name of which has escaped me, our lady
+played with two soldiers for drink, and her husband, who passed for
+her uncle, paid the expenses; the soldiers, willing to lose for the
+sake of gaining the beer, and astonished that she never lost, were,
+however, civil enough to present her with drink.
+
+We must return to Dantzig. The husband of our lady, finding himself
+near Thoren, desired to make an excursion there, but his design was
+interrupted by two men, one who had formerly served in Norway as
+Lieutenant-Colonel, and a charlatan who called himself Dr. Saar, and
+who had been expelled from Copenhagen. They asked the Mayor of the
+town to arrest these two persons, believing that our lady was Ebbe
+Wl....[21] They were warned by their host that these persons said
+they were so-and-so, and that these gentlemen were at the door to
+prevent their going out. Towards evening they grew tired of keeping
+guard, and went away. Before dawn the husband of our lady went out of
+the house first, and waited at the gate, and our lady with the two
+servants went in a coach to wait at the other gate until it was
+opened; thus they escaped this time.
+
+ [21] That is, Ebbe Ulfeldt,--a relative of Corfitz who left Denmark
+ in 1651 and afterwards lived in Sweden.
+
+They went by land to Stralsund, where our lady resumed her own
+attire, after having been in disguise twelve weeks and four days, and
+having endured many inconveniences, not having gone to bed all the
+time, except at Stockholm, Dantzig, and Stettin. She even washed the
+clothes, which inconvenienced her much. The winter that they passed
+at Stralsund, her husband taught her, or rather began to teach her,
+Spanish. In the spring they again made a voyage to Stockholm, at the
+desire of Queen Chr.... This good Queen, who liked intrigue, tried to
+excite jealousy and to make people jealous, but she did not succeed.
+They were in Sweden until after the abdication of the Queen, and the
+wedding and coronation of King Charles and Queen Hedevig, which was
+in the year 1654. They returned to Pomerania for a visit to Barth,
+which they possessed as a mortgage. There, our lady passed her time
+in study, sometimes occupied with a Latin book, sometimes with a
+Spanish one. She translated a small Spanish work, entitled _Matthias
+de los Reyos_; but this book since fell into the hands of others, as
+well as the first part of _Cleopatre_, which she had translated from
+the French, with matters of greater value.
+
+In the year 1657,[22] her husband persuaded her to make a voyage to
+Dannem... to try and gain an audience with the King, and see if she
+could not obtain some payment from persons who owed them money. Our
+lady found various pleas for not undertaking this voyage, seeing a
+hundred difficulties against its successful issue; but her husband
+besought her to attempt it, and our old friend shared her husband's
+opinion that nothing could be done to her, that she was under the
+protection of the King of Sweden, and not banished from Dan... with
+similar arguments. At length she yielded, and made the journey in the
+winter, travelling in a coach with six horses, a secretary, a man on
+horseback, a female attendant, a page and a lacquey--that was all.
+She went first to see her mother in Jutland, and remained there three
+days; this was immediately known at the Court.
+
+ [22] This date is erroneous; the journey took place in November and
+ December 1656.
+
+When she had passed the Belt, and was within cannon-shot of Corsor,
+she was met by Uldrich Chr. Guldenl...,[23] who was on the point of
+going to Jutland to fetch her. He returned with his galley and
+landed; she remained in her vessel, waiting for her carriage to be
+put on shore. Guld... impatient, could not wait so long, and sent the
+burgomaster Brant to tell her to come ashore, as he had something to
+say to her. She replied that if he had anything to say to her, he
+ought to show her the attention of coming to her. Brant went with
+this answer; awaiting its issue, our lady looked at her attendants
+and perceived a change in them all. Her female attendant was seized
+with an attack from which she suffers still, a trembling of the head,
+while her eyes remained fixed. The secretary trembled so that his
+teeth chattered. Charles was quite pale, as were all the others. Our
+lady spoke to them, and asked them why they were afraid; for her they
+had nothing to fear, and less for themselves. The secretary answered,
+'They will soon let us know that.' Brant returned with the same
+message, with the addition that Gul... was bearer of the King's
+order, and that our lady ought to come to him at the Castle to hear
+the King's order. She replied that she respected the King's order
+there as well as at the castle; that she wished that Gul... would
+please to let her know there the order of His Majesty; and when
+Brant tried to persuade her, saying continually, 'Oh! do give in, do
+give in!' she used the same expression, and said also, 'Beg Gul... to
+give in,' &c. At length she said, 'Give me sufficient time to have
+two horses harnessed, for I cannot imagine he would wish me to go on
+foot.'
+
+ [23] U.C. Gyldenlove, illegitimate son of Christian IV. and
+ half-brother of Leonora.
+
+When she reached the castle she had the coach pulled up. Brant came
+forward to beg her to enter the castle; she refused, and said she
+would not enter; that if he wished to speak to her he must come to
+her, that she had come more than half-way. Brant went, and returned
+once again, but she said the same, adding that he might do all that
+seemed good to him, she should not stir from the spot. At length the
+good-for-nothing fellow came down, and when he was ready to speak to
+her, she opened the coach and got out. He said a few polite words to
+her, and then presented her with an order from the King, written in
+the chancery, the contents of which were, that she must hasten to
+depart from the King's territory, or she would have to thank herself
+for any ill that might befall her. Having read the order she bowed,
+and returned him the order, which was intended to warn her, saying,
+'That she hoped to have been permitted to kiss the King's hand, but
+as her enemies had hindered this happiness by such an order, there
+was nothing left for her but to obey in all humility, and thanking
+His Majesty most humbly for the warning, she would hasten as quickly
+as possible to obey His Majesty's commands. She asked if she were
+permitted to take a little refreshment, for that they had had
+contrary winds and had been at sea all day. Gul... answered in the
+negative, that he did not dare to give her the permission; and since
+she had obeyed with such great submission, he would not show her the
+other order that he had, asking her at the same moment if she wished
+to see this other order? She said, no; that she would abide by the
+order that she had seen, and that she would immediately embark on
+board her ferry-boat to return. Gul... gave her his hand, and begged
+her to make use of his galley.
+
+She did so. They went half the way without speaking; at length Gul...
+broke the silence, and they entered into conversation. He told her
+that the King had been made to believe that she had assembled a
+number of noblemen at her mother's house, and that he had orders to
+disperse this cabal. They had a long conversation together, and spoke
+of Dina's affair; he said the King did not yet know the real truth of
+it. She complained that the King had not tried to know it. At length
+they arrived by night at Nyborg. Gul... accompanied her to her
+hostelry, and went to his own, and an hour afterwards sent
+Scherning[24] to tell her that at dawn of day she must be ready, in
+order that they might arrive at Assens the next evening, which it was
+impossible to do with her own horses, as they did not arrive till
+morning. She assented, saying she would act in obedience to his
+orders, began talking with Scherning, and conversed with him about
+other matters. I do not know how, but she gained his good graces, and
+he prevailed so far with Gul... that Gul... did not hasten her
+unduly. Towards nine o'clock the next morning he came to tell her
+that he did not think it necessary to accompany her further, but he
+hoped she would follow the King's order, and begged her to speak with
+Kay v. Ahlefeld at Haderslef, when she was passing through; he had
+received orders as to what he had to do. She promised this, and
+Gul... returned to Copenhagen, placing a man with our lady to watch
+her.
+
+ [24] Probably Povl Tscherning, a well-known man of the time, who
+ held the office of Auditor-General.
+
+Our lady did not think it necessary to speak to Kay v. Ahlefeld, for
+she had nothing to say to him, and she did not want to see more
+orders; she passed by Haderslef, and went to Apenrade, and awaited
+there for ten days[25] a letter from Gul... which he had promised to
+write to her; when she saw that he was not going to keep his word she
+started on her way to Slesvig, halting half way with the intention of
+dining. Holst, the clerk of the bailiwick of Flensborg, here arrived
+in a coach with two arquebuses larger and longer than halberds. He
+gave orders to close the bar of Boy..., sent to the village, which is
+quite close, that the peasants should hold themselves ready with
+their spears and arms, and made four persons who were in the tavern
+take the same arms, that is, large poles. Afterwards he entered and
+made a long speech, with no end of compliments to our lady, to while
+away the time. The matter was, that the governor[26] desired her to
+go to Flensborg, as he had something to say to her, and he hoped she
+would do him the pleasure to rest a night at Flensborg.
+
+ [25] In order to understand how she could wait for ten days at
+ Apenrade, it must be borne in mind that the duchy of Slesvig was at
+ that time divided into several parts, of which some belonged to the
+ King, others to the Duke of Gottorp. Haderslev and Flensborg
+ belonged to the King, but Apenrade to the Duke; in this town,
+ therefore, she was safe from the pursuit of the Danish authorities.
+
+ [26] The governor of Flensborg at that time was Detlef v. Ahlefeld,
+ the same who in 1663 was sent to Koenigsberg to receive information
+ from the court of Brandenburg on the last intrigues of Ulfeldt.
+
+Our lady replied that she had not the pleasure of his acquaintance,
+and therefore she thought he took her for someone else; if she could
+oblige him in anything she would remain at Slesvig the following day,
+in order to know in what she could serve him. No, it was not that; he
+repeated his request. She ordered Charles to have the horses put to.
+Holst understood this, which was said in French, and begged her for
+the love of God not to set out; he had orders not to let her depart.
+'You,' said she, in a somewhat haughty tone, 'who are you? With what
+authority do you speak thus?' He said he had no written order, but by
+word of mouth, and that his governor would soon arrive; he begged her
+for the love of God to pardon him. He was a servant, he was willing
+to be trodden under her feet. She said: 'It is not for you to pay me
+compliments, still less to detain me, since you cannot show me the
+King's order, but it is for me to think what I ought to do.'
+
+She went out and ordered her lacquey, who was the only determined one
+of her suite, to make himself master of Holst's chariot and
+arquebuses. Holst followed her, begging her a hundred times, saying,
+'I do not dare to let you pass, I do not dare to open the bar.' She
+said, 'I do not ask you to open;' she got into the coach. Holst put
+his hand upon the coach-door and sang the old song. Our lady, who had
+always pistols in her carriage when she travelled, drew out one and
+presented it to him saying, 'Draw back, or I will give you the
+contents of this.' He was not slow in letting go his hold; then she
+threw a patacoon to those who were to restrain her, saying, 'Here is
+something for drink; help in letting the carriage pass the fosse!'
+which they immediately did.
+
+Not a quarter of an hour after she had gone, the governor arrived
+with another chariot. There were two men and four guns in each
+chariot. Our lady was warned of the pursuit; she begged her two
+coachmen, whom she had for herself and her baggage, to dispute them
+the road as much as they could; she ordered Charles always to remain
+at the side of her carriage, in order that she might throw herself
+upon the horse if she saw that they gained ground. She took off her
+furred robe. They disputed the road up to the bridge, which separated
+the territory of the King from that of the Duke.
+
+When she had passed the bridge she stopped, put on her robe, and
+alighted. The others paused on the other side of the bridge to look
+at her, and thus she escaped again for this time.[27] But it was
+amusing to see how the secretary perspired, what fright he was in; he
+did not afterwards pretend to bravery, but freely confessed that he
+was half dead with fear. She returned to Barth, and found her husband
+very very ill. Our old friend had almost given up all hope of his
+recovery, but her presence acted as a miracle; he was sufficiently
+strong in the morning to be taken out of bed, to the great surprise
+of our old friend.
+
+ [27] The clerk Holst was shortly after, when the Swedes occupied
+ Flensborg, put to a heavy ransom by Ulfeldt, in punishment of his
+ conduct to Leonora. Documents which still exist show that he
+ applied to the Danish Government for compensation, but apparently
+ in vain.
+
+Just as our lady was thinking of passing some days in tranquillity,
+occupied in light study, in trifling work, distillations,
+confectionery, and such like things, her husband mixed himself in the
+wars. The King of Sweden sent after him to Stettin; he told his wife
+that he would have nothing to do with them. He did not keep his word,
+however; he did not return to Barth, but went straight off with the
+King. She knew he was not provided with anything; she saw the danger
+to which he was exposed, she wished to share it; she equipped herself
+in haste, and, without his sending for her, went to join him at
+Ottensen. He wished to persuade her to return to Hamburgh, and spoke
+to her of the great danger; she said the danger was the reason why
+she wished to bear him company, and to share it with him; so she went
+with him, and passed few days without uneasiness, especially when
+Friderichsodde was taken; she feared for both husband and son. There
+she had the happiness of reconciling the C. Wrangel and the C.
+Jaques,[28] which her husband had believed impossible, not having
+been able to succeed. She had also the good fortune to cure her
+eldest son and eight of her servants of a malignant fever named
+Sprinckeln; there was no doctor at that time with the army, our old
+friend having left.
+
+ [28] Count Jakob Casimir de la Gardie, a Swedish nobleman. Count
+ Wrangel was the Swedish General.
+
+When her husband passed with the King to Seeland, she remained at
+Fyen. The day that she had resolved to set out on the following to
+return to Schone, a post arrived with news that her mother was at the
+point of death and wished to speak to her; she posted to Jutland,
+found Madame very ill and with no hope of life. She had only been
+there one night, when her husband sent a messenger to say that if she
+wished to see him alive she must lose no time. Our lady was herself
+ill; she had to leave her mother, who was already half dead; she had
+to take her last farewell in great sorrow, and to go with all speed
+to seek her husband, who was very ill at Malmoe. Two days afterwards
+she received the tidings of her mother's death, and as soon as the
+health of her husband permitted it, she went to Jutland to give the
+necessary orders for her mother's funeral. She returned once more to
+Schone before the burial; after the funeral[29] she went to
+Copenhagen and revisited Malmoe one day before the King of Sweden
+began the war for the second time and appeared before Kopenh....
+
+ [29] The funeral took place with great pomp in the church of St.
+ Knud, at Odense, on June 23, 1658, together with that of Sophia
+ Elizabeth, Leonora's sister, who is mentioned in the beginning of
+ the Autobiography.
+
+In the year 1659 the King of Sweden ordered her husband to be
+arrested at Malmoe. She went immediately to Helsingor to speak to the
+King, but had not the happiness of speaking to him; on the contrary,
+the King sent two of his counsellors to tell her that she was free to
+choose whether she would return to her estates and superintend them,
+or go back to Malmoe and be arrested with her husband. She thanked
+His Majesty very humbly for the favour of the choice; she chose to
+suffer with her husband, and was glad to have the happiness of
+serving him in his affliction, and bearing the burden with him which
+would lighten it to him.
+
+She returned to Malmoe with these news; her husband exhibited too
+much grief that she was not permitted to solicit on his behalf, and
+she consoled him as well as she was able. A few days after, an
+officer came to their house and irritated her husband so much by his
+impertinent manner that he had a fit of apoplexy. Our lady was
+overwhelmed with sorrow; she sent for the priest the next morning,
+made her husband receive the holy communion, and received it herself.
+She knew not at what hour she might be a widow; no one came to see
+her, no one in consequence consoled her, and she had to console
+herself. She had a husband who was neither living nor dead; he ate
+and drank; he spoke, but no one could understand him.
+
+About eight months after, the King began to take proceedings against
+her husband, and in order to make her answer for her husband they
+mixed her up in certain points as having asked for news: whence the
+young lady was taken whom her husband brought to Copenhagen? who was
+Trolle? and that she had kept the property of a Danish nobleman in
+her house.[30] Since her husband was ill, the King graciously
+permitted her to answer for him; thus they proceeded with her for
+nine weeks in succession; she had no other assistance in copying her
+defence than her eldest daughter, then very young. She was permitted
+to make use of Wolff, for receiving the accusations and taking back
+the replies, but he wrote nothing for her. If you are interested in
+knowing the proceedings, Kield[31] can give you information
+respecting them.
+
+ [30] The young lady was Birgitte Rantzau, who was engaged to
+ Korfits Trolle, a Danish nobleman, who had been very active in
+ preparing the intended rising of the citizens of Malmoe against the
+ Swedes. Ulfeldt was accused of having favoured and assisted this
+ design (_see_ the Introduction), and he had brought Trolle's bride
+ over to Copenhagen, or accompanied them thither.
+
+ [31] Wolf and Kield were servants of Ulfeldt.
+
+When the proceedings had lasted so many weeks, and she had answered
+with regard to the conversations which it was said her husband had
+had with one and another, they fancied that her husband feigned
+illness. Four doctors were sent with the commandant to visit the sick
+man, and they found that he was really ill; not content with this,
+they established the Court in his house, for they were ashamed to
+make her come to them. They caused the city magistrate to come,
+placing him on one side of the hall, and on the other the Danish
+noblemen who were under arrest, all as witnesses; eight Commissioners
+sat at a round table, the lawyer in front of the table and two clerks
+at another table; having made these arrangements, our lady was
+desired to enter.
+
+We must mention, in the first place, that two of the delinquents who
+were executed afterwards, and another, together with one of the
+servants of her husband, were brought there. The principal
+delinquents were summoned first, and afterwards the others, to take
+an oath that they would speak the truth. We must mention that these
+gentlemen were already condemned, and were executed a few days
+afterwards. When the lawyer had said that they had now taken their
+oaths according to the law, our lady said, 'Post festum! After having
+proceeded against my husband so many weeks, having based everything
+on the tattle of these delinquents, you come, after they are
+condemned to suffer for their trespasses, and make them take an oath.
+I do not know if this is conformable to law!'
+
+The lawyer made no reply to this, and, thinking to confuse our lady,
+said that he found things contrary the one to the other, cited
+passages, leaves, lines, and asked her if she could make these things
+agree. She, having at that time a good memory, remembered well what
+her own judgment had dictated to her, and said that they would not
+find her replies what the lawyer said, but so-and-so, and asked that
+they should be read openly, which was done. The lawyer made three
+attempts of the same kind; when they saw there was nothing to be
+gained by this, the Commissioners attacked her three at a time, one
+putting one question and another, another. She said to them quietly,
+'Messieurs, with your permission, let one speak at a time, for I am
+but one, and I cannot answer three at once!' At which they were all a
+little ashamed.
+
+The principal point to which they adhered was, that her husband was a
+vassal by oath, and a servant of the King, with which assertion they
+parried every objection. She proved that it was not so, that her
+husband was neither vassal nor a servant; he had his lands under the
+King just as many Swedes had elsewhere, without on that account being
+vassals; that he had never taken an oath of fidelity to the King of
+Sweden, but that he had shown him much fidelity; that he owed him no
+obligation--this she showed by a letter from the King, in which he
+thanked him for his services, and hoped so to act that he would
+render him still more. She shut the mouth of the delinquent,[32] and
+begged the Commissioners to reflect on what she had said.
+
+ [32] The person alluded to is a Bartholomaeus Mikkelsen, who was
+ executed as ringleader of the conspiracy.
+
+When all was over, after the space of three hours, she requested that
+the protocol might be read before her. The President said that she
+need have no doubt the protocol was correct, that she should have a
+copy of it, that they now understood the matter, and would make a
+faithful report of it to the King. No sentence was passed, and they
+remained under arrest. The King of Sweden died, and peace was
+concluded, but they remained under arrest. A friend came to inform
+them, one day, that there was a vessel of war in the roads, which was
+to take them to Finland. When she saw her husband a little recovered,
+that he could use his judgment, she advised him to escape and go to
+Lubeck. She would go to Copenhagen and try to arrange the matter. He
+consented to it, and she contrived to let him out in spite of all
+the guards round the house (thirty-six in number).
+
+When she received the news that he had passed and could reckon that
+he was on his way to Lubeck, she escaped also, and went straight to
+Copenh.... Having arrived there, she found her husband arrived before
+her; she was much surprised and vexed, fearing what happened
+afterwards, but he had flattered himself so with the comfortable hope
+that he would enter into the good graces of the King. The next day
+they were both arrested and brought to Borringh...[33]; her husband
+was ill; on arriving at Borr... they placed him on a litter and
+brought him from the town to the castle, a distance of about two
+leagues.
+
+ [33] Bornholm. (_See_ the Introduction.)
+
+It would weary you to tell you of all that passed at Borr... If you
+take pleasure in knowing it, there is a man in Hamburgh who can tell
+it you.[34] I will tell you, however, a part and the chief of what I
+remember concerning it. At Ronne, the town where they disembarked at
+Borringh----, our lady wrote to the King and to the Queen in the name
+of her husband, who was ill, as I have already said, and gave the
+memorials to Colonel Rantzou, who promised to deliver them, and who
+gave hopes of success.[35] There Fos arrived and conveyed them to the
+Castle of Hammershuus. The governor Fos saw that our lady had a small
+box with her, and was seized with the desire to know what was in it
+and to possess himself of it. He sent one Dina, the wife of the
+warder to our lady, to offer to procure a boat for their escape.
+There is no doubt she accepted the offer, and promised in return
+five hundred crowns. This was enough for Fos; he went one night with
+the Major to their apartment, thundered like a madman, said that they
+wished to betray him, &c.; the end of the farce was, that he took the
+box, but, for the sake of a little ceremony, he sealed it with her
+husband's seal, promising to keep it for its safety.
+
+ [34] She refers no doubt to a servant who accompanied them of the
+ name of Pfluegge.
+
+ [35] The original of this letter to the King exists still.
+
+About three weeks after, he took the two prisoners to walk a little
+in the fields; the husband would not go, but the wife went out to
+take the air. The traitor gave her a long history of his past
+adventures, how many times he had been in prison, some instances of
+how great lords had been saved by the assistance of those they had
+gained over, and made their fortune. He thought they would do the
+same. She said she had not much to dispose of, but besides that, they
+would find other means for rewarding such a service. He said he would
+think of it, that he had nothing to lose in Dan....
+
+After various discussions from day to day, her husband wished her to
+offer him 20,000 rix-dollars; this sum seemed to him too little, and
+he asked 50,000 dollars. She said that she could easily promise it,
+but could not keep her word, but provided it was twenty she would pay
+it. He asked for a security; her husband had a note which would give
+security, but our lady did not think it good that he should see this
+note, and told Fos that in her box there was a letter that could
+secure it; she did not know that he had already opened the box. Some
+days after, she asked him if he had made up his mind? He said, 'I
+will not do it for less than 50,000, and there is no letter in your
+box which would secure it to me. I have opened it; to-morrow I will
+send it to Copenh....' She asked him quietly if he had done right in
+breaking her husband's seal; he answered rudely that he would take
+the responsibility.
+
+Towards autumn, Hannibal and the other heirs of our lady's mother
+sent to her husband to notify to him that they could not longer delay
+dividing the inheritance, and since they knew that he had in his
+possession papers of importance, they requested to be informed of
+them. Her husband stated in his reply that Fos had taken his letters,
+and that in a rude manner. This answer having been read in the
+presence of Fos, he flew in a thundering rage, used abusive language
+first to the husband and then to the wife, her husband having firmly
+promised our lady not to dispute with this villain, for she feared
+some evil might result, but to leave her to answer, for Fos would be
+answered.
+
+She was not angry; she ridiculed him and his invectives. At length he
+told her that she had offered him 20,000 dollars to induce him to
+become a traitor; she replied with calmness, 'If it had been 50,000,
+what then?' Fos leapt into the air like an enraged animal, and said
+that she lied like a ----, &c. She was not moved, but said 'You speak
+like an ass!' Upon this he loaded her with abuse, and then retracted
+all that he had just said. She said quite quietly, 'I am not going to
+appeal to these gentlemen who are present (there were four) to be
+witnesses, for this is an affair that will never be judicially
+settled, and nothing can efface this insult but blood.' 'Oh!' said
+he, seizing his sword, and drawing it a little out of the scabbard,
+'this is what I wear for you, madam.' She, smiling, drew the bodkin
+from her hair, saying, 'Here are all the arms at present which I
+have for you.' He manifested a little shame, and said that it was not
+for her but her sons, if she still had four.[36] She, moreover,
+ridiculed him, and said that it was no use his acting the brave
+there. In short, books could be filled with all the quarrels between
+these two persons from time to time. He shouted at times with all his
+might, he spoke like a torrent, and foamed at the mouth, and the next
+moment he would speak low like another man. When he shouted so
+loudly, our lady said, 'The fever is attacking him again!' He was
+enraged at this.
+
+ [36] It will be remembered from the Introduction that Fuchs was
+ killed two years after by one of Leonora's sons at Bruges.
+
+Some weeks afterwards he came to visit them, and assumed a humble
+manner. Our lady took no notice of it, and spoke with him on
+indifferent subjects; but her husband would not speak to him, and
+never afterwards was he able to draw from him more than a few words.
+Towards Christmas, Fos treated the prisoners very ill, more so than
+formerly, so that Monsieur sent the servant to beg him to treat him
+as a gentleman and not as a peasant. Fos went to them immediately,
+after having abused Monsieur's servant; and as he entered, Monsieur
+left the apartment and went into another, and refused to give him his
+hand. Fos was enraged at this, and would not remain, nor would he
+speak a word to our lady, who begged him to hear her. A moment after,
+he caused the door to be bolted, so that they could not go out to
+take the air, for they before had free access to a loft. At every
+Festival he devised means of annoying them; he closed all the
+windows, putting to some bars of iron, and to others wooden framework
+and boxes; and as to their food, it was worse than ever. They had to
+endure that winter in patience; but as they perceived that Fos's
+design was that they should die of hunger, they resolved to hazard an
+escape, and made preparation through the winter, in order to escape
+as soon as the thaw would set in.
+
+Our lady, who had three pairs of sheets that her children had sent
+her, undid some articles of clothing and made cordage and a sail; she
+sewed them with silk, for she had no thread. Her husband and the
+servant worked at the oars. When the moon was favourable to them in
+the month of April, they wished to carry out the plan they had been
+projecting for so long a time. Our lady was the first to make the
+descent: the height was seventy-two feet; she went on to the ravelin
+to await the others. Some time elapsed before her husband came, so
+she returned, and at last she heard a great noise among the ropes,
+her husband having lost a shoe in his descent. They had still to wait
+for the valet; he had forgotten the cord, and said that he could not
+carry it with him.
+
+It was necessary to descend the rampart into the moats, which were
+dry; the height is about forty feet. Our lady was the first to
+descend; she helped her husband, for his strength was already
+failing. When they were all three in the fosse, the moon was obscured
+and a little rain fell. This was unfortunate, as they could not see
+which road to take. Her husband said it would be better to remain
+where they were till daylight, for they might break their necks in
+descending the rocks. The servant said he knew the way, as he had
+observed it when the window was free; that he would go in front. He
+went in advance, gliding in a sitting position, after him our lady,
+and then her husband; they could not see an inch before them; the man
+fell from an incredible height, and did not speak; our lady stopped,
+shouted to him, and asked him to answer if he was alive.
+
+He was some time before he answered, so she and her husband
+considered him dead; at length he answered, and said he should never
+get out of this ravine; our lady asked him if he judged the depth to
+be greater than one of the cords could reach? She would tie two
+together, and throw the end to him to draw him up. He said that one
+cord would be sufficient, but that she could not draw him up, that
+she would not be strong enough; she said she could, she would hold
+firm, and he should help himself with his knees. He took courage, and
+she drew him up; the greatest marvel was, that on each side of her
+there was a precipice deeper than that over which he fell, and that
+she had nothing by which to support herself, except a small
+projection, which they believed to be of earth, against which she
+placed her left foot, finding no resting-place for the right one.
+
+We can truly say that God had granted her his protection, for to
+escape from such a danger, and draw another out of it, could not have
+been done by unaided man. Our fool Fos explained it otherwise, and
+used it for his own purposes, saying that without the assistance of
+the devil it would have been impossible to stand firm in such a
+place, still less to assist another; he impressed this so well on the
+Queen, that she is still of the opinion that our lady exercises
+sorcery. Fos would take the glory from God to give it to the devil,
+and this calumny has to be endured with many others. But let us
+return to our miserable fugitives, whom we left in the fosse. Our
+lady, who had shouted to her husband not to advance, as soon as she
+heard the valet fall, called to him to keep back, turn quietly, and
+to climb upwards, for that there was no passage there; this was done,
+and they remounted the fosse and kept themselves quiet. Her husband
+wished that they should remain there, since they did not know which
+road to take.
+
+While they were deliberating, the moon shone forth a little, and our
+lady saw where she was, and she remembered a good passage which she
+had seen on the day when she walked out with the governor; she
+persuaded her husband to follow her; he complained of his want of
+strength; she told him that God would assist him, and that he did not
+require great strength to let himself glide down, that the passage
+was not difficult, and that in ascending on the opposite side, which
+was not high, the valet and herself could assist him. He resolved,
+but he found it difficult enough; at length, however, they succeeded;
+they had then to go half a quarter of a league to reach the place
+where the boats were.
+
+Her husband, wearied out, could not walk, and begged her, for the
+love of God, to leave him where he was; he was ready to die; she
+consoled him, and gave him restoratives, and told him that he had but
+a little step to make; he begged her to leave him there, and to save
+herself with the servant: she would find means afterwards to rescue
+him from prison. She said no, she would not abandon him; that he knew
+well the opportunities she had had to escape before, if she had
+wished to forsake him; that she would never quit him nor leave him in
+the hands of this tyrant; that if Fos ventured to touch him, she was
+resolved on avenging herself upon him.
+
+After having taken a little breath, he began again to proceed. Our
+lady, who was loaded with so many ropes and clothes, could scarcely
+walk, but necessity gave her strength. She begged her husband to lean
+on her and on the valet, so he supported himself between them, and in
+this way arrived where the boats were; but too late, for it was
+already day. As our lady saw the patrol coming in the distance, she
+begged her husband to stop there with the valet, saying that she
+would go forward in advance, which she did. She was scarcely a
+musket-shot distant from a little town where the major lodged, when
+she spoke with the guard, and asked them after the major. One of them
+went for the major, whose name was Kratz.
+
+The major saw our lady with great consternation; he asked after her
+husband. She told him where he was, and in a few words she requested
+that he would go to the castle and tell Major-General Fos that his
+ill-treatment had been the cause of the desperate resolution they had
+taken, and to beg him not to ill-treat them; they were at present
+sick at heart; they could not endure anything; she begged him to
+consider that those who had resolved to face more than one form of
+death, would not fear it in any shape. Kratz conducted the prisoners
+to his house, mounted his horse, and went in search of the governor,
+who was still in bed, and told him the affair.
+
+The governor got out of bed like a furious creature, swore, menaced;
+after having recovered a little, the major told him what our lady had
+begged him to say. Then he was for some time thoughtful, and said, 'I
+confess it; they had reason to seek their liberty, for otherwise
+they would never have had it.' He did not immediately come for the
+prisoners, for he had another apartment prepared for them. As he
+entered, he assumed a pleasant manner, and asked if they ought to be
+there; he did not say an unkind word, but, on the contrary, said he
+should have done the same. They were conducted to the Royal Hall to
+warm themselves, for they were all wet with the rain; our lady had
+then an opportunity of speaking to the valet, and of taking from him
+the papers that he had, which contained all that had passed during
+the time of their imprisonment,[37] and she counselled the valet to
+lay aside the arms that he had upon him, and that if he had anything
+which he wished to secure that he would deliver it up to her keeping.
+The valet gave her what she asked, followed her orders, threw away
+his arms, but as regarded his own papers he would not give them up,
+for he did not share her fears; but he knew afterwards, for Fos
+caused him to be entirely stripped, and took away everything from
+him, and made him pay well for having noted down the dishes that they
+had on the first day of the Festivals, and on the rest.
+
+ [37] This account of what happened during their imprisonment at
+ Hammershuus, written by Leonora herself, is also mentioned in her
+ Record of her prison-life in the Blue Tower. But no copy of it has
+ yet come to light. Uhlfeldt's so-called apology contains much
+ information on this subject.
+
+At length towards evening our lady and her husband were conveyed into
+another apartment, and the valet into the body-guard loaded with
+irons. They were there together thirteen weeks, until Fos received
+orders from the Court to separate them; meanwhile, he encased the
+prisons in iron. I may well use such a term, for he caused plates of
+iron to be placed on the walls, double bars and irons round the
+windows.[38] When he had permission to separate them, he entered one
+day to begin a quarrel, and spoke of the past; our lady begged him
+not to say more, but he would go on; he was determined to quarrel. He
+said to her, 'Madame, you are so haughty, I will humble you; I will
+make you so--so small,' and he made a measurement with his hand from
+the floor. 'You have been lifted up and I will bring you down.' She
+laughed, and said, 'You may do with me whatever you will, but you can
+never humble me so that I shall cease to remember that you were a
+servant of a servant of the King my father;' at last, he so forgot
+himself as to hold his fist in her face. She said to him, keeping her
+hand on her knife which she had in her pocket, 'Make use of your foul
+mouth and accursed tongue, but keep your hands quiet.' He drew back,
+and made a profound bow in ridicule, calling her 'your grace,' asked
+her pardon, and what he had to fear. She said, 'You have nothing to
+fear; if you take liberties, you will meet with resistance--feeble
+enough, but such as I have strength to give you.'
+
+ [38] Fuchs' own report on this subject still exists, and in it he
+ estimates the iron employed at three tons.
+
+After some further invectives, he said farewell, and begged they
+might be good friends; he came once more and conducted himself in the
+same manner, but less violently. He said to a captain who was
+present, of the name of Bolt, that he did it expressly in order to
+have a quarrel with her husband, that he might revenge himself for
+her conduct upon him, but that her husband would not speak to him. At
+length the unhappy day of their separation came, and Fos entered to
+tell them that they must be prepared to bid each other a final
+farewell, for that he had orders to separate them, and in this life
+they would never see each other again; he gave them an hour to
+converse together for the last time. You can easily imagine what
+passed in this hour; but as they had been prepared for this
+separation weeks before, having been warned of it by their guard with
+whom they could talk, it did not surprise them. Our lady had gained
+over four of the guards, who were ready to let them escape easily
+enough, but her husband would not undertake it, always saying that he
+had no strength, but that she might do it. Well, they had to abide by
+it; after this sad day[39] they were separated, he in one prison
+below and she in another above, one above another, bars before the
+windows, he without a servant, and she without a waiting woman.
+
+ [39] The precise date was June 15, 1661, but the order for their
+ separation is dated already on the 4th of April.
+
+About three weeks after, our lady fell ill; she requested a woman or
+girl to wait upon her, and a priest. Fos sent answer, with regard to
+a woman or girl to wait upon her, he did not know anyone who would do
+it, but that there was a wench who had killed her child, and who
+would soon be beheaded, and if she wished for her, she could have
+her. As to a priest, he had no orders, and she would have no priest
+even if death were on her lips. Our lady said nothing but 'Patience;
+I commend it to God.' Our lady had the happiness of being able to
+give her husband signs daily, and to receive such, and when the wind
+was not too strong they could speak to one another. They spoke
+Italian together, and took their opportunity before the reveille.
+Towards the close of the governorship of this villain, he was
+informed of this. He then had a kind of machine made which is used to
+frighten the cattle from the corn in the summer, and which makes a
+great noise, and he desired the sentinel to move this machine in
+order to hinder them hearing each other.
+
+Fifteen days before Count Rantzow came to Borringholm to treat with
+them, Fos had news of it from Copenhagen from his intimate friend
+Jaques P...; he visited our lady, told her on entering that her
+children had been expelled from Skaane by the Swedes; our lady said,
+'Well, the world is wide, they will find a place elsewhere.' He then
+told her that Bolt had come from Copenhagen with the tidings that
+they would never be let at liberty; she replied, 'Never is a long
+time; this imprisonment will not last a hundred years, much less an
+eternity--in the twinkling of an eye much may change; the hand of
+God, in whom are the hearts of kings, can change everything.' He
+said, 'You have plenty of hope; you think perhaps if the King died,
+you would be free?' She replied, 'God preserve the King. I believe
+that he will give me liberty, and no one else.' He chatted about a
+great many things, and played the flatterer.
+
+At length Count Rantzow came and made a stay at Borringh... of eleven
+weeks. He visited the prisoners, and did them the favour of having
+the husband to dine with him, and in the evening our lady supped with
+him, and he conferred with them separately. Our lady asked him of
+what she was accused; he replied, 'Will you ask that? that is not the
+way to get out of Borringholm; do you know that you have said the
+King is your brother? and kings do not recognise either sisters or
+brothers.' She replied, 'To whom had I need to say that the King is
+my brother? who is so ignorant in Denmark as not to know that? I have
+always known, and know still, the respect that is due to the King; I
+have never given him any other title than my King and Lord; I have
+never called him my brother, in speaking of him; kings are gracious
+enough to recognise their sisters and brothers as such; for example,
+the King of England gives the title of sister to his brother's wife,
+although she is of very mediocre extraction.[40] Rantzow replied,
+'Our King does not wish it, and he does not know yet the truth about
+Dina's affair.' She said, 'I think the King does not wish to know.'
+He replied, 'Indeed, by God he desires with all his heart to be
+informed of it.' She answered, 'If the King will desire Walter to
+tell him, and this with some earnestness, he will be informed of it.'
+Rantzow made no reply.
+
+ [40] Leonora alludes to the wife of the then Duke of York,
+ afterwards James II., who was the daughter of Lord Edward
+ Clarendon.
+
+When he had concluded everything with her husband, whom he had
+obliged to yield up all his possessions, Rantzow acquainted our lady
+with the fact; she said that her husband had power to give up what
+was his, but that the half belonged to her, and that this she would
+not give up, not being able to answer for it before God nor before
+her children; she had committed no crime; liberty should be given to
+her husband for the half of their lands, and that if the King thought
+he could retain her with a good conscience she would endure it.
+Rantzow with a serious air replied, 'Do not think that your husband
+will ever be set at liberty, if you do not sign with him.' She said
+that the conditions were too severe; that they should do better for
+their children to die as prisoners, God and all the world knowing
+their innocence, than to leave so many children beggars. Rantzow
+said, 'If you die in prison, all your lands and property are
+forfeited, and your children will have nothing; but at this moment
+you can have your liberty, live with your husband; who knows, the
+King may still leave you an estate, and may always show you favour,
+when he sees that you yield to his will.' Our lady said that since
+there was no other prospect for her husband's liberty, she would
+consent. Rantzow ordered her husband and herself separately to place
+in writing the complaints they had to bring forward against Fos, and
+all that had happened with regard to their attempt at escape; which
+was done. Our lady was gracious in her demeanour to Fos, but her
+husband could not make up his mind even to speak to him. Rantzow
+returned to Copenh... and eighteen days afterwards the galley of
+Gabel came with orders to the new governor (Lieutenant-Colonel
+Lytkens, a very well-bred man and brave soldier, his wife a noble
+lady of the Manteuffel family, very polite and pretty), that he
+should make the prisoners sign the papers sent, and when the
+signature was done, should send them on together.
+
+The governor sent first to the husband, as was befitting, who made
+difficulties about signing because they had added points here and
+there, and among other things principally this, that they were never
+to plead against Fos. The husband said he would rather die. The good
+governor went in search of the wife and told her everything, begging
+her to speak to her husband from the window; when he knew that she
+had spoken to him, he would return. She thanked the governor, and
+when he had gone out she spoke to her husband, and persuaded him to
+sign. Then the governor made her sign also; and after that, towards
+nine o'clock in the evening, her husband came to her, having been
+separated just twenty-six weeks.[41] They were separated on a
+Saturday, and they met again on a Saturday. Fos was still at the
+castle; it is easy to believe that he was in great rage. Time does
+not permit to dwell on it. Two days afterwards they embarked and came
+to Copenhagen, and were received on the Custom-house pier by C.
+Rantzow and Gabel. The Queen knew nothing of it. When she was told of
+it she was so angry that she would not go to table. In a few words
+the King held his ground, and as she would not accept the thanks of
+Monsieur and his wife, the King ordered her to receive them in
+writing. They spent the Christmas of 1660 in the house of C. Rantzow.
+Afterwards they went to Fyen, to the estate of Ellensborg, which was
+graciously left to them.[42]
+
+ [41] The apology of Uhlfeldt contains an account of this whole
+ transaction. He states that when he asked his wife through the
+ window whether they ought to sign and live rather than die in
+ prison, which would otherwise be their lot, Leonora answered with
+ the following Latin verse:
+
+     Rebus in adversis facile est contemnere mortem,
+     Fortius ille facit, qui miser esse potest.
+     Accidit in puncto, quod non speratur in anno.
+
+ [42] Ellensborg was the ancient seat of the Ulfeldt family, which
+ had been sold to Ellen Marsvin, Leonora's grandmother, and Leonora
+ inherited it from her mother. It is now called Holckenhavn, and the
+ seat of Count Holck.
+
+Her husband having permission to go to France to take the waters for
+eighteen months, left Ell... with his family in the month of June
+1662, and landed at Amsterdam. Our lady went from thence to Bruges to
+hire a house, and returned to Amsterdam. Her daughter Helena fell ill
+of the small-pox; she remained with her, and her husband and the
+other children went to Bruges. When her daughter had recovered, she
+went to rejoin her husband and children. She accompanied her husband,
+who went to France. Having arrived at Paris, the doctors did not
+find it advisable that he should take the waters, and he returned to
+Bruges. Her husband begged our lady to make a journey to England, and
+to take her eldest son with her. She raised obstacles, and showed him
+plainly that she should obtain nothing; that she should only be at
+great expense. She had examples before her which showed her that the
+King of England would never pay her husband. He would not have been
+turned from his purpose at this time but for their son's rencontre
+with Fos, which prevented the journey that winter, and postponed the
+misfortunes of our lady, though it did not ultimately prevent them.
+
+But towards the spring the same design was again brought forward; our
+lady was assisted by the nobleman who followed her afterwards[43] in
+dissuading her husband; but no reasoning could avail; he believed the
+King could not forget the benefits received, and refuse to pay his
+cousin. Our lady prepared for her departure, since her husband wished
+it. The day that she bade him her last farewell--a fatal day,
+indeed--her husband's heart did not tell him that these would be the
+last embraces he would give her, for he was so satisfied and so full
+of joy that she and all were astonished. She, on the contrary, was
+sad. The last day of their intercourse was May 24, 1663. She had many
+contretemps at first, and some time elapsed before she had the honour
+of speaking to the King.
+
+ [43] Namely Casetta, a Spanish nobleman, who afterwards married
+ their daughter Anna Katherine, but both he and their children died
+ soon. (_See_ the Introduction.)
+
+The King greeted her after the fashion of the country, treated her as
+his cousin,[44] and promised her all sorts of satisfaction; that he
+would send his secretary[45] to her to see her papers, which he did.
+The secretary made her fine promises, but the time was always
+postponed. The minister resident, Petkum, minister of the King of
+Danem..., came to visit her (he had placed some obstacles in the way
+of her demands, from what was told her). She showed him her papers,
+informed him of the affair, told him that the King of Denmark had had
+all the papers in his hands, and had graciously returned them. The
+traitor made a semblance of understanding the affair, and promised
+that he would himself help in securing the payment of her demands.
+But this Judas always intended to betray her, asking her if she did
+not like to make excursions, speaking to her of beautiful houses,
+gardens and parks, and offering her his coach. But our lady was not
+inclined to make excursions.
+
+ [44] Charles the Second's Grandmother, Anna, the Queen of James I.
+ was sister of Leonora Christina's father, Christian IV.
+
+ [45] Sir Henry Bennet, afterwards Lord Arlington.
+
+When he saw that he could not catch her in this way, he obtained an
+order to arrest her. Our poor lady knew nothing of all this; she had
+letter upon letter from her husband requesting her return. She took
+leave of the King by letter, gave her papers to a lawyer[46] upon a
+receipt, and set out from London. Having arrived at Dover, and
+intending to embark the same evening for Flanders, a lieutenant of
+the name of Braten[47] appeared, who came to show her an order from
+the King of Anglet... which she read herself, the purport of which
+was that the governor was to arrest such a lady, and to place her in
+the castle till further orders. She asked the reason why. He said
+that she had left without permission from the King. She told him
+that she had taken leave of the King by letter, and had spoken the
+day before her departure with the Prime Minister and Vice-Admiral
+Aschew,[48] who had bade her farewell.[49]
+
+ [46] A certain Mr. Mowbray.
+
+ [47] Elsewhere she writes the name Broughton.
+
+ [48] Sir George Askew.
+
+ [49] Compare with this account the following extracts in the
+ _Calendar of State Papers_, domestic series, 1663, 1664, pp. 196,
+ 197, 200:--
+
+ 1663--_July 8._--Warrant to Captain Strode, governor of Dover
+ Castle, to detain Elionora Christiana, Countess of Uhlfeldt, with
+ her husband, if he be found with her, and their servants; to keep
+ her close prisoner, and secure all her papers, according to
+ instructions to be given by Thos. Parnell.
+
+ _July 8._--Warrant to Thos. Parnell to observe the movements of the
+ said Countess of Uhlfeldt; to seize her should she attempt to embark
+ at Gravesend with her papers, and to detain her close prisoner.
+
+ (_July_).--Instructions (by Sec. Bennet) to Thos. Parnell, to go to
+ Dover Castle to deliver instructions, and assist in their execution,
+ relative to a certain lady (the Countess of Uhlfeldt), who is not to
+ be permitted to depart, whether she have a pass or not; but to be
+ invited, or if needful compelled, to lodge at the castle, where the
+ best accommodation is to be provided for her. It is suspected that
+ her husband lies concealed in the kingdom, and will also try to pass
+ with his lady, but he also is to be detained, and her servants also.
+
+ _July 11._--Thos. Parnell to Williamson. 'Found the Countess (of
+ Uhlfeldt) at Dover, and by the aid of the Lieut.-Governor sent the
+ searcher to her inn, to demand her pass. She said she had none, not
+ knowing it would be wanted. She submitted patiently to be taken to
+ the castle, and lodged there till a message was sent to town. The
+ Regent's gentleman, the bearer will give an account of all things.'
+
+When she came to the castle, the emissary of Petkum presented
+himself, by name Peter Dreyer. Then the Lieutenant said, 'It is the
+King of Danemarc who has ordered you to be arrested.' She asked the
+cause. He replied, 'You undoubtedly set out incognito from
+Danemarck.' She replied to this that the King of Danem... had given
+her husband leave of absence for a term of eighteen months, which had
+not yet expired. They ordered her boxes and those of the nobleman who
+accompanied her to be opened, and they took all the papers.
+Afterwards Dreyer spoke to her, and she asked him why she was
+treated thus? He said he did not know the real cause, but that he
+believed it was for the death of Fos, and that she was believed to
+have been the cause of his death. They always mentioned this to her,
+and no other cause.
+
+This double traitor Braten enacted the gallant, entertained her, made
+her speak English (as she was bolder in speaking this language than
+any other), for she had just begun to learn it well, having had a
+language-master in London. One day he told that they intended
+conducting her to Danemarck. She told him there was no need to send
+her to Danem...; she could go there very well by herself. He said,
+'You know yourself what suits you; if you will not go there
+willingly, I will manage so that you may go to Flanders.' She did not
+see that this was feasible, even if he was willing; she spoke with
+him as to the means, saw that he did not satisfy her, and did not
+trust his conversation; as he was cunning, he made her believe that
+the King wished her to go secretly, and that he would take it all
+upon himself; that the King had his reasons why he did not wish to
+deliver her into the hands of the King of Danem....
+
+This deception had such good colouring, for she had written several
+times to the King during her arrest, and had begged him not to reward
+her husband's services by a long arrest, only speaking of what she
+had done at the Hague for him: she had taken her jewels and rings and
+given them to him, when his host would not any longer supply him with
+food.[50] Her claim was not small; it exceeded 20,000 patacoons.[51]
+
+ [50] Several letters written by Leonora during her imprisonment at
+ Dover to Charles II., Sir Henry Bennet, &c., are printed in a
+ Danish periodical, _Danske Samlinger_, vol. vi.
+
+ [51] Reckoning the patacoon to 4s. 8d., this claim would be nearly
+ 5,000_l._
+
+Our lady allowed herself to be persuaded that the King of England
+wished her to leave secretly. The traitor Braten told her that he
+thought it best that she should disguise herself as a man. She said
+that there was no necessity she should disguise herself; that no one
+would pursue her; and even if it were so, that she would not go in
+disguise with any man who was not her husband. After having been
+detained seventeen days at Dover, she allowed herself to be conducted
+by Braten, at night, towards the ramparts, descended by a high ladder
+which broke during her descent, passed the fosse, which was not
+difficult; on the other side there was a horse waiting for her, but
+the nobleman, her attendant, and the nobleman's valet, went on foot;
+they would not allow her valet to go with them; Braten made an excuse
+of not being able to find him, and that time pressed; it was because
+they were afraid that there would be an effort at defence.
+
+When she arrived where the traitors were, her guide gave a signal by
+knocking two stones one against another. At this, four armed men
+advanced; Petkum and Dreyer were a little way off; one held a pistol
+to her breast, the other a sword, and said, 'I take you prisoner.'
+The other two traitors said, 'We will conduct you to Ostend.' She had
+always suspected treachery, and had spoken with her companion, in
+case it happened, what it would be best to do, to give herself up or
+to defend herself? She decided on allowing herself to be betrayed
+without a struggle, since she had no reason to fear that her life
+would be attempted because her son had avenged the wrong done to his
+parents. Thus she made no resistance, begged them not to take so much
+trouble, that she would go of herself; for two men held her with so
+much force that they hurt her arm. They came with a bottle of dry
+wine to quench her thirst, but she would not drink; she had a good
+way to go on foot, for she would not again mount the horse.
+
+She showed some anger towards her guide, begged him in English to
+give her respects to the governor,[52] but to convey to the traitor
+Braten all the abuse that she could hurriedly call to mind in this
+language, which was not quite familiar to her. She advanced towards
+the boat; the vessel which was to convey her was in the roads, near
+the Downs. She bade farewell to the nobleman. She had two bracelets
+with diamonds which she wished to give him to convey to her children;
+but as he feared they would be taken from him, she replaced them
+without troubling him with them. She gave a pistol to her servant,
+and a mariner then carried her to the boat; she was placed in an
+English frigate that Petkum had hired, and Dreyer went with her.[53]
+She was thirteen days on the road, and arrived near the Custom-house
+pier on August 8, 1663, at nine o'clock in the morning.
+
+ [52] Leonora did not know that the governor of the castle was in
+ the plot.
+
+ [53] Additional light is thrown on the arrest of Leonora Christina
+ at Dover by the following extracts in the _Calendar of State
+ Papers_, p. 224, 225:--
+
+ _August 1_, _Whitehall_.--(Sec. Bennet) to Capt. Strode. The King is
+ satisfied with his account of the lady's escape and his own
+ behaviour; continue the same mask, of publishing His Majesty's
+ displeasure against all who contributed to it, especially his
+ lieutenant, and this more particularly in presence of M. Cassett,
+ lest he may suspect connivance. Cassett is to continue prisoner some
+ time. The Danish Resident is satisfied with the discretion used, but
+ says his point would not have been secured had the lady gone to sea
+ without interruption.
+
+ _August 1_?--Account (proposed to be sent to the Gazette?) relative
+ to Count Uhlfeldt--recording his submission in 1661, the present
+ sentence against him, his further relapse into crime after a solemn
+ recantation, also signed by his wife who was his accomplice, though
+ her blood saved her from sharing his sentence, but who has now
+ betrayed herself into the hands of the King of Denmark. She was in
+ England when the conspiracy against the King of Denmark's life was
+ detected. The King of England had her movements watched, when she
+ suddenly went off without a pass, for want of which she was stayed
+ by the Governor of Dover Castle, who accommodated her in the castle.
+ The Resident of Denmark posted to Dover, and secured the master of a
+ ship then in the road, with whom he expected her to tamper, which
+ she did, escaped through the castle window, and entering a shallop
+ to go on board, was seized and conveyed to Denmark. With note (by
+ Lord Chancellor Clarendon) that he is not satisfied with this
+ account, but will prepare a better for another week.
+
+[The remaining part of the Autobiography treats of the commencement
+of her imprisonment in the Blue Tower, which forms the subject of the
+following Memoir.]
+
+
+
+
+ A RECORD
+ OF
+ THE SUFFERINGS OF THE IMPRISONED COUNTESS
+ LEONORA CHRISTINA.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+_TO MY CHILDREN._
+
+
+Beloved children, I may indeed say with Job, 'Oh, that my grief were
+thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
+For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea.' My sufferings
+are indeed great and many; they are heavy and innumerable. My mind
+has long been uncertain with regard to this history of my sufferings,
+as I could not decide whether I ought not rather to endeavour to
+forget them than to bear them in memory. At length, however, certain
+reasons have induced me, not only to preserve my sorrow in my own
+memory, but to compose a record of it, and to direct it to you, my
+dear children.[54]
+
+ [54] In the margin is added: 'As I now hope that what I write may
+ come into your hands, my captivity during the last three years also
+ having been much lightened.'
