No More Learning

Town Guard and Garrison are all drawn out; Gates
all flung open, Prussian sentries withdrawn from them,
and from the Excise-houses they had seized: King's
Kitchen-and-Proviant Carriages (four mules to each,
with bells, with uncommonly rich housings): King's
Body-Coach very grand indeed, and grandly escorted,
the Thirty Bodyguards riding ahead; but nothing in
it, only a most superfine cloak "lined wholly with
ermine" flung upon the seat. Other Coaches, more or
less grandly escorted; Head Cupbearers, Seneschals,
Princes, Margraves: -- but where is the King? King
had ridden away, a second time, with chief Generals,
taking survey of the Town Walls, round as far as the
Ziegel- Thor (Tile-Gate, extreme south-east, by the river-
edge): he has thus made the whole circuit of Breslau;
-- unwearied in picking up useful knowledge, "though
it was very cold," while that Procession of Coaches
went on.
At noon, his Majesty, thrifty of time, did enter: on
horseback, Schwerin riding with him; behind him mis-
cellaneous chief Officers; Borck and Posadowsky among
others; some miscellany of Page-people following. With
this natural escort, he rode in; Town-Major (comman-
dant of Town-guard), with drawn sword, going ahead;
-- King wore his usual Cocked Hat, and practical
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? 224
FIRST SILESIAN WAR. [bookXe
2d-6th Jan. 1741.
Blue Cloak, both a little dimmed by service: but his
gray horse was admirable; and Four scarlet Footmen,
grand as galoon and silver fringe could make them,
did the due magnificence in dress. He was very gra-
cious; saluting to this side and to that, where he noticed
people of condition in the windows. "Along Schweid-
nitz Street, across the Great Ring, down Albreclit
Street. " He alighted, to lodge, at the Count-Schlegen-
berg House; which used to be the Austrian Cardinal
von Sinzendorf, Primate of Silesia's hired lodging, --
Sinzendorfs furniture is put gently. aside, on this new
occasion. King came on the balcony; and stood there
for some minutes, that everybody might see him. The
"immense shoutings," Dryasdust assures me, have been
exaggerated; and I am warned not to believe the
Kriegs-Fama such and such a Number, except after
comparing it with him. -- That day there was dinner
of more than thirty covers, Chief Syndic Gutzmar
and other such guests; but as to the viands, says my
friend, these, owing to the haste, were nothing to
speak of. *
Dinner, better and better ordered, King more and
more gracious, so it continued all the four days of his
Majesty's stay: -- on the second day he had to rise
suddenly from table, and leave his guests with an
apology; something having gone awry, at one of the
Gates. Awry there, between the Town Authorities and
a General Jeetz of his, -- who is on march across the
River at this moment (on what errand we shall hear),
and a little mistakes the terms. His Majesty puts
Jeetz right; and even waits, till he see his Brigade
and him clear across. A junior Schaffgotsch, ** not the
* Helden-Geschichle, i. 545-548. ** lb. ii. 159.
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? CHAP. IV. ] BRESLAU UNDER SOFT PRESSURE. 225
2d-6th Jan. 1741.
inconsolable Schaffgotsch senior, but his Nephew, was
one of the guests this second day; an ecclesiastic, but
of witty fashionable type, and I think a very worthless
fellow, though of a family important in the Province.
Dinner falls about noon; does not last above two hours
or three, so that there is space for a ride ("to the
Dom," the first afternoon, "four runners" always), and
for much in-door work, before the supper-hour.
As the Austrian Authorities sat silent in their place,
and gave no explanation of that "Patent," affixed
amid thunder and lightning, -- they got orders from
his Majesty to go their ways next day; and went. In
behalf of old President von Schaffgotsch, a chief of the
Silesian Nobility, and man much loved, the Breslau
people, and men from every guild and rank of society,
made petition. That he should be allowed to continue
in his Town House here. Which "first request of
yours" his Majesty, with much grace, is sorry to be
obliged to refuse. The suppressed, and insuppressible,
weak indignation of old Schaffgotsch is visible on the
occasion; nor, I think, does Friedrich take it ill; only
sends him out of the way with it, for the time. The
Austrian Ober-Amt vanished bodily from Breslau in
this manner; and never returned. Proper "War-Com-
mission [Feld-Kriegs-Commissariai)" with Munchow, one
of those skilful Cilstrin Miinchows, at the top of it,
organised itself instead; which, almost of necessity,
became Supreme Government in a City ungoverned
otherwise: -- and truly there was little regret of the
Ober-Amt, in Breslau; and ever less, to a marked ex-
tent, as the years went on.
