" -- and
indignantly
dis-
misses Haddick: "Go, Sir, and attend to your
health!
misses Haddick: "Go, Sir, and attend to your
health!
Thomas Carlyle
"General Campitelli, with the 10,000, let
him march this night, then; join with General Loudon
where you please to order: Excellency Soltikof shall
see that in every point I conform. " * -- An important
meeting to us, this at Bautzen; and breaks up the dead-
lock into three or more divergent courses of activity;
which it will now behove us to follow, with the best
* Tempelhof, m. 247-249.
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? chAp, vi. ] HenrI's march of fIfty hours. 239
15th-25th Sept. 1759.
brevity attainable. "Bautzen, Saturday 15thSeptember,
early in the morning," that is the date of the important
Colloquy. And precisely eight-and-forty hours before,
"on Thursday 13th, about 10 A. m. ," in the western
Environs of Quebec, there has fallen out an Event,
quite otherwise important in the History of Mankind!
Of which readers shall have some notice, at a time
more convenient. --
Romanzof returning with such answer, Soltikof
straightway gathers himself, September 15th-16th, and
gets on march. To Friedrich's joy; who hopes it may
be homeward; waits two days at Waldau, for the Yes
or No. On the second day, alas, it is No: "Going for
Silesia, I perceive thither, by a wide sweep northward,
which they think will be safer! " Upon whichFriedrich
also rises; follows, with another kind of speed than
Soltikof s; and, by one of his swift clutchings, lays hold
of Sagan, which he, if Soltikof has not, sees to be a key-
point in this operation. Easy for Soltikof to have seized
this key-point, key of the real road to Glogau; easy for
Loudon and the new 10,000 to have rendezvoused there:
but nobody has thought of doing it. A few Croats were
in the place, who could make no debate.
From Sagan Friedrich and Henri are at length in
free communication; Sagan to the Landskron at Gorlitz
is some fifty miles of country, now fallen vacant. From
Henri, from Fouquet (the dangers of Landshut being
over), Friedrich is getting what reinforcement they can
spare (September 20th-24th); will then push forward
again, industriously sticking to the flanks of Soltikof,
thrusting out stumbling-blocks, making his march very
uncomfortable.
Strange to say, from Sagan, while waiting two days
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? 240 PRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
15th-25th Sept. 1759.
for these reinforcements, there starts suddenly to view,
suddenly for Friedrich and us, an incipient Negotiation
about Peace! Actual Proposal that way (or as good
as actual, so Voltaire thinks it), on the part of Choiseul
and France; but as yet in Voltaire's name only, by a
sure though a backstairs channel, of his discovering.
Of which, and of the much farther corresponding that
did actually follow on it, we purpose to say something
elsewhere, at a better time. Meanwhile Voltaire's
announcement of it to the King has just come in,
through a fair and high Hand: how Friedrich receives
it, what Friedrich's inner feeling is, and has been
for a fortnight past -- Here are some private utter-
ances of his, throwing a straggle of light on those
points:
Four Letters of Friedrich's (10th-24th September).
No. 1. "To Prince Ferdinand (at Berlin). " Poor little
Ferdinand, the King's Brother, fallen into bad health, has
retired from the Wars, and gone to Berlin; much an object
of anxiety to the King, who diligently corresponds with the
dear little man, -- giving earnest medical advices, and
getting Berlin news in return.
"Waldau, 10th September 1759.
"Since my last Letter, Dresden has capitulated, -- the
"very day while Wunsch was beating Maguire at The Barns" (north side of Dresden, September 5th, day after the capitula-
tion). "Wunsch went back to Torgau, which St. Andre, with
"14,000 Reichs-people under him, was for retaking; him too
"Wunsch beat, took all his tents, kettles, haversacks and
"utensils, 300 prisoners, six cannon, and some standards.
'' Finck is uniting with Wunsch; they will march on the Prince
"of Zweibriick, and retake Dresden" (hopes always, for a
year and more, to have Dresden back very soon), "ltrust
"before long to get all these people gathered round Dresden,
"and our own Country rid of them; that, I take it, will be the
"end of the Campaign.
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? CHAP. V. ] HENRI'S MARCH OF FIFTY HOURS. 241
15th-25th Sept. 17;')! ).
"Many compliments to the Prince of WUrtemberg"
wounded at Kunersdorf), "and to all our wounded Generals:
"I hope Seidlitz is now out of danger: that bleeding fit
"(ebullition de sang) will cure him of the cramp in his jaw, and
"of his colics; and as he is in bed, he won't take cold. I hope
"the viper-broth will do you infinite good; be assiduous in
"patching your constitution, while there is yet some fine
"weather left: I dread the winter for you; take a great deal
"of care against cold. I have still a couple of cruel months
"ahead of me before ending this Campaign. Within that
"time, there will be, God knows what upshot. "* -- This is
"September 10th:" the day of Captain Kollas's arrival with
his bad Dresden news; Daun and Soltikof profoundly quiet
for three days more.
No. 2. "To the Duchess of Sachsen-Gotha" (at Gotha).
Voltaire has enclosed his Peace-Proposal to that Serene
Lady, always a friend of Friedrich's and his; to whom Fried-
rich, directly on receipt of it, makes answer:
"Sagan, 22d September 1759.
"Madame, -- I receive on all occasions proofs of your
"goodness, to which 1 am as sensible as a chivalrous man can
"be. Certainly it is not through your hands, Madame, that
"my Correspondence with V. ' (with Voltaire, if one durst
"write it in full) "ought to be made to pass! Nevertheless, in
"present circumstances, I will presume to beg that you would
"forward to him the Answer here enclosed, on which 1 put no
"Address. The difficulty of transmitting Letters has made
"me choose my Brother," Ferdinand, at Berlin, "to have this
"conveyed to your hand.
"If I gave bridle to my feelings, now would be the mo-
"ment for developing them; but in these critical times, I
"judge it betternot; and willrestriet myself to simple assur-
ances of --" F.
No. 3. "To Voltaire, at the Delices" (so her Serene High-
ness will address it). Here is part of the enclosure to "V. "
Friedrich is all for Peace; but keeps on his guard with such
an Ambassador, and writes in a proud, light, only half-believ-
ing style:
? (Enires de Fridiric, xxvr. 541.
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. XI. 16
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? 242 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
15lh-25th Sept. 1759.
"Sagan, 22d September 1759.
"The Duchess of Sachsen-Groth a sends me your Letter. I
"never received your 'packet of the 29th:' communications
"all interrupted here; with much trouble I get this passed
"on to you, if it is happy enough to pass.
