THE
LIFE
AND
Surprising Adventures
OF
Frederick Baron Trenck.
CAREFULLY CORRECTED AND ABRIDGED.
TO WHICH IS ADDED,
A SHORT SUPPLEMENT;
GLASGOW,
Printed by J. & M. Robertson, No. 20. Saltmarket, 1809.
THE
LIFE AND ADVENTURES
OF
FREDERICK BARON TRENCK.
I Was born in the year 1726, at Koenigsberg in Prussia. My father descended from an ancient family, was General of Cavalry. He died in 174(illegible text) after having received eighteen wounds in the service of Prussia. My mother was daughter of the President of the Supreme Court of Koenigsberg, one of her brothers was Minister of State, and the two others Generals of Infantry. After my ⟨father's⟩ death, she married Count Loftange, Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment of Cuirassiers of Kiow. ⟨I⟩ had two brothers and a sister: one of my brothers remained with my mother; the other was ⟨Cornet⟩ in the regiment of Kiow; and my sister married the only son of old General Waldow and settled in Brandenburg.
My father sent me, at the age of thirteen to the university of Koeonigsberg, where I made a ⟨rapid⟩ progress in my education. At the end of 1740 ⟨I⟩ had a dispute with a gentlemen named Wallenro(illegible text) who boarded in the same house; he was much ⟨taller⟩ and stronger than me; and despising my weakness, thought proper to strike me; I demanded ⟨satisfaction⟩ which he refusing contemptuously, I ⟨took⟩ a second, and attacked him in the open street. We fought; and I had the good fortune to wound ⟨him⟩ in the hand and arm.
This affair was much talked of; and Doctor Kowalewski, our Professor, making a complaint ⟨to⟩ the university, I was sentenced to three hours ⟨confinement⟩, but M. Warschaw, my grand-father, ⟨pleased⟩ with my spirit, took me out of the house; ⟨and⟩ placed me, as a boarder, with professor Chris(illegible text)nni, There, for the first time, I began to enjoy ⟨entire⟩ liberty.
Three days after, a professed bully forced me in ⟨a⟩ manner to fight: I wounded him in the hip.
These successes so puffed me up, that I ⟨appeared⟩ in public, with a sword of enormous length, and ⟨all⟩ the appendages of a prize-fighter.
I should certainly have become a duellist, if the ⟨goodness⟩ of my heart, and my misfortunes, had ⟨not⟩ soon after brought me to reason. A fortnight ⟨had⟩ scarcely elapsed from my last quarrel, before ⟨I⟩ had another with one of my friends, a Lieutenant of the garrison, whom I insulted. We fought ⟨and⟩ I wounded him in two places.
Duelling, among the students, was not punished ⟨at⟩ this period; it was looked upon as an honour to (illegible text)nd a challenge.
In November 1742, Baron Lottum, the King's ⟨Adjutant⟩ General, a relation of my mother, was (illegible text)t by his Majesty to Koenigsbergh. He dined at ⟨my⟩ grand-father's, chatted a good deal with me, ⟨and⟩ after having sounded me by a variety of questions, asked me if I should not be tempted to serve ⟨my⟩ country, as my ancestors had always done; ⟨adding⟩, that in the army I should find more ⟨convenient⟩ opportunities of giving challenges, than at the university. I accepted this proposal without hesitation; and a few days after we set off ⟨for⟩ Potzdam.
I was presented to the King, to whom I ⟨was⟩ known since the year 1740, as one of the ⟨best⟩ scholars in the university. He was much ⟨pleased⟩with the pertinence of my answers; my ⟨stature⟩ for I was tall: and my manly assurance. I ⟨obtained⟩ permission to enter into the Life ⟨Guards⟩ in quality of Cadet, with promises of speedy ⟨promotion⟩.
The Life Guards were at that time, the ⟨pattern⟩ and school of all the Prussian Cavalry. They ⟨consisted⟩ only of one squadron of men chosen ⟨from⟩ the whole army. Their uniform was the ⟨most⟩ brilliant in Europe; the dress and ⟨accoutrements⟩ of an officer costing two thousand crowns. ⟨The⟩ cuirass, which was covered with silver, its ⟨appendages⟩ and the horse's furniture, amounted ⟨almost⟩ to seven hundred.