On the 5th of January (fourth and last night here),
his Majesty gave a grand Ball. Had hired, or Colonel
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. VI. 15
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? 226
FIRST SILESIAN WAR. [book mi.
2d-6th Jan. 1741.
Posadowsky instead of him had hired, the Assembly
Rooms (Redouten Saat) for the purpose: "Invite all the
the Nobility high and low;" -- expense by estimate is
a ducat (half-guinea) each; do it well, and his Majesty
will pay. About 6 in the evening, his Majesty in per-
son did us the honour to drive over; opened the Ball
with Madam the Countess von Schlegenberg (I should
guess, a Dowager Lady), in whose house he lodges. I
am not aware that his Majesty danced much farther;
but he was very condescending, and spoke and smiled
up and down; -- till, about 10 p. m. , an Officer came
in with a Letter. Which Letter his Majesty having
read, and seemingly asked a question or two in regard
to, put silently in his pocket, as if it were a finished
thing. Nevertheless, after a few minutes, his Majesty
was found to have silently withdrawn; and did not
return, not even to supper. Perceiving which, all the
Prussian official people gradually withdrew; though
the dancing and supping continued not the less, to a
late hour. *
"Open the Austrian Mail-bag (Felleisen)' see a little
what they are saying over there! " Such order had
evidently been given, this night. In consequence of
which people wrote by Dresden, and not the direct
way, in future; wishing to avoid that openable Fell-
eisen. Next morning, January 6th, his Majesty had
left for Ohlau, -- early I suppose; though there
proved to be nothing dangerous ahead there, after all
* Helden-Geschichte, i. 557.
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? CHAP, v. ] FORWARD ON BRIEG AND NEISSE.
227
7th-12th Jan. 1741.
CHAPTER V.
FE1EDRICH PUSHES FORWARD TOWARDS BRIEG AND NEISSE.
Ohlau is a pleasant little Town, two marches
south-east of Breslau; with the Ohlau River on one
side, and the Oder on the other; capable of some de-
fence, were there a garrison. Brieg the important
Fortress, still on the Oder, is some fifteen miles beyond
Ohlau; after which, bending straight south and quitting
Oder, Neisse the still more important may be thirty
miles: -- from Breslau to Neisse, by this route (which
is low, not string), sixty-five or seventy miles. One
of my Topographers yields this Note, if readers care
for it:
"Ohlau River, an insignificant drab-coloured stream, rises
"well south of Breslau, about Strehlen; makes, at first, direct
"westward towards the Oder; and then, when almost close
"upon it, breaks off to north, and saunters along, irregularly
"parallel to Oder, for twenty miles farther, before it can fall
"fairly in. To this circumstance both Breslau and a Town of
"Ohlau owe their existence; Towns, both of them, 'between
"the waters,' and otherwise well seated; Ohlau sheltering
"itself in the attempted outfall of its little river; Breslau
"clustering itself about the actual outfall: both very defensible
"places in the old rude time, and good for trade in all times.
"Both Oder and Ohlau Rivers have spilt and spread them
"selves into islands and deltas, a good deal, at their place of
"meeting; and even have changed their courses, and cut out
"new channels for themselves, in the sandy country; making
"a very intricate watery network of a site for Breslau: and
"indeed the Ohlau River here, for centuries back, has been
"compelled into wide meanderings, mere filling of rampart-
15*
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? 228 FIRST SILESIAN WAR. [bOOKXH.
7th-12th Jan. 1741.
