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

  Chapter 4: Promotion.

  As soon as the bandage was applied and the flow of blood ceased, afew spoonfuls of wine were poured down the patient's throat. It wasnot long before he opened his eyes and struggled into a sittingposition.

  "I beg pardon, sir," he said faintly, as his eyes fell on themarshal, who was standing just in front of him. "I am sorry that Icame into your apartments in this state, but it seemed to me--"

  "You did quite right, sir," said a sharp voice that he at oncerecognized, while the speaker put his hand upon his shoulder, toprevent him from trying to rise. "You were quite right to bring thenews here at once of this outrage; which, by heavens, shall bepunished as it deserves. Now drink a cup of wine, and then perhapsyou will be able to tell us a little more about it. Now don't be ina hurry, but obey my orders."

  Fergus drank off the wine; then, after waiting a minute or two,said:

  "Count Eulenfurst is sorely wounded, sire, but I cannot say whethermortally or not. When I came away, he was still lying insensible.His wife and daughter are, happily, uninjured."

  "Was anyone else hurt?"

  "Yes, sire, the six menservants who were sleeping in the house wereall killed--four in their beds, two while hastening from below toassist their master."

  The king gave an exclamation of fury.

  "You said these men belonged to a Pomeranian regiment. Had theyleft before you got there? But I suppose not, or else you would nothave been wounded. How was it that you heard of the attack?"

  "I had carried a despatch from the marshal to the camp, sire, andwas on my way back when I heard a pistol shot. The sound was faint,for it came from a house a quarter of a mile away, and was firedindoors; but the night was still, and fortunately some of thewindows were open. Thinking that some evil work was being done, Irode straight for it, climbed the wall and, making my way on footto the house, happily arrived in time."

  "You saw the fellows, then? How was it that they suffered you toescape with your life? They must have known that your evidencewould hang them all."

  "There were but six of them, sire; and they will need no hanging,for they are all disposed of. Though had it not been for theassistance of a brave servant maid, who threw herself upon the backof one of them, my career would certainly have been terminated."

  "But who had you with you to help you?" the king asked.

  "I had no one but the maid, sire."

  "Do you mean to say, Mr. Drummond, that with your own hand you slewthe whole of the six villains?"

  "That was so, sire; but in respect to the one thrown down by thegirl, I had but to blow out his brains before he could gain hisfeet."

  "Can you give us the particulars?" the king asked quietly. "If youdo not feel equal to it, we will wait till morning."

  "I can tell you now, sire. I am feeling better and stronger."

  And he related the incidents of the fight.

  "One with his pistol, Keith," the king said. "Four with his sword,after his left hand was disabled, to say nothing of the sixth.

  "That is not a bad beginning for this aide-de-camp, gentlemen."

  "No, indeed, sire. It is a most gallant deed, though it was wellfor him that he was able to dispose of the first three before theothers appeared on the scene."

  "It was a most gallant action, indeed," the king repeated; and ahearty assent was given by the general officers standing round.

  "I congratulate you on your aide-de-camp, Keith," he went on. "Aman capable of killing, single handed, six of my Pomeranians is atreasure. Do you see that his commission as lieutenant is given metomorrow to sign.

  "No, sit still, young sir. It is I who have to thank you, for sopromptly punishing these marauders, who would have brought disgraceupon my army; and not you who have to thank me. Now, be off to yourbed."

  Two of the attendants were called in, and these assisted Fergus,who was almost too weak to stand, to the apartment that he sharedwith Lindsay. Keith himself accompanied them. Lindsay leapt out ofbed as they entered.

  "Don't ask any questions, Lindsay," the marshal said. "Drummond hasperformed a very gallant action, and has been wounded and, as yousee, can scarce stand from loss of blood. He will be asleep as soonas he lies down. You will hear all about it, in the morning."

  The marshal then returned to his apartment. The king was on thepoint of leaving.

  "I have left orders," he said, "that as soon as either of thesurgeons returns, I am to be wakened and informed of the state ofCount Eulenfurst. He is a nobleman of distinction and character;though, I believe, in no great favour at the court here since heresigned his seat on the council, because he disapproved of theresources of the state being wasted in extravagance, instead ofbeing spent in maintaining the army in proper condition. Should hedie, it will cause an extremely bad impression throughout Saxony."

