460 
zau Alchberg, who had been minifter at 
Peterfburgh, during the ‘revolution that 
bereaved Peter UI of his life and throne, 
was made acquainted with the whole con- 
fpiracy, in confequence of his intimacy 
with Gregory Orloff; and as it was highly 
interefting to Denmark, that the party of 
the emprefs fhould prove victorious, he 
had not only countenanced the plot, but 
inftruéted the principal infurgents, relative 
to the meafures beft calculated for obtain- 
ing fuccefs. Her imperial majefty, how- 
ever, was no fooner fecurely feated on the 
throne of her hufband, than fhe evinced 
the moft boundlefs ambition, and refolved 
to regulate the affairs of the north, in the 
character of a fovercign, rather than of an 
ally. She accordingly empluyed Saldern 
as her minifter at Copenhagen, who in-- 
termeddied even in the svnutie of the 
yoyal houfehold. Philofophoff, his. fue- 
ceffor, acquired, or rather maintained an 
equal degree of credit; for as Ruffia pre- 
tended to certain claims on the German 
dominions of Denmark, the ainb2ffador 
had only to pronounce the word. Hol- 
fiein !” mm order to obtain the moft fcru- 
pulous acquiefcence to all his demands. 
The fudden influence of the Count de 
Struenfee, however, diminifhed the autho- 
rity of the Plenipotentiary, and it’ was 
not until the fhort but brilliane career of 
the former was Snithed on a {caftuld, that 
the ‘jatter was enabled to refume his 
mfluence. Julia Maria, the queen-mo- 
ther, having firftimprifoned and then ex- 
iled, the unfortunate Carolina Matilda, to 
Zell, where the died literally of a dreken 
éeart*, perceived the neceifity of keeping 
fair with the emprefs; and it muft be al- 
towed, that a natural fympathy may be 
ealily fuppofed to have fabftted, berween 
two celebrated and ambictous female fo- 
vereigns, both of wham had’ attained the 
fupreme authority by means of revolu- 
tions cemented with blood, and fimilar to 
each other, in a variety of refpééts. In 
confequence of this, Philofophoff, who 
knew that the elder Bernitorff had always 
been devoted to Ruffia, procured the ap- 
pointment of his nephew to the office of 
prime-minifter. Ae 
The young count, as he was then term- 
ed, was every way worthy of the choice, 
and the only objeétion to his elevation 

* It has been afferte®, that there was a ball 
at court, nutwithilanding the intelligence of her 
death» had arrived that very day. Le jour 
qu’on apprit a Copenhague Ja mort de cette 
princeffe, il devoit y avoir bala la cour. On 
voulut cacher que Caroline Matilde n’étoit plus; 
mais cette nouvelle fe répandit bientét3 ce qui 
n’empécha pas cue le bal n’eut lien !” 
Original Anecdotes.---Count de Bernftorff. 
-fair fex, northe flave of wine. 
[Dec 
arofe from the manner in- which jt 
was obtained. He was diftinguifhed above 
all his contemporaries- by his politenefs, 
his modefty, the juftnefs of his ideas, and 
the perfuafivenefs of his eloguence. The 
ftudy of politics was his favourite pur- 
fuit,-and he had nothing of the courtier 
about him; for he was faithful to his word, 
fimple in his manners, and frank in his 
converfation.. He was ambitions, how- 
ever, of glory, and zealous to diftinguifh 
himfelf as a patriot minifter. The nomunee 
of the crown, even ia a government ufually 
confideredas arbitrary, he dared to cone 
template himfelf as a fruftee for the people. 
Such was the man whom the court of 
Pererfburgh fondly hoped would receive 
its commands with implicit fubmiffion; but 
he foon proved by his conduét, that he 
was more attached to Denmark than to - 
Ruffia sto the country which gave him 
birth, than to that which had exalted him 
to power. | ‘3 
No fooner was the count invefted with 
the snfizuia of office, than he manifefted 
the moft earneft defire to render himfelf 
worthy of his employments. - Diligent 
and jadefatigable, he was conftantly occu- 
pied about public affairs. Acceffible to 
every one, there was {carcely a perfon of 
property, and not a fingle man of any cele~ 
brity inall Denmark, who was not known 
to the minifter. The enemy of flattery, 
no one ever acquired either his favour or 
confidence by founding his praifes; in- 
different as to what are ufually termed 
pleafures, he was neither the dupe of the 
Pcffe fling 
an even.flow of animal fpirits, he was 
never rendered haughty by fuccefs, nor 
dif{pirited by misfortunes. 
The moment, therefore, that he was 
intrufied with the reins of government, 
Bernftor® prepared to achieve fomething 
highly advantageous to his country. Den- 
mark, as already ftated, had been long kepe 
in the moft degrading dependence on 
Ruffia, on account of certain claims main- 
tained by the latter, relative to the Ger-~ 
man dominions of the former, The fub- 
ject of conteft confitted of the fertile ter- 
ritory of Schlefwig *, irfelf 4 fovereign. 
duchy, and rendered peculiarly interefting 
to the court of Copenhagen, by its local 
fituation, being bounded on the eaft b 
the Baltic, and on the fouth by the Hol» 
* Schlefwig or Steswicx, as it is improperly 
termed in our gazetteers, is alfo known to the 
Danes bythe name of South Jutiand. It is one 
of thofe countries, on the borders of the Baltic, 
whence our Saxon anceftors tranfplanted them. 
felves hither, and introduced the fee {pirit of 
northern nations, 
ie on . 