"ditches, so that it issues quite obscurely, and in an artificial
"engineered condition, at Breslau. "
Ohlau had been expected to make some defence;
General Browne having thrown 300 men into it, and
done what he could for the works. And Ohlau did at
first threaten to make some; but thought better of it
over night, and in effect made none; but was got
(morning of January 9th) on the common terms, by
merely marching up to it in minatory posture. "Pri-
soners of War, if you make resistance; Free With-
drawal" (Liberty to march away, arms shouldered,
and not serve against us for a year), "if you have
made none;" this is the common course, where there
are Austrian Soldiers at all; the course where none are,
and only a few Syndics sit, with their Town-Key laid
on the table, a prey to the stronger hand, we have
already seen.
From Ohlau, proper Detachment, under General
Kleist is pushed forward to summon Brieg; Jeetz from
the other side of the river (whom we saw crossing at
Breslau the other day, interrupting his Majesty's din-
ner) is to cooperate with Kleist in that enterprise, --
were the Country once cleared on his, Jeetz's, east side
of Oder; especially were Namslau once had, a small
Town and Castle over there, which commands the
Polish and Hungarian road. Friedrich's hopes are
buoyant; Schwerin is swiftly trolling forward to right-
ward, nothing resisting him; Detachment is gone from
Schwerin, over the Hills, to Glatz (the Grafschafi, or
County Glatz, an Appendage to Schlesien), under ex-
cellent guidance; under guidance, namely, of Colonel
Camas, who has just come home from his Parisian
Embassy, and got launched among the wintry Moon-
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? CHAP, v. ] FORWARD ON BRIEG AND NEISSE. 229
7th-12th Jan. 1741.
tains, on a new operation, -- which, however, proves
of non-effect for the present. *
Indeed, it is observable that southward of Breslau
the dispute, what dispute there can be, properly be-
gins; and that General Browne is there, and shows
himself a shining man in this difficult position. It
must be owned, no General could have made his small
means go farther. Effective garrisons, 1,600 each, put
into Brieg and Neisse; works repaired, magazines col-
lected, there and elsewhere; the rest of his poor 7,000
thriftily sprinkled about, in what good posts there are,
and "capable of being got together in six hours;" a
superior soldier, this Browne, though with a very bad
task; and seems to have inspired everybody with some-
thing of his own temper. So that there is marching,
detaching, miscellaneous difficulty for Friedrich in this
quarter, more than had been expected. If the fate of
Brieg and Neisse be inevitable, Browne does wonders
to delay it.
Of the Prussian marches in these parts, recorded
by intricate Dryasdust, there was no point so notable
to me as this unrecorded one: the Stone Pillar which,
I see, the Kleist Detachment was sure to find, just now,
on the march from Ohlau to Brieg; last portion of that
march, between the village of Briesen and Brieg. The
Oder, flowing on your left hand, is hereabouts agree-
ably clothed with woods: the country, originally a
swamp, has been drained, and given to the plough, in
an agreeable manner; and* there is an excellent road
paved with solid whinstone, -- quarried in Strehlen,
* Helden-Geschichle, i. 678; Orlich, Geschichte der bciden Schlesischen
Kriege, 1. 49.
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? 230
FIRST SILESIAN WAR. [boOKTIT.
7th-12th Jan. 1741.
twenty miles away, among the Hills to the right
yonder, as you may guess, -- road very visible to the
Prussian soldier, though he does not ask where quar-
ried. These beautiful improvements, beautiful hu-
manities, -- were done by whom? "Done in 1584,"
say the records, by "George the Pious;" Duke of
Liegnitz, Brieg, and Wohlau; 156 years ago. "Pious"
his contemporaries called this George; -- he was son
of the Erbverhritderung Duke, who is so important to
us; he was grandfather's grandfather of the last Duke
of all; after whom it was we that should have got
these fine Territories; they should all have fallen to
the Great Elector, had not the Austrian strong hand
provided otherwise. George did these plantations,
recoveries to the plough; made this perennial whin-
stone road across the swamps; upon which, inotable to
the roughest Prussian (being "twelve feet high by
eight feet square"), rises a Hewn Mass with this In-
scription on it, -- not of the name or date of George;
but of a thought of his, which is not without a pious
beauty to me:
Slraverunt alii nobis, nos Postcritati;
Omnibus at Chrisms struvit ad astra viam.
