Je les trouve aussi
chimeriques
que les precedentes.
Thomas Carlyle
" (and exit).
*
This is a strange motion on the part of Hyndford;
but Friedrich, severely silent to it, understands it very
well; as readers soon will, when they hear farther. But
marvellous things have happened on the sudden! In
these three weeks, since the Camp of Strehlen broke
up, there have been such Events; strategic, diplomatic:
a very avalanche of ruin, hurling Austria down to the
Nadir; -- of which it is now fit that the reader have
some faint conception, an adequate not being possible
for him or me:
"August Iblh, 1741. Robinson re-appears inPresburg; and
"precious surely are the news he brings to an Aulic Council
"fallen back in its chairs, and staring with the wind struck out
"of it. Their expected Seizure of Breslau gone heels over
"head, in that way; Friedrich imperiously resolute, gleaming
"like the flash of' steel amid these murky imbecilities, and
'' without the Cession of Silesia no Peace to be made with him!
"And all this is as nothing, to news which arrives just on the
"back of Robinson, from another quarter.
"August 15lh-2lst. French Army of 40,000 men, special
"Army of Belleisle, sedulously equipt and completed, visibly
* Hyndford's Despatch, Neisae, 4th October 1741.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE 63
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
"crosses the Rhine at Fort Louis (an Island Fortress in the
"Khine, thirty miles below Strasburg; stones of it are from the
"oldSchlos8 ofHagenau); -- steps over deliberately there;
"and on the sixth day is all on German ground. These troops,
"to be commanded by Belleisle, so soon as he can join them,
"are to be the Elector of Bavaria's troops, Kur-Baiern Gene-
"ralissimo over Belleisle and them;* and they are on rapid
"march to join that ambitious Kurfiirst, in his Passau Expe-
"dition; and probably submerge Vienna itself.
"And what is this we hear farther, 0 Robinson, 0 Ex-
cellencies Hyndford, Schweichelt and Company: That
"another French Army, of the same strength, under Maille-
"bois, has in the self-same days gone across the Lower Rhine
"(at Kaisersworth, an hours ride below Diisseldorf)! At
"Kaisersworth; ostensibly for comforting and strengthening
"Kur-K61n (the lanky Ecclesiastical Gentleman, Kur-Baiern^
"Brother) their excellent ally, should anybody meddle with
"him. Ostensibly for this; but in reality to keep the Sea-
"Powers, and especially George of England quiet. It marches
"towards Osnabruck, this Maillebois Army; quarters itself up
"and down, looking over into Hanover, -- able to eat Hano-
"ver, especially if joined by the Prussians and Old Leopold,
"at any moment.
"These things happen in this month of August, close upon
"the rear of that steel-shiny scene in the Tent at Strehlen,
"where Friedrich lifted his hat, saying, ''Tis of no use,
"Messieurs! ' -- which was followed by the seizure of Breslau
"the wrong way. Never came such a cataract of evil news on
"an Aulic Council before. The poor proud people, all these
"months they have been sitting torpid, helpless, loftily stupid,
"like dumb idols; 'in flat despair,' as Robinson says once,
'"only without the strength to be desperate. '
"Sure enough the Sea-Powers are checkmated now. Let
"them make the least attempt in favour of the Queen, if they
"dare. Holland can be overrun, from Osnabruck quarter, at
"a day's warning. Little George has his Hanoverians, his
"subsidized Hessians, Danes, in Hanover, his English on
"Lexden Heath: let him come one step over the marches,
"Maillebois and the Old Dessauer swallow him. It is a sur-
prising stroke of theatrical-practical Art; brought about, to
* Fastes de Louis XV, ii. 264.
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? 64 FIBST SILESIAN WAS ENDS. [book XIII.
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
"old Fleury's sorrow, by the genius of Belleisle, and they say
"of Madame Chateauroux; enough to strike certain Governing
"Persons breathless, for some time; and denotes that the Uni-
"versal Hurricane, or World-Tornado, has broken out. It is
"not recorded of little George that he fell back in his chair,
"or stared wider than usual with those fish-eyes: but he dis-
"cerned well, glorious little man, that here is left no shadow
"of a chance by fighting; that he will have to sit stock-still,
"under awful penalties; and that if Maria Theresa will escape
"destruction, she must make her peace with Friedrich at any
"price. "
This fine event, 80,000 French actually across the
Rhine, happened in the very days while Friedrich and
Neipperg had got into wrestle again, -- Neipperg just
off from that rash march for Schweidnitz, and whirling
back on rumour (15th August), while the first instal-
ment of the French were getting over. Friedrich must
admit that the French fulfil their promises, so far. A
week ago or more, they made the Swedes declare War
against Russia, as covenanted. War is actually de-
clared, at Stockholm, August 4th, the Faction of Hats
prevailing over that of Nightcaps, after terrible debates
and efforts about the mere declaring of it, as if that
alone were the thing needed. We mentioned this War
already, and would not willingly again. One of the
most contemptible Wars ever declared or carried on;
but useful to Friedrich, as keeping Russia off his hands,
at a critical time, and conclusively forbidding help to
Austria from that quarter.
Mare'chal de Belleisle, wrapt in Diplomatic and
Electioneering business, cannot personally take com-
mand for the present; but has excellent lieutenants, --
one of whom is Comte de Saxe, Moritz our old friend,
afterwards Mare'chal de Saxe. Among the finest French
Armies, this of Belleisle's is thought to be, that ever
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? CHAP. IV. J FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE. 65
16tU Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
took the field: so many of our Nobility in it, and what
best Officers, Segurs, Saxes, future Marshals, we have.
Army full of spirit and splendour; come to cut Ger-
many in Four, and put France at last in its place in
the Universe. Here is courage, here is patriotism, of
a sort. And if this is not the good sort, the divinely
pious, the humanly noble, -- Fashionable Society feels
it to be so, and can hit no nearer. New-fashioned
"Army of the Oriflamme," one might call this of Belle-
isle's; kind of Sham-Sacred French Army (quite in
earnest, as it thinks); -- led on, not by St. Denis and
the Virgin, but by Sungod Belleisle and the Chateauroux,
under these sad new conditions! Which did not prosper
as expected.
"Let the Holy German Reich take no offence,"
said this Army, eager to conciliate: "we come as
friends merely; our intentions charitable, and that only.