"My position is not so desperate as my enemies give out.
"I expect to finish my Campaign tolerably; my courage is
"not sunk: -- it appears, however, there is talk of Peace. All
"I can say of positive on this article is, That I have honour
"for ten; and that, whatever misfortune befal me, Ifeelmy-
"self incapable of doing anything to wound, the least in the
"world, this principle, -- which is so sensitive and delicate
"for one who thinks like a gentleman (pense en preux cfte-
"vatier); and so little regarded by rascally politicians, who
"think like tradesmen.
"I know nothing of what you have been telling me about"
Cyour backstairs channels, your Due de Choiseul and his
humours): "but for making Peace there are two conditions
"which I never will depart from: 1? . To make it conjointly
"with my faithful Allies" (Hessen and England; I have no
other); "2? . to make it honourable and glorious. Observe
"you, I have still honour remaining; I will preserve that, at
"the price of my blood.
"If your people want Peace, let them propose nothing to
"me which contradicts the delicacy of my sentiments. I am
"in the convulsions of military operations; I do as the
"gamblers who are in ill-luck, and obstinately set themselves
"against Fortune. 1 have forced her to return to me, more
"than once, likeafickle mistress, when she had run away.
"My opponents are such foolish people, in the end I bid fair
"to catch some advantage over them: but, happen what-
"soever his Sacred Majesty Chance may please, I don't
"disturb myself about it. Up to this point, I have aclear con"science in regard to the misfortunes that have come to me.
"As to you, the Battle of Minden, that of Cadiz " (Boscawen
versus De la Clue; Toulon Fleet running out, and caught by
the English, as we saw), these things perhaps, "and the loss
"of Canada, are arguments capable of restoring reason to the
"French, who had got confused by the Austrian hellebore.
"This is my way of thinking. You do not find me made
"of rosewater: but Henri Quatre, Louis Quatorze, -- my
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? chap. vi. l henrI's march of fIfty hours. 243
15th-2olh Sept. 1759.
"present enemies even, whom I could cite" (Maria Theresa,
twenty years ago, when your Belleisle set out to cut her in
Four), -- "were of no softer temper either. Had I been born
"a private man, I would yield everything for the love of
"Peace; but one has to take the tone of one s position. This
"is all I can tell you at present. In three or four weeks the
"ways of correspondence will be freer. -- F. "*
No. 4. "To Prince Ferdinand. " Two days later: has got
on foot again, -- end of his first march upon Soltikof again:
"Baunau, 24th September 1759.
"Thank you for the news you send of the wounded
"Officers," Wiirtemberg, Seidlitz and the others. "You may
"well suppose that in the pass things are at, I am not without
"cares, inquietudes, anxieties; it is the frightfullest crisis I
"have had in my life. This is the moment for dying unless
"one conquer. Daun and my Brother Henri are marching
"side by side" (not exactly! ). "It is possible enough all
"these Armies may assemble hereabouts, and that a general
"Battle may decide our fortune and the Peace. Take care of
"your health, dear Brother. -- F. "**
Baunau is on Silesian ground, as indeed Sagan itself is; at
Baunau, Friedrich already, just on arriving, hasdonea fine
move on Soltikof, and surprisingly flung the toll-gate in
Soltikof s face. As we shall see by and by; --and likewise
that Prince Henri, who emerges tomorrow morning (Septem-
ber 25th), has not been "marching side by side with Daun,"
but at a pretty distance from that gentleman! --
Soltikof is a man of his word; otherwise one sus-
pects he already saw his Siege of Glogau to be im-
possible. Russians are not very skilful at the War-
minuet: fancy what it will be dancing to such a
partner! Friedrich, finding they are for Glogau, whisks
across the Oder, gets there before them: "No Glogau
for you! " They stand agape for some time; then
think, "Well then, Breslau! " Friedrich again whisks
* (Euvrcs de Frederic, xzin. 60, 61. ** Ibid. xxvi. 545.
16*
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? 244 FRIEDRICH LIKE XO BE OVERWHELMED. [bOok XIX.
22d Sept. 1769.
across from them, farther up, and is again ahead of
them when they cross: "No Breslau either! " In effect
it is hopeless; and we may leave the two maneuvering
in those waste parts, astride of Oder, or on the eastern
bank of it, till a fitter opportunity; and attend to
Henri, who is now the article in risk.
Zweibruck's report of himself, on that day of the
general Colloquy, was not in the way of complaint,
like that of the Russians, though there did remain dif-
ficulties. "Dresden gloriously ours; Maguire Governor
there, and everything secure; upon my honour. But in the northwest part, those Fincks and Wunsches,
Excellenz? " -- And the actual truth is, Wunsch has
taken Leipzig, day before yesterday (September 13th),
as Daun sorrowfully knows, by news come in over-
night. And six days hence (September 21st), Finck
and Wunsch together will do their "Action of Korbitz"
and be sending Haddick a bad road! These things
Zweibriick knows only in part; but past experience
gives him ominous presentiment, as it may well do;
and he thinks decidedly: "Excellenz, more Austrian
troops are indispensable there; in fact, your Excel-
lenz's self, were that possible; which one feels it is
not, in the presence of these Russians! "
Russians and Reichsfolk, these are a pair of thumb-
screws on both thumbs of Daun; screwing the cuncta-
tion out of him; painfully intimating: "Get rid of this
Prince Henri; you must, you must! " And, in the
course of the next eight days, Daun has actually girt
himself to this great enterprise. Goaded on, I could
guess, by the "Action ofKorbitz" (done on Friday,
thirty hours ago); the news of which, and that Had-
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? chAp, vi. ] henrI's mArch of fIfty hours. 245
23d-25tn Sept. 1759.
dick, instead of extinguishing Finck, is retreating from
him upon Dresden, -- what a piece of news! thinks
Daun: "You Zweibruck, Haddick, Maguire and Com-
pany, you are 36,000 in Saxony; Finck has not 12,000
in the field: How is this?
" -- and indignantly dis-
misses Haddick: "Go, Sir, and attend to your
health! "* News poignantly astonishing to Daun, as
would seem; -- like an oxgoad in the lazy rear of
Daun. Certain it is, Daun had marched out to Gorlitz
in collected form; and, on Saturday afternoon, Sep-
tember 22d, is personally on the Heights (not Moys
Hill, I should judge, but other points of vision), tak-
ing earnest survey of Prince Henri's position on the
Landskron there. "Tomorrow morning we attack that
Camp," thinks Daun; "storm Prince Henri and it: be
rid of him, at any price! "**
"Tomorrow morning," yes: -- but this afternoon,
and earlier, Prince Henri has formed a great resolution,
his plans all laid, everything in readiness; and it is
not here you will find Prince Henri tomorrow. This
is his famous March of Fifty Hours, this that we are
now come to; which deserves all our attention, -- and
all Daun's much more! Prince Henri was habitually
a man cautious in War; not aggressive, like his Bro-
ther, but defensive, frugal of risks, and averse to the
lion-springs usual with some people; though capable of
them, too, in the hour of need. Military men are full
of wonder, at the bold scheme he now fell upon; and
at his style of executing it. Hardly was Daun gone
home to his meditations on the storm of the Lands-
* Tempelhof, m. 276, 258-261.
