With Frederick the Great: A Story of the Seven Years' War

  Chapter 13: Hochkirch.

  The village of Hochkirch stood on a hilltop, with an extensive viewfor miles round on all sides; save on the south, where hills roseone above another. Among these hills was one called the Devil'sHill, where the primitive country people believed that the deviland his witches held high festival, once a year.

  Frederick's right wing, which was commanded by Keith, lay inHochkirch. Beyond the village he had four battalions, and a batteryof twenty guns on the next height to Hochkirch. From this point tothe Devil's Hill extended a thick wood, in which a strong body ofCroats were lurking. Frederick, with the centre, extended fourmiles to the left of Hochkirch. Retzow, who had been restored tohis command, had ten or twelve thousand men lying in or behindWeissenberg, four miles away.

  Frederick's force, with that of Keith, amounted to twenty-eightthousand men, and Retzow's command was too far away to beconsidered as available. Daun's force, lying within a mile ofHochkirch, amounted to ninety thousand men. Well might Keith saythat the Austrians deserved to be hanged, if they did not attack.Frederick himself was somewhat uneasy, and would have moved away onthe Friday night, had he not been waiting for the arrival of aconvoy of provisions from Bautzen. Still, he relied upon Daun'sinactivity.

  This time, however, his reliance was falsified. All Daun's generalswere of opinion that it would be disgraceful, were they to stand onthe defensive against an army practically less than a third oftheir force; and their expostulations at length roused Daun intoactivity. Once decided, his dispositions were, as usual, excellent.

  [Map: Battle of Hochkirch]

  His plan was an able one. He himself, with thirty thousand men, wasto start as soon as it was dark on Friday evening, sweep round tothe south, follow the base of the Devil's Mountain, and thenthrough the hollows and thick wood till he was close to the forceon the right of Hochkirch; and was to fall suddenly on them, atfive o'clock on Saturday morning. The orders were that, as soon asHochkirch was taken, the rest of the army, sixty thousand strong,were to march against Frederick, both in front and on his left, andso completely smash and crumple him up.

  Frederick had no premonition of the storm that was gathering. OnThursday and Friday the Austrians were engaged, as usual, infelling trees, forming abattis, throwing up earthworks, and in allways strengthening their position. Everything seemed to show thatDaun was still bent upon standing upon the defensive only.

  As the lurking Croats and Pandoors had, every night, crept upthrough the brushwood and hollows, and skirmished with the Prussianoutposts away on the right, scattered firing was not heeded much inHochkirch. Fergus had just got up, in the little room he sharedwith Lindsay in the marshal's quarters, a mile north of Hochkirch;and was putting on his boots when, a few minutes past five, thesound of firing was heard.

  "There are the Croats, as usual," he said.

  "What a restless fellow you are, Drummond! You have been up, atthis unearthly hour, each morning since we got here. It won't belight for another two hours yet. I doubt whether it will be lightthen. It looks to me as if it were a thick fog."

  "You are right about my early hours, and I admit I have beenrestless. It is not a pleasant idea that, but a mile away, there isan army big enough to eat us up; and nothing whatever to preventtheir pouncing upon us, at any moment, except two or threebatteries. The marshal was saying, last night, he should regard itas the most fortunate escape he ever had, if we drew off safelytonight without being attacked.

  "That firing is heavier than usual. There go a couple of guns!"

  "Those two advanced pieces are sending a round or two of case shotinto the bushes, I suppose," Lindsay said drowsily.

  Fergus completed his dressing, and went downstairs and out into thenight. Here he could hear much better than in the room above; whichhad but one loophole for air and light, and that was almost stoppedup, with a wisp of straw. He could now plainly hear volley firing,and a continued crackle of musketry. He ran upstairs again.

  "You had better get your things on at once, Lindsay. It is a moreserious affair than usual. I shall take it upon myself to wake themarshal."

  He went to Keith's door, knocked, and opened it.

  "Who is there? What is it?" the marshal asked.