This squadron consisted only of six officers, ⟨and⟩ an hundred and forty-four men; but we had (illegible text) ways fifty or sixty supernumeraries, and as ⟨many⟩ spare horses; for the King took all the ⟨handsome⟩ men he met with into his Guards. The ⟨officers⟩ were the best in the army. The King ⟨instructed⟩ them himself, and afterwards employed them ⟨to⟩ drill the rest of the Cavalry.
The duty of no other soldier in the world ⟨is as⟩ hard, as was that of a Life Guard man; at ⟨the⟩ time I was in this service, I had not eight ⟨hours⟩ rest in eight days. The exercise used to ⟨begin at⟩ four o'clock in the morning; when we ⟨tried⟩ the new evolutions the King was desirous ⟨of introducing⟩; we leaped ditches, three, four, ⟨five⟩ and six feet wide, and even more, till some (illegible text) or other broke his neck. Sometimes, in a ⟨morning's⟩ exercise, we had several men and horses killed or wounded. The horses were kept in the King's stables; and he who could not dress, arm himself, saddle his horse, mount and fall into his rank in eight minutes, was put under arrest for a fortnight.
The trumpet frequently sounded before we had scarcely got into bed, by way of giving the young men a habit of vigilance. The Life Guards lost more men and horses in a time of profound peace, than they would have done in two battles.
I had been scarcely three weeks Cadet, when one day, after the parade, the King took me aside, examined me for near half an hour, on a variety of subjects, and ordered me to wait on him to-morrow. He was desirous of seeing whether the favourable accounts he had heard of me were well founded; and, to ascertain their truth, gave me the names of fifty soldiers to learn by heart, which I did in five minutes. He then gave me the subjects of two letters, and I composed them immediately in French, and Latin, writing one, and dictating the other. He afterwards desired me to draw the plan of a piece of ground, by the eye, and with all the dispatch possible; which I did with the same success. He then appointed me Cornet in the Life Guards. He spoke to me like a king and a father; and from that moment became my tutor, and my friend.
I was a Cadet only three weeks. When thus made an officer, the King gave me two horses from his own stables, and a thousand crowns to assist in purchasing my arms, uniform, &c. I was highly satisfied to find myself a courtier and an officer in the handsomest, bravest, and best disciplined corps in Europe. My military fortune seemed to ⟨have⟩ no bounds.
We passed the winter in garrison at Berlin, when the officers of our regiment lived with the Coun(illegible text) and as my reputation had preceded me thither nobody passed the time in a more agreeable manner than myself.
In 1743, I was six feet, three inches high; til then, I was a stranger to love; the shocking spectacle of the hospital of Potzdam made me dread ⟨it's⟩ illusions. In 1743, the King's Sister was married to the King of Sweden, whose widow she now is. On this occasion I mounted the guard of honour in quality of Officer or the Guards, and was ordered to escort her as far as Stettin. In the tumult inevitable in a crowd, I lost my watch, and a sharper was also dexterous enough to cut off part of the gold fringe from my waistcoat. My loss was the subject of much pleasantry among the other officers, and a great lady took occasion to say, that she would make it her business to console me. I felt all the meaning of this, and in a few days I was the happiest man in Berlin. It was on both sides the first tribute paid to Love. Her affection for me was without bounds; and while I exist I shall never forget her kindness; but the secret of our intimacy is one of those that I will carry with me to the grave. She is still alive, and an absence of forty-three years has not been capable of making any change in her sentiments. My children alone, shall know the name of the person to whom they are indebted for their father’s preservation.
I lived happy and respected at Berlin. The King on every occasion gave me marks of favour; my fair mistress supplied me with more money than I could spend, and my appearance was soon more brilliant than any officer of the corps. My expences attracted notice, for I had only inherited from my father the estate of Sharlack, which produced about a thousand crowns a year; and I sometimes spent more than that sum in a month.
In the beginning of September 1743, war was declared between Prussia and the House of Austria. We marched hastily towards Prague, and passed through all Saxony without meeting with the smallest opposition, I dare not relate here what the Great Frederick said sorrowfully to us the very morning of our departure from Potzdam, when all the officers were assembled about his person. This time Frederick took the field with regret, as I was witness.
If I do not mistake, the King's army invested Prague, on the 14th of September; that of General Schwerin who had marched through Silesia, came a day later from the other side of the Mulda; and we were obliged to wait eight days longer for pontoons, to open a communication between the two armies.