** Ibid. in. 253-256 (for the March now ensuing); in. 228-234, 241-247
(for Henri's anterior movements).
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? 246 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [bOOKXIX.
23d-25th Sept. 1759.
kron tomorrow, and tattoo beaten in Prince Henri's
Camp there, when, at 8 that Saturday evening, issuing
softly, with a minimum of noise, in the proper march-
ing columns, baggage columns, Henri altogether quitted
this Camp; and vanished like a dream. Into the Night;
men and goods, every item: -- who shall say whither-
ward? Leaving only a few light people to keep up
the watch-fires and sentry-cries, for behoof of Daun!
Let readers here, who are in the secret, watch him a
little from afar.
Straight northward goes Prince Henri, down Neisse
Valley, 20 miles or so, to Rothenburg; in columns
severalfold, with much delicate arranging, which was
punctually followed: and in the course of tomorrow
Prince Henri is bivouacked, for a short rest of three
hours, -- hidden in unknown space, 20 miles from
Daun, when Daun comes marching up to storm him on
the Landskron! Gone veritably; but whitherward,
Daun cannot form the least guess. Daun can only
keep his men under arms there, all day; while his
scouts gallop far and wide, -- bringing in this false
guess and the other; and at length returning with the
eminently false one, misled by some of Henri's baggage-
columns, which have to go many routes, That the
Prince is on march for Glogau: -- "Gone north-east;
that way went his wagons; these we saw with our eyes. " "North-east? Yes, to Glogau possibly enough,"
thinks Daun: "Or may not he, cunning as he is and
full of feints, intend a stroke on Bautzen, in my ab-
sence? " -- and hastens thither again, and sits down
on the magazine-lid, glad to find nothing wrong there.
This is all that Daun hears of Henri for the next
four days. Plenty of bad news from Saxony in these
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? chAp, vi. ] henrI's mArch of fIfty hours. 247
H3d-iai. li Sept. 1759.
four days: the Finck-Haddick Action of Korbitz, a
dismal certainty before one started, -- and Haddick
on his road to some Watering Place, by this time!
But no trace of Henri farther; since that of the wagons
wending northeast. "Gone to Glogau, to his Brother:
no use in pushing him, or trying to molest him there! "
thinks Daun; and waits, in stagnant humour, chewing
the cud of bitter enough thoughts, till confirmation of
that guess arrive: -- as it never will in this world!
Bead an important Note:
"To northward of Bautzen forty miles, and to westward
"forty miles, the country is all Daun's; only towards Glogau,
"with the Russians and Friedrich thereabouts, does it
"become disputable, or offer Prince Henri any chance.
"Nevertheless it is not to Glogau, it is far the reverse, that
"the nimble Henri has gone. Resting himself at Rothenburg
"'three hours' (speed is of all things the vitallest), Prince
"Henri starts again, Sunday afternoon, straight westward
"this time. Marches, with his best swiftness, with his best
"arrangements, through many sleeping Villages, to Klitten,
"not a wakeful one: a march of 18 miles from Rothenburg;
"-- direct for the Saxon side of things, instead of the
"Silesian, as Daun had made sure.
"At Klitten, Monday morning, bivouack again, for a
"few hours, -- 'has no Camp, only waits three hours,' is
"Archenholtz's phrase: but 1 suppose the meaning is, Waits
"till the several Columns, by their calculated routes, have
"all got together; and till the latest in arriving has had
"'three hours' of rest,--the earliest having perhaps gone
"on march again, in the interim? There are 20 miles farther,
"still straight west, to Hoyerswerda, where the outmost
"Austrian Division is: 'Forward towards that; let us astonish
"General Wehla and his 3,000, and our March is over! ' All
"this too Prince Henri manages; never anything more con-
summate, more astonishing to Wehla and his Master.
"Wehla andBrentano, readers perhaps remember them
"busy, from the Pirna side, at the late Siege of Dresden.
"Siege gloriously done, Wehla was ordered to Hoyerswerda,
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? 248 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
25th Sept. 1759.
"on the north-west frontier; Brentano to a different point in
"that neighbourhood; where Brentano escaped ruin, and
"shall not be mentioned; but Wehla suddenly found it, and
"will require a word. Wehla, of all people on the War-
"theatre, had been the least expecting disturbance. He is
"on the remotest western flank; to westward of him nothing
"but Torgau and the Finck-Wunsch people, from whom is
"small likelihood of danger: from the eastern what danger
"can there be? A Letter of Daun's, some days ago, had
"expressly informed him that, to all appearance, there was
"none.
"And now suddenly, on the Tuesday morning, What is
"this? Prussians reported to be visible in the Woods! 'Im-
possible! ' answered Wehla; -- did get ready, however,
"what he could; Croat Regiments, pieces of Artillery behind
"the ElsterRiver and on good points; labouring more and
"more diligently, as the news proved true. But all his
"efforts were to no purpose. General Lentulus with his
"Prussians (the mute Swiss Lentulus, whom we sometimes
"meet), who has the Vanguard this day, comes streaming
"out of the woods, across the obstacles; cannonades Wehla
"both on front and rear; entirely swallows Wehla and
"Corps: 600 killed; the General himself, with 28 Field-
"Officers, and of subalterns and privates 1,785, falling
"prisoners to us; and the remainder scattered on the winds,
"golloping each his own road towards covert and a new form
"of life. Wehla is eaten, in this manner, Tuesday Sep-
"tember 25th: -- metaphorically speaking, the March of
"Fifty Hours ends in a comfortable twofold meal (military-
"cannibal, as well as of common culinary meat), and in
"well-deserved rest. "*
The turning-point of the Campaign is reckoned to
be this March of Henri's; one of the most extraordinary
on record. Prince Henri had a very fast March into
these Silesian-Lausitz Countries, early in July,** and
another very fast, from Bautzen, to intersect with
* Tempelhof, m. 255, 256; Seyfarth, Beylagen; &c.