Bavarian Treaty of Nymphenburg (18th May last)
binds us especially, this time; Treaty of Westphalia
binds us sacredly at all times. Peaceable to you, nay
brotherly, if only you will be peaceable! " Which the
poor Reich, all but Austria and the Sea-Powers, strove
what it could to believe.
On reaching the German shore out of Elsass,
"every Officer put the Bavarian Colours, cockade of
"blue-and-white, on his hat;"* -- a mere "Bavarian
Army," don't you see? And the 40,000 wend steadily
forward through Schwaben eastward, till they can join
Karl Albert Kur-Baiern, who is Generalissimo, or has
the name of such. They march in Seven Divisions.
Donauworth (a Town we used to know, in Marlborough's
time and earlier) is to be their first resting-point;
* Adeluog, ii. 431.
Carij'e. Frederick the Great. VII. 5
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? 66 FIRST SILESIAN WAR ENDS. [book XIII.
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
Ingolstadt their place-of-arms: will readers recollect
those two essential circumstances. To Donauworth is
250 miles; to Passau will be 180 more: five or six
long weeks of marching. But after Donauworth they
are to go, the Infantry of them are, in boats; Horse,
under Saxe, marching parallel. Forward, ever forward,
to Passau (properly to Scharding, twelve miles up the
Inn Valley, where his Bavarian Highness is in Camp);
and thence, under his Bavarian Highness, and in con-
cert with him, to pour forth, deluge-like, upon Linz,
probably upon Vienna itself, down the Donau Valley,
-- why not to Vienna itself, and ruin Austria at one
swoop? *
The second or Maillebois French Army spreads
itself, by degrees, considerably over Westphalia; --
straitened for forage, and otherwise not the best of
neighbours. But, in theory, in speech, this too was
abundantly conciliatory, -- to the Dutch at least.
"Nothing earthly in view, nothing, ye magnanimous
Dutch, except to lodge here in the most peaceable
manner, paying our way, and keep down disturbances
that might arise in these parts. That might arise, --
not from you, ye magnanimous High Mightinesses, how
far from it! Nor will we meddle with one broken brick
of your respectable Barrier, or Barrier Treaty, which
is sacred to us, or do you the shadow of an injury.
* Espagnac, Hisloirc de Maurice Comte de Saxe (German Translation,
Leipzig, 1774), i. 83: -- an excellent military compend. Compazines des
Trois Marechaux (Maillebois, Broglio, Belleisle: Amsterdam', 1773), ii.
53-56: -- in nine handy little volumes (or if we include the Noailles and the
Coignii set, making "Cinq Marechaux" nineteen volumes in all, and a
twentieth for Index); consisting altogether of Official Letters (brief, rapid,
meant for business, not for printing in the Newspapers); which are elucida-
tive beyond bargain, and would even be amusing to read, -- were the topic
itself worth one's time.
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? CHAP. iv. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE. 67
16th Aag. --Uh Oct. 1741.
No; a thousand times, upon our honour, No! " For
brevity's sake, I lend them that locution, "No, a
thousand times," -- and in actual arithmetic, I should
think there are at least four or five hundred times of
it, -- in those extinct Diplomatic Eloquences of Ex-
cellency Fenelon and the other French; -- vaguely
counting, in one's oppressed imagination, during the
Two Years that ensue. For the Dutch lazily believed,
or strove to believe, this No of Fene'lon's; and took an
obstinate laggard sitting posture, in regard to Pragmatic
Sanction; whereby the task of "hoisting" them (as
above hinted), which fell upon a certain King, became
so famous in Diplomatic History.
Imagination may faintly picture what a blow this
advent of Maillebois was to his Britannic Majesty, over
in Herrenhausen yonder! He has had of Danes six
thousand, of Hessians six, of Hanoverians sixteen --
in all some 30,000 men, on foot here since Spring last,
camping about (in two formidable Camps at this
moment); not to mention the G,000 of English on
Lexden Heath, eager to be shipped across, would Parlia-
ment permit; and now -- let him stir in any direction
if he dare. Camp of Gottin like a drawn sword at
one's throat (at one's Hanover) from the east; and lo,
here a twin fellow to it gleaming from the south side!
Maillebois can walk into the throat of Hanover at a
day's warning. And such was actually the course pro-
posed by Maillebois's Government, more than once, in
these weeks, had not Friedrich dissuaded and forbidden.
It is a strangling crisis. What is his Britannic Majesty
to do? Send orders, "Double your diligence, Ex-
cellency Robinson! " that is one clear point; the others
are fearfully insoluble, yet pressing for solution: in a
5*
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? 68 FIRST SILESIAN WAR ENDS. [book XIII.
29th Aug. 1741.
six weeks hence (September 27th), we shall see what
they issue in! --
As for Robinson, he is duly with the Queen at
Presburg; duly conjuring incessantly, "Make your
peace with Friedrich! " And her Majesty will not, on
the terms. Poor Robinson, urged two ways at once,
is flurried doubly and trebly; tossed about as Diplo-
matist never was. King of Prussia flashes lightning
looks upon him, clapping finger to nose; Maria Theresa,
knowing he will demand cession of Silesia, shudders at
sight of him; and the Aulic Council fall into his arms
like dead men, murmuring, "Money; where is your
money? "
'' August 29/ft. While Friedrich was pushing into Neipperg,
"in the Baumgarten Country, and could get no battle out of
"him, Excellency Robinson reappears at Breslau; Maria The-
"resa, after deadly efforts on his part, has mended her offers,
"in these terrible circumstances; and fiobinson is here again.