General Harch was obliged to capitulate, after twelve days resistance. Eighteen thousand men were made prisoners of war: the number of the garrison kill'd and wounded during the siege not exceeding five hundred.
So far we mot with no obstacle; however, the Imperial army, under the command of Prince Charles, who had left the banks of the Rhine, advanced to save Bohemia. His light armed troops, being thrice as numerous as ours, prevented our foraging. Famine and want therefore obliged us to retreat, having no relief to hope for from the country behind us, which we had laid entirely waste on our march. The severity of the season in November made the soldiers very impatient, in six weeks we lost forty-two thousard men, ⟨either⟩ by sickness or desertion. In short, we were ⟨obliged⟩ to abandon Bohemia. All the Cavalry ⟨was⟩ dismounted for want of forage; the severity ⟨of⟩ the weather, the broken roads, continual marching, and repeated alarms, diffused a general ⟨spirit⟩ of discontent, and a third of the army deserted.
Prince Charles followed us as far as the frontiers of Bohemia, and halted there to put ⟨his⟩ troops into winter quarters. This gave the King time to recruit his army; especially by the return of his deserters, whom the Austrians were imprudent enough to dismiss.
In this campaign I passed few nights in ⟨my⟩ tent: and my indefatigable activity procured ⟨me⟩ the favour and entire confidence of the King. Nothing contributed so much to keep up my resolution, as the public praises I received, when I returned to head quarters from foraging with sixty or eighty waggons loaded, while others came back empty.
I was sent one day from Beneschen on a foraging party, with a detachment of thirty Hussars and twenty Rangers. I posted my Hussars in a convent, and went with the Rangers to a gentleman's seat, to procure a sufficient number of waggons to bring off hay and straw from an adjacent farm. But a Lieutenant of Austrian Hussars, who lay concealed in a wood with thirty-six horse, having remarked the weakness of my escort, took advantage of the moment, when my people were employed in loading the waggons, and surprising my centinel, fell suddenly upon them, and took the whole party prisoners in the farm-yard, I was sitting quietly in the gentleman's seat, with the mistress of the house, and saw from the window what happened.
I was afflicted beyond measure, and the good ⟨lady⟩ was proposing to hide me, when I heard a firing at the farm. The Hussars, posted at the convent, had been told by a peasant, that there was an Austrian detachment in the wood; they saw us go into the farm-house, hastened to our assistance, and came up a few minutes after the surprise. It is impossible to express the pleasure with which I joined them. Some of the enemy's Hussars escaped by the back-door; however, we made twenty-two prisoners, among whom was a Lieutenant of the regiment of Kainockichen. They had two men killed and one wounded, and I lost on my side two Rangers, who were killed in the hay-loft where they were at work. After this rencounter, we continued to forage with greater precaution; the horses we had taken served in part to draw waggons; and having laid the convent under contribution to the amount of a hundred and fifty ducats which I distributed among my soldiers to purchase their silence, we set off to rejoin the army. The King was at table, when I came into his tent. As I had been absent the whole night, every body had supposed me taken, which had that day been the fate of many others. The instant I came in, the King asked me if I returned alone; "No, Sire," answered I, "I bring with me five and twenty waggons loaded with forage, and twenty-two prisoners, with their officers and horses." The King immediately made me sit down: and turning to the English Ambassador, who was sitting beside him, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, "This is one of my youthful Matadors!" The horse intended to reconnoitre the enemy was already waiting before his tent; he consequently asked me few questions, and to those few I could not answer without trembling. Some minutes after, he rose from table, cast its eyes on the prisoners, and putting the Order of Merit round my neck, ordered me to go and rest myself.
As I was not without money, I gave each non-commissioned officer twenty ducats, and each private soldier a ducat, to induce their silence. I determined, however, to embrace the first opportunity of making the King acquainted with the truth, and found a convenient one two days after. We were on a march, and in quality of Cornet, I was at the head of the troop. The King rode on before the drums, and beckoning to me to come to him, addressed me in these words: "Now Trenck, tell me the particulars of your late success." When I heard this question, I did not doubt my being betrayed; but the King asked it with such apparent good humour, that I related the matter exactly as it had passed, I observed marks of astonishment in his countenance; but I saw, at the same time, that he was not displeased with my sincerity. He talked with me half an hour, more like a father than a King, praised my candour, and concluded with these words which I shall never forget: "Depend upon me, and follow my advice, and I will make a man of you." It was not long before I perceived the confidence the King placed in me after this explanation, I received many marks of it in the course of the following winter, which we passed at Berlin.