+
+The first of these reasons is the remembrance of the omnipotence of
+God; for I cannot recall to mind my sorrow and grief, my fears and
+distresses, without at the same time remembering the almighty power
+of God, who in all my sufferings, my misery, my affliction, and
+anxiety, has been my strength and help, my consolation and
+assistance; for never has God laid a burden upon me, without at the
+same time giving me strength in proportion, so that the burden,
+though it has weighed me down and heavily oppressed me, has not
+overwhelmed me and crushed me; for which I praise and extol through
+eternity the almighty power of the incomprehensible God.
+
+I wish, therefore, not alone to record my troubles and to thank God
+for His gracious support in all the misfortunes that have befallen
+me, but also to declare to you, my dear children, God's goodness to
+me, that you may not only admire with me the inconceivable help of
+the Almighty, but that you may be able to join with me in rendering
+Him thanks. For you may say with reason that God has dealt
+wonderfully with me; that He was mighty in my weakness and has shown
+His power in me, the frailest of His instruments. For how would it
+have been possible for me to resist such great, sudden, and
+unexpected misfortunes, had not His spirit imparted to me strength?
+It was God who Himself entered with me into the Tower-gate; it was He
+who extended to me His hand, and wrestled for me in that prison cell
+for malefactors, which is called 'the Dark Church.'
+
+Since then, now for almost eleven years, He has always been within
+the gate of my prison as well as of my heart; He has strengthened me,
+comforted me, refreshed me, and often even cheered me. God has done
+wonderful things in me, for it is more than inconceivable that I
+should have been able to survive the great misfortunes that have
+befallen me, and at the same time should have retained my reason,
+sense, and understanding. It is a matter of the greatest wonder that
+my limbs are not distorted and contracted from lying and sitting,
+that my eyes are not dim and even wholly blind from weeping, and from
+smoke and soot; that I am not short-breathed from candle smoke and
+exhalation, from stench and close air. To God alone be the honour!
+
+The other cause that impels me is the consolation it will be to you,
+my dear children, to be assured through this account of my sufferings
+that I suffer innocently; that nothing whatever has been imputed to
+me, nor have I been accused of anything for which you, my dear
+children, should blush or cast down your eyes in shame. I suffer for
+having loved a virtuous lord and husband, and for not having
+abandoned him in misfortune. I was suspected of being privy to an act
+of treason for which he has never been prosecuted according to law,
+much less convicted of it, and the cause of the accusation was never
+explained to me, humbly and sorrowfully as I desired that it should
+be. Let it be your consolation, my dear children, that I have a
+gracious God, a good conscience, and can boldly maintain that I have
+never committed a dishonourable act. 'This is thankworthy,' says the
+apostle St. Peter, 'if a man for conscience toward God endure grief,
+suffering wrongfully.' I suffer, thank God, not for my misdeeds, for
+that were no glory to me; yet I can boast that from my youth up I
+have been a bearer of the cross of Christ, and had incredibly secret
+sufferings, which were very heavy to endure at such an early age.
+
+Although this record of my sufferings contains and reveals nothing
+more than what has occurred to me in this prison, where I have now
+been for eleven years, I must not neglect in this preface briefly to
+recall to your minds, my dear children, my earlier misfortunes,
+thanking God at the same time that I have overcome them.
+
+Not only you, my dear children, know, but it is known throughout the
+whole country, what great sorrow and misfortune Dina and Walter, with
+their powerful adherents, inflicted on our house in the year 1651.
+
+Although I will not mention the many fatiguing and difficult
+journeys, the perils by sea, and various dangers which I have endured
+in foreign countries, I will only remind you of that journey which my
+lord requested me to undertake to Denmark, contrary to my wish, in
+the year 1657.[E01] It was winter time, and therefore difficult and
+dangerous. I endured scorn and persecution; and had not God given me
+courage and taken it from him who was to have arrested me, I should
+not at that time have escaped the misery of captivity.
+
+ [E01] This journey really took place in November and December,
+ 1656.
+
+You will remember, my dear children, what I suffered and endured
+during fourteen months in custody at Malmoe; how the greatest favour
+which His Majesty, King Charles X. of Sweden, at that time showed me,
+was that he left it to my free will, either to remain at liberty,
+taking care of our property, or to be in prison with my lord. I
+acknowledged the favour, and chose the latter as my duty, esteeming
+it a happiness to be allowed to console and to serve my anxious
+husband, afflicted as he subsequently was by illness. I accepted it
+also as a favour that I was allowed (when my lord could not do it
+himself on account of illness) to appear before the tribunal in his
+stead. What anxiety and sorrow I had for my sick lord, what trouble,
+annoyance and distress, the trial caused me (it was carried on daily
+for more than nine weeks), is known to the most high God, who was my
+consolation, assistance, and strength, and who inspired me with
+heart and courage to defend the honour of my lord in the presence of
+his judges.
+
+You will probably not have forgotten how quickly one misfortune
+followed another, how one sorrow was scarcely past when a greater one
+followed in its track; we fared, according to the words of the poet:
+
+    Incidit in Scyllam, qui vult vitare Charibdin.
+
+We escaped custody and then fell into strict captivity, without doubt
+by the dispensation of God, who inspired my lord with the idea of
+repairing, contrary to our agreement, to Copenhagen instead of
+Luebeck. No pen can describe how sorrowful I was when, contrary to all
+expectation, I met my lord in Copenhagen, when I had imagined him
+escaped from the power and violence of all his enemies. I expected
+just that which my lord did not believe would happen, but which
+followed immediately--namely, our arrest. The second day after my
+arrival (which they had waited for) we were apprehended and conveyed
+to Bornholm, where we were in close imprisonment for seventeen
+months. I have given a full description of what I suffered, and this
+I imagine is in your keeping, my dear children; and from it you see
+what I and my sick lord endured; how often I warded off greater
+misery, because my lord could not always brook patiently the bad
+treatment of the governor, Adolf Foss, who called himself Fux.
+
+It was hard and bitter indeed to be scorned and scoffed at by a
+peasant's son; to have to suffer hunger at his will, and to be
+threatened and harassed by him; but still harder and more bitter was
+it to be sick beneath his power, and to hear from him the words that
+even if death were on my lips no minister of God's word should come
+to me. Oh monstrous tyranny! His malice was so thoroughly beyond all
+bounds, that he could not endure that we should lighten each other's
+cross; and for this reason he contrived, after the lapse of eleven
+months, to have us separated from each other, and to place us each in
+the hardest confinement.
+
+My husband (at that time already advancing in years) without a
+servant, and I without an attendant, was only allowed a light so long
+as the evening meal lasted. I cannot forbear bitterly recalling to
+mind the six months of long and hard separation, and the sad farewell
+which we took of each other; for to all human sight there was no
+other prospect than that which the governor announced to us--namely,
+that we were seeing and speaking with each other for the last time in
+this world. God knows best how hard our sufferings were, for it was
+He who consoled us, who gave us hope contrary to all expectation, and
+who inspired me with courage when the governor visited me and
+endeavoured to fill me with despair.
+
+God confirmed my hope. Money and property loosened the bonds of our
+captivity, and we were allowed to see and speak with each other once
+more. Sad as my lord had been when we were separated at Borringholm,
+he was joyous when two years afterwards he persuaded me to undertake
+the English journey, not imagining that this was to part us for ever.
+My lord, who entertained too good an opinion of the King of England,
+thought that now that he had come to the throne he would remember not
+only his great written and spoken promises, but that he would also
+bear in mind how, at the time of his need and exile, I had drawn the
+rings from my fingers and had pawned them for meals for him and his
+servants. But how unwillingly I undertook this journey is well known
+to some of you, my dear children, as I was well aware that from an
+ungrateful person there is nothing else to be expected but
+ingratitude. I had the example of others by whom to take warning; but
+it was thus destined to be.
+
+Bitter bread was in store for me, and bitter gall was to fill my cup
+in the Blue Tower of Copenhagen Castle; thither was I to go to eat it
+and drink it out. It is not unknown to you how falsely the King of
+England acted towards me; how well he received me on my arrival; how
+he welcomed me with a Judas kiss and addressed me as his cousin; and
+how both he himself and all his high ministers assured me of the
+royal favour, and promised me payment of the money advanced. You know
+how cunningly (at the desire of His Majesty the King of Denmark) he
+had me arrested at Dover, and subsequently sent me word through the
+traitor Lieutenant Braten that he would let me escape secretly, at
+the same time delivering me into the hand of the Danish Minister
+Simon Petcon, who had me arrested by eight armed men; keeping aloof,
+however, himself, and never venturing to come near me. They held
+sword and pistol to my breast, and two of them took me between them
+and placed me in a boat, which conveyed me to a vessel held in
+readiness by the said Minister; a man of the name of Peter Dreyer
+having received orders to conduct me to Copenhagen.
+
+From this period this record of my suffering begins. It contains all
+that happened to me within the gates of the Blue Tower. Reflect, my
+dear children, on these hard sufferings; but remember also God's
+great goodness towards me. Verily, He has freed me from six
+calamities; rest assured that He will not leave me to perish in the
+seventh. No! for the honour of His name, He will mightily deliver me.
+
+The narrative of my sufferings is sad to hear, and must move the
+hardest heart to pity; yet in reading it, do not be more saddened
+than can be counterbalanced by joy. Consider my innocence, courage,
+and patience; rejoice over these.
+
+I have passed over various petty vexations and many daily annoyances
+for the sake of brevity, although the smallest of them rankled sore
+in the wounds of my bitter sorrow.
+
+I acknowledge my weaknesses, and do not shrink from confessing them
+to you. I am a human being, and am full of human imperfections. Our
+first emotions are not under our own power; we are often overhasty
+before we are able to reflect. God knows that I have often made
+myself deaf and blind, in order not to be carried away by passion. I
+am ashamed to mention and to enumerate the unchaste language, bad
+words and coarse invectives, of the prison governor Johan Jaeger, of
+Kresten Maansen, the tower warder, of Karen the daughter of Ole, and
+of Catharina Wolff; they would offend courtly ears. Yet I can assure
+you they surpass everything that can be imagined as indecent, ugly,
+churlish and unbecoming; for coarse words and foul language were the
+tokens of their friendliness and clemency, and disgusting oaths were
+the ornament and embellishment of their untruthfulness; so that their
+intercourse was most disagreeable to me. I was never more glad than
+when the gates were closed between me and those who were to guard me.
+Then I had only the woman alone, whom I brought to silence,
+sometimes amicably, and at others angrily and with threats.
+
+I have also had, and have still, pleasant intercourse with persons
+whose services and courtesies I shall remember as long as I live.
+You, my dear children, will also repay them to every one as far as
+you are able.
+
+You will find also in this record of my sufferings two of the chief
+foes of our house, namely Jorgen Walter and Jorgen Skroder,[E02] with
+regard to whom God has revenged me, and decreed that they should have
+need of me, and that I should comfort them. Walter gives me cause to
+state more respecting him than was my intention.
+
+ [E02] This man was a German by birth, but settled in Denmark, where
+ he was nobilitated under the name of Loevenklau. His bad conduct
+ obliged him to leave the country, and he went to Sweden, where he
+ had lived before he came to Denmark, and where Ulfeldt, then in
+ Sweden, procured him an appointment as a colonel in the army. This
+ kindness he repaid by informing the Danish Government against
+ Ulfeldt in 1654, in consequence of which he was not only allowed to
+ return to Denmark, but even obtained a lucrative office in Norway.
+ Here he quarrelled with the viceroy, Niels Trolle, and tried to
+ serve him as he had served Ulfeldt; but he failed to establish his
+ accusations against Trolle, and was condemned into the forfeiture
+ of his office and of his patent of nobility. He then left Denmark
+ at least for a season, and how he came to apply to Leonora
+ Christina for assistance is not known, as she has omitted to
+ mention it in the Memoir itself, though she evidently intended to
+ do so.
+
+Of the psalms and hymns which I have composed and translated, I only
+insert a few, in order that you, my dear children, may see and know
+how I have ever clung steadfastly to God, who has been and still is
+my wall of defence against every attack, and my refuge in every kind
+of misfortune and adversity. Do not regard the rhymes; they are not
+according to the rules which poets make; but regard the matter, the
+sense, and the purport. Nor have I left my other small pastime
+unmentioned, for you may perceive the repose of my mind from the fact
+that I have had no unemployed hours; even a rat, a creature so
+abominable to others, affording me amusement.
+
+I have recorded two observations, which though they treat of small
+and contemptible animals, yet are remarkable, and I doubt whether any
+naturalist hitherto has observed them. For I do not think it has been
+recorded hitherto that there exists a kind of caterpillar which
+brings forth small living grubs like itself, nor either that a flea
+gives birth to a fully-formed flea, and not that a nit comes from a
+nit.[55]
+
+ [55] A pen has afterwards been drawn through this paragraph, but
+ the observations occur in the manuscript.
+
+In conclusion, I beg you, my dear children, not to let it astonish
+you that I would not avail myself of the opportunity by which I might
+have gained my freedom. If you rightly consider it, it would not have
+been expedient either for you or me. I confess that if my deceased
+lord had been alive, I should not only have accepted the proposal,
+but I should have done my utmost to have escaped from my captivity,
+in order to go in quest of him, and to wait on him and serve him till
+his last breath; my duty would have required this. But since he was
+at that time in rest and peace with God, and needed no longer any
+human service, I have with reason felt that self-obtained liberty
+would have been in every respect more prejudicial than useful to us,
+and that this would not be the way to gain the possessions taken from
+us, for which reason I refused it and endeavoured instead to seek
+repose of mind and to bear patiently the cross laid upon me. If God
+so ordains it, and it is His divine will that through royal mercy I
+should obtain my freedom, I will joyfully exert myself for you, my
+beloved children, to the utmost of my ability, and prove in deed that
+I have never deviated from my duty, and that I am no less a good and
+right-minded mother than I have been a faithful wife. Meanwhile let
+God's will be your will. He will turn and govern all things so that
+they may benefit you and me in soul and body, to whose safe keeping I
+confidently recommend you all, praying that He will be your father
+and mother, your counsellor and guide. Pray in return for me, that
+God may direct me by His good spirit, and grant me patience in the
+future as heretofore. This is all that is requested from you by,
+
+My dearly beloved children, your affectionate mother,
+
+                                    LEONORA CHRISTINA, V.E.G.
+
+Written in the Blue Tower, anno 1674, the 18th of July, the eleventh
+year of imprisonment, my birthday, and fifty-third year of my
+age.[56]
+
+ [56] The conclusion of the Preface, from the words 'Meanwhile let
+ the will of God,' etc. has afterwards been erased, when the
+ manuscript was continued beyond the date assigned in the Preface;
+ and the following paragraphs, 'I bear also in mind,' etc. were
+ intended to form a new conclusion, but do not seem to have been
+ properly worked in.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+I bear also in mind, with the greatest humility and gratitude, our
+gracious hereditary King's favour towards me, immediately after His
+Majesty came to the throne. I remember also the sympathy of our most
+gracious Queen Regent, and of Her Highness the Electoral Princess of
+Saxony in my unfortunate fate; also the special favour of Her Majesty
+the Queen.
+
+I have also not forgotten to bear duly in mind the favour shown
+towards me by Her Majesty the Queen Mother, the virtuous Landgravine
+of Hesse.
+
+I have also recorded various things which occurred in my imprisonment
+during the period from the year 1663 to the year 1674, intending with
+these to conclude the record of my sufferings; as I experienced a
+pleasure, and often consoled myself, in feeling that it is better to
+remain innocently in captivity than to be free and to have deserved
+imprisonment. I remember having read that captivity has served many
+as a protection from greater dangers, and has guarded them from
+falling into the hands of their enemies. There have been some who
+have escaped from their prison and immediately after have been
+murdered. There have also been some who have had a competence in
+prison and afterwards have suffered want in freedom. Innocent
+imprisonment does not diminish honour, but rather increases it. Many
+a one has acquired great learning in captivity, and has gained a
+knowledge of things which he could not master before. Yes,
+imprisonment leads to heaven. I have often said to myself: 'Comfort
+thyself, thou captive one, thou art happy.'
+
+Since the year 1674 constituted only half the period of my captivity,
+I have added in this record of my sufferings some facts that occurred
+since that time within my prison-gates. I am on the eve of my
+liberty, May 19, 1685. To God alone be the honour, who has moved His
+Royal Majesty to justice! I will here mention those of whose death I
+have been informed during my captivity.
+
+1. The Prime Minister of His Majesty, Count Christian of
+Rantzow[E03], died in the month of September, 1663. He did not live
+to drink the health of our Princess and of the Electoral Prince of
+Saxony at the feast of their betrothal. Still less did he live long
+enough to see a wooden effigy quartered in mockery of my lord,
+according to his suggestion. Death was very bitter to him.
+
+ [E03] This Count Rantzow was the same who had negotiated the
+ compromise with Ulfeldt and Leonora at Bornholm in 1661, and in
+ fact brought it about. It was currently reported in Copenhagen at
+ the time that he had received a large sum of money from Ulfeldt on
+ that occasion, and he afterwards showed his friendly disposition
+ towards him by promising him to intercede with the King for
+ Christian Ulfeldt when the latter had killed Fuchs. Leonora,
+ however, speaks of him as an enemy probably because he presided in
+ the High Court of Appeal which condemned Ulfeldt as a traitor. But
+ the facts of the case left him scarcely any other alternative than
+ that of judging as he did, nor would it have been surprising if
+ Ulfeldt's last conduct had altered Rantzow's feelings towards him.
+ Rantzow also presided in the commission which examined Leonora in
+ the Blue Tower.
+
+2. The Mistress of the Robes of the Queen Dowager, who was so severe
+on me in my greatest sorrow, had a long and painful illness; she said
+with impatience that the pain of hell was not greater than her pain.
+Her screams could often be heard in the tower. She was carried on a
+bed into the town, and died there.
+
+3. The death of Able Catherine was very painful. As she had formerly
+sought for letters on the private parts of my person, so she was
+afterwards herself handled by the surgeons, as she had boils all over
+her. She was cut and burnt. She endured all this pain, hoping to
+live, but neither the art of the surgeons nor the visits of the Queen
+could save her from death.[E04]
+
+ [E04] Abel Catharina is mentioned in the Memoir itself as the
+ person who searched Leonora when she first entered her prison, and
+ did so in a very unbecoming manner; she acted, however, under the
+ orders of the Mistress of the Robes, M. v. Haxthausen. Abel
+ Catharina is otherwise chiefly known as the founder of a charity
+ for old women in Copenhagen, which still bears her name.
+
+4. Secretary Erich Krag, who had displayed the malice of his heart in
+my imprisonment in the 'Dark Church,' was snatched away by death in a
+place of impurity. He was lively and well, had invited guests to
+dinner, sat and wrote at his table, went out to obey the necessities
+of nature, and was found dead by his attendants when they had waited
+some time for him.
+
+5. Major-General Fridrich von Anfeldte,[E05] who had more than once
+manifested his delight at my misfortunes, died as he had lived. He
+was a godless man and a blasphemer. He fell a victim to jealousy, and
+went mad, because another obtained an honorary title which he had
+coveted; this was indeed little enough to deprive him of sense and
+reason. He would hear nothing of God, nor would he be reconciled with
+God. Both Queens, the Queen Dowager and the Queen Regent, persuaded
+him at length to be so. When he had received the sacrament, he said,
+'Now your Majesties have had your desire; but what is the good of
+it?' He continued to curse and to swear, and so died.
+
+ [E05] This name is mis-spelt for Ahlefeldt. This officer received
+ Leonora on her arrival at Copenhagen, as she relates herself. He
+ had distinguished himself in the siege of Copenhagen in 1659, and
+ died as a Lieutenant-General.
+
+6. General Schak died after a long illness.
+
+7. Chancellor Peter Retz likewise.
+
+8. His Royal Majesty King Friedrich III.'s death accelerated the
+death of the Stadtholder Cristoffer Gabel. He felt that the hate of
+the Queen Dowager could injure him greatly, and he desired death. God
+heard him.[E06]
+
+ [E06] Christoffer Gabel is mentioned several times in the
+ Autobiography. He was an influential man at the time, in great
+ favour at court, and he had a great part in effecting the release
+ of Ulfeldt from the prison at Bornholm, for which he, according to
+ Leonora's statement, received 5,000 dollars from Ulfeldt. Both he
+ and Reedtz were members of the court which condemned Ulfeldt.
+
+9. It has pleased God that I should be myself a witness of Walter's
+miserable death; indeed, that I should compassionate him. When I
+heard him scream, former times came to my mind, and I often thought
+how a man can allow himself to be led to do evil to those from whom
+he had only received kindness and honour.
+
+10. Magister Buch, my father-confessor, who acted so ill to me,
+suffered much pain on his bed of languishing. He was three days
+speechless before he died.
+
+11. When the rogue and blasphemer, Christian, who caused me so much
+annoyance in my captivity, had regained his liberty and returned to
+his landlord, Maans Armfeld in Jutland, he came into dispute with the
+parish priest, who wanted him to do public penance for having seduced
+a woman. The rogue set fire to the parsonage; the minister's wife was
+burnt to death in trying to save some of her property, and all the
+minister's possessions were left in ashes. The minister would not
+bring the rogue to justice. He commended him to the true Judge, and
+left vengeance to Him. The incendiary's conscience began to be
+awakened; for a long time he lived in dread, and was frightened if he
+saw anyone coming at all quickly, and he would call out and say
+tremblingly, 'Now they are going to take me!' and would run hither
+and thither, not knowing where to go. At length he was found dead on
+the field, having shot himself; for a long rifle was found lying
+between his legs, the barrel towards his breast, and a long ramrod in
+his hand, with which he had touched the trigger. He did not,
+therefore, die in as Christian a manner as if he had perished under
+the hand of the executioner, of which he had so lightly said that he
+should not care for it at all, so long as he could bring someone else
+into trouble.
+
+
+
+
+A RECORD OF SUFFERING;
+
+_OR, A REMINISCENCE OF ALL THAT OCCURRED TO ME, LEONORA CHRISTINA, IN
+THE BLUE TOWER, FROM AUGUST 8 OF THE YEAR 1663, TO JUNE 11[57] OF THE
+YEAR 1674._
+
+ [57] Afterwards altered to anno 1685, the 19th of May.
+
+
+The past is rarely remembered without sorrow, for it has been either
+better or worse than the present. If it was more joyous, more happy,
+and full of honour, its remembrance justly saddens us, and in
+proportion as the present is full of care, unhappiness, and
+dishonour. If past times were sadder, more miserable, and more
+deplorable than the present, the remembrance of them is equally
+sorrowful, for we recover and feel once more all the past misfortunes
+and adversities which have been endured in the course of time. But
+all things have, as it were, two handles by which they may be raised,
+as Epictetus says. The one handle, he says, is bearable; the other is
+not bearable; and it rests with our will which handle we grasp, the
+bearable or the unbearable one. If we grasp the bearable one, we can
+recall all that is transitory, however sad and painful it may have
+been, rather with joy than with sorrow.[E07] So I will seize the
+bearable handle, and in the name of Jesus I will pass rapidly through
+my memory, and recount all the wretchedness and misery, all the
+grief, scorn and suffering, contempt and adversity, which have
+befallen me in this place, and which I have overcome with God's help.
+I will, moreover, in no wise grieve over it; but, on the contrary, I
+will remind myself at every step of the goodness of God, and will
+thank the Most High who has been constantly near me with His mighty
+help and consolation; who has ruled my heart, that it should not
+depart from God; who has preserved my mind and my reason, that it has
+not become obscured; who has maintained my limbs in their power and
+natural strength, and even has given, and still gives me, repose of
+mind and joyfulness. To Thee, incomprehensible God, be honour and
+praise for ever!
+
+ [E07] The passage alluded to occurs in Epictet's Encheiridion,
+ chap. 43 (in some editions chap. 65), where he says: 'Every matter
+ has two handles, one by which it may be carried (or endured), the
+ other by which it cannot be carried (or endured). If thy brother
+ has done thee injury, do not lay hold of this matter from the fact
+ that he has done thee an injury, for this is the handle by which it
+ cannot be carried (or endured); but rather from this side: that he
+ is thy brother, educated with thee; and thou wilt lay hold of the
+ matter from that side from which it may be managed.' It is easily
+ seen how Leonora makes use of the double meaning of the Greek word
+ {phoretos}, which is equally well used of an object which can be
+ carried in the literal physical sense, and of a matter which can be
+ endured or borne with.
+
+ {Illustration:
+  DAS ALTE SCHLOSS IN COPENHAGEN MIT DEM BLAUEN THURM.
+  THE OLD CASTLE OF COPENHAGEN.
+  SHOWING THE BLUE TOWER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BACK-GROUND.}
+
+And now to proceed with my design. I consider it necessary to begin
+the record of my sufferings with the commencement of the day which
+concluded with the fatal evening of my captivity, and to mention
+somewhat of that which befell me on the vessel. After the captain had
+cast anchor a little outside the pier of St. Anna, on August 8, 1663,
+at nine o'clock in the forenoon, he was sent on shore with letters by
+Peter Dreyer, who was commissioned by Petcon, at that time the
+minister resident in England, of his Majesty the King of Denmark, to
+take charge of me. I dressed myself and sat down in one of the cabins
+of the sailors on the deck, with a firm resolution to meet
+courageously all that lay before me;[58] yet I in no wise expected
+what happened; for although I had a good conscience, and had nothing
+evil with which to reproach myself, I had at various times asked the
+before-mentioned Peter Dreyer the reason why I had been thus brought
+away. To this question he always gave me the reply which the traitor
+Braten had given me at Dover (when I asked of him the cause of my
+arrest); namely, that I was, perhaps, charged with the death of
+Major-General Fux, and, that it was thought I had persuaded my son
+to slay him; saying, that he knew of no other cause. At twelve
+o'clock Nils Rosenkrantz, at that time Lieutenant-Colonel, and Major
+Steen Anderson Bilde, came on board with some musketeers.
+Lieutenant-Colonel Rosenkrantz did not salute me. The Major walked up
+and down and presently passed near me. I asked him, en passant, what
+was the matter? He gave me no other answer than, 'Bonne mine, mauvais
+jeu;' which left me just as wise as before. About one o'clock Captain
+Bendix Alfeldt came on board with several more musketeers, and after
+he had talked some time with Peter Dreyer, Dreyer came to me and
+said, 'It is ordered that you should go into the cabin.' I said,
+'Willingly;' and immediately went. Soon after, Captain Alfeldt came
+in to me, and said he had orders to take from me my letters, my gold,
+silver, money, and my knife. I replied, 'Willingly.' I took off my
+bracelets and rings, gathered in a heap all my gold, silver, and
+money, and gave it to him. I had nothing written with me, except
+copies of the letters which I had addressed to the King of England,
+notes respecting one thing or another relating to my journey, and
+some English vocabularies; these I also gave up to him. All these
+Alfeldt placed in a silver utensil which I had with me, sealed it in
+my presence, and left the vessel with it. An hour, or somewhat more,
+afterwards, Major-General Friderich von Anfeldt,[59] Commandant in
+Copenhagen, arrived, and desired that I should come to him outside
+the cabin. I obeyed immediately. He greeted me, gave me his hand, and
+paid me many compliments, always speaking French. He was pleased to
+see me in health, he feared the sea might have inconvenienced me; I
+must not allow the time to seem long to me; I should soon be
+accommodated otherwise. I caught at the last word and said, smiling,
+'Monsieur says otherwise, but not better.' 'Yes, indeed,' he replied,
+'you shall be well accommodated; the noblest in the kingdom will
+visit you.' I understood well what he meant by this, but I answered:
+'I am accustomed to the society of great people, therefore that will
+not appear strange to me.' Upon this, he called a servant and asked
+for the before-mentioned silver utensil (which Captain Alfeldt had
+taken away with him). The paper which Captain Alfeldt had sealed over
+it was torn off. The Major-General turned to me, and said: 'Here you
+have your jewels, your gold, silver, and money back; Captain Alfeldt
+made a mistake--they were only letters which he had orders to demand,
+and these only have been taken out, and have been left at the Castle;
+you may dispose of the rest as you wish yourself.' 'In God's name,' I
+answered, 'am I, therefore, at liberty to put on again my bracelets
+and rings?' 'O Jesus,' he said, 'they are yours; you may dispose of
+them as you choose.' I put on the bracelets and rings, and gave the
+rest to my attendant. The Major-General's delight not only appeared
+in his countenance, but he was full of laughter, and was overflowing
+with merriment. Among other things he said that he had had the
+honour of making the acquaintance of two of my sons; that he had been
+in their society in Holland; and he praised them warmly. I
+complimented him in return, as was proper, and I behaved as if I
+believed that he was speaking in good faith. He indulged in various
+jokes, especially with my attendant; said that she was pretty, and
+that he wondered I could venture to keep such a pretty maiden; when
+Holstein ladies kept pretty maids it was only to put their husbands
+in good humour; he held a long discourse on how they managed, with
+other unmannerly jests which he carried on with my attendant. I
+answered nothing else than that he probably spoke from experience. He
+said all kinds of foolish jokes to my servant, but she did not answer
+a word. Afterwards the prison governor told me that he (von Anfeldt)
+had made the King believe, at first, that my attendant was my
+daughter, and that the King had been long of that opinion. At length,
+after a long conversation, the Major-General took his leave, saying
+that I must not allow the time to seem long to me; that he should
+soon come again; and he asked what he should say to his Majesty the
+King. I begged him to recommend me in the best manner to their
+Majesties' favour, adding that I knew not well what to say or for
+what to make request, as I was ignorant of what intentions they had
+with regard to me. Towards three o'clock Major-General von Anfeldt
+returned; he was full of laughter and merriment, and begged me to
+excuse him for being so long away. He hoped the time had not appeared
+long to me; I should soon get to rest; he knew well that the people
+(with this he pointed to the musketeers, who stood all along both
+sides of the vessel) were noisy, and inconvenienced me, and that
+rest would be best for me. I answered that the people did not
+inconvenience me at all; still I should be glad of rest, since I had
+been at sea for thirteen days, with rather bad weather. He went on
+with his compliments, and said that when I came into the town his
+wife would do herself the honour of waiting on me, and, 'as it seems
+to me,' he continued, 'that you have not much luggage with you, and
+perhaps, not the clothes necessary, she will procure for you whatever
+you require.' I thanked him, and said that the honour was on my side
+if his wife visited me, but that my luggage was as much as I required
+at the time; that if I needed anything in the future, I hoped she
+might be spared this trouble; that I had not the honour of knowing
+her, but I begged him, nevertheless, to offer her my respects. He
+found various subjects of discourse upon Birgitte Speckhans[E08] and
+other trifles, to pass away the time; but it is not worth the trouble
+to recall them to mind, and still less to write them down. At last a
+message came that he was to conduct me from the vessel, when he said
+to me with politeness: 'Will it please you, madame, to get into this
+boat, which is lying off the side of the ship?' I answered, 'I am
+pleased to do anything that I must do, and that is commanded by His
+Majesty the King.' The Major-General went first into the boat, and
+held out his hand to me; the Lieutenant-Colonel Rosenkrantz, Captain
+Alfeldt, Peter Dreyer, and my attendant, went with me in the boat.
+And as a great crowd of people had assembled to look at the
+spectacle, and many had even gone in boats in order to see me as they
+wished, he never took his eyes off me; and when he saw that I turned
+sometimes to one side and sometimes to another, in order to give them
+this pleasure, he said, 'The people are delighted.' I saw no one
+truly who gave any signs of joy, except himself, so I answered, 'He
+who rejoices to-day, cannot know that he may not weep to-morrow; yet
+I see, that, whether for joy or sorrow, the people are assembling in
+crowds, and many are gazing with amazement at one human being.' When
+we were advanced a little further, I saw the well-known wicked
+Birgitte Ulfeldt,[E09] who exhibited great delight. She was seated in
+an open carriage; behind her was a young man, looking like a student.
+She was driving along the shore. When I turned to that side, she was
+in the carriage and laughed with all her might, so that it sounded
+loudly. I looked at her for some time, and felt ashamed of her
+impudence, and at the disgrace which she was bringing on herself; but
+for the rest, this conduct did not trouble me more than the barking
+of the dogs, for I esteemed both equally.[60] The Major-General went
+on talking incessantly, and never turned his eyes from me; for he
+feared (as he afterwards said) that I should throw myself into the
+water. (He judged me by himself; he could not endure the change of
+fortune, as his end testified, for it was only on account of an
+honorary title which another received in his stead that he lost his
+mind. He did not know that I was governed by another spirit than he,
+which gave me strength and courage, whilst the spirit he served led
+him into despair.[61]) When the boat arrived at the small pier near
+the office of the Exchequer, Captain Alfeldt landed and gave me his
+hand, and conducted me up towards the castle bridge. Regiments of
+horse and foot were drawn up in the open place outside the castle;
+musketeers were standing on both sides as I walked forwards. On the
+castle bridge stood Jockum Walburger, the prison governor, who went
+before me; and as the people had placed themselves in a row on either
+side up to the King's Stairs, the prison governor made as if he were
+going thither; but he turned round abruptly, and said to Alfeldt,
+'This way,' and went to the gate of the Blue Tower; stood there for
+some time and fumbled with the key; acted as if he could not unlock
+it, in order that I might remain as long as possible a spectacle to
+the people. And as my heart was turned to God, and I had placed all
+my confidence in the Most High, I raised my eyes to heaven, sought
+strength, power, and safety from thence, and it was graciously
+vouchsafed me. (One circumstance I will not leave unnoticed--namely,
+that as I raised my eyes to heaven, a screaming raven flew over the
+Tower, followed by a flock of doves, which were flying in the same
+direction.) At length, after a long delay, the prison governor opened
+the Tower gate, and I was conducted into the Tower by the
+before-mentioned Captain Alfeldt. My attendant, who was preparing to
+follow me, was called back by Major-General von Anfeldt, and told to
+remain behind. The prison governor went up the stairs, and showed
+Alfeldt the way to a prison for malefactors, to which the name of the
+'Dark Church' has been given. There Alfeldt quitted me with a sigh
+and a slight reverence. I can truly say of him that his face
+expressed pity, and that he obeyed the order unwillingly. The clock
+was striking half-past five when Jockum closed the door of my prison.
+I found before me a small low table, on which stood a brass
+candlestick with a lighted candle, a high chair, two small chairs, a
+fir-wood bedstead without hangings and with old and hard bedding, a
+night-stool and chamber utensil. At every side to which I turned I
+was met with stench; and no wonder, for three peasants who had been
+imprisoned here, and had been removed on that very day, and placed
+elsewhere, had used the walls for their requirements. Soon after the
+door had been closed, it was opened again, and there entered Count
+Christian Rantzow, Prime Minister, Peter Zetz, Chancellor,
+Christoffer von Gabel, at that time Chancellor of the Exchequer, and
+Erich Krag, at that time Secretary, all of whom gave me their hands
+with civility. The Chancellor spoke and said: 'His Royal Majesty, my
+gracious master and hereditary king, sends you word, madame, that His
+Majesty has great cause for what he is doing against you, as you will
+learn.' I replied: 'It is much to be regretted by me, if cause should
+be found against me; I will, however, hope that it may not be of such
+a kind that His Majesty's displeasure may be lasting. When I know the
+cause I can defend myself.' Count Rantzow answered: 'You will obtain
+permission to defend yourself.' He whispered something to the
+Chancellor, upon which the Chancellor put a few questions: first,
+Whether on my last journey I had been in France with my husband? To
+which I answered in the affirmative. Then, What my husband was doing
+there? To which I replied, that he was consulting physicians about
+his health, whether it would be serviceable to him to use the warm
+baths in the country, which no one would advise him to do; he had
+even been dissuaded from trying them by a doctor in Holland of the
+name of Borro,[E10] when he had asked his opinion. Thirdly, What I
+had purposed doing in England? To this I replied that my intention
+had been to demand payment of a sum of money which the King of
+England owed us, and which we had lent him in the time of his
+misfortune. Fourthly, Who had been in England with me? I mentioned
+those who were with me in England--namely, a nobleman named Cassetta,
+my attendant who had come hither with me, a lacquey named Frantz, who
+had remained in England, and the nobleman's servant. Fifthly, Who
+visited my husband in Bruges? I could not exactly answer this, as my
+lord received his visits in a private chamber, where I was not
+admitted. Count Rantzow said, 'You know, I suppose, who came to him
+oftenest?' I answered, that the most frequent visitors among those I
+knew were two brothers named Aranda,[E11] the before-mentioned
+Cassetta, and a nobleman named Ognati. Sixthly the Chancellor asked,
+With whom I had corresponded here in the country? To which I
+answered, that I had written to H. Hendrick Bielcke, to Olluff
+Brockenhuuss, Lady Elsse Passberg, and Lady Marie Ulfeldt;[E12] I did
+not remember any more. Count Rantzow enquired if I had more letters
+than those which I had given up? To which I answered in the negative,
+that I had no more. He asked further, Whether I had more jewels with
+me than those he had seen? I answered that I had two strings of
+small round pearls on my hat, and a ring with a diamond, which I had
+given a lieutenant named Braten in Dover (it was he who afterwards
+betrayed me). Count Rantzow asked, How much the pearls might have
+been worth? This I could not exactly say. He said, that he supposed I
+knew their approximate value. I said they might be worth 200
+rix-dollars, or somewhat more. Upon this they were all silent for a
+little. I complained of the severity of my imprisonment, and that I
+was so badly treated. Count Rantzow answered, 'Yes Madame, His Royal
+Majesty has good cause for it; if you will confess the truth, and
+that quickly, you may perhaps look for mercy. Had Marechal de
+Birron[E13] confessed the matter respecting which he was interrogated
+by order of the King, when the royal mercy was offered to him if he
+would speak the truth, it would not have fared with him as it did. I
+have heard as a truth that the King of France would have pardoned him
+his crime, had he confessed at once; therefore, bethink yourself,
+madame!' I answered, 'Whatever I am asked by order of His Majesty,
+and whatever I am cognizant of, I will gladly say in all submission.'
+Upon this Count Rantzow offered me his hand, and I reminded him in a
+few words of the severity of my imprisonment. Count Rantzow promised
+to mention this to the King. Then the others shook hands with me and
+went away. My prison was closed for a little. I therefore profited by
+the opportunity, and concealed here and there in holes, and among the
+rubbish, a gold watch, a silver pen which gave forth ink and was
+filled with ink, and a scissor-sheath worked with silver and
+tortoiseshell. This was scarcely done when the door was again
+opened, and there entered the Queen's Mistress of the Robes, her
+woman of the bed-chamber, and the wife of the commissariat clerk,
+Abel Catharina. I knew the last. She and the Queen's woman of the
+bed-chamber carried clothes over their arm; these consisted of a long
+dressing-gown stitched with silk, made of flesh-coloured taffeta and
+lined with white silk, a linen under-petticoat, printed over with a
+black lace pattern, a pair of silk stockings, a pair of slippers, a
+shift, an apron, a night-dress, and two combs. They made me no
+greeting. Abel Cath. spoke for them, and said: 'It is the command of
+Her Majesty the Queen that we should take away your clothes, and that
+you should have these in their place.' I answered, 'In God's name!'
+Then they removed the pad from my head, in which I had sown up rings
+and many loose diamonds. Abel Cath. felt all over my head to see if
+anything was concealed in my hair; then she said to the others,
+'There is nothing there; we do not require the combs.' Abel Cath.
+demanded the bracelets and rings, which were a second time taken from
+me. I took them off and gave them to them, except one small ring
+which I wore on the last joint of my little finger, and which could
+not be worth more than a rix-dollar, this I begged to be allowed to
+keep. 'No,' said the Mistress of the Robes, 'You are to retain
+nothing.' Abel Cath. said, 'We are strictly forbidden to leave you
+the smallest thing; I have been obliged to swear upon my soul to the
+Queen that I would search you thoroughly, and not leave you the
+smallest thing; but you shall not lose it; they will all be sealed up
+and kept for you, for this I swear the Queen has said.' 'Good, good,
+in God's name!' I answered. She drew off all my clothes. In my
+under-petticoat I had concealed some ducats under the broad gold
+lace; there was a small diamond ornament in my silk camisole, in the
+foot of my stockings there were some Jacobuses', and there were
+sapphires in my shoes. When she attempted to remove my chemise, I
+begged to be allowed to retain it. No; she swore upon her soul that
+she dared not. She stripped me entirely, and the Mistress of the
+Robes gave Abel Cath. a nod, which she did not at once understand; so
+the Mistress of the Robes said: 'Do you not remember your orders?'
+Upon this, Abel Cath. searched my person still more closely, and said
+to the lady in waiting: 'No, by God! there is nothing there.' I said:
+'You act towards me in an unchristian and unbecoming manner.' Abel
+Cath. answered: 'We are only servants; we must do as we are ordered;
+we are to search for letters and for nothing else; all the rest will
+be given back to you; it will be well taken care of.' After they had
+thus despoiled me, and had put on me the clothes they had brought,
+the servant of the Mistress of the Robes came in and searched
+everywhere with Abel Cath., and found every thing that I had
+concealed. God blinded their eyes so that they did not observe my
+diamond earrings, nor some ducats which had been sown into leather
+round one of my knees; I also saved a diamond worth 200 rix-dollars;
+while on board the ship I had bitten it out of the gold, and thrown
+the gold in the sea; the stone I had then in my mouth.[62]
+
+ [58] In the margin is added: 'I had a ring on with a table-diamond
+ worth 200 rix-dollars. I bit this out, threw the gold in the sea,
+ and kept the stone in my mouth. It could not be observed by my
+ speech that there was anything in my mouth.'
+
+ [59] That is the Aulefeldt mentioned in the Preface under the name
+ of Anfeldt.
+
+ [E08] Birgitte Speckhans was the wife of Frants v. Speckhans,
+ master of ceremonies, afterwards Privy Councillor, &c. She had
+ formerly been in the service of Leonora Christina, who was then at
+ the height of her position, and ever afterwards proved herself a
+ friend of her and Ulfeldt. It was in her house that they stayed
+ after escaping from Malmoe, and she kept some of their movable
+ goods for them during their imprisonment at Hammershuus.
+
+ [E09] Birgitte Ulfeldt was a younger sister of Corfitz, who, in a
+ letter to Sperling, declares her to be his and Leonora's bitterest
+ enemy. What is known of her life is certainly not to her advantage.
+
+ [60] In the margin is added: 'The sorrow manifested by many would
+ far rather have depressed me; for several people, both men and
+ women, shed tears, even those whom I did not know.'
+
+ [61] This paragraph was afterwards struck out, the contents being
+ transferred to the Preface.
+
+ [E10] This is the famous Jos. Borro or Burrhus, physician and
+ alchymist. He is often mentioned in books of the seventeenth
+ century, on account of his wonderful cures and alleged knowledge of
+ the art of making gold. In 1667 he came to Denmark, where King
+ Fredrik III. spent considerable sums on the establishment of large
+ laboratories for him, in a building which is still known as 'The
+ Gold-house.'
+
+ [E11] D'Aranda was one of the most influential families in Bruges.
+ One of them, by name Bernard, was some time in the Danish army,
+ afterwards secretary to Corfitz Ulfeldt, and employed by him in
+ diplomatic missions. He died in 1658, but when Ulfeldt came to
+ Bruges in 1662 he lived for some time with one of Bernard's
+ brothers.
+
+ [E12] H. Bielke was Admiral of the realm; his wife was an Ulfeldt,
+ and it was he who procured Corfitz Ulfeldt his leave of absence in
+ 1662, of which he made such regretable use. He, too, was one of the
+ judges that convicted him. Oluf Brokkenhuus was Corfitz Ulfeldt's
+ brother-in-law; Elizabeth Parsbjerg was the widow of his elder
+ brother Lauridts Ulfeldt. Marie Ulfeldt was sister of Corfitz.
+
+ [E13] Charles de Goutant, Duc de Biron, a celebrated French
+ General, some time favourite of Henry IV. King of France, was found
+ guilty of conspiring against his master with the courts of Spain
+ and Savoy. Henry IV. forgave him, but he recommenced his intrigues.
+ It is supposed that the King would have forgiven him a second time
+ if he had confessed his crime; but he refused to do so, and was
+ beheaded in 1602.
+
+ [62] This passage was afterwards altered thus: 'God blinded their
+ eyes so that they did not perceive my earrings, in each of which
+ there is a large rose diamond, and from which I have now removed
+ the stones. The gold, which is in form of a serpent, is still in my
+ ears. They also did not perceive that something was fastened round
+ my knee.'
+
+The Mistress of the Robes was very severe; they could not search
+thoroughly enough for her. She laughed at me several times, and
+could not endure that I sat down, asking whether I could not stand,
+and whether anything was the matter with me. I answered, 'There is
+only too much the matter with me, yet I can stand when it is
+necessary.' (It was no wonder that the Mistress of the Robes could so
+well execute the order to plunder, for she had frequently accompanied
+her deceased husband. Colonel Schaffshaussen[E14], in war.) When she
+had searched every part thoroughly, they took all my clothes, except
+a taffeta cap for the head, and went away. Then the prison governor
+came in with his hat on, and said, 'Leonora, why have you concealed
+your things?' I answered him not a word; for I had made the
+resolution not to answer him, whatever he might say; his qualities
+were known to me; I was aware that he was skilful in improving a
+report, and could twist words in the manner he thought would be
+acceptable, to the damage of those who were in trouble. He asked
+again with the same words, adding 'Do you not hear?' I looked at him
+over my shoulder, and would not allow his disrespect to excite me.
+The table was then spread, and four dishes were brought in, but I had
+no appetite, although I had eaten little or nothing the whole day.
+
+ [E14] This lady is known under the name of Haxthausen; and
+ Schaffshausen is probably a mistake on Leonora's part, although of
+ course she may have been married to an officer of this name before
+ she married N. v. Haxthausen. She was a German by birth.
+
+An hour afterwards, when the dishes had been carried away, a girl
+came in named Maren Blocks, and said that she had orders from the
+Queen to remain the night with me. The prison governor joked a good
+deal with the before-mentioned Maren, and was very merry, indulging
+in a good deal of loose talk. At last, when it was nearly ten
+o'clock, he said good night and closed the two doors of my prison,
+one of which is cased with copper. When Maren found herself alone
+with me, she pitied my condition, and informed me that many, whom she
+mentioned by name (some of whom were known to me) had witnessed my
+courage with grief and tears, especially the wife of H. Hendrick
+Bielcke[E12b], who had fainted with weeping. I said, 'The good people
+have seen me in prosperity; it is no wonder that they deplore the
+instability of fortune;' and I wished that God might preserve every
+one of those from misfortune, who had taken my misfortune to heart. I
+consoled myself with God and a good conscience; I was conscious of
+nothing wrong, and I asked who she was, and whom she served? She said
+she was in the Queen's private kitchen, and had the silver in her
+keeping (from which I concluded that she had probably to clean the
+silver, which was the case). She said that the Queen could get no one
+who would be alone with me, for that I was considered evil; it was
+said also that I was very wise, and knew future events. I answered,
+'If I possessed this wisdom, I scarcely think that I should have come
+in here, for I should then have been able to guard myself against
+it.' Maren said we might know things and still not be able to guard
+against them.
+
+ [E12b] H. Bielke was Admiral of the realm; his wife was an Ulfeldt,
+ and it was he who procured Corfitz Ulfeldt his leave of absence in
+ 1662, of which he made such regretable use. He, too, was one of the
+ judges that convicted him. Oluf Brokkenhuus was Corfitz Ulfeldt's
+ brother-in-law; Elizabeth Parsbjerg was the widow of his elder
+ brother Lauridts Ulfeldt. Marie Ulfeldt was sister of Corfitz.
+
+She told me also that the Queen had herself spoken with her, and had
+said to her, 'You are to be this night with Leonora; you need not be
+afraid, she can now do no evil. With all her witchcraft she is now in
+prison and has nothing with her; and if she strikes you, I give you
+leave to strike her back again till the blood comes.' Maren said
+also, 'The Queen knows well that my mind has been affected by acute
+illness, and therefore she wished that I should be with you.' So
+saying she threw her arms round my neck as I was sitting, and
+caressed me in her manner, saying, 'Strike me, dear heart, strike
+me!' 'I will not,' she swore, 'strike again.' I was rather alarmed,
+fearing that the frenzy might come on. She said further that when she
+saw me coming over the bridge, she felt as if her heart would burst.
+She informed me with many words how much she loved me, and how the
+maid of honour, Carisius, who was standing with her in the window,
+had praised me, and wished to be able to do something for my
+deliverance, with many such words and speeches. I accepted the
+unusual caress, as under the circumstances I could not help it, and
+said that it would be contrary to all justice to offer blows to one
+who manifested such great affection as she had done, especially to
+one of her sex; adding, that I could not think how the Queen had
+imagined that I struck people, as I had never even given a box on the
+ears to a waiting-woman. I thanked her for her good opinion of me,
+and told her that I hoped all would go well, dark as things looked;
+that I would hold fast to God, who knew my innocence, and that I had
+done nothing unjustifiable; that I would commend my cause to Him, and
+I did not doubt that He would rescue me: if not immediately He would
+do so some day, I was well assured.
+
+Maren began to speak of different things; among others of my sister
+Elizabeth Augusta[E15], how she had sat in her porch as I had been
+conveyed past as a prisoner, and had said that if I were guilty there
+was nothing to say against it, but that if I were innocent they were
+going too far. I said nothing to this, nor did I answer anything to
+much other tittle-tattle. She began to speak of her own persecution,
+which she did with great diffuseness, interspersing it with other
+stories, so that the conversation (in the present circumstances) was
+very wearisome to me; I was besides very tired, and worn out with
+care, so I said I would try to sleep and bid her good-night. My
+thoughts prevented me from sleeping. I reflected on my present
+condition, and could in no wise reconcile myself to it, or discover
+the cause of such a great misfortune. It was easy to perceive that
+somewhat besides Fux's death was imputed to me, since I was treated
+with such disrespect.
+
+ [E15] Elizabeth Augusta, a younger sister of Leonora, married Hans
+ Lindenow, a Danish nobleman, who died in the siege of Copenhagen,
+ 1659.
+
+When I had long lain with my face to the wall, I turned round and
+perceived that Maren was silently weeping, so I asked her the reason
+of her tears. She denied at first that she was crying, but afterwards
+confessed that she had fallen into thinking over this whole affair.
+It had occurred to her that she had heard so much of Lady Leonora and
+her splendour, &c., of how the King loved her, and how every one
+praised her, &c., and now she was immured in this execrable thieves'
+prison, into which neither sun nor moon shone, and where there was a
+stench enough to poison a person only coming in and out, far more one
+who had to remain in it. I thought the cause of her weeping was that
+she should be shut up with me in the terrible prison; so I consoled
+her, and said that she would only remain with me until another had
+been fixed upon, since she was in other service; but that I for my
+part did not now think of past times, as the present gave me
+sufficient to attend to; if I were to call to mind the past, I would
+remember also the misfortunes of great men, emperors, kings,
+princes, and other high personages, whose magnificence and prosperity
+had far exceeded mine, and whose misfortunes had been far greater
+than mine; for they had fallen into the hands of tyrants, who had
+treated them inhumanly, but this king was a Christian king, and a
+conscientious man, and better thoughts would occur to him when he had
+time to reflect, for my adversaries now left him no leisure to do so.
+When I said this, she wept even more than before, but said nothing,
+thinking in herself (as she declared to me some days afterwards) that
+I did not know what an infamous sentence had been pronounced upon my
+late lord,[E16] and weeping all the more because I trusted the King
+so firmly. Thus we went on talking through the night.
+
+ [E16] That Leonora here speaks of her husband as her 'late lord,'
+ is due only to the fact that the Memoir was not written till after
+ his death; at the time of these events he was still alive.
+
+On the morning of August 9, at six o'clock, the prison governor came
+in, bade me good morning, and enquired whether we would have some
+brandy. I answered nothing. He asked Maren whether I was asleep; she
+replied that she did not know, came up to my bed, and put the same
+question to me. I thanked her, adding that it was a kind of drink
+which I had never tasted. The prison governor chattered with Maren,
+was very merry considering the early hour, told her his dreams, which
+he undoubtedly invented merely for the sake of talking. He told her,
+secretly, that she was to come to the Queen, and ordered her to say
+aloud that she wished to go out a little. He said that he would
+remain with me in the meanwhile, until she returned, which he did,
+speaking occasionally to me, and asking me whether I wished for
+anything? whether I had slept? whether Maren had watched well? But
+he got no answer, so that the time seemed very long to him. He went
+out towards the stairs and came back again, sang a morning psalm,
+screamed out sometimes to one, and sometimes to another, though he
+knew they were not there.