  At daybreak the next morning, finding that the surgeons had notreturned, Keith despatched an officer to request them to furnishhim, at once, with a written report of the state of the count. Hereturned in three-quarters of an hour, saying that the count hadjust recovered consciousness; that two of his wounds were serious,and the other very grave; but that having probed it, they were ofopinion that it might not prove fatal. The countess was completelyprostrated, and had gone from one fainting fit into another, andrequired more attention than her husband. The rest of the householdwere uninjured.

  Lindsay got up quietly and dressed without awaking Fergus. He wasdisappointed at a despatch being at once handed to him to carry tothe Prince of Brunswick's army, which was ten miles away; and wastherefore obliged to mount and ride off, without obtaining any newswhatever as to the nature of Drummond's adventure. As he passedthrough the camp of the Pomeranians, he saw the bodies of sixsoldiers swinging from the bough of a tree, close to the camp. Herode a little out of his way to discover the cause of this strangespectacle. In front of them was erected a large placard of canvas,with the words painted upon it:

  "Marauders killed in the commission of crime, and their bodies hungby order of the king, as a lesson to anyone who ventures to breakthe law against plundering."

  Then he rode on his way, and did not return until one o'clock. Themarshal was occupied. He therefore simply handed in the reply tothe despatch that he had carried, and immediately retired.

  "Is Mr. Drummond up?" he asked one of the attendants.

  "He is still in his room, sir. His servant is with him, and he istaking food."

  He went straight to the room. Fergus was sitting up in a chair,eating a basin of strong chicken broth.

  "This is a nice hour to be breakfasting, Lindsay," he said with asmile. "I feel quite ashamed of myself, I can tell you; but I amunder orders. The doctor came here half an hour ago. I had justwoke and got out of bed, and was going to dress, when he told methat I was not to do so. I might sit up to take breakfast, but wasto keep perfectly quiet for the rest of the day. He said I onlyneeded feeding up, that he would send me some strong broth, andthree hours later I was to have some soup and a pint of Burgundy;and that if I obeyed his instructions, and ate and drank well, Ishould be able to leave my room tomorrow; though of course, Ishould not be fit for active service till my arm began to heal."

  "But what is it all about, Drummond? I was sent off to Brunswick'scamp, as soon as I got up, and have heard nothing about it; and themarshal forbade me to speak to you, when you were brought in lastnight. He merely said that you had done a very gallant action."

  "There was nothing very gallant in it, Lindsay; but it turned outvery fortunate."

  Then he gave a very brief account of the previous evening's events.

  "Well I should call that a gallant action, Drummond, if you don't.It is no joke for one man to tackle six, and those not ordinarymarauders but Pomeranian soldiers. Of course, it was somewhat luckythat you had rid yourself of three of them, before the other threeentered the room; and had it not been, as you say, for that girl,things might have turned out differently. Still, that does notaffect the matter. It was a gallant business.
r />   "What happened when you came in?"

  "I don't know much about what happened. At first I made some sortof report to the marshal, and then I believe I fainted. When I cameto, I found that they had bandaged up my shoulder, and poured somewine down my throat. I felt very shaky at first, but I know that Idrank some wine, and was then able to give some sort of account ofwhat had happened. The king was there, then, and asked mequestions; but whether or not he was there, at first, I cannot say.I have a vague idea that he told the marshal, too, that he promotedme; but I am not quite sure about that, nor do I know how I gothere."

  "Well, if you are not mistaken about your step, I congratulate youmost heartily. It is seldom, indeed, that anyone gains one in sixweeks after his first appointment. I thought myself lucky, indeed,in getting it after serving only two years and a half; but I got itsimply on nomination as one of the marshal's aides-de-camp. It iscustomary to get promotion, on such appointment, if there has beentwo or three years' previous service.

  "Well, you have drawn the first blood in this campaign, Drummond;and have not been long in giving very striking proof that yourmonth's hard work in the fencing school has not been thrown away."

  The conversation was broken off by the entry of the marshal,himself.

  "Pooh, pooh, Fergus!" he said, as the latter rose, "there is nooccasion for saluting in a bedroom. I am glad to see you looking somuch better. You could not have looked more ghastly, when you camein yesterday evening, if you had been your own wraith.