** Seyfarth, n. 545.
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? CHAP. VI. J HENRI'S MARCH OF FIFTY HOURS. 249
25th Sept. 1759.
Schmottseifen, in the end of July: but these were as
nothing compared with the present. Tempelhof, the
excellent solid man, -- but who puts all things, big
and little, on the same level of detail, and has un-
paralleled methods of arranging (what he reckons to
be "arranging"), and no vestige of index, -- is dis-
tressingly obscure on this grand Incident; but at length,
on compulsion, does yield clear account. * In Archen-
holtz it is not dated at all; who merely says as follows:
"Most extraordinary march ever made; went through
"50 miles of Country wholly in the Enemy's pos-
session; lasted 56 hours, in which long period there
"was no camp pitched, and only twice a rest of three
"hours allowed the troops. During the other 50 hours
"the march, day and night, continually proceeded.
"Ended (no date) in surprise of General Wehla at
"Hoyerswerda, cutting up 600 of his soldiers, and
"taking 1,800 prisoners. Kalkreuth, since so famous,"
in the Anti-Napoleon Wars, "was the Prince's Ad-
jutant. "**
This is probably Prince Henri's cleverest feat, --
though he did a great many of clever; and his Brother
used to say, glancing towards him, "There is but one
of us that never committed a mistake. " A highly in-
genious dextrous little man in affairs of War, sharp as
needles, vehement but cautious; though of abstruse
temper, thin-skinned, capricious, and giving his Bro-
ther a great deal of trouble with his jealousies and
shrewish whims. By this last consummate little opera-
tion he has astonished Daun as much as anybody ever
did; shorn his elaborate tissue of cunctations into ruin
* Tempelhof, in. 253-258. ** Archenholtz, t. 426.
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? 250 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
24th Sept. -- 24th Oct. 1759.
and collapse at one stroke; and in effect, as turns out,
wrecked his campaign for this Year.
Daun finds there is now no hope of Saxony, unless
he himself at once proceed thither. At once thither;
--? and leave Grlogau and the Russians to their luck,
-- which in such case, what is it like to be? Probably,
to Daun's own view, ominous enough; but he has no
alternative. To this pass has the March of Fifty
Hours brought us. There is such a thing as being too
cunctatory, is not there, your Excellency? Every
mortal, and more especially every Feldmarschall ought
to strike the iron while it is hot. The remainder of
this Campaign, we will hope, can be made intelligible
in a more summary manner.
Friedrich manages (September 24th -- October 24th)
to get the Russians sent home; and Himself falls lamed
with Gout.
Friedrich's manoeuvres against Soltikof, -- every
reader is prepared to hear that Soltikof was rendered
futile by them; and none but military readers could
take delight in the details. Two beautiful short cuts
he made upon Soltikof; pulled him up both times in
mid career, as with hard check-bit. The first time was
at Zobelwitz: September 24th, Friedrich cut across from
Sagan, which is string to bow of the Russian march;
posted himself on the Heights of Zobelwitz, of Baunau,
Milkau (at Baunau Friedrich will write a Letter this
night, if readers bethink themselves; Milkau is a place
he may remember for rain-deluges, in the First Silesian
War*): "Let the Russians, if they now dare, try the
* Supra, vol. iv. p. 202.
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? chAp, vi. ] henrI's mAech of fIfty hours. 251
21th Sept. -- 24th Oct. 1759.
Pass of Neustadtel here! " A fortunate hour, when he
got upon this ground. Quartermaster-General Stoffel,
our old Custrin acquaintance, is found marking out a
Camp with a view to that Pass of Neustadtel; * is
greatly astonished to find the Prussian Army emerge
on him there; and at once vanishes, with his Hussar-
Cossack retinues. "September 24th," it is while Prince
Henri was on the last moiety of his March of Fifty
Hours. This severe twitch flung Soltikof quite out
from Glogau, -- was like to fling him home altogether,
had it not been for Montalembert's eloquence; -- did
fling him across the Oder. Where, again thanks to
Montalembert, he was circling on with an eye to Breslau,
when Friedrich, by the diameter, suddenly laid bridges,
crossed at Kbben, and again brought Soltikof to halt,
as by turnpike suddenly shut: "Must pay first; must
beat us first! "
These things had raised Friedrich's spirits not a
little. Getting on the Heights of Zobelwitz, he was
heard to exclaim, "This is a lucky day; worth more
to me than a battle with victory. ". ** Astonishing how
he blazed out again, quite into his old pride and
effulgence, after this, says Retzow. Had been so meek,
so humbled, and even condescended to ask advice or
opinion from some about him. Especially "from two
Captains," says the Opposition Retzow, whose heads
were nearly turned by this sunburst from on high.
Captain Marquart and another, -- I believe, he did
employ them about Routes and marking of Camps,
which Retzow calls consulting: a King fallen tragically
scarce of persons to consult; all his Winterfelds, Schwe-
* Tempelhof, in. 293; Retzow, n. 163.
** Retzow, n. 163.
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? 252 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
24lh Sept. -- 24th Oct. 1759.
rins, Keiths, and Council of Peers now vanished, and
nothing but some intelligent-looking Captain Marquart,
or the like, to consult: -- of which Retzow, in his
splenetic Opposition humour, does not see the tragedy,
but rather the comedy: how the poor Captains found
their favour to be temporary, conditional, and had to
collapse again. One of them wrote an "Essay on the
Coup-ay ceil Militaire," over which Retzow pretends to
weep. This was Friedrich's marginal Note upon the
Ms. , when submitted to his gracious perusal: "You (Er)
"will do better to acquire the Art of marking Camps
"than to write upon the Military Stroke of Eye. " Beauti-
fully written too, says Retzow; but what, in the eyes
of this King, is beautiful writing, to knowing your
business well? No friend he to writing, unless you
have got something really special, and urgent to be
written.
Friedrich crossed the Oder twice. Took Soltikof
on both sides of the Oder, cut him out of this fond ex-
pectation, then of that; led him, we perceive, a bad
life. Latterly the scene was on the right bank: So-
phienthal, Koben, Herrnstadt and other poor places,--
on that big eastern elbow, where Oder takes his final
bend, or farewell of Poland. Ground, naturally, of
some interest to Friedrich: ground to us unknown; but
known to Friedrich as the ground where Karl XII.
gave Schulenburg his beating,* which produced the
"beautiful retreat" of Schulenburg. The old Feld-
marschall Schulenburg whom we used to hear of once,
* "Near Guhrau" (while chasing August the Strong and him out of
Poland), "12th October 1704:" vague account of it, dateless, and as good
as placeless, in Voltaire (Charles Dome, liv. Ill), (Euvres, xxx. 142-5.
him march this night, then; join with General Loudon
where you please to order: Excellency Soltikof shall
see that in every point I conform. " * -- An important
meeting to us, this at Bautzen; and breaks up the dead-
lock into three or more divergent courses of activity;
which it will now behove us to follow, with the best
* Tempelhof, m. 247-249.