  "It is I, Drummond, sir. There is heavy firing going on to theright, much heavier than it has been any other night."

  "What o'clock is it?"

  "About ten minutes past five, sir. There is a thick mist, and it ispitch dark. Shall I go over and inquire what is going on?"

  "Yes, do. I expect that those rascally Croats have been reinforced,and are trying to find out whether we are still in our positions."

  "I will be back as soon as I can, sir."

  Fergus ran round to the low range of sheds in which their horseswere stabled.

  "Karl, are you there?" he shouted.

  "Yes, major," a voice said, close at hand. "I am listening to allthat firing."

  "Saddle up at once. You may as well ride with me. I am going to seewhat it is all about."

  A lantern was burning in the shed, and by its light Fergus and theorderly rapidly saddled the horses.

  "You had better light two more lanterns, Karl. Leave the one on thewall burning. We will take the others. We shall want them, for onecannot see a horse's length away; and if we had not the sound offiring to guide us, we should soon lose our way altogether."

  The light enabled them to go at a fairly fast trot, but theytrusted rather to their horses' than to their own eyes. The roarand rattle of the firing increased in volume, every minute.

  "That is more than an affair with the Croats, Karl."

  "A good deal more, major. It looks as if the Austrians were beatingup our quarters in earnest."

  "It does indeed."

  When they reached Hochkirch they found the troops there astir. Thecavalry trumpets were sounding to horse, and the clamour round thevillage told that the troops encamped there were getting underarms.

  "Do you know what is going on to the right, sir?" Fergus asked afield officer, who was in the act of mounting. "Marshal Keith hassent me to inquire."

  "Not in the least; but as far as I can tell by the sound, they mustbe attacking us in force, and they seem to be working round in rearof our battery there. The sound is certainly coming this way."

  "Then I will go on to the battery," Fergus said.

  He had ridden but a little way farther, when he was convinced thatthe officer was right. The crash of musketry volleys rosecontinuously, but although the boom of guns was mingled with it,there was nothing like the continuous fire that might have beenexpected from a twenty-gun battery.

  Suddenly from his right a crackle of firing broke out, and thenheavy volleys. The bullets sung overhead.

  "They are attacking us in the rear, sir, sure enough," Karl said.

  "I am afraid they have captured our big battery, Karl," Fergussaid, as he turned his horse.

  It was but a few hundred yards back to the village but, just as hereached it, a roar of fire broke out from its rear. They could maketheir way but slowly along the streets, so crowded were they nowwith infantry who, unable to see until a yard or two away, couldnot make room for them to pass, as they would otherwise have donefor a staff officer. With feverish impatience Fergus pushed on,until the road was clear; but even now he had to go comparativelyslowly, for unless they kept to the track across the open groundthat led to the farmhouse, they must miss it altogether.

  Lights were moving about there as he rode up. Keith himself was atthe door, and the orderlies were bringing up the horses.

  "What is it, Major Drummond?"

  "It is an attack in force, sir, on the right flank and rear. Theenemy have crept up between Hochkirch and our battery, and as Icame through the village they were attacking it in rear. I cannotsay for certain, but I believe that the battery is taken, thoughthere is a heavy infantry fire still going on there."

  "Ride to Ziethen, Captain Lindsay. Give him the news, and tell himto fall upon the Austrians.

&n
bsp; "Captain Cosser and Captain Gaudy, ride off to the infantry andbring them up at the double.

  "I will take on the Kannaker battalion myself," and he rode down atonce to the camp of this battalion, which was but a hundred yardsaway; despatching others of his staff to hasten up the regimentsnear.

  The Kannaker battalion was already under arms, and marched off withhim as soon as he arrived.

  "I am going to the left of the village, Fergus, and shall make forthe battery, which we must retake. Do you go first into Hochkirch,and see how matters go there. If badly, give my order to thecolonel of the first battalion that comes along, and tell him tothrow himself into the village and assist to hold it to the last.After that, you must be guided by circumstances. It is doubtful ifyou will ever find me again, in this black mist."

