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第25章

history of friedrich ii of prussia v 18-第25章

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 post; and do its best; in those parts; with Zittau Magazine and the Lausitz to rear of it。 One of our Eye…witnesses; a Herr Westphalen; Ferdinand of Brunswick's Secretary;who; with his Chief; got into wider fields before long;yields these additional particulars face to face:

〃TUESDAY; 21st JUNE; 1757。 King's Head…quarters in Lissa or neighborhood till Friday next; which is central for both these movements;Thursday; orders seven regiments of horse to reinforce Keith。 No symptom yet of pursuit anywhere。

〃FRIDAY; 24th。 Prince Moritz with the Kolin Army made appearance; all safe; and is to command here; King intending for Keith。 After dinner; and the due interchange of battalions to that end; King sets off; with Prince Henri; towards Keith; Head…quarter in Alt…Bunzlau again。 SATURDAY NIGHT; at Melnick; SUNDAY; Gastorf: MONDAY NIGHT; 27th JUNE; Leitmeritz; King lodges in the Cathedral Close; in sight of Keith; who is on the opposite side of Elbe;but the town has a Bridge for to…morrow。 'Never was a quieter march; not the shadow of a Pandour visible。 The Duke 'Ferdinand; my Chief; Chatham's jewel that is to be; and precious to England' has suffered much from a'in fact; from a COURS DE VENTRE; temporary bowel…derangement; which was very troublesome; owing to the excessive heats by day; and coldness of the nights。

〃TUESDAY; 28th。 Junction with Keith;Bridge rightly secured; due party of dragoons and foot left on the right bank; to occupy a height which covers Leitmeritz。 'Clearing of the Pascopol' (that is; sweeping the Pandours out of it) is the first business; Colonel Loudon with his Pandours; a most swift sharpcutting man; being now here in those parts; doing a deal of mischief。 Three days ago; Saturday; 25th; Keith had sent seven battalions; with the proper steel…besoms; on that Pascopol affair; Tuesday; on junction; Majesty sends three more: job done on Wednesday; reported 'done;' though I should not be surprised;〃 says Westphalen; 〃if some little highway robbery still went on among the Mountains up there。〃

No;and before quitting hold; what is this that Loudon (on the very day of the King's arrival; June 27th); on the old Field of Lobositz over yonder; has managed to do! General Mannstein; wounded at Kolin; happened; with others in like case; to be passing that way; towards Dresden and better surgery;when Loudon's Croats set upon them; scattering their slight escort: 〃Quarter; on surrender! Prisoners?〃 〃Never!〃 answered Mannstein; 〃Never!〃 that too impetuous man; starting out from his carriage; and snatching a musket: and was instantly cut down there。 And so ends;a man of strong head; and of heart only too strong。 'Preuss; ii。 58;  Militair…Lexikon;  iii。 10。'

From Prag onwards; here has been a delicate set of operations; perfectly executed;thanks to Friedrich's rapidity of shift; and also to the cautious slowly puzzling mind of Daun。 Had Daun used any diligence; had Daun and Prince Karl been broad awake; together or even singly! But Friedrich guessed they seldom or never were; that they would spend some days in puzzling; and that; with despatch; he would have time for everything。 Daun; we could observe; stood singing TE…DEUM; greatly at leisure; in his old Camp; 20th June; while Friedrich; from the first gray of morning; and diligently all day long; was withdrawing from the trenches of Prag;Friedrich's people; self and goods getting folded out in the finest gradation; and with perfect success; no Daun to hinder him; Daun leisurely doing TE…DEUM; forty miles off; helping on the WRONG side by that exertion! 'Cogniazzo; ii。 367。'〃Poor Browne; he is dead of his wounds; in Prag yonder;〃 writes Westphalen; in his Leitmeritz Journal; 〃news came to us July 1st: men said; 'Ah; that was why they lay asleep。'〃

