Two barons Von der Trenck--Friedrich a cornet of the Gardes du Corps--Favoured by the Princess Amelia--Incurs the displeasure of Frederick the Great--Sent to the fortress of Glatz--Escaped to Bohemia and passed into Russia--Re-arrested at Danzig and sent to Magdeburg--Plans for escape--The grenadier Gefhardt a faithful friend--Communication established with friends outside--Funds obtained--Plot discovered--Removed to the Star Fort and loaded with irons--Terrible suffering--Attempt to cut through the doors discovered--His prison is strengthened but his courage is unbroken--Fresh plans made--A new tunnel begun--Plot discovered--The sympathy of the Empress-Queen of Austria aroused--Released on Christmas Eve, 1763--Married and settled in Aix-la-Chapelle--His death on the scaffold during the French Revolution. There were two barons Von der Trenck, Franz and Friedrich, in the middle of the 18th century, both intimately associated with the prisons of their respective countries, for although cousins, Franz was an Austrian, and the other, Friedrich, a Prussian. Both were military officers. Franz was a wild Pandour, a reckless leader of irregular cavalry, who for his sins was shut up for life in the Spielberg, the famous prison fortress near Brünn, where he committed suicide. Friedrich, after enjoying the favour of Frederick the Great and winning the rank of cadet in the Gardes du Corps, was eventually disgraced and imprisoned in the fortress of Magdeburg, where he was detained for ten years and treated with implacable severity. Friedrich von der Trenck was richly endowed by nature; he was a gallant young soldier with good mental gifts and a handsome person which enabled him to shine in court society and achieve many successes. He was fortunate enough to gain the good graces of the king’s sister, the Princess Amelia of Prussia, who greatly resembled her celebrated brother both physically and mentally. She possessed the same sparkling wit, the same gracious vivacity and, like Friedrich, was a distinguished musician. She was a warm votary of art, science and literature and was always surrounded and courted by the most cultured German princes. All her contemporaries describe her beauty with enthusiasm. So far, she had declined the many proposals of marriage, which, as a matter of course, she had received. Her heart belonged to the cornet of the Gardes du Corps, and a secret understanding existed between them. The lovers were at first cautious, but soon became bolder, and the king’s suspicions were aroused. At first he tried fatherly remonstrances, but in vain. The extraordinary liaison became the talk of the hour. A lieutenant of the Prussian Foot Guards taunted the favoured lover about his relations with the princess, they quarrelled, and a duel followed. The king was furious, and a catastrophe was imminent, but was avoided by the outbreak of war. Then this gay and reckless courtier allowed himself