"Your cause is inseparable from that of your wife, and even should the whole world condemn her, you ought to revoke this condemnation through a feeling of self-respect, if not through natural equity." It is impossible to say whether any one of the thirty-four judges raised his voice in favour of a princess whom they were absolutely obliged to condemn, or whether not one of them dared to touch on so delicate a matter: but the sentence of divorce was pronounced after two sessions of seven hours each. It was not made public, but a rescript was sent to the provincial governors and bailiffs, in which the king informed them that he had repudiated his consort, after a solemn inquiry, in order to repair the honour of his house, and for motives of public welfare. The same tribunal pronounced that the Princess Louisa Augusta should retain the honour due to the daughters of kings. A sealed and secret document was handed at the same time to the Chanceries, which was to be read at the king's death. It doubtless regulated the regency in the event of a minority. Some persons believed that in this will the princess was disinherited: but how could that be so?[82] The queen's confession was dated March 9: the king's counsel handed in his indictment on the 24th: Uldall's reply was made on April 2: and the sentence was passed on the 6th of the same month. Matters were certainly done very quickly. Baron Juel-Wind, Justiciary of the Supreme Court, received orders to inform the queen of the sentence, which he did on April 9, in the presence of Lieutenant-General von Hauch, commandant of Kronborg. The original intention was to exile the unfortunate queen to Aalborg, in Jütland, where she was not to be imprisoned, but to have certain restrictions placed on her liberty. As early as February,[83] Colonel Pentz had been sent to examine the castle, and order the necessary repairs. We shall see hereafter how a change in the arrangements was made. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 77: "Authentische Aufklärungen."] [Footnote 78: This state paper has never before been published in England, and is literally translated from the original text.] [Footnote 79: What Uldall wished to say, seems to be, that the queen could not be convicted on her own confession or on that of Struensee, as the law demanded that the evidence must be given by two persons who agreed in the facts as well as the motives.] [Footnote 80: How could Colonel Keith allow such a trial as this to be carried on when the sister of his own king was the victim? And yet, it is said, he makes a merit of having saved her from the scaffold.--_Falckenskjold's Memoirs_, p. 233.]