  Fergus handed his lantern to Keith's orderly, who took his place atthe side of the marshal as the regiment went off at the double.Fergus rode up to the village. It was scarce twenty minutes sincehe had left it, but it was evident that a furious fight was ragingthere, and that the Austrians had already penetrated some distanceinto its streets. Without hesitation he turned and rode back againand, in a few minutes, met a dark body of men coming along at arapid run.

  "Where is the colonel?" he asked, reining in his horse suddenly,for he had nearly ridden into the midst of them.

  "Just ahead of us, to the right, sir."

  In a minute Fergus was beside him. By the light that Karl carried,he recognized him.

  "Major Lange," he said, "I have the marshal's orders that youshould march into Hochkirch, and hold it to the last. The Austriansare already in partial possession of it."

  "Which way is it, Major Drummond? For in this mist I have almostlost my direction, and there seems to be firing going on everywhereahead."

  "I will direct you," Fergus said. "I have just come from there;"and he trotted back to the village.

  As they approached Hochkirch it was evident that, although thedefenders were still clinging to its outskirts, the greater portionwas lost; but with a cheer the battalion rushed forward, and was ina moment fiercely engaged. Major Lange's horse fell dead under him,struck by an Austrian bullet. Fergus rode into the first house hecame to, dismounted, and left his horse there.

  "You may as well leave yours here too, Karl. We can do no good withthem, and should only be in the way. When it begins to get light,we will try and find the marshal.

  "You may as well get hold of the first musket and ammunition pouchthat you can pick up. There will be enough for every man to do tohold this place until more reinforcements come up."

  A desperate struggle went on in the streets. The Prussians who hadbeen driven back joined the battalion just arrived. Bayonets andthe butt-end of the musket were used, rather than shot; for in themist friend could not be distinguished from foe five yards away,and it was from their shouts rather than by their uniforms that menknew whether they had one or other in front of them. Karl was notlong in finding arms and, taking his place in the ranks, was soonat work with the others.

  The village was almost circular in shape, clustered as it were onthe top of the hill. The struggle was not confined to one street,but raged in half a dozen, more or less parallel with each other.Gradually the Prussians pressed forward, and had more than halfcleared the village when their advance was checked by the arrivalof fresh battalions of the Austrians. Then Lange threw his men intothe church and churchyard, and there stubbornly maintained himself.

  Soon flames burst out from various directions, giving a welcomelight to the defenders, and enabling them to keep up so heavy afire upon the now swarming enemy that they repulsed each attackmade upon them. Eight battalions of Austrians in vain tried tocapture the position, attacking it on every side; but the stubbornPrussians held firmly to it.

  Meanwhile beyond, as far as the battery, the fight raged. ThePlothow battalion, which had been stationed in advance of it, hadbeen attacked and enveloped on all sides by the Austrians; but haddefended themselves splendidly and, though forced back by sheerweight of numbers, had maintained their order and done heavyexecution by their fire. The battery had been lost, but those whohad been driven out rallied and, with the Plothow men, made sofurious a rush forward that they hurled the Austrians out again. Itwas but for a few minutes, for such masses of the enemy poured upthrough the mist that there was no withstanding them, and many ofthe Prussians were taken prisoners. Their captivity was of shortduration, for through the mist Ziethen's horse burst out suddenlyinto the raging tumult, scattered the Austrians, released theprisoners, and were then off to fall upon fresh enemies, as soon asthey discovered their position.

  Everywhere isolated combats took place. Battalion after battalion,and squadron after squadron, as it arrived, flung itself upon thefirst enemy it came upon in the darkness. Keith, on reaching thebattery, again retook it; but again the Austrian masses obtainedpossession.

  In and around Hochkirch, similar desperate struggles were going on.None fled but, falling back until meeting another battalionhastening up, reformed and charged again. Ziethen's horse, togetherwith the rest of the cavalry and gendarmes, mingled with staffofficers and others who had lost their way, continued to makefurious charges against the Austrians pressing round the rear ofthe position, and holding them in check.

