The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1876-04-13
The King then urged him to become

! AAAo pAAyoACAitu.
"Give me few weeks time to make
up my mind," replied DR. Struensee.
IF accept your offer, shall go to
Copenhagen and personally tell you so. :"
The King and Queen returned to Co.
penhagen. But, as he had foreseen.
fresh domestic troubles awaited him.
During the latter years Of his fathers
reign his step.mother, Queen Juliana,
had been the ruler of the kingdom to
all intents and purposes. Juliana was
an ambitious. INSCRIPTIONS woman,
She was supported by her mother-in-
law, and by the Prime Minister Holck,
an unmigrated william, who as subse.
quent events showed, shrank from no
attrocity to attain his objects.
"When Queen Juliana's husband
died, she thought that her step-son,
the young King Christian the Seventh,
enfeebied as he was by disease, would
become a pliable tool in her hands.
At first such really proved to be the
case; but when King Christian married
the English Princess Caroline Matilde,
Juliana, her rmother-in.law, and Prime
Minister Holck, began to tremble for
the continuance of their influence upon
the destinies of the kingdom.
| The young Queen manifested an evil
dent disposition to emancipate her
husband from the degrading tutelage
in which he was kept by his Intriguing
step-mOther, and on more than one oc-
casion she induced him to thwart the
purposes of the Queen-dowger and of
the Prime Minister.
Shortly after her return from Alton,
Queen Caroline Matilde gave birth to a
son, which filed her husband with un.
bounded joy.
Fearing that this event would still
further strengthen the influence of
the Queen, Juliana and Holck con-
cocted an infamous intrigue against
her. They bribed young officer of
the Queens household Baron Molt.
kens) to confess, under the threats of
sham inquisitor, that he had illicit
intercourse with her Majesty, and that
he and not King Christian, was the
father Of Caroline Matilde's child.
This story, which was false from be-
ginning to end, was brought to the
Kings knowledge with such diabolical
ingenuity that he believed it to be
true, and at first he was so exasperated
that he intended to throttle the Queen
with his own hands. But Caroline
Matilde protested her innocence with
every semblance of sincerity so strong.
ly that his belief in her guilt was
shaken, and he left her unharmed, al
though he thenceforth treated her
with the most CALLING coldness.
Baron MOltkins was sent to fort
ress, and kept there nominally only as
a prisoner, the Queen.dowager having
hyprocritically told her step-son that
it would be best to cover up the scan
dal as much us possible.
Shortly afterward DR.. StruenSee IT,
rived in Copenhagen. He had made
up his mind to accept the Kings offer,
and became his physician. He found
Christian the Seventh prey to the
gloOmiest feelings. The King who
liked the young physician from the
start, unbosomed himself to him fully.
He even told him Of the Queens alleg-
ed intidelity.
On the following day an event occur.
red, which proved the turning point in
Struensee's s career.
The smallpox was raging violently
in parts of Copenhagen. 1t even fore
ed it's way into the interior of the
royal castle, and on the above mention.
ed day it attacked the Kings infant
son. DR.. Struensee saved the young
princes life, and thereby made both
the King and Queen his devoted
friends. The King appointed him as
his private secretary with large sal
ary.
The Queen thanked him with stream
ing eyes, for the preservation of her
son s life, and in that hour of bound
less gratitude she went so far as to
protest her innocence in regard to the
aforementioned charges to him.
Struensee generously offered to bring
about full reconciliation between her
and her royal husband.
''The King will believe nothing OH
that subject except retraction of
the diabolical falsehood by Baron Molt-
kens.'
Struensee assured her that he would
leave no stone unturned in order to OBJ
tain such q retraction. He went in
disguise to the fortress, where Molt-
kens was kept as nominal prisoner.
Moltkens said haughtily to him:
'Who are you?'
II am friend to truth and the dead
ly enemy of liars -
"What is that to me?''
"You are the most infamous liar OH
earth -
'sirrah, l will make you eat your
words -
The two clinched, but Struensee,
who was a very powerful man, easily
succeeded in throwing his adversary
Then, setting his knees on the fellow s
breast, he hissed out:
"Now, Baron Boltkens, shall slowly
strangle you to death unless you con.
fess that your story about the Queen 3
illicit intercourse with you was a wick
ed falsehood.
The cowardly slanderer, was already
turning black in the face. He replied,
in a gurgling tone:
81 will confess all J"
$50 the Queen is pure?'
81 know nothing to the contrary
:Who caused you to tell lie?''
''The Queen.dowager did,
"What bribe did she give you!'
':She gave me fifty thousand rix-dol'
lars.''
| ''Will you swear to all this 2
Eyes, if I don't endanger my life by
so doing"
Denmark
j The documents were drawn up and
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