Chapter 5: Lobositz.
In Dresden itself, the feeling was far from hostile to theinvaders. The discontent with the vicious government had beenextreme, and the imposts now levied were less onerous than thosewhich had been wasted in profusion and extravagance. The conduct ofthe troops had been admirable; and in the case of Count Eulenfurst,the personal visit of the king to express his regrets, and hisgenerosity to the families of the servants, had produced a mostexcellent effect.
As Fergus rode into the camp, mounted on his new acquisition, it atonce caught the marshal's eye.
"Why, Fergus," he exclaimed, "have you been robbing the King ofPoland's stables? That is a noble animal, indeed."
"It was a present from Count Eulenfurst, marshal," Fergus replied."He sent me two, but one of them he is going to keep for me until Ireturn; for I could not part with Rollo, who is as good a horse asanyone can wish to ride; and I know his paces."
"You are right, lad, for it is always well to accustom yourself toa horse, before you want to use it in action; but in faith, it willbe a pity to ride such a horse as that through the heat of abattle."
"I feel that, sir; but as the count, in his letter with the horses,said that he hoped they would carry me safely through dangers asgrave as those I had encountered at his house, I feel that he wouldbe hurt if, on my return, I admitted to him that I had saved it forshow occasions."
"You are right," Keith said approvingly; "but that is the morereason that you should accustom yourself to it, before you use itfor such work; as horse and rider should be as one on the field ofbattle and, unless the horse has absolute confidence in its rider,it is very difficult to keep it steady under fire."
"I suppose we shall not see the king for some time, marshal,"Fergus said later, as Keith was chatting with him.
"On the contrary, he will be with us tomorrow. He rides today tohave another look at the Saxon position, and to give his ordersthere. He will, tomorrow morning, join us. It is we who are likelyto have the first fighting; for the Austrians must come to therelief of the Saxons, who are shut up, as in a trap, by ourdivisions. They made a great mistake in not retiring, at once, intoBohemia; which they could have done without difficulty, had theylost no time.
"There is no greater mistake than shutting a large force up, eitherin a fortress or an intrenched camp, unless that fortress is anabsolute obstacle to an enemy. This is not the case with Pirna. Themountains can be crossed at many other points and, by leaving fiveor six thousand men in a strong position at the end of each defile,we could disregard them altogether, and march on southward. Theyhave already been three weeks there, and we believe that theycannot hold out very much longer. However, it is probable that theymay be able to do so until an Austrian force comes up, and tries torelieve them.
"From what we hear, two armies have already entered Bohemia, and wemay expect that our first battle will not be far distant."
"Do we block the only line of retreat, sir?" Fergus asked.
"No, indeed. We do not absolutely close the direct road, but ourposition, and that of Marshal Schwerin facing Koeniggraetz, somenaces their line of retreat that they dare not venture from theirshelter; and our cavalry render it impossible for any supplies tobe thrown in, unless the convoy is supported by an army. There are,we know, paths across the hills by which infantry might effect apassage; but as there is nowhere a place for them to retire to, weshould easily overtake them and force them to surrender.
"No, their only hope is in the coming of relief."
A few hours later, the king himself rode in. In the evening, orderswere issued that a force of cavalry and infantry were to march atdaylight, and that the rest of the army were to follow, two hourslater. It was soon known that the king had received news thatMarshal Browne--an Irish officer of great distinction, whocommanded the Austrian force gathered at Budin, on the Eger--wasexpecting the arrival of artillery and pontoons from Vienna, in thecourse of a day or two, and was preparing to cross the river. Itwas evident, then, that his intention was to relieve the Saxonarmy, in the first place.
The roads through the defiles were very heavy and difficult, butthat afternoon the advance force reached Termitz. Late in theevening the rest of the army arrived there.
A squadron of cavalry had been sent off, as soon as the vanguardarrived, to ascertain the movements of the enemy; and theyreturned, at ten at night, with information that the Austrians hadcrossed the Eger that day, and were to encamp at Lobositz. The armyat once moved on across the mountains and, after a very difficultand fatiguing march, arrived near Lobositz; and lay down for somehours in the order in which they had marched, taking up theirposition as soon as it was light.
[Map: Battle of Lobositz]
The infantry were in two lines. Their left was posted on a steephill known as the Lobosch, part of whose lower slopes extended tothe village of Lobositz. A battery, with infantry supports, tookpost on a hill called Homolka, which commanded the whole plainbetween the two armies. The centre stretched across the valleybetween those hills.
On the low hill on which stood the little town, the Austrians hadthrown up intrenchments, and posted a very strong artillery force,whose fire would sweep a greater portion of the Prussian position.Except at this point, the ground between the two armies was low andswampy. The Austrian force was greatly superior in numbers,consisting of 72 squadrons of horse, 52 battalions of infantry, and98 guns; while the Prussians had 55 squadrons, 26 battalions, and102 guns.