  Until its cartridges were all spent, Lange's battalion held thechurchyard, though its numbers were terribly lessened by theAustrian fire. Then the major called upon his men to form in amass, and cut their way through the enemy with the bayonet. Thisthey most gallantly did, losing many; but the remnant emerged fromthe village, their gallant leader, wounded to death, among them.

  Fergus and Karl separated themselves from them, ran to the housewhere they had left their horses, mounted, and galloped off. Bythis time the centre was coming up, led by the king himself. Asthey neared Hochkirch a cannonball took off the head of Frank ofBrunswick, the king's youngest brother-in-law. Prince Maurice ofDessau, riding in the dark till within twenty yards of theAustrians, was badly hit; and the storm of case and musket bulletsthat swept the approaches to Hochkirch was so terrible thatFrederick's battalion had to fall back.

  "The first thing is to find the marshal," Fergus said, as he rodeout of Hochkirch. "He must be somewhere to the right."

  Before he could extricate himself, Ferguswas surrounded by Austrians]

  He galloped on until a flash of fire burst out, a few yards infront. His horse fell dead under him and, before he could extricatehimself from it, he was surrounded by Austrians. An officer shoutedto him to surrender and, seeing the hopelessness of resistance, heat once did so.

  He looked round and, to his satisfaction, saw nothing of Karl. Hewas placed in the midst of the Austrian regiment, under the chargeof a sergeant, and told that he would be shot if he tried toescape.

  Frederick, with more battalions that had come up, pushed on;thrusting the Austrians back until he had left Hochkirch on hisleft. But by this time it was past eight o'clock, the fog wasdispersing, and he saw a great body of Austrians on the heights tohis right, from Waditz to Meschduitz, as well as on the whole lineof heights on the left. His only line of retreat, therefore, wasalong at the foot of the Dressau heights.

  These he ordered to be seized, at once. This was done before theAustrians could reach the spot, they being hindered by furiouscharges by Ziethen, from the open ground between Kumschutz andCanitz; and Frederick rearranged his front of battle, and waitedfor Retzow to come up with the left wing.

  The Austrians tried several attacks, but with little success. Theytoo had been hindered and confused by the mist, and the force thathad been engaged in and round Hochkirch had suffered terribly; andthey pushed forward but feebly, now that the Prussian guns on theheights were able to open fire upon them.

  Retzow was long in coming, for he too had been attacked by twentythousand men, who had been told off by Daun for the purpose. Theattack, however, was badly managed and feeble; but it delayedRetzow from making a start, when Frederick's urgent messagesreached him. Dur
ing this anxious delay the Austrians capturedFrederick's main battery of thirty guns, north of Rodewitz; andwere beginning to press forward, when Retzow came onto the groundand took up a position at Belgern, covering Frederick's left flank.Had he been an hour sooner, he might have saved the heavy batterywhich lay beyond the range of the guns on the Dressau heights, andwhich Frederick could not have supported without bringing on ageneral battle.

  Then, in a steady and leisurely manner, the king drew off hisforces and took up a new position from Krewitz to Puswietz,carrying off the whole of his baggage; Retzow and the troops on theDressau heights covering the movement, until all had passed; Daunand his great army standing on their circle of hills, watching, butnot interfering with the movement.

  Frederick's rashness had cost him dear. He had lost eight thousandmen; five thousand three hundred and eighty-one of them, and ahundred and nineteen officers, killed or prisoners; the restwounded. He had also lost a hundred and one guns, and most of histents.

  Of the Austrians, three hundred and twenty-five officers and fivethousand six hundred and fourteen rank and file were killed orwounded, and a thousand prisoners lost. Twenty thousand of theirmen deserted, during their passage through the dark and intricatewoods.

  Fergus remained with the regiment that had captured him until thebattle ceased; after which he was taken, under a guard, to the spotwhere the Prussian prisoners were gathered. Of these there werefifty-eight officers, the greater part of whom were more or lessseverely wounded. Two of the officers belonged to the Kannakerbattalion, and from them Fergus asked for news of Marshal Keith.