In our retreat from Bohemia, the King entered Kollin with his Horse Guards, the piquets of Horse belonging to head quarters, and the second and third battalions of Guards: we had but four pieces of canoon, and our squadron was posted in the suburbs. Towards the evening, our advanced guards were driven in; the Hussars entered with them pell-mell into the suburbs, and the enemy's light troops swarmed in all the environs. Our commandant sent me immediately to receive the King's orders. After having fought him a great while, I found him at last on the top of a steeple, with a perspective glass in his hand. I never saw him so uneasy and undetermined as on that day. We were ordered to retreat immediately, and to retire through the town to the opposite suburb, where we were directed to halt without taking the bridles or saddles off our horses.
We were scarcely there, when a dark night came on, accompanied by a deluge of rain. About nine o'clock, Trenck (an Austrian commander, and a relation of mine) appeared with his Turkish muse, and set fire to several houses. As soon as we perceived it, we began to fire musketry out of the windows. The tumult was terrible. The town was so full of people that we could not force an entrance; the gate was shut, and our field pieces kept firing from above. Trenck stopped the passage of the water; by midnight it was as high as our horses' bellies, and we were almost entirely abandoned. We lost six men, and my horse was wounded in the neck-It is certain that the King, as well as the rest of us, would have been made prisoners, if my cousin could have continued the attack: But receiving a wound in the foot with a cannon ball, he was obliged to be carried off, and the Pandours retired. The day following, Nassau's corps came to our assistance. We left Kollin, and while on the march the King said to me, "Your cousin might have played us an unlucky trick that night; but, according to the report of the deserters, he was killed."
About the middle of December we arrived at Berlin, where I was received with open arms. I was less prudent than in the former years, and perhaps more observed. A Lieutenant of the Foot-Guards jesting indecently on the secret of my amours, I drew upon him, and wounded him in the face. The Sunday after, I went to pay my court to the King; "Sir," said he, "the thunder roars: and if you do not take care, may fall upon your head."
Some time after, I came a few minutes too late to the parade; the King remarked it, and sent me under arrest to Potzdam, where I remained upwards of three weeks, owing to the artifices of Colonel Warteslaben.
I did not recover my liberty till three days before our departure for Silesia; towards which we marched only in May, to begin our second campaign. I will here relate an incident that happened to me this winter, which became the source of all my misfortunes.
Francis Baron Trenck, who commanded the Pandours in the service of Austria, having been dangerously wounded in Bavaria in the year 1743, wrote to my mother to tell her it was his intention to make me his heir. This letter to which I made no answer, was sent to me at Potzdam.
The 12th of February 1944, I was at Berlin, and went to pay a visit to Captain Iaschinzki, commandant of the Life Guards, in company with Lieutenant Studnitz, and Cornet Wagnitz, who lived with me in the same appartment. The conversation turned on the Austrian Trenck, and Iaschinzki asked me if I was related to him. I answered, Yes, and said that he had made me his heir. He asked me, what answer I had made. I told him, None. On this the whole company observed, that in such circumstances, I should be much in the wrong if I did not answer his letter. "Write ⟨to⟩ him," added our commandant,"and desire him ⟨to⟩ send you some handsome Hungarian horses for ⟨chargers⟩, Give me your letter, and I will have it ⟨delivered⟩ by M. de Bossart Secretary of Legation (illegible text) the Saxon Ambassador, on condition that you ⟨give⟩ me one of the horses. This correspondence ⟨is⟩ a family concern, and not an affair of state; ⟨besides⟩, I will take the whole upon me, &c." I sat ⟨down⟩ to write immediately, in compliance with ⟨the⟩ advice of my commanding officer. I gave my ⟨letter⟩ open to Iaschiazki; he sealed it himself, and ⟨sent⟩ it away.
This letter, with the following incident, was ⟨the⟩ sole cause of all my misfortunes.
In the campaign of 1744, one of my grooms ⟨with⟩ two saddle horses was taken, as well as ⟨several⟩ others, by Trenck's Light Troops, On my ⟨return⟩ to camp, I was ordered to accompany the ⟨King⟩ who was going to reconnoitre. My horse ⟨being⟩ fatigued, his Majesty immediately made me ⟨a⟩ present of a beautiful English race-horse.
