Dec. 1760-April 1761. general conclusion was, That neither the King nor 'Saldern could well be called wrong. Saldern listening 'to the inner voice; right he, for certain. But withal the King, in his place, might judge such a thing expedient and fit; perhaps Saldern himself would, had 'Saldern been King of Prussia there in January 1761.'

The

Saldern's behaviour in his retirement was beautiful; and after the Peace, he was recalled, and made more use of than ever; being indeed a model for Army arrangements and procedures, and reckoned the completest General of Infantry now left, far and near. outcries made about Hubertsburg, which still linger in Books, are so considerable, one fancies the poor Schloss must have been quite ruined, and left standing as naked walls. Such, however, we by no means find to be the case; but, on the contrary, shall ourselves see that everything was got refitted there, and put into perfect order again, before long.

There are some War-movements during Winter ; general financiering Difficulties. Choiseul proposes Peace.

February 15th, there fell out, at Langensalza, on the Unstrut, in Gotha Country, a bit of sharp fighting; done by Friedrich's people and Duke Ferdinand's in concert; which, and still more what followed on it, made some noise in the quiet months. Not a great thing, this of Langensalza, but a sudden, and successfully done; costing Broglio some 2,000 prisoners; and the ruin of a considerable Post of his, which he had lately pushed out thither, "to sieze the Unstrut," as he hoped. A Broglio grasping at more than he could hold, in those Thüringen parts, as elsewhere! And, indeed,

Dec. 1760-April 1761. the Fight of Langensalza was only the beginning of a series of such; Duke Ferdinand being now upon one of his grand Winter-Adventures: that of suddenly surprising and exploding Broglio's Winter-quarters altogether, and rolling him back to Frankfurt for a lodging. So that, since the first days of February, especially since Langensalza day, there rose suddenly a great deal of rushing about, in those regions, with hard bits of fighting, at least of severe campaigning;-which lasted two whole months;-filling the whole world with noise that Winter; and requiring extreme brevity from us here. It was specially Duke Ferdinand's Adventure; Friedrich going on it, as per bargain, to the Langensalza enterprise, but no farther; after which it did not much concern Friedrich, nor indeed come to much result for anybody:

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'Strenuous Ferdinand, very impatient of the Göttingen busi'ness, and provoked to see Broglio's quarters extend into Hessen, 'so near hand, for the first time, silently determines to dislodge 'him. Broglio's chain of quarters, which goes from Frankfurt north as far as Marburg, then turns east to Ziegenhayn; thence north again to Cassel, to Münden with its Defiles; and again east, or south-east, to Langensalza even: this chain has above 150 miles of weak length; and various other grave faults to the eye of Ferdinand, especially this, that it is in the form, 'not of an elbow only, or joiner's square, which is entirely to be disapproved, but even of two elbows; in fact, of the profile of a chair (if readers had a Map at hand). Foot of the chair is Frankfurt; seat part is from Marburg to Ziegenhayn; back 'part, near where Ferdinand lies in chief force, is the Cassel 'region, on to Münden, which is top of the back,—still back'wards from which, there is a kind of proud curl or overlapping, 'down to Langensalza in Gotha Country, which greedy Broglio has likewise grasped at! Broglio's friends say he himself knew 'the faultiness of this zigzag form, but had been overruled. 'Ferdinand certainly knows it, and proceeds to act upon

it.

Dec. 1760-April 1761.

"In profound silence, namely, ranks himself (February 1st12th) in three Divisions, wide enough asunder; bursts up sudden 'as lightning, at Langensalza and elsewhere; kicks to pieces 'Broglio's Chair-Profile, kicks out especially the bottom part, 'which ruins both foot and back, these being disjoined thereby, ' and each exposed to be taken in rear;-and of course astonishes 'Broglio not a little; but does not steal his presence of mind.

'So that, in effect, Broglio had instantly to quit Cassel and warm lodging, and take the field in person; to burn his Maga'zines; and, at the swiftest rate permissible, condense himself, at 'first partially about Fulda (well down the leg of his chair), and 'then gradually all into one mass near Frankfurt itself;—with 'considerable losses, loss especially of all his Magazines, full or 'half-full. And has now, except Marburg, Ziegenhayn and 'Cassel, no post between Göttingen and him. Ferdinand, with 'his Three Divisions, went storming along in the wild weather, 'Granby as vanguard; pricking into the skirts of Broglio. Cap"tured this and that of Corps, of Magazines that had not been ( got burnt; laid siege to Cassel, siege to Ziegenhayn; blocked 'Marburg, not having guns ready: and, for some three or four weeks, was by the Gazetteer world and general public thought 'to have done a very considerable feat;-though to himself, such 'were the distances, difficulties of the season, of the long roads, 'it probably seemed very questionable whether, in the end, any 'feat at all.