Till June 26th; Daun and Karl had not united; nor; except sending out Loudon and Croats; done anything; either of them。 Sunday; June 26th; at Podschernitz on the old Field of Prag; a week and a day after Kolin; they did get together; still seemingly a little puzzled; 〃Shall we follow the King? Shall we follow Moritz and Bevern?〃nothing clear for some time; except to send out Pandour parties upon both。 Moritz; since parting with the King in Alt… Bunzlau neighborhood; has gone northward some marches; thirty miles or so; to JUNG…Bunzlau;meeting of Iser and Elbe; surely a good position:Moritz; on receipt of these Pandour allowances of his; writes to the King; 〃Shall we retreat on Zittau; then; your Majesty? Straight upon Zittau?〃 Fancy Friedrich's astonishment; who well intends to eat the Country first; perhaps to fight if there be chance; and at least to lie OUTSIDE the doors of Silesia and the Lausitz; as well as of Saxony here!and answers; with his own hand; on the instant: 〃Your Dilection will not be so mad!〃 'In Preuss; ii。 58; the pungent little Autograph in full。' And at once recalls Moritz; and appoints the Prince of Prussia to go and take command。 Who directly went;a most important step for the King's interests and his own。 Whose fortunes in that business we shall see before long!

At Leitmeritz the King continues four weeks; with his Army parted in this way; waiting how the endless hostile element; which begirdles his horizon all round; will shape itself into combinations; that he may set upon the likeliest or the needfulest of these; when once it has disclosed itself。 Horizon all round is black enough: Austrians; French; Swedes; Russians; Reichs Army; closer upon him or not so close; all are rolling in: Saxony; the Lausitz and Silesia; Brandenburg itself; it is uncertain which of these may soonest require his active presence。

The very day after his arrival in Leitmeritz;Tuesday; 28th June; while that junction with Keith was going on; and the troops were defiling along the Bridge for junction with Keith;a heavy sorrow had befallen him; which he yet knew not of。 An irreparable Domestic loss; sad complement to these Military and other Public disasters。 Queen Sophie Dorothee; about whose health he had been anxious; but had again been set quiet; died at Berlin that day。 'Monbijou; 28th June; 1757; born at Hanover; 27th March; 1687。' In her seventy… first year: of no definite violent disease; worn down with chagrins and apprehensions; in this black whirlpool of Public troubles。 So far as appears; the news came on Friedrich by surprise:〃bad cough;〃 we hear of; and of his anxieties about it; in the Spring time; then again of 〃improvement; recovery; in the fine weather;〃 no thought; just now; of such an event: and he took it with a depth of affliction; which my less informed readers are far from expecting of him。

July 2d; the news came: King withdrew into privacy; to weep and bewail under this new pungency of grief; superadded to so many others。 Mitchell says: 〃For two days he had no levee; only the Princes dined with him 'Princes Henri and Ferdinand; Prince of Prussia is gone to Jung…Bunzlau; would get the sad message there; among his other troubles': yesterday; July 3d; King sent for me in the afternoon;the first time he has seen anybody since the news came:I had the honor to remain with him some hours in his closet。 I must own to your Lordship I was most sensibly afflicted to see him indulging his grief; and giving way to the warmest filial affections; recalling to mind the many obligations he had to her late Majesty; all she had suffered; and how nobly she bore it; the good she did to everybody; the one comfort he now had; to think of having tried to make her last years more agreeable。〃 ' Papers and Memoirs;  i。 253; Despatch to Holderness; 4th July (slightly abridged);see ib。 i。 357…359 (Private Journal)。 Westphalen; ii。 14。 See  OEuvres de Frederic;  iv。 182。' In the thick of public business; this kind of mood to Mitchell seems to have lasted all the time of Leitmeritz; which is about three weeks yet: Mitchell's Note…books and Despatches; in that part; have a fine Biographic interest; the wholly human Friedrich wholly visible to us there as he seldom is。 Going over his past Life to Mitchell; brief; candid; pious to both his Parents;inexpressibly sad; like moonlight on the grave of one's Mother; silent that; while so much else is too noisy!

This Fried

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