A few days after, I was astonished to see my ⟨groom⟩ come back with my two horses, and a trumpet from the enemy; who brought a note, in ⟨nearly⟩ these terms:
"The Austrian Trenck is not at war with the Prussian Trenck, his cousin. On the contrary, he is very happy to have it in his power to send him back his horses, which he has recovered from the hands of his Hussars."
That day I waited on the King, and was very ⟨coolly⟩ received, "Since your cousin," said he, has sent you back your horses, you have no longer any occasion for mine."
We marched into Silesia to begin the second campaign, which was to us as destructive as glorious; Prince Charles, instead of waiting for us in Bohemia, imprudently advanced and posted himself in the plain of Strigau.
Our army was drawn in haste from its cantonments in the neighbourhood of Kamenz, and in twenty-four hours was in order of battle. The 14th of June, eighteen thousand dead bodies covered the plain of Strigau; and the Imperial army, and that of Saxony, its ally, were totally defeated.
The Life Guards were on the right: before the attack, the King said to our squadron, "Now my friends, prove that you are my Guards, and ⟨spare⟩ no Saxon!" Three times we charged the Cavalry and the Infantry twice. We alone took seven standards and five colours, and in less than an hour all was over.
I received a pistol shot in the right-hand; my horse was badly wounded, and at the third charge I was obliged to mount another. The following day, all the officers received the order of Merit; for my part I remained near a month in the ⟨hospital⟩ at Schweidnitz. More than sixteen thousand wounded men were dressed there; some of ⟨whom⟩ could get no assistance till the third day.
The campaign passed in marching and ⟨counter⟩ marching: we were the most fatigued, because the Guards encamped round the King's tent, which placed in the middle of the camp, always formed the van-guard.
The famous battle of Soran was-fought on September 14th, The King had sent such large detachments into Saxony, Silesia, and Bohemia the grand army consisted at most of twenty-thousand men. Prince Charles, who obstinately persisted in judging of his enemy by the number ⟨of⟩ men, had surrounded the small number of Brandenburgh and Pomeranian troops with more than eighty-six thousand men, and was in hopes of taking them all prisoners.
About midnight the King came into my tent, ⟨and⟩ went likewise into those of the other officers ⟨to⟩ wake them; he ordered the horses to be saddled without noise, the baggage to be left behind, ⟨and⟩ the whole army to hold themselves in readiness for action.
Eight field pieces were placed behind a rising ground opposite the defile through which the King meant to pass, and where it was intended ⟨to⟩ begin the action. He must have received information of all the designs of the Austrian General, for he had called in all the advanced posts on the heights to inspire him with greater confidence.
At the dawn of day, the Austrian artillery planted on the heights, unloaded our camp, and the cavalry, advancing to attack us, entered the defile.
We immediately drew up in order of battle, and in less than ten minutes began the attack; notwithstanding our small number of men, (there were only five regiments of cavalry with our army) and fell with the greatest rapidy on the enemy at that moment employed in slowly forming ⟨their⟩ squadrons in the front of the defile. We ⟨drove⟩ them back into the defile, which was crowded full of men. The King immediately ordered ⟨the⟩ eight field pieces to be unmasked, and they made terrible havoc.
Nadaste, Trenck, and the light troops, that were to have attacked us in the rear, stopped to pillage our camp: it is worthy of remark, that when news was brought to the King, that the Croats were pillaging the camp, he answered: "So much the better, they will have something to do, and will not prevent us from carrying the principal point." We were completely victorious: but lost the baggage. The head quarters left without defence, were entirely pillaged: and Trenck had for his share of the plunder, the King's tent, and all his silver plate.
A few days after the battle of Soran, the postman brought me the following letter from my cousin Trenck, dated from Essek, and written four months before.
"I find by your letter from Berlin, of Feb, 12, that you desire me to send you some Hungarian horses, that you may employ them against my Hussars and Pandours. I perceived with pleasure, in the last campaign, that the Prussian Trenck was a good soldier. As a proof of my attachment, I sent you back your horses, which my people had taken. But if you want Hungarian horses, try next campaign to carry ⟨off⟩ mine by open force; or else come and join your cousin, who will receive you with open arms, will treat you like his son and his friend, and will procure you call the advantages you can desire," &c.