  "There, lad," he said, handing him a parchment. "It is not usual tohave a new commission on promotion, but the king told me that hehad had it done, in the present case, in order that you might havea record of the exploit for which you have been promoted. You willsee it is set down inside that, although but six weeks in service,you were promoted to the rank of lieutenant for a deed ofextraordinary gallantry. You had attacked and killed, with your ownhand, six marauding soldiers; who had entered the chateau of CountEulenfurst, well-nigh murdered the count, killed six of hisservants, and were occupied in plundering the house. In token ofhis thankfulness, that the life of so distinguished and enlighteneda nobleman had been saved by you; as well as of approbation for thegallantry of your conduct, his majesty promoted you to the rank oflieutenant.

  "You should keep that paper, Fergus, and pass it down to yourdescendants, as an heirloom. I congratulate you, my boy, with allmy heart; and feel some satisfaction on my own account, for such anaction as this shows those who are inclined to grumble, at whatthey may consider the favour shown to Scotchmen, that at any ratethe favour is not misplaced. A general order to the army has beenissued this morning saying that, some scoundrels, having disgracedtheir uniform and brought discredit upon the army, by a murderousand wicked attack upon the house of Count Eulenfurst, the kingreiterates and confirms his previous order that any man caught whenengaged in pillaging, or upon whose person any stolen goods arefound, will be summarily hung by the provost marshal, or by anygeneral officer before whom he may be brought.

  "The king himself has ridden to the count's chateau, this morning,to make personal inquiries into his state, and to express his deepregret at the outrage that has taken place. It is a politic action,as well as a kind one. Of course, the event has occasioned greatexcitement in the city."

  "And may I ask how the count is going on, sir?"

  "The last report of the surgeons is a favourable one. He has partlyrecovered consciousness, and at any rate recognizes his daughter,who has divided her time between his bedside and her mother's. Thelatter has fallen into a deep sleep of exhaustion; but will, Idoubt not, recover. The girl came down into the hall when the kingcalled. She bore herself well, they tell me, and would haveretained her composure, had it not been for the king himself. Shecame down the grand staircase, with four of her maids behindher--for a notice had been sent, half an hour before of hiscoming--prepared, no doubt, to meet a stiff and haughty king; butthough Frederick can be every inch a king, when he chooses, thereis, as you know, no kinder-hearted man alive.

  "He went forward bare-headed to meet her and, as she stopped andcurtsied low, he took her two hands and said:

  "'My poor child, I am sorry, more sorry than I can tell you, forwhat has happened; and hope with all my heart that your father,whom all respect and honour, will not be taken from you. No doubtyou look upon me as an enemy; but although compelled to come here,because your king is leagued with those who intend to destroy meand my country, I bear no ill will to the people; and have giventhe strictest orders that my soldiers shall, in all respects, treatthem as firm friends. But unfortunately, there are scoundrelseverywhere. These men have been punished as they deserved, and thewhole army will join with me in deep regret at what has happened,and in the fervent hope that your father's life will be spared. Igrieve, too, to hear that the countess, your mother, has sufferedso greatly from the shock; and hope soon to be able to express toher, in person, the regret I feel for what has taken place.'

  "The kindness of his tone, in saying all this, broke her down morethan the words of the king. He saw that she was unable to speak.

  "'There, there, child,' he said. 'I know what you are feeling, andthat you are longing to go upstairs again, so I will say goodbye.Keep up a brave heart. The surgeons have every hope that yourfather will recover. And believe that you will always have a friendin Frederick of Prussia.'

  "He kissed her on the cheek, and then turned and left the hall,followed by his staff."

  Three days later the doctors were able to say confidently that,unless some change occurred for the worse, they believed the countwould recover. On the fourth day, Fergus was sufficiently well tomount his horse. The countess and her daughter had repeatedly askedafter him, and expressed their desire that he would come over, assoon as he was well enough to do so.

  One of the aides-de-camp had gone over, twice a day, to inquire asto the progress the count was making. A guard had been placed atthe gate, and an officer stationed there to receive the names ofthe stream of visitors from the city, and to inform them that thecount was making satisfactory progress. By the doctor's orders,even the count's most intimate friends were refused admission, asabsolute quiet was needed.

  Fergus dismounted at the gate, and walked up to the house. The maidwho opened the door recognized him at once.