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? chAp, vi. ] HenrI's march of fIfty hours. 239
15th-25th Sept. 1759.
brevity attainable. "Bautzen, Saturday 15thSeptember,
early in the morning," that is the date of the important
Colloquy. And precisely eight-and-forty hours before,
"on Thursday 13th, about 10 A. m. ," in the western
Environs of Quebec, there has fallen out an Event,
quite otherwise important in the History of Mankind!
Of which readers shall have some notice, at a time
more convenient. --
Romanzof returning with such answer, Soltikof
straightway gathers himself, September 15th-16th, and
gets on march. To Friedrich's joy; who hopes it may
be homeward; waits two days at Waldau, for the Yes
or No. On the second day, alas, it is No: "Going for
Silesia, I perceive thither, by a wide sweep northward,
which they think will be safer! " Upon whichFriedrich
also rises; follows, with another kind of speed than
Soltikof s; and, by one of his swift clutchings, lays hold
of Sagan, which he, if Soltikof has not, sees to be a key-
point in this operation. Easy for Soltikof to have seized
this key-point, key of the real road to Glogau; easy for
Loudon and the new 10,000 to have rendezvoused there:
but nobody has thought of doing it. A few Croats were
in the place, who could make no debate.
From Sagan Friedrich and Henri are at length in
free communication; Sagan to the Landskron at Gorlitz
is some fifty miles of country, now fallen vacant. From
Henri, from Fouquet (the dangers of Landshut being
over), Friedrich is getting what reinforcement they can
spare (September 20th-24th); will then push forward
again, industriously sticking to the flanks of Soltikof,
thrusting out stumbling-blocks, making his march very
uncomfortable.
Strange to say, from Sagan, while waiting two days
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? 240 PRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
15th-25th Sept. 1759.
for these reinforcements, there starts suddenly to view,
suddenly for Friedrich and us, an incipient Negotiation
about Peace! Actual Proposal that way (or as good
as actual, so Voltaire thinks it), on the part of Choiseul
and France; but as yet in Voltaire's name only, by a
sure though a backstairs channel, of his discovering.
Of which, and of the much farther corresponding that
did actually follow on it, we purpose to say something
elsewhere, at a better time. Meanwhile Voltaire's
announcement of it to the King has just come in,
through a fair and high Hand: how Friedrich receives
it, what Friedrich's inner feeling is, and has been
for a fortnight past -- Here are some private utter-
ances of his, throwing a straggle of light on those
points:
Four Letters of Friedrich's (10th-24th September).
No. 1. "To Prince Ferdinand (at Berlin). " Poor little
Ferdinand, the King's Brother, fallen into bad health, has
retired from the Wars, and gone to Berlin; much an object
of anxiety to the King, who diligently corresponds with the
dear little man, -- giving earnest medical advices, and
getting Berlin news in return.
"Waldau, 10th September 1759.
"Since my last Letter, Dresden has capitulated, -- the
"very day while Wunsch was beating Maguire at The Barns" (north side of Dresden, September 5th, day after the capitula-
tion). "Wunsch went back to Torgau, which St. Andre, with
"14,000 Reichs-people under him, was for retaking; him too
"Wunsch beat, took all his tents, kettles, haversacks and
"utensils, 300 prisoners, six cannon, and some standards.
'' Finck is uniting with Wunsch; they will march on the Prince
"of Zweibriick, and retake Dresden" (hopes always, for a
year and more, to have Dresden back very soon), "ltrust
"before long to get all these people gathered round Dresden,
"and our own Country rid of them; that, I take it, will be the
"end of the Campaign.
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? CHAP. V. ] HENRI'S MARCH OF FIFTY HOURS. 241
15th-25th Sept. 17;')! ).
"Many compliments to the Prince of WUrtemberg"
wounded at Kunersdorf), "and to all our wounded Generals:
"I hope Seidlitz is now out of danger: that bleeding fit
"(ebullition de sang) will cure him of the cramp in his jaw, and
"of his colics; and as he is in bed, he won't take cold. I hope
"the viper-broth will do you infinite good; be assiduous in
"patching your constitution, while there is yet some fine
"weather left: I dread the winter for you; take a great deal
"of care against cold. I have still a couple of cruel months
"ahead of me before ending this Campaign. Within that
"time, there will be, God knows what upshot. "* -- This is
"September 10th:" the day of Captain Kollas's arrival with
his bad Dresden news; Daun and Soltikof profoundly quiet
for three days more.
No. 2. "To the Duchess of Sachsen-Gotha" (at Gotha).
Voltaire has enclosed his Peace-Proposal to that Serene
Lady, always a friend of Friedrich's and his; to whom Fried-
rich, directly on receipt of it, makes answer:
"Sagan, 22d September 1759.
"Madame, -- I receive on all occasions proofs of your
"goodness, to which 1 am as sensible as a chivalrous man can
"be. Certainly it is not through your hands, Madame, that
"my Correspondence with V. ' (with Voltaire, if one durst
"write it in full) "ought to be made to pass! Nevertheless, in
"present circumstances, I will presume to beg that you would
"forward to him the Answer here enclosed, on which 1 put no
"Address. The difficulty of transmitting Letters has made
"me choose my Brother," Ferdinand, at Berlin, "to have this
"conveyed to your hand.
"If I gave bridle to my feelings, now would be the mo-
"ment for developing them; but in these critical times, I
"judge it betternot; and willrestriet myself to simple assur-
ances of --" F.
No. 3. "To Voltaire, at the Delices" (so her Serene High-
ness will address it). Here is part of the enclosure to "V. "
Friedrich is all for Peace; but keeps on his guard with such
an Ambassador, and writes in a proud, light, only half-believ-
ing style:
? (Enires de Fridiric, xxvr. 541.
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. XI. 16
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? 242 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
15lh-25th Sept. 1759.
"Sagan, 22d September 1759.
"The Duchess of Sachsen-Groth a sends me your Letter. I
"never received your 'packet of the 29th:' communications
"all interrupted here; with much trouble I get this passed
"on to you, if it is happy enough to pass.
"My position is not so desperate as my enemies give out.