+
+There was a man named Jon who helped to bring up the meals with
+Rasmus the tower warder, and to him he called more than forty times
+and that in a singing tone, changing his key from high to low, and
+screaming occasionally as loud as he could, and answering himself
+'Father, he is not here! by God, he is not here!' then laughing at
+himself; and then he began calling again either for Jon or for
+Rasmus, so that it seemed to me that he had been tasting the brandy.
+About eight o'clock Maren came back, and said that at noon two women
+would come to relieve her. After some conversation between the prison
+governor and Maren, he went out and shut the doors. Maren told me how
+the Queen had sent for her, and asked her what I was doing, and that
+she answered that I was lying down quietly, and not saying anything.
+The Queen had asked whether I wept much. Maren replied, 'Yes indeed,
+she weeps silently.' 'For,' continued Maren, 'if I had said that you
+did not weep, the Queen would have thought that you had not yet
+enough to weep for.' Maren warned me that one of the two women who
+were to watch me was the wife of the King's shoemaker, a German, who
+was very much liked by the Queen. Her Majesty had employed her to
+attend Uldrich Christian Gyldenlowe in the severe and raving illness
+of which he died, and this woman had much influence with the Queen.
+With regard to the other woman, Maren had no idea who she might be,
+but the last-mentioned had spoken with the Queen in Maren's presence,
+and had said that she did not trust herself to be alone with me. The
+women did not come before four o'clock in the afternoon. The prison
+governor accompanied them, and unlocked the door for them. The first
+was the wife of the shoemaker, a woman named Anna, who generally
+would not suffer anybody else to speak. The other was the wife of the
+King's groom, a woman named Catharina, also a German. After greeting
+me, Anna said that her Majesty the Queen had ordered them to pass a
+day or two with me and wait upon me. 'In God's name,' I answered.
+
+Anna, who was very officious, asked me, 'Does my lady wish for
+anything? She will please only say so, and I will solicit it from the
+Queen.' I thanked her, and said that I should like to have some of my
+clothes, such as two night-jackets, one lined with silk and another
+braided with white, my stomacher, something for my head, and above
+all my bone box of perfume, which I much needed. She said she would
+at once arrange this, which she did, for she went immediately and
+proffered my request. The things were all delivered to me by the
+prison governor at six o'clock, except my box of perfume, which had
+been lost, and in its place they sent me a tin box with a very bad
+kind of perfume. When the time arrived for the evening meal,
+Catharina spread a stool by the side of my bed, but I had no desire
+to eat. I asked for a lemon with sugar, and they gave it me. The
+prison governor sat down at the table with the two women, and did the
+part of jester, so much so that no one could have said that they were
+in a house of mourning, but rather in one of festivity. I inwardly
+prayed to God for strength and patience, that I might not forget
+myself. God heard my prayer, praised be His name. When the prison
+governor was tired of the idle talking and laughing, he bade good
+night after ten o'clock, and told the women to knock if they wanted
+anything, as the tower warder was just underneath. After he had
+locked both the doors, I got up, and Catharina made my bed. Anna had
+brought a prayer-book with her, from which I read the evening prayer,
+and other prayers for them; then I laid down and bid them good night.
+They laid on a settle-bed which had been brought in for them. I
+slumbered from time to time, but only for short intervals.
+
+About six o'clock on the morning of August 10 the prison governor
+opened the door, to the great delight of the women, who were
+sincerely longing for him, especially Catharina, who was very stout;
+she could not endure the oppressive atmosphere, and was ill almost
+the whole night. When the prison governor, after greeting them, had
+inquired how it fared with them, and whether they were still alive,
+he offered them brandy, which they readily accepted. When it was
+seven o'clock, they requested to go home, which they did, but they
+first reported to the Queen all that had happened during the half-day
+and the night. The prison governor remained with me.
+
+When it was near nine o'clock, he brought in a chair without saying
+anything. I perceived from this that visitors were coming, and I was
+not wrong; for immediately afterwards there entered Count Rantzow,
+prime minister, chancellor H. Peter Retz, Christoffer Gabel, the
+chancellor of the exchequer, and secretary Erick Krag, who all shook
+hands with me and seated themselves by my bed. Krag, who had paper,
+pen and ink with him, seated himself at the table. Count Rantzow
+whispered something to the chancellor. The chancellor upon this began
+to address me as on the previous occasion, saying that his Majesty
+the King had great cause for his treatment of me. 'His Majesty,' he
+went on to say, 'entertains suspicion with regard to you, and that
+not without reason.' I inquired in what the suspicion consisted. The
+chancellor said, 'Your husband has offered the kingdom of Denmark to
+a foreign lord.' I inquired if the kingdom of Denmark belonged to my
+husband, that he could thus offer it, and as no one answered, I
+continued and said, 'Good gentlemen, you all know my lord; you know
+that he has been esteemed as a man of understanding, and I can assure
+you that when I took leave of him he was in perfect possession of his
+senses. Now it is easy to perceive that no sensible man would offer
+that which was not in his own power, and which he had no right to
+dispose of. He is holding no post, he has neither power nor
+authority; how should he, therefore, be so foolish as to make such an
+offer, and what lord would accept it?'
+
+Count Rantzow said: 'Nevertheless it is so, madame; he has offered
+Denmark to a foreign potentate; you know it well.' I answered, 'God
+is my witness that I know of no such thing.' 'Yes,' said Count
+Rantzow, 'your husband concealed nothing from you, and therefore you
+must know it.' I replied, 'My husband certainly never concealed from
+me anything that concerned us both. I never troubled myself in former
+days with that which related to his office; but that which affected
+us both he never concealed from me, so that I am sure, had he
+entertained any such design, he would not have held it a secret from
+me. And I can say, with truth, that I am not the least aware of it.'
+Count Rantzow said: 'Madame, confess it while the King still asks you
+to do so.'
+
+I answered, 'If I knew it I would gladly say so; but as truly as God
+lives I do not know it, and as truly am I unable to believe that my
+husband would have acted so foolishly, for he is a sick man. He urged
+me to go to England in order to demand the money that had been lent;
+I undertook the journey, unwillingly, chiefly because he was so very
+weak. He could not go up a few steps of the stairs without resting to
+get his breath; how should he, then, undertake a work of such labour?
+I can say with truth that he is not eight days without an attack,
+sometimes of one kind sometimes of another.' Count Rantzow again
+whispered with the chancellor, and the chancellor continued: 'Madame,
+say without compulsion how the matter stands, and who is privy to it;
+say it now, while you are asked freely to do so. His Majesty is an
+absolute Sovereign; he is not fettered by law; he can do as he will;
+say it.' I answered: 'I know well that his Majesty is an absolute
+Sovereign, and I know also, that he is a Christian and a
+conscientious man; therefore, his Majesty will do nothing but what he
+can justify before God in heaven. See, here I am! You can do with me
+what you will; that which I do not know I cannot say.'
+
+Count Rantzow began again to bring forward the Marechal de Birron,
+and made a long speech about it. To this I at length replied, that
+the Marechal de Birron in nowise concerned me; that I had no answer
+to make on the matter, and that it seemed to me that it was not a
+case in point. Count Rantzow asked me why, when I was demanded with
+whom I had corresponded in the kingdom, I had not said that I had
+written to him and to the treasurer Gabel. To this I replied that I
+thought those who asked me knew it well, so that it was not necessary
+for me to mention it; I had only said that of which they probably did
+not know. Count Rantzow again whispered to the chancellor, and the
+chancellor said: 'In a letter to Lady Elsse Passberg you have written
+respecting another state of things in Denmark,' (as he said this, he
+looked at Count Rantzow and asked if it was not so, or how it was);
+'what did you mean by that, madame?' I replied that I could not
+recollect what cause her letter had given me to answer it in this
+way; what came before or what followed, would, without a doubt,
+explain my meaning; if I might see the letter, it would prove at once
+that I had written nothing which I could not justify.
+
+Nothing more was said with regard to it. Count Rantzow asked me what
+foreign ministers had been with my lord in Bruges. 'None,' I
+answered, 'that I am aware of.' He asked further whether any Holstein
+noblemen had been with him. I answered, 'I do not know.' Then he
+enumerated every Prince in Germany, from the Emperor to the Prince of
+Holstein, and enquired respecting each separately whether any of
+their Ministers had been with my husband. I gave the same answer as
+before to each question, that I was not aware that any one of them
+had been with him. Then he said, 'Now, madame, confess! I beg you;
+remember Marechal de Birron! you will not be asked again.' I was
+somewhat tired of hearing Birron mentioned so often, and I answered
+rather hastily: 'I do not care about the Marechal de Birron; I
+cannot tell what I do not know anything about.'
+
+Secretary Krag had written somewhat hurriedly it seemed, for when at
+my desire he read aloud what he had written, the answers did not
+accord with the questions; this probably partly arose from hurry, and
+partly from malice, for he was not amicably inclined towards my late
+lord. I protested against this when he read the minutes. The
+chancellor agreed with me in every item, so that Krag was obliged to
+re-write it. After this they got up and took their leave. I requested
+to beg His Majesty the King to be gracious to me, and not to believe
+what he had been informed with regard to my husband. I could not
+imagine they would find that he had ever deviated from his duty.
+'Yes,' answered Count Rantzow, 'if you will confess, madame, and tell
+us who is concerned in this business and the details of it, you might
+perhaps find him a gracious lord and king.' I protested by the living
+God that I knew nothing of it; I knew of nothing of the kind, much
+less of accomplices. With this they went away, after having spent
+nearly three hours with me, and then the prison governor and the
+women entered. They spread the table and brought up the meal, but I
+took nothing but a draught of beer. The prison governor sat down to
+table with the women. If he had been merry before, he was still more
+so now, and he told one indecent story after another.
+
+When they had had enough of feasting and talking he went away and
+locked the door; he came as usual again about four o'clock in the
+afternoon, and let the women go out, staying with me until they
+returned, which generally was not for two hours. When the women were
+alone with me, Anna told Catharina of her grief for her first
+husband, and nothing else was talked of. I behaved as if I were
+asleep, and I did the same when the prison governor was alone with
+me, and he then passed the time in singing and humming. The evening
+meal was also very merry for the women, for the prison governor
+amused them by telling them of his second marriage; how he had wooed
+without knowing whom, and that he did not know it until the
+betrothal. The story was as ludicrous as it was diffuse. I noticed
+that it lasted an hour and a quarter.
+
+When he had said good night, Anna sat down on my bed and began to
+talk to Catharina, and said, 'Was it not a horrible story of that
+treacherous design to murder the King and Queen and the whole royal
+family?' Catharina answered, 'Thank God the King and Queen and the
+whole family are still alive!' 'Yes,' said Anna, 'it was no merit of
+the traitors, though, that they are so; it was too quickly
+discovered; the King knew it three months before he would reveal it
+to the Queen. He went about sorrowfully, pondering over it, unable
+quite to believe it; afterwards, when he was quite certain of it, he
+told the Queen; then the body-guard were doubled, as you know.'
+Catherina enquired how they had learnt it. Anna answered, 'That God
+knows; it is kept so secret that no one is allowed as much as to ask
+from whom it came.' I could not help putting in a word; it seemed to
+me a pity that they could not find out the informer, and it was
+remarkable that no one ventured to confess having given the
+information. Catherina said, 'I wonder whether it is really true?'
+'What do you mean?' answered Anna; 'would the King do as he is doing
+without knowing for certain that it is true? How can you talk so?' I
+regarded this conversation as designed to draw some words from me,
+so I answered but little, only saying that until now I had seen
+nothing which gave credibility to the report, and that therefore I
+felt myself at liberty not to believe it until I saw certain proof of
+it. Anna adhered to her statement, wondered that there could be such
+evil people as could wish to murder the good King, and was very
+diffuse on the matter.[E17] She could be at no loss for material, for
+she always began again from the beginning; but at last she had to
+stop, since she spoke alone and was not interrupted either by
+Catharina or by me.
+
+ [E17] When the sentence on Ulfeldt had become publicly known, the
+ most absurd rumours circulated in Copenhagen, and found their way
+ to foreign newspapers. For instance _the kingdom's_ Intelligencer,
+ No. 33, Aug. 10-17, 1663, says, in a correspondence from Hamburg:
+ 'They say the traitors intended to set Copenhagen on fire in divers
+ places, and also the fleet, to destroy the King and family, to blow
+ up the King's palace, and deliver the crown over to another.' The
+ Government itself, on hearing of Ulfeldt's plots, made great
+ military preparations.
+
+I got up and requested to have my bed made, which Catharina always
+did. Anna attended to the light during the night, for she was more
+watchful than Catharina. I read aloud to them from Anna's book,
+commended myself to God, and laid down to sleep. But my sleep was
+light, the promenades of the rats woke me, and there were great
+numbers of them. Hunger made them bold; they ate the candle as it
+stood burning. Catharina, moreover, was very uncomfortable all night,
+so that this also prevented my sleeping. Early on the morning of
+August 11 the prison governor came as usual with his brandy
+attentions, although they had a whole bottle with them. Catharina
+complained a good deal, and said she could not endure the oppressive
+air; that when she came in at the door it seemed as if it would
+stifle her; if she were to remain there a week she was certain that
+she would be carried out dead. The prison governor laughed at this.
+
+The women went away, and he remained with me. He presented me
+Major-General von Anfeldt's compliments, and a message from him,
+that I 'should be of good courage; all would now soon be well.' I
+made no reply. He enquired how I was, and whether I had slept a
+little; and answered himself, 'I fancy not much.' He asked whether I
+would have anything, again answering himself, 'No, I do not think you
+wish for anything.' Upon this he walked up and down, humming to
+himself; then he came to my bedside and said: 'Oh, the dear King! he
+is indeed a kind master! Be at peace; he is a gracious sovereign, and
+has always held you in esteem. You are a woman, a weak instrument.
+Poor women are soon led away. No one likes to harm them, when they
+confess the truth. The dear Queen, she is indeed a dear Queen! She is
+not angry with you. I am sure if she knew the truth from you, she
+would herself pray for you. Listen! if you will write to the Queen
+and tell her all about the matter, and keep nothing back, I will
+bring you pen, ink, and paper. I have no wish, on my soul! to read
+it. No, God take me if I will look at it; and that you may be sure of
+this, I will give you wax that you may seal it. But I imagine you
+have probably no seal?' As I answered him not a word, he seized my
+hand and shook it rather strongly, saying, 'Do you not hear? Are you
+asleep?' I raised my head threateningly; I should like to have given
+him a box on the ears, and I turned round to the wall.
+
+He was angry that his design had failed, and he went on grumbling to
+himself for more than an hour. I could not understand a word beyond,
+'Yes, yes! you will not speak.' Then he muttered somewhat between his
+teeth: 'You will not answer; well, well, they will teach you. Yes, by
+God! hum, hum, hum.' He continued thus until the tower warder,
+Rasmus, came and whispered something to him; then he went out. It
+seemed to me that there was someone speaking with him, and so far as
+I could perceive it must have been someone who asked him if the ink
+and paper should be brought up, for he answered, 'No, it is not
+necessary; she will not.' The other said, 'Softly, softly!' The
+prison governor, however, could not well speak softly, and I heard
+him say, 'She cannot hear that; she is in bed.' When he came in again
+he went on muttering to himself, and stamped because I would not
+answer; he meant it kindly; the Queen was not so angry as I imagined.
+He went on speaking half aloud; he wished the women would come; he
+did nothing else but beg Rasmus to look for them.
+
+Soon after Rasmus came and said that they were now going up the
+King's Stairs. Still almost an hour passed before they came in and
+released him. When they had their dinner (my own meal consisted of
+some slices of lemon with sugar) the prison governor was not nearly
+so merry as he was wont to be, though he chattered of various things
+that had occurred in former times, while he was a quarter-master. He
+also retired sooner than was his custom. The women, who remained,
+talked of indifferent matters. I also now and then put in a word, and
+asked them after their husbands and children. Anna read some prayers
+and hymns from her book, and thus the day passed till four o'clock,
+when the prison governor let them out. He had brought a book with
+him, which he read in a tolerably low tone, while he kept watch by
+me. I was well pleased at this, as it gave me rest.
+
+At the evening meal the prison governor began amongst other
+conversation to tell the women that a prisoner had been brought here
+who was a Frenchman; he could not remember his name; he sat
+cogitating upon the name just as if he could not rightly hit upon it.
+Carl or Char, he did not know what he was called, but he had been
+formerly several years in Denmark. Anna enquired what sort of a man
+he was. He replied that he was a man who was to be made to sing,[63]
+but he did not know for a certainty whether he was here or not.
+(There was nothing in all this.) He only said this in order to get an
+opportunity of asking me, or to perceive whether it troubled me.
+
+ [63] That is, give information.
+
+He had undoubtedly been ordered to do this; for when he was gone Anna
+began a conversation with Catharina upon this same Carl, and at last
+asked me whether we had had a Frenchman in our employ. I replied that
+we had had more than one. She enquired further whether there was one
+among them named Carl, who had long been in our service. 'We had a
+servant,' I answered, 'a Frenchman named Charle; he had been with us
+a long time.' 'Yes, yes,' she said, 'it is he. But I do not think he
+has arrived here yet; they are looking for him.' I said, 'Then he is
+easy to find, he was at Bruges when I left that town.' Anna said she
+fancied he had been in England with me, and she added, 'That fellow
+knows a good deal if they get him.' I answered, 'Then it were to be
+wished that they had him for the sake of his information.' When she
+perceived that I troubled myself no further about him she let the
+conversation drop, and spoke of my sister Elizabeth Augusta, saying
+that she passed her every day. She was standing in her gateway or
+sitting in the porch, and that she greeted her, but never uttered a
+word of enquiry after her sister, though she knew well that she was
+waiting on me in the Tower. I said I thought my sister did not know
+what would be the best for her to do. 'I cannot see,' said Anna,
+'that she is depressed.' I expressed my opinion that the less we
+grieved over things the better. Other trifles were afterwards talked
+of, and I concluded the day with reading, commended myself to the
+care of Jesus, and slept tolerably well through the night.
+
+August 12 passed without anything in particular occurring, only that
+Anna tried to trouble me by saying that a chamber next to us was
+being put in order, for whom she did not know; they were of course
+expecting someone in it. I could myself hear the masons at work. On
+the same day Catharina said that she had known me in prosperity, and
+blessed me a thousand times for the kindness I had shown her. I did
+not remember having ever seen her. She said she had been employed in
+the storeroom in the service of the Princess Magdalena Sybille, and
+that when I had visited the Princess, and had slept in the Castle, I
+had sent a good round present for those in the storeroom, and that
+she had had a share in it, and that this she now remembered with
+gratitude. Anna was not pleased with the conversation, and she
+interrupted it three times; Catharina, however, did not answer her,
+but adhered to the subject till she had finished. The prison governor
+was not in good humour on this day also, so that neither at dinner
+nor at supper were any indecent stories related.
+
+On August 13, after the women had been into the town and had
+returned, the prison governor opened the door at about nine o'clock,
+and whispered something to them. He then brought in another small
+seat; from this I perceived that I was to be visited by one more
+than on the previous occasion. At about ten o'clock Count Rantzow,
+General Skack, Chancellor Retz, Treasurer Gabel, and Secretary Krag
+entered. They all saluted me with politeness; the four first seated
+themselves on low seats by my bedside, and Krag placed himself with
+his writing materials at the table. The Chancellor was spokesman, and
+said, 'His royal Majesty, my gracious Sovereign and hereditary King,
+sends you word, madame, that his Majesty has great cause for all that
+he is doing, and that he entertains suspicions with regard to you
+that you are an accomplice in the treason designed by your husband;
+and his royal Majesty had hoped that you would confess without
+compulsion who have participated in it, and the real truth about it.'
+
+When the Chancellor ceased speaking, I replied that I was not aware
+that I had done anything which could render me suspected; and I
+called God to witness that I knew of no treason, and therefore I
+could mention no names. Count Rantzow said, 'Your husband has not
+concealed it from you, hence you know it well.' I replied, 'Had my
+husband entertained so evil a design, I believe surely he would have
+told me; but I can swear with a good conscience, before God in
+Heaven, that I never heard him speak of anything of the kind. Yes, I
+can truly say he never wished evil to the King in my hearing, and
+therefore I fully believe that this has been falsely invented by his
+enemies.' Count Rantzow and the Chancellor bent their heads together
+across to the General, and whispered with each other for some time.
+At length the Chancellor asked me whether, if my husband were found
+guilty, I would take part in his condemnation. This was a remarkable
+question, so I reflected a little, and said, 'If I may know on what
+grounds he is accused, I will answer to it so far as I know, and so
+much as I can.' The Chancellor said, 'Consider well whether you
+will.' I replied as before, that I would answer for him as to all
+that I knew, if I were informed of what he was accused. Count Rantzow
+whispered with Krag, and Krag went out, but returned immediately.
+
+Soon afterward some one (whom I do not know) came from the
+Chancellor's office, bringing with him some large papers. Count
+Rantzow and the Chancellor whispered again. Then the Chancellor said,
+'There is nothing further to do now than to let you know what sort of
+a husband you have, and to let you hear his sentence.' Count Rantzow
+ordered the man who had brought in the papers to read them aloud. The
+first paper read was to the effect that Corfitz, formerly Count of
+Ulfeldt, had offered the kingdom of Denmark to a foreign sovereign,
+and had told the same sovereign that he had ecclesiastical and lay
+magnates on his side, so that it was easy for him to procure the
+crown of Denmark for the before-mentioned sovereign.
+
+A paper was then read which was the defence of the clergy, in which
+they protested that Corfitz, Count of Ulfeldt, had never had any
+communication with any of them; that he had at no time shown himself
+a friend of the clergy, and had far less offered them participation
+in his evil design. They assured his royal Majesty of their fidelity
+and subjection, &c. Next, a paper was read, written by the
+Burgomaster and council in Copenhagen, nearly similar in purport,
+that they had had no correspondence with Count Corfitz Ulfeldt, and
+equally assuring his royal Majesty of their humble fidelity. Next
+followed the reading of the unprecedented and illegal sentence which,
+without a hearing, had been passed on my lord. This was as unexpected
+and grievous as it was disgraceful, and unjustifiable before God and
+all right-loving men. No documents were brought forward upon which
+the sentence had been given. There was nothing said about prosecution
+or defence; there was no other foundation but mere words; that he had
+been found guilty of having offered the crown of Denmark to a foreign
+sovereign, and had told him that he had on his side ecclesiastical
+and lay magnates, who had shown by their signed protestations that
+this was not the case, for which reason he had been condemned as a
+criminal.
+
+When the sentence with all the names subjoined to it had been read,
+the reader brought it to me, and placed it before me on the bed.
+Everyone can easily imagine how I felt; but few or none can conceive
+how it was that I was not stifled by the unexpected misery, and did
+not lose my sense and reason. I could not utter a word for weeping.
+Then a prayer was read aloud which had been pronounced from the
+pulpit, in which Corfitz was anathematised, and God was prayed not to
+allow his gray hair to go to the grave in peace. But God, who is
+just, did not listen to the impious prayer of the unrighteous,
+praised be His name for ever.
+
+When all had been read, I bemoaned with sighs and sorrowful tears
+that I had ever lived to see this sad day, and I begged them, for
+Jesus' sake, that they would allow me to see on what the hard
+judgment was based. Count Rantzow answered, 'You can well imagine,
+madame, that there are documents upon which we have acted: some of
+your friends are in the council.' 'May God better it!' I said. 'I beg
+you, for God's sake, to let me see the documents. Les apparences sont
+bien souvent trompeuses. What had not my husband to suffer from that
+Swede in Skaane, during that long imprisonment, because he was
+suspected of having corresponded with his Majesty, the King of
+Denmark, and with his Majesty's ministers? Now, no one knows better
+than his Majesty, and you my good lords, how innocently he suffered
+at that time, and so this also may be apparently credible, and yet
+may not be so in truth. Might I not see the documents?' To this no
+answer was given. I continued and said, 'How is it possible that a
+man who must himself perceive that death is at hand should undertake
+such a work, and be so led away from the path of duty, when he did
+not do so at a time when he acknowledged no master, and when such
+great promises were made him by the Prince of Holstein, as the
+Prince's letters show, which are now in his Majesty's hands.' Count
+Rantzow interrupted me and said, 'We did not find those letters.'
+'God knows,' I replied, 'they were there; of that I am certain.' I
+said also, 'At that time he might have done something to gratify a
+foreign sovereign; at that time he had power and physical vigour, and
+almost the entire government was in his hands; but he never looked to
+his own advantage, but pawned his own property to hasten the King's
+coronation, so that no impediment might come between.[64] This is his
+reward! Good gentlemen, take an example of me, you who have seen me
+in prosperity, and have compassion on me. Pray his royal Majesty to
+be mild, and not to proceed to such severity.'
+
+ [64] In the margin the following explanatory note is added: 'When
+ his Majesty (Christian IV.) was dead, there was no prince elected,
+ so that the States were free to choose the king whom they desired,
+ wherefore the Duke of Holstein, Duke Frederick, promised my
+ deceased lord that if he would contrive that he should be elected
+ king, the land of Fyen should belong to him and a double alliance
+ between his children and ours should be concluded. But my lord
+ rejected this proposal and would not assist in dispossessing the
+ son of Christian IV. of the kingdom. The prince had obtained
+ several votes, but my lord contested them.'
+
+The Chancellor and Treasurer were moved by this, so that the tears
+came into their eyes. Count Rantzow said to the General and the
+Chancellor, 'I think it is a fortnight ago since the sentence was
+published?' The Chancellor answered, 'It is seventeen days ago.'[E18]
+I said, 'At that time I was still in England, and now I am asked for
+information on the matter! Oh, consider this, for God's sake! and
+that there was no one present to speak on my husband's behalf.' Count
+Rantzow enquired whether I wished to appeal against it? I replied,
+'How am I to appeal against a judicial decree? I only beg for Jesus'
+sake that what I say may be considered, and that I may have the
+satisfaction of seeing the documents upon which the sentence is
+based.'
+
+ [E18] The sentence on Ulfeldt was given on July 24, but probably
+ not published till a few days later.
+
+Count Rantzow answered as before, that there were documents, and that
+some of my friends had sat in the council, and added that all had
+been agreed, and that not one had had anything to say against it. I
+dared not say what I thought. I knew well how matters are done in
+such absolute governments: there is no such thing as opposition, they
+merely say, 'Sign, the King wishes it; and ask not wherefore, or the
+same condemnation awaits thee.'[65] I was silent, and bewailed my
+unhappiness, which was irremediable. When Krag read aloud the minutes
+he had written, namely, that when I was asked whether I would
+participate in my husband's sentence, I had answered that I would
+consider of it. I asked, 'How was that?' The Chancellor immediately
+replied, 'No, she did not say so, but she requested to know the
+accusation brought against her husband.' I repeated my words
+again,[66] I know not whether Krag wrote them or not; for a great
+part of that which I said was not written. Krag yielded too much to
+his feelings in the matter, and would gladly have made bad worse. He
+is now gone where no false writings avail; God took him away suddenly
+in an unclean place, and called him to judgment without warning. And
+Count Rantzow, who was the principal mover and inventor of that
+illegal sentence, the like of which was never known in Denmark, did
+not live to see his desire fulfilled in the execution of a wooden
+image.[E19] When this was done, they rose and shook hands with me.
+This painful visit lasted more than four hours.
+
+ [65] It had happened as I thought. There were some in the council
+ who refused to sign, some because they had not been present at the
+ time of the procedure, and others because they had not seen on what
+ the sentence was founded; but they were nevertheless compelled to
+ sign with the others, on the peril of the king's displeasure.
+ [Marginal note.]
+
+ [66] In the margin is added, 'and asked whether I was permitted to
+ appeal against this sentence. All were silent.'
+
+ [E19] A line has been drawn in the MS. through the two last
+ paragraphs, and their contents transferred to the continuation of
+ the Preface.
+
+They went away, leaving me full of anxiety, sighing and weeping--a
+sad and miserable captive woman, forsaken by all; without help,
+exposed to power and violence, fearing every moment that her husband
+might fall into their hands, and that they might vent their malice on
+him. God performed on that day a great miracle, by manifesting His
+power in my weakness, preserving my brain from bewilderment, and my
+tongue from overflowing with impatience. Praised be God a thousand
+times! I will sing Thy praise, so long as my tongue can move, for
+Thou wast at this time and at all times my defence, my rock, and my
+shield!
+
+When the gentlemen were gone away, the prison governor came and the
+women, and a stool was spread by the side of my bed. The prison
+governor said to me, 'Eat, Leonora; will you not eat?' As he said
+this, he threw a knife to me on the bed. I took up the knife with
+angry mind, and threw it on the ground. He picked up the knife,
+saying, 'You are probably not hungry? No, no! you have had a
+breakfast to-day which has satisfied you, have you not? Is it not
+so?' Well, well, come dear little women (addressing the two women),
+let us eat something! You must be hungry, judging from my own
+stomach.' When they had sat down to table, he began immediately to
+cram himself, letting it fall as if inadvertently from his mouth, and
+making so many jokes that it was sad to see how the old man could not
+conceal his joy at my unhappiness.
+
+When the meal was finished, and the prison governor had gone away,
+Anna sat down by my bed and began to speak of the sorrow and
+affliction which we endure in this world, and of the joy and delights
+of heaven; how the pain that we suffer here is but small compared
+with eternal blessedness and joy, wherefore we should not regard
+suffering, but should rather think of dying with a good conscience,
+keeping it unsullied by confessing everything that troubles us, for
+there is no other way. 'God grant,' she added, 'that no one may
+torment himself for another's sake.' After having repeated this
+remark several times, she said to me, 'Is it not true, my lady?'
+'Yes, certainly it is true,' I replied; 'you speak in a Christian
+manner, and according to the scriptures.' 'Why will you, then,' she
+went on to say, 'let yourself be tormented for others, and not say
+what you know of them?' I asked whom she meant. She answered, 'I do
+not know them.' I replied, 'Nor do I.' She continued in the same
+strain, however, saying that she would not suffer and be tormented
+for the sake of others, whoever they might be; if they were guilty
+they must suffer; she would not suffer for them; a woman was easily
+led away, but happiness was more than all kindred and friends.
+
+As she seemed unable to cease chattering, I wished to divert her a
+little, so I asked whether she were a clergyman's daughter; and since
+she had before told me of her parentage, she resented this question
+all the more, and was thoroughly angry; saying, 'If I am not a
+clergyman's daughter, I am the daughter of a good honest citizen, and
+not one of the least. In my time, when I was still unmarried, I never
+thought that I should marry a shoemaker.' I said, 'But your first
+husband, too, was also a shoemaker.' 'That is true,' she replied,
+'but this marriage came about in a very foolish manner,' and she
+began to narrate a whole history of the matter, so that I was left in
+peace. Catharina paced up and down, and when Anna was silent for a
+little, she said, with folded hands, 'O God, Thou who art almighty,
+and canst do everything, preserve this man for whom they are seeking,
+and never let him fall into the hands of his enemies. Oh God, hear
+me!' Anna said angrily to her, 'Catharina, do you know what you are
+saying? How can you speak so?' Catharina answered, 'Yes, I know well
+what I am saying. God preserve him, and let him never fall into the
+hands of his enemies. Jesus, be Thou his guide!' She uttered these
+words with abundant tears. Anna said, 'I think that woman is not in
+her senses.' Catharina's kind wish increased my tears, and I said,
+'Catharina shows that she is a true Christian, and sympathises with
+me; God reward her, and hear her and me!' Upon this Anna was silent,
+and has not been so talkative ever since. O God, Thou who art a
+recompenser of all that is good, remember this in favour of
+Catharina, and as Thou heardest her at that time, hear her prayer in
+future, whatever may be her request! And you, my dear children, know
+that if ever fortune so ordains it that you can be of any service
+either to her or her only son, you are bound to render it for my
+sake; for she was a comfort to me in my greatest need, and often took
+an opportunity to say a word which she thought would alleviate my
+sorrow.
+
+The prison governor came as usual, about four o'clock, and let the
+women out, seating himself on the bench and placing the high stool
+with the candle in front of him. He had brought a book with him, and
+read aloud prayers for a happy end, prayers for the hour of death,
+and prayers for one suffering temporal punishment for his misdeeds.
+He did not forget a prayer for one who is to be burnt; in reading
+this he sighed, so religious had he grown in the short time. When he
+had read all the prayers, he got up and walked up and down, singing
+funeral hymns; when he knew no more, he began again with the first,
+till the women released him. Catharina complained that her son had
+been ill, and was greatly grieved about it. I entered into her
+sorrow, and said that she ought to mention her son's illness to the
+Queen, and then another would probably be appointed in her place; and
+I begged her to compose herself, as the child would probably be
+better again. During the evening meal the prison governor was very
+merry, and related all sorts of coarse stories. When he was gone,
+Anna read the evening prayer. I felt very ill during this night, and
+often turned about in bed; there was a needle in the bed, with which
+I scratched myself; I got it out, and still have it.[67]
+
+ [67] In the margin: 'The feather-bed had an old cover, and was
+ fresh filled when I was lying in the roads; the needle, in the
+ hurry, had therefore been left in.'
+
+On August 14, when the prison governor opened the door early, the
+women told him that I had been very ill in the night. 'Well, well,'
+he answered, 'it will soon be better.' And when the women were ready
+to go to the Queen (which they were always obliged to do), Anna said
+to Catharina, outside the door, 'What shall we say to the Queen?'
+Catharina answered: 'What shall we say, but that she is silent and
+will say nothing!' 'You know very well that the Queen is displeased
+at it.' 'Nevertheless, we cannot tell a lie;' answered Catharina;
+'she says nothing at all, so it would be a sin.'[68] Catharina came
+back to the mid-day meal, and said that the Queen had promised to
+appoint another in her stead; in the afternoon, she managed secretly
+to say a word to me about the next chamber, which she imagined was
+being put in readiness for me and for no one else; she bid me good
+night, and promised to remember me constantly in her prayers. I
+thanked her for her good services, and for her kind feeling towards
+me.
+
+ [68] In the margin: 'I myself heard this conversation.'
+
+About four o'clock the prison governor let her and Anna out. He sang
+one hymn after another, went to the stairs, and the time appeared
+long to him, till six o'clock, when Anna returned with Maren Blocks.
+At the evening meal the prison governor again told stories of his
+marriage, undoubtedly for the sake of amusing Maren. Anna left me
+alone, and I lay quiet in silence. Maren could not find an
+opportunity of speaking with me the whole evening, on account of
+Anna. Nothing particular happened on August 15 and 16.
+
+When the prison governor let out Anna in the morning and afternoon,
+Maren Blocks remained with me, and the prison governor went his own
+way and locked the door, so that Maren had opportunity of talking
+with me alone. She told me different things; among others, that the
+Queen had given my clothes to the three women who had undressed me,
+that they might distribute them amongst themselves. She asked me
+whether I wished to send a message to my sister Elizabeth. I thanked
+her, but said that I had nothing good to tell her. I asked Maren for
+needles and thread, in order to test her. She replied she would
+gladly procure them for me if she dared, but that it would risk her
+whole well-being if the Queen should know it; for she had so strictly
+forbidden that anyone should give me either pins or needles. I
+inquired 'For what reason?' 'For this reason,' she replied, 'that you
+may not kill yourself.' I assured her that God had enlightened me
+better than that I should be my own murderer. I felt that my cross
+came from the hand of the Lord, that He was chastising me as His
+child; He would also help me to bear it; I trusted in Him to do so.
+'Then I hope, dear heart,' said Maren, 'that you will not kill
+yourself; then you shall have needles and thread; but what will you
+sew?' I alleged that I wished to sew some buttons on my white
+night-dress, and I tore off a pair, in order to show her afterwards
+that I had sewn them on.
+
+Now it happened that I had sewn up some ducats in a piece of linen
+round my knee; these I had kept, as I pulled off the stockings myself
+when they undressed me, and Anna had at my desire given me a rag, as
+I pretended that I had hurt my leg. I sewed this rag over the
+leather. They all imagined that I had some secret malady, for I lay
+in the linen petticoat they had given me, and went to bed in my
+stockings. Maren imagined that I had an issue on one leg, and she
+confided to me that a girl at the court, whom she mentioned by name,
+and who was her very good friend, had an issue of which no one knew
+but herself, not even the woman who made her bed. I thought to
+myself, you keep your friend's secret well; I did not, however, make
+her any wiser, but let her believe in this case whatever she would. I
+was very weak on those two days, and as I took nothing more than
+lemon and beer, my stomach became thoroughly debilitated and refused
+to retain food. When Maren told the prison governor of this, he
+answered, 'All right, her heart is thus getting rid of its evil.'
+Anna was no longer so officious, but the prison governor was as merry
+as ever.
+
+On August 17 the prison governor did not open the door before eight
+o'clock, and Anna asked him how it was that he had slept so long. He
+joked a little; presently he drew her to the door and whispered with
+her. He went out and in, and Anna said so loudly to Maren, that I
+could hear it (although she spoke as if she were whispering), 'I am
+so frightened that my whole body trembles, although it does not
+concern me. Jesus keep me! I wish I were down below!' Maren looked
+sad, but she neither answered nor spoke a word. Maren came softly up
+to my bed and said, 'I am sure some one is coming to you.' I
+answered, 'Let him come, in God's name.' Presently I heard a running
+up and down stairs, and also overhead, for the Commissioners came
+always through the apartments, in order not to cross the square. My
+doors were closed again. Each time that some one ran by on the
+stairs, Anna shuddered and said, 'I quite tremble.'
+
+This traffic lasted till about eleven. When the prison governor
+opened the door, he said to me, 'Leonora, you are to get up and go to
+the gentlemen.' God knows that I could hardly walk, and Anna
+frightened me by saying to Maren, 'Oh! the poor creature!' Maren's
+hands trembled when she put on my slippers. I could not imagine
+anything else than that I was to be tortured, and I consoled myself
+with thinking that my pain could not last long, for my body was so
+weary that it seemed as if God might at any moment take me away. When
+Maren fastened the apron over my long dress, I said: 'They are indeed
+sinning heavily against me; may God give me strength.' The prison
+governor hurried me, and when I was ready, he took me by the arm and
+led me. I would gladly have been free of his help, but I could not
+walk alone. He conducted me up to the next story, and there sat Count
+Rantzow, Skack, Retz, Gabel, and Krag, round the table.
+
+They all rose when I entered, and I made them a reverence as well as
+I was able. A small low seat had been placed for me in the middle, in
+front of the table. The Chancellor asked me whether I had not had
+more letters than those taken from me in England. I answered that I
+had not had more; that all my letters had been then taken from me.
+He asked further, whether I had at that time destroyed any letters.
+'Yes,' I answered, 'one I tore in two, and threw it in a closet.'
+'Why did you do so?' enquired Count Rantzow. 'Because' I replied,
+'there were cyphers in it; and although they were of no importance, I
+feared, notwithstanding, that they might excite suspicion.' Count
+Rantzow said: 'Supposing the pieces were still forthcoming?' 'That
+were to be wished,' I replied, 'for then it could be seen that there
+was nothing suspicious in it, and it vexed me afterwards that I had
+torn it in two.' Upon this the Chancellor drew forth a sheet of paper
+upon which, here and there, pieces of this very letter were pasted,
+and handed it to Krag, who gave it to me. Count Rantzow asked me if
+it were not my husband's handwriting. I answered that it was. He
+said: 'A part of the pieces which you tore in two have been found,
+and a part are lost. All that has been found has been collected and
+copied.' He then asked the Chancellor for the copy, who gave it to
+Count Rantzow, and he handed it to me, saying, 'See there what is
+wanting, and tell us what it is that is missing.' I took it, and
+looked over it and said: 'In some places, where there are not too
+many words missing, I think I can guess what is lost, but where a
+whole sentence is wanting, I cannot know.'
+
+Most of the letter had been collected without loss of intervening
+pieces, and it all consisted of mirth and jest. He was telling me
+that he had heard from Denmark that the Electoral Prince of Saxony
+was to be betrothed with the Princess of Denmark;[E20] and he joked,
+saying that they would grease their throats and puff out their cheeks
+in order that with good grace and voice they might duly trumpet
+forth each their own titles, and more of the same kind, all in high
+colouring. He described the way in which Count Rantzow contrived to
+let people know his titles; when he had a dinner-party, there was a
+man employed to read aloud his titles to the guests, asking first
+each separately, whether he knew his titles; if there was anyone who
+did not know them, the secretary must forthwith come and read them
+aloud.
+
+ [E20] Leonora refers to the betrothal of Prince Johan George of
+ Saxony and Anna Sophia, the eldest daughter of Fredrik III., of
+ which an account occurs in the sequel.
+
+It seemed that Count Rantzow referred all this to himself, for he
+asked me what my husband meant by it. I replied that I did not know
+that he meant anything but what he had written; he meant undoubtedly
+those who did such things. The Chancellor averted his face from Count
+Rantzow, and his lips smiled a little; Gabel also did the same. Among
+other things there were some remarks about the Electoral Prince, that
+he probably cherished the hope of inheriting the Crown of Denmark;
+'mais j'espere ... cela ne se fera point.' Count Rantzow enquired as
+to the words which were wanting. I said, if I remembered rightly, the
+words had been, 'qu'en 300 ans.' He enquired further as to the
+expressions lacking here and there, some of which I could not
+remember exactly, though they were of no importance. I expressed my
+opinion that they could easily gather what was wanting from the
+preceding and following words; it was sufficiently evident that all
+was jest, and this was apparent also to Gabel, who said, 'Ce n'est
+que raillerie.' But Count Rantzow and the General would not allow it
+to pass as jest.
+
+Skack said: 'One often means something else under the cloak of jest,
+and names are used when others are intended.' For in the letter there
+was something said about drinking out; there was also an allusion
+made to the manners of the Swiss at table, and all the titles of the
+canton nobles were enumerated, from which Skack thought that the
+names of the cities might have another signification. I did not
+answer Skack; but as Count Rantzow continued to urge me to say what
+my husband had meant by it, I replied that I could not know whether
+he had had another meaning than that which was written. Skack shook
+his head and thought he had, so I said: 'I know no country where the
+same customs are in vogue at meals as in Switzerland; if there are
+other places where the same customs prevail, he may perhaps have
+meant these also, for he is only speaking of drinking.'
+
+Gabel said again, 'It is only jest.' The cyphers, for the sake of
+which I had torn the letter in two, were fortunately complete, and
+nothing was missing. Count Rantzow gave me a sheet of paper, to which
+pieces of my lord's letter were pasted, and asked me what the cyphers
+meant. I replied, 'I have not the key, and cannot solve them out of
+my head.' He expressed his opinion that I could do it. I said I could
+not. 'Well, they have been read,' he said, 'and we know what they
+signify.' 'All the better,' I answered. Upon this, he gave me the
+interpretation to read, and the purport of it was that our son had
+written from Rome, asking for money, which was growing short, for the
+young nobleman was not at home. I gave the paper back to Count
+Rantzow without saying anything. Count Rantzow requested the
+Treasurer that he should read the letter, and Rantzow began again
+with his questions wherever anything was wanting, requesting that I
+should say what it was. I gave him the same answer as before; but
+when in one passage, where some words were missing, he pressed me
+hard to say them, and it was evident from the context that they were
+ironical (since an ironical word was left written), I said: 'You can
+add as much of the same kind as pleases you, if one is not enough; I
+do not know them.' Gabel again said, 'Ce n'est que raillerie.'[E21]
+
+ [E21] A copy of the fragments which had been recovered of this
+ letter is still in existence.
+
+No further questions were then made respecting the letters; but Count
+Rantzow enquired as to my jewels, and asked where the large diamond
+was which my husband had received in France.[E22] I replied that it
+had long been sold. He further asked where my large drop pearls
+where, which I had worn as a feather on my hat, and where my large
+pearl head-ornament was. 'All these,' I replied, 'have long been
+sold.' He asked further whether I had then no more jewels. I
+answered, 'I have none now.' 'I mean,' he said, 'elsewhere.' I
+replied, 'I left some behind.' 'Where, then?' he asked. 'At Bruges,'
+I replied. Then he said: 'I have now somewhat to ask you, madame,
+that concerns myself. Did you visit my sister in Paris the last time
+you were there?' I replied, 'Yes.' He asked whether I had been with
+her in the convent, and what was the name of the convent. I informed
+him that I had been in the convent, and that it was the Convent des
+Filles Bleues. At this he nodded, as if to confirm it. He also wished
+to know whether I had seen her. I said that no one in the convent
+might be seen by anyone but parents; even brothers and sisters were
+not allowed to see them.[E23] 'That is true,' he said, and then rose
+and gave me his hand. I begged him to induce his gracious Majesty to
+have pity on me, but he made no answer. When the Treasurer Gabel
+gave me his hand, I begged the same favour of him. He replied, 'Yes,
+if you will confess,' and went out without waiting for a reply.
+
+ [E22] Ulfeldt received this present probably in 1647, when in
+ France as ambassador, on which occasion Queen Anna is known to have
+ presented to Leonora a gold watch set with diamonds of great value.
+
+ [E23] The lady alluded to is Helvig Margaretha Elizabeth Rantzow,
+ widow of the famous General Josias Rantzow, who died as a marechal
+ of France. She had become a Romanist, and took the veil after her
+ husband's death. Subsequently she founded the new order of the
+ Annunciata. In 1666 the first convent of this order, of which she
+ was abbess, removed to Hildesheim, where she died in 1706.
+
+For more than three hours they had kept up the interrogation. Then
+the prison governor came in and said to me: 'Now you are to remain in
+here; it is a beautiful chamber, and has been freshly whitewashed;
+you may now be contented.' Anna and Maren also came in. God knows, I
+was full of care, tired and weary, and had insufferable headache;
+yet, before I could go to rest, I had to sit waiting until the
+bedstead had been taken out of the 'Dark Church' and brought hither.
+Anna occupied herself meanwhile in the Dark Church, in scraping out
+every hole; she imagined she might find something there, but in vain.
+The woman who was to remain with me alone then came in. Her pay was
+two rix-dollars a week; her name is Karen, the daughter of Ole. After
+the prison governor had supped with the woman and Maren, Anna and
+Maren Blocks bade me good night; the latter exhibited great
+affection. The prison governor bolted two doors before my innermost
+prison. In the innermost door there is a square hole, which is
+secured with iron cross-bars. The prison governor was going to attach
+a lock to this hole, but he forebore at Karen's request, for she said
+she could not breathe if this hole were closed. He then affixed locks
+to the door of the outer chamber, and to the door leading to the
+stairs; he had, therefore, four locks and doors twice a day to lock
+and unlock.
+
+I will here describe my prison. It is a chamber, seven of my paces
+long and six wide; there are in it two beds, a table, and two stools.
+It was freshly whitewashed, which caused a terrible smell; the floor,
+moreover was so thick with dirt, that I imagined it was of loam,
+though it was really laid with bricks. It is eighteen feet high, with
+a vaulted ceiling, and very high up is a window which is two feet
+square. In front of it are double thick iron bars, besides a
+wire-work, which is so close that one could not put one's little
+finger into the holes. This wire-work had been thus ordered with
+great care by Count Rantzow (so the prison governor afterwards told
+me), so that no pigeons might bring in a letter--a fact which he had
+probably read in a novel as having happened. I was weak and deeply
+grieved in my heart; I looked for a merciful deliverance, and an end
+to my sorrow, and I sat silent and uncomplaining, answering little
+when the woman spoke to me. Sometimes in my reverie I scratched at
+the wall, which made the woman imagine that I was confused in my
+head; she told this to the prison governor, who reported it to the
+Queen, and during every meal-time, when the door was open, she never
+failed to send messengers to enquire how it fared with me, what I
+said, and what I was doing.
+
+The woman had, however, not much to tell in obedience to the oath
+she, according to her own statement, had taken in the presence of the
+prison governor. But afterwards she found some means to ingratiate
+herself. And as my strength daily decreased, I rejoiced at the
+prospect of my end, and on August 21 I sent for the prison governor,
+and requested him to apply for a clergyman who could give me the
+sacrament. This was immediately granted, and His Majesty's Court
+preacher, Magister Mathias Foss, received orders to perform for me
+the duties of his office, and exhorted me, both on behalf of his
+office and in consequence of the command he had received, not to
+burden my conscience; I might rest assured, he said, that in this
+world I should never see my husband again, and he begged me to say
+what I knew of the treason. I could scarcely utter a word for
+weeping; but I said that I could attest before God in heaven, from
+whom nothing is hidden, that I knew nothing of this treason. I knew
+well I should never see my husband again in this life; I commended
+him to the Almighty, who knew my innocence; I prayed God only for a
+blessed end and departure from this evil world; I desired nothing
+from the clergyman but that he should remember me in his prayers,
+that God might by death put an end to my affliction. The clergyman
+promised faithfully to grant my request. It has not pleased God to
+hear me in this: He has willed to prove my faith still further, by
+sending to me since this time much care, affliction, and adversity.
+He has helped me also to bear the cross, and has Himself supported
+its heaviest end; His name be praised for ever. When I had received
+the Lord's Supper, M. Foss comforted me and bid me farewell.
+
+I lay silently for three days after this, taking little or nothing.
+The prison governor often enquired whether I wished for anything to
+eat or drink, or whether he should say anything to the King. I
+thanked him, but said I required nothing.
+
+On August 25 the prison governor importuned me at once with his
+conversation, expressing his belief that I entertained an evil
+opinion of the Queen. He inferred it from this: the day before he had
+said to me that His Majesty had ordered that whatever I desired from
+the kitchen and cellar should be at once brought to me, to which I
+had answered, 'God preserve His Majesty; he is a good sovereign; may
+he show clemency to evil men!' He had then said, 'The Queen is also
+good,' to which I had made no answer. He had then tried to turn the
+conversation to the Queen, and to hear if he could not draw out a
+word from me; he had said: 'The Queen is sorry for you that you have
+been so led away. It grieves her that you have willed your own
+unhappiness; she is not angry; she pities you.' And when I made no
+answer, he repeated it again, saying from time to time, 'Yes, yes, my
+dear lady, it is as I say.' I was annoyed at the talk, and said,
+'Dieu vous punisse!' 'Ho, ho!' he said, misinterpreting my words, and
+calling Karen, he went out and closed the doors. Thus unexpectedly I
+got rid of him. It was ridiculous that the woman now wanted to oblige
+me to attend to what the prison governor had said. I begged her to
+remember that she was now not attending on a child (she had before
+been nurse to children). She could not so easily depart from her
+habit, and for a long time treated me as a child, until at length I
+made her comprehend that this was not required.
+
+When I perceived that my stomach desired food and could retain it, I
+became impatient that I could not die, but must go on living in such
+misery. I began to dispute with God, and wanted to justify myself
+with Him. It seemed to me that I had not deserved such misfortune. I
+imagined myself far purer than David was from great sins, and yet he
+could say, 'Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my
+hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and
+chastened every morning.' I thought I had not deserved so exceedingly
+great a chastisement as that which I was receiving. I said with Job,
+'Show me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that
+thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine
+hands?' I repeated all Job's expressions when he tried to justify
+himself, and it seemed to me that I could justly apply them to
+myself. I cursed with him and Jeremiah the day of my birth, and was
+very impatient; keeping it, however, to myself, and not expressing it
+aloud. If at times a word escaped me, it was in German (since I had
+generally read the Bible in German), and therefore the woman did not
+understand what I was saying. I was very restless from coughing, and
+turned from side to side on the bed. The woman often asked me how I
+was. I begged her to leave me quiet and not to speak to me. I was
+never more comfortable than in the night when I observed that she was
+sleeping; then, unhindered, I could let my tears flow and give free
+vent to my thoughts. Then I called God to account. I enumerated
+everything that I had innocently suffered and endured during my life,
+and I enquired of God whether I had deviated from my duty? Whether I
+ought to have done less for my husband than I had done? Whether the
+present was my recompense for not having left him in his adversity?
+Whether I was to be now tortured, tormented, and scorned for this?