"'Half of Silesia, or almost half, provided his Majesty will
"turnround, and help against the French:' these, secretly,
"are Robinson's rich offers. The Queen, on consenting to
"these new offers, had 'wrung her hands,' like one in despair,
"and said passionately, 'Unless accepted within a fortnight,
"I will not be bound by them I' 'Admit his Excellency to the
"honour of an interview,' solicits Hyndford; 'his offers are
"much mended. ' Notable to witness, Friedrich will not see
"Robinson at all this time, nor even permit Podewils to see
"him; signifies plainly that he wants to hear no more of his
"offers, and that, in fact, the sooner he can take himself away
"from Breslau, it will be the better. To that effect, Robinson,
"rushing back in mortified astonished manner, reports pro-
gress at Presburg; to that and no better. 'High Madam,'
"urges Robinson, still indefatigable, 'the King of Prussia's
"help would be life, his hostility is death at this crisis. Peace
"must be with him, at any price! ' 'Price? ' answers her Ma-
"jesty once: 'If Austria must fall, it is indifferent to me
"whether it be by Kur-Baiern orKur-Brandenburg! '* Never-
* Stenzel, iy. 156.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE. 69
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
"theless, in about a week she again yields to intense con-
"juring, and the ever-tightening pressure of events; -- King
"G-eorge, except it be for counselling, is become stock-still,
"with Maillebois's sword at his throat; and is, without meta-
"phor, sinking towards absolute neutrality: 'Cannot help
"you, Madam, any farther; must not try it, or I perish, my
"Hanover and I! ' -- So that Maria Theresa again mends her
'' offers: 'Give him all Lower Silesia, and he to join with me! '
"and Robinson post-haste despatches a courier to Breslau
"with them. Notable again: King Friedrich will not hear of
"them; answers by a 'No, Itellyou! Time was, time is not.
"I have now joined with France; and to j oin against it in this
"manner? Talk to me no more! "' * * *
Here is a catastrophe for the Two Britannic Ex-
cellencies, and the Cause of Freedom! Robinson, in
dudgeon and amazement, has hurried back to Presburg,
has ceased sending even couriers; and, in a three weeks
hence (9th October, a day otherwise notable), wishes
"to come home," the game being up. ** Such is Robin-
son's gloomy view: finished, he, and the game lost, --
unless perhaps Hyndford could still do something? Of
which what hope is there! Hyndford, who has a rough
sagacity in him, and manifests often a strong sense of
the practical and the practicable, strikes into -- Readers,
from the following Fragments of Correspondence, - now
first made public, will gather for themselves what new
course, veiled in triple mystery, Hyndford had struck
* Friedrich toHyndford:'" AuCamp" (de Neuendorf), 'lith septembre'
1741. "Milord, fai recu les nouvclles propositions d'alliance que Vinfaligable
"Robinson vous envoie.
Je les trouve aussi chimeriques que les precedentes. "
"-- Ces gens sont-ils fols. Milord, de s'imaginer queje commisse la Irahison
u de tourner en leur faveur mes armes, et de" -- ? " Je vous prie de ne me
"plus atiguer favec de pareilles propositions, et de me croire assez honnete
"homme pour ne point violer mes engagements. -- FtoiBic. " (British Mu-
seum: Hyndford Papers, fol. 133. )
** His Letter, "9th October 1741" (in Lord Mahon's History of England.
iii. Appendix, p. 423, Tauchnitz edition).
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? 70 FIRST SILBSIAN WAR ENDS. [book XIII.
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
into. Four bits of Notes, well worth reading, under
their respective dates:
1o. Excellency Hyndford to Secretary Harrington (Two Notes).
"Breslau, 2d September 1741" (on the heel of Robinson's
second miscarriage). * * "My Lord, all these contre-
"temps are very unlucky at present, when time is so pre-
"cious^ for France is pressing the King of Prussia in the
"strongest manner to declare himself; but whatever eventual
"preliminaries maybe probably agreed between them, I still
"doubt if they have any Treaty signed " -- have had one, any
time these three months (since 5th June last); signed suffi-
ciently; but of a most fast-and-loose nature; neither party
intending to be rigorous in keeping it. "I wish to God the
"Court of Vienna may be brought to think before it is too
"late. "*
2o. "Breslau, 6th September. * * I am not without hopes
"of succeeding in a project which has occurred to me on this
"occasion, and which seems to be pretty well relished by
"some people" (properly by one individual, Goltz, the King's
Adjutant and factotum), "who are in great confidence about
'' the King of Prussia's person; and I think it is the only thing
"that now remains to be tried; and as it is the least of two
"evils, I hope I shall have the King my Master's approbation
"in attempting it; and if the Court of Vienna will open their
"eyes, they must see it is the only thing left to save them from
"utter destruction;" -- and, finally, here it is:
"Since Mr. Robinson left this place," -- ('Sooner you go,
the better, Sir! '), -- "I have been sounding the people afore
"mentioned," the individual afore hinted at, "Whether the
"King of Prussia would hearken to a Neutrality with respect
"to the Queen of Hungary, and at the same time fulfil his
"engagements to his Majesty with respect to the defence of
"his Majesty's German Dominions, if she would give him the
"Lower Silesia with Breslau? At first they rejected it; say-
"ing it was a thing they dared not propose. However, I have
"reason to believe, by a Letter I saw this day, that it has been
"proposed to the King, and that he is not absolutely averse
"to it. I shall know more in a few days; but if it can be done
* Hyndford Papers (Brit. Mus. Additional Mas. 11,366), ii. fol. 91.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NBISSB. 71
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
"at all, it must be done in the very greatest secrecy, for
"neither the King nor his Ministers wish to appear in it; and
"I question if his Minister Podewils will be informed of it. "*
3? . Excellency Robinson (in a flutter of excitement, temporary
hope and excitement, about Goltz) to Hyndford at Breslau.
"Presburg, 8th September (n. s. ) 1741. My Lord, I could
"desire your Lordship to summon up, if it were necessary, the
"spirit of all your Lordship's Instructions, and the sense of
"the King, of the Parliament, and of the whole British
"Nation. It is upon this great moment that depends the fate,
"not of the House of Austria, not of the Empire, but of the
"House of Brunswick, of Great Britain, and of all Europe.
"I verily believe the King of Prussia does not himself know
"the extent of the present danger. With whatever motive he
"may act, there is not one, not that of the wildest resentment,
"that can blind him to this degree, of himself perishing in the
"ruin he is bringing upon others. With his concurrence, the
"French will, in less than six weeks, be masters of the German
"Empire. The weak Elector of Bavaria is but their instru-
"ment: Prague and Vienna may, and probably will, be taken
"in that short time. Will even the King of Prussia himself
"be reserved to the last?
"Upon this single transaction" (of your Lordship's affair
with the mysterious individual) "depend the cita mors, or the
"victoria lata of all Europe. Nothing will equal the glory of
"your Lordship, in the latter case, but that to be acquired by
"the King of Prussia in his immediate imitation of the great
"Sobieski" -- reputed 'saviour of Vienna,' 0 your Excellen-
cy! # # "Prince Lichtenstein will, if found in time upon
"his estates in Bohemia, be, I believe, the person to repair
"to the King of Prussia, the moment your Lordship shall
"have signed the Preliminaries. Once again, give me leave,
"my Lord, to express my most ardent wishes, my" -- T. Ro-
BUISON. **.