  "Will you come in, sir?" she said, with a beaming face. "I willtell the young countess you are here; and she will, I am sure, seeyou."

  A minute later, the girl ran down the stairs. As she came forwardshe stopped, with sudden shyness. Absorbed in her anxiety for herfather and mother, she had taken but little heed of the appearanceof the officer who had saved them. That he was kind as well asbrave she was sure for, although he had scarce spoken to her, thegentleness with which he had moved her father and her mother fromthe bloodstained room, and the promptness and decision with whichhe had given his orders, had inspired her with absolute confidencein him. She had a vague idea that he was young, but his face,flecked here and there with blood, had left but a faint impressionupon her memory; and when she saw the young officer, in hisspotless and imposing uniform, she almost felt that there must besome mistake.

  "Are you Lieutenant Drummond, sir?" she asked timidly.

  "I am, countess."

  "Was it really you who saved us, the other night?"

  "I had that good fortune," he said with a smile.

  She took the hand he held out, wonderingly, and then suddenly burstinto tears.

  "Oh, sir," she said, "is it possible that you, who look so young,can be the one who came to our assistance, and killed those sixevil men? It seems impossible.

  "I have been so unhappy, since. I did not know that you werewounded until the maids told me, afterwards. I had never evenasked. I let you go, without one word of thanks for all that youhave done for us. What must you have thought of me?"

  "I thought that you were a very courageous girl," Fergus saidearnestly; "and that, after what you had gone through, the sight ofyour father as you believed dyin
g, and your mother in such a state,you were wonderfully calm and composed. It would have been strange,indeed, had you thought of anything else at such a time."

  "You are very good to say so, sir; but when I heard, from thesurgeons you sent, that you had fainted from loss of blood afterdelivering your message, I felt that I should never forgive myself.You had thought so much of us, and not of yourself. You had goneabout seeing to our comfort, and giving orders and arrangingeverything, and all the time you yourself needed aid."

  "The wound was a mere trifle," he said, "and I scarce gave it athought, myself, until I began to feel faint from loss of blood. Ican assure you that the thought that you were ungrateful has neveronce entered my head."

  "And now, will you please come up to see my mother, sir. She willbe most anxiously expecting you."

  They went upstairs together and, turning to the right on the top ofthe stairs, entered a pretty apartment that was evidently thecountess's boudoir.

  "This is our preserver, mother," the girl said, as she entered.

  The countess, who was advancing towards the door, stopped insurprise. She had been able, from her daughter, to gain no idea ofthe age of their rescuer; but the maids had all asserted that hewas quite young. As he was, for so the surgeons had told her, oneof Marshal Keith's aides-de-camp, she had pictured to herself afierce soldier; and the sight of this youth, with his smoothpleasant face, surprised her, indeed.

  "Yes, mother, it is himself," the girl said. "I was as surprised asyou are."

  "I have no words to thank you, sir, for the most inestimableservice which you have rendered us," the countess said warmly, asshe held out her hand. "Assuredly my husband would have died, hadaid been delayed but a few minutes. As to my daughter and myself,they would probably have killed us, to prevent our ever recognizingor giving evidence against them. They only spared our lives, for atime, in order to learn where our jewels were kept. This was but acomparative trifle, though the jewels are precious, and there arenone more valuable in Saxony. I have no doubt that after strippingthe house of its valuables they would have buried them, intendingsome day to recover them; and would then have fired the house, inorder to conceal all evidence of the crime that had been committed.It seemed to me wonderful, before, that one man should, singlehanded, have attacked and slain them; but now that I see you, itseems almost a miracle that you performed in our favour."

  "It was no great feat, madam. I have the good fortune to be a fairswordsman; and soldiers, although they may know their militarydrill, have little chance with one who can use his weapon well.Then, too, I had fortunately but three to deal with at a time; andeven then, I should not have come off victorious had it not beenfor the courage of the maid, who ran boldly in, sprang on the backof one, and threw him to the ground, while he was waiting to get asteady aim at me with his pistol. I assuredly owe my life to her."