+Whether all the indescribable misfortunes which I had endured with
+him were not enough, that I had been reserved for this irremediable
+and great trouble? I do not wish to conceal my unreasonableness. I
+will confess my sins. I asked if still worse misfortunes were in
+store for me for which I was to live? Whether there was any
+affliction on earth to be compared to mine? I prayed God to put an
+end to my sufferings, for it redounded in no wise to his honour to
+let me live and be so tormented. I was after all not made of steel
+and iron, but of flesh and blood. I prayed that He would suggest to
+me, or inform me in a dream, what I was to do to shorten my misery.
+
+When I had long thus disputed and racked my brains, and had also wept
+so bitterly that it seemed as if no more tears remained, I fell
+asleep, but awoke with terror, for I had horrible fancies in my
+dreams, so that I feared to sleep, and began again to bewail my
+misery. At length God looked down upon me with his eye of mercy, so
+that on August 31 I had a night of quiet sleep, and just as day was
+dawning I awoke with the following words on my lips: 'My son, faint
+not when thou art rebuked of the Lord; for whom the Lord loveth he
+chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.' I uttered the
+last words aloud, thinking that the woman was sleeping; possibly she
+awoke at the moment, and she asked me whether I wished for anything.
+I answered 'No.' 'You were speaking,' she said, 'and you mentioned
+your stockings; I could not understand the rest.' I replied, 'It must
+have been then in my sleep. I wish for nothing.'
+
+I then lay quietly thinking. I perceived and confessed my folly, that
+I, who am only dust and ashes, and decay, and am only fit for the
+dunghill, should call God to account, should dispute with my Creator
+and his decrees, and should wish to censure and question them. I
+began to weep violently, and I prayed fervently and from my heart for
+mercy and forgiveness. While I had before boasted with David, and
+been proud of my innocence, now I confessed with him that before God
+there is none that doeth good; no, not one. While before I had spoken
+foolishly with Job, I now said with him that I had 'uttered that I
+understood not; things too wonderful for me which I knew not.' I
+besought God to have mercy on me, relying on his great compassion. I
+cited Moses, Joshua, David, Jeremiah, Job, Jonah, and others, all
+highly endowed men, and yet so weak that in the time of calamity
+they grumbled and murmured against God. I prayed that He would in his
+mercy forgive me, the frailest of earthen vessels, as I could not
+after all be otherwise than as He had created me. All things were in
+his power; it was easy to Him to give me patience, as He had before
+imparted to me power and courage to endure hard blows and shocks. And
+I prayed God (after asking forgiveness of my sins) for nothing else
+than good patience to await the period of my deliverance. God
+graciously heard me. He pardoned not only my foolish sins, but He
+gave me that also for which I had not prayed, for day by day my
+patience increased. While I had often said with David, 'Will the Lord
+cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy
+clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God
+forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up his tender
+mercies?' I now continued with him, 'This is my infirmity, but I will
+remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.' I said also
+with Psalm cxix.: 'It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that
+I might learn thy statutes.'
+
+The power of God was working within me. Many consolatory sentences
+from the Holy Scriptures came into my mind; especially these:--'If so
+be that we suffer with Christ, that we may be also glorified
+together.' Also: 'We know that all things work together for good to
+them that love God.' Also: 'My grace is sufficient for thee, for my
+strength is made perfect in weakness.' I thought especially often of
+Christ's words in St. Luke, 'Shall not God avenge his own elect,
+which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I
+tell you that he will avenge them speedily.' I felt in my trouble how
+useful it is to have learned psalms and passages from the Bible in
+youth. Believe me, my children, that it has been a great consolation
+to me in my misery. Therefore, cultivate now in your youth what your
+parents taught you in childhood; now, while trouble visits you less
+severely, so that when it comes, you may be ready to receive it and
+to comfort yourselves with the Word of God.
+
+I began by degrees to feel more at peace, and to speak with the
+woman, and to answer the prison governor when he addressed me. The
+woman told me sundry things, and said that the prison governor had
+ordered her to tell him everything that I spoke or did, but that she
+was too wise to do such a thing; that she understood now better than
+she had done at first how to behave. He went out, but she remained
+shut up with me, and she would be true to me. And as it appeared that
+I did not at once believe what she said, she swore it solemnly, and
+prayed God to punish her if ever she acted falsely towards me. She
+stroked and patted my hand, and laid it against her cheek, and begged
+that I would believe her, using the words, 'My dearest lady, you can
+believe me; as truly as I am a child of God, I will never deceive
+you! Now, is not that enough?' I answered, 'I will believe you;'
+thinking at the same time that I would do and say nothing but what
+she might divulge. She was very glad that she had induced me to
+speak, and said, 'When you lay so long silent, and I had no one with
+whom I could speak, I was sad, and determined that I would not long
+lead this life, even if they gave me double as much, for I should
+have become crazed. I was afraid for you, but still more for myself,
+that my head would give way.'
+
+She went on talking in this way, introducing also various merry
+stories. When she was young she had been in the service of a
+clergyman, who encouraged his domestics in the fear of God, and there
+she had learned prayers and sentences from the Bible by heart; she
+knew also the Children's Primer, with the explanatory remarks, and
+sang tolerably well. She knew in some measure how she should walk
+before God and behave towards her neighbour; but she acted contrary
+to her knowledge--for she had a malicious temper. She was an elderly
+woman, but she liked to reckon herself as middle-aged. It appeared
+that in her youth she had been pretty and rather dissolute, since
+even now she could not lay aside her levity, but joked with the
+tower-warder, and the prison governor's coachman, a man of the name
+of Peder, and with a prisoner named Christian (more will presently be
+said with regard to this prisoner; he was free to go about the
+tower).[69]
+
+ [69] When I took my meals, the woman had opportunity of talking
+ with the three men. The coachman helped the tower-warder Rasmus to
+ bring up the food. [Marginal note.]
+
+Maren Blocks often sent me a message through this coachman, besides
+various kinds of candied sugar and citron, letting me know from time
+to time whether anything new was occurring. All this had to be done
+through the woman. One day she came in when the doors were closed,
+and brought me a message from Maren Blocks, saying, 'My lady, if you
+will now write to your children in Skaane, there is a safe
+opportunity for you to do so.' I answered, 'My children are not in
+Skaane, yet if I can send a message to Skaane, I have a friend there
+who will probably let me know how it fares with my children.' She
+gave me a piece of crumpled paper and a pencil. I wrote a few words
+to F. Margrete Rantzow,[E24] saying that she probably knew of my
+miserable condition, but supposing that her friendship was not
+lessened by it, and begging her to let me know how my children were,
+and from what cause they had come to Skaane, as I had been informed
+was the case, though I did not believe it. This was what I wrote and
+gave to the woman. I heard nothing further of it, and I imagine that
+she had been ordered to find out to whom I wrote, &c. (They have been
+busy with the idea that some of you, my dear children, might come to
+Skaane.) I sewed up the letter or slip of paper in such a manner that
+it could not be opened without making it apparent. I asked the woman
+several times if she knew whether the letter had been sent away. She
+always answered that she did not know, and that with a morose
+expression, and at last she said (when I once more asked her to
+enquire of Peder), 'I suppose that the person who ought to have it
+has got it.' This answer made me reflect, and since then I asked no
+further.
+
+ [E24] Margrete Rantzow was the sister of that Birgitte Rantzow to
+ whom there is an allusion in the Autobiography of Leonora, where
+ she relates the examination to which she was subjected at Malmoe.
+ Margrete's husband was Ove Thott, a nobleman in Skaane, who had
+ taken an important part in the preparations for a rising against
+ the Swedes, in which Corfitz Ulfeldt was implicated.
+
+I remained all this time in bed, partly because I had nothing with
+which to beguile the time, and partly because of the cold, for no
+stove was placed in my prison till after the New Year. Occasionally I
+requested the woman to manage, through Peder, that I should have a
+little silk or thread, that I might beguile the time by embroidering
+a piece of cloth that I had; but the answer I received was that he
+dared not. A long time afterwards it came to my knowledge that she
+had never asked Peder for it. There was trouble enough, however, to
+occupy my thoughts without my needing to employ the time in
+handiwork.
+
+It was on September 2 that I heard some one moving early overhead, so
+I asked the woman if she knew whether there was a chamber there (for
+the woman went up every Saturday with the night-stool). She answered
+that there was a prison there like this, and outside was the rack
+(which is also the case). She observed that I showed signs of fear,
+and she said, 'God help! Whoever it is that is up there is most
+assuredly to be tortured.' I said, 'Ask Peder, when the doors are
+unlocked, whether there is a prisoner there.' She said she would do
+so, and meanwhile she kept asking herself and me who it might be. I
+could not guess; still less did I venture to confess my fear to her,
+which she nevertheless perceived, and therefore increased; for after
+she had spoken with Peder, about noon,[70] and the doors were locked,
+she said, 'God knows who it is that is imprisoned there! Peder would
+tell me nothing.' She said the same at the evening meal, but added
+that she had asked him, and that he would give no answer. I calmed
+myself, as I heard no more footsteps above, and I said, 'There is no
+prisoner up there.'[71] 'How do you know that?' she asked. 'I gather
+it from the fact,' I said, 'that since this morning I have heard no
+one above; I think if there were anyone there, they would probably
+give him something to eat.' She was not pleased that my mind was
+quieted, and therefore she and Peder together endeavoured to trouble
+me.
+
+ [70] I could not see when she spoke with any one, for she did so on
+ the stairs. [Marginal note.]
+
+ [71] In the margin is added: 'There was none.'
+
+On the following day, when the doors were being locked after the
+mid-day dinner (which was generally Peder's task), and he was pulling
+to my innermost door, which opens inside, he put in his head and
+said, 'Casset!' She was standing beside the door, and appeared as if
+she had not rightly understood him, saying, 'Peder spoke of some one
+who is in prison, but I could not understand who it is.' I understood
+him at once, but also behaved as if I had not. No one knows but God
+what a day and night I had. I turned it over in my mind. It often
+seemed to me that it might be that they had seized him, although
+Cassetta was a subject of the King of Spain; for if treason is
+suspected, there is no thought given as to whose subject the man
+suspected may be. I lay in the night secretly weeping and lamenting
+that the brave man should have come into trouble for my sake, because
+he had executed my lord's will, and had followed me to England, where
+we parted, I should say, when Petcon and his company separated us and
+carried me away.
+
+I lay without sleep till towards day, then I fell into a dream which
+frightened me. I suppose my thoughts caused it. It came before me
+that Cassetta was being tortured in the manner he had once described
+to me that a Spaniard had been tortured: four cords were fastened
+round his hands and feet, and each cord was made secure in a corner
+of the room, and a man sometimes pulled one cord and sometimes
+another; and since it seemed to me that Cassetta never screamed, I
+supposed that he was dead, and I shrieked aloud and awoke. The woman,
+who had long been awake, said: 'O God! dear lady, what ails you? Are
+you ill? You have been groaning a long time, and now you screamed
+loudly.' I replied, 'It was in my dream; nothing ails me.' She said
+further, 'Then you have had a bad dream?' 'That may well be,' I
+answered. 'Oh, tell me what you have dreamt; I can interpret
+dreams.' I replied, 'When I screamed I forgot my dream, otherwise no
+one can interpret dreams better than I.' I thank God I do not regard
+dreams; and this dream had no other cause than what I have said. When
+the door was locked after the mid-day meal, the woman said of herself
+(for I asked no further respecting the prisoners), 'There is no one
+imprisoned there; shame on Peder for his nonsense!' I asked him who
+was imprisoned there, and he laughed at me heartily. 'There is no one
+there, so let your mind be at peace.' I said, 'If my misfortunes were
+to involve others, it would be very painful to me.'
+
+Thus matters went on till the middle of September, and then two of
+our servants were brought as prisoners and placed in arrest; one Nils
+Kaiberg, who had acted as butler, and the other Frans, who had been
+in our service as a lacquey. After having been kept in prison for a
+few weeks and examined they were set at liberty. At the same time two
+Frenchmen were brought as prisoners: an old man named La Rosche, and
+a young man whose name I do not know. La Rosche was brought to the
+tower and was placed in the witch-cell; a feather-bed had been thrown
+down, and on this he lay; for some months he was never out of his
+clothes. His food consisted of bread and wine; he refused everything
+else. He was accused of having corresponded with Corfitz, and of
+having promised the King of France that he would deliver Crooneborg
+into his hands.[72] This information had been given by Hannibal
+Sehested, who was at that time in France, and he had it from a
+courtesan who was then intimate with Hannibal, but had formerly been
+in connection with La Rosche, and probably afterwards had quarrelled
+with him. There was no other proof in favour of the accusation.
+Probably suspicion had been raised by the fact that this La Rosche,
+with the other young man, had desired to see me when I was in arrest
+in Dover, which had been permitted, and they had paid me their
+respects. It is possible that he had wished to speak with me and to
+tell me what he had heard in London, and which, it seemed to him,
+excited no fears in me. But as I was playing at cards with some
+ladies who had come to look at me, he could not speak with me; so he
+asked me whether I had the book of plays which the Countess of
+Pembroke had published.[E25] I replied, 'No'. He promised to send it
+me, and as I did not receive it, I think he had written in it some
+warning to me, which Braten afterwards turned to his advantage.
+
+ [72] Did not this accord well with the statement that my lord had
+ offered the kingdom of Denmark to two potentates? [Marginal note.]
+
+ [E25] The book in question is probably Philip Sidney's work, 'The
+ Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia,' a famous book of its time, which
+ Leonora, who does not seem to have known it, has understood to be a
+ book by the Countess of Pembroke. It is true, however, that
+ Philip's sister, Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke, had translated
+ a French play, Antonius (1592, and again 1595).
+
+However all this may be, La Rosche suffered innocently, and could
+prove upon oath that he had never spoken with my lord in his life,
+and still less had corresponded with him.[73] In short, after some
+months of innocent suffering, he was set at liberty and sent back to
+France. The other young man was confined in an apartment near the
+servants' hall. He had only been apprehended as a companion to the
+other, but no further accusation was brought against him.[E26] At
+first, when these men were imprisoned, there was a whispering and
+talking between the prison governor and the woman, and also between
+Peder and her; the prison governor moreover himself locked my door. I
+plainly perceived that there was something in the wind, but I made no
+enquiries. Peder at length informed the woman that they were two
+Frenchmen, and he said something about the affair, but not as it
+really was. Shortly before they were set at liberty the prison
+governor said, 'I have two parle mi franco in prison; what they have
+done I know not.' I made no further enquiries, but he jested and
+said, 'Now I can learn French.' 'That will take time,' said I.
+
+ [73] In the margin is noted: 'I had never seen La Rosche nor his
+ companion till I did so at Dover.'
+
+ [E26] La Roche Tudesquin had some time been in the Danish army, but
+ had returned to France when Hannibal Sehested, while in Paris as
+ Ambassador from the King of Denmark, received information from a
+ certain Demoiselle Langlois that La Roche was implicated in a
+ conspiracy for surrendering the principal Danish fortresses to a
+ foreign prince. He and a friend of his, Jaques Beranger, were
+ arrested in Brussels in September 1663, but not, as Leonora says,
+ immediately brought to Copenhagen. The Spanish Government did not
+ consent to their extradition till the following year, and they were
+ not placed in the Blue Tower till June 1664. La Roche seems to have
+ been guilty of peculation while in the Danish service, but the
+ accusation of treason seems to have been unfounded.
+
+In the same month of September died Count Rantzow. He did not live to
+see the execution of an effigy, which he so confidently had hoped
+for, being himself the one who first had introduced this kind of
+mockery in these countries.[E27]
+
+ [E27] In the MS. a pen is drawn through this paragraph, of which
+ the contents were to form part of the Preface. The date of Count
+ Rantzow is moreover not correctly given; he died on November 8,
+ five days before the execution of Ulfeldt's effigy.
+
+On October 9 our Princess Anna Sophia was betrothed to the Electoral
+Prince of Saxony. On the morning of the day on which the festivities
+were to take place I said to the woman, 'To-day we shall fast till
+evening.' For I thought they would not think of me, and that I should
+not receive any of the remains until the others had been treated, at
+any rate, to dinner. She wished to know the reason why we were to
+fast. I answered, 'You shall know it this evening.' I lay and thought
+of the change of fortune: that I, who twenty-eight years ago had
+enjoyed as great state as the Princess, should now be lying a
+captive, close by the very wall where my bridal chamber had been;
+thank God, that it afflicted me but little. Towards noonday, when the
+trumpets and kettledrums were sounding, I said, 'Now they are
+conducting the bride across the square to the great hall.' 'How do
+you know that?' said the woman. 'I know it,' I said; 'my spirit tells
+me so.' 'What sort of spirit is that?' she asked. 'That I cannot
+tell you,' I replied. And as the trumpets blew every time that a new
+course of dishes and sweets were produced, I mentioned it; and before
+they were served the kettledrums were sounded. And as they were
+served on the square in front of the kitchen, I said each time, 'We
+shall have no dinner yet.' When it was nearly three o'clock, the
+woman said, 'My stomach is quite shrunk up; when shall we have
+dinner?' I answered, 'Not for a long time yet; the second course is
+only now on the table; we shall have something at about seven
+o'clock, and not before.' It was as I said. About half-past seven the
+prison governor came and excused himself, saying that he had asked
+for the dinner, but that all hands in the kitchen were occupied. The
+woman, who had always entertained the idea that I was a witch, was
+now confirmed in her opinion.[74]
+
+ [74] In the margin is added: 'The prison governor told the woman
+ about the magnificence of the festivity and Peder also told her of
+ it, so that it seemed to her that I could know somewhat from
+ customs of former times.'
+
+On the following day knights were dubbed, and each time when the
+trumpets blew I did not only say, 'Now they have made a knight' (for
+I could hear the herald calling from the window, though I could not
+understand what he said), but even who had been made a knight; for
+this I guessed, knowing who were in the Council who were not knights
+before; and because it was as I said, the woman believed for certain
+that I was an enchantress. I perceived this, as she put questions to
+me concerning things which I could not know, and to which I often
+gave equivocal answers. I thought perhaps that the fear she had that
+I could know what would happen might hinder her from entangling me
+with lies. Since then she whispered much less with the prison
+governor. She told of a person whom she regarded as a witch, whose
+power, however, consisted in nothing else than in the science of
+curing French pox, and causing the miscarriage of bad women, and
+other improprieties. She had had much intercourse with this woman.
+
+Some time after the departure of the Electoral Prince it was
+determined that a wooden effigy should be subjected to capital
+punishment, and on the forenoon my chamber was opened, swept,
+cleaned, and strewed with sand.[75] When it was opened, towards noon,
+and the woman had been on the stairs, talking with the coachman, she
+came in, and walking up to my bed, stood as if startled, and said
+hurriedly, 'Oh, Jesus! Lady, they are bringing your husband!' The
+news terrified me, which she observed; for as she uttered it, I
+raised myself in the bed and stretched out my right arm, and was not
+able to draw it back again at once. Perhaps this vexed her, for I
+remained sitting in this way and not speaking a word; so she said,
+'My dearest lady, it is your husband's effigy.' To this I said, 'May
+God punish you!' She then gave full vent to her evil tongue, and
+expressed her opinion that I deserved punishment, and not she, and
+used many unprofitable words. I was quite silent, for I was very
+weak, and scarcely knew where I was. In the afternoon I heard a great
+murmuring of people in the inner palace square, and I saw the effigy
+brought across the street by the executioner on a wheelbarrow, and
+placed in the tower below my prison.
+
+ [75] The Queen wished that this wooden statue should be brought
+ into my outer chamber, and so placed in front of the door that it
+ would tumble into me when my inner door was opened; but the King
+ would not permit it. [Addition in the margin.]
+
+The next morning, at about nine o'clock, the effigy was wofully
+treated by the executioner, but no sound came from it. At the mid-day
+meal the prison governor told the woman how the executioner had cut
+off its head, and had divided the body into four quarters, which were
+then placed on four wheels, and attached to the gallows, while the
+head was exhibited on the town hall. The prison governor stood in the
+outer chamber, but he narrated all this in a loud tone, so that I
+might hear it, and repeated it three times.[E28] I lay and thought
+what I should do; I could not show that I made but little of it, for
+then something else perhaps would be devised to trouble me, and in
+the hurry I could think of nothing else than saying to the woman with
+sadness, 'Oh, what a shame! speak to the prison governor and tell him
+to beg the King to allow the effigy to be taken down and not to
+remain as it is!' The woman went out, and spoke softly with the
+prison governor; but he answered aloud and said, 'Yes, indeed, taken
+down! There will be more put up; yes, more up;' and kept on repeating
+these words a good while.
+
+ [E28] The execution took place on November 13. The King's order
+ concerning it to the prison governor, Jochum Waltpurger, exists
+ still. It is to this effect: 'V. G. T., Know that you have to
+ command the executioner in our name, that to-day, November 13, he
+ is to take the effigy of Corfitz, formerly called Count of Ulfeldt,
+ from the Blue Tower where it is now, and bring it on a car to the
+ ordinary place in the square in front of the castle; and when he
+ has come to the place of justice, strike off the right hand and the
+ head, whereafter he is to divide the body into four parts on the
+ spot, and carry them away with him, whilst the head is to be placed
+ on a spike on the Blue Tower for remembrance and execration.' The
+ order was afterwards altered in this particular, that the head was
+ to be placed on the town hall, and the four parts of the body one
+ at each of the gates of the city. The executioner was subsequently
+ ordered to efface the arms of Corfitz and his wife wherever they
+ occurred in the town; for instance, on their pews in the churches.
+ Leonora states in her Autobiography that the prison governor some
+ time after told her that the Queen had desired that the effigy
+ should be placed in the antechamber of Leonora's prison, and that
+ she should be ordered to see it there; but that the king refused
+ his consent.
+
+I lay silently thinking; I said nothing, but indulged in my own
+reflections. Sometimes I consoled myself, and hoped that this
+treatment of the effigy was a token that they could not get the man;
+then again fear asserted its sway. I did not care for the dishonour,
+for there are too many instances of great men in France whose
+effigies have been burnt by the executioner, and who subsequently
+arrived again at great honour.
+
+When the door was unlocked again for the evening meal, there was a
+whispering between the prison governor and the woman. A lacquey was
+also sent, who stood outside the outer door and called the prison
+governor to him (my bed stands just opposite the doors, and thus when
+all three doors are opened I can see the staircase door, which is the
+fourth). I do not know what the woman can have told the prison
+governor, for I had not spoken all day, except to ask her to give me
+what I required; I said, moreover, nothing more than this for several
+days, so that the prison governor grew weary of enquiring longer of
+the woman; for she had nothing to communicate to him respecting me,
+and she tormented him always with her desire to get away; she could
+not longer spend her life in this way.
+
+But as she received no other consolation from him than that he swore
+to her that she would never get away as long as she lived, for some
+days she did nothing else than weep; and since I would not ask her
+why she wept, she came one day up to my bedside crying, and said, 'I
+am a miserable being!' I asked her why? what ailed her? 'I ail
+enough,' she answered; 'I have been so stupid, and have allowed
+myself to be shut up here for the sake of money, and now you are
+cross with me and will not speak with me.' I said, 'What am I to say?
+you wish perhaps to have something to communicate to the prison
+governor?' Upon this she began to call down curses on herself if she
+had ever repeated to the prison governor a word that I had said or
+done; she wished I could believe her and speak with her; why should
+she be untrue to me? we must at any rate remain together as long as
+we lived. She added many implorations as to my not being angry; I had
+indeed cause to be so; she would in future give me no cause for
+anger, for she would be true to me. I thought, 'You shall know no
+more than is necessary.'
+
+I let her go on talking and relating the whole history of her
+life--such events as occur among peasants. She had twice married
+cottagers, and after her last widowhood she had been employed as
+nurse to the wife of Holger Wind, so that she had no lack of stories.
+By her first husband she had had a child, who had never reached
+maturity, and her own words led me to have a suspicion that she had
+herself helped to shorten the child's days; for once when she was
+speaking of widows marrying again, she said among other things,
+'Those who wish to marry a second time ought not to have children,
+for in that case the husband is never one with the wife.' I had much
+to say against this, and I asked her what a woman was to do who had a
+child by her first husband. She answered quickly, 'Put a pillow on
+its head.' This I could only regard as a great sin, and I explained
+it to her. 'What sin could there be,' she said, 'when the child was
+always sickly, and the husband angry in consequence?' I answered as I
+ought, and she seemed ill at ease. Such conversation as this gave me
+no good reason to believe in the fidelity which she had promised me.
+
+The woman then took a different tack, and brought me word from the
+coachman of all that was occurring. Maren Blocks sent me a
+prayer-book through her, and that secretly, for I was allowed no book
+of any kind, nor any needles and pins; respecting these the woman had
+by the Queen's order taken an oath to the prison governor. Thus the
+year passed away. On New Year's day, 1664, the woman wished me a
+happy year. I thanked her, and said, 'That is in God's hands.' 'Yes,'
+she said, 'if He wills it.' 'And if He does not will it,' I answered,
+'it will not be, and then He will give me patience to bear my heavy
+cross.' 'It is heavy,' she said, 'even to me; what must it not be to
+you? May it only remain as it is, and not be worse with you!' It
+seemed to me as if it could not be worse, but better; for death, in
+whatever form, would put an end to my misery. 'Yes,' she said, 'is it
+not all one how one dies?' 'That is true,' I answered; 'one dies in
+despair, another with free courage.' The prison governor did not say
+a word to me that day. The woman had a long talk with the coachman;
+she no doubt related to him our conversation.
+
+In the month of March the prison governor came in and assumed a
+particularly gentle manner, and said, among other things, 'Now you
+are a widow; now you can tell the state of all affairs.' I answered
+him with a question, 'Can widows tell the state of all affairs?' He
+laughed and said, 'I do not mean that; I mean this treason!' I
+answered, 'You can ask others about it who know of it; I know of no
+treason.' And as it seemed to him that I did not believe that my
+husband was dead,[E29] he took out a newspaper and let me read it,
+perhaps chiefly because my husband was badly treated in it. I did not
+say much about it--nothing more than, 'Writers of newspapers do not
+always speak the truth.' This he might take as he liked.
+
+ [E29] The date of Ulfeldt's death is variously given as the 20th or
+ the 27th of February, 1664. The latter date is given in a letter
+ from his son Christian to Sperling, and elsewhere, (for instance,
+ in a short Latin Biography of Ulfeldt called 'Machinationes
+ Cornificii Ulefeldii,' published soon after); but the better
+ evidence points to the earlier date. Christian Ulfeldt was not, it
+ seems, at Basle at the time, and may have made a mistake as to the
+ date, though he indicates the right day of the week (a Saturday),
+ or he may have had reason for purposely making a misleading
+ statement. In Copenhagen the report of his death was long suspected
+ to be a mere trick.
+
+I lay there silently hoping that it might be so, that my husband had
+by death escaped his enemies; and I thought with the greatest
+astonishment that I should have lived to see the day when I should
+wish my lord dead; then sorrowful thoughts took possession of me, and
+I did not care to talk. The woman imagined that I was sad because my
+lord was dead, and she comforted me, and that in a reasonable
+manner; but the remembrance of past times was only strengthened by
+her consolatory remarks, and for a long time my mind could not again
+regain repose. Your condition, my dearest children, troubled me. You
+had lost your father, and with him property and counsel. I am captive
+and miserable, and cannot help you, either with counsel or deed; you
+are fugitives and in a foreign land. For my three eldest sons I am
+less anxious than for my daughters and my youngest son.[E30] I sat up
+whole nights in my bed, for I could not sleep, and when I have
+headache I cannot lay my head on the pillow. From my heart I prayed
+to God for a gracious deliverance. It has not pleased God to grant
+this, but He gave me patience to bear my heavy cross.
+
+ [E30] Ulfeldt and Leonora had twelve children in all, of which
+ seven were alive when Corfitz died; and it so happened as,
+ explained before, that the youngest, Leo, was the only one who
+ continued the name. It is from him that Count Waldstein, the owner
+ of the MS., is descended.
+
+My cross was so much heavier to me at first, as it was strictly
+forbidden to give me either knife, scissors, thread, or anything that
+might have beguiled the time to me. Afterwards, when my mind became a
+little calmer, I began to think of something wherewith to occupy
+myself; and as I had a needle, as I have before mentioned, I took off
+the ribands of my night-dress, which were broad flesh-coloured
+taffeta. With the silk I embroidered the piece of cloth that I had
+with different flowers worked in small stitches. When this was
+finished, I drew threads out of my sheet, twisted them, and sewed
+with them. When this was nearly done, the woman said one day, 'What
+will you do now when this is finished?' I answered, 'Oh, I shall get
+something to do; if it is brought to me by the ravens, I shall have
+it.' Then she asked me if I could do anything with a broken wooden
+spoon. I answered, 'Perhaps you know of one?' After having laughed a
+while, she drew one forth, the bowl of which was half broken off. 'I
+could indeed make something with that,' I said, 'if I had only a tool
+for the purpose. Could you persuade the prison governor or Peder the
+coachman to lend me a knife?' 'I will beg for one,' she answered,
+'but I know well that they will not.' That she said something about
+it to the prison governor I could perceive from his answer, for he
+replied aloud, 'She wants no knife; I will cut her food for her. She
+might easily injure herself with one.'[76]
+
+ [76] In the margin is this note: 'Once when I asked the prison
+ governor for some scissors to cut my nails, he answered, and that
+ loudly, "What! what! her nails shall grow like eagles' claws, and
+ her hair like eagles' feathers!" I know well what I thought--if I
+ had only claws and wings!'
+
+What she said to the coachman I know not (this I know, that she did
+not desire me to obtain a knife, for she was afraid of me, as I
+afterwards discovered). The woman brought the answer from the
+coachman that he dared not for his life. I said, 'If I can but have a
+piece of glass, I will see what I can make that is useful with the
+piece of spoon.' I begged her to look in a corner in the outermost
+room, where all rubbish was thrown; this she did, and found not only
+glass, but even a piece of a pewter cover which had belonged to a
+jug. By means of the glass I formed the spoon handle into a pin with
+two prongs, on which I made riband, which I still have in use (the
+silk for this riband I took from the border of my night-dress). I
+bent the piece of pewter in such a manner that it afterwards served
+me as an inkstand. It also is still in my keeping. As a mark of
+fidelity, the woman brought me at the same time a large pin, which
+was a good tool for beginning the division between the prongs, which
+I afterwards scraped with glass.
+
+She asked me whether I could think of anything to play with, as the
+time was so long to her. I said, 'Coax Peder, and he will bring you a
+little flax for money and a distaff.' 'What!' she answered, 'shall I
+spin? The devil may spin! For whom should I spin?' I said, 'To
+beguile the time, I would spin, if I only had what is necessary for
+it.' 'That you may not have, dear lady,' said she; 'I have done the
+very utmost for you in giving you what I have done.' 'If you wish
+something to play with,' said I, 'get some nuts, and we will play
+with them.' She did so, and we played with them like little children.
+I took three of the nuts, and made them into dice, placing two kinds
+of numbers on each, and we played with these also. And that we might
+know the {circled dot} which I made with the large pin,[77] I begged
+her to procure for me a piece of chalk, which she did, and I rubbed
+chalk into it. These dice were lost, I know not how; my opinion is
+that the coachman got possession of them, perhaps at the time that he
+cheated the woman out of the candles and sugar left. For he came to
+her one day at noon quite out of breath, and said she was to give him
+the candles and the sugar which he had brought her from Maren Blocks,
+and whatever there was that was not to be seen, as our quarters were
+to be searched. She ran out with the things under her apron, and
+never said anything to me about it until the door was locked. I
+concealed on myself, as well as I was able, my pin, my silk, and the
+pieces of sewing with the needle and pin. Nothing came of the search,
+and it was only a _ruse_ of the coachman, in order to get the
+candles that were left, for which she often afterwards abused him,
+and also for the sugar.
+
+ [77] I removed my nails with the needle, scratching them till they
+ came away. I let the nail of the little finger of my right hand
+ grow, in order to see how long it would become; but I knocked it
+ off unawares, and I still have it. [Marginal note.]
+
+I was always at work, so long as I had silk from my night-dress and
+stockings, and I netted on the large pin, so that it might last a
+long time. I have still some of the work in my possession, as well as
+the bobbins, which I made out of wooden pegs. By means of bags filled
+with sand I made cords which I formed into a bandage (which is worn
+out), for I was not allowed a corset, often as I begged for one; the
+reason why is unknown to me. I often beguiled the time with the piece
+of chalk, painting with it on a piece of board and on the table,
+wiping it away again, and making rhymes and composing hymns. The
+first of these, however, I composed before I had the chalk. I never
+sang it, but repeated it to myself.
+
+A morning hymn, to the tune, 'Ieg wil din Priiss ud Synge'[E31]:--
+
+ [E31] This hymn-tune is still in use in the Danish Church.
+
+        I
+
+    God's praise I will be singing
+      In every waking hour.
+    My grateful tribute bringing
+      To magnify his power;
+    And his almighty love,
+      His angel watchers sending,
+      My couch with mercy tending,
+    And watching from above.
+
+        II
+
+    In salt drops streaming ever
+      The tears flowed from my eyes;
+    I often thought I never
+      Should see the morning rise.
+    Yet has the Lord instilled
+      Sleep in his own good pleasure;
+      And sleep in gracious measure
+    Has his command fulfilled.
+
+        III
+
+    Oh Christ! Lord of the living,
+      Thine armour place on me,
+    Which manly vigour giving,
+      Right valiant shall I be,
+    'Gainst Satan, death, and sin.
+      And every carnal feeling,
+      That nought may come concealing
+    Thy sway my heart within.
+
+        IV
+
+    Help me! Thy arms extending;
+      My cross is hard and sore:
+    Support its heaviest ending,
+      Or I can bear no more.
+    Too much am I oppressed!
+      My trust is almost waning
+      With pain and vain complaining!
+    Thine arrows pierce my breast.
+
+        V
+
+    In mercy soothe the sorrow
+      That weighs the fatherless;
+    Vouchsafe a happier morrow,
+      And all my children bless!
+    Strength to their father yield,
+      In their hard fate respect them,
+      From enemies protect them;
+    My strength, be Thou their shield.
+
+        VI
+
+    I am but dust and ashes,
+      Yet one request I crave:
+    Let me not go at unawares
+      Into the silent grave.
+    With a clear mind and breast
+      My course in this world closing,
+      Let me, on Thee reposing,
+    Pass to Thy land of rest.
+
+I composed the following hymn in German and often sang it, as they
+did not understand German; a hymn, somewhat to the air of 'Was ist
+doch auff dieser Welt, das nicht fehlt?' &c.:--
+
+        I
+
+    Reason speaketh to my soul:
+          Fret not Soul,
+    Thou hast a better goal!
+      It is not for thee restricted
+        That with thee
+        Past should be
+      All the wrongs inflicted.
+
+        II
+
+    Why then shouldst thou thus fret thee,
+          Anxiously,
+    Ever sighing, mournfully?
+      Thou canst not another sorrow
+        Change with this,
+        For that is
+      Which shall be on the morrow.
+
+        III
+
+    Loss of every earthly gain
+          Bringeth pain;
+    Fresh courage seek to obtain!
+      Much was still superfluous ceded,
+        Nature's call
+        After all
+      Makes but little needed.
+
+        IV
+
+    Is the body captive here?
+          Do not fear:
+    Thou must not hold all too dear;
+      Thou art free--a captive solely;
+        Can no tower
+        Have the power
+      Thee to fetter wholly?
+
+        V
+
+    All the same is it at last
+          When thou hast
+    The long path of striving past,
+      And thou must thy life surrender;
+        Death comes round,
+        Whether found
+      On couch hard or tender.
+
+        VI
+
+    Courage then, my soul, arise!
+          Heave no sighs
+    That nought yet thy rest supplies!
+      God will not leave thee in sorrow:
+        Well He knows
+        When He chose
+      Help for thee to borrow.
+
+Thus I peacefully beguiled the time, until Doctor Otto Sperling[E32]
+was brought to the tower; his prison is below the 'dark church.' His
+fate is pitiable. When he was brought to the tower his feet and hands
+were chained in irons. The prison governor, who had formerly not been
+friendly with him, rejoiced heartily at the doctor's misfortune, and
+that he had fallen into his hands, so that the whole evening he did
+nothing but sing and hum. He said to the woman, 'My Karen, will you
+dance? I will sing.' He left the doctor to pass the night in his
+irons. We could hear that a prisoner had been brought in from the
+murmuring, and the concourse of people, as well as from the locking
+of the prison, which was below mine (where iron bolts were placed
+against the door).[78] The joy exhibited by the prison governor
+excited my fear, also that he not only himself opened and shut my
+door, but that he prevented the woman from going out on the stairs,
+by leaning against the outermost door of my prison. The coachman
+stood behind the prison governor making signs; but as the prison
+governor turned from side to side, I could not rightly see him.
+
+ [E32] Dr. Otto Sperling, the elder, is often alluded to in the
+ Autobiography of Leonora as 'notre vieillard;' he was a faithful
+ friend of Ulfeldt, and in 1654 he settled in Hamburg, where he
+ educated Corfitz's youngest son Leo. He was implicated in Ulfeldt's
+ intrigues, and a compromising correspondence between them fell into
+ the hands of the Spanish Government, which placed it at the
+ disposal of Hannibal Sehested when he passed through the
+ Netherlands on his way home from his mission to France in 1663. In
+ order to obtain possession of Sperling's person, the Danish
+ authorities used the ruse of sending a Danish officer to his house
+ in Hamburg, and request him to visit professionally a sick person
+ just across the Danish frontier, paying in advance a considerable
+ fee. Sperling, who did not suspect the transaction, was arrested
+ immediately on crossing the boundary, and brought to Copenhagen. He
+ was condemned to death July 28, 1664; but the sentence was
+ commuted, and he died in the Blue Tower December 25, 1681. Otto
+ Sperling, jun., to whom Leonora sent the MS. of her Autobiography,
+ and who often visited her at Maribo, was his son.
+
+ [78] The prison cell is outside that in which the doctor is
+ immured. It is quite dark where he is. [Note in the margin.]
+
+On the following day, at about eight o'clock, I heard the iron bolts
+drawn and the door below opened; I could also hear that the inner
+prison was opened (the doctor was then taken out for examination).
+The woman said, 'There is certainly a prisoner there; who can it be?'
+I said: 'It seems indeed that a prisoner has been brought in, for the
+prison governor is so merry. You will find it out from Peder; if not
+to-day, another time. I pity the poor man, whoever he may be.' (God
+knows my heart was not as courageous as I appeared.) When my door was
+opened at noon (which was after twelve o'clock, for they did not open
+my door till the doctor had been conveyed to his cell again), the
+prison governor was still merrier than usual, and danced about and
+sang, 'Cheer up! courage! It will come to pass!'
+
+When he had cut up the dinner, he leaned against the outer door of my
+prison and prevented the woman from going out, saying to me, 'I am to
+salute you from the Major-General von Alfeldt; he says all will now
+soon be well, and you may console yourself. Yes, yes, all will now
+soon be well!' I behaved as if I received his words in their apparent
+meaning, and I begged him to thank the Major-General for his
+consolation; and then he repeated the same words, and added, 'Yes,
+indeed! he said so.' I replied with a question: 'What may it arise
+from that the Major-General endeavours to cheer me? May God cheer him
+in return! I never knew him before.' To this the prison governor made
+no answer at all. While the prison governor was talking with me, the
+coachman was standing behind him, and showed by gestures how the
+prisoner had been bound hand and foot, that he had a beard and a
+calotte on his head, and a handkerchief round his neck. This could
+not make me wiser than I was, but it could indeed grieve me still
+more. At the evening meal the woman was again prevented speaking with
+the coachman, and the coachman again made the same signs, for the
+prison governor was standing in his usual place; but he said nothing,
+nor did I.[79] On the following morning the Doctor was again brought
+up for examination, and the prison governor behaved as before. As he
+stood there ruminating, I asked him who the prisoner below was. He
+answered that there was no one below. I let the matter rest for the
+time, and as we proceeded to speak of other things, the woman slipped
+out to Peder, who told her quickly who it was. Some days went by in
+the same manner. When sentence had been pronounced on the Doctor, and
+his execution was being postponed,[80] and I said nothing to the
+prison governor but when he accosted me, he came in and said: 'I see
+that you can judge that there is a prisoner below. It is true, but I
+am forbidden to tell you who it is!' I answered: 'Then I do not
+desire to know.' He began to feel some compassion, and said: 'Don't
+fret, my dear lady; it is not your husband, nor your son, nor
+daughter, nor brother-in-law, nor any relative; it is a bird which
+ought to sing,[81] and will not, but he must, he must!' I said: 'I
+ought to be able to guess from your words who it is. If the bird can
+sing what can ring in their ears, he will probably do so; but he
+cannot sing a melody which he does not know!' Upon this he was
+silent, and turned away and went out.
+
+ [79] In the margin is added: 'When the prison governor was singing
+ to himself on those first days, he said, "You must sing, my bird;
+ where is your velvet robe?" laughing at the same time most
+ heartily. I inferred from that song who it was.'
+
+ [80] In the margin is added: 'In order to grieve the Doctor and to
+ frighten him, the prison governor unlocked his cell early on the
+ morning after sentence had been passed, and behaved as if the
+ priest were coming to him.'
+
+ [81] That is, give information.
+
+By degrees all became quiet with regard to the Doctor, and no more
+was said about the matter, and the prison governor came in from time
+to time when the door was opened, and often made himself merry with
+the woman, desiring her to make a curtsey to him, and showing her how
+she should place her feet and carry her body, after the fashion of a
+dancing-master. He related also different things that had occurred in
+former times, some of them evidently intended to sadden me with the
+recollection of my former prosperity: all that had happened at my
+wedding, how the deceased King had loved me. He gave long accounts of
+this, not forgetting how I was dressed, and all this he said for the
+benefit of no one else but myself, for the woman meanwhile stood on
+the stairs talking with the tower warder, the coachman, and the
+prisoner Christian.
+
+Maren Blocks, who constantly from time to time sent me messages and
+kept me informed of what was going on, also intimated to me that she
+was of opinion that I could practise magic, for she wrote me a slip
+of paper[82] with the request that I should sow dissension between
+the Lady Carisse and an Alfelt, explaining at length that Alfelt was
+not worthy of her, but that Skinckel was a brave fellow (Carisse
+afterwards married Skinckel). As the letter was open, the coachman
+knew its contents, and the woman also. I was angry at it, but I said
+nothing. The woman could easily perceive that I was displeased at it,
+and she said, 'Lady, I know well what Maren wishes.' I replied, 'Can
+you help her in it?' 'No,' she declared, and laughed heartily. I
+asked what there was to laugh at. 'I am laughing,' said she, 'because
+I am thinking of the clever Cathrine, of whom I have spoken before,
+who once gave advice to some one desiring to sow discord between good
+friends.' I enquired what advice she had given. She said that they
+must collect some hairs in a place where two cats had been fighting,
+and throw these between the two men whom it was desired to set at
+variance. I enquired whether the trick succeeded. She replied, 'It
+was not properly tried.' 'Perhaps,' I said, 'the cats were not both
+black?' 'Ho, ho!' said she, 'I see that you know how it should be
+done.' 'I have heard more than that,' I replied; 'show her the trick,
+and you will get some more sugar-candy, but do not let yourself be
+again cheated of it by Peder as you were lately. Seriously, however,
+Peder must beg Maren Blocks to spare me such requests!' That she as
+well as Maren believed that I could practise magic was evident in
+many ways. My own remarks often gave cause for this. I remembered how
+my deceased lord used to say (when in his younger days he wished to
+make anyone imagine that he understood the black art), that people
+feared those of whom they had this opinion, and never ventured to do
+them harm. It happened one day at the mid-day meal, when the prison
+governor was sitting talking with me, that the woman carried on a
+long conversation on the stairs with the others respecting the
+witches who had been seized in Jutland, and that the supreme judge in
+Jutland at that time sided with the witches and said they were not
+witches.[E33] When the door was locked we had much talk about
+witches, and she said, 'This judge is of your opinion, that it is a
+science and not magic.' I said, as I had before said, that some had
+more knowledge than others, and that some used their knowledge to do
+evil; although it might happen naturally and not with the devil's
+art, still it was not permitted in God's Word to use nature for evil
+purposes; it was also not fair to give the devil the honour which did
+not belong to him. We talked on till she grew angry, laid down and
+slept a little, and thus the anger passed away.
+
+ [82] In the margin is added: 'Peder had some time before thrown
+ into me eight ducats in a paper, saying, as he closed the door,
+ "Your maid!" And as the woman knew it, I gave her one of them and
+ Peder one. I know not whether my maid had given him more; she had
+ many more concealed on her person.'
+
+ [E33] The name of this judge was Villum Lange, and it is a curious
+ coincidence that a letter from him of a somewhat later time (1670),
+ has been found in one of the archives, in which he speaks of this
+ very affair, and in which he expresses himself very much in the
+ sense here indicated.
+
+Some days after she said: 'Your maid is sitting below in the prison
+governor's room, and asks with much solicitude after you and what you
+are doing. I have told Peder of what you have sewed, and of the
+ribbons you have made, but he has promised solemnly not to mention it
+to anyone except to Maren, Lars' daughter; she would like so much to
+be here with you.' I replied: 'It would be no good for her to sit
+with me in prison; it would only destroy her own happiness; for who
+knows how long I may live?' I related of this same waiting-maid that
+she had been in my employ since she was eight years old, all that I
+had had her taught, and how virtuous she was. To this she replied,
+'The girl will like to see what you have sewed; you shall have it
+again directly.' I handed it to her, and the first time the doors
+were unlocked she gave it to the prison governor, who carried it to
+the Queen. (Two years afterwards the prison governor told me this
+himself, and that when the King had said, 'She might have something
+given her to do,' the Queen had answered, 'That is not necessary. It
+is good enough for her! She has not wished for anything better.') I
+often enquired for the piece of sewing, but was answered that Peder
+was not able to get it back from the girl.
+
+Late in the autumn the prison governor began to sicken: he was ill
+and could not do much, so he let the coachman frequently come alone
+to lock and unlock both the doctor's door below and mine. The iron
+bars were no longer placed before the outermost prison below, but
+four doors were locked upon me. One day, when Peder was locking up,
+he threw me a skein of silk,[83] saying, 'Make me some braces for my
+breeches out of it.' I appeared not to have heard, and asked the
+woman what it was that he had said. She repeated the same words. I
+behaved as if I did not believe it, and laughed, saying, 'If I make
+the braces for him, he will next wish that you should fasten them to
+his breeches.' A good deal of absurd chatter followed. As meal-time
+was approaching, I said to the woman, 'Give Peder back his silk, and
+say that I have never before made a pair of braces; I do not know how
+they are made.' (Such things I had to endure with smiles.)
+
+ [83] In the margin is added: 'As my linen was washed in the
+ servants' hall, it once happened that a maid there must unawares
+ have forgotten a whole skein of thread in a clean chemise, at which
+ I said to the woman: "You see how the ravens bring me thread!" She
+ was angry and abused me; I laughed, and answered her jestingly.'
+
+At the time that our former palace here in the city (which we had
+ceded by a deed when we were imprisoned at Borringholm) was pulled
+down, and a pillar (or whatever it is) was raised to my lord's shame,
+the prison governor came in when he unlocked at noon, and seated
+himself on my bed (I was somewhat indisposed at the time), and began
+to talk of former times (I knew already that they were pulling down
+the palace), enumerating everything the loss of which he thought
+might sadden me, even to my coach and the horses. 'But,' he said,
+'all this is nothing compared with the beautiful palace!' (and he
+praised it to the utmost); 'it is now down, and not one stone is left
+on another. Is not that a pity, my dear lady?' I replied: 'The King
+can do what he will with his own; the palace has not been ours for
+some time.' He continued bewailing the beautiful house and the garden
+buildings which belonged to it. I asked him what had become of
+Solomon's temple? Not a stone of that beautiful building was now to
+be found; not even could the place be pointed out where the temple
+and costly royal palace had once stood. He made no answer, hung his
+head, and pondered a little, and went out. I do not doubt he has
+reported what I said. Since that day he began to behave himself more
+and more courteously, saying even that His Majesty had ordered him to
+ask me whether I wished for anything from the kitchen, the cellar, or
+the confectioner, as it should be given me; that he had also been
+ordered to bring me twice a week confectionery and powdered sugar,
+which was done.[84] I begged the prison governor to thank the King's
+Majesty for the favour shown me, and praised, as was proper, the
+King's goodness most humbly. The prison governor would have liked to
+praise the Queen had he only been able to find cause for so doing; he
+said, 'The Queen is also a dear Queen!' I made no answer to this. He
+came also some time afterwards with an order from the King that I
+should ask for any clothes and linen I required: this was written
+down, and I received it later, except a corset, and that the Queen
+would not allow me. I never could learn the cause of this. The Queen
+also was not well pleased that I obtained a bottle-case with six
+small bottles, in which was sprinkling-water, headwater, and a
+cordial. All this, she said, I could well do without; but when she
+saw that in the lid there was an engraving representing the daughter
+of Herod with the head of St. John on a charger, she laughed and
+said, 'That will be a cordial to her!' This engraving set me thinking
+that Herodias had still sisters on earth.
+
+ [84] In the margin is added: 'I wrote different things from the
+ Bible on the paper in which the sugar was given me. My ink-bottle
+ was made of the piece of pewter lid which the woman had found, the
+ ink was made from the smoke of the candle collected on a spoon, and
+ the pen from a fowl's feather cut by the piece of glass. I have
+ this still in my possession.'
+
+The prison governor continued his politeness, and lent me at my
+desire a German Bible, saying at the same time, 'This I do out of
+kindness, I have no order to do so; the Queen does not know it.' 'I
+believe that,' I replied, and thanked him; but I am of opinion that
+the King knew it well. Some days afterwards Maren Blocks sent for her
+prayer-book back again. I had taught the woman a morning and evening
+prayer by heart, and all the morning and evening hymns, which she
+repeated to me night and morning. I offered to teach her to read if
+she would procure an A B C. She laughed at this jeeringly, and said,
+'People would think me crazed if I were to learn to read now.' I
+tried to persuade her by argument, in order that I might thus get
+something to beguile the time with; but far from it; she knew as much
+as she needed. I sought everywhere for something to divert my
+thoughts, and as I perceived that the potter, when he had placed the
+stove, had left a piece of clay lying outside in the other room, I
+begged the woman to give it to me.
+
+The prison governor saw that she had taken it, but did not ask the
+reason. I mixed the clay with beer, and made various things, which I
+frequently altered again into something else; among other things I
+made the portraits of the prison governor and the woman, and small
+jugs and vases. And as it occurred to me to try whether I were able
+to make anything on which I could place a few words to the King, so
+that the prison governor should not observe it (for I knew well that
+the woman did not always keep silence; she would probably some time
+say what I did), I moulded a goblet over the half of the glass in
+which wine was brought to me, made it round underneath, placed it on
+three knobs, and wrote the King's name on the side--underneath the
+bottom these words ... il y a un ... un Auguste.[E34]
+
+ [E34] The words 'under the bottom ... to ... Auguste,' inclusive,
+ have been struck out in the MS., and it has been impossible to read
+ more than what here is rendered. In the Autobiography, where the
+ same occurrence is related, Leonora says that she put on it the
+ names both of the King and of the Queen; that on the bottom she
+ wrote to the Queen, and that it was the Queen who discovered the
+ inscription; from which it would appear that the Queen at all
+ events was included in her ingeniously contrived supplique.
+
+I kept it for a long time, not knowing in what way I could manage to
+get it reported what I was doing, since the woman had solemnly sworn
+to me not to mention it: so I said one day: 'Does the prison governor
+ask you what I am doing?' 'Yes, indeed he does,' she replied, 'but I
+say that you are doing nothing but reading the Bible.' I said: 'You
+may ingratiate yourself in his favour and say that I am making
+portraits in clay; there is no reason that he should not know that.'
+She did so, and three days after he came to me, and was quite gentle,
+and asked how I passed my time. I answered, 'In reading the Bible.'