4o. Excellency Hyndford to Secretary Harrington.
"Breslau, 9th September, * * Received a message to
"meet him," -- him, for we now speak in the singular number,
* Hyndford Papers, fol. 97, i)8. ? * lb. fol. 102.
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? 72 FIRST SILESIAN WAR ENDS. [book Xm.
9th Sept. 1741.
though still without naming Goltz, -- "one of the persons 1
"mentioned in my former Despatch: in a very unsuspected
"place; for we have agreed to avoid all appearance of fami-
"liarity. He told me he had received a Letter this morning
"from the Camp," -- Prussian Majesty's Camp, or Bivouac
(in the Miinsterberg Hill-Country), on that march towards
Woitz, for crossing the Neisse upon Neipperg, which proved
impracticable, -- "and that he could with pleasure tetl me
"that the King agreed to this last trial, although he would
"not, nor could appear in it. * * Then this person read to
"me a Paper, but I could not see whether it was the King's
"hand or not; for when I desired to take a copy, he said he
"could not show me the original; but dictated as follows:
"lToute la Basse Silesie, la riviere de Neisse pour limite, la
"ville de Neisse a nous, aussi bien que Glaiz; de I'autre cote de
"VOder Vancien limite enlre les' Ditches de Brieg et (TOppeln.
"Namslau a nous. Les affaires de religion in statu quo. Point
"de dependance de laBoheme; cession eternelle. En e'change
"nous n'irons pas plus loin. Nous assiegerons Neisse pro formal:
"le commandant se rendra et sortira. Nous prendrons les quar-
"tiers tranquillement, et Us pourront mener leur Arme'e oil Us
"voudront. Que tout cela soit fini en douze jours. ' That is
to say:
"'The whole of Lower Silesia, Neisse Town included;
"Neisse River for boundary: -- Glatz withal. Beyond the
"Oder, for the Duchies of Brieg and Oppeln the ancient limits.
"Namslau ours. Affairs of Religion to continue in statu quo.
"No dependence" (feudal tie or other, as there used to be)
"on Bohemia; cession of Silesia to be absolute and forever. --
"We, in return, will proceed no further. We will besiege
"Neisse for form; the Commandant shall surrender and de-
"part. We will pass quietly into winter-quarters; and the
"Austrian Army may go whither it will. Bargain to be con-
"eluded within twelve days. '"* -- Canhia Excellency Hynd-
ford get Vienna, get Feldmarshall Neipperg with power from
Vienna, to accept: Yes or no? Excellency Hyndford thinks,
Yes; will try his very utmost! --
"He (Goltz) then tore the Paper in very small pieces; and
"he repeated again, that if the affair should be discovered,
"both the King and he were determined to deny it. * *
* Coxe (iii. 272) gives this Translation, not saying whence he had it.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE. 73
18th Sept. 1741.
''' But how about engagements with regard to my Master's
"German Dominions; not a word about that? ' He answered,
"' You have not the least to fear from France;' protested the
"King of Prussia's great regard for his Majesty of Eng-
land, &c. I told him these fine words did not satisfy me;
"and that if this affair should succeed, I expected there
"should be some stipulation. "* Yes; and came, about a
month hence, "waylaying his Majesty" to get one, -- as
readers saw above.
Prussian Dryasdust (poor soul, to whom one is
often cruel! ) shall glad himself with the following Two
bits of Autography from Goltz, who had instantly
quitted Breslau again; -- and, to us, they will serve
as date for the actual arrival of Excellency Hyndford
in those fighting regions, and commencement of his
mysterious glidings about between Camp and Camp.
Goltz to the Excellency Hyndford at Breslau (most Private).
". In Camp de Neuendorf, 16me seplombre, a 9 heures an soir.
(1. ) "Milord, -- Vous savez que je suis porte pour la bonne
"cause. Sur ce pied je prends la liberie de vous conseiller en
"ami et serviteur, de venir ici incessamment, el de presser votre
"voyage de sorte que vous puissiez paraitre publiquement lundi"
(18th) "vers midi. Vous trouverez 6 (sic) chevaux de posies a
"Olau et a Grottkau tout prets. Hatez-vous, Milord, tout ce que
"vous pourrez au monde. Xai Vhonneur. " -- Meaning, in brief
English:
"Be at Neundorf here, publicly, on Monday next,
"18th, towards noon. " Things being ripe. "Haste, Milord,
"haste! "-
"Ce 48me d 3 heures cpres-midi.
(2. ) "Je suis au desespoir, Milord, de votre maladie. Void
ille courrier que vous aitendiez. Venez leplutot que vous pourrez
'-au monde; si non, diles au General Marwitz de quoi il s'agit,
"a/in qu'il puisse me le faire savoir. * * Le courrier serait
"arrivequatreheures plutot, si nous ne I'avions renvoyiau Comte
* Hyndford Pupers, fol. 115.
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? 74 FIRST SILESIAN WAR ENDS. [book XIII.
4th Oct. 1741.
"Neuberg (sic) a cause de voire maladie. " -- " Goltz. " *--That
is to say:
"Distressed inexpressibly by your Lordship's biliary con-
"dition. One cannot travel under colic; -- and things were
"so ripe! Courier would have reached you four hours sooner,
"but we had to send him over to Neipperg first. Come, oh
"come! " -- Which Hyndford, now himself again, at once
does.
This is the Mystery, which, on October 4th, had
arrived at that stage, indicated above: "Tush! Follow
me: Dinner is already falling cold, and there are eyes
upon us! " Five days after that Dinner -- But we
shall have to take the luggage with us, what minimum
of it is indispensable!
? Hyndford Papers, fol. 150-152.
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? CHAP. v. ] FRIEDRICH GETS NEISSE, IN A FASHION. 75
Uth Sept. --9th Oct. 1741.
CHAPTER V.
KLEIN-SCHNELLENDORF: FRIEDRICH GETS NEISSE, IN A
FASHION.
While these combined Mysteries and War-move-
ments go on, in Neisse and its Environs, the World-
Phenomena continue, -- in Upper Austria and else-
where.