  "We fear he is killed," one said. "He led us into the battery, andhe was with us after we were driven out again; but after thatneither of us saw him. Everything was in confusion. We could notsee twenty yards, any way. We know that the battalion had sufferedterribly. Just before we were captured, being with a score of mencut off from the rest by a rush of Austrians, a rumour spread thatthe marshal had been killed; but more than this we cannot tell."

  Two hours later an Austrian officer rode up, with orders that theprisoners were to be marched some distance farther to the rear.Fergus went up to him and said:

  "Can you tell me, sir, if Marshal Keith is among the killed? I amone of his aides-de-camp and, moreover, a cousin of his."

  "Yes," the officer said, "he has fallen. His body was recognized byGeneral Lacy, who commands here. I am on his staff. The general wasgreatly affected, for he and the marshal were at one time comradesin arms. The marshal was shot through the heart, and had previouslyreceived two other wounds. He was a most gallant soldier, and onehighly esteemed by us. He will be buried with all military honoursat Hochkirch, where he has been carried."

  Fergus was deeply moved. Keith had been so uniformly kind that hehad come to feel for him almost as a father. He could not speak fora minute, and then said:

  "Would you ask General Lacy, sir, to allow me to attend hisfuneral, both as one of the marshal's staff and as a relation, wholoved him very dearly? My name is Major Drummond."

  "I will certainly ask him, sir, and have no doubt that he willgrant the request."

  He thereupon gave orders that a young officer should remain withFergus, until an answer was received. He then rode off, and in afew minutes the rest of the prisoners were marched away. In half anhour the officer returned.

  "General Lacy will be glad if you will accompany me to hisquarters. He gladly accedes to your request."

  Lacy occupied one of the houses at Hochkirch which had been sparedby the flames. The aide-de-camp conducted Fergus to an empty room.

  "The general is away at present," he said, "but will see you, assoon as he returns."

  When alone, Fergus burst into tears. It was indeed a heavy loss tohim. Even before he came out, he had come to regard Keith with deeprespect and admiration. He had heard so much of him, from hismother, that it seemed to him that their relationship was farcloser than it really was, and that Keith stood in the position ofan uncle rather than of his mother's cousin. Since he had been inGermany he had been constantly with him, save when he was away withthe king; and the genial kindness, the absence of all formality,and the affectionate interest he had shown in him had been almostof a fatherly nature. It was but a poor consolation to know that itwas the death Keith would, of all others, have chosen; and that,had he survived the campaign, he would probably have been obligedto retire from active service; or to take some quiet command, wherehis inactivity would speedily have chafed him beyond bearing, afterso active and stirring a life.

  Two hours later the officer entered the room, and said that GeneralLacy had returned, and would see him. The general was alone when hewas shown into his room, and his face evinced a momentary surprisewhen his eyes fell on Fergus. Promotion was not very rapid in thePrussian army, and he had expected to see a man of between thirtyand forty. The sight of this young officer, with the rank andinsignia of major, and wearing on his breast the Prussian order,surprised him.

  "I am sorry indeed for your loss, Major Drummond," he said inEnglish. "Sorry for my own, too; though it may well be that, in anycase, Keith and I should never have met again. But we were comradesonce and, like everyone else, I loved him. What relation was he toyou?"

  "He was my mother's first cousin, general; but they were alwaysdear friends, and have for years written regularly to each other;and it was settled that I should come out to him, as soon as I wasold enough. 'Tis upwards of two years since I did so, and he hasbeen more like a father than a cousin to me, during that time."

  "You have gone up the tree fast," General Lacy said.

  "Very fast, sir; but I owe it to good fortune, and not to hisinfluence. I was, in each case, promoted by the king himself."

  "A good judge of men, and not accustomed to give promotion easily.Will you tell me how it happened?"

  "There is not much to tell, sir. On the first occasion, I freedCount Eulenfurst of some rascals who were maltreating him and hisfamily."