Others have made roads for us; we make them for still others:
Christ made a road to the stars for us all. *
I know not how many Brandenburgers of General
Kleist's Detachment, or whether any, read this Stone:
but they do all rustle past it there, claiming the
Heritage of this Pious George; and their mute dim
interview with him, in this manner, is a thing slightly
more memorable than orders of the day, at this date.
It was on the 11th, two days after Ohlau, that
* Zollner, Briefe fiber Schktien, i. 175; Httbner, i. t. 101.
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? CHAP, v. ] FORWARD ON BRIEG AND NEISSE. 231
12th-15th Jan. 1741.
General Kleist summoned Brieg; and Brieg answered
resolutely, No. There is a garrison of 1,600 here, and
a proper magazine: nothing for it but to "mask"
Brieg too; Kleist on this side the River, Jeetz on that,
-- had Jeetz once done with Namslau, which he has
not by any means. Namslau's answer was likewise
stiffly in the negative; and Jeetz cannot do Namslau,
at least not the Castle, all at once; having no siege-
cannon. Seeing such stiffness everywhere, Friedrich
writes to Glogau, to the Young Dessauer, "Siege-artillery
hither! Swift, by the Oder; you don't need it where
you are! " -- and wishes it were arrived, for behoof of
Neisse and these stiff humours.
Friedrich comes across to Ottmachau; sits there, in survey
of Neisse, till his Cannon come.
The Prussians met with serious resistance, for the
first time (9th January, same day when Ohlau yielded),
at a place called Ottmachau; a considerable little Town
and Castle on the Neisse River, not far west of Neisse
Town, almost at the very south of Silesia. It lay on
the route of Schwerin's Column; long distances ahead
of Liegnitz, -- say, by straight highway a hundred
miles; -- during which, to right and to left, there had
been nothing but submission hitherto. No resistance
was expected here either, for there was not hope in
any; only that Browne had been here; industrious to
create delay till Neisse were got fully ready. He is,
by every means, girding up the loins of Neisse for a
tight defence; has put 1,600 men into it, with proper
stores for them, with a resolute skilful Captain at the
top of them: assiduous Browne had been at Ottmachau,
as the outpost of Neisse, a day or two before; and,
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? 232 FIRST SILESIAN WAR. [bookIII.
12th-15th Jan. 1741.
they say, had admonished them "Not to yield on any
terms, for he would certainly come to their relief. "
Which doubtless he would have done, had it been in
his power; but how, except by miracle, could it be?
On the 9th of January, when Schwerin comes up,
Browne is again waiting hereabouts. Again in defen-
sive posture, but without force to undertake anything;
stands on the Southern Uplands, with Bohmen and
Mahren and the Giant Mountains at his back; --
stands, so to speak, defensive at his own House-door,
in this manner; and will have, after seeing Ottmachau's
fate and Neisse's, to duck in with a slam! At any
rate, he had left these Towns in the above firm humour,
screwed to the sticking-place; and had then galloped
elsewhither to screw and prepare.
And so the Ottmachau Austrians, "260 picked
grenadiers" (400 dragoons there also at first were, who,
after flourishing about on the outskirts as if for fight-
ing, rode away), fire "desperat," says my intricate
friend;* entirely refusing terms from Schwerin; kill
twelve of his people (Major de Bege, distinguished
Engineer Major, one' of them): so that Schwerin has
to bring petards upon them, four cannon upon them;
and burst-in their Town Gate, almost their Castle
Gate, and pretty much their Castle itself; -- wasting
three days of his time upon this paltry matter. Upon
which they do signify a willingness for "Free With-
drawal. " "No, ihr Herren" answers Schwerin; "not
now; after such mad explosion. His Majesty will have
to settle it. " Majesty, who is by this time not far off,
comes over to Ottmachau (January 12th); gives words
of rebuke, rebuke not very inexorable; and admits
* Helden-Geschichte, i. 672-677; Orlich, 1. 50.
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? <<HAP. v. ] FORWARD ON BRIBG AND NEISSE. 233
12th-13th Jan. 1741.
them Prisoners of War. "The officers were sent to
Ciistrin, common men to Berlin;" the usual arrange-
ment in such case. Ottmachau Town belongs to the
Eight Reverend von Sinzendorf, Bishop of Breslau,
and Primate; whose especial Palace is in Neisse;
though he "commonly sends his refractory Priests to
"do their penance in the Schloss at Ottmachau here,"
-- and, I should say, had better himself make terms,
and come out hitherward, under present aspects.