This is a strange motion on the part of Hyndford;
but Friedrich, severely silent to it, understands it very
well; as readers soon will, when they hear farther. But
marvellous things have happened on the sudden! In
these three weeks, since the Camp of Strehlen broke
up, there have been such Events; strategic, diplomatic:
a very avalanche of ruin, hurling Austria down to the
Nadir; -- of which it is now fit that the reader have
some faint conception, an adequate not being possible
for him or me:
"August Iblh, 1741. Robinson re-appears inPresburg; and
"precious surely are the news he brings to an Aulic Council
"fallen back in its chairs, and staring with the wind struck out
"of it. Their expected Seizure of Breslau gone heels over
"head, in that way; Friedrich imperiously resolute, gleaming
"like the flash of' steel amid these murky imbecilities, and
'' without the Cession of Silesia no Peace to be made with him!
"And all this is as nothing, to news which arrives just on the
"back of Robinson, from another quarter.
"August 15lh-2lst. French Army of 40,000 men, special
"Army of Belleisle, sedulously equipt and completed, visibly
* Hyndford's Despatch, Neisae, 4th October 1741.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE 63
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
"crosses the Rhine at Fort Louis (an Island Fortress in the
"Khine, thirty miles below Strasburg; stones of it are from the
"oldSchlos8 ofHagenau); -- steps over deliberately there;
"and on the sixth day is all on German ground. These troops,
"to be commanded by Belleisle, so soon as he can join them,
"are to be the Elector of Bavaria's troops, Kur-Baiern Gene-
"ralissimo over Belleisle and them;* and they are on rapid
"march to join that ambitious Kurfiirst, in his Passau Expe-
"dition; and probably submerge Vienna itself.
"And what is this we hear farther, 0 Robinson, 0 Ex-
cellencies Hyndford, Schweichelt and Company: That
"another French Army, of the same strength, under Maille-
"bois, has in the self-same days gone across the Lower Rhine
"(at Kaisersworth, an hours ride below Diisseldorf)! At
"Kaisersworth; ostensibly for comforting and strengthening
"Kur-K61n (the lanky Ecclesiastical Gentleman, Kur-Baiern^
"Brother) their excellent ally, should anybody meddle with
"him. Ostensibly for this; but in reality to keep the Sea-
"Powers, and especially George of England quiet. It marches
"towards Osnabruck, this Maillebois Army; quarters itself up
"and down, looking over into Hanover, -- able to eat Hano-
"ver, especially if joined by the Prussians and Old Leopold,
"at any moment.
"These things happen in this month of August, close upon
"the rear of that steel-shiny scene in the Tent at Strehlen,
"where Friedrich lifted his hat, saying, ''Tis of no use,
"Messieurs! ' -- which was followed by the seizure of Breslau
"the wrong way. Never came such a cataract of evil news on
"an Aulic Council before. The poor proud people, all these
"months they have been sitting torpid, helpless, loftily stupid,
"like dumb idols; 'in flat despair,' as Robinson says once,
'"only without the strength to be desperate. '
"Sure enough the Sea-Powers are checkmated now. Let
"them make the least attempt in favour of the Queen, if they
"dare. Holland can be overrun, from Osnabruck quarter, at
"a day's warning. Little George has his Hanoverians, his
"subsidized Hessians, Danes, in Hanover, his English on
"Lexden Heath: let him come one step over the marches,
"Maillebois and the Old Dessauer swallow him. It is a sur-
prising stroke of theatrical-practical Art; brought about, to
* Fastes de Louis XV, ii. 264.
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? 64 FIBST SILESIAN WAS ENDS. [book XIII.
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
"old Fleury's sorrow, by the genius of Belleisle, and they say
"of Madame Chateauroux; enough to strike certain Governing
"Persons breathless, for some time; and denotes that the Uni-
"versal Hurricane, or World-Tornado, has broken out. It is
"not recorded of little George that he fell back in his chair,
"or stared wider than usual with those fish-eyes: but he dis-
"cerned well, glorious little man, that here is left no shadow
"of a chance by fighting; that he will have to sit stock-still,
"under awful penalties; and that if Maria Theresa will escape
"destruction, she must make her peace with Friedrich at any
"price. "
This fine event, 80,000 French actually across the
Rhine, happened in the very days while Friedrich and
Neipperg had got into wrestle again, -- Neipperg just
off from that rash march for Schweidnitz, and whirling
back on rumour (15th August), while the first instal-
ment of the French were getting over. Friedrich must
admit that the French fulfil their promises, so far. A
week ago or more, they made the Swedes declare War
against Russia, as covenanted. War is actually de-
clared, at Stockholm, August 4th, the Faction of Hats
prevailing over that of Nightcaps, after terrible debates
and efforts about the mere declaring of it, as if that
alone were the thing needed. We mentioned this War
already, and would not willingly again. One of the
most contemptible Wars ever declared or carried on;
but useful to Friedrich, as keeping Russia off his hands,
at a critical time, and conclusively forbidding help to
Austria from that quarter.
Mare'chal de Belleisle, wrapt in Diplomatic and
Electioneering business, cannot personally take com-
mand for the present; but has excellent lieutenants, --
one of whom is Comte de Saxe, Moritz our old friend,
afterwards Mare'chal de Saxe. Among the finest French
Armies, this of Belleisle's is thought to be, that ever
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? CHAP. IV. J FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE. 65
16tU Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
took the field: so many of our Nobility in it, and what
best Officers, Segurs, Saxes, future Marshals, we have.
Army full of spirit and splendour; come to cut Ger-
many in Four, and put France at last in its place in
the Universe. Here is courage, here is patriotism, of
a sort. And if this is not the good sort, the divinely
pious, the humanly noble, -- Fashionable Society feels
it to be so, and can hit no nearer. New-fashioned
"Army of the Oriflamme," one might call this of Belle-
isle's; kind of Sham-Sacred French Army (quite in
earnest, as it thinks); -- led on, not by St. Denis and
the Virgin, but by Sungod Belleisle and the Chateauroux,
under these sad new conditions! Which did not prosper
as expected.
"Let the Holy German Reich take no offence,"
said this Army, eager to conciliate: "we come as
friends merely; our intentions charitable, and that only.
Bavarian Treaty of Nymphenburg (18th May last)
binds us especially, this time; Treaty of Westphalia
binds us sacredly at all times. Peaceable to you, nay
brotherly, if only you will be peaceable! " Which the
poor Reich, all but Austria and the Sea-Powers, strove
what it could to believe.
