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RIESBECK’S TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY. 227
The emptinefs of the treafury is the reafon why more projetts are entered into in
Denmark than in any other country in the world ; but molt of them are only air bub-
bles, which are in general blown away by the firft wind. The private intereft of the
projector is commonly at the bottom of them all, and the court wants not only the
power, but the good will to encourage the projects of good patriots. The King, who
is the only king in modern hiftory who has diftinguifhed himfelf by a public trial of his
wife, is obliged to leave a great part of the government to his minifter. His ftep-mo-
ther, it is true, poflefles a great deal of court-craft ; but ftill the minifters and counfel-
lors have the moft influence. Among{t them, there are conflantly cabals, intrigues,
and revolutions, as you may learn from the hiftory of Struenfee, particularly his apology,
which will make every man who reads it exclaim—Beatus ille qui procul. Another firlt
minifter has been lately difmiffed.
St. Germain was very ill treated in Copenhagen. The late King called him to his court,
with a view of having his troops better difciplined, at a time when it was his intention to:
take part in the affairs of the north, or at leaft to make himfelf formidable. St. Ger-
main was told that he would have the command of fifty or fixty thoufand men; but
when he came, he found hardly any foldiers except the guards. The reft confifted
partly of a wild undifciplined militia, and partly of a number of hungary invalids. There
was no cavalry at all. The good King, who had only feen his troops upon paper, and
probably, as he was not born tor a number of troops, had not fufficiently confidered them
even there, could not eafily conceive how his great army fhould have mouldered away
by St. Germain’s arrival. Some of the miniftry, who governed the paper troops, en-
tertained hopes that St. Germain would play part of the game with them; but he was
not the man for their purpofe, for as foon as he found out that part of the fums deftined,
for the payment of the forces went into the purfes of the miniltry, commiflaries, ad
officers, he fet himfelf with his ufual determined {pirit to bring about a reformation. He,
however, foon found out, that even if the abufes could be corrected, the hopes of hav-
ing an army able to take part in the affairs of the north, muft continue a vain expecta-
tion. Being fatisfied, therefore, that where there is nothing, there can be nothing to
reform, he told the King, with his ufual freedom, that he faw nothing in which he could:
be of any ufe to his Majefty ; on the contrary, he was only a burthen, and in his opinion,
it would be moft advifeable to fend him away again.
The minifters were extremely happy to get rid of fo troublefome an infpector, and
the more, becaule they could not eafily have got rid of him by a court intrigue, becaufe
the King loved him ; for court intrigues can do but little again{t extraordinary talents,
united with a true knowledge of human nature and courts, where efpecially, as the cafe
was here, the fovereign is on the fide of juftice as often as he underftands it. After
fome trifling, and a great many under-hand tricks, the miniftry propofed to St. Ger-
main to accept of a certain fum of money paid once for all, inftead of the promifed pen-
fion. Nothing could be more agreeable to him than this, as he knew the unfteadinefs
of the Danifh court. But he was unfortunate in the end, for having never paid any
attention to his own private money matters, he thoughtlefsly contented himfelf with a,
letter of credit of fifty or fixty thoufand thalers *, on a merchant at Hamburgh, whom,
on his arrival in that city, he found had become a bankrupt, and was run away from
the German {tates and territory. St. Germain thought, to his laft hour, that the minif-
ter was an accomplice in the robbery. It is well known that he was maintained for a
long time after by a collection made for him by the officers of our German troops, out
of their own allowance. <A beautiful trait in the hiftory of the Danifh minifters.
* 25001,
Struenfee,
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