"I expect to finish my Campaign tolerably; my courage is
"not sunk: -- it appears, however, there is talk of Peace. All
"I can say of positive on this article is, That I have honour
"for ten; and that, whatever misfortune befal me, Ifeelmy-
"self incapable of doing anything to wound, the least in the
"world, this principle, -- which is so sensitive and delicate
"for one who thinks like a gentleman (pense en preux cfte-
"vatier); and so little regarded by rascally politicians, who
"think like tradesmen.
"I know nothing of what you have been telling me about"
Cyour backstairs channels, your Due de Choiseul and his
humours): "but for making Peace there are two conditions
"which I never will depart from: 1? . To make it conjointly
"with my faithful Allies" (Hessen and England; I have no
other); "2? . to make it honourable and glorious. Observe
"you, I have still honour remaining; I will preserve that, at
"the price of my blood.
"If your people want Peace, let them propose nothing to
"me which contradicts the delicacy of my sentiments. I am
"in the convulsions of military operations; I do as the
"gamblers who are in ill-luck, and obstinately set themselves
"against Fortune. 1 have forced her to return to me, more
"than once, likeafickle mistress, when she had run away.
"My opponents are such foolish people, in the end I bid fair
"to catch some advantage over them: but, happen what-
"soever his Sacred Majesty Chance may please, I don't
"disturb myself about it. Up to this point, I have aclear con"science in regard to the misfortunes that have come to me.
"As to you, the Battle of Minden, that of Cadiz " (Boscawen
versus De la Clue; Toulon Fleet running out, and caught by
the English, as we saw), these things perhaps, "and the loss
"of Canada, are arguments capable of restoring reason to the
"French, who had got confused by the Austrian hellebore.
"This is my way of thinking. You do not find me made
"of rosewater: but Henri Quatre, Louis Quatorze, -- my
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? chap. vi. l henrI's march of fIfty hours. 243
15th-2olh Sept. 1759.
"present enemies even, whom I could cite" (Maria Theresa,
twenty years ago, when your Belleisle set out to cut her in
Four), -- "were of no softer temper either. Had I been born
"a private man, I would yield everything for the love of
"Peace; but one has to take the tone of one s position. This
"is all I can tell you at present. In three or four weeks the
"ways of correspondence will be freer. -- F. "*
No. 4. "To Prince Ferdinand. " Two days later: has got
on foot again, -- end of his first march upon Soltikof again:
"Baunau, 24th September 1759.
"Thank you for the news you send of the wounded
"Officers," Wiirtemberg, Seidlitz and the others. "You may
"well suppose that in the pass things are at, I am not without
"cares, inquietudes, anxieties; it is the frightfullest crisis I
"have had in my life. This is the moment for dying unless
"one conquer. Daun and my Brother Henri are marching
"side by side" (not exactly! ). "It is possible enough all
"these Armies may assemble hereabouts, and that a general
"Battle may decide our fortune and the Peace. Take care of
"your health, dear Brother. -- F. "**
Baunau is on Silesian ground, as indeed Sagan itself is; at
Baunau, Friedrich already, just on arriving, hasdonea fine
move on Soltikof, and surprisingly flung the toll-gate in
Soltikof s face. As we shall see by and by; --and likewise
that Prince Henri, who emerges tomorrow morning (Septem-
ber 25th), has not been "marching side by side with Daun,"
but at a pretty distance from that gentleman! --
Soltikof is a man of his word; otherwise one sus-
pects he already saw his Siege of Glogau to be im-
possible. Russians are not very skilful at the War-
minuet: fancy what it will be dancing to such a
partner! Friedrich, finding they are for Glogau, whisks
across the Oder, gets there before them: "No Glogau
for you! " They stand agape for some time; then
think, "Well then, Breslau! " Friedrich again whisks
* (Euvrcs de Frederic, xzin. 60, 61. ** Ibid. xxvi. 545.
16*
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? 244 FRIEDRICH LIKE XO BE OVERWHELMED. [bOok XIX.
22d Sept. 1769.
across from them, farther up, and is again ahead of
them when they cross: "No Breslau either! " In effect
it is hopeless; and we may leave the two maneuvering
in those waste parts, astride of Oder, or on the eastern
bank of it, till a fitter opportunity; and attend to
Henri, who is now the article in risk.
Zweibruck's report of himself, on that day of the
general Colloquy, was not in the way of complaint,
like that of the Russians, though there did remain dif-
ficulties. "Dresden gloriously ours; Maguire Governor
there, and everything secure; upon my honour. But in the northwest part, those Fincks and Wunsches,
Excellenz? " -- And the actual truth is, Wunsch has
taken Leipzig, day before yesterday (September 13th),
as Daun sorrowfully knows, by news come in over-
night. And six days hence (September 21st), Finck
and Wunsch together will do their "Action of Korbitz"
and be sending Haddick a bad road! These things
Zweibriick knows only in part; but past experience
gives him ominous presentiment, as it may well do;
and he thinks decidedly: "Excellenz, more Austrian
troops are indispensable there; in fact, your Excel-
lenz's self, were that possible; which one feels it is
not, in the presence of these Russians! "
Russians and Reichsfolk, these are a pair of thumb-
screws on both thumbs of Daun; screwing the cuncta-
tion out of him; painfully intimating: "Get rid of this
Prince Henri; you must, you must! " And, in the
course of the next eight days, Daun has actually girt
himself to this great enterprise. Goaded on, I could
guess, by the "Action ofKorbitz" (done on Friday,
thirty hours ago); the news of which, and that Had-
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? chAp, vi. ] henrI's mArch of fIfty hours. 245
23d-25tn Sept. 1759.
dick, instead of extinguishing Finck, is retreating from
him upon Dresden, -- what a piece of news! thinks
Daun: "You Zweibruck, Haddick, Maguire and Com-
pany, you are 36,000 in Saxony; Finck has not 12,000
in the field: How is this?
" -- and indignantly dis-
misses Haddick: "Go, Sir, and attend to your
health! "* News poignantly astonishing to Daun, as
would seem; -- like an oxgoad in the lazy rear of
Daun. Certain it is, Daun had marched out to Gorlitz
in collected form; and, on Saturday afternoon, Sep-
tember 22d, is personally on the Heights (not Moys
Hill, I should judge, but other points of vision), tak-
ing earnest survey of Prince Henri's position on the
Landskron there. "Tomorrow morning we attack that
Camp," thinks Daun; "storm Prince Henri and it: be
rid of him, at any price! "**
"Tomorrow morning," yes: -- but this afternoon,
and earlier, Prince Henri has formed a great resolution,
his plans all laid, everything in readiness; and it is
not here you will find Prince Henri tomorrow. This
is his famous March of Fifty Hours, this that we are
now come to; which deserves all our attention, -- and
all Daun's much more! Prince Henri was habitually
a man cautious in War; not aggressive, like his Bro-
ther, but defensive, frugal of risks, and averse to the
lion-springs usual with some people; though capable of
them, too, in the hour of need. Military men are full
of wonder, at the bold scheme he now fell upon; and
at his style of executing it. Hardly was Daun gone
home to his meditations on the storm of the Lands-
* Tempelhof, m. 276, 258-261.