On reaching the German shore out of Elsass,
"every Officer put the Bavarian Colours, cockade of
"blue-and-white, on his hat;"* -- a mere "Bavarian
Army," don't you see? And the 40,000 wend steadily
forward through Schwaben eastward, till they can join
Karl Albert Kur-Baiern, who is Generalissimo, or has
the name of such. They march in Seven Divisions.
Donauworth (a Town we used to know, in Marlborough's
time and earlier) is to be their first resting-point;
* Adeluog, ii. 431.
Carij'e. Frederick the Great. VII. 5
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? 66 FIRST SILESIAN WAR ENDS. [book XIII.
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
Ingolstadt their place-of-arms: will readers recollect
those two essential circumstances. To Donauworth is
250 miles; to Passau will be 180 more: five or six
long weeks of marching. But after Donauworth they
are to go, the Infantry of them are, in boats; Horse,
under Saxe, marching parallel. Forward, ever forward,
to Passau (properly to Scharding, twelve miles up the
Inn Valley, where his Bavarian Highness is in Camp);
and thence, under his Bavarian Highness, and in con-
cert with him, to pour forth, deluge-like, upon Linz,
probably upon Vienna itself, down the Donau Valley,
-- why not to Vienna itself, and ruin Austria at one
swoop? *
The second or Maillebois French Army spreads
itself, by degrees, considerably over Westphalia; --
straitened for forage, and otherwise not the best of
neighbours. But, in theory, in speech, this too was
abundantly conciliatory, -- to the Dutch at least.
"Nothing earthly in view, nothing, ye magnanimous
Dutch, except to lodge here in the most peaceable
manner, paying our way, and keep down disturbances
that might arise in these parts. That might arise, --
not from you, ye magnanimous High Mightinesses, how
far from it! Nor will we meddle with one broken brick
of your respectable Barrier, or Barrier Treaty, which
is sacred to us, or do you the shadow of an injury.
* Espagnac, Hisloirc de Maurice Comte de Saxe (German Translation,
Leipzig, 1774), i. 83: -- an excellent military compend. Compazines des
Trois Marechaux (Maillebois, Broglio, Belleisle: Amsterdam', 1773), ii.
53-56: -- in nine handy little volumes (or if we include the Noailles and the
Coignii set, making "Cinq Marechaux" nineteen volumes in all, and a
twentieth for Index); consisting altogether of Official Letters (brief, rapid,
meant for business, not for printing in the Newspapers); which are elucida-
tive beyond bargain, and would even be amusing to read, -- were the topic
itself worth one's time.
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? CHAP. iv. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE. 67
16th Aag. --Uh Oct. 1741.
No; a thousand times, upon our honour, No! " For
brevity's sake, I lend them that locution, "No, a
thousand times," -- and in actual arithmetic, I should
think there are at least four or five hundred times of
it, -- in those extinct Diplomatic Eloquences of Ex-
cellency Fenelon and the other French; -- vaguely
counting, in one's oppressed imagination, during the
Two Years that ensue. For the Dutch lazily believed,
or strove to believe, this No of Fene'lon's; and took an
obstinate laggard sitting posture, in regard to Pragmatic
Sanction; whereby the task of "hoisting" them (as
above hinted), which fell upon a certain King, became
so famous in Diplomatic History.
Imagination may faintly picture what a blow this
advent of Maillebois was to his Britannic Majesty, over
in Herrenhausen yonder! He has had of Danes six
thousand, of Hessians six, of Hanoverians sixteen --
in all some 30,000 men, on foot here since Spring last,
camping about (in two formidable Camps at this
moment); not to mention the G,000 of English on
Lexden Heath, eager to be shipped across, would Parlia-
ment permit; and now -- let him stir in any direction
if he dare. Camp of Gottin like a drawn sword at
one's throat (at one's Hanover) from the east; and lo,
here a twin fellow to it gleaming from the south side!
Maillebois can walk into the throat of Hanover at a
day's warning. And such was actually the course pro-
posed by Maillebois's Government, more than once, in
these weeks, had not Friedrich dissuaded and forbidden.
It is a strangling crisis. What is his Britannic Majesty
to do? Send orders, "Double your diligence, Ex-
cellency Robinson! " that is one clear point; the others
are fearfully insoluble, yet pressing for solution: in a
5*
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? 68 FIRST SILESIAN WAR ENDS. [book XIII.
29th Aug. 1741.
six weeks hence (September 27th), we shall see what
they issue in! --
As for Robinson, he is duly with the Queen at
Presburg; duly conjuring incessantly, "Make your
peace with Friedrich! " And her Majesty will not, on
the terms. Poor Robinson, urged two ways at once,
is flurried doubly and trebly; tossed about as Diplo-
matist never was. King of Prussia flashes lightning
looks upon him, clapping finger to nose; Maria Theresa,
knowing he will demand cession of Silesia, shudders at
sight of him; and the Aulic Council fall into his arms
like dead men, murmuring, "Money; where is your
money? "
'' August 29/ft. While Friedrich was pushing into Neipperg,
"in the Baumgarten Country, and could get no battle out of
"him, Excellency Robinson reappears at Breslau; Maria The-
"resa, after deadly efforts on his part, has mended her offers,
"in these terrible circumstances; and fiobinson is here again.
"'Half of Silesia, or almost half, provided his Majesty will
"turnround, and help against the French:' these, secretly,
"are Robinson's rich offers. The Queen, on consenting to
"these new offers, had 'wrung her hands,' like one in despair,
"and said passionately, 'Unless accepted within a fortnight,
"I will not be bound by them I' 'Admit his Excellency to the
"honour of an interview,' solicits Hyndford; 'his offers are
"much mended. ' Notable to witness, Friedrich will not see
"Robinson at all this time, nor even permit Podewils to see
"him; signifies plainly that he wants to hear no more of his
"offers, and that, in fact, the sooner he can take himself away
"from Breslau, it will be the better. To that effect, Robinson,
"rushing back in mortified astonished manner, reports pro-
gress at Presburg; to that and no better. 'High Madam,'
"urges Robinson, still indefatigable, 'the King of Prussia's
"help would be life, his hostility is death at this crisis. Peace
"must be with him, at any price! ' 'Price? ' answers her Ma-
"jesty once: 'If Austria must fall, it is indifferent to me
"whether it be by Kur-Baiern orKur-Brandenburg! '* Never-
* Stenzel, iy. 156.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE. 69
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
"theless, in about a week she again yields to intense con-
"juring, and the ever-tightening pressure of events; -- King
"G-eorge, except it be for counselling, is become stock-still,
"with Maillebois's sword at his throat; and is, without meta-
"phor, sinking towards absolute neutrality: 'Cannot help
"you, Madam, any farther; must not try it, or I perish, my
"Hanover and I! ' -- So that Maria Theresa again mends her
'' offers: 'Give him all Lower Silesia, and he to join with me! '
"and Robinson post-haste despatches a courier to Breslau
"with them. Notable again: King Friedrich will not hear of
"them; answers by a 'No, Itellyou! Time was, time is not.