  "The King of Prussia left twenty gold crowns for her, when he washere, saying that it was payment for saving the life of one of hisofficers; and you may be sure that we shall not be ungrateful toher. Your death would have involved that of my husband, and us. Theking also ordered that inquiry should be made as to whether our menwho were killed had families dependent upon them; and that if so,pensions were to be given to these, as their loss had beenoccasioned by the evil deeds of some of his soldiers. It was verythoughtful and kind, and my daughter seems quite to have fallen inlove with him.

  "I hope that in a few days my husband will be able to see you. Hedoes not know that you are here. If he did, I am sure that he wouldwish to see you now; but the surgeons have insisted so strongly onabsolute quiet, that I dare not let him hear of your coming."

  "I am delighted to learn that he is going on so well, madame. Isincerely trust that he will not long remain an invalid."

  "I suppose you would not have recognized me?" the countess asked.

  "I should not, indeed. Of course, I could do nothing to aid you,and was chiefly occupied by the count. But indeed, you were then sopale that I might well be excused for not knowing you again."

  The countess was a very handsome woman, of some seven or eight andthirty, with a noble figure and a gracious air; and bore noresemblance to the almost distraught woman, with her hair fallingover her face, whom he had seen before.

  "I am not a coward, Mr. Drummond," she said, "and when thosevillains first ran in and attacked my husband, I struggleddesperately with the two who seized me; until I saw him drop, as Ibelieved, dead. Then my strength suddenly left me, and I shouldhave fallen to the ground, had the men not thrown me back into thechair. I have a vague recollection of seeing Thirza, who hadretired for the night but a minute or two previously, carried inbound and gagged. They asked me several questions, but I could notreply; and I think they learned from the frightened servants wherethe family jewels were kept. The clashing of swords and the firingof pistols roused me a little, and after it was all over, and Iheard you say that my husband was still living, my heart gave onebound, and I knew nothing more of what happened until next day."

  After chatting for a short time longer Fergus took his leave, wellpleased to have got through a visit he had somewhat dreaded.

  The king remained for nearly a month at Dresden, engaged incarrying on negotiations with the Elector. By this delay he lostmost of the advantages that his sudden movement had given him; buthe was most anxious to detach Saxony and Poland from theconfederacy against him, as he would then be able to turn hisattention wholly to Austria, aided by the Saxons, while the Poleswould aid his army in the east to keep the Russians in check. TheElector of Saxony--who was also King of Poland--however, was onlynegotiating in order to give time for Austria to gather an army inBohemia; and so to relieve the Saxons, who were watched by theeastern column, which had crossed the defiles into Bohemia andtaken post near Koeniggraetz; while that of Prince Maurice ofBrunswick pushed forward farther, to threaten their line of retreatfrom the west.

  The king at last became convinced that the King of Poland was buttrifling with him, and in the last week of September started totake the command of the centre, which was facing the entrance tothe defile, at Pirna. Marshal Keith had been sent, a week afterFergus was wounded, to assume the command of the western column,hitherto commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick.

  Fergus remained behind for ten days, at the end of which time hefelt perfectly fit for service again. He still carried his arm in asling, but a generous diet and good wine had filled his veinsagain, and upon the day the king left he rode with Karl to rejointhe marshal.

  He had been several times over to the chateau, and had on the lastoccasion seen the count; who, although still terribly weak, was nowout of danger, and able to sit on a couch, propped up by pillows.His thanks were as earnest as those of the countess had been and,having heard that Fergus was to start on the following morning tojoin the army on the frontier, he said to him:

  "There is no saying how far your king may carry his arms, nor whereyou may find yourself. The countess will, therefore, write lettersaddressed to intimate friends at various large towns; telling themthat you have placed us under a vast obligation, and praying themto do, for our sake, all in their power for you, under whatevercircumstances you may arrive there. She will write them on smallpieces of paper, each with its name and address on the back, sothat they will make a small and compact packet, not much biggerthan an ordinary letter.

  "I trust that when you return to Dresden, lieutenant, I shall beable, myself, to do my best to prove my gratitude for yourservices."

  After taking leave of the count, his wife, and daughter, Fergusrode back to the royal quarters. As Karl took his horse, he said:

  "Herr lieutenant, I know not how we are going to manage."

  "In what way, Karl?"