Cornet Wagoitz, and Lieutenant Gratthausor who are both alive, were present; I gave them the letter, we laughed at its contents; and it was resolved that we should show it to Colonel Iaschinzki, commandant of the corps, on condition that he should not speak of it. An hour after we did as we had agreed. When he had read my letter with an appearance of astonishment, we all began to laugh: and as there was a report that a body of troops, would be sent to Hungary, Ioaschinzki said "we will go ourselves, and take Hungarian horses." Here the conversation dropped. I cannot help making the following observations on the subject.
1st. I had not observed, that the date of the letter was four months anterior to its receipt: this my Colonel did not fail to do.
2d. It was probably a snare laid by Iaschinzki. The sending back of my horses, in the proceeding ⟨campaign⟩ had made a noise. Perhaps I had been ⟨persuaded⟩ to write, that I might be entrapped by a ⟨forged⟩ answer; for it is certain, that my cousin, maintained, till his death, that he had never received a letter from me, and that consequently he had ⟨sent⟩ no answer. I still think (and shall always condone in the same mind,) the letter was forged.
Without the liberty of making any defence or of being tried by a court-martial, was confined as a criminal, in the citadel or Glatz; I was not in a dungeon, but in the officer's guard-room, I was permitted to walk upon the ramparts, and was waited on by my own servants.
I wrote to the King, and demanded a court-martial, offering to summit to any punishment whatever, if found guilty. So determined a style in so young a man, did not please him, and I received not answer.
From my female friend at Berlin, I received some consolation, and a thousand ducats.
"Here the Baron enlarges on the different schemes he tried to effect his escape from the prison of Glatz, his adventures in Bohemia and Poland, with Lieutenant Schell, who deserted along with him; the barbarous treatment he received from the Austria Trenck at Vienna; and gives a recital of the causes of that General's disgrace and imprisonment, which ends with the following strange relation of the manner of his death?"
It was not in Trenck's power to prevent ⟨me⟩ inheriting his father's fortune, which was entailed on me; wishing, however; to give me marks of ⟨his⟩ hatred after his death, he made a will full of absurd and contradictory clauses, which served the will holders of his fortune, as a pretext to strip me of it.
Though Trenck was an athiest, nobody had more ardent desire then he to acquire an extraordinary reputation; he therefore resolved to put an end to his existence: and to make himself pass ⟨for⟩ a saint at his death.
For this purpose, three days before his death when he was in the best of health possible, he requested the commandant to send to Vienna for Confessor; St. Francis having, as he said, ⟨declared⟩ to him that he would die on his birth-day at ⟨noon⟩ precisely. Though every body laughed at his prediction, the Capuchin Friar was sent for.
The day after Trenck had confessed himself, ⟨he⟩ exclaimed, "God be praised! my end approaches my Confessor is just dead, and has appeared ⟨to⟩ me." Upon inquiry it was found that the mon(illegible text) was really dead. Trenck then begged all the officers of the garrison to come to his prison; too the tonsure, dressed himself is the habit of a Capuchin Friar, made a public confession, and preached an hour, exhorting his audience to think of their salvation He then took leave of them, ⟨knelt⟩ down to say his prayers, fell into a sound sleep, rose, and prayed again. Oct. the 4th he ⟨looked⟩ at his watch, at eleven o'clock in the morning and cried out, "God be praised my last hour ⟨is⟩ not far off. Every body present was much entertained at seeing a man of his character play (illegible text) ⟨ridiculous⟩ a comedy. However, it was remarked ⟨that⟩ his face grew pale on the left side. He then ⟨seated⟩ himself beside a table, leaned his head upon ⟨his⟩ hand, and, after saving a prayer, continued motionless, with his eyes shut.
My cousin was acquainted with the secret poison ⟨called⟩ Acqua tossana: he made his Confessor the ⟨confident⟩ of all his affairs, and employed him to deliver several jewels, and bills of exchange, of which he wished to make presents; among others, ⟨to⟩ know, that at that time, he sent back to a great Prince, a bill of exchange for two hundred thousand florins, due to him from the Prince; not a ⟨florin⟩ of which I ever recovered, although I was Trenck's only heir. However, as it was necessary ⟨to⟩ put it out of the Confessor's power to betray ⟨him⟩, he gave him a dose of poison sufficient to dispatch him, in some refreshments that he made him partake of, before his departure; and the Priest actually died in a very little time after his return. Trenck took the like sort of poison himself, and therefore knew the exact hour of his death. As he could no longer procure respect while living, he was resolved to be honoured, and ⟨sainted⟩ if possible, after his decease.