"I have now joined with France; and to j oin against it in this
"manner? Talk to me no more! "' * * *
Here is a catastrophe for the Two Britannic Ex-
cellencies, and the Cause of Freedom! Robinson, in
dudgeon and amazement, has hurried back to Presburg,
has ceased sending even couriers; and, in a three weeks
hence (9th October, a day otherwise notable), wishes
"to come home," the game being up. ** Such is Robin-
son's gloomy view: finished, he, and the game lost, --
unless perhaps Hyndford could still do something? Of
which what hope is there! Hyndford, who has a rough
sagacity in him, and manifests often a strong sense of
the practical and the practicable, strikes into -- Readers,
from the following Fragments of Correspondence, - now
first made public, will gather for themselves what new
course, veiled in triple mystery, Hyndford had struck
* Friedrich toHyndford:'" AuCamp" (de Neuendorf), 'lith septembre'
1741. "Milord, fai recu les nouvclles propositions d'alliance que Vinfaligable
"Robinson vous envoie.
Je les trouve aussi chimeriques que les precedentes. "
"-- Ces gens sont-ils fols. Milord, de s'imaginer queje commisse la Irahison
u de tourner en leur faveur mes armes, et de" -- ? " Je vous prie de ne me
"plus atiguer favec de pareilles propositions, et de me croire assez honnete
"homme pour ne point violer mes engagements. -- FtoiBic. " (British Mu-
seum: Hyndford Papers, fol. 133. )
** His Letter, "9th October 1741" (in Lord Mahon's History of England.
iii. Appendix, p. 423, Tauchnitz edition).
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? 70 FIRST SILBSIAN WAR ENDS. [book XIII.
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
into. Four bits of Notes, well worth reading, under
their respective dates:
1o. Excellency Hyndford to Secretary Harrington (Two Notes).
"Breslau, 2d September 1741" (on the heel of Robinson's
second miscarriage). * * "My Lord, all these contre-
"temps are very unlucky at present, when time is so pre-
"cious^ for France is pressing the King of Prussia in the
"strongest manner to declare himself; but whatever eventual
"preliminaries maybe probably agreed between them, I still
"doubt if they have any Treaty signed " -- have had one, any
time these three months (since 5th June last); signed suffi-
ciently; but of a most fast-and-loose nature; neither party
intending to be rigorous in keeping it. "I wish to God the
"Court of Vienna may be brought to think before it is too
"late. "*
2o. "Breslau, 6th September. * * I am not without hopes
"of succeeding in a project which has occurred to me on this
"occasion, and which seems to be pretty well relished by
"some people" (properly by one individual, Goltz, the King's
Adjutant and factotum), "who are in great confidence about
'' the King of Prussia's person; and I think it is the only thing
"that now remains to be tried; and as it is the least of two
"evils, I hope I shall have the King my Master's approbation
"in attempting it; and if the Court of Vienna will open their
"eyes, they must see it is the only thing left to save them from
"utter destruction;" -- and, finally, here it is:
"Since Mr. Robinson left this place," -- ('Sooner you go,
the better, Sir! '), -- "I have been sounding the people afore
"mentioned," the individual afore hinted at, "Whether the
"King of Prussia would hearken to a Neutrality with respect
"to the Queen of Hungary, and at the same time fulfil his
"engagements to his Majesty with respect to the defence of
"his Majesty's German Dominions, if she would give him the
"Lower Silesia with Breslau? At first they rejected it; say-
"ing it was a thing they dared not propose. However, I have
"reason to believe, by a Letter I saw this day, that it has been
"proposed to the King, and that he is not absolutely averse
"to it. I shall know more in a few days; but if it can be done
* Hyndford Papers (Brit. Mus. Additional Mas. 11,366), ii. fol. 91.
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? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NBISSB. 71
16th Aug. --4th Oct. 1741.
"at all, it must be done in the very greatest secrecy, for
"neither the King nor his Ministers wish to appear in it; and
"I question if his Minister Podewils will be informed of it. "*
3? . Excellency Robinson (in a flutter of excitement, temporary
hope and excitement, about Goltz) to Hyndford at Breslau.
"Presburg, 8th September (n. s. ) 1741. My Lord, I could
"desire your Lordship to summon up, if it were necessary, the
"spirit of all your Lordship's Instructions, and the sense of
"the King, of the Parliament, and of the whole British
"Nation. It is upon this great moment that depends the fate,
"not of the House of Austria, not of the Empire, but of the
"House of Brunswick, of Great Britain, and of all Europe.
"I verily believe the King of Prussia does not himself know
"the extent of the present danger. With whatever motive he
"may act, there is not one, not that of the wildest resentment,
"that can blind him to this degree, of himself perishing in the
"ruin he is bringing upon others. With his concurrence, the
"French will, in less than six weeks, be masters of the German
"Empire. The weak Elector of Bavaria is but their instru-
"ment: Prague and Vienna may, and probably will, be taken
"in that short time. Will even the King of Prussia himself
"be reserved to the last?
"Upon this single transaction" (of your Lordship's affair
with the mysterious individual) "depend the cita mors, or the
"victoria lata of all Europe. Nothing will equal the glory of
"your Lordship, in the latter case, but that to be acquired by
"the King of Prussia in his immediate imitation of the great
"Sobieski" -- reputed 'saviour of Vienna,' 0 your Excellen-
cy! # # "Prince Lichtenstein will, if found in time upon
"his estates in Bohemia, be, I believe, the person to repair
"to the King of Prussia, the moment your Lordship shall
"have signed the Preliminaries. Once again, give me leave,
"my Lord, to express my most ardent wishes, my" -- T. Ro-
BUISON. **.