+He expressed his opinion that I must weary of this. I said I liked at
+intervals to have something else to do, but that this was not allowed
+me. He enquired what I had wanted the clay for, which the woman had
+brought in to me; he had seen it when she had brought it in. I said,
+'I have made some small trifles.' He requested to see them. So I
+showed him first the woman's portrait; that pleased him much, as it
+resembled her; then a small jug, and last of all the goblet. He said
+at once: 'I will take all this with me and let the King see it; you
+will perhaps thus obtain permission to have somewhat provided you for
+pastime,'[85] I was well satisfied. This took place at the mid-day
+meal. At supper he did not come in. The next day he said to me:
+'Well, my dear lady, you have nearly brought me into trouble!' 'How
+so?' I asked. 'I took the King a petition from you! the Queen did not
+catch sight of it, but the King saw it directly and said, "So you are
+now bringing me petitions from Leonora?" I shrank back with terror,
+and said, "Gracious King! I have brought nothing in writing!" "See
+here!" exclaimed the King, and he pointed out to me some French
+writing at the bottom of the goblet. The Queen asked why I had
+brought anything written that I did not understand. I asserted that I
+had paid no attention to it, and begged for pardon. The good King
+defended me, and the _invention_ did not please him ill. Yes, yes, my
+dear lady! be assured that the King is a gracious sovereign to you,
+and if he were certain that your husband were dead, you would not
+remain here!' I was of opinion that my enemies well knew that my
+husband was dead. I felt that I must therefore peacefully resign
+myself to the will of God and the King.
+
+ [85] In the margin is added: 'The prison governor told me
+ afterwards that the clay things were placed in the King's
+ art-cabinet, besides a rib of mutton, which I used as a knife,
+ which he also gave to the King; hoping (he said) in this way to
+ obtain a knife for me.'
+
+I received nothing which might have beguiled the time to me, except
+that which I procured secretly, and the prison governor has since
+then never enquired what I was doing, though he came in every
+evening and sat for some time talking with me; he was weak, and it
+was a labour to him to mount so many steps. Thus we got through the
+year together.
+
+The prison governor gradually began to feel pity for me, and gave me
+a book which is very pretty, entitled 'Wunderwerck.'[E35] It is a
+folio, rather old, and here and there torn; but I was well pleased
+with the gift. And as he sat long of an evening with me, frequently
+till nine o'clock, talking with me, the malicious woman was
+irritated.[86] She said to Peder, 'If I were in the prison governor's
+place, I would not trust her in the way he does. He is weak; what if
+she were now to run out and take the knife which is lying on the
+table outside, and were to stab him? She could easily take my life,
+so I sit in there with my life hanging on a thread.'
+
+ [E35] This book was doubtless the German translation of Conr.
+ Lycosthenes' work, 'Prodigiorum ac Ostentorum Chronicon.' It is an
+ amusing illustrated volume, much read in its time. The translation
+ in question appeared in Basle, 1557.
+
+ [86] In the margin is added: 'The day that the prison governor had
+ taken away the clay things the woman was very angry with me,
+ because I gave him a small jug which I had made; she said it was
+ made in ridicule of her, the old slut with the jug! I ought to have
+ given him the cat which I had also made. I said, "I can still do
+ so."'
+
+Absurd as the idea was, the knife was not only in consequence hidden
+under the table, but the prison governor for a long time did not
+venture to come to me, but sat outside by my outermost door and
+talked there just as long as before, so that I was no gainer.[87] (I
+did not know what the woman had said till three years afterwards,
+when it was mentioned by the prisoner Christian, who had heard the
+woman's chatter.)
+
+ [87] In the margin is added: 'At first when the prison governor's
+ fear was so great, he did not venture to be alone in the outer
+ room. Peder and the tower warder were not allowed both to leave him
+ at the same time. I did not know the reason for this.'
+
+One day when the prison governor intended to go to the holy
+communion, he stood outside my outermost door and took off his hat,
+and begged for my forgiveness; he knew, he said, that he had done
+much to annoy me, but that he was a servant. I answered, 'I forgive
+you gladly!' Then he went away, and Peder closed the door. The woman
+said something to Peder about the prison governor, but I could not
+understand what. Probably she was blaming the prison governor, for
+she was so angry that she puffed; she could not restrain her anger,
+but said: 'Fye upon the old fool! The devil take him! I ought to beg
+pardon too? No' (she added with an oath), 'I would not do it for
+God's bitter death! No! no!' and she spat on the ground. I said
+afterwards: 'What does it matter to you that the prison governor asks
+me for my friendship? Do you lose anything by it? If you will not
+live like a Christian and according to the ordinances of the Church,
+do not at any rate be angry with one who does. Believe assuredly that
+God will punish you, if you do not repent of what evil you have done
+and will not be reconciled with your adversaries before you seek to
+be reconciled with God!'
+
+She thought that he had done nothing else than what he was ordered to
+do. I said, 'You good people know best yourselves what has been
+ordered you.' She asked, 'Do I do anything to you?' I answered, 'I
+know not what you do. You can tell any amount of untruths about me
+without my knowing it.' Upon this she began a long story, swearing by
+and asserting her fidelity; she had never lied to anyone nor done
+anyone a wrong. I said: 'I hear; you are justifying yourself with the
+Pharisee.' She started furiously from her seat and said, 'What! do
+you abuse me as a Pharisee?' 'Softly, softly!' I said; 'while only
+one of us is angry, it is of no consequence; but if I get angry also,
+something may come of it!' She sat down with an insolent air, and
+said, 'I should well imagine that you are not good when you are
+angry! It is said of you that in former days you could bear but
+little, and that you struck at once. But now'----(with this she was
+silent). 'What more?' I said. 'Do you think I could not do anything
+to anyone if I chose, just as well as then, if anyone behaved to me
+in a manner that I could not endure? Now much more than then! You
+need not refuse me a knife because I may perhaps kill you; I could do
+so with my bare hands. I can strangle the strongest fellow with my
+bare hands, if I can seize him unawares, and what more could happen
+to me than is happening? Therefore only keep quiet!'
+
+She was silent, and assumed no more airs; she was cast down, and did
+not venture to complain to the prison governor. What she said to the
+others on the stairs I know not, but when she came in, when the room
+was locked at night, she had been weeping.[88]
+
+ [88] In the margin is added: 'Some time after this dispute I had a
+ quarrel with her about some beer, which she was in the habit of
+ emptying on the floor, saying, "This shall go to the subterraneous
+ folk." I had forbidden her to do so, but she did it again, so I
+ took her by the head and pushed it back with my hand. She was
+ frightened, for this feels just as if one's head was falling off. I
+ said, "That is a foretaste."'
+
+On Sunday at noon I congratulated[E36] the prison governor and said:
+'You are happy! You can reconcile yourself with God, and partake of
+His body and blood; this is denied to me (I had twice during two
+years requested spiritual consolation, but had received in answer
+that I could not sin as I was now in prison; that I did not require
+religious services). And as I talked upon this somewhat fully with
+the prison governor, I said that those who withheld from me the
+Lord's Supper must take my sins upon themselves; that one sinned as
+much in thought as in word and deed; so the prison governor promised
+that he would never desist from desiring that a clergyman should come
+to me; and asked whom I wished for. I said: 'The King's Court
+preacher, whom I had in the beginning of my troubles.' He said: 'That
+could scarcely be.' I was satisfied whoever it was.
+
+ [E36] This custom of congratulating persons who intend to
+ communicate, or just have done so, is still retained by many of the
+ older generation in Denmark.
+
+A month afterwards I received the holy communion from the German
+clergyman, M. Hieronimus Buk, who behaved very properly the first
+time, but spoke more about the law than the gospel. The prison
+governor congratulated me, and I thanked him, for he had brought it
+about.
+
+1665. In this year, on Whitsun-eve, the prison governor ordered
+May-trees to be placed in my inner prison, and also in the anteroom.
+I broke small twigs from the branches, rubbed off the bark with
+glass, softened them in water, laid them to press under a board,
+which was used for carrying away the dirt from the floor, and thus
+made them flat, then fastened them together and formed them into a
+weaver's reed. Peder the coachman was then persuaded to give me a
+little coarse thread, which I used for a warp. I took the silk from
+the new silk stockings which they had given me, and made some broad
+ribbons of it (The implements and a part of the ribbons are still in
+my possession.) One of the trees (which was made of the thick end of
+a branch which Peder had cut off) was tied to the stove, and the
+other I fastened to my own person. The woman held the warp: she was
+satisfied, and I have no reason to think that she spoke about it, for
+the prison governor often lamented that I had nothing with which to
+beguile the time, and he knew well that this had been my delight in
+former times, &c.[89]
+
+ [89] In the margin is added: 'I made the snuffers serve as
+ scissors. When Balcke came to me and brought me at my desire
+ material for drawers, and requested to know the size, I said I
+ could make them myself. He laughed, and said, "Who will cut them
+ out?" I replied I could do it myself with the snuffers. He begged
+ to see me do it, and looked on with no little astonishment.'
+
+He remained now again a long time with me after meals, for his fear
+had passed away, or he had, perhaps, forgotten, as his memory began
+to fail him. He said then many things which he ought not. He declined
+perceptibly, and was very weak; he would remain afterwards sitting
+outside, reading aloud, and praying God to spare his life. 'Yes,' he
+would say, 'only a few years!' When he had some alleviation, he
+talked unceasingly. Creeping along the wall to the door, he said, 'I
+should like to know two things: one is, who will be prison governor
+after me? The other is, who is to to have my Tyrelyre?' (That was
+Tyre, his wife.) I replied: 'That is a knowledge which you cannot
+obtain now, especially who will woo your wife. You might, perhaps,
+have already seen both, but at your age you may yet have long to
+live.' 'Oh!' said he, 'God grant it!' and looked up to the window.
+'Do you think so, my dear lady?' 'Yes, I do,' I replied. A few days
+afterwards, he begged me again to forgive him, if he had done me any
+wrong since the last time, for he wished to make reconciliation with
+God before he became weaker, and he wept and protested, saying, 'It
+indeed grieves me still that I should have often annoyed you, and you
+comfort me.' On Sunday at noon I congratulated him on his spiritual
+feast.
+
+Thus he dragged on with great difficulty for about fourteen days,
+and as I heard that two men were obliged almost to carry him up the
+stairs, I sent him word that he might remain below on the ground
+floor of the tower, and that he might rest assured I would go
+nowhere. He thanked me, crawled up for the last time to my door, and
+said, 'If I did that and the Queen heard of it, my head would answer
+for it.' I said: 'Then confess your weakness and remain in bed. It
+may be better again; another could meanwhile attend for you.' He took
+off his cap in recognition of my advice, and bade me farewell. I have
+never seen him again since then. One day afterwards he crawled up in
+the tower-chamber, but came no farther.
+
+A man of the name of Hans Balcke was appointed in his place
+to keep watch over the prisoners. He was very courteous. He
+was a cabinet-maker by trade; his father, who had also been a
+cabinet-maker, had worked a good deal for me in the days of my
+prosperity. This man had travelled for his trade both in Italy and
+Germany, and knew a little Italian. I found intercourse with him
+agreeable, and as he dined in the anteroom outside, in the tower, I
+begged him to dine with me, which he did for fourteen days. One day,
+when he carved the joint outside, I sent him word requesting him to
+come in. He excused himself, which appeared strange to me.
+
+After he had dined, he said that Peder the coachman had jeered at
+him, and that he had been forbidden to dine with me. When he
+afterwards remained rather long with me talking, I begged him myself
+to go, so that this also might not be forbidden. He had on one
+occasion a large pin stuck in his sleeve, and I begged him for it. He
+said, 'I may not give it you, but if you take it yourself, I can't
+help it.' So I took it, and it has often been of use to me. He gave
+me several books to read, and was in every way courteous and polite.
+His courtesy was probably the reason why the prisons were not long
+entrusted to him, for he was also very good to Doctor Sperling,
+giving him slices of the meat which came up to me, and other good
+food. In his childhood he had been a playfellow of the doctor's
+children. He talked also occasionally a long time with the doctor,
+both on unlocking and locking his door, which did not please the
+servants.[90] The prison governor lay constantly in bed; he
+endeavoured as often as he could to come up again, but there was
+little prospect of it. So long as the keys were not taken from him,
+he was satisfied.
+
+ [90] In the margin is added: 'While Balcke filled the place of
+ prison governor, he drank my wine at every meal, which had formerly
+ fallen to the tower warder, the coachman, or the prisoner
+ Christian, when the old prison governor had not wished for it, so
+ that this also contributed to Balcke's dismissal.'
+
+My maid Maren, Lars' daughter, had risen so high in favour at court,
+that she often sat in the women's apartment, and did various things.
+One day the woman said to me, 'That is a very faithful maiden whom
+you have! She speaks before them up there in a manner you would never
+believe.' I replied: 'I have permitted her to say all she knows. I
+have no fear of her calumniating me.' 'Have you not?' she said
+ironically. 'Why does she throw herself, then, on her bare knees, and
+curse herself if she should think of returning to you?' I said: 'She
+wished to remain with me (according to your own statement), but she
+was not allowed; so she need not curse herself.' 'Why then do you
+think,' said she, 'that she is so much in favour at court?' 'Do you
+mean,' I replied, 'that if anyone is in favour at court, it is
+because their lips are full of lies? I am assured my maid has
+calumniated no one, least of all me; I am not afraid.'
+
+The woman was angry, and pouted in consequence for some time. Some
+weeks afterwards Maren, Lars' daughter, was set at liberty, and
+became waiting-maid to the Countess Friis: and Balcke brought me some
+linen which she still had belonging to me. The woman was not a little
+angry at this, especially as I said: 'So faithful I perceive is my
+maid to me, that she will not keep the linen, which she might easily
+have done, for I could not know whether it had not been taken from
+her with the rest.'
+
+All my guards were very ill satisfied with Balcke, especially the
+woman, who was angry for several reasons. He slighted her, she said,
+for he had supplied a basin for the night-stool which was heavier
+than the former one (which leaked); but she was chiefly angry because
+he told her that she lived like a heathen, since she never went to
+the sacrament. For when I once received the holy communion, while
+Balcke was attending to me, he asked her if she would not wish to
+communicate also, to which she answered, 'I do not know German.'
+Balcke said, 'I will arrange that the clergyman shall come to you
+whose office it is to administer the Lord's Supper to the prisoners.'
+She replied that in this place she could not go with the proper
+devotion: if she came out, she would go gladly. Balcke admonished her
+severely, as a clergyman might have done. When the door was closed,
+she gave vent to puffing and blowing, and she always unfastened her
+jacket when she was angry.
+
+I said nothing, but I thought the evil humour must have vent, or she
+will be choked; and this was the case, for she abused Balcke with the
+strongest language that occurred to her. She used unheard-of curses,
+which were terrible to listen to: among others, 'God damn him for
+ever, and then I need not curse him every day.' Also, 'May God make
+him evaporate like the dew before the sun!' I could not endure this
+cursing, and I said, 'Are you cursing this man because he held before
+you the word of God, and desires that you should be reconciled with
+God and repent your sins?' 'I do not curse him for that,' she said,
+'but on account of the heavy basin which the accursed fellow has
+given me, and which I have to carry up the steep stairs;[91] the
+devil must have moved him to choose it! Does he want to make a priest
+of himself? Well, he is probably faultless, the saucy fellow!' and
+she began again with her curses.
+
+ [91] In the margin: 'It is indeed a bad flight of stairs to the
+ place where the basin was emptied.'
+
+I reproved her and said: 'If he now knew that you were cursing him in
+this way, do you not think he would bring it about that you must do
+penitence? It is now almost two years since you were at the Lord's
+table, and you can have the clergyman and you will not.' This
+softened her a little, and she said, 'How should he know it, unless
+you tell him?' I said, 'What passes here and is said here concerns no
+one but us two; it is not necessary that others should know.' With
+this all was well; she lay down to sleep, and her anger passed away;
+but the hate remained.
+
+The prison governor continued to lie in great pain, and could neither
+live nor die. One day at noon, when Balcke unlocked (it was just
+twenty weeks since he had come to me), a man came in with him, very
+badly dressed, in a grey, torn, greasy coat, with few buttons that
+could be fastened, with an old hat to which was attached a drooping
+feather that had once been white but was now not recognisable from
+dirt. He wore linen stockings and a pair of worn-out shoes fastened
+with packthread.[92] Balcke went to the table outside and carved the
+joint; he then went to the door of the outer apartment, stood with
+his hat in his hand, made a low reverence, and said, 'Herewith I take
+my departure; this man is to be prison governor.' I enquired whether
+he would not come again to me. He replied, 'No, not after this time.'
+Upon this I thanked him for his courteous attendance, and wished him
+prosperity.[93]
+
+ [92] In the margin is added: 'Gabel had said (I was afterwards
+ informed) that I was frightened at the appearance of the man, and
+ thought it was the executioner. I did not regard him as such, but
+ as a poor cavalier, and I imagined he was to undertake the duties
+ which Peder the coachman performed.'
+
+ [93] In the margin: 'Balcke has waited upon me for twenty weeks,
+ and he was accused of having told me what happened outside. In
+ proof of this it was alleged that he had told me that Gabel had
+ been made Statholder, to whom I afterwards gave this title in M.
+ Buck's hearing. Balcke one day could not restrain himself from
+ laughing, for while he was standing and talking with me, the woman
+ and the man were standing on the stairs outside, chuckling and
+ laughing; and he said, "Outside there is the chatter market. Why
+ does not Peder so arrange it that it is forbidden? You can get to
+ know all that goes on in the world without me."'
+
+Peder the coachman locked the door, and the new prison governor,
+whose name was Johan Jaeger,[E37] never appeared before me the whole
+day, nor during the evening. I said to the woman in the morning, 'Ask
+Peder who the man is;' which she did, and returned to me with the
+answer that it was the man who had taken the Doctor prisoner; and
+that now he was to be prison governor, but that he had not yet
+received the keys. Not many days passed before he came with the Lord
+Steward to the old prison governor, and the keys were taken from the
+old man and given to him. The old man lived only to the day after
+this occurred. In both respects his curiosity was satisfied; he saw
+the man who was to be prison governor after him (to his grief), and
+the doctor who attended him obtained his Tyrelyre before the year was
+ended.
+
+ [E37] It was a Colonel Hagedorn that entrapped and arrested Dr.
+ Sperling, and Jaeger played only a subordinate part in that
+ transaction. He is stated to have been a cousin of Gabel, and to
+ have been formerly a commander in the navy. He was appointed prison
+ governor on June 12, 1665, and Balcke therefore doubtless only held
+ the appointment provisionally.
+
+The new prison governor Jaeger[E37b] did not salute me for several
+weeks, and never spoke to me. He rarely locked my doors, but he
+generally opened them himself. At length one day, when he had got new
+shoes on, he took his hat off when he had opened the door, and said
+'Good morning.' I answered him, 'Many thanks.' The woman was very
+pleased while this lasted. She had her free talk with Peder the
+coachman (who still for a couple of months came to the tower as
+before) and with the prisoner Christian, who had great freedom, and
+obtained more and more freedom in this prison governor's time,
+especially as Rasmus the tower-warder was made gatekeeper, and a man
+of the name of Chresten was appointed in his place. Among other idle
+talk which she repeated to me, she said that this prison governor was
+forbidden to speak with me. I said, 'I am very glad, as he then can
+tell no lies about me.' I am of opinion that he did not venture to
+speak with me so long as Peder brought up the food to the tower, and
+was in waiting there; for when he had procured Peder's dismissal on
+account of stealing, he came in afterwards from time to time. The
+very first time he was intoxicated. He knew what Peder had said of
+Balcke, and he informed me of it.[94]
+
+ [E37b] It was a Colonel Hagedorn that entrapped and arrested Dr.
+ Sperling, and Jaeger played only a subordinate part in that
+ transaction. He is stated to have been a cousin of Gabel, and to
+ have been formerly a commander in the navy. He was appointed prison
+ governor on June 12, 1665, and Balcke therefore doubtless only held
+ the appointment provisionally.
+
+ [94] In the margin is added: 'While Balcke waited on me, a folding
+ table was brought in for the bread and glasses, and also for the
+ woman's food, which she did not take till the doors had been
+ locked. There was nothing there before but the night-stool to place
+ the dishes on: that was the woman's table.'
+
+Before I mention anything of the prisoner Christian's designs
+against me, I will in a few words state the crime for which he was in
+prison. He had been a lacquey in the employ of Maans Armfelt. With
+some other lacqueys he had got into a quarrel with a man who had been
+a father to Christian, and who had brought him up from his youth and
+had taken the utmost care of him. The man was fatally wounded, and
+called out in the agonies of death: 'God punish thee, Christian! What
+a son you have been! It was your hand that struck me!' The other
+lacqueys ran away, but Christian was seized. His dagger was found
+bloody. He denied, and said it was not he who had stabbed the man. He
+was sentenced to death; but as the dead man's widow would not pay for
+the execution, Christian remained for the time in prison, and his
+master paid for his maintenance. He had been there three years
+already when I came to the prison, and three times he was removed;
+first from the Witch Cell to the Dark Church; and then here where I
+am imprisoned.[95] When I was brought here, he was placed where the
+Doctor is, and when the Doctor was brought in, Christian was allowed
+to go freely about the tower. He wound the clock for the
+tower-warder, locked and unlocked the cells below, and had often even
+the keys of the tower.
+
+ [95] In the margin is added: 'At that time there was a large double
+ window with iron grating, which was walled up when I was brought
+ here; and Christian told me afterwards how the maids in the
+ store-room had supplied him with many a can of beer, which he had
+ drawn up by a cord.'
+
+I remember once, when Rasmus the tower-warder was sitting at dinner
+with the prison governor in my outermost cell, and the prison
+governor wished to send Peder on a message, he said to Rasmus: 'Go
+and open! I want Peder to order something. 'Father,' said Rasmus,
+'Christian has the key.' 'Indeed!' said the prison governor; 'that is
+pretty work!' And there it rested, for Rasmus said, 'I am perfectly
+sure that Christian will not go away.' Thus by degrees Christian's
+freedom and power increased after Peder the coachman left, and he
+waited on the prison governor at meals in my outermost room.
+
+One day, when the woman had come down from above, where she had been
+emptying the utensils in my room, and the doors were locked, she said
+to me: 'This Christian who is here has been just speaking with me
+upstairs. He says he cannot describe the Doctor's miserable
+condition, how severe is his imprisonment, and what bad food he gets,
+since Balcke left. He has no longer any candle except during
+meal-time, and no light reaches him but through the hole in his door
+leading into the outer room. He begged me to tell you of it; his eyes
+were full of tears, such great pity had he for him.' I said: 'That is
+all that one can do, and it is the duty of a Christian to sympathise
+with the misfortune of one's neighbour. The poor man must have
+patience as well as I, and we must console ourselves with a good
+conscience. The harder he suffers the sooner comes the end; he is an
+old man.'
+
+Two days afterwards she came again with some talk from Christian. The
+Doctor sent me his compliments, and he asked constantly if I was
+well; she said also, that Christian would give him anything I liked
+to send him. I regarded this as a snare, but I said that Christian
+could take a piece of roast meat when the prison governor was with
+me, and that he should look about for something into which wine could
+be poured, and then she could secretly give some from my glass, and
+beg Christian to give my compliments to the Doctor. This was
+accepted, and I had rest for a few days. Christian conformed entirely
+to the woman, caused a dispute between her and the tower-warder, and
+made it immediately right again; so that there was no lack of
+chatter. At last she said one day: 'That is an honest fellow, this
+Christian! He has told me how innocently he got into prison and was
+sentenced. He is afraid that you may think he eats and drinks all
+that you send to the Doctor. He swore with a solemn oath that he
+would be true to you, if you would write a word to the Doctor.[96] I
+hope you do not doubt my fidelity!' and she began to swear and to
+curse herself if she would deceive me. She said, he had taken a no
+less solemn oath, before she believed him. I said: 'I have nothing to
+write to him. I do not know what I have to write.' 'Oh!' said she,
+'write only two words, so that the old man may see that he can trust
+him! If you wish for ink, Christian can give you some.' I replied: 'I
+have something to write with, if I choose to do so, and I can write
+without ink and paper.'
+
+ [96] In the margin is this note: 'Christian had at that time given
+ me some pieces of flint which are so sharp that I can cut fine
+ linen with them by the thread. The pieces are still in my
+ possession, and with this implement I executed various things.'
+
+This she could not understand; so I took some pieces of sugared
+almonds, and made some letters on them with the large pin, placing on
+four almonds the words: _non ti fidar_! I divided the word _fidar_,
+and placed half on each almond. I had in this way rest for a day, and
+somewhat to beguile the time. Whether the Doctor could not see what
+was written on the almonds, or whether he wished to test Christian's
+fidelity, I know not, but Christian brought the woman a slip of paper
+from the Doctor to me, full of lamentations at our condition, and
+stating that my daughter Anna Cathrina, or else Cassetta, were the
+cause of his misfortune.
+
+I wished to know more of this, so I wrote to him desiring information
+(we wrote to each other in Italian). He replied that one or the other
+had left his letter lying somewhere on the table, where it was found
+and despatched; for that a letter of his was the cause of his
+misfortune. I wrote back to him that it was not credible, but that he
+was suspected of having corresponded with my lord, and hence his
+letters had been seized. The more I tried to impress this upon him
+the more opinionated he became,[97] and he wrote afterwards saying
+that it was a scheme of Cassetta's to get him into the net, in order
+to bring me out of it. When he began to write in this way, I acquired
+a strange opinion of him, and fancied he was trying to draw something
+out of me which he could bring forward; and I reflected for some days
+whether I should answer. At last I answered him in this strain, that
+no one knew better than he that I was not aware of any treason; that
+the knowledge as to how his correspondence with my lord had become
+known was of no use to him; that I had no idea why he was sentenced,
+and that no sentence had been passed on me. Some weeks elapsed before
+the Doctor wrote. At last he communicated to me in a few words the
+sentence passed upon him, and we corresponded from time to time with
+each other.
+
+ [97] In the margin is added: 'Such is his character.'
+
+The prison governor became gradually more accessible, came in at
+every meal-time, and related all sorts of jokes and buffooneries,
+which he had carried on in his youth: how he had been a drummer, and
+had made a Merry Andrew of himself for my brother-in-law Count Pentz,
+and how he had enacted a dog for the sake of favour and money, and
+had crawled under the table, frightening the guests and biting a dog
+for a ducat's reward. When he had been drinking (which was often the
+case) he juggled and played Punch, sometimes a fortune-teller, and
+the like.
+
+When Chresten the tower-warder, and Christian the prisoner, heard the
+prison governor carrying on his jokes, they did the same, and made
+such a noise with the woman in the antechamber that we could not hear
+ourselves speak. She sat on Christian's lap, and behaved herself in a
+wanton manner. One day she was not very well, and made herself some
+warm beer and bread, placing it outside on the stove. The prison
+governor was sitting with me and talking, Chresten and Christian were
+joking with her outside, and Christian was to stir the warm beer and
+bread, and taste if it was hot enough. Chresten said to Christian,
+'Drink it up if you are thirsty.' The words were no sooner said than
+the deed was done, and almost at the same moment the prison governor
+got up and went away. When the door was locked, the woman seemed to
+be almost fainting. I thought she was ill, and I was fearful that she
+might die suddenly, and that the guilt of her death might be laid on
+me, and I asked quickly, 'Are you ill?' She answered, 'I am bad
+enough,' confirming it with a terrible oath and beginning to unbutton
+her jacket. Then I saw that she was angry, and I knew well that she
+would give vent to a burst of execrations, which was the case.
+
+She cursed and scolded those who had so treated her; a poor sick
+thing as she was, and she had not had anything to eat or drink all
+day. I said, 'Be quiet, and you shall have some warm beer.' She swore
+with a solemn oath, asking how it was to be got here? it was summer
+and there was no fire in the stove, and it was no use calling, as no
+one could hear. I said, 'If you will be silent, I will cause the pot
+to boil.' 'Yes,' and she swore with another fearful oath, 'I can
+indeed be silent, and will never speak of it.' So I made her take
+three pieces of brick, which were lying behind the night-stool, and
+place on these her pot of beer and bread (everything that she was to
+do was to be done in silence; she might not answer me with words but
+only with signs, when I asked her anything). She sat down besides the
+pot, stirring it with a spoon. I sat always on my bed during the day,
+and then the table was placed before me. I had a piece of chalk, and
+I wrote various things on the table, asking from time to time whether
+the pot boiled. She kept peeping in and shaking her head. When I had
+asked three times and she turned to me and saw that I was laughing,
+she behaved herself like a mad woman, throwing the spoon from her
+hand, turning over the stool, tearing open her jacket, and
+exclaiming, 'The devil may be jeered at like this!' I said, 'You are
+not worthy of anything better, as you believe that I can practise
+magic.' 'Oh (and she repeated a solemn oath) had I not believed that
+you could practise magic, I should never have consented to be locked
+up with you; do you know that?' I reflected for a moment what answer
+to give, but I said nothing, smiled, and let her rave on.
+
+Afterwards she wept and bemoaned her condition. 'Now, now,' I said,
+'be quiet! I will make the pot boil without witchcraft.' And as we
+had a tinder-box, I ordered her to strike a light, and to kindle
+three ends of candles, which she was to place under the pot. This
+made the pot boil, and she kissed her hand to me and was very merry.
+Once or twice afterwards I gave her leave to warm beer in this way:
+it could not always be done, for if the wind blew against the window
+(which was opened with a long pike) the smoke could not pass away. I
+said, 'Remember your oath and do not talk of what takes place here,
+or the lights will be taken from us; at any rate we shall lose some
+of them.' She asserted that she would not. I heard nothing of it at
+the time, but some years afterwards I found that she had said that I
+had taken up two half-loose stones from the floor (this was
+afterwards related in another manner by a clergyman, as will be
+mentioned afterwards). She had also said that I had climbed up and
+looked at the rope-dancers in the castle square, which was true. For
+as Chresten one day told the woman that rope-dancers would be
+exhibiting in the inner castle yard, and she informed me of it and
+enquired what they were, and I explained to her, she lamented that
+she could not get a sight of them. I said it could easily be done, if
+she would not talk about it afterwards. She swore, as usual, with an
+oath that she would not. So I took the bedclothes from the bed and
+placed the boards on the floor and set the bed upright in front of
+the window, and the night-stool on the top of it. In order to get
+upon the bedstead, the table was placed at the side, and a stool by
+the table in order to get upon the table, and a stool upon the table,
+in order to get upon the night-stool, and a stool on the night-stool,
+so that we could stand and look comfortably, though not both at once.
+I let her climb up first, and I stood and took care that the bed did
+not begin to give way; she was to keep watch when I was on the top. I
+knew, moreover, well that the dancers did not put forth their utmost
+skill at first.[98]
+
+ [98] In the margin is added: 'These rope-dancers did things that I
+ had never seen before. One had a basket attached to each leg, and
+ in each basket was a boy of five years of age, and a woman fell
+ upon the rope and jumped up again. But during the time of the other
+ woman, I saw a man suspended by his chin and springing back upon
+ the rope.'
+
+I could see the faces of the King and Queen: they were standing in
+the long hall, and I wondered afterwards that they never turned their
+eyes to the place where I stood. I did not let the woman perceive
+that I saw them. During this woman's time I once had a desire to see
+the people go to the castle-church and return from it. The bed was
+again placed upright, and I sat for a long time on the top, until
+everyone had come out of church. The woman did not venture to climb
+up; she said that she had been afraid enough the last time, and was
+glad when she had come down.
+
+The first time I received the holy communion during this prison
+governor's time, two brass candlesticks which did not match were
+brought in, with tallow candles. This displeased the woman, though
+she said nothing to me. But when at length she was compelled to take
+the sacrament, after more than three years had elapsed since she had
+been at the Lord's table, she begged Chresten, the tower-warder, to
+go to her daughter (who was in the service of a carpenter in the
+town), and to get the loan of a pair of beautiful brass candlesticks
+and a couple of wax candles. If she could also procure for her a fine
+linen cloth, she was to do her best; she would pay for it.
+
+Whether the woman had before thought of the candlesticks and candles
+which had been placed for me, or whether Chresten himself thought
+that it would not be proper to provide better for her, I know not,
+but shortly before the priest came, Chresten unlocked the outer door
+of my prison and said, 'Karen, hand me out the candlestick you have,
+and two candles.' Her behaviour is not to be described: she asked if
+he had not spoken with her daughter, and much of the same kind (I did
+not at the time know what she had desired of Chresten). He made no
+reply to her question, but asked for the candlestick and candles. For
+a long time she would not give them, but cursed and scolded. I was
+still lying down, and I asked her if I should be her maid, and should
+do it for her? whether she could withhold from him what he requested?
+So she handed them to him through the hole of the inner door, with so
+many execrations against him that it was terrible to listen to. He
+laughed aloud, and went away. This made her still more angry. I did
+my best to appease her, telling her that such conduct was a most
+improper preparation, and holding before her the sinfulness of her
+behaviour. She said she thought that the sin belonged to him who had
+given cause for it. I asked her, at last, in what the Lord's Supper
+consisted? whether it consisted in candlesticks and candles? I
+rebuked her for looking to externals and not to the essential; and I
+begged her to fall on her knees and pray heartily to God for
+forgiveness of her sins, that He might not impute her folly to her.
+She answered that she would do so, but she did not do it at once.
+
+I imagine that the clergyman[99] was well informed by Chresten of all
+that concerned her, as he put to her so many questions: where she was
+born? whom she had served? and more of the same kind, and finally,
+whether she had her certificate of confession, and how long it was
+since she had received the Lord's Supper? After this he confessed her
+in a strange manner; at first as one who had deserved to do public
+penance for great sins, then as a criminal under sentence of death
+who was preparing for her end; at last consoling her, and performing
+his office. When all was over and she came in to me, I wished her
+joy. 'Joy, indeed' (she answered); 'there is not much good in it!
+This does me more harm than good! If I could only get out, I would
+indeed go straight to the sacrament; I reckon this as nothing!' I
+interrupted her quickly, and said: 'Reflect upon what you are saying!
+blaspheme not God--I will not hear that! You know well what God's
+Word says of those who receive Christ's body and blood unworthily and
+have trodden under foot his body?' 'Under foot?' said she. 'Yes,
+under foot!' I said, and I made a whole sermon upon it. She listened
+decently; but when I was silent, she said: 'He looked upon me as a
+malefactor, and as one under sentence of death. I have never murdered
+anyone (I thought, we know not what);[100] why should I die? God
+Almighty grant'----and with this she was silent. I preached to her
+again, and said that she had deserved eternal death on account of her
+sins, and especially because she had so long kept aloof from the
+Lord's table. 'This confession,' she said, 'I have to thank Chresten
+for; Balcke was also probably concerned in it.' And she began to
+curse them both. I threatened her with a second confession, if she
+did not restrain such words. I told her I could not justify myself
+before God to keep silence to it, and I said, 'If you speak in this
+way to Chresten, you may be sure he will inform against you.' This
+kept her somewhat in check, and she did not go out upon the stairs
+that noon.[101]
+
+ [99] In the margin is added: 'This was the priest who attended to
+ the prisoners, and as he confessed her in the anteroom, I heard
+ every word said by him, but not her replies.'
+
+ [100] In the margin is added: 'Her child.'
+
+ [101] In the margin is added: 'She was in every respect a malicious
+ woman, and grudged a little meat to any prisoner. A poor sacristan
+ was my neighbour in the Dark Church, and I gave her a piece of meat
+ for him. She would not take it to him, which she could easily have
+ done without anyone seeing. When I saw the meat afterwards, I found
+ fault with her. Then she said, "Why should I give it to him? He has
+ never given me anything. I get nothing for it." I said, "You give
+ nothing of your own away." This sacristan was imprisoned because he
+ had taken back his own horse, the man to whom he had sold it not
+ having paid him. He sang all day long, and on Sunday he went
+ through the service like a clergyman, with the responses, &c.'
+
+After that time she was not so merry by far with the man. She often
+complained to me that she was weak, and had strained herself lifting
+the new basin which Balcke had given her; she could not long hold
+out, she said, and she had asked the prison governor to let her go
+away, but that he had answered that she was to die in the tower. I
+said, 'The prison governor cannot yet rightly understand you; ask
+Chresten to speak for you.' This she did, but came back with the same
+answer. One day she said: 'I see well, dear lady, that you would be
+as gladly free of me as I should be to go. What have I for all my
+money? I cannot enjoy it, and I cannot be of service to you.' I said:
+'Money can do much. Give some money to the prison-governor, and then
+he will speak for you. Request one of the charwomen to carry the
+basin instead of you, and this you could pay with very little.' She
+did the latter for some weeks; at length one day she said to me, 'I
+have had a silver cup made for the prison governor. (Her daughter
+came to her on the stairs as often as she desired, and she had
+permission to remain downstairs the whole afternoon, under pretext of
+speaking with her daughter. Whether she gave him presents for this, I
+know not, but I was well contented to be alone. She was, however,
+once afraid that I should tell the priest of it.) The fact was, the
+prison-governor did not dare to speak for her with the King. She
+asked my advice on the matter. I said, 'Remain in bed when the
+dinner is going on, and I will go out and speak with the
+prison-governor.' This was done. At first he raised some
+difficulties, and said, 'The Queen will say that there is some trick
+at the bottom of it.' I said they could visit and examine the woman
+when she came out; that we had not been such intimate friends; that I
+knew the woman had been sent to wait on me; when she could do so no
+longer, but lay in bed, I had no attendance from her, and still less
+was I inclined to wait on her; she did her work for money, and there
+were women enough who would accept the employment.
+
+Three days afterwards, when the King came from Fridrichsborg, the
+prison-governor came in and said that the woman could go down in the
+evening; that he had another whom Chresten had recommended, and who
+was said to be a well-behaved woman (which she is).
+
+Karen the daughter of Ole therefore went down, and Karen the daughter
+of Nels came up in her place. And I can truly say that it was one of
+the happiest days during my severe imprisonment; for I was freed of a
+faithless, godless, lying[102] and ill-behaved woman, and I received
+in her stead a Christian, true, and thoroughly good (perhaps too
+good) woman. When the first took her departure, she said, 'Farewell,
+lady! we are now both pleased.' I answered, 'That is perhaps one of
+the truest words you have ever spoken in your life.' She made no
+reply, but ran as fast as she could, so that no weakness nor illness
+were perceptible in her. She lived scarcely a year afterwards,
+suffering severe pain for six weeks in her bed, before she died; the
+nature of her malady I know not.
+
+ [102] In the margin is added: 'She had begged Chresten, for more
+ than half a year before she left, to tell the prison-governor that
+ her life hung on a thread; that I had a ball of clay in my
+ handkerchief, and that I had threatened to break her head to pieces
+ with it (I had said one day that a person with a ball of that kind
+ could kill another). She invented several similar lies, as I
+ subsequently heard.'
+
+On the day after this Karen's arrival, she sat thoroughly depressed
+all the afternoon. I asked her what was the matter. She said, 'Oh! I
+have nothing to do, and I might not bring work with me! I weary to
+death.' I enquired what work she could do. 'Spinning,' she answered,
+'is my work principally; I can also do plain needlework and can knit
+a little.' I had nothing to help her in this way; but I drew out some
+ends of silk, which I had kept from what I cut off, and which are too
+short to work with, and other tufts of silk from night-jackets and
+stockings; I had made a flax-comb of small pins,[103] fastened to a
+piece of wood; with this I combed the silk and made it available for
+darning caps; and I said to her, 'There is something for you to do;
+comb that for me!' She was so heartily pleased that it was quite a
+delight to me. I found from her account of this and that which had
+occurred in her life, that she had a good heart, and that she had
+often been deceived owing to her credulity. She had also known me in
+my prosperity; she had been in the service of a counsellor's lady who
+had been present at my wedding, and she could well remember the
+display of fireworks and other festivities; she wept as she spoke of
+it, and showed great sympathy with me. She was a peasant's daughter
+from Jutland, but had married the quarter-master of a regiment. By
+degrees I felt an affection for her, and begged her to speak to
+Christian and to enquire how the Doctor was; I told her that
+Christian could occasionally perform small services for us, and could
+buy one thing or another for us; for he had a lad, in fact sometimes
+two, who executed commissions for him, but that I had never trusted
+the other woman, so that he had never bought anything for me;
+besides, the other woman had not cared to spin; but that Christian
+should now procure us what we wanted in return for our candles. And
+as she did not care to drink wine (for at each meal the woman
+received at that time half-a-pint of French wine), I said: 'Give
+Chresten your wine as I give wine to Christian, then Chresten can let
+it stay with the cellar-clerk and can take it weekly, which will give
+him a profit on it, and then he will see nothing even if he remarks
+anything.'
+
+ [103] In the margin is added: 'The pins I had obtained some time
+ ago from the first woman. She had procured them with some needles,
+ and, thinking to hide them from me, she carried them in her bosom
+ in a paper and forgot them. In the evening when she dropped her
+ petticoat to go to bed, the paper fell on the floor. I knew from
+ the sound what it was. One Saturday, when she went upstairs with
+ the night-stool, I took the pins out of her box, and she never
+ ventured to ask for them; she saw me using them afterwards, and
+ said nothing about them.'
+
+This was done, and Christian got us two hand-distaffs. Mine was but
+small, but hers was a proper size. I spun a little and twisted it
+into thread, which is still in my possession. Christian procured her
+as much flax as she desired, and brought her up a whole wreath in his
+trousers. She spun a good deal on the hand-distaff, and I arranged my
+loom on a stool, which I placed on the table, fastening one beam with
+ribbon and cord which I had made myself, so that when the key was put
+into the staircase-door, I could in one pull loosen my loom and
+unfasten the other beam which was fastened to myself, and put all
+away before the inner door was opened. I made myself also a wooden
+skewer (I had before used a warp), so that I could weave alone; I had
+also obtained a real weaver's comb; so we were very industrious,
+each at her own work.
+
+The prison governor was full of foolish jokes, and played tricks such
+as boys enjoy; he tried to jest with the woman, but she would not
+join him. Almost every day he was drunk at dinner-time when he came
+up. Afterwards he came rarely of an evening, but sent a servant
+instead, who would lie and sleep on the wall in the window. He wanted
+to jest with me also, and opened his mouth, telling me to throw
+something in and see if I could hit his mouth. I laughed and said,
+'How foolish you are!' and begged him to come nearer, and I would see
+if I could hit him. 'No, no,' said he; 'I am not such a fool; I
+daresay you would box my ears.' One day he came up with a peculiar
+kind of squirt, round in form like a ball, and he placed a small tube
+in it, so small as scarcely to be seen; it was quite pretty. When
+pressed in any part, the water squirted out quite high and to a
+distance. He was saucy, and squirted me. When he saw that I was
+angry, he came to me with the squirt, ran away and sat down with his
+mouth as wide open as possible and begged me to squirt into it if I
+could. I would not begin playing with him, for I knew his coarseness
+well from his stories, and I gave him back the squirt. When Karen was
+bringing in the meat, the prison governor had the squirt between his
+legs, and was seated on a low stool, from which he could squirt into
+the woman's face; he was some distance from her, and the ball was not
+larger than a large plum. She knew nothing of the squirt (she is
+somewhat hasty in her words), and she exclaimed, 'May God send you a
+misfortune, Mr. governor! Are you insulting me?' The prison governor
+laughed like an insane man, so pleased was he at this.
+
+By degrees he became less wild; he rarely came up sober, and he would
+lie on the woman's bed and sleep while I dined, so that Chresten and
+the woman had to help him off the bed when they had woke him. The
+keys of the prisons lay by his side, and the principal key close by
+(did he not take good care of his prisoners?).[104] He was not afraid
+that I should murder him. One evening he was intoxicated, and behaved
+as such; and began, after his fashion, to try and caress me,
+endeavouring to feel my knee and seized the edge of my petticoat. I
+thrust him away with my foot, and said nothing more than: 'When you
+are intoxicated, remain away from me, and do not come in, I tell
+you.' He said nothing, got up and went away; but he did not come in
+afterwards when he was tipsy, but remained outside in the anteroom,
+lying down in the window, where there was a broad stone bench against
+the wall; there he lay and slept for some time after my doors were
+locked, then the coachman and Chresten came and dragged him down.
+Occasionally he came in when he was not drunk, and he gave me at my
+request some old cards, which I sewed together and made into a box.
+Christian covered it with thin sticks of fir, which I afterwards
+stitched over, and I even secretly contrived to paint it. I have it
+in my possession. The prison governor saw it afterwards, but he never
+asked where the covering had come from.[105] In this box (if I may
+call it so) I keep all my work and implements, and it stands by day
+on my bed.
+
+ [104] In the margin is noted: 'I said one day to the woman, "Were
+ it not for the Queen, who would make the King angry with me, I
+ would retaliate upon the prison governor for having decoyed Doctor
+ Sperling. I would take the keys when he was sleeping, and wait for
+ Chresten to come with the cups, and then I would go up the King's
+ stairs and take the keys to the King, just as the lacquey did with
+ the old prison-governor. But I should gain nothing from this King,
+ and perhaps should be still more strictly confined."'
+
+ [105] In the margin is noted: 'At first, when this Karen did not
+ know the prison governor, she did not venture so boldly to the
+ prisoners in the Dark Church to give them anything, for she said,
+ "The prison governor stares at me so." I said, "It is with him as
+ with little children; they look staring at a thing, and do not know
+ what it is." It is the case with him, he does not trouble himself
+ about anything.'
+
+Christian's power increased. He waited not only outside at dinner,
+but he even locked my door in the face of the tower-warder. He came
+with the perfuming-pan into my room when the woman took away the
+night-stool; in fact, he subsequently became so audacious that he did
+everything he chose, and had full command over the prisoners below.
+Chresten availed himself also of the slack surveillance of the prison
+governor, and stayed sometimes the whole night out in the town, often
+coming in tipsy to supper. One evening Chresten was intoxicated, and
+had broken some panes of glass below with his hand, so that his
+fingers were bloody; he dashed my wine-cup on the ground, so that it
+cracked and was bent; and as the cup was quite bloody outside when he
+came in to me, and some blood seemed to have got into the wine, I
+spoke somewhat seriously with the prison governor about it. He said
+nothing but 'The man is mad,' took the cup and went himself down into
+the cellar, and had the cup washed and other wine put in it. How they
+afterwards made it up I know not. The indentations on the cup have
+been beaten out, but the crack on the edge is still there; this suits
+the cellar-clerk well, for now scarcely half a pint goes into the
+cup. Christian held his own manfully against the prison governor,
+when he had a quarrel with some of the prisoners below; and Chresten
+complained of this to the prison governor, who came in and wanted to
+place Christian in the Witch Cell; but he thrust the prison governor
+away, and said that he had nothing to do with him, and that he had
+not put him into the prison; and then harangued him in such a style
+that the Governor thanked God when he went away. Christian then
+called after him from the window, and said, 'I know secret tricks of
+yours, but you know none of mine.' (One I knew of, of which he was
+aware, and that not a small one. There was a corporal who had stabbed
+a soldier, and was sought for with the beating of drums: the prison
+governor concealed him for several weeks in the tower.) On the
+following morning Christian repented, and he feared that he might be
+locked up, and came to my door before it had been opened[106] (it
+often happened that the anteroom was unlocked before the food was
+brought up, and always in the winter mornings, when a fire was made
+in the stove outside), and he begged me to speak for him with the
+prison governor, which I did; so that things remained as they were,
+and Christian was as bold as before.
+
+ [106] In the margin is added: 'The hinges of my outer door are so
+ far from the wall that they are open more than a hand's breadth, so
+ that I have got in large things between them; and above they are
+ still more open, and when I put my arm through the peep-hole of the
+ inner door and stretch it out, I can reach to the top of the outer
+ one, though the woman cannot.'
+
+The woman and I lived in good harmony together. Occasionally there
+were small disputes between Christian and her, but at that time they
+were of no importance. I quieted his anger with wine and candles.
+This woman had a son, who died just after she had come to me, and a
+daughter who is still alive; at that time she was in the service of a
+tailor, but she is now married to a merchant. The daughter received
+permission occasionally to come and speak with her mother on the
+stairs. This annoyed Christian, as he thought that through her all
+sorts of things were obtained; and he threatened often that he would
+say what he thought, though he did not know it, and this frequently
+troubled the woman (she easily weeps and easily laughs). I could soon
+comfort her. We spent our time very well. I taught her to read,
+beginning with A B C, for she did not know a single letter. I kept to
+fixed hours for teaching her. She was at the time sixty years of age.
+And when she could spell a little,[107] she turned the book one day
+over and over, and began to rub her eyes and exclaimed, 'Oh God, how
+strange it is! I do not know (and she swore by God) a single letter.'
+I was standing behind her, and could scarcely keep from laughing. She
+rubbed her eyes again, and (as she is rather hasty with her words)
+she pointed quickly to an O, and said, 'Is not that an O?' 'Yes,' I
+said, and I laughed when she turned to me. She then for the first
+time perceived that she was holding the book upside down; she threw
+herself on the bed and laughed till I thought she would burst.
+
+ [107] In the margin: 'She has a curious manner of spelling. She
+ cannot spell a word of three syllables; for when she has to add the
+ two syllables to the third, she has forgotten the first. If I urge
+ her, however, she can read the word correctly when she has spelt
+ the first syllable. She spells words of two syllables and reads
+ those of four.'
+
+One day when she was to read, and did not like to lay aside her
+distaff, it did not go smoothly, and she gave it up, and said, 'Am I
+not foolish to wish to learn to read in my old age? What good does it
+do me? I have spent much money on my son to have him taught to read,
+and see, is he not dead?' I knew how much she was able to do, and I
+let her go on speaking. She threw the book on her bed, sat down to
+her work, and said, 'What do I need to learn to read in a book? I
+can, thank God, read my morning and evening prayer.' (I thought to
+myself, 'badly enough.' She knew very little of her catechism.) I
+said (gently): 'That is true, Karen. It is not necessary for you to
+learn to read a book, as you can read very nicely by heart.' I had
+scarcely said this than she jumped up, took her book again, and began
+to spell. I neither advised her nor dissuaded her, but treated her
+like a good simple child.[108]
+
+ [108] In the margin: 'Once she asked me whether she could not get a
+ book in which there was neither _q_ nor _x_, for she could not
+ remember these letters. I answered, "Yes, if you will yourself have
+ such a book printed."'
+
+I fell ill during this year,[109] and as the prison governor no
+longer came in to me and sent the servant up of an evening, I begged
+the woman to tell him that I was ill, and that I wished a doctor to
+come to me. The woman told him this (for by this time he understood
+Danish, and the woman understood a little German), and when she said,
+'I am afraid she will die,' he answered, 'Why the d---- let her die!'
+I had daily fevers, heat, but no shivering; and as an obstruction was
+the chief cause of my illness, I desired a remedy. The prison
+governor ridiculed the idea. When I heard this, I requested he would
+come to me, which he did. I spoke to him rather seriously; told him
+that it was not the King's will that he should take no more care of
+me than he did, that he had more care for his dog than for me (which
+was the case). Upon this his manner improved, and he enquired what I
+wished for, and I said what I desired, and obtained it. I had become
+rather excited at the conversation, so that I felt weak. The woman
+cried and said: 'I am afraid you will die, dear lady! and then the
+bad maids from the wash-house will wash your feet and hands.' (One of
+the maids below had sent very uncivil messages to me.) I replied that
+I should not say a word against that. 'What?' said she angrily, 'will
+you suffer that? No,' she added with an asseveration, 'I would not! I
+would not suffer it if I were in your place.' So I said, like that
+philosopher, 'Place the stick with the candlestick at my side, and
+with that I can keep them away from me when I am dead.'[110] This
+brought her to reason again, and she talked of the grave and of
+burial. I assured her that this did not trouble me at all; that when
+I was dead, it was all one to me; even if they threw my body in the
+sea, it would, together with my soul, appear before the throne of God
+at the last day, and might come off better perhaps than many who were
+lying in coffins mounted with silver and in splendid vaults. But that
+I would not say, as the prison governor did in his levity, that I
+should like to be buried on the hill of Valdby, in order to be able
+to look around me. I desired nothing else than a happy end. We spoke
+of the prison governor's coarseness; of various things which he did,
+on account of which it would go badly with him if the Queen knew it;
+of his godlessness, how that when he had been to the Lord's Supper,
+he said he had passed muster; and other things. There was no fear of
+God in him.