** Ibid. in. 253-256 (for the March now ensuing); in. 228-234, 241-247
(for Henri's anterior movements).
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? 246 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [bOOKXIX.
23d-25th Sept. 1759.
kron tomorrow, and tattoo beaten in Prince Henri's
Camp there, when, at 8 that Saturday evening, issuing
softly, with a minimum of noise, in the proper march-
ing columns, baggage columns, Henri altogether quitted
this Camp; and vanished like a dream. Into the Night;
men and goods, every item: -- who shall say whither-
ward? Leaving only a few light people to keep up
the watch-fires and sentry-cries, for behoof of Daun!
Let readers here, who are in the secret, watch him a
little from afar.
Straight northward goes Prince Henri, down Neisse
Valley, 20 miles or so, to Rothenburg; in columns
severalfold, with much delicate arranging, which was
punctually followed: and in the course of tomorrow
Prince Henri is bivouacked, for a short rest of three
hours, -- hidden in unknown space, 20 miles from
Daun, when Daun comes marching up to storm him on
the Landskron! Gone veritably; but whitherward,
Daun cannot form the least guess. Daun can only
keep his men under arms there, all day; while his
scouts gallop far and wide, -- bringing in this false
guess and the other; and at length returning with the
eminently false one, misled by some of Henri's baggage-
columns, which have to go many routes, That the
Prince is on march for Glogau: -- "Gone north-east;
that way went his wagons; these we saw with our eyes. " "North-east? Yes, to Glogau possibly enough,"
thinks Daun: "Or may not he, cunning as he is and
full of feints, intend a stroke on Bautzen, in my ab-
sence? " -- and hastens thither again, and sits down
on the magazine-lid, glad to find nothing wrong there.
This is all that Daun hears of Henri for the next
four days. Plenty of bad news from Saxony in these
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? chAp, vi. ] henrI's mArch of fIfty hours. 247
H3d-iai. li Sept. 1759.
four days: the Finck-Haddick Action of Korbitz, a
dismal certainty before one started, -- and Haddick
on his road to some Watering Place, by this time!
But no trace of Henri farther; since that of the wagons
wending northeast. "Gone to Glogau, to his Brother:
no use in pushing him, or trying to molest him there! "
thinks Daun; and waits, in stagnant humour, chewing
the cud of bitter enough thoughts, till confirmation of
that guess arrive: -- as it never will in this world!
Bead an important Note:
"To northward of Bautzen forty miles, and to westward
"forty miles, the country is all Daun's; only towards Glogau,
"with the Russians and Friedrich thereabouts, does it
"become disputable, or offer Prince Henri any chance.
"Nevertheless it is not to Glogau, it is far the reverse, that
"the nimble Henri has gone. Resting himself at Rothenburg
"'three hours' (speed is of all things the vitallest), Prince
"Henri starts again, Sunday afternoon, straight westward
"this time. Marches, with his best swiftness, with his best
"arrangements, through many sleeping Villages, to Klitten,
"not a wakeful one: a march of 18 miles from Rothenburg;
"-- direct for the Saxon side of things, instead of the
"Silesian, as Daun had made sure.
"At Klitten, Monday morning, bivouack again, for a
"few hours, -- 'has no Camp, only waits three hours,' is
"Archenholtz's phrase: but 1 suppose the meaning is, Waits
"till the several Columns, by their calculated routes, have
"all got together; and till the latest in arriving has had
"'three hours' of rest,--the earliest having perhaps gone
"on march again, in the interim? There are 20 miles farther,
"still straight west, to Hoyerswerda, where the outmost
"Austrian Division is: 'Forward towards that; let us astonish
"General Wehla and his 3,000, and our March is over! ' All
"this too Prince Henri manages; never anything more con-
summate, more astonishing to Wehla and his Master.
"Wehla andBrentano, readers perhaps remember them
"busy, from the Pirna side, at the late Siege of Dresden.
"Siege gloriously done, Wehla was ordered to Hoyerswerda,
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? 248 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
25th Sept. 1759.
"on the north-west frontier; Brentano to a different point in
"that neighbourhood; where Brentano escaped ruin, and
"shall not be mentioned; but Wehla suddenly found it, and
"will require a word. Wehla, of all people on the War-
"theatre, had been the least expecting disturbance. He is
"on the remotest western flank; to westward of him nothing
"but Torgau and the Finck-Wunsch people, from whom is
"small likelihood of danger: from the eastern what danger
"can there be? A Letter of Daun's, some days ago, had
"expressly informed him that, to all appearance, there was
"none.
"And now suddenly, on the Tuesday morning, What is
"this? Prussians reported to be visible in the Woods! 'Im-
possible! ' answered Wehla; -- did get ready, however,
"what he could; Croat Regiments, pieces of Artillery behind
"the ElsterRiver and on good points; labouring more and
"more diligently, as the news proved true. But all his
"efforts were to no purpose. General Lentulus with his
"Prussians (the mute Swiss Lentulus, whom we sometimes
"meet), who has the Vanguard this day, comes streaming
"out of the woods, across the obstacles; cannonades Wehla
"both on front and rear; entirely swallows Wehla and
"Corps: 600 killed; the General himself, with 28 Field-
"Officers, and of subalterns and privates 1,785, falling
"prisoners to us; and the remainder scattered on the winds,
"golloping each his own road towards covert and a new form
"of life. Wehla is eaten, in this manner, Tuesday Sep-
"tember 25th: -- metaphorically speaking, the March of
"Fifty Hours ends in a comfortable twofold meal (military-
"cannibal, as well as of common culinary meat), and in
"well-deserved rest. "*
The turning-point of the Campaign is reckoned to
be this March of Henri's; one of the most extraordinary
on record. Prince Henri had a very fast March into
these Silesian-Lausitz Countries, early in July,** and
another very fast, from Bautzen, to intersect with
* Tempelhof, m. 255, 256; Seyfarth, Beylagen; &c.
** Seyfarth, n. 545.
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? CHAP. VI. J HENRI'S MARCH OF FIFTY HOURS. 249
25th Sept. 1759.