It was evident to both commanders that the village of Lobositz wasthe decisive point; and indeed, the nature of the ground was suchas to render operations almost impossible, in the marshy plainintersected by rivulets, which in many places formed large ponds.
At seven in the morning the Prussian action began by a heavy firebetween the left, on the slopes of Lobosch, and 4000 Croats andseveral battalions of Hungarians, scattered among the vineyards andthe stone walls dividing them. A heavy fog covered the wholecountry and, until a full view could be obtained of the position ofthe enemy, neither of the commanders deemed it prudent to move.
At twelve o'clock, however, the fog began to clear up. The mainbody of the Austrians was still invisible; and the king, seeing buta comparatively small force in the plain near Lobositz, thoughtthat this must be the rear guard of the Austrians; who, heimagined, having found the line by which they intended to succourthe Saxons occupied in force, had retired, having thrown upbatteries and left a strong force at Lobositz, to prevent thePrussians from advancing.
To ascertain this, twenty squadrons of cavalry were ordered toadvance; but on doing so, they were received by so tremendous afire from the batteries of the village, and from others atSulowitz, another village in the plain on their right, that theyfell back with much loss, pursued by the Austrian cavalry. By thetime they had resumed their positions behind the infantry, the foghad entirely lifted; and the king and Marshal Keith obtained a fullview of the Austrian position, from the spot where they hadstationed themselves on the hill. They agreed that no attack couldbe made against the enemy's centre or left, and that they could beassailed only on their right.
The troops on the Lobosch Hill were, therefore, largely reinforced;and the whole army advanced, inclining towards the left so as toattack Lobositz from the side of the plain, as well as from that ofthe mountain. A tremendous artillery fire, from the guns on thehills, heralded the advance.
The troops on the Lobosch Hill made their way forward rapidly. Theground was so steep that they commanded a view down into thevineyard, and their fire was so heavy that the Croats andHungarians fell, as fast as they raised their heads above the stonewalls to fire; and although General Browne reinforced them by someof the best Austrian infantry, they were rapidly driven downtowards Lobositz. At the foot of the hill they were supported byseveral more battalions, brought from the Austrian centre. GeneralLacy, who commanded these, was wounded.
The Prussians halted at the foot of the slope and were reformed;having fallen into some disorder, from the irregular nature o
f theground over which they had been fighting. The guns were broughtforward, so as to cover their next advance; while a very strongforce was sent to support the batteries on the Homolka Hill, so asto check the enemy's centre and left, should they attempt anymovement across the plain.
In the meantime, Marshal Browne was reinforcing the defenders ofLobositz with the whole of his right wing. The village was defendedwith desperate bravery but, owing to the position, the king wasable to reinforce the assailants very much more rapidly than theAustrian commander could bring up his distant troops. The Prussianartillery concentrated their fire upon the place, and set it inflames from end to end; when its defenders were forced to abandonit, and retreat with precipitation on their cavalry.
In order to cover their withdrawal, the Austrian left moved down tothe village of Sulowitz, and endeavoured to pass the dam over amarshy rivulet in front of it; but the fire from the battery on theHomolka rendered it impossible for them to form, and also set thatvillage on fire, and they were therefore called back. The Austriancentre moved to its right, and occupied the ground behind Lobositzas soon as the defenders of the village had fallen back, and thenMarshal Browne formed up his whole force afresh.
His position was now as strong as it had been when the battle firstbegan, for the Prussians could not advance except between theswampy ground and the river; and would have been exposed, whiledoing so, to the fire of batteries both in front and in flank. TheAustrians were still greatly superior in numbers, and all theadvantages that had been gained might have been lost by a renewalof the action. The total loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners onthe part of the Austrians was 3308. That of the Prussians was aboutthe same.
Although indecisive--and indeed, claimed as a victory by bothparties--the consequences showed that the advantage lay with thePrussians. Marshal Browne's object had been to relieve the Saxons,Frederick's to prevent this; and for the moment he had whollysucceeded.
On the other hand was the fact that Marshal Browne had drawn offhis army practically intact, and that it was impossible for theking to winter in Bohemia, as he would have done had the Austrianarmy been defeated and dispersed; and the latter were still in aposition to make a fresh attempt to rescue the Saxons.
To prevent this, the king despatched the Duke of Bevern with alarge force, as if to get between the Austrians and the river Eger.This movement had the desired effect. Marshal Browne at once fellback, recrossed the river, and took up his position at his formercamp at Budin. From there he opened communications with the Saxons,and it was arranged that these should pass the Elbe; and that he,with 8000 men, should also do so, and march to meet them.
The Saxons, however, were detained, owing to the terrible weatherand the enormous difficulty of the defiles, and only crossed on the13th. In the meantime the Prussians had taken up positions to cutoff the Saxon retreat, and after crossing they found themselveshemmed in, and the roads so commanded by newly-erected batteriesthat, being utterly exhausted by fatigue and hardships, they had noresource but to surrender.
