Seeing his attempts all ineffectual, the governor, in a milder tone, said, "You have ever complained, Baron Trenck, of not having been legally sentenced, or heard in your own defence; I give you my word of honour, this you shall be, and also that you shall be released from your fetters, if you will only tell me who took your letter."To this I replied, with all the fortitude of innocence, "Everybody knows, my lord, I have never deserved the treatment I have met with in my country. My heart is irreproachable. I seek to recover my liberty by every means in my power: but were I capable of betraying the man whose compassion has induced him to succour my distress;were I the coward that could purchase happiness at his expense, Ithen should, indeed, deserve to wear those chains with which I am loaded. For myself, do with me what you please: yet remember I am not wholly destitute: I am still a captain in the Imperial service, and a descendant of the house of Trenck."Prince Ferdinand stood for a moment unable to answer; then renewed his threats, and left my dungeon. I have since been told that, when he was out of hearing, he said to those around him, "I pity his hard fate, and cannot but admire his strength of mind!"I must here remark that, when we remember the usual circumspection of this great man, we are obliged to wonder at his imprudence in holding a conversation of such a kind with me, which lasted a considerable time, in the presence of the guard. The soldiers of the whole garrison had afterwards the utmost confidence, as they were convinced I would not meanly devote others to destruction, that I might benefit myself. This was the way to gain me esteem and intercourse among the men, especially as the Duke had said he knew Imust have money concealed, for that I had distributed some to the sentinels.
He had scarcely been gone an hour, before I heard a noise near my prison. I listened--what could it be? I heard talking, and learned a grenadier had hanged himself to the pallisadoes of my prison.
The officer of the town-guard, and the town-major again entered my dungeon to fetch a lanthorn they had forgotten, and the officer at going out, told me in a whisper, "One of your associates has just hanged himself."It was impossible to imagine my terror or sensations; I believed it could be only my kind, my honest Gelfhardt. After many gloomy thoughts, and lamenting the unhappy end of so worthy a fellow, Ibegan to recollect what the Prince had promised me, if I would discover the accomplice. I knocked at the door, and desired to speak to the officer; he came to the window and asked me what Iwanted; I requested he would inform the governor that if he would send me light, pen, ink, and paper, I would discover my whole secret.
These were accordingly sent, an hour's time was granted; the door was shut, and I was left alone. I sat myself down, began to write on my night-table, and was about to insert the name of Gelfhardt, but my blood thrilled, and shrank back to my heart. I shuddered, rose, went to the aperture of the window and called, "Is there no man who in compassion will tell me the name of him who has hanged himself, that I may deliver many others from destruction?" The window was not nailed up till the next day; I therefore wrapped five pistoles in a paper, threw them out, called to the sentinel, and said, "Friend, take these, and save thy comrades; or go and betray me, and bring down innocent blood upon thy head!"The paper was taken up; a pause of silence ensued: I heard sighs, and presently after a low voice said, "his name is Schutz; he belonged to the company of Ripps." I had never heard the name before, or known the man, but I however immediately wrote SCHUTZ, instead of Gelfhardt. Having finished the letter I called the lieutenant, who took that and the light away, and again barred up the door of my dungeon. The Duke, however, suspected there must be some evasion, and everything remained in the same state: I obtained neither hearing nor court-martial. I learned, in the sequel, the following circumstances, which will display the truth of this apparently incredible story.
While I was imprisoned in the citadel, a sentinel came to the post under my window, cursed and blasphemed, exclaiming aloud against the Prussian service, and saying, if Trenck only knew my mind, he would not long continue in his hole! I entered into discourse with him, and he told me, if I could give him money to purchase a boat, in which he might cross the Elbe, he would soon make my doors fly open, and set me free.
Money at that time I had none; but I gave him a diamond shirt-buckle, worth five hundred ferns, which I had concealed. I never heard more from this man; he spoke to me no more. He often stood sentinel over me, which I knew by his Westphalian dialect, and I as often addressed myself to him, but ineffectually; he would make no answer.
This Schutz must have sold my buckle, and let his riches be seen;for, when the Duke left me, the lieutenant on guard said to him--"You must certainly be the rascal who carried Trenck's letter; you have, for some time past, spent much money, and we have seen you with louis-d'ors. How came you by them?" Schutz was terrified, his conscience accused him, he imagined I should betray him, knowing he had deceived me. He, therefore, in the first agonies of despair, came to the pallisadoes, and hung himself before the door of my dungeon.