Friedrich continues at Ottmachau; head-quarters
there thenceforth, till he see Neisse settled. On the
morrow, 13th, he learns that the Siege Artillery is at
Grotkau; well forward towards Neisse; half way be-
tween Brieg and it. Same day, Colonel Camas returns
to him out of Glatz; five of his men lost; and reports
That Browne has had the roads torn up, that Glatz is
mere ice and obstruction, and that nothing can be
made of it at this season. Good news alternating with
not so good.
The truth is, Friedrich has got no Strong Place in
Schlesien; all strengths make unexpected defence;
paltry little Namslau itself cannot be quite taken,
Castle cannot, till Jeetz get his siege artillery, -- which
does not come along so fast as that to Neisse does.
Here is an Excerpt from my Dryasdust, exact though
abridged, concerning Jeetz:
"January 24$, 1741. Prussians, masters of the Town for
"a couple of weeks back, have got into the Church at Nams-
"lau, into theCloister; arepreparingplankfloors forbatteries,
"cutting loop-holeB; diligent as possible, -- siege-guns now at
"last just coming. The Castle fires fiercely on them, makes
"furious sallies, steals six of our oxen, -- makes insolent
"gestures from the walls; at least one soldier does, this day.
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? 234 FIRST SILESIAN WAR. [book HT
12th-15th Jan. 1741-
"' Sir, may I give that fellow a shot? ' asks the Prussian sentry
"'Do, then,' answers his Major: 'too insolent that one! ' And
"the sentry explodes on him; brings him plunging down, head
"foremost (herunter piirzelte); the too insolent mortal, silent
"enough thenceforth. "* -- Jeetz did get his cannon, though
not till now, this very day I think; and then, in a couple of
days more, Jeetz finished-off Namslau ("officers to Custrin,
common men to Berlin"); and thereupon blockades the
Eastern side of Brieg, joining hands with Kleist on the
Western: whereby Brieg, like Grlogau, is completely masked,
-- till the season mend.
Friedrich, now that his artillery is come, expects
no difficulty with Neisse. A "paltry hamlet (bicoque)"
he playfully calls it; and, except this, Silesia is now
his. Neisse got (which would be the desirable thing),
or put under "mask" as Glogau is, and as Brieg is
being, Austria possesses not an inch of land within
these borders. Here are some Epistolary snatches; still
in the light style, not to say the flimsy and uplifted:
but worth giving, so transparent are they; off hand, like
words we had heard his Majesty speak, in his high
mood:
King to M. Jordan, at Berlin (Two successive Letters).
1? . "Ottmachau, TAth January 1741" (second day after our
arrival there). "My dear Monsieur Jordan, my sweetMonsiew
"Jordan, my quiet Monsieur Jordan, my good, my benign, my
"pacific, my humanest Monsieur Jordan,--I announce to Thy
"Serenity the conquest of Silesia; Iwarn thee of the bombard-
"ment of Neisse" (just getting ready), "and I prepare thee
"for still more important projects; and instruct thee of the
"happiest successes that the womb of Fortune ever bore.
"This ought to suffice thee. Be my Cicero as to the justice
"of my cause, and I will be thy Caesar as to the execution.
"Adieu: thou knowest whetherl am not, with the most cordial
"regard, thy faithful friend. F. "
* llelien-Geschichle, i. 703.
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? CHAP, v. ] FORWARD ON BRIEG AND NEISSB. 235
12ta-15th Jan. 1741.
2o. "Oltmachau, 17th 'January 1741. I have the honour to
"inform Your Humanity that we are christianly preparing to
"bombard Neisse; and that if the place will not surrender of
"good will, needs must that it be beaten to powder (necessite
"sera de Fabtmer). For the rest, our affairs go the best in the
"world; and soon thou wilt hear nothing more of us. For, in
"ten days, it will all be over; and I shall have the pleasure of
"seeing you and hearing you, in about a fortnight.