+
+ [109] In the margin of the MS. is added: 'When this Karen came to
+ me she left me no peace till I allowed her to clean the floor; for
+ I feared that which happened, namely that the smell would cause
+ sickness. In one place there was an accumulation of dirt a couple
+ of feet thick. When she had loosened it, it had to remain till the
+ door was opened. I went to bed, threw the bed-clothes over my head,
+ and held my nose.'[E38]
+
+ [E38] 'Anno 1666, soon after Karen, Nil's daughter, came to me, we
+ first discovered that there was a stone floor to my prison chamber,
+ as she broke loose a piece of rubbish cemented together, and the
+ stones were apparent. I had before thought it a loam floor. The
+ former Karen, Ole's daughter, was one of those who spread the dirt
+ but do not take it away. This Karen tormented me unceasingly,
+ almost daily, that we must remove it everywhere, and that at
+ once--it would soon be done. I was of opinion that it would make us
+ ill if it was done all at once, as we required water to soften it,
+ and the stench in this oppressive hole would cause sickness, but
+ that it would be easier and less uncomfortable to remove one piece
+ after another. She adhered to her opinion and to her desire, and
+ thought that she could persuade the prison governor and the
+ tower-warder to let the door remain open till all had been made
+ clean. But when the tower-warder had brought in a tub of water, he
+ locked the door. I went to bed and covered my face closely, while
+ she scraped and swept up the dirt. The quantity of filth was
+ incredible. It had been collecting for years, for this had been a
+ malefactors' prison, and the floor had never been cleaned. She laid
+ all the dirt in a heap in the corner, and there was as much as a
+ cartload. It was left there until evening at supper-time, when the
+ doors were opened. It was as I feared: we were both ill. The woman
+ recovered first, for she could get out into the air, but I remained
+ in the oppressive hole, where there was scarcely light. We gained
+ this from it, that we were tormented day and night with numbers of
+ fleas, and they came to her more than to me, so much so that she
+ was often on the point of weeping. I laughed and made fun of it,
+ saying that she would now have always something to do, and would
+ have enough to beguile the time. We could not, however, work. The
+ fleas were thick on our stockings, so that the colour of the
+ stockings was not to be perceived, and we wiped them off into the
+ water-basin. I then discovered that one flea produces another. For
+ when I examined them, and how they could swim, I perceived that
+ some small feet appeared behind the flea, and I thought it was a
+ peculiar kind. At last I saw what it was, and I took the flea from
+ which the small one was emerging on my finger, and it left behind
+ evidences of birth: it hopped immediately, but the mother remained
+ a little, until she recovered herself, and the first time she could
+ not hop so far. This amusement I had more than once, till the fleas
+ came to an end. Whether all fleas are born in this manner I cannot
+ tell, but that they are produced from dirt and loam I have seen in
+ my prison, and I have observed how they become gradually perfect
+ and of the peculiar colour of the material from which they have
+ been generated. I have seen them pair.'
+
+ It is scarcely necessary to say that, as far as natural history is
+ concerned, Leonora has committed a mistake.
+
+ [110] In the margin is added: 'On the stick there was a tin
+ candlestick, which was occasionally placed at the side of my bed. I
+ used it for fixing my knitting.'[E39]
+
+ [E39] Leonora alludes to an anecdote told by 'Cicero in Tuscul.
+ Quaest. lib. i. c. 43.' He recounts that the cynic Diogenes had
+ ordered that his body should not be buried after his death but left
+ uninterred. His friends asked, 'As a prey to birds and wild
+ beasts?' 'Not at all,' answered Diogenes; place a stick by me,
+ wherewith I may drive them away.' 'But how can you?' rejoined
+ these; 'you won't know!' 'But what then,' was his reply, 'concern
+ the attacks of the wild beasts me, when I don't feel them?'
+
+I requested to have the sacrament, and asked M. Buck to come to me at
+seven o'clock in the morning, for at about half-past eight o'clock
+the fever began. The priest did not come till half-past nine, when
+the fever heat had set in (for it began now somewhat later). When I
+had made my confession, he began to preach about murder and homicide;
+about David, who was guilty of Uriah's death, although he had not
+killed him with his own hand. He spoke of sin as behoved him, and of
+the punishment it brings with it. 'You,' he said, 'have killed
+General Fux, for you have bribed a servant to kill him.' I replied,
+'That is not true! I have not done so!' 'Yes, truly,' he said; 'the
+servant is in Hamburg, and he says it himself.' I replied: 'If he has
+so said, he has lied, for my son gave Fux his death-blow with a
+stiletto. I did not know that Fux was in Bruges until I heard of his
+death. How could the servant, then, say that I had done it? It was
+not done by my order, but that I should not have rejoiced that God
+should have punished the villain I am free to confess.' To this he
+answered, 'I should have done so myself.' I said: 'God knows how Fux
+treated us in our imprisonment at Borringholm. That is now past, and
+I think of it no more.' 'There you are right,' he said, as he
+proceeded in his office. When all was over, he spoke with the prison
+governor outside the door of my anteroom, just in front of the door
+of the Dark Church, and said that I made myself ill; that I was not
+ill; that my face was red from pure anger; that he had spoken the
+truth to me, and that I had been angry in consequence. Christian was
+standing inside the door of the Dark Church, for at this time there
+were no prisoners there, and he heard the conversation, and related
+it to me when I began to get up again and spoke with him at the
+door.
+
+Some time afterwards Christian said to me, quite secretly, 'If you
+like, I will convey a message from you to your children in Skaane.' I
+enquired how this could be done. He said: 'Through my girl; she is
+thoroughly true; she shall go on purpose.' He knew that I had some
+ducats left, for Peder the coachman had confided it to him, as he
+himself told me. I accepted his offer and wrote to my children, and
+gave him a ducat for the girl's journey.[111] She executed the
+commission well, and came back with a letter from them and from my
+sister.[E40] The woman knew nothing of all this.
+
+ [111] In the margin: 'The girl was a prostitute to whom he had
+ promised marriage, and the tower-warder--both the former one and
+ Chresten--let her in to Christian, went out himself, and left them
+ alone.'
+
+ [E40] This sister was Hedvig, who married Ebbe Ulfeldt, a relative
+ of Corfitz Ulfeldt. He was obliged to leave Denmark in 1651, on
+ account of irregularities in the conduct of his office, and went to
+ Sweden, where he became a major-general in the army. He is the
+ person alluded to in the Autobiography. Several of Leonora's
+ children lived in Sweden with their relatives after the death of
+ Corfitz Ulfeldt; but in 1668 the Danish Government obtained that
+ they were forbidden the country.
+
+By degrees Christian began to be insolent in various ways. When he
+came with his boy's pouch, in which the woman was to give him food,
+he would throw it at her, and he was angry if meat was not kept for
+himself for the evening; and when he could not at once get the pouch
+back again, he would curse the day when he had come to my door and
+had spoken with me or had communicated anything to me. She was sad,
+but she said nothing to me. This lasted only for a day, and then he
+knocked again at the door and spoke as usual of what news he had
+heard. The woman was sitting on the bed, crossing herself fifteen
+times (he could not see her, nor could he see me). When he was gone,
+she related how fearfully he had been swearing, &c. I said: 'You must
+not regard this; in the time of the other Karen he has done as much.'
+His courage daily increased. The dishes were often brought up
+half-an-hour before the prison-governor came. In the meanwhile
+Christian cut the meat, and took himself the piece he preferred
+(formerly at every meal I had sent him out a piece of fish, or
+anything else he desired). The stupid prison governor allowed it to
+go on; he was glad, I imagine, that he was spared the trouble, and
+paid no attention to the fact that there was anything missing in the
+dish. I let it go on for a time, for it did not happen regularly
+every day. But when he wanted food for his boy, he would say nothing
+but 'Some food in my boy's pouch!' We often laughed over this
+afterwards, when he was away, but not at the time, for it grew worse
+from day to day. He could not endure that we should laugh and be
+merry; if he heard anything of the kind outside, he was angry. But if
+one spoke despondingly, he would procure what was in his power.[112]
+One day he listened, and heard that we were laughing; for the woman
+was just relating an amusing story of the mother of a schoolboy in
+Frederichsborg (she had lived there); how the mother of the boy did
+not know how to address the schoolmaster, and called him Herr
+Willas.[E41] He said, 'I am no Herr.' 'Then Master,' said the woman.
+'I am no Master either,' he said; 'I am plain Willas.' Then the woman
+said: 'My good plain Willas! My son always licks the cream from my
+milk-pans when he comes home. Will you lick him in return, and that
+with a switch on his back?' While we were laughing at this, he came
+to the door and heard the words I was saying: 'I don't suppose that
+it really so happened; one must always add something to make a good
+story of it.' He imagined we were speaking of him, and that we were
+laughing at him. At meal-time he said to the woman, 'You were very
+merry to-day.' She said, 'Did you not know why? It is because I
+belong to the "Laetter"'[E42] (that was her family name). 'It would be
+a good thing,' he said, 'to put a stop to your laughter altogether;
+you have been laughing at me.' She protested that we had not, that
+his name had not been mentioned (which was the case); but he would
+not regard it. They fell into an altercation. She told me of the
+conversation, and for some days he did not come to the door, and I
+sent him nothing; for just at that time a poor old man was my
+neighbour, and I sent him a drink of wine. Christian came again to
+the door and knocked. He complained very softly of the woman; begged
+that I would reprove her for what she had said to him, as he had
+heard his name mentioned. I protested to him that at the time we were
+not even thinking of him, and that I could not scold her for the
+words we had spoken together. I wished to have repose within our
+closed door. 'Yes,' he answered; 'household peace is good, as the old
+woman said.' With this he went away.
+
+ [112] In the margin: 'In the time of his good humour he had
+ procured me, for money and candles, all that I desired, so that I
+ had both knife and scissors, besides silk, thread, and various
+ things to beguile the time. This vexed him afterwards.'
+
+ [E41] The title 'Herr' was then only given to noblemen and clergy.
+ Master means 'magister,' and was an academical title.
+
+ [E42] The original has here an untranslatable play upon words.
+ _Leth_ is a family name; and the woman says 'I am one of the Letter
+ (the Leths),' but laughter is in Danish 'Latter.'
+
+Afterwards he caused us all sorts of annoyance, and was again
+pacified. Then he wished again that I should write to Skaane.[113] I
+said I was satisfied to know that some of my children were with my
+sister; where my sons were, and how it fared with them, I did not
+know: I left them in God's care. This did not satisfy him, and he
+spoke as if he thought I had no more money; but he did not at that
+time exactly say so. But one day, when he had one of his mad fits, he
+came to the door and had a can with wine (which I gave him at almost
+every meal) in his hand, and he said: 'Can you see me?' (for there
+was a cleft in the outermost door, but at such a distance one could
+not clearly see through). 'Here I am with my cup of wine, and I am
+going to drink your health for the last time.' I asked: 'Why for the
+last time?' 'Yes,' he swore, coming nearer to the door and saying: 'I
+will do no more service for you; so I know well that I shall get no
+more wine.' I said, 'I thank you for the services you have rendered
+me; I desire no more from you, but nevertheless you may still get
+your wine.' 'No!' he said; 'no more service! there is nothing more to
+be fetched.' 'That is true,' I answered. 'You do not know me,' said
+he; 'I am not what you think; it is easy to start with me, but it is
+not easy to get rid of me.' I laughed a little, and said: 'You are
+far better than you make yourself out to be. To-morrow you will be of
+another mind.'
+
+ [113] In the margin: 'Immediately after the girl had been in
+ Skaane, he gave her a box full of pieces of wax, on which were the
+ impressions of all the tower keys; and amongst them was written,
+ "My girl will have these made in Skaane." I had this from the
+ woman, who was just then carrying up the night-stool, and on the
+ following Saturday I gave the box back with many thanks, saying I
+ did not care to escape from the tower in this way. This did not
+ please him, as I well saw.'
+
+He continued to describe himself as very wicked (it was, however, far
+from as bad as he really is). I could do nothing else but laugh at
+him. He drank from the can, and sat himself down on the stool
+outside. I called him and begged him to come to the door, as I wanted
+to speak with him. There he sat like a fool, saying to himself:
+'Should I go to the door? No,' and he swore with a terrible oath,
+'that I will not do! Oh yes, to the door! No, Christian, no!'
+laughing from time to time immoderately, and shouting out that the
+devil might take him and tear him in pieces the day on which he
+should go to my door or render me a service. I went away from the
+door and sat down horrified at the man's madness and audacity. Some
+days passed in silence, and he would accept no wine. No food was
+offered to him, for he continued, in the same way as before, to cut
+the meat before the prison governor came up. As the prison governor
+at this time occasionally again came in to me and talked with me, I
+requested him that Christian, as a prisoner, should not have the
+liberty of messing my food. This was, therefore, forbidden him in
+future.
+
+Some days afterwards he threw the pouch to the woman on the stairs,
+and said: 'Give me some food for to-night in my lad's pouch.'[114]
+This was complied with with the utmost obedience, and a piece of meat
+was placed in the pouch. This somewhat appeased him, so that at noon
+he spoke with the woman, and even asked for a drink of wine; but he
+threatened the woman that he would put an end to the laughing. I did
+not fear the evil he could do to me, but this vexatious life was
+wearisome. I allowed no wine to be offered to him, unless he asked
+for some. He was in the habit every week of procuring me the
+newspapers[E43] for candles, and as he did not bring me the
+newspapers for the candles of the first week, I sent him no more. He
+continued to come every Saturday with the perfuming-pan, and to lock
+my door. When he came in with the fumigating stuff, he fixed his eyes
+upon the wall, and would not look at me. I spoke to him once and
+asked after the doctor, and he made no reply.
+
+ [114] In the margin is added: 'At this time there was a peasant
+ imprisoned in the Dark Church for having answered the bailiff of
+ the manor with bad language. I sent him food. He was a great rogue.
+ I know not whether he were incited by others, but he told Karen
+ that if I would write to my children, he would take care of the
+ letter. I sent him word that I thanked him; I had nothing to say to
+ them and nothing to write with. The rogue answered, "Ah so! Ah
+ so!"'
+
+ [E43] The newspapers in question were probably German papers which
+ were published in Copenhagen at that time weekly, or even twice a
+ week; the Danish _Mercurius_ (a common title for newspapers) was a
+ monthly publication.
+
+Thus it went on for some weeks; then he became appeased, and brought
+the woman the papers from the time that he had withheld them, all
+rolled up together and fastened with a thread. When the prison
+governor came in during the evening and sat and talked (he was
+slightly intoxicated), and Chresten had gone to the cellar, the woman
+gave him back the papers, thanking him in my name, and saying that
+the papers were of no interest to me; I had done without them for so
+many weeks, and could continue to do so. He was so angry that he tore
+the papers in two with his teeth, tore open his coat so that the
+buttons fell on the floor, threw some of the papers into the fire,
+howled, screamed, and gnashed with his teeth. I tried to find
+something over which I could laugh with the prison governor, and I
+spoke as loud as I could, in order to drown Christian's voice.[115]
+The woman came in as pale as a corpse, and looked at me. I signed to
+her that she should go out again. Then Christian came close to my
+door and howled, throwing his slippers up into the air, and then
+against my door, repeating this frequently. When he heard Chresten
+coming up with the cups, he threw himself on the seat on which the
+prison governor was accustomed to lie, and again struck his slippers
+against the wall. Chresten gazed at him with astonishment, as he
+stood with the cups in his hand. He saw well that there was something
+amiss between the woman and Christian, and that the woman was afraid;
+he could not, however, guess the cause, nor could he find it out; he
+thought, moreover, that it had nothing to do with me, since I was
+laughing and talking with the prison governor. When the doors were
+closed, the lamentations found free vent. The woman said that he had
+threatened her; he would forbid her daughter coming on the stairs and
+carrying on her talk, and doing other things that she ought not. I
+begged her to be calm; told her he was now in one of his mad fits,
+but that it would pass away; that he would hesitate before he said
+anything of it, for that he would be afraid that what he had brought
+up to her would also come to light, and then he would himself get
+into misfortune for his trouble; that the prison governor had given
+her daughter leave to come to her, and to whom therefore should he
+complain? (I thought indeed in my own mind that if he adhered to his
+threat, he would probably find some one else to whom he could
+complain, as he had so much liberty; he could bring in and out what
+he chose, and could speak with whom he desired in the watchman's
+gallery.) She wept, was very much affected, and talked with but
+little sense, and said: 'If I have no peace for him, I will--yes, I
+will--.' She got no further, and could not get out what she would do.
+I smiled, and said at last: 'Christian is mad. I will put a stop to
+it to-morrow: let me deal with him! Sleep now quietly!'
+
+ [115] In the margin: 'It was wonderful that the governor did not
+ hear the noise which Christian made. He was telling me, I remember,
+ at the time, how he had frightened one of the court servants with a
+ mouse in a box.'
+
+She fell asleep afterwards, but I did not do so very quickly,
+thinking what might follow such wild fits. Next day towards noon I
+told her what she was to say to Christian; she was to behave as if
+she were dissatisfied, and begin to upbraid him and to say, 'The
+devil take you for all you have taught her! She has pulled off her
+slippers just as you do, and strikes me on the head with them. She is
+angry and no joke, and she took all the pretty stuff she had finished
+and threw it into the night-stool. "There," said she, "no one shall
+have any advantage of that."' At this he laughed like a fool, for it
+pleased him. 'Is she thoroughly angry?' he asked. 'Yes,' she replied;
+'she is indeed.' At this he laughed aloud on the stairs, so that I
+heard it. For a fortnight he behaved tolerably well, now and then
+demanding wine and food; and he came moreover to the door and
+related, among other things, how he had heard that the prince (now
+our king) was going to be married. I had also heard it, though I did
+not say so, for the prison governor had told me of it, and besides I
+received the papers without him. And as I asked him no questions, he
+went away immediately, saying afterwards to the woman, 'She is angry
+and so am I. We will see who first will want the other.' He
+threatened the woman very much. She wished that I would give him fair
+words. I told her that he was not of that character that one could
+get on with him by always showing the friendly side.[116] As he by
+degrees became more insolent than could be tolerated, I said one day
+to the prison governor that I was surprised that he could allow a
+prisoner to unlock and lock my doors, and to do that which was really
+the office of the tower-warder; and I asked him whether it did not
+occur to him that under such circumstances I might manage to get out,
+if I chose to do so without the King's will? Christian was a
+prisoner, under sentence of death; he had already offered to get me
+out of the tower. The prison governor sat and stared like one who
+does not rightly understand, and he made no reply but 'Yes, yes!' but
+he acted in conformity with my warning, so that either he himself
+locked and unlocked, or Chresten did so. (I have seen Christian
+snatching the keys out of Chresten's hand and locking my door, and
+this at the time when he began to make himself so angry.)
+
+ [116] In the margin is added: 'He enticed the prison governor to
+ throw a kitten that I had down from the top of the tower, and he
+ laughed at me ironically as he told the woman of his manly act, and
+ said, "The cat was mangy! the cat was mangy!" I would not let him
+ see that it annoyed me.'
+
+If Christian had not been furious before, he became so now,
+especially at the time that Chresten came in with the perfuming-pan
+when the woman was above. He would then stand straight before me in
+the anteroom, looking at me like a ghost and gnashing his teeth; and
+when he saw that I took the rest of the fumigating stuff from
+Chresten's hand (which he had always himself given me in paper), he
+burst into a defiant laugh. When the doors were unlocked in the
+evening, and Christian began talking with the woman, he said: 'Karen,
+tell her ladyship that I will make out a devilish story with you
+both. I have with my own eyes seen Chresten giving her a letter. Ay,
+that was why she did not let me go in with the perfuming-pan, because
+I would not undertake her message to Skaane. Ay, does she get the
+newspapers also from him? Yes, tell her, great as are the services I
+have rendered her, I will now prepare a great misfortune for her.'
+God knows what a night I had! Not because I feared his threat, for I
+did not in the least regard his words; he himself would have suffered
+the most by far. But the woman was so sad that she did nothing but
+lament and moan, chiefly about her daughter, on account of the
+disgrace it would be to her if they put her mother into the Dark
+Church, nay even took her life. Then she remembered that her daughter
+had spoken with her on the stairs, and she cried out again: 'Oh my
+daughter! my daughter! She will get into the house of correction!'
+For some time I said nothing more than 'Calm yourself; it will not be
+as bad as you think,' as I perceived that she was not capable of
+listening to reason, for she at once exclaimed 'Ach! ach!' as often
+as I tried to speak, sitting up in bed and holding her head between
+her two hands and crying till she was almost deluged. I thought,
+'When there are no more tears to come, she will probably stop.'
+
+I said at length, when she was a little appeased: 'The misfortune
+with which the man threatens us cannot be averted by tears. Calm
+yourself and lie down to sleep. I will do the same, and I will pray
+God to impart to me His wise counsel for the morrow.' This quieted
+her a little; but when I thought she was sleeping, she burst forth
+again with all the things that she feared; she had brought in to me
+slips of paper, knife and scissors, and other things furnished by him
+contrary to order. I answered only from time to time: 'Go to sleep,
+go to sleep! I will talk with you to-morrow!' It was of no avail. The
+clock struck two, when she was still wanting to talk, and saying, 'It
+will go badly with the poor old man down below!'[117] I made as if I
+were asleep, but the whole night, till five o'clock and longer, no
+sleep came to my eyes.
+
+ [117] In the margin is added: '1666. While Karen, Nil's daughter,
+ waited on me, a Nuremberger was my neighbour in the Dark Church; he
+ was accused of having coined base money. She carried food to him
+ every day. He sang and read day and night, and sang very well. He
+ sang the psalm 'Incline thine ear unto me, O Lord,' slowly at my
+ desire. I copied it, and afterwards translated it into Danish. And
+ as he often prayed aloud at night and confessed his sins, praying
+ God for forgiveness and exclaiming again and again, 'Thou must help
+ me, God! Yes, God, thou must help me, or thou art no God. Thou must
+ be gracious;' thus hindering me from sleep, I sent him word through
+ Karen to pray more softly, which he did. He was taken to the Holm
+ for some weeks, and was then set at liberty.
+
+When the door was unlocked at noon, I had already intimated to her
+what she was to say to Christian, and had given her to understand
+that he thought to receive money from her and candles from me by his
+threats, and that he wanted to force us to obey his pleasure; but
+that he had others to deal with than he imagined. She was only to
+behave as if she did not care for his talk, and was to say nothing
+but 'Good day,' unless he spoke to her; and if he enquired what I had
+said, she was to act as if she did not remember that she was to tell
+me anything. If he repeated his message, she was to say: 'I am not
+going to say anything to her about that. Are you still as foolish as
+you were last night? Do what you choose!' and then go away. This
+conversation took place, and he threatened her worse than before. The
+woman remained steadfast, but she was thoroughly cast down when our
+doors were locked; still, as she has a light heart, she often laughed
+with the tears in her eyes. I knew well that Christian would try to
+recover favour again by communicating me all kind of news in writing,
+but I had forbidden the woman to take his slips of paper, so that he
+got very angry. I begged her to tell him that he had better restrain
+himself if he could; that if he indulged his anger, it would be worse
+for him. At this he laughed ironically, and said, 'Tell her, it will
+be worse for her. Whatever I have done for her, she has enticed me to
+by giving me wine: tell her so. I will myself confess everything; and
+if I come to the rack and wheel, Chresten shall get into trouble. He
+brought her letters from her children.' (The rogue well knew that I
+had not allowed the woman to be cognisant neither of the fact that he
+had conveyed for me a message to Skaane to my children, nor of the
+wax in which the tower keys were impressed; this was why he spoke so
+freely to her.) When our doors were locked, this formed the subject
+of our conversation. I laughed at it, and asked the woman what
+disgrace could be so great as to be put on the wheel; I regarded it
+as thoughtless talk, for such it was, and I begged her to tell him
+that he need not trouble himself to give himself up, as I would
+relieve him of the trouble, and (if he chose) tell the prison
+governor everything on the following day that he had done for me; he
+had perhaps forgotten something, but that I could well remember it
+all.
+
+When the woman told him this, he made no answer, but ran down, kept
+quiet for some days, and scarcely spoke to the woman. One Saturday,
+when the woman had gone upstairs with the night-stool, he went up to
+her and tried to persuade her to accept a slip of paper for me, but
+she protested that she dare not. 'Then tell her,' he said, 'that she
+is to give me back the scissors and the knife which I have given her.
+I will have them, and she shall see what I can do. You shall both
+together get into trouble!' She came down as white as a corpse, so
+that I thought she had strained herself. She related the conversation
+and his request, and begged me much to give him back the things, and
+that then he would be quiet. I said: 'What is the matter with you?
+are you in your senses? Does he not say that we shall get into
+trouble if he gets the scissors and knife back again? Now is not the
+time to give them to him. Do you not understand that he is afraid I
+shall let the things be seen? My work, he thinks, is gone, and the
+papers are no longer here, so that there is nothing with which he can
+be threatened except these things. You must not speak with him this
+evening. If he says anything, do not answer him.' In the evening he
+crept in, and said in the anteroom to her, 'Bring me the scissors and
+the knife!' She made no answer. On the following morning, towards
+noon, I begged her to tell him that I had nothing of his; that I had
+paid for both the scissors and knife, and that more than double their
+value. He was angry at the message, and gnashed with his teeth. She
+went away from him, and avoided as much as possible speaking with him
+alone. When he saw that the woman would not take a slip of paper from
+him, he availed himself of a moment when the prison governor was not
+there, and threw in a slip of paper to me on the floor. A strange
+circumstance was near occurring this time: for just as he was
+throwing in the paper, the prison governor's large shaggy dog passed
+in, and the paper fell on the dog's back, but it fell off again in
+the corner, where the dog was snuffling.
+
+Upon the paper stood the words: 'Give me the knife and scissors back,
+or I will bring upon you as much misfortune as I have before rendered
+you good service, and I will pay for the knife and scissors if I have
+to sell my trousers for it. Give them to me at once!' For some days
+he went about like a lunatic, since I did not answer him, nor did I
+send him a message through the woman; so that Chresten asked the
+woman what she had done to Christian, as he went about below gnashing
+his teeth and howling like a madman. She replied that those below
+must best know what was the matter with him; that he must see he was
+spoken with in a very friendly manner here. At noon on Good Friday,
+1667,[118] he was very angry, swore and cursed himself if he did not
+give himself up, repeating all that he had said before, and adding
+that I had enticed him with wine and meat, and had deceived him with
+candles and good words. That he cared but little what happened to
+him; he would gladly die by the hand of the executioner; but that I,
+and she, and Chresten, should not escape without hurt.
+
+ [118] In the MS. this date '1667' is in the _margin_, not in the
+ text.
+
+The afternoon was not very cheerful to us. The woman was depressed. I
+begged her to be calm, told her there was no danger in such madness,
+though it was very annoying, and harder to bear than my captivity;
+but that still I would be a match for the rogue. She took her book
+and read, and I sat down and wrote a hymn upon Christ's sufferings,
+to the tune 'As the hart panteth after the water-springs.'[119]
+
+ [119] In the margin is added: 'This very hymn was afterwards the
+ cause of Christian's being again well-behaved, as he subsequently
+ himself told me, for he heard me one day singing it, and he said
+ that his heart was touched, and that tears filled his eyes. I had
+ at that time no other writing-materials than I have before
+ mentioned.'
+
+Christian had before been in the habit of bringing me coloured eggs
+on Easter-Eve; at this time he was not so disposed. When the door was
+locked, I said to Chresten, 'Do not forget the soft-boiled eggs
+to-morrow.' When the dinner was brought up on Easter-Day, and the
+eggs did not come at once (they were a side dish), Christian looked
+at me, and made a long nose at me three or four times. (I was
+accustomed to go up and down in front of the door of my room when it
+was unlocked.) I remained standing, and looked at him, and shrugged
+my shoulders a little. Soon after these grimaces, Chresten came with
+a dish full of soft-boiled eggs. Christian cast down his eyes at
+first, then he raised them to me, expecting, perhaps, that I should
+make a long nose at him in return; but I intended nothing less. When
+the woman went to the stairs, he said, 'There were no coloured eggs
+there.' She repeated this to me at once, so that I begged her to say
+that I ate the soft-boiled eggs and kept the coloured ones, as he
+might see (and I sent him one of the last year's, on which I had
+drawn some flowers; he had given it to me himself for some candles).
+He accepted it, but wrote me a note in return, which was very
+extraordinary. It was intended to be a highflown composition about
+the egg and the hen. He tried to be witty, but it had no point. I
+cannot now quite remember it, except that he wrote that I had sent
+him a rotten egg; that his egg would be fresh, while mine would be
+rotten.[120] He threw the slip of paper into my room. I made no
+answer to it. Some days passed again, and he said nothing angry; then
+he recommenced. I think he was vexed to see Chresten often receive my
+wine back again in the cup. At times I presented it to the prison
+governor. Moreover, he received no food, either for himself or his
+boy. One day he said to the woman, 'What do you think the prison
+governor would say if he knew that you give the prisoners some of his
+food to eat?' (The food which came from my table was taken down to
+the prison governor.) 'Tell her that!' The woman asked whether she
+was to say so to me, as a message from him. 'As whose message
+otherwise?' he answered. I sent him word that I could take as much as
+I pleased of the food brought me: that it was not measured out and
+weighed for me, and that those who had a right to it could do what
+they liked with what I did not require, as it belonged to no one. On
+this point he could not excite our fear. Then he came back again one
+day to the old subject, that he would have the scissors and the
+knife, and threatening to give himself up; and as it was almost
+approaching the time when I received the Lord's Supper, I said to the
+woman: 'Tell him once for all, if he cannot restrain himself I will
+inform against him as soon as the priest comes, and the first Karen
+shall be made to give evidence; she shall, indeed, be brought
+forward, for she had no rest on his account until I entered into his
+proposals. Whether voluntarily or under compulsion, she shall say the
+truth, and then we shall see who gets into trouble.' He might do, I
+sent word, whatever he liked, but I would be let alone; he might
+spare me his notes, or I would produce them. When the woman told him
+this, he thought a little, and then asked, 'Does she say so?' 'Yes,'
+said the woman, 'she did. She said still further: "What does he
+imagine? Does he think that I, as a prisoner who can go nowhere, will
+suffer for having accepted the services of a prisoner who enjoys a
+liberty which does not belong to him?"' He stood and let his head
+hang down, and made no answer at all. This settled the fellow, and
+from that time I have not heard one unsuitable word from him. He
+spoke kindly and pleasantly with the woman on the stairs, related
+what news he had heard, and was very officious; and when she once
+asked him for his cup to give him some wine, he said sadly, 'I have
+not deserved any wine.' The woman said he could nevertheless have
+some wine, and that I desired no more service from him. So he
+received wine from time to time, but nothing to eat.[121] On the day
+that I received the Lord's Supper, he came to the door and knocked
+softly. I went to the door. He saluted me and wished me joy in a very
+nice manner, and said that he knew I had forgiven those who had done
+aught against me. I answered in the affirmative, and gave no further
+matter for questions; nor did he, but spoke of other trivialities,
+and then went away. Afterwards he came daily to the door, and told me
+what news he had heard; he also received wine and meat again. He told
+me, among other things, that many were of opinion that all the
+prisoners would be set at liberty at the wedding of the prince (our
+present king) which was then talked of; that the bride was to arrive
+within a month (it was the end of April when this conversation took
+place), and that the wedding was to be at the palace.
+
+ [120] What he meant by it I know not; perhaps he meant that I
+ should die in misery, and that he should live in freedom. That
+ anticipation has been just reversed, for his godless life in his
+ liberty threw him subsequently into despair, so that he shot
+ himself. Whether God will give me freedom in this world is known to
+ Him alone.
+
+ [121] In the margin is added: 'He could not prevent his boy Paaske
+ from having a piece of meat placed for him in front of the door.'
+
+The arrival of the bride was delayed till the beginning of June, and
+then the wedding was celebrated in the palace at Nykjobing in
+Falster. Many were of opinion that it took place there in order that
+the bride might not intercede for me and the doctor.[122] When the
+bride was to be brought to Copenhagen, I said to Christian: 'Now is
+the time for you to gain your liberty. Let your girl wait and fall on
+one knee before the carriage of the bride and hold out a
+supplication, and then I am sure you will gain your liberty.' He
+asked how the girl should come to be supplicating for him. I said,
+'As your bride--' 'No (and he swore with a terrible oath), she is not
+that! She imagines it, perhaps, but (he swore again) I will not have
+her.' 'Then leave her in the idea,' I said, 'and let her make her
+supplication as for her bridegroom.' 'Yes,' he said, in a crestfallen
+tone, 'she may do that.' It was done, as I had advised, and Christian
+was set at liberty on June 11, 1667. He did not bid me good-bye, and
+did not even send me a message through the tower-warder or the boy.
+His gratitude to the girl was that he smashed her window that very
+evening, and made such a drunken noise in the street, that he was
+locked up in the Town-hall cellar.[123] He came out, however, on the
+following day. His lad Paaske took leave of his master. When he asked
+him whether he should say anything from him to us, he answered, 'Tell
+them that I send them to the devil.' Paaske, who brought this
+message, said he had answered Christian, 'Half of that is intended
+for me' (for Christian had already suspected that Paaske had rendered
+services to the woman). We had a hearty laugh over this message; for
+I said that if Paaske was to have half of it, I should get nothing.
+We were not a little glad that we were quit of this godless man.
+
+ [122] In the margin is added: 'The bride had supplicated for me at
+ Nykjobing, but had not gained her object. This was thought to be
+ dangerous both for the land and people.'
+
+ [123] In the margin is added: 'It was a Sunday; this was the honour
+ he showed to God. He went into the wine-house instead of into God's
+ house. He came out about twelve o'clock.'
+
+We lived on in repose throughout the year 1668. I wrote and was
+furnished with various handiwork, so that Chresten bought nothing for
+me but a couple of books, and these I paid doubly and more than
+doubly with candles. Karen remained with me the first time more than
+three years; and as her daughter was then going to be married, and
+she wished to be at the wedding, she spoke to me as to how it could
+be arranged, for she would gladly have a promise of returning to me
+when the woman whom I was to have in her stead went away. I did not
+know whether this could be arranged; but I felt confident that I
+could effect her exit without her feigning herself ill. The prison
+governor had already then as clerk Peder Jensen Totzloff,[E44] who
+now and then performed his duties. To this man I made the proposal,
+mentioning at the same time with compassion the ill health of the
+woman. I talked afterwards with the prison governor himself about it,
+and he was quite satisfied; for he not only liked this Karen very
+much, but he had moreover a woman in the house whom he wished to
+place with me instead.
+
+ [E44] His name was Torslev; see the Introduction and the
+ Autobiography.
+
+Karen, Nils' daughter, left me one evening in 1669, and a German
+named Cathrina ----[E45] came in her place. Karen took her departure
+with many tears. She had wept almost the whole day, and I promised to
+do my utmost that she should come to me when the other went away.
+Cathrina had been among soldiers from her youth up; she had married a
+lieutenant at the time the prison governor was a drummer, and had
+stood godmother to one of his sons. She had fallen into poverty after
+her husband's death, and had sat and spun with the wife of the prison
+governor for her food. She was greatly given to drinking, and her
+hands trembled so that she could not hold the cup, but was obliged to
+support it against her person, and the soup-plate also. The prison
+governor told me before she came up that her hands occasionally
+trembled a little, but not always--that she had been ill a short time
+before, and that it would probably pass off. When I asked herself how
+it came on, she said she had had it for many years. I said, 'You are
+not a woman fit to wait upon me; for if I should be ill, as I was a
+year or somewhat less ago, you could not properly attend to me.' She
+fell at once down on her knees, wept bitterly, and prayed for God's
+sake that she might remain; that she was a poor widow, and that she
+had promised the prison governor half the money she was to earn; she
+would pray heartily to God that I might not be ill, and that she
+would be true to me, aye, even die for me.
+
+ [E45] The name is in blanco; she was probably the Catharina Wolf
+ which is mentioned in the Preface.
+
+It seemed to me that this last was too much of an exaggeration for me
+to believe it (she kept her word, however, and did what I ordered
+her, and I was not ill during her time). She did not care to work.
+She generally laid down when she had eaten, and drew the coverlid
+over her eyes, saying 'Now I can see nothing.' When she perceived
+that I liked her to talk, she related whole comedies in her way,
+often acting them, and representing various personages. If she began
+to tell a story, and I said in the middle of her narrative, 'This
+will have a sorrowful ending,' she would say, 'No, it ends
+pleasantly,' and she would give her story a good ending. She would do
+the reverse, if I said the contrary. She would dance also before me,
+and that for four persons, speaking as she did so for each whom she
+was representing, and pinching together her mouth and fingers. She
+called comedians 'Medicoants.' Various things occurred during her
+time, which prevented me from looking at her and listening to her as
+much as she liked.[124]
+
+ [124] In the margin is added: 'A few months after she had come to
+ me, she had an attack of ague. She wept, and was afraid. I was well
+ satisfied with her, and thought I would see what faith could do, so
+ I wrote something on a slip of paper and hung it round her neck.
+ The fever left her, and she protested that all her bodily pains
+ passed all at once into her legs when I hung the paper round her
+ neck. Her legs immediately became much swollen.'
+
+It happened that Walter,[E46] who in consequence of Dina's affair had
+been exiled from Denmark, came over from Sweden and remained
+incognito at Copenhagen. He was arrested and placed in the tower
+here, below on the ground floor. He was suspected of being engaged
+in some plot. At the same time a French cook and a Swedish baker were
+imprisoned with him, who were accused of having intended to poison
+the King and Queen. The Swede was placed in the Witch Cell,
+immediately after Walter's arrest. Some days elapsed before I was
+allowed to know of Walter's arrival, but I knew of it nevertheless.
+One day at noon, when Walter and the Frenchman were talking aloud
+(for they were always disputing with each other), I asked the prison
+governor who were his guests down below, who were talking French. He
+answered that he had some of various nations, and related who they
+were, but why they were imprisoned he knew not, especially in
+Walter's case.
+
+ [E46] Walter's participation in the plot of Dina is mentioned in
+ the Introduction. He was then ordered to leave the country, but
+ afterwards obtained a pardon and permission to return. He does not
+ seem to have availed himself of this till the year 1668; but his
+ conduct was very suspicious, and he was at once arrested and placed
+ in the Blue Tower, where he died towards the end of April 1670.
+
+The two before-mentioned quarrelled together, so that Walter was
+placed in the Witch Cell with the Swede, and the Frenchman was
+conveyed to the Dark Church, where he was ill, and never even came to
+the peep-hole in the door, but lay just within. I dared not send him
+anything, on account of the accusation against him. Walter was
+imprisoned for a long time, and the Frenchman was liberated. When M.
+Bock came to me, to give me Christ's body and blood, I told him
+before receiving the Lord's Supper of Walter's affair, which had been
+proved, but I mentioned to him that at the time I had been requested
+to leave Denmark through Uldrich Christian Gyldenlove. Gyldenlove had
+sworn to me that the king was at the time not thoroughly convinced of
+the matter, and I had complained that his Majesty had not taken pains
+to convince himself; and I requested the priest to ask the
+Stadtholder to manage that Walter should now be examined in Dina's
+affair, and that he and I should be confronted together in the
+presence of some ministers; that this could be done without any
+great noise, for the gentlemen could come through the secret passage
+into the tower. The priest promised to arrange this;[125] he did so,
+and on the third day after Walter was placed in the Dark Church, so
+that I expected for a long time every day that we should be examined,
+but it was prevented by the person whose interest it was to prevent
+it.[E47]
+
+ [125] In the margin is added: 'When the priest left me, he spoke
+ with Walter in front of the grated hole, told him of my desire, and
+ its probable result. Walter laughed ironically, and said, "My hair
+ will not stand on end for fear of that matter being mooted again.
+ The Queen knows that full well. Say that too!" While Walter was in
+ the Witch Cell hole, he had written to the Queen, but the King
+ received the paper.'
+
+ [E47] Leonora alludes, no doubt, to the Queen Sophia Amalia.
+
+Walter remained imprisoned,[126] and quarrelled almost daily with
+Chresten, calling him a thief and a robber. (Chresten had found some
+ducats which Walter had concealed under a stool; the foolish Walter
+allowed the Swede to see that he hid ducats and an ink-bottle between
+the girths under the stool, and he afterwards struck the Swede, who
+betrayed him.) Chresten slyly allowed Walter to take a little
+exercise in the hall of the tower, and in the meanwhile he searched
+the stool. It may well be imagined that at the everlasting scolding
+Chresten was annoyed, and he did not procure Walter particularly good
+food from the kitchen; so that sometimes he could not eat either of
+the two dishes ordered for him; and when Walter said one day, 'If you
+would give me only one dish of which I could eat, it would be quite
+enough,' Chresten arranged it so that Walter only received one dish,
+and often could not eat of that. (This was to Chresten's own damage,
+for he was entitled to the food that was left; but he was ready to
+forego this, so long as he could annoy the others.)
+
+ [126] In the margin is noted: 'I looked through a hole in my
+ outermost door at the time that Walter was brought up in the Dark
+ Church. He wept aloud. I afterwards saw him once in front of the
+ hole of the door of his cell. He was very dirty, and had a large
+ beard full of dirt, very clotted.'
+
+Once Chresten came to him with a dish of rice-porridge, and began at
+once to quarrel with him, so that the other became angry (just as
+children do), and would eat nothing. Chresten carried the porridge
+away again directly, and laughed heartily. I said to Chresten, in the
+prison governor's presence, 'Though God has long delayed to punish
+Walter, his punishment is all the heavier now, for he could scarcely
+have fallen into more unmerciful hands than yours.' He laughed
+heartily at this, and the prison governor did the same. And as there
+is a hole passing from the Dark Church into the outer room, those who
+are inside there can call upstairs, so that one can plainly hear what
+is said. So Walter one day called to the prison governor, and begged
+him to give him a piece of roast meat; the prison governor called to
+him, 'Yes, we will roast a rat for you!' I sent him a piece of roast
+meat through Chresten; when he took it, and heard that I had sent it
+to him, he wept.
+
+Thus the time passed, I had always work to do, and I wrote also a
+good deal.[127] The priest was tired of administering the Lord's
+Supper to me, and he let me wait thirteen and fourteen days; when he
+did come, he performed his office _par maniere d'acquit_. I said
+nothing about it, but the woman, who is a German, also received the
+Lord's Supper from him; she made much of it, especially once (the
+last time he confessed her); for then I waited four days for him
+before it suited him to come, and at last he came. It was Wednesday,
+about nine o'clock. He never greeted us, nor did he wish me joy to
+the act I intended to perform. This time he said, as he shook hands,
+'I have not much time to wait, I have a child to baptise.' I knew
+well that this could not be true, but I answered 'In God's name!'
+When he was to receive the woman's confession, he would not sit down,
+but said 'Now go on, I have no time,' and scarcely gave her time to
+confess, absolved her quickly, and read the consecrating service at
+posthaste speed. When he was gone, the woman was very impatient, and
+said that she had received the holy communion in the field from a
+military chaplain, with the whole company (since they were ready to
+attack the enemy on the following day), but that the priest had not
+raced through God's word as this one had done; she had gained nothing
+from it.
+
+ [127] In the margin is added: 'From books which had been secretly
+ lent me, and I did so with the pen and ink I have before mentioned,
+ on any pieces of paper which I happened to procure.'
+
+I comforted her as well as I could, read and sang to her, told her
+she should repent and be sorry for her sins, and labour to amend her
+ways, and not be distracted by the want of devotion in the priest;
+she could appropriate to herself Christ's sufferings and merits for
+the forgiveness of her sins, for the priest had given her his body
+and blood in the bread and wine. 'Yes,' she answered, 'I shall, with
+God's will, be a better Christian.' I said 'Will you keep what you
+have promised me?' Her vow was, not to drink herself tipsy, as she
+had once done. I will not omit to mention this. She received, as I
+have before said, half a pint of French wine at each meal, and I half
+a measure of Rhine wine. She could drink both portions without being
+quite intoxicated, for at her meal she drank the French wine and lay
+down; and when she got up in the afternoon she drank my wine.[128] In
+the evening she kept my wine for breakfast, but once she had in her
+cup both my wine and her own, so that at noon she had two half-pints
+of wine; she sat there and drank it so quietly, and I paid no
+attention to her, being at the moment engaged in a speculation about
+a pattern which I wanted to knit; at length I looked at her because
+it was so long before she laid down; then she turned over all the
+vessels, one after another, and there was nothing in them. I accosted
+her and said, 'How is it? have you drank all the wine?' She could
+scarcely answer. She tried to stand up, and could not. 'To bed, you
+drunken sow,' said I. She tried to move, but could not; she was sick,
+and crept along by the wall to fetch a broom. When she had the broom,
+she could do nothing with it. I told her to crawl into bed and lie
+down; she crawled along and fell with her face on the bed, while her
+feet were on the ground. There she was sick again, and remained so
+lying, and slept. It is easy to imagine how I felt.
+
+ [128] In the margin is noted: 'Chresten was not well satisfied with
+ the woman, for in her time he never received a draught of wine, so
+ that he once stole the wine from her can and substituted something
+ impure in its place; at this she made a great noise, begged me for
+ God's sake to give her leave to strike Chresten with the can. She
+ did not gain permission to do so; she told Chresten afterwards that
+ she had not dared to do it, for my sake. She had a great scar on
+ one cheek, which a soldier had once given her for a similar act.'
+
+She slept in this way for a couple of hours, but still did not quite
+sleep off her intoxication; for when she wanted afterwards to clean
+herself and the room, she remained for a long time sitting on a low
+stool, the broom between her knees and her hair about her ears. She
+took off her bodice to wash it, and so she sat with her bosom
+uncovered, an ugly sight; she kept bemoaning herself, praying to God
+to help her, as she was nigh unto death. I was angry, but I could
+scarcely help laughing at this sad picture. When the moaning and
+lamenting were over, I said angrily, 'Yes, may God help you, you
+drunkard; to the guards' station you ought to go; I will not have
+such a drunkard about me; go and sleep it out, and don't let me hear
+you talk of God when you are not sober, for then God is far from you
+and the d----l is near!' (I laughed afterwards at myself.) She laid
+down again, and about four o'clock she was quite sober, made herself
+perfectly clean, and sat quietly weeping. Then she threw herself with
+great excitement at my feet, clung to them, howled and clamoured, and
+begged for God's sake that I would forgive her this once, and that it
+should never happen again; said how she had kept the wine &c.; that
+if I would only keep her half a year, she would have enough to
+purchase her admission into the hospital at Luebeck.
+
+I thought I would take good care that she did not get so much again
+at once, and also that perhaps if I had another in her place she
+might be worse in other things. Karen could not have come at this
+time, for her daughter was expecting her confinement, and I knew that
+she would then not be quiet. So I promised her to keep her for the
+time she mentioned. She kept her word moreover, and I so arranged it
+six weeks later that she received no more wine, and from this time
+the woman received no wine; my wine alone could not hurt her. She was
+quite intimate with Walter. She had known him formerly, and Chresten
+was of opinion that he had given her all his money before he was ill;
+for he said that Walter had no money any longer. What there was in it
+I know not. Honest she was not, for she stole from me first a brass
+knitting-pin, which I used at that time; it was formed like a bodkin,
+and the woman never imagined but that it was gold. As my room is not
+large, it could soon be searched, but I looked for three days and
+could not find the pin. I was well aware that she had it, for it is
+not so small as not to be seen, so I said afterwards, 'This brass pin
+is of no great importance; I can get another for two pence.' The next
+day she showed me the pin, in a large crevice on the floor between
+the stones. But when she afterwards, shortly before she left, found
+one of my gold earrings which I had lost, and which undoubtedly had
+been left on the pillow, for it was a snake ring, this was never
+returned, say what I would about it. She made a show of looking for
+it in the dirt outside; she knew I dared not say that I had missed
+it.
+
+The prison governor at this time came up but rarely; Peder Jensen
+waited on me.[129] His Majesty was ill for a short time, and died
+suddenly on February 9, 1670. And as on the same day at twelve
+o'clock the palace bell tolled, I was well aware what this indicated,
+though the woman was not. We conversed on the subject, who it might
+be. She could perceive that I was sad, and she said: 'That might be
+for the King, for the last time I saw him on the stairs, getting out
+of the carriage, he could only move with difficulty, and I said to
+myself that it would soon be over with him. If he is dead, you will
+have your liberty, that is certain.' I was silent, and thought
+otherwise, which was the case. About half-past four o'clock the fire
+was generally lighted in the outside stove, and this was done by a
+lad whom Chresten at that time employed. I called him to the door and
+asked him why the bell had tolled for a whole hour at noon. He
+answered, 'I may not say; I am forbidden.' I said that I would not
+betray him. He then told me that the King had died in the morning. I
+gave free vent to my tears, which I had restrained, at which the
+woman was astonished, and talked for a long time.
+
+ [129] In the margin is added: 'At this time I had six prisoners for
+ my neighbours. Three were peasants from Femeren, who were accused
+ of having exported some sheep; the other three were Danish. They
+ were divided in two parties, and as the Danes were next the door, I
+ gave them some food; they had moreover been imprisoned some time
+ before the others. When the Danes, according to their custom, sang
+ the morning and evening psalms, the Germans growled forth with all
+ their might another song in order to drown their voices; they
+ generally sang the song of Dorothea.' [E48]
+
+ [E48] The song of St. Dorothea exists in many German and Danish
+ versions.
+
+I received all that she said in silence, for I never trusted her. I
+begged her to ask Chresten, when he unlocked the door, what the
+tolling intimated. She did so, but Chresten answered that he did not
+know. The prison governor came up the same evening, but he did not
+speak with me. He came up also the next day at noon. I requested to
+speak with him, and enquired why the bell had sounded. He answered
+ironically, 'What is that to you? Does it not ring every day?' I
+replied somewhat angrily: 'What it is to me God knows! This I know,
+that the castle bell is not tolled for your equals!' He took off his
+hat and made me a bow, and said, 'Your ladyship desires nothing
+else?' I answered, 'St. Martin comes for you too.'[E49] 'St. Martin?'
+he said, and laughed, and went away and went out to Walter, standing
+for a long time whispering with him in front of the hole; I could see
+him, as he well knew.[130] He was undoubtedly telling him of the
+King's death, and giving him hope that he would be liberated from
+prison. God designed it otherwise. Walter was ill, and lay for a long
+time in great misery. He behaved very badly to Chresten; took the
+dirt from the floor and threw it into the food; spat into the beer,
+and allowed Chresten to see him do so when he carried the can away.
+Every day Chresten received the titles of thief and rogue, so that it
+may easily be imagined how Chresten tormented him. When I sent him
+some meat, either stewed or roasted, Chresten came back with it and
+said he would not have it. I begged Chresten to leave it with him,
+and he would probably eat it later. This he did once, and then
+Chresten showed me how full it was of dirt and filth.[131]
+
+ [E49] The feast of St. Martin is supposed the proper time for
+ killing pigs in Denmark. It is reported that when Corfitz Uldfeldt,
+ in 1652, had published a defence of his conduct previously to his
+ leaving Denmark the year before, he sent a copy to Peder Vibe, one
+ of his principal adversaries, with this inscription:--
+
+     Chaque pourceau a son St. Martin;
+     Tu n'echapperas pas, mais auras le tien.
+
+ [130] In the margin is added: 'As I was to receive clothes, I asked
+ for mourning clothes. Then the prison governor asked me for whom I
+ wished to mourn, and this in a most ironical manner. I answered:
+ "It is not for your aunt; it is not for me to mourn for her,
+ although your aunt has been dead long. I think you have as good
+ reason for wearing mourning as I." He said he would report it. I
+ did not receive them at once.'
+
+ [131] In the margin is added: 'Chresten showed me once some bread,
+ from which Walter had taken the crumb, and had filled it full of
+ straw and dirt, in fact, of the very worst kind.'
+
+When Chresten had to turn Walter in bed, the latter screamed so
+pitifully that I felt sympathy with him, and begged Chresten not to
+be so unmerciful to him. He laughed and said, 'He is a rogue.' I
+said, 'Then he is in his master's hands.' This pleased Chresten well.
+Walter suffered much pain; at length God released him. His body was
+left in the prison until his brother came, who ordered it to be
+buried in the German Church. When I heard that Karen could come to me
+again, and the time was over which I had promised the other to keep
+her, Cathrina went down and Karen returned to me. This was easily
+effected, for the prison governor was not well pleased with Cathrina;
+she gave him none of her money, as she had promised, but only empty
+words in its place, such as that he was not in earnest, and that he
+surely did not wish to have anything from her, &c.[132] The prison
+governor began immediately to pay me less respect, when he perceived
+that my liberation was not expected.
+
+ [132] In the margin is added; 'The prison governor also severely
+ reprimanded the woman because she had told me that the King was
+ dead; that it would not go as well with me as I thought. She gave
+ him word for word.'
