In Schleswig, the king's suite was slightly reduced, as the chief page, Von der Lühe, Count Gustavus von Holck, and the physician in ordinary, Etats-rath von Berger, returned hence to Copenhagen. On May 29, the king, accompanied by the two Russian envoys, proceeded to Kiel, where the Prince-Bishop of Lübeck paid his respects to him, and Von Saldern took leave for the very last time. In order to give this important Gottorp minister a proof of his special satisfaction for the zeal which he had displayed in the exchange, the king raised him and his son here to the rank of count, under the name of Saldern Gunderoth. Bernstorff also received the same honour. I have said so much about this exchange and yet so little, that I will venture on one political paragraph, especially as the matter crops up every now and then in the papers. Charles Frederick, sovereign duke of Holstein Gottorp, threw in his fortunes with those of Charles XII. of Sweden, his relation, and shared his disasters. Frederick IV., king of Denmark, robbed him of a portion of his states, and had himself recognised as legitimate owner of them in the treaty which he concluded, in 1720, with Sweden; but the Duke of Holstein protested against that portion of the treaty which despoiled him; and though that prince was at the time very feeble, the King of Denmark in vain offered him a million of crowns to give up his rights. The house of Holstein-Gottorp eventually acquired a formidable power in the north: a younger branch ascended the Swedish throne, and the head of the elder branch became Emperor of Russia, under the title of Peter III., in 1762. Peter made a claim to his hereditary states, and was preparing to enforce it, when he was got rid of, and Catharine, his successor, agreed to an amicable settlement of the affair by an exchange. It is difficult to understand why Russia gave up so magnificent a chance of founding a maritime power as she would have had by the possession of Holstein. So long as she held it, it would have been a _tête du pont_ by which to enter Germany, and she would not have failed to exercise a predominant influence in Denmark. There is reason for believing that Saldern caused Christian VII. to be regarded as a member of the reigning house of Russia who must be treated generously; so that, feeling himself under the beneficent influence of the imperial family to which he belonged by blood, he might become entirely devoted to it. In any case, the treaty by which Russia exchanged her claims on ducal Schleswig and Holstein for the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, which were intended to form an appanage for a junior branch of the Holstein family, was signed in 1768.[59] From Kiel the king went, on the following day, to Traventhal Castle, and thence to Ahrensburg, near Hamburg, where JOHN FREDERICK STRUENSEE, hitherto physician of Altona, and of the lordship of Pinneberg, was appointed surgeon in ordinary, and joined the king's suite.