  "I remember the circumstance," Lacy said warmly. "I heard it from aSaxon officer, who joined us at the end of the first campaign,after the Saxon army was disbanded and the officers were allowed togo free. He was at Dresden for a time, and heard the story. It wasa gallant business. I think you killed six of them. And what wasthe next occasion?"

  "The next followed very quickly, general; and was given forcarrying an order to the Prussian horse, which enabled them to getback to our lines before the Austrian cavalry fell upon them."

  "I was there," Lacy said. "So you were the officer who chargedthrough a squadron of our cavalry, accompanied by a single orderly!You certainly won your promotion fairly there. And where did youget your last step?"

  "At Zorndorf where, in the melee, when the Russians broke ourranks, I was fortunate enough to intercept three Russian dragoonswho were making for the king, who was hemmed in among the infantryhe was trying to rally."

  "A good reason, again, for promotion. Well, if you go on, you arelikely to rise as high as your cousin. But it is a poor life. As Ilooked down upon Keith's face today, I thought how empty is anyhonour that adventurers like ourselves can gain. I myself haverisen too; but what does it bring? Responsibility, toil, theconsciousness that a solitary mistake may bring you into disgrace;and that, in any case, the end may be like this: death on abattlefield, fighting in a quarrel in which you have no concern,and of which you may disapprove; a grave soon forgotten; a namescarce known to one's countrymen. It is not worth it."

  The general spoke in a tone of deep feeling.

  "I have made up my mind not to continue in the service, after thewar is over," Fergus said, after a short pause; "although the kinghas personally been very kind to me and, when the marshal remainedin Bohemia, he took me on his own staff."

  "That is right, and as you are young, a few years' further servicewill do you no harm. It will, indeed, do you good; that is, if youpass through it unharmed. A man who has fought under Frederick, andgained no small honour in a service where brave men are common,will be respe
cted when he returns to his home, no matter how smallhis patrimony may be; and you will be, in all respects, an ablerman for these few years of fierce struggle and adventure.

  "And now, Major Drummond, I must say goodbye for the present, as Ihave to ride over to the marshal, and may not return until latethis evening. A meal will be served to you shortly, in your room;and if your night has been as short as mine has, you will be readyto turn in early. The funeral will take place tomorrow morning."

  The next morning, Lacy and Fergus Drummond walked side by side, aschief mourners, after the gun carriage on which the remains ofMarshal Keith were carried to Hochkirch church. There was a largemilitary cortege, martial music, and infantry with reversed arms.The many wounded had been carried from the church, and some attemptmade to clear away the signs of the strife that had, twenty-fourhours before, raged around it. There Keith was buried. Twelvecannon three times pealed out a parting salute. Three times themuskets of the regiment of Colleredo fired their volleys.

  Four months later, by the king's orders, the body was conveyed toBerlin, and buried in the garrison church with full military pompand honour. Twenty years afterwards, when Frederick erected fourstatues to the most deserving of his generals, Keith had his placewith Schwerin, Winterfeld, and Seidlitz.

  "And now," Lacy said, when they returned from the funeral to hisquarters, "I must send you on after the others. I am sorry to doso, but I have no choice. Still, I will write to friends at Vienna,and get them to have you included in the first batch of exchanges."

  An officer was told off to accompany Fergus, and a horse was foundfor him. On the second evening after starting he rejoined theconvoy of prisoners; where a message, delivered from General Lacyto the officer in charge, caused many small indulgences to begranted to him on the way south.

  Day after day the convoy pursued its way, by short marches, forseveral of the officers were too severely wounded to travel far.Several of these were left at Prague. Here the greater portion ofthe others were taken on by the southern road through Budweis, therest turning southeast towards Moravia.

  On the evening before they separated, the commander of the convoysaid to Fergus:

  "Have you any wish to choose as to which of the fortresses youwould be sent to? I can put your name down with either party. Somewill go to Iglau in Moravia, the rest to the forts round Linz."