+
+When the time came at which I was accustomed to receive the holy
+communion, I begged the prison governor that he should manage that I
+should have the court preacher, D. Hans Laet, as the former court
+preacher, D. Mathias Foss, had come to me on the first occasion in my
+prison. The prison governor stated my desire, and his Majesty
+assented. D. Hans Laet was already in the tower, down below, but he
+was called back because the Queen Dowager (who was still in the
+palace) would not allow it; and the prison governor sent me word,
+through Peder Jensen, that the King had said I was to be content with
+the clergyman to whom I was accustomed, so that the necessary
+preparation for the Lord's Supper was postponed till the following
+day, when Mag. Buck came to me and greeted me in an unusual manner,
+congratulating me in a long oration on my intention, saluting me
+'your Grace.' When he was seated, he said, 'I should have been glad
+if D. Hans Laet had come in my place.' I replied, 'I had wished it
+also.' 'Yes,' he said, 'I know well why you wished it so. You wish to
+know things, and that is forbidden me. You have already caused one
+man to lose his employ.' I asked him whether I had ever desired to
+know anything from him? 'No,' he replied, 'you know well that you
+would learn nothing from me; for that reason you have asked me
+nothing.' 'Does the Herr Mag, then,' I said, 'mean that I desired D.
+Hans Laet in order to hear news of him?' He hesitated a little, and
+then said, 'You wanted to have D. Hans Laet in order that he might
+speak for you with the King.' I said, 'There may perhaps be something
+in that.' Upon this he began to swear all kinds of oaths (such as I
+have never heard before),[133] that he had spoken for me. (I thought:
+'I have no doubt you have spoken of me, but not in my favour.') He
+had given me a book which I still have; it is 'St. Augustini
+Manuali;' the Statholder Gabel had bought it, as he said more than
+once, protesting by God that it had cost the Herr Statholder a
+rix-dollar. (I thought of the 5,000 rix-dollars which Gabel received,
+that we might be liberated from our confinement at Borringholm, but I
+said nothing; perhaps for this reason he repeated the statement so
+often.) I asked him whom I had caused to lose his employ. He
+answered, 'Hans Balcke.[134] He told you that Treasurer Gabel was
+Statholder, and he ought not to have done so.' I said, 'I do not
+believe that Balcke knew that he ought not to say it, for he did not
+tell it to me as a secret. One might say just as well that H.
+Magister had caused Balcke to lose his place.' He was very angry at
+this, and various disputes arose on the subject. He began again just
+as before, that I wanted to have D. Laet, he knew why. I said, 'I did
+not insist specially on having D. Laet; but if not him, the chaplain
+of the castle, or another.' He asked, 'Why another?' I replied,
+'Because it is not always convenient to the Herr Magister. I have
+been obliged to wait for him ten, twelve, and even fourteen days, and
+the last time he administered his office in great haste, so that it
+is not convenient for him to come when I require him.' He sat turning
+over my words, not knowing what to answer, and at last he said; 'You
+think it will go better with you now because King Frederick is dead.
+No, you deceive yourself! It will go worse with you, it will go worse
+with you!' And as he was growing angry, I became more composed and I
+asked gently why so, and from what could he infer it? He answered, 'I
+infer it from the fact that you have not been able to get your will
+in desiring another clergyman and confessor; so I assure you things
+will not be better with you. If King Frederick is dead, King
+Christian is alive.' I said: 'That is a bad foundation; your words of
+threatening have no basis. If I have not this time been able to
+obtain another confessor, it does not follow that I shall not have
+another at another time. And what have I done, that things should go
+worse with me?' He was more and more angry, and exclaimed aloud
+several times, 'Worse, yes, it will be worse!' Then I also answered
+angrily, 'Well, then let it come.'
+
+ [133] In the margin is added: 'Among his terrible curses was one
+ that his tongue might be paralysed if he had not spoken for me. The
+ following year God struck him with paralysis of the tongue; he had
+ a stroke from anger, and lived eight days afterwards; he was in his
+ senses, but he was not able to speak, and he died; but he lived to
+ see the day when another clergyman administered the holy communion
+ to me.'
+
+ [134] In the margin is added: 'I saw now that this was the cause of
+ Balcke's dismissal.'
+
+Upon this he was quite silent, and I said: 'You have given me a good
+preparation; now, in God's name!' Then I made my confession, and he
+administered his office and went away without any other farewell than
+giving me his hand. I learned afterwards that before M. Buck came to
+me he went to the prison governor, who was in bed, and begged him to
+tell Knud, who was at that time page of the chamber,[E50] what a
+sacramental woman I was; how I had dug a hole in the floor in order
+to speak with the doctor (which was an impossibility), and how I had
+practised climbing up and looking out on the square. He begged him
+several times to tell this to the page of the chamber: 'That is a
+sacramental woman!'[135]
+
+ [E50] This Knud was the favourite of King Christian V., Adam Levin
+ Knuth, one of the many Germans who then exercised a most
+ unfavourable influence on the affairs of Denmark.
+
+ [135] In the margin is added: 'Chresten, who was ill satisfied both
+ with Karen and with me, gave us a different title one day, when he
+ was saying something to one of the house-servants, upon which the
+ latter asked him who had said it? Chresten answered, 'She who is
+ kept up there for her.' When I was told of this, I laughed and
+ said, 'That is quite right, we are two "shes."'
+
+In the end of April in the same year my door was opened one
+afternoon, and the prison governor came in with some ladies, who kept
+somewhat aside until he had said, 'Here are some of the maids of
+honour, who are permitted to speak to you.' There came in first a
+young lady whom I did not know. Next appeared the Lady Augusta of
+Gluecksburg, whom I recognised at once, as she was but little altered.
+Next followed the Electoral Princess of Saxony, whom I at once
+recognised from her likeness to her royal father, and last of all our
+gracious Queen, whom I chiefly looked at, and found the lineaments of
+her countenance just as Peder Jensen had described them. I saw also a
+large diamond on her bracelet, and one on her finger, where her glove
+was cut. Her Majesty supported herself against the folding table as
+soon as she had greeted me. Lady Augusta ran up and down into every
+corner, and the Electoral Princess remained at the door. Lady Augusta
+said: 'Fye, what a disgusting room this is! I could not live a day in
+it. I wonder that you have been able to endure it so long.' I
+answered, 'The room is such as pleases God and his Majesty, and so
+long as God will I shall be able to endure it.' She began a
+conversation with the prison governor, who was half tipsy, and spoke
+with him about Balcke's marriage, whose wedding with his third wife
+was taking place on that very day; she spoke against marrying so
+often, and the prison governor replied with various silly speeches.
+She asked me if I was plagued with fleas. I replied that I could
+furnish her with a regiment of fleas, if she would have them. She
+replied hastily with an oath, and swore that she did not want them.
+
+Her question made me somewhat ironical, and I was annoyed at the
+delight she exhibited at my miserable condition; so when she asked me
+whether I had body or wall lice, I answered her with a question, and
+enquired whether my brother-in-law Hanibal Sehested was still alive?
+This question made her somewhat draw in, for she perceived that I
+knew her. She made no answer. The Electoral Princess, who probably
+had heard of my brother-in-law's intrigues with Lady Augusta,[E51]
+went quickly up to the table (the book lay on it, in which Karen used
+to read, and which she had brought in with her), took the book,
+opened it and asked whether it was mine. I replied that it belonged
+to the woman whom I had taught to read, and as I gave the Electoral
+Princess her fitting title of Serene Highness, Lady Augusta said:
+'You err! You are mistaken; she is not the person whom you think.' I
+answered, 'I am not mistaken.' After this she said no more, but gave
+me her hand without a word. The gracious Queen looked sadly on, but
+said nothing. When her Majesty gave me her hand, I kissed it and held
+it fast, and begged her Majesty to intercede for me, at any rate for
+some alleviation of my captivity. Her Majesty replied not with words,
+but with a flood of tears. The virtuous Electoral Princess cried
+also; she wept very sorrowfully. And when they had reached the
+anteroom and my door was closed, both the Queen and the Electoral
+Princess said, 'It is a sin to treat her thus!' They shuddered; and
+each said, 'Would to God that it rested with me! she should not stay
+there.' Lady Augusta urged them to go away, and mentioned it
+afterwards to the Queen Dowager, who said that I had myself to thank
+for it; I had deserved to be worse treated than this.
+
+ [E51] Hannibal Sehested was dead already in 1666, as Leonora was no
+ doubt well aware. The whole passage seems to indicate that he is
+ supposed to have had some love-intrigue with the duchess. Nothing
+ has transpired on this subject from other sources, but it is
+ certain that her husband, Duke Ernst Gynther, for some time at
+ least, was very unfriendly disposed to Hannibal Sehested.
+
+When the King's funeral was over, and the Queen Dowager had left the
+castle, I requested the prison governor that he should execute my
+message and solicit another clergyman for me, either the chaplain of
+the castle or the arsenal chaplain, or the one who usually attended
+to the prisoners; for if I could get no other than M. Buck, they must
+take the sin on their own heads, for that I would not again confess
+to him. A short time elapsed, but at length the chaplain of the
+castle, at that time M. Rodolff Moth, was assigned me. God, who has
+ever stood by me in all my adversity, and who in my sorrow and
+distress has sent me unexpected consolation, gave me peculiar comfort
+in this man. He consoled me with the Word of God; he was a learned
+and conversable man, and he interceded for me with his Majesty. The
+first favour which he obtained for me was, that I was granted another
+apartment on July 16, 1671, and Bishop D. Jesper's postil.
+
+He afterwards by degrees obtained still greater favours for me. I
+received 200 rix-dollars as a gift, to purchase such clothes for
+myself as I desired, and anything I might wish for to beguile the
+time.[136]
+
+ [136] In the margin is noted: 'Some of my money I expended on
+ books, and it is remarkable that I obtained from M. Buck's books
+ (which were sold by auction) among others the great Martilegium, in
+ folio, which he would not lend me. I excerpted and translated
+ various matters from Spanish, Italian, French, and German authors.
+ I especially wrote out and translated into Danish the female
+ personages of different rank and origin, who were mentioned with
+ praise by the authors as valiant, true, chaste and sensible,
+ patient, steadfast and scholarly.' [E52]
+
+ [E52] The Martilegium was probably a German history of Martyrs,
+ entitled 'Martilogium (for martyrologium) der Heiligen' (Strasburg
+ 1484, fol.). The extracts to which she refers were no doubt her
+ earliest collections for her work on Heroines.
+
+In this year her Majesty the Queen became pregnant, and her Majesty's
+mother, the Landgravine of Hesse, came to be with her in her
+confinement. On September 6 her Serene Highness visited me in my
+prison, at first wishing to remain incognito. She had with her a
+Princess of Curland, who was betrothed to the son of the Landgravine;
+her lady in waiting, a Wallenstein by birth; and the wife of her
+master of the household. The Landgravine greeted me with a kiss, and
+the others followed her example. I did not at that time recognise the
+wife of the master of the household, but she had known me formerly in
+my prosperity at the Hague, when she had been in the service of the
+Countess Leuenstein, and the tears stood in her eyes.
+
+The Landgravine lamented my hard fate and my unhappy circumstances. I
+thanked her Serene Highness for the gracious sympathy she felt with
+me, and said that she might help much in alleviating my fetters, if
+not in liberating me from them entirely. The Landgravine smiled and
+said, 'I see well you take me for another than I am.' I said, 'Your
+Serene Highness's deportment and appearance will not allow you to
+conceal your rank, were you even in peasant's attire.' This pleased
+her; she laughed and jested, and said she had not thought of that.
+The lady in waiting agreed with me, and said that I had spoken very
+justly in saying that I had recognised her by her royal appearance.
+Upon this the Landgravine said, 'You do not know her?' pointing to
+the Princess of Curland. She then said who she was, and afterwards
+who her lady in waiting was, and also the wife of the master of the
+household, who was as I have before mentioned. She spoke of the pity
+which this lady felt for me, and added 'Et moy pas moins.' I thanked
+her 'Altesse tres-humblement et la prioit en cette occasion de faire
+voir sa genereuse conduite.' Her Serene Highness looked at the prison
+governor as though she would say that we might speak French too long;
+she took off her glove and gave me her hand, pressing mine and
+saying, 'Croyez-moy, je fairez mon possible.' I kissed her Serene
+Highness's hand, and she then took leave of me with a kiss.
+
+The virtuous Landgravine kept her word, but could effect nothing.
+When her Majesty the Queen was in the perils of childbirth, she went
+to the King and obtained from him a solemn promise that if the Queen
+gave birth to a son I should receive my liberty. On October 11, in
+the night between one and two o'clock, God delivered her Majesty in
+safety of our Crown Prince. When all present were duly rejoicing at
+the Prince's birth, the Landgravine said, 'Oh! will not the captive
+rejoice!' The Queen Dowager enquired 'Why?' The Landgravine related
+the King's promise. The Queen Dowager was so angry that she was ill.
+She loosened her jacket, and said she would return home; that she
+would not wait till the child was baptised. Her coach appeared in the
+palace square. The King at length persuaded her to remain till the
+baptism was over, but he was obliged to promise with an oath that I
+should not be liberated. This vexed the virtuous Landgravine not a
+little, that the Queen should have induced her son to break his
+promise; and she persisted in saying that a king ought to keep his
+vow. The Queen Dowager answered, 'My son has before made a vow, and
+this he has broken by his promise to your Serene Highness.' The
+Landgravine said at last: 'If I cannot bring about the freedom of the
+prisoner, at least let her, at my request, be removed to a better
+place, with somewhat more liberty. It is not to the King's
+reputation that she is imprisoned there. She is, after all, a king's
+daughter, and I know that much injustice is done to her.' The Queen
+Dowager was annoyed at these words, and said, 'Now, she shall not
+come out; she shall remain where she is!' The Landgravine answered,
+'If God will, she will assuredly come out, even though your Majesty
+may will it not;' so saying, she rose and went out.
+
+On October 18 the lady in waiting, Wallenstein, sent for Peder Jensen
+Totzloff, and delivered to him by command a book entitled, D.
+Heinrich Mueller's 'Geistliche Erquickstunden,'[E53] which he gave me
+with a gracious message from the Landgravine. On the same day I sent
+her Serene Highness, through Totzloff, my dutiful thanks, and
+Totzloff took the book back to the lady in waiting, with the request
+that she would endeavour to prevail on her Highness to show me the
+great favour of placing her name and motto in the book, in
+remembrance of her Highness's generosity and kindness. I lamented my
+condition in this also, that from such a place I could not spread
+abroad her Serene Highness's praise and estimable benefits, and make
+the world acquainted with them; but that I would do what I could, and
+I would include her Serene Highness and all her family in my prayers
+for their welfare both of soul and body. (This I have done, and will
+do, so long as God spares my life.)
+
+ [E53] 'Hours of Spiritual Refreshment.' This very popular book of
+ devotion was first published in 1664, and had an extraordinary run
+ both in Germany and, through translations, in Denmark. The last
+ Danish extract of it was published in 1846, and reached the third
+ edition in 1856.
+
+On October 23 I received the book back through Totzloff, and I found
+within it the following lines, written by the Landgravine's own
+hand:
+
+          1671.
+
+      Ce qui n'est pas en ta puissance
+      Ne doit point troubler ton repos;
+      Tu balances mal a propos
+      Entre la crainte et l'esperance.
+      Laisse faire ton Dieu et ton roy,
+      Et suporte avec passience ce qu'il resoud pour toy.
+
+  Je prie Dieu de vous faire cette grace, et que je vous puisse
+  tesmoigner combien je suis,
+
+          Madame, vostre tres-affectionee a vous servir,
+                                            {Monogram}
+
+The book is still in my possession, and I sent word through Totzloff
+to the lady in waiting to request her to convey my most humble thanks
+to her Highness; and afterwards, when the Landgravine was about to
+start on her journey, to commend me to her Serene Highness's favour.
+
+In the same year, 1671, Karen, Nils' daughter, left me on account of
+ill health. For one night a woman was with me named Margrete, who was
+a serf from Holstein. She had run away from her master. She was a
+very awkward peasant woman, so towards evening on the following day
+she was sent away, and in her place there came a woman named Inger, a
+person of loose character. This woman gave herself out as the widow
+of a non-commissioned officer, and that she had long been in service
+at Hamburg, and nursed lying-in women. It happened with her, as is
+often the case, that one seeks to obtain a thing, and that to one's
+own vexation. Chresten had spoken for this woman with the prison
+governor, and had praised her before me, but the prison governor took
+upon another recommendation the before-mentioned Margrete. So long as
+there was hope that the Landgravine might obtain my freedom, this
+woman was very amenable, but afterwards she began by degrees to show
+what was in her, and that it was not for nothing that she resembled
+Dina.
+
+She caused me annoyance of various kinds, which I received with
+patience, thinking within myself that it was another trial imposed by
+God upon me, and Dina's intrigues often came into my mind, and I
+thought, 'Suppose she should devise some Dina plot?' (She is capable
+of it, if she had only an instigator, as Dina had.) Among other
+annoyances, which may not be reckoned among the least, was this: I
+was one day not very well, having slept but little or not at all
+during the night, and I had lain down to sleep on the bed in the day;
+and she would give me no rest, but came softly past me in her socks,
+and in order to wake me teased a dog which I had,[137] so that he
+growled. I asked her why she grudged my sleeping? She answered, 'I
+did not know that you were asleep.' 'Why, then,' I said, 'did you go
+by in your stockings?' She replied, 'If you saw that, then you were
+not asleep,' and she laughed heartily by herself. (She sat always in
+front of my table with her back turned to me; whether it was because
+she had lost one eye that she sat in that position to the light, I
+know not.)
+
+ [137] In the margin is added: 'This dog was of an Icelandic breed,
+ not pretty, but very faithful and sagacious. He slept every
+ afternoon on the stool, and when she had fallen asleep, she let her
+ hands hang down. Then the dog would get up and run softly and bite
+ her finger till the blood came. If she threw down her slippers, he
+ would take one and sit upon it. She never got it back again without
+ a bloody finger.'
+
+I did not care for any conversation with her, so I lay still; and
+when she thought I was asleep, she got up again and teased the dog. I
+said, 'You tax my patience sorely; but if once my passion rises, you
+will certainly get something which will astonish you, you base
+accursed thing!' 'Base accursed thing,' she repeated to herself with
+a slight laugh. I prayed to God that he would restrain me, so that I
+might not lay violent hands on this base creature. And as I had the
+other apartment (as I have before mentioned),[138] I went out and
+walked up and down between four and five o'clock. She washed and
+splashed outside, and spilled the water exactly where I was walking.
+I told her several times to leave her splashing, as she spilled the
+water in all directions on the floor, so that I made my clothes
+dirty, and often there was not a drop of water for my dog to drink,
+and the tower-warder had to fetch her water from the kitchen spring.
+This was of no avail. One day it occurred to her, just as the bell
+had sounded four, to go out and pour all the water on the floor, and
+then come back again. When I went to the door, I perceived what she
+had done. Without saying a word, I struck her first on one cheek and
+then on the other, so that the blood ran from her nose and mouth, and
+she fell against her bench, and knocked the skin from her shin-bone.
+She began to be abusive, and said she had never in her life had such
+a box on her ears. I said immediately, 'Hold your tongue, or you will
+have another like it! I am now only a little angry, but if you make
+me really angry I shall strike you harder.' She was silent for the
+time, but she caused me all the small annoyance she could.
+
+ [138] In the margin is this note: 'In the year 1672, on the 4th
+ May, one of the house-servants was arrested for stealing. Adam
+ Knudt, at that time gentleman of the chamber, himself saw him take
+ several ducats early one morning from the King's trousers, which
+ were hanging against the walls. He was at first for some hours my
+ neighbour in the Dark Church. He was then placed in the Witch Cell,
+ and as he was to be tortured, he received secret warning of it
+ (which was forbidden), so that when the executioner came he was
+ found to have hung himself. That is to say, he was said to have
+ hung himself, though to all appearance this was not possible; he
+ was found with a cloth round his neck, which was a swaddling-cloth
+ belonging to one of Chresten, the tower-warder's, children.
+ Chresten became my neighbour, and was ostensibly brought to
+ justice, but he was acquitted and reinstated in his office.
+
+I received it all with gentleness, fearing that I might lay violent
+hands on her. She scarcely knew what to devise to cause me vexation;
+she had a silver thimble on which a strange name was engraved; she
+had found it, she said, in a dust-heap in the street. I once asked
+her where she had found some handkerchiefs which she had of fine
+Dutch linen, with lace on them, which likewise were marked with
+another name; they were embroidered with blue silk, and there was a
+different name on each. She had bought them, she said, at an auction
+at Hamburg.[139] I thought that the damage she had received on one of
+her eyes might very likely have arisen from her having 'found'
+something of that kind,[E54] and as I soon after asked her by what
+accident she had injured her eye, she undoubtedly understood my
+question well, for she was angry and rather quiet, and said, 'What
+injury? There is nothing the matter with my eye; I can, thank God,
+see with both.' I let the matter rest there. Soon after this
+conversation she came down one day from upstairs, feeling in her
+pocket, though she said nothing until the afternoon, when the doors
+were locked, and then she looked through all her rubbish, saying 'If
+I only knew where it could be?' I asked what she was looking for. 'My
+thimble,' she said. 'You will find it,' I said; 'only look
+thoroughly!' And as she had begun to look for it in her pockets
+before she had required it, I thought she might have drawn it out of
+her pocket with some paper which she used, and which she had bought.
+I said this, but it could not be so.
+
+ [139] In the margin is added: 'She was so proud of her knowledge of
+ German that when she sang a morning hymn (which, however rarely
+ happened) she interspersed it with German words. I once asked her
+ if she knew what her mother's cat was called in Danish, and I said
+ something at which she was angry.
+
+ [E54] It was a common superstition that persons who understood the
+ art of showing by magic the whereabouts of stolen goods, had the
+ power, by use of their formulas alone, to deprive the thief of an
+ eye.
+
+On the following day, towards noon, she again behaved as if she were
+looking for it upstairs; and when the door was closed she began to
+give loose to her tongue, and to make a long story about the thimble,
+where it could possibly be. 'There was no one here, and no one came
+in except us two;' and she gave me to understand that I had taken it;
+she took her large box which she had, and rummaged out everything
+that was in it, and said, 'Now you can see that I have not got it.' I
+said that I did not care about it, whether she had it or no, but that
+I saw that she accused me of stealing. She adhered to it, and said,
+'Who else could have taken it? There is no one else here, and I have
+let you see all that is mine, and it is not there.' Then for the
+first time I saw that she wished that I should let her see in the
+same manner what I had in my cardbox, for she had never seen anything
+of the work which I had done before her time. I said, 'I do not care
+at all what you do with your thimble, and I respect myself too much
+to quarrel with you or to mind your coarse and shameless accusation.
+I have, thank God, enough in my imprisonment to buy what I require,
+&c. But as you perhaps have stolen it, you now imagine that it has
+been stolen again from you, if it be true that you have lost it.' To
+this she made no answer, so that I believe she had it herself, and
+only wanted by this invention to gain a sight of my things. As it was
+the Christmas month and very cold, and Chresten was lighting a fire
+in the stove before the evening meal, I said to him in her presence,
+'Chresten, you are fortunate if you are not, like me, accused of
+stealing, for you might have found her thimble upstairs without
+having had it proclaimed from the pulpit; it was before found by
+Inger, and not announced publicly.'
+
+This was like a spark to tinder, and she went to work like a frantic
+being, using her shameless language. She had not stolen it, but it
+had been stolen from her; and she cursed and swore. Chresten ordered
+her to be silent. He desired her to remember who I was, and that she
+was in my service. She answered, 'I will not be silent, not if I were
+standing before the King's bailiff!' The more gently I spoke, the
+more angry was she; at length I said, 'Will you agree with me in one
+wish?--that the person who last had the thimble in her possession may
+see no better with her left eye than she sees with her right.' She
+answered with an oath that she could see with both eyes. I said,
+'Well, then, pray God with me that she may be blind in both eyes who
+last had it.' She growled a little to herself and ran into the inner
+room, and said no more of her thimble, nor did I. God knows that I
+was heartily weary of this intercourse.
+
+I prayed God for patience, and thought 'This is only a trial of
+patience. God spares me from other sorrow which I might have in its
+stead.' I could not avail myself of the occasion of her accusing me
+of theft to get rid of her, but I saw another opportunity not far
+off. The prison governor came one day to me with some thread which
+was offered for sale, rather coarse, but fit for making stockings and
+night-waistcoats. I bought two pounds of it, and he retained a pound,
+saying, 'I suppose the woman can make me a pair of stockings with
+it?' I answered in the affirmative (for she could do nothing else but
+knit). When he was gone, she said, 'There will be a pair of stockings
+for me here also, for I shall get no other pay.' I said, 'That is
+surely enough.' The stockings for the prison governor were finished.
+She sat one day half asleep, and made a false row round the stocking
+below the foot. I wanted her to undo it. 'No,' said she, 'it can
+remain as it is; he won't know but that it is the fashion in
+Hamburg.'[140]
+
+ [140] In the margin is added: 'There was no similar row on the
+ other stocking. The prison governor never mentioned it.'
+
+When his stockings were finished, she began a pair for herself of the
+same thread, and sat and exulted that it was the prison governor's
+thread. This, it seemed to me, furnished me with an opportunity of
+getting rid of her. And as the prison governor rarely came up, and
+she sent him down the stockings by Totzloff, I begged Totzloff to
+contrive that the prison governor should come up to me, and that he
+should seat himself on the woman's bed and arrange her pillow as if
+he wanted to lean against it (underneath it lay her wool). This was
+done. The prison governor came up, took the knitting in his hand, and
+said to Inger, 'Is this another pair of stockings for me?' 'No, Mr.
+Prison governor,' she answered, 'they are for me. You have got yours.
+I have already sent you them.' 'But,' said he, 'this is of my thread;
+it looks like my thread.' She protested that it was not his thread.
+As he went down to fetch his stockings and the scales, she said to
+me, 'That is not his thread; it is mine now,' and laughed heartily. I
+thought, 'Something more may come of this.'
+
+The prison governor came with the scales and his stockings, compared
+one thread with the other, and the stockings weighed scarcely half a
+pound. He asked her whether she had acted rightly? She continued to
+assert that it was her thread; that she had bought it in Hamburg, and
+had brought it here. The prison governor grew angry, and said that
+she lied, and called her a bitch. She swore on the other hand that
+it was not his thread; that she would swear it by the Sacrament. The
+prison governor went away; such an oath horrified him. I was
+perfectly silent during this quarrel. When the prison governor had
+gone, I said to the woman, 'God forbid! how could you say such words?
+Do you venture to swear a falsehood by the Sacrament, and to say it
+in my presence, when I know that it is the prison governor's thread?
+What a godless creature you are!' She answered, with a half
+ridiculous expression of face, 'I said I would take the Sacrament
+upon it, but I am not going to do so.' 'Oh Dina!' I thought, 'you are
+not like her for nothing; God guard me from you!' And I said, 'Do you
+think that such light words are not a sin, and that God will not
+punish you for them?' She assumed an air of authority, and said, 'Is
+the thread of any consequence? I can pay for it; I have not stolen it
+from him; he gave it to me himself. I have only done what the tailors
+do; they do not steal; it is given to them. He did not weigh out the
+thread for me.' I answered her no more than 'You have taken it from
+him; I shall trouble myself no more about it;' but I begged Totzloff
+to do all he could that I should be rid of her, and have another in
+her place of a good character.
+
+Totzloff heard that Karen had a desire to return to me; he told me
+so. The prison governor was satisfied with the arrangement. It was
+kept concealed from Inger till all was so settled that Karen could
+come up one evening at supper-time. When the prison governor had
+unlocked the door, and had established himself in the inner room, and
+the woman had come out, he said: 'Now, Inger, pack your bundle! You
+are to go.' 'Yes, Mr. Prison governor,' she answered, and laughed,
+and brought the food to me, and told me what the prison governor had
+said, saying at the same time, 'That is his joke.' 'I heard well,' I
+answered, 'what he said; it is not his joke, it is his real
+earnestness.' She did not believe it; at any rate she acted as if she
+did not, and smiled, saying, 'He cannot be in earnest;' and she went
+out and asked the prison governor whether he was in earnest. He said,
+'Go! go! there is no time for gossip!' She came into me again, and
+asked if I wished to be rid of her. I answered, 'Yes.' 'Why so?' she
+asked. I answered: 'It would take me too long to explain; the other
+woman who is to remain here is below.' 'At any rate,' said she, 'let
+me stay here over the night.' ('Ah, Dina!' I thought.) 'Not a quarter
+of an hour!' I answered; 'go and pack your things! That is soon
+done!' She did so, said no word of farewell, and went out of the
+door.
+
+Thus Karen came to me for the third time, but she did not remain an
+entire year, on account of illness.[141]
+
+ [141] In the margin is noted: 'I must remember one thing about
+ Karen, Nil's daughter. When anything gave her satisfaction, she
+ would take up her book directly and read. I asked her whether she
+ understood what she read. "Yes, of course," she answered, "as truly
+ as God will bless you! When a word comes that I don't understand, I
+ pass it over." I smiled a little in my own mind, but said nothing.'
+
+In the year 1673 M. Moth became vice-bishop in Fyn. I lost much in
+him, and in his place came H. Emmeke Norbye, who became court
+preacher, and who had formerly been a comrade of Griffenfeldt; but
+Griffenfeldt did not acknowledge him subsequently, so that he could
+achieve nothing for me with Griffenfeldt.[E55] He one day brought me
+as answer (when I sent him word among other things that his Majesty
+would be gracious if only some one would speak for me), 'It would be
+as if a pistol had been placed at the King's heart, and he were to
+forgive it.'
+
+ [E55] Griffenfeldt, who was then at the height of his power, was
+ the son of a wine-merchant, by name Schumacher, but had risen by
+ his talents alone to the highest dignities. He was ennobled under
+ the name of Griffenfeldt, and was undoubtedly the ablest statesman
+ Denmark ever possessed. Eventually he was thrust from his high
+ position by an intrigue set on foot by German courtiers and backed
+ by foreign influence. He was accused of treason and kept in prison
+ from 1676 to 1698, the year before he died, to the great, perhaps
+ irreparable damage, of his native country. The principal witness
+ against him was a German doctor, Mauritius, a professional spy, who
+ had served the Danish Government in this capacity. The year after
+ the fall of Griffenfeld, he was himself arrested on a charge of
+ perjury, forgery, and high treason, and placed in the Blue Tower;
+ he was convicted and conducted to Bornholm, where he died. But
+ Griffenfeldt, who had been convicted on his false testimony, was
+ not liberated. Griffenfeldt's ability and patriotism cannot be
+ doubted, but his personal character was not without blemish; and it
+ is a fact that in his prosperity he disclaimed all connection with
+ his earlier friends, and even his near relations.
+
+In the same year my sister Elisabeth Augusta sent me a message
+through Totzloff and enquired whether I had a fancy for any fruit, as
+she would send me some. I was surprised at the message, which came to
+me from my sister in the tenth year of my captivity, and I said,
+'Better late than never!' I sent her no answer.
+
+One funny thing I will yet mention, which occurred in the time of
+Karen, Nil's daughter. Chresten, who had to make a fire in the stove
+an hour before supper (since it had no flue), so that the smoke could
+pass out at the staircase door before I supped, did not come one
+evening before six o'clock, and was then quite tipsy. And as I was
+sitting at the time near the stove in the outer apartment on a log of
+wood, which had been hewed as a seat, I said it was late to make the
+fire, as he must now go into the kitchen. He paid no attention to my
+gentle remark, until I threatened him with hard words, and ordered
+him to take the wood out. He was angry, and would not use the tongs
+to take the wood out, nor would he permit Karen to take them out with
+the tongs; but he tore them out with his hands, and said, 'Nothing
+can burn me.' And as some little time elapsed before the wood was
+extinguished, he began to fear that it would give little satisfaction
+if he so long delayed fetching the meal. He seated himself flat on
+the ground and was rather dejected; presently he burst out and said,
+'Oh God, you who have had house and lands, where are you now
+sitting?' I said, 'On a log of wood!' He answered, 'I do not mean
+your ladyship!' I asked, 'Whom does your worship mean, then?' He
+replied, 'I mean Karen.' I laughed, and said no more.
+
+To enumerate all the contemptuous conduct I endured would be too
+lengthy, and not worth the trouble. One thing I will yet mention of
+the tower-warder Chresten, who caused me great annoyance at the end
+of this tenth year of my imprisonment. Among other annoyances he once
+struck my dog, so that it cried. I did not see it, but I heard it,
+and the woman told me it was he who had struck the dog. I was greatly
+displeased at it. He laughed at this, and said, 'It is only a dog.' I
+gave him to understand that he struck the dog because he did not
+venture to strike me. He laughed heartily at the idea, and I said, 'I
+do not care for your anger so long as the prison governor is my
+friend' (this conversation took place while I was at a meal, and the
+prison governor was sitting with me, and Chresten was standing at the
+door of my apartment, stretching out his arms.) I said, 'The prison
+governor and you will both get into heavy trouble, if I choose. Do
+you hear that, good people?' (I knew of too many things, which they
+wished to hide, in more than one respect.) The prison governor sat
+like one deaf and dumb, and remained seated, but Chresten turned away
+somewhat ashamed, without saying another word. He had afterwards some
+fear of me, when he was not too intoxicated; for at such times he
+cared not what he said, as regards high or low. He was afterwards
+insolent to the woman, and said he would strike the dog, and that I
+should see him do so. This, however, he did not do.
+
+Chresten's fool-hardiness increased, so that Peder Totzloff informed
+the prison governor of his bad behaviour, and of my complaints of the
+wild doings of the prisoners, who made such a noise by night that I
+could not sleep for it, for Chresten spent the night at his home, and
+allowed the prisoners to do as they chose. Upon this information, the
+prison governor placed a padlock upon the tower door at night, so
+that Chresten could not get out until the door was unlocked in the
+morning. This annoyed him, and he demanded his discharge, which he
+received on April 24, 1674; and in his place there came a man named
+Gert, who had been in the service of the prison governor as a
+coachman.
+
+In this year, the ---- May, I wrote a spiritual 'Song in Remembrance
+of God's Goodness,' after the melody 'Nun ruhen alle Waelder.'
+
+        I.
+
+    My heart! True courage find!
+    God's goodness bear in mind,
+    And how He, ever nigh,
+    Helps me my load to bear,
+    Nor utterly despair
+    Tho' in such heavy bonds I lie.
+
+        II.
+
+    Ne'er from my thoughts shall stray
+    How once I lingering lay
+    In the dark dungeon cell;
+    My cares and bitter fears,
+    And ridicule and tears,
+    And God the Lord upheld me well.
+
+        III.
+
+    Think on my misery
+    And sad captivity
+    Thro' many a dreary year!
+    Yet nought my heart distresses;
+    The Lord He proves and blesses,
+    And He protects me even here!
+
+        IV.
+
+    Come heart and soul elate!
+    And let me now relate
+    The wonders of God's skill!
+    He was my preservation
+    In danger and temptation,
+    And kept me from impending ill.
+
+        V.
+
+    The end seemed drawing near,
+    I wrung my hands with fear,
+    Yet has He helped me e'er;
+    My refuge and my guide,
+    On Him I have relied,
+    And He has ever known my care.
+
+        VI.
+
+    Thanks to Thee, fount of good!
+    Thou canst no evil brood,
+    Thy blows are fatherly;
+    When cruel power oppressed me,
+    Thy hand has ever blessed me,
+    And Thou has sheltered me!
+
+        VII.
+
+    Before Thee, Lord, I lie;
+    Give me my liberty
+    Before my course is run;
+    Thy Gracious Hands extend
+    And let my suffering end!
+    Yet not my will, but Thine, be done.
+
+In this year, on July 25, his royal Majesty was gracious enough to
+have a large window made again in my inner apartment; it had been
+walled up when I had been brought into this chamber. A stove was also
+placed there, the flue of which passed out into the square. The
+prison governor was not well satisfied at this, especially as he was
+obliged to be present during the work; this did not suit his
+laziness. My doors were open during the time; it was twelve days
+before the work was finished. He grumbled, and did not wish that the
+window should be made as low as it had been before I was imprisoned
+here; I persuaded the mason's journeyman to cut down the wall as low
+as it had before been, which the prison governor perceived from the
+palace square, and he came running up and scolded, and was thoroughly
+angry. But it was not to be changed, for the window-frame was already
+made. I asked him what it mattered to him if the window was a stone
+lower; it did not go lower than the iron grating, and it had formerly
+been so. He would have his will, so that the mason walled it up a
+stone higher while the prison governor was there, and removed it
+again afterwards, for the window-frame, which was ready, would not
+otherwise have fitted.
+
+In the same year Karen, Nil's daughter, left me for the third and
+last time, and in her stead came a woman named Barbra, the widow of a
+bookbinder. She is a woman of a melancholy turn. Her conscience is
+aroused sometimes, so that she often enumerates her own misdeeds (but
+not so great as they have been, and as I have found out by enquiry).
+She had two children, and it seems from her own account that she was
+to some extent guilty of their death, for she says: 'Who can have any
+care for a child when one does not love its father?' She left her
+husband two years before he died, and repaired to Hamburg, supporting
+herself by spinning; she had before been in the service of a princess
+as a spinning-maid. Her father is alive, and was bookbinder to the
+King's Majesty; he has just now had a stroke of paralysis, and is
+lying very ill. She has no sympathy with her father, and wishes him
+dead (which would perhaps be the best thing for him); but it vexes me
+that she behaves so badly to her sister, who is the wife of a tailor,
+and I often tell her that in this she is committing a double sin; for
+the needy sister comes from time to time for something to eat. If she
+does not come exactly on the evening which she has agreed upon, she
+gets nothing, and the food is thrown away upstairs. When at some
+length I place her sin before her, she says, 'That meat is bad.' I
+ask her why she let it get bad, and did not give it in time to her
+sister. To this she answers that her sister is not worthy of it. I
+predict evil things which will happen to her in future, as they have
+done to others whom I enumerate to her. At this she throws back her
+head and is silent.
+
+At this time her Majesty the Queen sent me some silkworms to beguile
+the time. When they had finished spinning, I sent them back to her
+Majesty in a box which I had covered with carnation-coloured satin,
+upon which I had embroidered a pattern with gold thread. Inside, the
+box was lined with white taffeta. In the lid I embroidered with black
+silk a humble request that her Majesty would loose my bonds, and
+would fetter me anew with the hand of favour. Her Majesty the
+virtuous Queen would have granted my request had it rested with her.
+
+The prison governor became gradually more sensible and accommodating,
+drank less wine, and made no jokes. I had peace within my doors. The
+woman sat during the day outside in the other apartment, and lay
+there also in the night, so that I began not to fret so much over my
+hard fate. I passed the year with reading, writing, and composing.
+
+For some time past, immediately after I had received the yearly
+pension, I had bought for myself not only historical works in various
+languages, but I had gathered and translated from them all the famous
+female personages, who were celebrated as true, chaste, sensible,
+valorous, virtuous, God-fearing, learned, and steadfast; and in anno
+1675, on January 9, I amused myself with making some rhymes to M.
+Thomas Kingo, under the title, 'To the much-famed Poet M. Thomas
+Kingo, a Request from a Danish Woman in the name of all Danish
+Women.' The request was this, that he would exhibit in befitting
+honour the virtuous and praiseworthy Danish women. There are, indeed,
+virtuous women belonging to other nations, but I requested only his
+praise of the Danish. This never reached Kingo; but if my good friend
+to whom I entrust these papers still lives, it will fall probably
+into your hands, my beloved children.
+
+In the same year, on May 11, I wrote in rhyme a controversial
+conversation between Sense and Reason; entitled, 'Controversial
+Thoughts by the Captive Widow, or the Dispute between Sense and
+Reason.'
+
+Nothing else occurred this year within the doors of my prison which
+is worth recording, except one event--namely, when the outermost door
+of the anteroom was unlocked in the morning for the sake of sweeping
+away the dirt and bringing in fresh water, and the tower-warder
+occasionally let it stand open till meal-time and then closed it
+again, it happened that a fire broke out in the town and the bells
+were tolled. I and the woman ran up to the top of the tower to see
+where it was burning.
+
+When I was on the stairs which led up to the clock-work, the prison
+governor came, and with him was a servant from the silver-chamber. He
+first perceived my dog, then he saw somewhat of the woman, and
+thought probably that I was there also; he was so wise as not to come
+up the stairs, but remained below at the lowest holes, from whence
+one can look out over the town, and left me time enough to get down
+again and shut my door. Gert was sorry, and came afterwards to the
+door and told me of his distress. I consoled him, and said there was
+nothing to fear. Before the prison governor opened the door at noon,
+he struck Gert with his stick, so that he cried, and the prison
+governor said with an oath, 'Thou shalt leave.' When the prison
+governor came in, I was the first to speak, and I said: 'It is not
+right in you to beat the poor devil; he could not help it. The
+executioner came up as he was going to lock my door, and that made
+him forget to do so.' He threatened Gert severely, and said, 'I
+should not have minded it so much had not that other servant been
+with me.'
+
+The words at once occurred to me which he had said to me a long time
+before, namely that no woman could be silent, but that all men could
+be silent (when he had asserted this, I had thought, if this be so,
+then my adversaries might believe that I, had I known of anything
+which they had in view, should not have been able to keep silence).
+So I now answered him thus: 'Well, and what does that signify? It was
+a man; they can all keep silence; there is no harm done.' He could
+not help laughing, and said, 'Well, you are good enough.' I then
+talked to him, and assured him that I had no desire to leave the
+tower without the King's will, even though day and night all the
+tower doors were left open, and I also said that I could have got out
+long ago, if that had been my design. Gert continued in his service,
+and the prison governor never told Gert to shut me in in the
+morning.[142]
+
+ [142] In the margin is noted: 'At my desire the prison governor
+ gave me a rat whose tail he had cut off; this I placed in a
+ parrot's cage, and gave it food, so that it grew very tame. The
+ woman grudged me this amusement; and as the cage hung in the outer
+ apartment, and had a wire grating underneath, so that the dirt
+ might fall out, she burned the rat with a candle from below. It was
+ easy to perceive it, but she denied it.'
+
+At this time I had bought myself a clavicordium, and as Barbra could
+sing well, I played psalms and she sang, so that the time was not
+long to us. She taught me to bind books, so far as I needed.[E56]
+
+ [E56] The MS. itself is bound in a very primitive manner, which
+ renders it probable that Leonora has done it herself.
+
+My father confessor, H. Emmeke, became a preacher at Kioge anno 1676.
+In the same year my pension was increased, and I received yearly 250
+rix-dollars. It stands in the order that the 200 rix-dollars were to
+be used for the purchase of clothes and the remaining fifty to buy
+anything which might beguile the time.[E57] God bless and keep his
+gracious Majesty, and grant that he may live to enjoy many happy
+years.
+
+ [E57] It appears from the State accounts that ever since the year
+ 1672 a sum of 250 dollars a year had been placed at her disposal.
+ It would seem, therefore, that somehow or other a part of them had
+ been unlawfully abstracted by someone during the first years.
+
+Brant was at this time treasurer.
+
+On December 17 in this same year Barbra left me, and married a
+bookbinder's apprentice; but she repented it afterwards. And as her
+husband died a year and a half after her marriage, and that suddenly,
+suspicion fell upon Barbra. She afterwards went to her brother's
+house and fell ill. Her conscience was awakened, and she sent for
+Totzloff and told almost in plain terms that she had poisoned her
+husband, and begged him to tell me so. I was not much astonished at
+it, for according to her own account she had before killed her own
+children; but I told Peder Totzloff that he was not to speak of it;
+if God willed that it should be made known, it would be so
+notwithstanding; the brother and the maid in the house knew it; he
+was not to go there again, even if she sent a message to him. She
+became quite insane, and lay in a miserable condition. The brother
+subsequently had her removed to the plague-house.
+
+In Barbra's place there came to me a woman named Sitzel, daughter of
+a certain Klemming; Maren Blocks had brought about her employment, as
+Sitzel owed her money. She is a dissolute woman, and Maren gave her
+out as a spinster; she had a white cap on her head when she came up.
+Sitzel's debt to Maren had arisen in this way: that Maren--since
+Sitzel could make buttons, and the button-makers had quarrelled with
+her--obtained for her a royal licence in order to free her from the
+opposition of the button-makers, under the pretext that she was
+sickly. When the door was locked in the evening, I requested to see
+the royal licence which Maren had obtained for her. And when I saw
+that she was styled in it the sickly woman, I asked her what her
+infirmity was. She replied that she had no infirmity. 'Why, then,' I
+asked, 'have you given yourself out as sickly?' She answered, 'That
+was Maren Block's doing, in order to get for me the royal licence.'
+'In the licence,' I said, 'you are spoken of as a married woman, and
+not as a spinster; have you, then, been seduced?' She hung her head
+and said softly, 'Yes.'
+
+I was not satisfied. I said, 'Maren Block has obtained the royal
+licence for you by lies, and has brought you to me by lies; what,
+then, can I expect from your service?' She begged my pardon, promised
+to serve me well, and never to act contrary to my wishes. She is a
+dangerous person; there is nothing good in her; bold and shameless,
+she is not even afraid of fighting a man. She struck two
+button-makers one day, who wanted to take away her work, till they
+were obliged to run away. With me she had no opportunity of thus
+displaying her evil passions, but still they were perceptible in
+various ways. One day I warded off a scuffle between her and Maren
+Blocks; for when Maren Blocks had got back the money which she had
+expended on the royal licence for Sitzel, she wanted to remove her
+from me, and to bring another into her place; but I sent word to
+Maren Blocks that she must not imagine she could send me another whom
+I must take. It was enough that she had done this time.[143]
+
+ [143] In the margin stood originally the following note, which has
+ afterwards been struck out: 'In this year, 1676, the prison
+ governor married for the third time; he married a woman who herself
+ had had two husbands. Anno 1677, Aug. 9, died my sister Elisabeth
+ Augusta.'
+
+In the place of H. Emmeke Norbye, H. Johan Adolf Borneman became
+palace-preacher; a very learned and sensible man, who now became my
+father confessor, and performed the duties of his office for the
+first time on April 10, 1677.
+
+On October 9, in the same year, my father confessor was Magister
+Hendrich Borneman, dean of the church of Our Lady (a learned and
+excellent man), his brother H. Johan Adolf Borneman having
+accompanied the King's Majesty on a journey.
+
+I have, thank God, spent this year in repose: reading, writing, and
+composing various things.
+
+Anno 1678 it was brought about for me that my father-confessor, H.
+Johan Adolf Borneman, should come to me every six weeks and preach a
+short sermon.
+
+In this year, on Easter-Day, Agneta Sophia Budde was brought to the
+tower. Her prison was above my innermost apartment. She was accused
+of having designed to poison the Countess Skeel; and as she was a
+young person, and had a waiting-woman in her attendance who was also
+young, they clamoured to such an extent all day that I had no peace
+for them. I said nothing, however, about it, thinking she would
+probably be quiet when she knew that her life was at stake. But no!
+she was merry to the day on which she was executed![144]
+
+ [144] On a piece of paper which is fastened to the MS. by a pin is
+ the following note referring to the same matter: 'On March 4, in
+ the same year 1678, a woman named Lucia, who had been in the
+ service of Lady Rigitze Grubbe, became my neighbour. She was
+ accused by Agneta Sophia Budde, as the person who at the
+ instigation of her mistress had persuaded her to poison Countess F.
+ Birrete Skeel, and that Lucia had brought her the poison. There was
+ evidence as to the person from whom Lucia had bought the poison.
+ This woman was a steady faithful servant. She received everything
+ that was imposed upon her with the greatest patience, and held out
+ courageously in the Dark Cell. She had two men as companions, both
+ of whom cried, moaned and wept. From the Countess Skeel (who had to
+ supply her with food) meat was sent her which was full of maggots
+ and mouldy bread. I took pity on her (not for the sake of her
+ mistress, for she had rendered me little good service, and had
+ rewarded me evil for the benefits of former times, but out of
+ sympathy). And I sent her meat and drink and money that she might
+ soften Gert, who was too hard to her. She was tortured, but would
+ not confess any thing of what she was accused, and always defended
+ her mistress. She remained a long time in prison.[E58]
+
+ [E58] The acts of this famous trial are still in existence.
+ Originally the quarrel arose out of the fact that the Countess
+ Parsberg (born Skeel) had obtained a higher rank than Lady Grubbe,
+ and was further envenomed by some dispute about a window in the
+ house of the latter which looked down on the courtyard of the
+ Countess's house. Regitze Grubbe (widow of Hans Ulrik Gyldenlove,
+ natural son of Christian IV. and half-brother of Ulrik Christian
+ Gyldenlove, as well as of Leonora Christina), persuaded another
+ noble lady, Agnete Budde, through a servant, to poison Countess
+ Parsberg. Miss Budde was beheaded, the girl Lucie was exiled, and
+ Lady Grubbe relegated for life to the island of Bornholm.
+
+In the same year, on the morning of July 9, the tower-warder Gert was
+killed by a thief who was under sentence of death, and to whom he had
+allowed too great liberty. I will mention this incident somewhat more
+in detail, as I had advised Gert not to give this prisoner so much
+liberty; but to his own misfortune he paid no attention to my advice.
+This thief had broken by night into the house of a clergyman, and had
+stolen a boiling-copper, which he had carried on his head to
+Copenhagen; he was seized with it at the gate in the morning, and was
+placed here in the tower. He was condemned to be hanged (he had
+committed various other thefts). The priest allowed the execution to
+be delayed; he did not wish to have him hanged. Then it was said he
+was to go to the Holm; but he remained long in prison. At first, and
+until the time that his going to the Holm was talked of, he was my
+neighbour in the Dark Church; he behaved quite as a God-fearing man,
+read (apparently) with devotion, and prayed to God for forgiveness of
+his sins with most profound sighs. The rogue knew that I could hear
+him, and I sent him occasionally something to eat. Gert took pity on
+him, and allowed him to go by day about the basement story of the
+tower, and shut him up at night again.
+
+Afterwards he allowed him also at night to remain below. And as I had
+seen the thief once or twice when my door stood open, and he went
+past, it seemed to me that he had a murderous countenance; and for
+this reason, when I heard that the thief was not placed of an evening
+in the Dark Church, I said to Gert that he ventured too far, in
+letting him remain below at night; that there was roguery lurking in
+him; that he would certainly some day escape, and then, on his
+account, Gert would get into trouble. Gert was not of opinion that
+the thief wished to run away; he had no longer any fear of being
+hanged; he had been so delighted that he was to go to the Holm, there
+was no danger in it. I thought 'That is a delight which does not
+reach further than the lips,' and I begged him that he would lock him
+up at night. No; Gert feared nothing; he even went farther, and
+allowed the thief to go up the tower instead of himself, and attend
+to the clock-work.
+
+Three days before the murder took place, I spoke with Gert, when he
+unlocked my door in the morning, of the danger to which he exposed
+himself by the liberty he allowed the thief, but Gert did not fear
+it. Meanwhile my dog placed himself exactly in front of Gert, and
+howled in his face. When we were at dinner, the dog ran down and
+howled three times at the tower-warder's door. Never before had I
+heard the dog howl.
+
+On July 19 (as I have said), when Gert's unfortunate morning had
+arrived, the thief came down from the clock-work, and said that he
+could not manage it alone, as the cords were entangled. The rogue had
+an iron rod ready above, in order to effect his project. Gert went
+upstairs, but was carried down. The thief ran down after Gert was
+dead, opened his box, took out the money, and went out of the tower.
+
+It was a Friday, and the bells were to be rung for service. Those
+whose duty it was to ring them knocked at the tower door, but no one
+opened. Totzloff came with the principal key and opened, and spoke to
+me and wondered that Gert was not there at that time of the day. I
+said: 'All is not right; this morning between four and five I was
+rather unwell, and I heard three people going upstairs and after a
+time two coming down again.' Totzloff locked my door and went down.
+Just then one of the ringers came down, and informed them that Gert
+was lying upstairs dead. When the dead man was examined, he had more
+than one wound, but all at the back of the head. He was a very bold
+man, courageous, and strong; one man could not be supposed to have
+done this to him.
+
+The thief was seized the same evening, and confessed how it had
+happened: that, namely, a prisoner who was confined in the Witch
+Cell, a licentiate of the name of Moritius, had persuaded him to it.