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'Cassel he could not take, after a month's siege under the 'best of Siege-Captains; Ziegenhayn still less under one of the 'worst. Provisions, ammunitions, were not to be had by force of wagonry: scant food for soldiers, doubly scant the food of "Sieges;'-"the road from Beverungen" (where the Weser-boats have to stop, which is 30 miles from Cassel, perhaps 60 from Ziegenhayn, and perhaps 100 from the outmost or southernmost of Ferdinand's parties) "is paved with dead horses," nor has even Cassel nearly enough of ammunition :-in a word, Broglio, 'finding the time come, bursts up from his Frankfurt Position. ' (March 14th-21st) in a sharp and determined manner; drives 'Ferdinand's people back, beats the Erbprinz himself one day

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(by surprisal, "My compliment for Langensalza"), and sets his

Dec. 1760-April 1761.

'people running. Ferdinand sees the affair to be over; and 'deliberately retires; lucky, perhaps, that he still can delibe'rately and matters return to their old posture. Broglio re6 sumes his quarters, somewhat altered in shape, and not quite 'so grasping as formerly; and beyond his half-filled Magazines, 'has lost nothing considerable, or more considerable than has 'Ferdinand himself.'20

The vital element in Ferdinand's Adventure was the Siege of Cassel; all had to fail, when this, by defect of means, under the best of management, declared itself a failure. Siege-Captain was a Graf von Lippe-Bückeburg, Ferdinand's Ordnance-Master, who is supposed to be "the best Artillery Officer in the world,”—and is a man of great mark in military and other circles. He is Son and Successor of that fantastic Lippe-Bückeburg, by whom Friedrich was introduced to Free-Masonry long since. He has himself a good deal of the fantast again, but with a better basis of solidity beneath it. A man of excellent knowledge and faculty in various departments; strict as steel, in regard to discipline, to practice and conduct of all kinds; a most punctilious, silently supercilious gentleman, of polite but privately irrefragable turn of mind. A tall, lean, dusky figure; much seen to by neighbours, as he stalks loftily through this puddle of a world, on terms of his own. Concerning whom there circulates in military circles this Anecdote, among many others; which is set down as a fact; and may be, whether quite believable or not, a symbol of all the rest, and of a man not unimportant in these Wars. 'Two years ago, on King Friedrich's birthday, 24th January 1759, the Count had a select dinner-party in his tent ' in Ferdinand's Camp, in honour of the occasion. Dinner was well over, and wine handsomely flowing, when 20 Tempelhof, v. 15-45; Mauvillon, ii. 135-148.

เ

Dec. 1760-April 1761.

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somebody at last thought of asking, "What is it, then, 'Herr Graf, that whistling kind of noise we hear every

now and then overhead?" "That is nothing," said the

Graf, in his calm, dusky way: "that is only my Artil'lery-people practising; I have bidden them hit the pole of our tent if they can : unhappily there is not 'the slightest danger. Push the bottles on." "21 LippeBückeburg was Siege-Captain at Cassel; Commandant besieged was Comte de Broglio, the Marshal's younger Brother, formerly in the Diplomatic line; whom we saw once, five years ago, at the Pirna Barrier, fly into fine frenzy, and kick vainly against the pricks. Friedrich says once, to D'Argens or somebody: "I hope we shall soon have Cassel, and M. le Comte de Broglio prisoner” (deserves it for his fine frenzies, at Pirna and since); -but that comfort was denied us.

His

Some careless Books say, Friedrich had at first good hopes of this Enterprise; and 'had himself lent 7,000 men to it' which is the fact, but not the whole fact. Friedrich had approved, and even advised this plan of Ferdinand's, and had agreed to send 7,000 men to cooperate at Langensalza,-which, so far out in Thüringen, and pointing as if to the Reichsfolk, is itself an eye-sorrow to Friedrich. The issue we have seen. 7,000 went accordingly, under a General Syburg; met the Ferdinand people (General Spörken head of these, and Walpole's 'Conway' one of them); found the Unstrut in flood, but crossed nevertheless; dashed in upon the French and Saxons there, and made a brilliant thing of it at Langensalza.22 Which done, Syburg instantly withdrew, leaving Spörken and his Conways to complete

21 Archenholtz, ii. 356.

Bericht von der bey Langensalza am 15 Februar 1761 vorgefallenen Action (in Seyfarth, Beylagen, iii. 75); Tempelhof, v. 22-27.