ambassador in the middle of the night 12 to give him five envelops containing one and a half million thalers in valid bills of exchange and coupons, as well as the elector's compromising correspondence with Prussia and England. He also gave him a casket of jewels, requesting that the ambassador deal with these things as he would for a friend.

Baron von Wessenberg felt extremely uncomfortable; his position as ambassador of a neutral power was being seriously compromised, but he was fortunately able to entrust the money to a chamberlain of his acquaintance, who was traveling to Hanover that night. The letters, however, were of such a compromising nature that he burned them in terror. He had dealt with everything excepting the jewels, when the trumpets and marching songs of the French invading troops were heard in the morning. A few minutes earlier the elector had left the town with his son in a traveling coach and six. After having been held up by French troops at one gate, he escaped by another, and drove without stopping through Hameln and Altona, to Rendsburg in Schleswig.

Having entered Cassel, Marshal Mortier immediately began to carry out all Napoleon's instructions, and also commandeered all the electoral moneys and possessions," even including the stables and the court furniture. He took over the electoral rooms in the castle for his own personal use, and the electoral flunkeys as his personal servants. He did not molest the elector's consort, and Wessenberg succeeded in sending her the jewels, which she sewed into her garments and those of her servants.

Buderus felt that things might get rather warm for him, and he left Cassel disguised as an apprentice, with a knapsack on his back, to follow his master into exile.18 His despairing family stayed behind.

While these events were taking place, neither Meyer Amschel Rothschild nor either of his sons seems to have been at Cassel.1 They had long realized that the attitude

of the French toward the elector was critical, and that their relations with him might get them into trouble. Frankfort, too, had been occupied by the French, and the headquarters of the firm, their house and their whole property, were at the mercy of the enemy.

In his heart Meyer Amschel remained loyal to the elector, and saw that the position arising out of the French invasion and the flight of the elector was one in which he could still be of great service to him. He presumably came quite rightly to the conclusion, that it was in the elector's own interest that he should stay away at this critical period, so that he might, if possible, carry on the elector's business behind the backs of the French. In following his natural inclinations, and not compromising himself in the eyes of the French, and in keeping out of the way of these dangerous companions as far as possible, he was also following the course of the greatest practical utility.

Even if Meyer Amschel or one of his sons had actually been in Cassel, the moneys entrusted to Baron von Wessenberg would not have been placed in their keeping. They were, as yet, far from enjoying such a degree of confidence; indeed, the ambassador actually stated in his report to Vienna at the time that the elector had sent the things to him "because of lack of confidence in his business agents."

The French immediately instituted investigations to discover where the elector had hidden his wealth. Napoleon had received news at Berlin of the occurrences at Cassel. At four o'clock on the morning of November 5, 1806, he sent the following orders to Lagrange: "Have all the artillery, ordnance stores, furniture, statues and other articles in the palace of the court brought to Mainz. Proclaim that this prince may no longer rule. I shall not continue to suffer a hostile prince on my boundaries, especially one who is practically a Prussian, not to say an Englishman, and who sells his subjects. You must

completely disarm the inhabitants, and authorize an intendant to seize the prince's revenue. In general you may treat the country mercifully, but if there is any sign of insurrection anywhere, you must make a terrible example. . . . Let yourself be guided by the principle that I wish to see the House of Hesse, whose existence on the Rhine cannot be reconciled with the safety of France, permanently removed from power.

19 15

Such were Napoleon's feelings toward the elector. The latter sent messenger after messenger, and letter upon letter to Napoleon, but the emperor refused to answer. On the 1st of November, 1806, William of Hesse arrived at his destination, the castle at Gottorp, near Schleswig, belonging to his brother, who had also married a Danish. princess. A whole crowd of exile princelings from small German states was gathered there. They had all been suddenly wrenched from a comfortable and careless existence, and were suffering acutely, especially from financial distress.

"We are in the greatest misery here," wrote Buderus to London,1o on November 17, 1806. "Please help us to get some money soon, because we do not know what we shall do otherwise, as we are not getting a farthing from Cassel. God, how things have changed!"

Meanwhile the French occupied Hamburg and advanced unpleasantly close to the elector's place of refuge. He became exceedingly nervous and excited, and feared that he might yet fall into the hands of the French, with all the belongings that he had rescued; his possessions were all packed in chests, ready for further transport. He once got into such a state of panic that he wanted to send Buderus straight off into the blue with as many valuables and securities as possible, leaving it to him to make such provision as he could for their safe custody. However, the outlook became less menacing; the French did not come Schleswig for the time being, and the elector gradually recovered his composure.

Meanwhile Lagrange was ruthlessly executing Napoleon's severe commands at Cassel. Even Wessenberg, suspected of concealing electoral treasure, was placed temporarily under arrest. Gradually all the treasures that had been concealed in the castle, including the gold and silver plate, the antiques, the whole collection of coins and medals to which Rothschild had contributed so many valuable specimens, and also the innumerable chests containing deeds and securities, were discovered. The elector might well regret that for the sake of fifty thalers, he had failed to have the silver carried down the river. All his splendid silver was sent to Mainz to be melted down.

Dazzled by the vast extent of the riches that were being brought to light, Lagrange was moved to take steps to feather his own nest. Although his imperial master well knew that the elector was rich, he could hardly expect his wealth to be as extensive as actually proved to be the

case.

Lagrange reported to Napoleon that the property discovered was only worth eleven million thalers, which of course was not remotely in accordance with the facts; and in return for a douceur of 260,000 francs in cash, he returned to the Hessian officials forty-two of the chests, including almost all those that contained securities and title-deeds. Running great dangers, a brave electoral captain brought the chests into safety, and conveyed nineteen of them to Frankfort, where they were stored, not with Meyer Amschel Rothschild, but in the warehouse of Preye and Jordis, in whose extensive vaults they could be concealed without attracting attention.

For an additional 800,000 livres paid to himself and the intendant, the dishonest governor promised to return other papers too, and not to carry out any further investigation. Thereby countless chests were released, which were distributed amongst various trusted persons, for safe

* One livre equaled one franc; four francs were the equivalent of one thaler.

keeping. Four of these chests, containing papers of the Privy Council, found their way to Meyer Amschel Rothschild's house with the green shield in the Jewish quarter, during the Spring Fair of 1807. This was the only part played by the House of Rothschild in the actual saving of the electoral treasures.

Meyer Amschel Rothschild hid these chests, having left one of them for a time with his son-in-law Moses Worms, in the cellar of his house. In case of emergency he could have recourse to a separate cellar behind the house and under the courtyard, the approach to this cellar from the house cellar being very easy to conceal. The courtyard cellar, too, was connected by a secret passage with the neighboring house. The persecution of the Frankfort Jews in earlier times, had led to many such secret refuges being constructed. In this case it was therefore reasonable to assume that if the house were searched by foreigners like the French, the cellar under the courtyard would not be discovered at all, and that even if it were discovered there was a good chance of getting its contents into the next house.

In the meantime political changes had occurred which put an end to the political independence of Frankfort. Karl von Dalberg, who had collaborated with Talleyrand in the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine, was nominated Primate of the Confederation on June 12, 1806, and by a decree of Napoleon was granted the city of Frankfort and the surrounding territory as his residence.

This was a fact of much importance, both to the elector and to his devoted servants the Rothschild family, for Dalberg was particularly well-disposed to the elector and to his administrator Buderus, on account of his business dealings with them in earlier times; and, although he was an archbishop and a strict Catholic, he was known to be tolerant in his religious views. The incorporation of Frankfort in the Confederation of the Rhine put an