"I have seen neither my Brother" (August Wilhelm, not
"long ago at Strasburg with us, and betrothed since then)
"nor Keyserling: I left them at Breslau, not to expose them to
"the dangers of war. They perhaps will be a little angry;
"but what can I do? -- The rather as, on this occasion, one
"cannot share in the glory, unless one is a mortar!
"Adieu, M. le Conseiller" (Poor's-Rath, so styled). "Go
"and amuse yourself with Horace, study Pausanias, and be
"gay over Anacreon. As to me, who for amusement have
"nothing but merlons, fascines and gabions,* I pray God to
"grant me soon a pleasanter and peacefuller occupation,
"and you health, satisfaction and whatever your heart
"desires. -- F. "**
King Friedrich to M. le Comte Algarotti (gone on a journey).
"Oltmachau, Ylth January 1741" (same day as the above to
"Jordan). "I have begun to settle the Figure of Prussia: the
"outline will not be altogether regular; for the whole of Sile-
"sia is taken, except one miserable hamlet (bicoque), which
"perhaps I shall have to keep blockaded till next spring.
"Up to this time, thewhole conquest has cost onlyTwenty
"Men, and Two Officers, one of whom is the poor De Rege,
"whom you have seen at Berlin," -- De Rege, Engineer Major,
killed here at Ottmachau, in Schwerin's late tussle.
"You are greatly wanting to me here. So soon as you have
"talked that Business over, write to me about it. " (What is
the business? Whither is the dusky Swan of Padua gone? )
"In all these three hundred miles I have found no human
* Merlons are mounds of earth placed -behind the solid or blind parts
of the parapet (that is, between the embrasures) of a Fortification; fascines
are bundles of brushwood for filling up a ditch; gabions, baskets filled with
earth, to be ranged in defence till you get trenches dug.
>>* ffiiitim de Frederic, xvil. 84.
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? 236 FIRST SILESIAN WAR. [bookXn.
12th-15th Jin. 1741.
"creature comparable to the Swan of Padua. I would
"willingly give ten cubic leagues of ground for a genius
"similar to yours. But I perceive I was about entreating you
"to return fast, and join me again, -- while you are not yet
"arrived where your errand was. Make haste to arrive, then;
"to execute your commission, and fly back to me. I wish you
"had a Fortunatus Hat; it is the only thing defective in your
"outfit.
"Adieu, dear Swan of Padua: think, I pray you, sometimes
"of those who are getting themselves cut in slices" (echiner,
chined) "for the sake of glory here, and above all do not
"forget your friends who think a thousand times of you. --
"riiD^ric. "*
The object of the dear Swan's journey, or even the
whereabouts of it, cannot be discovered without diffi-
culty; and is not much worth discovering. "Gone to
Turin," we at last make out, "with secret commis-
sions:"** desirable to sound the Sardinian Majesty a
little, who is Doorkeeper of the Alps, between France
and Austria, and opens to the best bidder? No great
things of a meaning in this mission, we can guess, or
Algarotti had not gone upon it, -- though he is handy,
at least, for keeping it unnoticed by the Gazetteer
species. Nor was the Swan successful, it would seem;
the more the pity for our Swan! However he comes
back safe; attends Friedrich in Silesia, and in the
course of next month readers will see him, if any
reader wished it.
* (Envres de Frederic, xviii. 28.
** Denina: La Prume Litteraire (Berlin, 1790), i. 198. A poor vapie
Book; only worth consulting in case of extremity.
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? CHAP, vi. ] NEISSE IS BOMBARDED.
237
12th-15th Jan. 1741.
CHAPTER VI.
NEISSE IS BOMBARDED.
Neisse, which Friedrich calls a paltry hamlet
(bicogue), is a pleasant strongly-fortified Town, then of
perhaps 6 or 8,000 inhabitants, now of double that
number; stands on the left or north bank of the Neisse,
-- at this day, on both banks. Pleasant broad streets,
high strong houses, mostly of stone. Pleasantly
encircled by green Hills, northward buttresses of the
Giant Mountains; itself standing low and level, on rich
ground much inclined to be swampy. A lesser river,
Biele, or Bielau, coming from the South, flows leisurely
enough into the Neisse, -- filling all the Fortress ditches,
by the road. Orchard-growth and meadow-growth are
lordly (herrlicli); a land rich in fruit, and flowing with
milk and honey. Much given to weaving, brewing,
stocking-making; and, moreover, trades greatly in these
articles, and above all in Wine. Yearly on St. Agnes
Day, "21st January, if not a Sunday," there is a
Wine-fair here; Hungarian, of every quality from
Tokay downward, is gathered here for distribution into
Germany and all the Western Countries. While you
drink your Tokay, know that it comes through Neisse.