+This same Moritius had great enmity against Gert. It is true that
+Gert took too much from him weekly for his food. But it is also true
+that this Moritius was a very godless fellow; the priest who
+confesses him gives him no good character. I believe, indeed, that
+Moritius was an accessory, but I believe also that another prisoner,
+who was confined in the basement of the tower, had a hand in the
+game. For who should have locked the tower-door again after the
+imprisoned thief, had not one of these done so? For when the key was
+looked for, it was found hidden above in the tower; this could not
+have been done by the thief after he was out of the tower. The thief,
+moreover, could not have unlocked Gert's box and taken his money
+without the knowledge of Moritius. The other prisoner must also have
+been aware of it. It seems to me that it was hushed up, in order that
+no more should die for this murder; for the matter was not only not
+investigated as was befitting, but the thief was confined down below
+in the tower. He was bound with iron fetters, but Moritius could
+speak with him everyday: and for this reason the thief departed from
+his earlier statement, and said that he alone had committed the
+murder. He was executed on August 8, and Moritius was taken to
+Borringholm, and kept as a prisoner there.[E55b]
+
+ [E55b] Griffenfeldt, who was then at the height of his power, was
+ the son of a wine-merchant, by name Schumacher, but had risen by
+ his talents alone to the highest dignities. He was ennobled under
+ the name of Griffenfeldt, and was undoubtedly the ablest statesman
+ Denmark ever possessed. Eventually he was thrust from his high
+ position by an intrigue set on foot by German courtiers and backed
+ by foreign influence. He was accused of treason and kept in prison
+ from 1676 to 1698, the year before he died, to the great, perhaps
+ irreparable damage, of his native country. The principal witness
+ against him was a German doctor, Mauritius, a professional spy, who
+ had served the Danish Government in this capacity. The year after
+ the fall of Griffenfeld, he was himself arrested on a charge of
+ perjury, forgery, and high treason, and placed in the Blue Tower;
+ he was convicted and conducted to Bornholm, where he died. But
+ Griffenfeldt, who had been convicted on his false testimony, was
+ not liberated. Griffenfeldt's ability and patriotism cannot be
+ doubted, but his personal character was not without blemish; and it
+ is a fact that in his prosperity he disclaimed all connection with
+ his earlier friends, and even his near relations.
+
+In Gert's place a tower-warder of the name of Johan, a Norwegian, was
+appointed--a very simple man. The servants about court often made a
+fool of him. The imprisoned young woman and her attendant did so the
+first time after his arrival that the attendant had to perform some
+menial offices upstairs. The place to which she had to go was not far
+from the door of their prison. The tower-warder went down in the
+meanwhile, and left the door open. They ran about and played. When
+they heard him coming up the stairs, they hid themselves. He found
+the prison empty, and was grieved and lamented. The young woman
+giggled like a child, and thus he found her behind a door. Johan was
+glad, and told me the story afterwards. I asked why he had not
+remained with them. 'What,' he answered, 'was I to remain at their
+dirty work?' There was nothing to say in reply to such foolish talk.
+
+I had repose within my doors, and amused myself with reading, writing
+and various handiwork, and began to make and embroider my shroud, for
+which I had bought calico, white taffeta, and thread.
+
+On April 7 a young lad escaped from the tower, who had been confined
+on the lower story with iron fetters round his legs. This prisoner
+found opportunity to loosen his fetters, and knew, moreover, that the
+booby Johan was wont to keep the tower key under his pillow. He kept
+an iron pin in readiness to unlock the door of the room when the
+tower-warder was asleep; he opened it gently, took the key, locked in
+the booby again, and quitted the tower. The simple man was placed in
+confinement, but after the expiration of six weeks he was set at
+liberty.
+
+In his place there came a man named Olle Mathison, who was from
+Skaane; he had his wife with him in the tower. Towards the end of
+this year, on December 25, I became ill of a fever, and D. Mynchen
+received orders to visit me and to take me under his care--an order
+which he executed with great attention. He is a very sensible man,
+mild and judicious in his treatment. Ten days after I recovered my
+usual health.
+
+In the beginning of the year 1680 Sitzel, Klemming's daughter, was
+persuaded by Maren Blocks to betroth herself to one of the King's
+body-guard. She left me on November 26. In her place I had a woman
+named Margrete. When I first saw her, she appeared to me somewhat
+suspicious, and it seemed to me that she was with child; however, I
+made no remark till the last day of the month of January. Then I put
+a question to her from which she could perceive my opinion. She
+answered me with lies, but I interrupted her at once; and she made
+use of a special trick, which it is not fit to mention here, in order
+to prove her false assertion; but her trick could not stand with me,
+and she was subsequently obliged to confess it. I asked her as to the
+father of the child (I imagined that it was the King's groom of the
+chamber, who had been placed in arrest in the prison governor's room,
+but I did not say so). She did not answer my question at the time,
+but said she was not so far advanced; that her size was owing rather
+to stoutness than to the child, as it was at a very early stage.
+
+This woman, before she came to me, had been in the service of the
+prison governor's wife, and the prison governor had told me she was
+married. So it happened that I one day asked her of her life and
+doings; upon which she told me of her past history, where she had
+served, and that she had had two bastards, each by a different
+father; and pointing to herself, she added: 'A father shall also
+acknowledge this one, and that a brave father! You know him well!' I
+said, 'I have seen the King's groom of the chamber in the square, but
+I do not know him.' She laughed and answered (in her mother-tongue),
+'No, by God, that is not he; it is the good prison governor.' I truly
+did not believe it. She protested it, and related some minute details
+to me.
+
+I thought I had better get rid of her betimes, and I requested to
+speak with the prison governor's wife, who at once came to me. I
+told her my suspicion with regard to the woman, and on what I based
+my suspicion; but I made no remark as to what the woman had confessed
+and said to me. I begged the prison governor's wife to remove the
+woman from me as civilly as she could. She was surprised at my words,
+and doubted if there was truth in them. I said, 'Whether it be so or
+not, remove her; the sooner the better.' She promised that it should
+be done, but it was not. Margrete seemed not to care that it was
+known that she was with child; she told the tower-warder of it, and
+asked him one day, 'Ole, how was it with your wife when she had
+twins?' Ole answered: 'I know nothing about it. Ask Anne!' Margrete
+said that from certain symptoms she fancied she might have twins.
+
+One day, when she was going to sew a cloth on the arms of my
+arm-chair, she said, 'That angel of God is now moving!' And as the
+wife of the prison governor did not adhere to her word, and
+Margrete's sister often came to the tower, I feared that the sister
+might secretly convey her something to remove the child (which was no
+doubt subsequently the case), so I said one day to Margrete: 'You say
+that the prison governor is your child's father, but you do not
+venture to say so to himself.' 'Yes!' she said with an oath, 'as if I
+would not venture! Do you imagine that I will not have something from
+him for the support of my child?' 'Then I will send for him,' I said,
+'on purpose to hear what he will say.' (It was at that time a rare
+occurrence for the prison governor to come to me.) She begged me to
+do so; he could not deny, she said, that he was the father of her
+child. The prison governor came at my request. I began my speech in
+the woman's presence, and said that Margrete, according to her own
+statement, was with child; who the father was, he could enquire if he
+chose. He asked her whether she was with child? She answered, 'Yes,
+and you are the father of it.' 'O!' he said, and laughed, 'what
+nonsense!' She adhered to what she had said, protested that no other
+was the child's father, and related the circumstances of how it had
+occurred. The prison governor said, 'The woman is mad!' She gave free
+vent to her tongue, so that I ordered her to go out; then I spoke
+with the prison governor alone, and begged him speedily to look about
+for another woman for me, before it came to extremities with her. I
+supposed he would find means to stop her tongue. I told him the truth
+in a few words--that he had brought his paramour to wait on me. He
+answered, 'She lies, the malicious woman! I have ordered Totzloff
+already to look about for another. My wife has told me what you said
+to her the other day.' After this conversation the prison governor
+went away. Peder Totzloff told me that an English woman had desired
+to be with me, but could not come before Easter.
+
+Four days afterwards Margrete began to complain that she felt ill,
+and said to me in the forenoon, 'I think it will probably go badly
+with me; I feel so ill.' I thought at once of what I had feared,
+namely of what the constant visits of her sister indicated, and I
+sent immediately to Peder Totzloff, and when he came to me I told him
+of my suspicion respecting Margrete, and begged him to do his utmost
+to procure me the English woman that very day. Meanwhile Margrete
+went up stairs, and remained there about an hour and a quarter, and
+came down looking like a corpse, and said, 'Now it will be all right
+with me.' What I thought I would not say (for I knew that if I had
+enquired the cause of her bad appearance she would have at once
+acknowledged it all, and I did not want to know it), so I said, 'If
+you keep yourself quiet, all will be well. Another woman is coming
+this evening.' This did not please her; she thought she could now
+well remain. I paid no regard to this nor to anything else she said,
+but adhered to it--that another woman was coming. This was arranged,
+and in the evening of March 15 Margrete left, and in her place came
+an English woman, named Jonatha, who had been married to a Dane named
+Jens Pedersen Holme.
+
+When Margrete was gone, I was blamed by the wife of the prison
+governor, who said that I had persuaded Margrete to affirm that her
+husband was the father of Margrete's child.
+
+Although it did not concern me, I will nevertheless mention the
+deceitful manner in which the good people subsequently brought about
+this Margrete's marriage. They informed a bookbinder's apprentice
+that she had been married, and they showed both him and the priest,
+who was to give them the nuptial benediction, her sister's marriage
+certificate.[145]
+
+ [145] In the margin is added: 'Ole the tower-warder was cudgelled
+ on his back by the prison governor when Margrete was gone, and he
+ was charged with having said what Margrete had informed him
+ respecting her size.'
+
+In the same year, on the morning of Christmas Day, God loosened D.
+Otto Sperling's heavy bonds, after he had been imprisoned in the Blue
+Tower seventeen years, eight months, twenty-four days, at the age of
+eighty years minus six days. He had long been ill, but never confined
+to his bed. Doctor Muenchen twice visited him with his medicaments. He
+would not allow the tower-warder at any time to make his bed, and was
+quite angry if Ole offered to do so, and implied that the doctor was
+weak. He allowed no one either to be present when he laid down. How
+he came on the floor on Christmas night is not known; he lay there,
+knocking on the ground. The tower-warder could not hear his knocking,
+for he slept far from the doctor's room; but a prisoner who slept on
+the ground floor heard it, and knocked at the tower-warder's door and
+told him that the doctor had been knocking for some time. When Ole
+came in, he found the doctor lying on the floor, half dressed, with a
+clean shirt on. He was still alive, groaned a good deal, but did not
+speak. Ole called a prisoner to help him, and they lifted him on the
+bed and locked the door again. In the morning he was found dead, as I
+have said.
+
+A.D. 1682, in the month of April, I was sick and confined to my bed
+from a peculiar malady which had long troubled me--a stony matter had
+coagulated and had settled low down in my intestines. Doctor Muenchen
+used all available means to counteract this weakness; but he could
+not believe that it was of the nature I thought and informed him; for
+I was perfectly aware it was a stone which had settled in the duct of
+the intestines. He was of opinion, if it were so, that the
+medicaments which he used would remove it.[146] At this time the
+doctor was obliged to travel with his Majesty to Holstein. I used the
+remedies according to Doctor Muenchen's directions, but things
+remained just as before. It was not till the following morning that
+the remedies produced their effect; and then, besides other matter, a
+large stone was evacuated, and I struck a piece out of it with a
+hammer in order to see what it was inside; I found it to be composed
+of a substance like rays, having the appearance of being gilded in
+some places and in others silvered. It is almost half a finger in
+length and full three fingers thick, and it is still in my
+possession. When Doctor Muenchen returned, I sent him word how it was
+with me. He was at the time with the governess of the royal children,
+F. Sitzele Grubbe. Doctor Muenchen desired Totzloff to request me to
+let him see the stone. I sent him word that if he would come to me,
+he should see it. I would not send it to him, for I well knew that I
+should never get it again.
+
+ [146] In the margin is added: 'Other natural matter was evacuated,
+ but the stone stuck fast in the duct, and seemed to be round, for I
+ could not gain hold of it with an instrument I had procured for the
+ purpose.'
+
+A.D. 1682, June 11, I wrote the following spiritual song.
+
+It can be sung to the melody, 'Siunge wii af Hiaertens-Grund.'[E59]
+
+ [E59] This tune is still in use in Denmark; it is known in the
+ Latin church as 'in natali Domini.'
+
+        I.
+
+    What is this our mortal life
+    Otherwise than daily strife?
+    What is all our labour here,
+    The servitude and yoke we bear?
+    Are they aught but vanity?
+    Art and learning what are ye?
+    Like a vapour all we see.
+
+        II.
+
+    Why, then, is thy anxious breast
+    Filled with trouble? Be at rest!
+    Why, then, dost thou boldly fight
+    The phantoms vain that mock thy sight?
+    Is there any, small or grand,
+    Who can payment duly hand
+    At the creditor's demand?
+
+        III.
+
+    Naked to the world I came,
+    And I leave it just the same;
+    The Lord has given and He takes;
+    It is well whate'er He makes.
+    To the Lord all praises be;
+    I will trust Him heartily!
+    And my near deliverance see.
+
+        IV.
+
+    One thing would I ask of Thee.
+    That Thy House I once may see,
+    And once more with song and praise
+    May my pious offering raise,
+    And magnify Thy grace received,
+    And all that Jesus has achieved
+    For us who have in Him believed.
+
+        V.
+
+    If Thou sayest unto me,
+    'I have no desire in thee,
+    There is no place for thee above;'
+    Oh Jesus! look Thou down in love!
+    Can I not justly to Thee say
+    'Let me but see Thy wounds, I pray:'
+    God's mercy cannot pass away.
+
+On June 27, the Queen sent me some silk and silver, with the request
+that I would embroider her a flower, which was traced on parchment;
+she sent also another flower which was embroidered, that I might see
+how the work should be done, which is called the golden work. I had
+never before embroidered such work, for it affects the eyes quickly;
+but I undertook it, and said I would do it as well as I could. On
+July 9, I sent the flower which I had embroidered to the governess of
+the royal children, F. Sitzele Grubbe, with the request that she
+would present it most humbly to her Majesty the Queen. The Queen was
+much pleased with the flower, and told her that it excelled the
+others which certain countesses had embroidered for her.
+
+I afterwards embroidered nine flowers in silver and silk in this
+golden work, and sent them to the Queen's mistress of the robes, with
+the request that she would present them most humbly to her Majesty
+the Queen. The mistress of the robes assured me of the Queen's
+favour, and told me that her Majesty was going to give me two silver
+flagons, but I have not heard of them yet. In the same year I
+embroidered a table-cover with floss silk, in a new design devised by
+myself, and I trimmed it with taffeta and silver fringe; this also I
+begged Lady Grubbe, the governess of the King's children, to present
+most humbly to her Majesty, and it was graciously received. On
+November 29, I completed the work which I had made for my death-gear.
+It was embroidered with thread. On one end of the pillow I worked the
+following lines:
+
+    Full of anxiety and care, in many a silent night,
+    This shroud have I been weaving with sorrowful delight!
+
+On the other end I embroidered the following: (N.B. The pillow was
+stuffed with my hair).
+
+    When some day on this hair my weary head will lie,
+    My body will be free and my soul to God will fly.
+
+On the cloth for the head I embroidered:
+
+    I know full well, my Jesus, Thou dost live,
+    And my frail body from the dust wilt give,
+    And it with marvellous beauty will array
+    To stand before Thy throne on the great day.
+    Fulfilled with heavenly joy I then shall be,
+    And Thee, great God, in all Thy splendour see.
+    Nor unknown wilt Thou to mine eyes appear!
+    Help Jesus, bridegroom, be Thou ever near!
+
+Her Majesty the Queen was always gracious to me, and sent me again a
+number of silkworms that I might amuse myself with feeding them for
+her, and I was to return what they spun. The virtuous Queen also sent
+me sometimes oranges, lemons, and some of the large almanacs, and
+this she did through a dwarf, who is a thoroughly quick lad. His
+mother and father had been in the service of my deceased sister
+Sophia Elizabeth and my brother-in-law Count Pentz.
+
+The governess of the royal children, F. Sitzel Grubbe, was very
+courteous and good to me, and sent me several times lemons, oranges,
+mulberries, and other fruits, according to the season of the year.
+
+A young lady, by birth a Donep, also twice sent me fruit.
+
+The maids of honour once sent me some entangled silk from silkworms,
+which they wanted to spin, and did not rightly know how to manage it;
+they requested me to arrange it for them. I had other occupation on
+hand which I was unwilling to lay aside (for I was busy collecting my
+heroines), but nevertheless I acceded to their wish.[E60] My
+captivity of nearly twenty years could not touch the heart of the
+Queen Dowager (though with a good conscience I can testify before God
+that I never gave her cause for such inclemency). My most gracious
+hereditary King was gracious enough several times in former years to
+intercede for me with his royal mother, through the high ministers of
+the State. Her answer at that time was very hard; she would entitle
+them 'traitors,' and, 'as good as I was,' and would point them to the
+door. All the favours which the King's majesty showed me--the outer
+apartment, the large window, the money to dispose of for
+myself--annoyed the Queen Dowager extremely; and she made the King's
+majesty feel her displeasure in the most painful manner. And as she
+had also learned (she had plenty of informers) that I possessed a
+clavicordium, this annoyed her especially, and she spoke very angrily
+with the King about it; on which account the prison governor came to
+me one day and said that the King had asked him how he had happened
+to procure me a clavicordium. 'I stood abashed,' said the prison
+governor, 'and knew not what to say.' I thought to myself, 'You know
+but little of what is happening in the tower.' I did not see him more
+than three times a year. I asked who had told the King of the
+clavicordium. He answered: 'The old Queen; she has her spies
+everywhere, and she has spoken so hardly to the King that it is a
+shame because he gives you so much liberty;' so saying, he seized the
+clavicordium just as if he were going to take it away, and said, 'You
+must not have it!' I said, 'Let it alone! I have permission from his
+Majesty, my gracious Sovereign, to buy what I desire for my pastime
+with the money he graciously assigns me. The clavicordium is in no
+one's way, and cannot harm the Queen Dowager.' He pulled at it
+nevertheless, and wanted to take it down; it stood on a closet which
+I had bought. I said, with rather a loud voice, 'You must let it
+remain until you return me the money I gave you for it; then you may
+do with it what you like.' He said, 'I will tell the King that.' I
+begged him to do so. There was nothing afterwards said about it,[147]
+and I still have the clavicordium, though I play on it rarely. I
+write, and hasten to finish my heroines, so that I may have them
+ready, and that no sickness nor death may prevent my completing them,
+nor the friend to whom I confide them may leave me, and so they would
+never fall into your hands, my dearest children.
+
+ [E60] 'I have in my imprisonment also gained some experience with
+ regard to caterpillars. It amused me at one time to watch their
+ changes. The worms were apparently all of one sort, striped alike,
+ and of similar colour. But butterflies did not come from all. It
+ was quite pretty to see how a part when they were about to change,
+ pressed against something, whatever it might be, and made
+ themselves steady with a thread (like silkworm's silk) on each
+ side, passing it over the back about fifty times, always at the
+ same place, and often bending the back to see if the threads were
+ strong enough; if not, they passed still more threads round them.
+ When this was done, they rapidly changed their form and became
+ stout, with a snout in front pointed at the end, not unlike the
+ fish called knorr by the Dutch; they have also similar fins on the
+ back, and a similar head. In this form they remain for sixteen
+ days, and then a white butterfly comes out. But of some
+ caterpillars small worms like maggots come out on both sides,
+ whitish, broad at one end and pointed at the other. These surround
+ themselves with a web with great rapidity, each by itself. Then the
+ worm spins over them tolerably thickly, turning them round till
+ they are almost like a round ball. In this it lies till it is quite
+ dried up; it eats nothing, and becomes as tiny as a fly before it
+ dies. Twelve days afterwards small flies come out of the ball, and
+ then the ball looks like a small bee-hive. I have seen a small
+ living worm come out of the neck of the caterpillar (this I
+ consider the rarest), but it did not live long, and ate nothing.
+ The mother died immediately after the little one had come out.'
+
+ It is perhaps not unnecessary to add that this observation, which is
+ correct as to facts, refers to the habits of certain larvae of wasps
+ which live as parasites in caterpillars.
+
+ [147] In the margin is added: 'The prison governor told me
+ afterwards that the King laughed when he had told his Majesty my
+ answer about the clavicordium, and had said, "Yes, yes."'
+
+On September 24, M. Johan Adolf, my father confessor, was promoted;
+he became dean of the church of Our Lady. He bade me a very touching
+farewell, having administered the duties of his office to me for
+nearly six years, and been my consolation. God knows how unwillingly
+I parted with him.
+
+At the beginning of this year H. Peder Collerus was my father
+confessor; he was at the time palace-preacher. He also visited me
+with his consolatory discourse every six weeks. He is a learned man,
+but not like Hornemann.
+
+On April 3, an old sickly dog was sent to me in the Queen's name. I
+fancy the ladies of the court sent it, to be quit of the trouble. A
+marten had bit its jaw in two, so that the tongue hung out on one
+side. All the teeth were gone, and a thin film covered one eye. It
+heard but little, and limped on one side. The worst, however, was,
+that one could easily see that it tried to exhibit its affection
+beyond its power. They told me that her Majesty the Queen had been
+very fond of the dog. It was a small 'King Charles;' its name was
+'Cavaillier.' The Queen expressed her opinion that it would not long
+trouble me. I hoped so also.[E66b]
+
+ [E66b] This poem still exists, and is printed in the second volume
+ of Hofman's work on Danish noblemen. It is intended to convey an
+ account of her own and her husband's fate.
+
+On August 12 of this year I finished the work I had undertaken, and
+since my prefatory remarks treated of celebrated women of every kind,
+both of valiant rulers and sensible sovereigns, of true, chaste,
+God-fearing, virtuous, unhappy, learned, and steadfast women, it
+seemed to me that all of these could not be reckoned as heroines; so
+I took some of them out and divided them into three parts, under the
+title, 'The Heroines' Praise.' The first part is to the honour of
+valiant heroines. The second part speaks of true and chaste heroines.
+The third part of steadfast heroines. Each part has its appendix. I
+hope to God that this my prison work may come into your hands, my
+dearest children. Hereafter I intend, so God will, to collect the
+others: namely, the sensible, learned, god-fearing, and virtuous
+women; exhibiting each to view in the circumstances of her life.[E61]
+
+ [E61] It has been stated already that a copy of the first part of
+ this work is still preserved. Amongst the heroines here treated of
+ are modern historical personages, as Queen Margaret of Denmark,
+ Thyre Danobod who built the Dannevirke, Elizabeth of England, and
+ Isabella of Castilia, besides mythical and classic characters, as
+ Penthesilea, Queen of the Amazons, Marpesia, Tomyris, Zenobia,
+ Artemisia, Victorina, etc. There existed not a few works of this
+ kind--we need only mention Boccacio's 'Donne Illustri,' in which
+ many of these last personages also occur.
+
+I will mention from her own statement somewhat of Jonatha, who now
+attended on me. I will pass over the long story of how she left her
+mother; the fact is, that against her mother's will she married a
+Danish merchant, named Jens Pedersen Holme. But her life and doings
+(according to her own statement) are so strange, that it may be worth
+while to record somewhat of them. After they were married, she says,
+it vexed her, and was always in her mind that she had made her mother
+angry, and had done very wrong. Her mother had sent her also a hard
+letter, which distressed her much; and she behaved refractorily
+towards her husband, and in many ways like a spoilt unreasonable
+child, sometimes even like one who had lost her reason and was
+desperate.
+
+It seems also that her husband treated her as if her mind was
+affected, for he had her looked after like a child, and treated her
+as such. She told him once that she was intending to drown herself in
+the Peblingeso,[E62] and at another time that she would strike him
+dead. The husband feared neither of these threats; still he had her
+watched when she went out, to see which way she took. Once she had
+firmly resolved to drown herself in the Peblingeso, for this place
+pleased her; she was even on her way there, but was brought back. She
+struck her husband, too, once after her fashion. He had come home one
+day half intoxicated, and had laid down on a bed, so that his legs
+rested on the floor. She says she intended at the time to strike him
+dead; she took a stick and tried to see if he were asleep, talking
+loudly to herself and scolding, and touching him softly on the
+shinbone with the stick. He behaved as if he were asleep. Then she
+struck him a little harder. Upon this he seized the stick and took it
+away from her, and asked what she had in her mind. She answered, 'To
+kill you.' 'He was grieved at my madness,' she said, 'and threw
+himself on his knees, praying God to govern me with His good spirit
+and give me reason.' The worst is that it once came into her mind not
+to sleep with her husband, and she laid down on a bench in the room.
+For a long time he gave her fair words, but these availed nothing. At
+last he said, 'Undress yourself and come and lie down, or I shall
+come to you.' She paid no attention to this; so he got up, undressed
+her completely, slapped her with his hand, and threw her into bed.
+She protested that for some days she was too bruised to sit; this
+proved availing, and she behaved in future more reasonably.
+
+ [E62] The Peblingeso is one of three lakes which surround
+ Copenhagen on the land-side, in a semicircle.
+
+Little at peace as she was with her husband when she had him with
+her, she was greatly grieved when he left her to go to the West
+Indies. He sent by return vessels all sorts of goods to sell, and
+she thus maintained herself comfortably.
+
+It happened at last that the man died in the West Indies, and a
+person who brought her the news stated that he had been poisoned by
+the governor of the place named ----, at an entertainment, and this
+because he was on the point of returning home, and the governor was
+afraid that Holme might mention his evil conduct. These tidings
+unsettled her mind so, that she ran at night, in her mere
+night-dress, along the street, and squabbled with the watchmen. She
+went to the admiral at the Holm, and demanded justice upon the absent
+culprit, and accused him, though she could prove nothing.
+
+Thus matters went on for a time, until at last she gained repose, and
+God ordained it that she came to me. My intercourse with her is as
+with a frail glass vessel, for she is weak in many respects. She
+often doubts of her salvation, and enumerates all her sins. She
+laments especially having so deeply offended her mother, and thus
+having drawn down a curse upon her. When this fear comes upon her, I
+console her with God's word, and enter fully into the matter, showing
+her, from Holy Scripture, on what a repentant sinner must rely for
+the mercy of God. Occasionally she is troubled as to the
+interpretation of Holy Scripture, as all passages do not seem to her
+to agree, but to contradict each other. In this I help her so far as
+my understanding goes, so that sometimes she heartily thanks God that
+she is come to me, where she finds rest and consolation.
+
+After she had been with me for a year or two, she learned that the
+governor, whom she suspected, had come to Copenhagen. She said to me,
+'I hear the rogue is come here; I request my dismissal.' I asked her
+why. 'Because,' she replied, 'I will kill him.' I could scarcely keep
+from laughing; but I said, 'Jesus forbid! If you have any such
+design, I shall not let you go.' And as she is a person whose like I
+have never known before--for she could chide with hard words, and yet
+at the same time she was modest and well-behaved--I tried to make her
+tell me and show me how she designed to take the governor's life.
+(She is a small woman, delicately formed.) Then she acted as if her
+enemy were seated on a stool, and she had a large knife under her
+apron. When he said to her, 'Woman, what do you want?' she would
+plunge the knife into him, and exclaim, 'Rogue, thou hast deserved
+this.' She would not move from the place, she would gladly die, if
+she could only take his life. I said, 'Still it is such a disgrace to
+die by the hand of the executioner.' 'Oh, no!' she replied, 'it is
+not a disgrace to die for an honourable deed;' and she had an idea
+that any one thus dying by the hand of the executioner passed away in
+a more Christian manner than such as died on a bed of sickness; and
+that it was no sin to kill a man who, like a rogue, had murdered
+another. I asked her if she did not think that he sinned who killed
+another. 'No,' she replied, 'not when he has brought it upon
+himself.' I said, 'No one may be his own judge, either by the law of
+God or man; and what does the fifth commandment teach us?'[E63] She
+answered as before, that she would gladly die if she could only take
+the rogue's life. (I must add that she said she could not do it on my
+account, for I would not let her out.) She made a sin of that which
+is no sin, and that which is sin she will not regard as such. She
+says it is a sin to kill a dog, a cat, or a bird; the innocent
+animals do no harm; in fact, it is a still greater sin to let the
+poor beasts hunger. I asked her once whether it was a sin to eat
+meat. 'No,' she answered; 'it is only a sin to him who has killed the
+animal.' She protested that if she were obliged to marry, and had to
+choose between a butcher and an executioner, she would prefer the
+latter. She told me of various quarrels she had had with those who
+had either killed animals or allowed them to hunger.
+
+ [E63] The Lutheran Church has retained the division of the
+ Commandments used in the Roman Church; and the Commandment against
+ murder is therefore here described as the fifth, whilst in the
+ English catechism it is the sixth.
+
+One story I will not leave unmentioned, as it is very pretty. She
+sold, she said, one day some pigs to a butcher. When the butcher's
+boy was about to bind the pigs' feet and carry them off hanging from
+a pole, she was sorry for the poor pigs, and said, 'What, will you
+take their life? No, I will not suffer that!' and she threw him back
+his money. I asked her if she did not know that pigs were killed, and
+for what reason she thought the butcher had bought them. 'Yes,' she
+replied, 'I knew that well. Had he let them go on their own legs, I
+should have cared nothing about it; but to bind the poor beasts in
+this way, and to hear them cry, I could not endure that.' It would
+take too long to enumerate all the extravagant whims which she
+related of herself. But with all this she is not foolish, and I well
+believe she is true to any one she loves. She served me very well,
+and with great care.
+
+The above-mentioned governor[E64] was killed by some prisoners on
+board the vessel, when he was returning to the West Indies. By a
+strange chance the vessel with the murderers came to Copenhagen.
+(They were sentenced to death for their crime.) Jonatha declared
+that the governor had had only too good a death, and that it was a
+sin that any one should lose his life on account of it. I practise
+speaking the English language with Jonatha. She has forgotten
+somewhat of her mother tongue, since she has not spoken it for many
+years; and as she always reads the English Bible, and does not at
+once understand all the words, I help her; for I not only can
+perceive the sense from the preceding and following words, but also
+because some words resemble the French, though with another accent.
+And we often talk together about the interpretation of Holy
+Scripture. She calls herself a Calvinist, but she does not hold the
+opinions of Calvinists. I never dispute with her over her opinions.
+She goes to the Lord's Supper in the Queen's church[E65]. Once, when
+she came back to me from there, she said she had had a conversation
+upon religion with a woman, who had told her to her face that she was
+no Calvinist. I asked her of what religion the woman imagined that
+she was. She replied: 'God knows that. I begged her to mind her own
+business, and said, that I was a Christian; I thought of your grace's
+words (but I did not say them), that all those who believe on Christ
+and live a Christian life, are Christians, whatever name they may
+give to their faith.'
+
+ [E64] The name of this governor, which is not mentioned by Leonora,
+ was Jorgen Iversen, the first Danish governor of St. Thomas. In
+ 1682 he returned to the colony from Copenhagen on board a vessel
+ which was to bring some prisoners over to St. Thomas. Very soon
+ after their departure, some of the prisoners and of the crew raised
+ a mutiny, killed the captain and some of the passengers, amongst
+ them the ex-governor Iversen. But one of the prisoners who had not
+ been in the plot afterwards got the mastery of the vessel, and
+ returned to Copenhagen. The vessel struck on a rock, near the
+ Swedish coast, but the crew were saved and sent home to Copenhagen
+ by the Swedish Government, and the murderers were then executed.
+
+ [E65] The Queen's church was a room in the castle where service was
+ held according to the Calvinist rite.
+
+In this year 1684 I saw the Queen Dowager fall from the chair in
+which she was drawn up to the royal apartment. The chair ran down the
+pulleys too quickly, so that she fell on her face and knocked her
+knee. During this year her weakness daily increased, but she thought
+herself stronger than she was. She appeared at table always much
+dressed, and between the meals she remained in her apartments.
+
+I kept myself patient, and wrote the following:--
+
+_Contemplation on Memory and Courage, recorded to the honour of God
+by the suffering Christian woman in the sixty-third year of her life,
+and the almost completed twenty-first year of her captivity._
+
+    The vanished hours can ne'er come back again,
+    Still may the old their youthful joys retain;
+    The past may yet within our memory live,
+    And courage vigour to the old may give.
+    Yet why should I thus sport with Memory's truth,
+    And harrow up the fairer soil of youth?
+    No fruit it brings, fallow and bare it lies,
+    And the dry furrow only pain supplies!
+    In my first youth, in honourable days
+    Upon such things small question did I raise.
+    Then years advanced with trouble in their train,
+    And spite of show my life was fraught with pain.
+    The holy marriage bond--my rank and fame,
+    Increased my foes and made my ill their aim.
+    Go! honour, riches, vanish from my mind!
+    Ye all forsook me and left nought behind.
+    'Twas ye have brought me here thro' years to lie;
+    Thus can man's envy human joy deny!
+    My God alone, He ne'er forsook me here,
+    My cross He lightened, and was ever near;
+    And when my heart was yielding to despair,
+    He spoke of peace and whispered He was there.
+    He gave me power and ever near me stood,
+    And all could see how truly God was good.
+
+    What Courage can achieve I next will heed;
+    He who is blessed with it, is blest indeed.
+    To the tired frame fresh power can Courage give,
+    Raising the weary mind anew to live;
+    I mean that Courage Reason may instil
+    Not the foolhardiness that leads to ill.
+    Far oftener is it that the youth will lie
+    Helpless, when Fortune's favours from him fly,
+    Than that the old man should inactive stay,
+    Who knows full well how Fortune loves to play.
+    Fresh Courage seizes him; from such a shield
+    Rebound the arms malicious foes may wield.
+    Courage imparts repose, and trifles here,
+    Beneath its influence, as nought appear;
+    But a vain loan, which we can only hold
+    Until the lender comes, and life is told.
+    Courage pervades the frame and vigour gives,
+    And a fresh energy each part receives;
+    With appetite and health and cheerful mind,
+    And calm repose in hours of sleep we find,
+    So that no visions in ill dreams appear,
+    And spectre forms filling the heart with fear.
+    Courage gives honied sweetness to our food
+    And prison fare, and makes e'en death seem good.
+    'Tis well! my mind is fresh, my limbs are sound,
+    And no misfortune weighs me to the ground.
+    Reason and judgment come from God alone,
+    And the five senses unimpaired I own.
+    The mighty God in me His power displays,
+    Therefore join with me in a voice of praise
+    And laud His name: For Thou it is, oh God,
+    Who in my fear and anguish nigh me stood.
+    Almighty One, my thanks be ever thine!
+    Let me ne'er waver nor my trust resign.
+    Take not the courage which my hope supplies,
+    Till my soul enters into Paradise.
+
+Written on February 28, 1684, that is the thirty-sixth anniversary
+since the illustrious King Christian the Fourth bade good-night to
+this world, and I to the prosperity of my life.
+
+I have now reached the sixty-third year of my age, and the twentieth
+year, sixth month, and fifteenth day of my imprisonment. I have
+therefore spent the third part of my life in captivity. God be
+praised that so much time is past. I hope the remaining days may not
+be many.
+
+Anno 1685, January 14, I amused myself with making some verses in
+which truth was veiled under the cloak of jest, entitled: 'A Dog,
+named Cavaillier, relates his Fate.'
+
+The rhymes, I suppose, will come into your hands, my dearest
+children.[E66]
+
+ [E66] This poem still exists, and is printed in the second volume
+ of Hofman's work on Danish noblemen. It is intended to convey an
+ account of her own and her husband's fate.
+
+On February 20, the Queen Dowager Sophia Amalia died. She did not
+think that death would overtake her so quickly; but when the doctor
+warned her that her death would not be long delayed, she requested to
+speak with her son. But death would not wait for the arrival of his
+Majesty, so that the Queen Dowager might say a word to him. She was
+still alive; she was sitting on a chair, but she was speechless, and
+soon afterwards, in the same position, she gave up her spirit.
+
+After the death of this Queen I was much on the lips of the people.
+Some thought that I should obtain my liberty; others believed that I
+should probably be brought from the tower to some other place, but
+should not be set free.
+
+Jonatha, who had learned from Ole the tower-warder, some days before
+the death of the Queen, that prayers were being offered up in the
+church for the Queen (it had, however, been going on for six weeks,
+that this prayer had been read from the pulpit), was, equally with
+Ole the tower-warder, quite depressed. Ole, who had consoled himself
+and her hitherto with the tidings from the Queen's lacqueys, that the
+Queen went to table and was otherwise well, though she occasionally
+suffered from a cough, now thought that there was danger, that death
+might result, and that I, if the Queen died, might perhaps leave the
+prison. They did their best to conceal their sorrow, but without
+success. They occasionally shed secretly a few tears. I behaved as if
+I did not remark it, and as no one said anything to me about it, I
+gave no opportunity for speaking on the subject. A long time
+previously I had said to Jonatha (as I had done before to the other
+women) that I did not think I should die in the tower. She remembered
+this and mentioned it. I said: 'All is in God's hand. He knows best
+what is needful for me, both as regards soul and body; to Him I
+commend myself.' Thus Jonatha and Ole lived on between hope and fear.
+
+On March 15, the reigning Queen kept her Easter. Jonatha came quite
+delighted from her Majesty's church, saying that a noble personage
+had told her that I need not think of getting out of the prison,
+although the Queen was dead; she knew better and she insisted upon
+it. However often I asked as to who the personage was, she would not
+tell me her name. I laughed at her, and said, 'Whoever the personage
+may be, she knows just as much about it as you and I do.' Jonatha
+adhered to her opinion that the person knew it well. 'What do you
+mean?' I said; 'the King himself does not know. How should others
+know?' 'Not the King! not the King!' she said quite softly. 'No, not
+the King!' I answered. 'He does not know till God puts it into his
+heart, and as good as says to him, "Now thou shalt let the prisoner
+free!"' She came somewhat more to herself, but said nothing. And as
+she and Ole heard no more rumours concerning me, they were quite
+comforted.
+
+On March 26, the funeral of the Queen Dowager took place, and her
+body was conveyed to Roskild.
+
+On April 21, I supplicated the King's Majesty in the following
+manner. I possessed a portrait engraving of the illustrious King
+Christian the Fourth, rather small and oval in form. This I
+illuminated with colours, and had a carved frame made for it, which
+I gilded myself. On the piece at the back I wrote the following
+words:--
+
+    My grandson, and great namesake,
+    Equal to me in power and state;
+    Vouchsafe my child a hearing,
+    And be like me in mercy great!
+
+Besides this, I wrote to his Excellency Gyldenlove, requesting him
+humbly to present the Supplique to the King's majesty, and to
+interest himself on my behalf, and assist me to gain my liberty. His
+Excellency was somewhat inconvenienced at the time by his old
+weakness, so that he could not himself speak for me; but he begged a
+good friend to present the engraving with all due respect, and this
+was done on April 24.[E67]
+
+ [E67] This picture is still preserved at the Castle of Rosenbourg,
+ in Copenhagen.
+
+Of all this Jonatha knew nothing. Peder Jensen Totzloff was my
+messenger. He has been a comfort to me in my imprisonment, and has
+rendered me various services, so that I am greatly bound to him. And
+I beg you, my dearest children, to requite him in all possible ways
+for the services he has rendered me.
+
+On May 2, it became generally talked of that I should assuredly be
+set at liberty, and some asked the tower-warder whether I had come
+out the evening before, and at what time; so that Ole began to fear,
+and could not bear himself as bravely as he tried to do. He said to
+me in a sad tone: 'My good lady! You will certainly be set at
+liberty. There are some who think you are already free.' I said, 'God
+will bring it to pass.' 'Yes,' said he, 'but how will it fare with me
+then?' I answered, 'You will remain tower-warder, as you now are.'
+'Yes,' said he, 'but with what pleasure?' and he turned, unable to
+restrain his tears, and went away. Jonatha concluded that my
+deliverance was drawing near, and endeavoured to conceal her sorrow.
+She said, 'Ole is greatly cast down, but I am not.' (And the tears
+were standing in her eyes.) 'It is said for certain that the King is
+going away the day after to-morrow. If you are set at liberty, it
+will be this very day.' I said, 'God knows.' Jonatha expressed her
+opinion that I was nevertheless full of hope. I said I had been
+hopeful ever since the first day of my imprisonment; that God would
+at last have mercy on me, and regard my innocence. I had prayed to
+God always for patience to await the time of His succour; and God had
+graciously bestowed it on me. If the moment of succour had now
+arrived, I should pray to God for grace to acknowledge rightly His
+great benefits. Jonatha asked if I were not sure to be set free
+before the King started for Norway; that it was said for certain that
+the King would set out early on the following morning. I said: 'There
+is no certainty as to future things. Circumstances may occur to
+impede the King's journey, and it may also happen that my liberty may
+be prevented, even though at this hour it may perhaps be resolved
+upon. Still I know that my hope will not be confounded. But you do
+not conceal your regret, and I cannot blame you for it. You have
+cause for regret, for with my freedom you lose your yearly income and
+your maintenance.[148] Remember how often I have told you not to
+throw away your money so carelessly on your son. You cannot know what
+may happen to you in your old age. If I die, you will be plunged
+into poverty; for as soon as you receive your money, you expend it
+on the apprenticeship of your son, who returns you no thanks for
+it.[149] You have yourself told me of his bad disposition, and how
+wrongly he has answered you when you have tried to give him good
+advice. Latterly he has not ventured to do so, since I read him a
+lecture, and threatened that I would help to send him to the House of
+Correction. I fear he will be a bad son to you.' Upon this she gave
+free vent to her tears, and begged that if I obtained my liberty I
+would not abandon her. This I promised, so far as lay in my power;
+for I could not know what my circumstances might be.
+
+ [148] In the margin is added: 'The woman who attended on me
+ received eight rix-dollars monthly.'
+
+ [149] In the margin: 'She had him learn wood-carving.'
+
+In this way some days elapsed, and Jonatha and Ole knew not what the
+issue might be.
+
+On May 19, at six o'clock in the morning, Ole knocked softly at my
+outer door. Jonatha went to it. Ole said softly, 'The King is already
+gone; he left at about four o'clock.' I know not if his hope was
+great; at any rate it did not last long. Jonatha told me Ole's news.
+I wished the King's Majesty a prosperous journey (I knew already what
+order he had given), and it seemed to me from her countenance she was
+to some extent contented. At about eight o'clock Totzloff came up to
+me and informed me that the Lord Chancellor Count Allefeldt had sent
+the prison governor a royal order that I was to be released from my
+imprisonment, and that I could leave when I pleased. (This order was
+signed by the King's Majesty the day before his Majesty started.)
+
+His Excellency had accompanied the King. Totzloff asked whether I
+wished him to lock the doors, as I was now free. I replied, 'So long
+as I remain within the doors of my prison, I am not free. I will
+moreover leave properly. Lock the door and enquire what my sister's
+daughter, Lady Anna Catharina Lindenow, says, whether his
+Excellency[E68] sent any message to her (as he promised) before he
+left. When Totzloff was gone, I said to Jonatha, 'Now, in Jesus'
+name, this very evening I shall leave. Gather your things together,
+and pack them up, and I will do the same with mine; they shall remain
+here till I can have them fetched.' She was somewhat startled, but
+not cast down. She thanked God with me, and when the doors were
+unlocked at noon and I dined, she laughed at Ole, who was greatly
+depressed. I told her that Ole might well sigh, for that he would now
+have to eat his cabbage without bacon.
+
+ [E68] The Excellency alluded to is Ulrik Frederik Gyldenlove, a
+ natural son of Frederik III. Anna Catharina Lindenow was daughter
+ of Leonora's sister, Elizabeth Augusta, who married Hans Lindenow.
+
+Totzloff brought me word from my sister's daughter that his
+Excellency had sent to her to say that she was free to accompany me
+from the tower, if she chose. It was therefore settled that she was
+to come for me late the same evening.
+
+The prison governor was in a great hurry to get rid of me, and sent
+the tower-warder to me towards evening, to enquire whether I would
+not go. I sent word that it was still too light (there would probably
+be some curious people who had a desire to see me).
+
+Through a good friend I made enquiry of her Majesty the Queen,
+whether I might be allowed the favour of offering my humble
+submission to her Majesty (I could go into the Queen's apartment
+through the secret passage, so that no one could see me). Her Majesty
+sent me word in reply that she might not speak with me.
+
+At about ten o'clock in the evening, the prison governor opened the
+door for my sister's daughter. (I had not seen him for two years.) He
+said, 'Well, shall we part now?' I answered, 'Yes, the time is now
+come.' Then he gave me his hand, and said 'Ade!' (Adieu). I answered
+in the same manner, and my niece laughed heartily.
+
+Soon after the prison governor had gone, I and my sister's daughter
+left the tower. Her Majesty the Queen thought to see me as I came
+out, and was standing on her balcony, but it was rather dark;
+moreover I had a black veil over my face. The palace-square, as far
+as the bridge and further, was full of people, so that we could
+scarcely press through to the coach.
+
+The time of my imprisonment was twenty-one years, nine months, and
+eleven days.
+
+King Frederick III. ordered my imprisonment on August 8, A.D. 1663;
+King Christian V. gave me my liberty on May 18, 1685. God bless my
+most gracious King with all royal blessing, and give his Majesty
+health and add many years to his life.
+
+This is finished in my prison.
+
+On May 19, at ten o'clock in the evening, I left my prison. To God be
+honour and praise. He graciously vouchsafed that I should recognise
+His divine benefits, and never forget to record them with gratitude.
+
+Dear children! This is the greatest part of the events worth
+mentioning which occurred to me within the doors of my prison. I live
+now in the hope that it may please God and the King's Majesty that I
+may myself show you this record. God in His mercy grant it.
+
+1685. Written at Husum[E69] June 2, where I am awaiting the return of
+the King's Majesty from Norway:
+
+ [E69] This Husum is a village just outside Copenhagen, where
+ Leonora remained for some months before she went to Maribo, as is
+ proved by a letter from her dated Husum, September 18, 1685. Of
+ course the last paragraphs must have been added after she left her
+ prison, and the passage 'This is finished in my prison' refers, at
+ any rate, only to what precedes.
+
+A.D. 1683. New Year's Day. To Myself.
+
+    Men say that Fortune is a rare and precious thing,
+    And they would fain that Power should homage to her bring.
+    Yet Power herself is blind and ofttimes falleth low,
+    Rarely to rise again, wherefore may Heaven know.
+    To-day with humorous wiles she holds her sovereign sway,
+    And could one only trust her, there might be goodly prey.
+    Yet is she like to Fortune, changeful the course she flies,
+    And both, oh earthly pilgrim, are but vain fraud and lies.
+    The former is but frail, the other strives with care,
+    And both alas! are subject to many a plot and snare.
+    Thou hast laid hold on Fortune with an exultant mind,
+    Affixed perhaps to-morrow the fatal _mis_ we find;
+    Then does thy courage fail, this prefix saddens thee,
+    Wert thou thyself Goliath or twice as brave as he.
+    And thou who art so small--already grey with care--
+    Thou know'st not whether evil this year thy lot may share.
+    For Fortune frolics ever, now under, now above,
+    Emerging here and there her varied powers to prove.
+    All that is earthly comes and vanishes again,
+    Therefore I cling to that which will for aye remain.
+
+On March 14, 1683, I wrote the following:--
+
+    True is the sentence we are sometimes told:
+    A friend is worth far more than bags of gold.
+    Yet would I gladly ask, where do we find
+    A friend so virtuous that he is well inclined
+    To help another in his need and gloom
+    Without a thought of recompense to come?
+    Naught is there new in this, for selfish care
+    To every child of Eve has proved a snare.
+    Each generation hears the last complain,
+    And each repeats the same sad tale again;--
+    That the oppressed by the wayside may lie,
+    When naught is gained but God's approving eye.
+
+    See, at Bethesda's pool, how once there came
+    The halting impotent, some help to claim
+    Among those thousands. Each of pity free,
+    Had no hand for him in his misery
+    To bring him to the angel-troubled stream.
+    Near his last breath did the poor sufferer seem,
+    Weary and penniless; when One alone
+    Who without money works His wise own
+    Will, turned where the helpless suppliant lay,
+    And gently bade him rise and go his way.
+
+    Children of grief, rejoice, do not despair;
+    This Helper still is here and still will care
+    What He in mercy wills. He soothes our pain,
+    And He will help, asking for naught again.
+    And in due time He will with gracious hand
+    Unloose thy prison bars and iron band.
+
+A.D. 1684. The first day. To Peder Jensen Totzloff.
+
+    Welcome, thou New Year's day, altho' thou dost belong
+    To those by Brahe reckoned the evil days among,
+    Declaring that whatever may on this day begin
+    Can never prosper rightly, nor true success can win.
+    Now I will only ask if from to-day I strive
+    The evil to avoid and henceforth good to live,
+    Will this not bring success? Why should a purpose fail,
+    Altho' on this day made? why should it not prevail?
+    Oh Brahe, I believe, when we aright begin,
+    To-day or when it be, and God's good favour win,
+    The issue must be well, and all that matters here
+    Is to commend our ways to our Redeemer dear.
+
+    Begin with Jesus Christ this as all other days.
+    Pray that thy plans may meet with the Almighty's praise,
+    So may'st thou happy be, and naught that man can do
+    Can hinder thy designs, unless God wills it so!
+    May a rich meed of blessing be on thy head bestow'd,
+    And the Lord Jesus Christ protect thee on thy road
+    With arms of grace. Such is my wish for thee,
+    Based on the love of God; sure, that He answers me.
+
+
+LONDON: PRINTED BY
+SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
+AND PARLIAMENT STREET
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+The following corrections were made:
+
+p. 53: length the good-for-nothing[good-for nothing] fellow came down,
+       and
+
+p. 55: there for ten days[25] a letter from Gul...[Gl...] which he
+
+p. 56: patacoon[patacon] to those who were to restrain her, saying,
+
+p. 59: came to see her, no one in consequence[consequenec] consoled
+       her,
+
+p. 61: When the lawyer had said that they[t hey] had now taken
+
+p. 64: lose in Dan...[Den...].
+
+p. 67: It was necessary[neccessary] to descend the rampart into the
+
+p. 92: he persuaded[pursuaded] me to undertake the English journey,
+
+p. 106: with my attendant. I answered nothing else than[then] that
+
+p. 114: silk camisole[camisolle], in the foot of my stockings there
+        were
+
+p. 132: Castle[Cstale], I had sent a good round present for those in
+
+p. 135: sad day, and I begged them, for Jesus'[Jesu's] sake, that
+
+p. 137: decree? I only beg for Jesus'[Jesu's] sake that what I say
+
+p. 172: might easily injure herself with one.'[[76]]
+
+p. 174: Synge'[[E31]]:--
+
+p. 230: of listening to reason, for she at once exclaimed 'Ach[!]
+
+p. 239: Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter, left me one evening in 1669,
+
+p. 241: and the Frenchman[Frenchmen] was conveyed to the Dark Church,
+
+p. 241: through Uldrich[Udrich] Christian Gyldenlove. Gyldenlove
+
+p. 246: her word moreover, and I so arranged it[at] six weeks
+
+p. 259: In the same year, 1671, Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter, left
+
+p. 264: silent, not if I were standing before the King's
+        bailiff![?][']
+
+p. 268: in the time of Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter. Chresten, who
+
+p. 272: In the same year Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter, left me for
+
+p. 276: and a half after her marriage, and that suddenly,
+        suspicion[suspipicion]
+
+p. 300: Supper in the Queen's church[[E65]]. Once, when she came
+
+p. 311: [60] In[in] the margin is added: 'The sorrow manifested by
+        many would far
+
+p. 311: [117] In the margin is added: '1666. While Karen, Nils'[Nil's]
+        daughter, waited
+
+p. 311: Nils'[Nil's] daughter. When anything gave her satisfaction,
+        she would take
+
+p. 311: to set Copenhagen[Copenagen] on fire in divers places, and
+        also the
+
+p. 311: Autobiography[Autobiograpy] of Leonora as 'notre vieillard;'
+        he was a faithful
+
+p. 311: which placed it at the disposal of Hannibal
+        Sehested[Schested] when he
+
+p. 311: [E38] 'Anno 1666, soon after Karen, Nils'[Nil's] daughter,
+        came to me,
+
+p. 311: [E51] Hannibal Sehested[Schested] was dead already in 1666,
+        as Leonora
+
+p. 311: disposed to Hannibal Sehested[Schested].
+
+p. 311: entitled 'Martilogium (for martyrologium[matyrologium]) der
+        Heiligen' (Strasburg
+
+
+
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