The superstition of the populace was a sufficient ⟨security⟩ to him, that he should obtain credit for the performance of miracles. That he might excit it ⟨the⟩ more powerfully, he ordered a small chapel to be erected to his memory, and endowed it with six thousand florins. Thus died in his thirty-fourth year, this extraordinary man, to whom Nature had been prodigal of her gifts, and who had been long a terror to the enemies of the state under which he served. He lived like a tyrant, and an enemy ⟨to⟩ his fellow-creatures, and died with a reputation of holiness, that he certainly little deserved.
In spite of all my pains and efforts, I found ⟨it⟩ impossible to obtain the enjoyment of my inheritance. Those who had the administration of ⟨the⟩ fortune my cousin had left me, were too powerful for me to make them relinquish their hold. ⟨In⟩ the mean time, the Empress Queen gave me ⟨a⟩ company of Cavalry in the regiment of Cuirassier of Cordora. This small favour was the only mitigation of all the injuries I had suffered.
Discontented with my situation, and cursing my fate, I went to join my regiment in Hungary where I proposed to wait till fortune was tired ⟨of⟩ persecuting me.
In the month of March, 1754, I received news of the death of my mother, and asked the Board of War for six months leave of absence to go ⟨to⟩ Dantzick, in order to concert with my brother and sister the steps necessary to be taken, ⟨relative⟩ to any possessions that had been confiscated in Prussia. I obtained it: and in the month of May set off for that city, where I fell a second time ⟨into⟩ the hands of the Prussians.
The people of Vienna concerned in my cousins effects, by several base schemes, and false insinuations, endeavoured to get me again into the hands of the Prussians, that they might quietly enjoy ⟨the⟩ fortune which was justly my due.
My brothers and sister came to me as Dantzic in May. We passed a fortnight together, and shared my mother's fortune.
"The Baron's pleasures were short lived; ⟨the⟩ Magistracy of Dantzick, intimidated or ⟨bribed⟩ by the King of Prussia, whose revenge was ⟨still⟩ unsatisfied, when he was on the very eve of ⟨departing⟩ from their city arrested and ⟨surrendered⟩ him into the hands of that despot: and with strong escort he was conducted to the Garrison of Magdeburgh, in Prussia."
The King ordered a new dungeon to be built on purpose for me, and prescribed the form of the chains I was to wear. When I was led to it, good Heaven! What did I perceive; two locksmiths, with their hammers and anvil, and the whole floor covered with chains. They went immediately to work; my feet were fastened with enormous chains to a ring sunk in the wall, at about three feet from the ground, so that I could only take two or three steps on each side. They then girt my naked body with a broad iron girdle, from which descended a chain, fastened at the other extremity to a bar of iron, two feet long. At each end of this bar was a handcuff, that confined my hands; and a collar was added in 1756. As soon as the work was completed, every body retired in silence; and I heard the dreadful creaking of four doors, which shut close upon one another.
The name of Trenck had been incrusted on the wall with rid bricks; and under my feet was a tomb intended for me, on which also was my name, and a Death's-head. There were two oaken doors to the dungeon; and on the way to it a kind of lobby, into which a window had been opened, and which was likewise secured by two doors of the same kind. It was the King's intention that this dungeon should be built in such a manner, as to put it out of my power to have the least communication with the centinel; it was surrounded with pallisades twelve feet high, forming a kind of park; and the key was deposited with the guard officer.
Here then did I remain, without consolation and without assistance, stretched out; in the dark, upon a damp pavement. My chains seemed insupportable before I was used to them. I cannot describe what I suffered the first nightIn the imperfect darkness that prevailed, I could distinguish the form of ⟨my⟩ dungeon. It was ten feet long, and eight broad, in one corner was a kind of bench of brick intended for a seat; and opposite the place where I was chained, was a window of semi-circular form, which was opened through a wall, six feet thick, it was one foot in height, and two feet in breadth. The passage through which the light penetrated into my prison, took its direction upwards, as far as the middle of the wall, and then descended outward towards the earth, forming an angle, with strong iron bars at each extremity. My eyes, after sometime became so accustomed to the darkness of the hole, that I could see a mouse run along the floor but in the winter when the sun was not visible, ⟨it⟩ might be truly said to live in eternal night.