St. Agnes Day falls but unhandily this year; and I
think the Fair will, as they say, ausbleiben, or not be
held.
Neisse is a Nest of Priests (Pfaffen-Nest), says
Friedrich once; which came in this way. About 600
years ago, an ill-conditioned Heir-Apparent of the
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? 238
FIRST SIXESIAN WAR. [book Xn.
12th- 15th Jan. 1741.
Liegnitz Sovereign to whom it then belonged, quarrelled
with his Father, quarrelled slightly with the Universe;
and, after moping about for some time, went into the
Church. Having Neisse for an apanage already his
own, he gave it to the Bishop of Breslau; whose, in
spite of the old Father's protestings, it continued, and
continues. Bishops of Breslau are made very grand
by it; Bishops of Breslau have had their own diffi-
culties here. Thus once (in our Perkin-Warbeck time,
A. d. 1497), a Duke of Oppeln, sitting in some Official
Conclave or meeting of magnates here, -- zealous for
country privilege, and feeling himself insufferably put
upon, -- started up, openly defiant of Official men;
glaring wrathfully into Duke Casimir of Teschen
(Bohemian-Austrian Captain of Silesia), and into the
Bishop of Breslau himself; nay at last, flashed out his
sword upon those sublime dignitaries. For which, hy
and by, he had to lay his head on the block, in the
great square here; and died penitent, we hope.
This place, my Dryasdust informs me, had many
accidents by floodage and by fire; was seized and re-
seized in the Thirty-Years War especially, at a great
rate: Saxon Arnheim, Austrian Hoik, Swedish Torsten-
son; no end to the battering and burning poor Neisse
had, to the big ransoms "in new Reichsthalers and
300 casks of wine. " But it always rebuilt itself, and
began business again. How happy when it could get
under some effectual Protector, of the Liegnitz line, of
the Austrian-Bohemian line, and this or the other
battering, just suffered, was to be the last for some
time! -- Here again is a battering coming on it; the
first of a series that are now imminent.
The reader is requested to look at Neisse; for
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? CHAP. VI. ] NEISSE IS BOMBARDED.
239
12th-15th Jan. 1741.
besides the Tokay wine, there will things arrive there.
-- Neisse River, let us again mention, is one of Four
bearing that name, and all belonging to the Oder: --
could not they be labelled, then, or numbered, in some
way? This Neisse, which we could call Neisse the
First (and which careful readers may as well make
acquaintance with on their Map, where too they will
find Neisse the Second, "the Wiithende or Roaring
Neisse," and two others which concern us less), rises
in the "Western Snow-Mountains (Sch}leegebirg),,,
South-Western or Glatz district of the Giant Moun-
tains; drains Glatz County and grows big there: washes
the Town of Glatz; then eastward by Ottmachau, by
Neisse Town; whence turning rather abruptly north
or north-east, it gets into the Oder not far south of
Brieg.
Neisse as a Place of Arms, the chief Fortress of
Silesia and the nearest to Austria, is extremely desirable
for Friedrich; but there is no hope of it without some
kind of Siege; and Friedrich determines to try in that
way. From Ottmachau, accordingly, and from the
other sides, the Siege-Artillery being now at hand, due
force gathers itself round Neisse, Schwerin taking
charge; and for above a week there is demonstrating
and posting, summoning and parleying; and then, for
three days, with pauses intervening, there is extremely
furious bombardment, red-hot at times: "Will you
yield, then? " -- with steady negative from Neisse.
Friedrich's quarter is at Ottmachau, twelve miles off;
from which he can ride over, to see and superintend.
The fury of his bombardment, which naturally grieved
him, testifies the intensity of his wish. But it was to
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