  "I think I would rather go to Linz, colonel, as you are good enoughto give me the choice."

  Accordingly, the next morning Fergus, with twenty officers,continued his way south. The majority proceeded to Iglau, to bedistributed among the various fortresses of Moravia.

  Fergus was much pleased that he had not been sent with that party, forhad he by chance been taken to his former place of imprisonment, hewould certainly have been recognized, and the strictest precautionstaken against his repeating the attempt. On their arrival at Linz,the prisoners were formally handed over to the charge of the governor,and distributed among the various outlying forts round the city. Tenothers were told off to the same prison as Fergus.

  The fort was the one nearest to the river, on the west side of thecity; and stood but a hundred yards from the bank, its guns beingintended to prevent any passage of the Danube, as well as to guardthe city against a land attack from that side. It was a strongplace but, as it was situated in a flat country, it presented nonatural obstacle to an escape. It was surrounded by a broad moat,fed by a cut from the river. On the other side of the moat were twosmall redoubts, facing west. The fort contained ample barracks forthe garrison of three hundred men who occupied it, with bomb proofsin which they could take refuge, in the event of a siege. Beyondthe moat, a glacis sloped down to another ditch.

  The cannon were placed in casemates. Some of them had beenwithdrawn, the casemates fitted with massive shutters, andconverted into prisons for the use of officers. Two captains werelodged in the same casemate with Fergus. No light came fromwithout, but there was a low semicircular window over the door.This was very strongly barred, but admitted sufficient light, inthe daytime.

  "Not such bad quarters," Fergus said, as he looked round. "When thecold weather comes, we shall only have to stuff straw through thosebars, leaving one square open for light, and manage to hang a thickcurtain across it at night. I suppose they will give us a brazierof charcoal, when it gets a little colder; though indeed, it iscold enough now."

  "At any rate, we shall have a rest, major; and that will be atreat, after our long marches during the last campaign. I shouldthink that we can sleep the best part of the winter away."

  "They fasten the shutters pretty securely," Fergus went on. "Theyare three inches of solid oak, and you see these bars are allriveted at each end. I suppose they think that they would haveplenty of time to cut the rivet heads off, before any army couldapproach."

  In a short time the officer in command of the force came round. Hewas very civil and courteous, and said that he had already ordereda stove to be sent in, and that they should have some straw laidover the floor.

  "You will be permitted to take exercise, when you like, upon therampart overhead," he said. "Any reasonable request you make shallbe attended to. I regret that the misfortune of war should haveplaced you in my keeping; for we Austrians can appreciate bravery,and we cannot but admit that no braver men are to be found thanthose in the King of Prussia's army.

  "As to your rations, they must be plain. A certain sum is allowedby government for the cost of each prisoner. I make it go as far asI can, but I often wish that the sum were larger. I may say thatyou are permitted to order any additions to your food from without,upon payment; but I need hardly add that the orders must passthrough the hands of the officer in charge of you, and thateverything brought in is rigidly inspected."

  "Have there been any exchanges of prisoners, of late?" one ofFergus's companions asked.

  "No. It is a compliment to you, gentlemen, for our governmentapparently places a higher value on you than on us, and is verychary of swelling Frederick's armies by the release of prisoners.Somehow your king seems to make double use of his soldiers. Hefights a battle here, then rushes away to meet another enemy, twoor three hundred miles off; while when we get an advantage, we seemso satisfied with ourselves that we sit still until we have let itsadvantages slip from our hands."

  "May I ask if, by the last news, Marshal Daun is still nearHochkirch?"

  "He was so, as far as the yesterday's courier brought news. Atfirst we thought that he had won a tremendous victory, and hadeaten up Frederick's army; but the later news is that the kingmarched safely away, and so far from being demolished he is nowperfectly master of his movements; and ready, no doubt, for anothertussle, if we should advance. However, I should imagine that thesnow will soon put a stop to active operations."

  Then, bowing courteously, he left them, to pay a visit to theprisoners in the next casemate.