I had tamed a mouse so perfectly, that the little animal was continually playing with me, and used to eat out of my mouth. One night it skipped about so much, that the centinals hearing a noise made their report to the officer of the Guard. The Town Major arrived early in the morning, accompanied by locksmiths and masous. The floor, the walls, my chains, and my body, were strictly examined: but finding all in order, they asked me the cause of last evening's bustle. Having heard the mouse myself, I frankly told them by what it had been occasioned, on which they desired me to call my little favourite; I whistled, and it immediately leaped upon my shoulder. I solicited its pardon, but the Officer of the Guard took it into his possession, promising however, to give it to a lady for whose care he would answer. Turning it afterwards loose in his chamber, the mouse soon disappeared, and hid in a hole. But at the usual ⟨hour⟩ of visiting my prison, when the officers were ⟨first⟩ going away, the poor little animal darted in, ⟨climed⟩ up my legs, seated itself on my shoulder, ⟨and⟩ played a thousand tricks, to express its joy. ⟨Every⟩ one was astonished at this striking instance ⟨of⟩ animal sensibility. The Major carried the mouse ⟨away⟩, and gave it to his wife, who had a light ⟨cage⟩ made for it, but the little animal refusing to ⟨eat⟩, was a few days after found dead.
"In this seclusion the Baron remained nine years, when the King, probably tired of punishing, consented to his release. After which he retired to Vienna, where he was confined a short time at the instigation of those who enjoyed his property, under a false charge of madness, he found himself necessitated to withdraw his pecuniary claims; and, after the losses, only received the brevet rank of Major in the Austrian service."
No doubt the Revolution is France pointed out ⟨that⟩ country as a place where he might finish his ⟨days⟩ in liberty and peace; What then must be the ⟨reader's⟩ astonishment at the tragical fate which ⟨the⟩ Baron at last met in that nation. It does not ⟨appear⟩ what part our hero took in politics; or upon ⟨what⟩ specific charges he was sentenced to the Guillotine, upon the downfall of Robesperre's ⟨party⟩. To us it remains a mystery, how a man ⟨of⟩ Trenck's character, who had been the constant martyr of arbitrary power, could be deemed obnoxious to the cause of Liberty. Surely the most ⟨stern⟩ and rigid tribunal might have felt some symptoms of remorse is pronouncing sentence of death ⟨upon⟩ the hoary head, that for sixty-eight years, had ⟨struggled⟩ incessantly with the wayward persecutions of Fate, and had suffered more than human Nature is, in general, thought capable of bearing———For the rest, we make no doubt but Trenck evidenced the same heroic fortitude in his last moments which characterized the whole tenor of his life.
We shall finish the present biographical sketch with quoting the Baron's address to his readers with which he concludes the fourth and last volume of his life. It is strikingly pathetic, and ⟨we⟩ might add ominous; for it would almost tempt ⟨us⟩ to conjecture, that Trenck, at the time of writing this address, hid a presentiment of the fate that awaited him. He writes as follows:
"God, who hitherto has enabled me, amidst thousand perils to act the part of an honest man and of a real martyr to the cause of Truth, will trust protect and strengthen me in the last sense of my tragedy, nor suffer my fortitude to fail me when I meet with obstacles insurmountable!
"Mean while, to you, ye friends of human kin who have not read my history without emotion, commend my children, when I shall be stretched on the field, and mouldering in the dust. In ⟨the⟩ grave I shall be deaf to the voice of Fame; ⟨there⟩ shall my weary limbs at length find rest. My head is already grey; and I have had reason to imprecate each rising sun, that sheds its beams on (illegible text) many tyrants and knaves. O! were this the ⟨last⟩ day of my beholding them! Long has my ⟨inquisitive⟩ eye been weary of viewing mankind. The hapless victim, who, like me, has been ⟨for⟩ sixty-eight years, exposed to the persecuting furl(illegible text) of relentless Fate, must wish for repose in the ⟨silent⟩ shades of Death!"
FINIS
Glasgow, Printed by J. & M. Robertson, Saltmarket, 1809.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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