4o. Excellency Hyndford to Secretary Harrington.
"Breslau, 9th September, * * Received a message to
"meet him," -- him, for we now speak in the singular number,
* Hyndford Papers, fol. 97, i)8. ? * lb. fol. 102.
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? 72 FIRST SILESIAN WAR ENDS. [book Xm.
9th Sept. 1741.
though still without naming Goltz, -- "one of the persons 1
"mentioned in my former Despatch: in a very unsuspected
"place; for we have agreed to avoid all appearance of fami-
"liarity. He told me he had received a Letter this morning
"from the Camp," -- Prussian Majesty's Camp, or Bivouac
(in the Miinsterberg Hill-Country), on that march towards
Woitz, for crossing the Neisse upon Neipperg, which proved
impracticable, -- "and that he could with pleasure tetl me
"that the King agreed to this last trial, although he would
"not, nor could appear in it. * * Then this person read to
"me a Paper, but I could not see whether it was the King's
"hand or not; for when I desired to take a copy, he said he
"could not show me the original; but dictated as follows:
"lToute la Basse Silesie, la riviere de Neisse pour limite, la
"ville de Neisse a nous, aussi bien que Glaiz; de I'autre cote de
"VOder Vancien limite enlre les' Ditches de Brieg et (TOppeln.
"Namslau a nous. Les affaires de religion in statu quo. Point
"de dependance de laBoheme; cession eternelle. En e'change
"nous n'irons pas plus loin. Nous assiegerons Neisse pro formal:
"le commandant se rendra et sortira. Nous prendrons les quar-
"tiers tranquillement, et Us pourront mener leur Arme'e oil Us
"voudront. Que tout cela soit fini en douze jours. ' That is
to say:
"'The whole of Lower Silesia, Neisse Town included;
"Neisse River for boundary: -- Glatz withal. Beyond the
"Oder, for the Duchies of Brieg and Oppeln the ancient limits.
"Namslau ours. Affairs of Religion to continue in statu quo.
"No dependence" (feudal tie or other, as there used to be)
"on Bohemia; cession of Silesia to be absolute and forever. --
"We, in return, will proceed no further. We will besiege
"Neisse for form; the Commandant shall surrender and de-
"part. We will pass quietly into winter-quarters; and the
"Austrian Army may go whither it will. Bargain to be con-
"eluded within twelve days. '"* -- Canhia Excellency Hynd-
ford get Vienna, get Feldmarshall Neipperg with power from
Vienna, to accept: Yes or no? Excellency Hyndford thinks,
Yes; will try his very utmost! --
"He (Goltz) then tore the Paper in very small pieces; and
"he repeated again, that if the affair should be discovered,
"both the King and he were determined to deny it. * *
* Coxe (iii. 272) gives this Translation, not saying whence he had it.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:28 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hwiijj Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP. IV. ] FRIEDRICH STARTS AGAIN FOR NEISSE. 73
18th Sept. 1741.
''' But how about engagements with regard to my Master's
"German Dominions; not a word about that? ' He answered,
"' You have not the least to fear from France;' protested the
"King of Prussia's great regard for his Majesty of Eng-
land, &c. I told him these fine words did not satisfy me;
"and that if this affair should succeed, I expected there
"should be some stipulation. "* Yes; and came, about a
month hence, "waylaying his Majesty" to get one, -- as
readers saw above.
Prussian Dryasdust (poor soul, to whom one is
often cruel! ) shall glad himself with the following Two
bits of Autography from Goltz, who had instantly
quitted Breslau again; -- and, to us, they will serve
as date for the actual arrival of Excellency Hyndford
in those fighting regions, and commencement of his
mysterious glidings about between Camp and Camp.
Goltz to the Excellency Hyndford at Breslau (most Private).
". In Camp de Neuendorf, 16me seplombre, a 9 heures an soir.
(1. ) "Milord, -- Vous savez que je suis porte pour la bonne
"cause. Sur ce pied je prends la liberie de vous conseiller en
"ami et serviteur, de venir ici incessamment, el de presser votre
"voyage de sorte que vous puissiez paraitre publiquement lundi"
(18th) "vers midi. Vous trouverez 6 (sic) chevaux de posies a
"Olau et a Grottkau tout prets. Hatez-vous, Milord, tout ce que
"vous pourrez au monde. Xai Vhonneur. " -- Meaning, in brief
English:
"Be at Neundorf here, publicly, on Monday next,
"18th, towards noon. " Things being ripe. "Haste, Milord,
"haste! "-
"Ce 48me d 3 heures cpres-midi.
(2. ) "Je suis au desespoir, Milord, de votre maladie. Void
ille courrier que vous aitendiez. Venez leplutot que vous pourrez
'-au monde; si non, diles au General Marwitz de quoi il s'agit,
"a/in qu'il puisse me le faire savoir. * * Le courrier serait
"arrivequatreheures plutot, si nous ne I'avions renvoyiau Comte
* Hyndford Pupers, fol. 115.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:28 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hwiijj Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 74 FIRST SILESIAN WAR ENDS. [book XIII.
4th Oct. 1741.
"Neuberg (sic) a cause de voire maladie. " -- " Goltz. " *--That
is to say:
"Distressed inexpressibly by your Lordship's biliary con-
"dition. One cannot travel under colic; -- and things were
"so ripe! Courier would have reached you four hours sooner,
"but we had to send him over to Neipperg first. Come, oh
"come! " -- Which Hyndford, now himself again, at once
does.
This is the Mystery, which, on October 4th, had
arrived at that stage, indicated above: "Tush! Follow
me: Dinner is already falling cold, and there are eyes
upon us! " Five days after that Dinner -- But we
shall have to take the luggage with us, what minimum
of it is indispensable!
? Hyndford Papers, fol. 150-152.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-11-14 09:28 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/hvd. hwiijj Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHAP. v. ] FRIEDRICH GETS NEISSE, IN A FASHION. 75
Uth Sept. --9th Oct. 1741.
CHAPTER V.
KLEIN-SCHNELLENDORF: FRIEDRICH GETS NEISSE, IN A
FASHION.
While these combined Mysteries and War-move-
ments go on, in Neisse and its Environs, the World-
Phenomena continue, -- in Upper Austria and else-
where.