  "Two magnificent horses, complete with saddlery, holsters, andpistols, arrived here half an hour since. The man who brought themsaid they were from Count Eulenfurst, and handed me this note:

  "'Pray accept the horses we send you, as a feeble token of ourgratitude. May they
, by their speed and staunchness, carry youunharmed through dangers well nigh as great as those you faced forus.'"

  Fergus walked by the side of the soldier as he led the horse roundto the stable.

  "There, sir," Karl said, pointing to a pair of splendid animals;"they are fit for a king."

  "'Tis a noble gift, and indeed, I doubt whether the king himselfhas such horses in his stables. The question is, what is to be donewith them? My present charger is an excellent one and, as a gift ofthe marshal, I could not part with it. As to the others, it is outof the question that I can take both. It would be altogethercontrary to rules. I am entitled to forage for two horses--that is,when forage is to be had.

  "Ah! I see what had best be done. Come to my room with me. I willgive you a letter to the count."

  He wrote as follows:

  "Dear Count Eulenfurst,

  "I cannot refuse the noble gift that you have made me, and thankyou and the countess for it, with all my heart. At present,however, it places me in a difficulty. Aides-de-camp are allowed totake only two horses; indeed, my orderly could not take with himmore than one led horse. The animal I have was the gift of MarshalKeith. That being so, you will see that I could not part with it.The only solution, therefore, that occurs to me is to beg you toadd to your kindness, by taking care of the one that I send back toyou by the bearer, until I return to Dresden; or find means to sendfor it, in the event of one of the others being killed.

  "The only fault with your gifts is that they ought to be kept forstate reviews, or grand occasions; for it seems wrong to take suchnoble creatures into the midst of a heavy fire. I am sure that Ishall feel more nervous, lest a ball should injure my horse, than Ishall do for my own safety."

  When he had folded and sealed this, he handed it to Karl, who hadfollowed shortly after him.

  "I am sending back one of the horses, Karl, and asking the count totake care of it for me, until I return or send for it. Do you seeany difference between them?"

  "It would be hard to pick the best, lieutenant. They both struck meas being perfect in all points--both are four years old."

  "Well then, you must take one at random, Karl. Had one been betterthan the other, I should have left it behind. As it is, takewhichever you choose."

  "The man who brought them told me, sir, that both were bred on thecount's estates; and that he prided himself on having some of thebest blood in Europe, both for beauty and stamina. He thought thispair were the pick of the stables."

  "I almost wish I could leave them both behind, but I could not doso without hurting the feelings of the count and countess. But theyare too good for an aide-de-camp's work."

  "I don't think anything can be too good for that, sir. Anaide-de-camp wants a horse that will stop at nothing; and sometimeshe has to ride for his life, pursued by the enemy's cavalry. Youwill be the envy of the division, on one of those horses."

  Karl returned an hour later with a message from the countess,saying that she could not disturb her husband, who was thenresting, but that she understood Mr. Drummond's difficulty, andthey should be very glad to take care of the horse for him, untilhe wanted it.

  "You did not see the countess, I suppose, Karl?"

  "Yes, sir, I saw her. She had me taken upstairs to her room. Sheasked if I was your servant, and when I said yes, she told me thatshe hoped I would take great care of you. I said that was my duty.

  "'Nevertheless, do more than your duty,' she said. 'His life is avery precious one to us.

  "'Is it not, Thirza?'

  "The young lady nodded.

  "'Here are five gold crowns for yourself,' she went on, handing methe money. 'They may help to make your bivouac more comfortable.

  "'And now,' she said, 'there is something else, but I do not wishyou to tell your master.'

  "What am I to do, your honour?"

  "You had better keep it to yourself, Karl," Fergus laughed. "Idaresay I shall hear of it, someday."

  "Very well, lieutenant, then that is all there is to report."

  The next morning Fergus started early. Two days previously, aPrussian governor had been appointed to Dresden, and three thousandmen were left under his command. Similar appointments were alsomade to all the fortified towns in Saxony; for now that thenegotiations were broken off, and the King of Poland had declaredfinally for the Confederates, Saxony was to be treated as aconquered country. Nevertheless, strict injunctions were given thatall cattle, wheat, and other provisions taken for the use of thegarrisons, or for storing up in fortresses whence it might beforwarded to the army, were to be paid for; and that any act ofpillage or ill treatment was to be most severely punished, as theking was still most anxious to gain the goodwill of the mass of thepopulation.