Schmottseifen, in the end of July: but these were as
nothing compared with the present. Tempelhof, the
excellent solid man, -- but who puts all things, big
and little, on the same level of detail, and has un-
paralleled methods of arranging (what he reckons to
be "arranging"), and no vestige of index, -- is dis-
tressingly obscure on this grand Incident; but at length,
on compulsion, does yield clear account. * In Archen-
holtz it is not dated at all; who merely says as follows:
"Most extraordinary march ever made; went through
"50 miles of Country wholly in the Enemy's pos-
session; lasted 56 hours, in which long period there
"was no camp pitched, and only twice a rest of three
"hours allowed the troops. During the other 50 hours
"the march, day and night, continually proceeded.
"Ended (no date) in surprise of General Wehla at
"Hoyerswerda, cutting up 600 of his soldiers, and
"taking 1,800 prisoners. Kalkreuth, since so famous,"
in the Anti-Napoleon Wars, "was the Prince's Ad-
jutant. "**
This is probably Prince Henri's cleverest feat, --
though he did a great many of clever; and his Brother
used to say, glancing towards him, "There is but one
of us that never committed a mistake. " A highly in-
genious dextrous little man in affairs of War, sharp as
needles, vehement but cautious; though of abstruse
temper, thin-skinned, capricious, and giving his Bro-
ther a great deal of trouble with his jealousies and
shrewish whims. By this last consummate little opera-
tion he has astonished Daun as much as anybody ever
did; shorn his elaborate tissue of cunctations into ruin
* Tempelhof, in. 253-258. ** Archenholtz, t. 426.
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? 250 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
24th Sept. -- 24th Oct. 1759.
and collapse at one stroke; and in effect, as turns out,
wrecked his campaign for this Year.
Daun finds there is now no hope of Saxony, unless
he himself at once proceed thither. At once thither;
--? and leave Grlogau and the Russians to their luck,
-- which in such case, what is it like to be? Probably,
to Daun's own view, ominous enough; but he has no
alternative. To this pass has the March of Fifty
Hours brought us. There is such a thing as being too
cunctatory, is not there, your Excellency? Every
mortal, and more especially every Feldmarschall ought
to strike the iron while it is hot. The remainder of
this Campaign, we will hope, can be made intelligible
in a more summary manner.
Friedrich manages (September 24th -- October 24th)
to get the Russians sent home; and Himself falls lamed
with Gout.
Friedrich's manoeuvres against Soltikof, -- every
reader is prepared to hear that Soltikof was rendered
futile by them; and none but military readers could
take delight in the details. Two beautiful short cuts
he made upon Soltikof; pulled him up both times in
mid career, as with hard check-bit. The first time was
at Zobelwitz: September 24th, Friedrich cut across from
Sagan, which is string to bow of the Russian march;
posted himself on the Heights of Zobelwitz, of Baunau,
Milkau (at Baunau Friedrich will write a Letter this
night, if readers bethink themselves; Milkau is a place
he may remember for rain-deluges, in the First Silesian
War*): "Let the Russians, if they now dare, try the
* Supra, vol. iv. p. 202.
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? chAp, vi. ] henrI's mAech of fIfty hours. 251
21th Sept. -- 24th Oct. 1759.
Pass of Neustadtel here! " A fortunate hour, when he
got upon this ground. Quartermaster-General Stoffel,
our old Custrin acquaintance, is found marking out a
Camp with a view to that Pass of Neustadtel; * is
greatly astonished to find the Prussian Army emerge
on him there; and at once vanishes, with his Hussar-
Cossack retinues. "September 24th," it is while Prince
Henri was on the last moiety of his March of Fifty
Hours. This severe twitch flung Soltikof quite out
from Glogau, -- was like to fling him home altogether,
had it not been for Montalembert's eloquence; -- did
fling him across the Oder. Where, again thanks to
Montalembert, he was circling on with an eye to Breslau,
when Friedrich, by the diameter, suddenly laid bridges,
crossed at Kbben, and again brought Soltikof to halt,
as by turnpike suddenly shut: "Must pay first; must
beat us first! "
These things had raised Friedrich's spirits not a
little. Getting on the Heights of Zobelwitz, he was
heard to exclaim, "This is a lucky day; worth more
to me than a battle with victory. ". ** Astonishing how
he blazed out again, quite into his old pride and
effulgence, after this, says Retzow. Had been so meek,
so humbled, and even condescended to ask advice or
opinion from some about him. Especially "from two
Captains," says the Opposition Retzow, whose heads
were nearly turned by this sunburst from on high.
Captain Marquart and another, -- I believe, he did
employ them about Routes and marking of Camps,
which Retzow calls consulting: a King fallen tragically
scarce of persons to consult; all his Winterfelds, Schwe-
* Tempelhof, in. 293; Retzow, n. 163.
** Retzow, n. 163.
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? 252 FRIEDRICH LIKE TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XIX.
24lh Sept. -- 24th Oct. 1759.
rins, Keiths, and Council of Peers now vanished, and
nothing but some intelligent-looking Captain Marquart,
or the like, to consult: -- of which Retzow, in his
splenetic Opposition humour, does not see the tragedy,
but rather the comedy: how the poor Captains found
their favour to be temporary, conditional, and had to
collapse again. One of them wrote an "Essay on the
Coup-ay ceil Militaire," over which Retzow pretends to
weep. This was Friedrich's marginal Note upon the
Ms. , when submitted to his gracious perusal: "You (Er)
"will do better to acquire the Art of marking Camps
"than to write upon the Military Stroke of Eye. " Beauti-
fully written too, says Retzow; but what, in the eyes
of this King, is beautiful writing, to knowing your
business well? No friend he to writing, unless you
have got something really special, and urgent to be
written.
Friedrich crossed the Oder twice. Took Soltikof
on both sides of the Oder, cut him out of this fond ex-
pectation, then of that; led him, we perceive, a bad
life. Latterly the scene was on the right bank: So-
phienthal, Koben, Herrnstadt and other poor places,--
on that big eastern elbow, where Oder takes his final
bend, or farewell of Poland. Ground, naturally, of
some interest to Friedrich: ground to us unknown; but
known to Friedrich as the ground where Karl XII.
gave Schulenburg his beating,* which produced the
"beautiful retreat" of Schulenburg. The old Feld-
marschall Schulenburg whom we used to hear of once,
* "Near Guhrau" (while chasing August the Strong and him out of
Poland), "12th October 1704:" vague account of it, dateless, and as good
as placeless, in Voltaire (Charles Dome, liv. Ill), (Euvres, xxx. 142-5.