The terms enforced were hard. The officers were allowed to depart,on giving their parole not to serve again, but the whole of therank and file were incorporated in the Prussian army.
Fergus Drummond and Lindsay stood by their horses, with the othermembers of the staff, some short distance behind the king andMarshal Keith, as they anxiously endeavoured to discover thewhereabouts and intentions of the Austrian army; while the crack ofmusketry, between the Croats and the troops who were graduallypressing them down the hill, continued unabated.
"This is slow work, Drummond," Lindsay said, as hour after hourpassed. "I should not like to have anything to do with the king,just at present. It is easy to see how fidgety he is, and nowonder. For aught we know there may be only three or four thousandmen facing us and, while we are waiting here, the whole Austrianarmy may have crossed over again, and be marching up the river bankto form a junction with the Saxons; or they may have gone by thedefiles we traversed the last two days, and may come down intoSaxony and fall on the rear of our camp watching Pirna, while theSaxons are attacking in front. No wonder his majesty pacesbackwards and forwards like a wild beast in a cage."
From time to time an aide-de-camp was sent off, with some orderinvolving the movement of a battalion farther to the right or left,and the addition of a few guns to the battery on Homolka Hill.Fergus had taken his turn in carrying the orders. He had, two daysbefore, abandoned his sling; and scarcely felt any inconveniencefrom the wound, which indeed would have been of slight consequence,had it not been for the excessive loss of blood.
"These movements mean nothing," Lindsay said, as he returned fromone of these rides. "The marshal makes the changes simply for thesake of doing something--partly, perhaps, to take the king'sattention off this confounded delay; partly to interest the troops,who must be just as restless and impatient as we are."
The messages were taken, alternately, by the king's aides-de-campand the marshal's.
At length, as the fog began to lift, the interest in the sceneheightened. The king and Keith talked long and earnestly together,as they watched the village of Lobositz.
"They have got some strong batteries there," Lindsay said; "but asfar as one can see, there does not appear to be any large body oftroops. I suppose it is meant that the troops on the slopes shallretire there, and make a strong stand. I am bound to say that itlooks very much as if Browne had only left a strong guard here, tokeep us from issuing from this defile; and that his whole armymoved away last night, and may now be some thirty miles away, ontheir march towards Saxony."
As the fog lifted still more they could see the stream runningright across the plain, and the little village of Sulowitz on itsbank, apparently still and deserted. Presently Keith wrote an orderon a tablet, and Lindsay was sent off with it, to the generalcommanding the cavalry.
"Something is going to be done at last, Drummond," he said, as hemounted. "It is an order to the cavalry."
An order was then despatched to the battery on Homolka Hill, and tothe batteries on the left. Two more battalions of infantry thenmoved up, to press the Croats more quickly down the hill.
Fergus watched Lindsay, and saw him ride up to the general. Severalofficers at once galloped off. There was a movement among thecavalry, and then twenty squadrons passed out through the intervalsbetween the brigades of infantry, and trotted out through the mouthof the valley. They went on without interruption, until abreast ofLobositz; and then a great number of men ran suddenly up, from thehouses of the village, to the batteries.
A minute later some thirty guns poured their fire into the Prussiancavalry; while at the same moment the guns of a heavy battery,hitherto unseen, poured in their fire from Sulowitz on their leftflank; while from rising ground, not visible behind it, came theroar of thirty more pieces.
So rapidly had the aides-de-camp been sent off, that Fergus was theonly one remaining available. The king spoke a few words to themarshal, and then said to Fergus:
"Ride, sir, with my orders to the officer commanding the cavalryout there, and tell him to retire at once."
Fergus ran back to where Karl was holding his horse.
"Follow me, Karl," he said, as he sprang into the saddle; and thenrode rapidly down the steep hill and, as soon as he reached thevalley, dashed off at a headlong gallop.
"I have orders, Karl, to recall the cavalry, who will be destroyedunless they return. Should I fall, carry the order to theircommander."
The din was now prodigious. The whole of the Prussian batteries hadopened on Lobositz and Sulowitz, and between the thunder of theguns came the incessant crackling of musketry on the hill to hisright.
Passing through the infantry, Fergus dashed across the plain. Hewas mounted on the horse the marshal had given him, as the otherwas not yet accustomed to stand fire. The noble animal, as ifdelighted to be on level ground again, and excited by the roar ofbattle, carried him along at the top of its speed without any needof urging. Fergus knew that on the heights behind the ki
ng andKeith would be anxiously watching him, for the peril of the cavalrywas great; and the concussion of the guns was now causing the fogto lift rapidly and, as he rode, he could dimly make out darkmasses of men all along the rising ground behind Sulowitz, and knewthat the Austrian cavalry might, at any moment, sweep down on thePrussians.
He was drawing abreast of Lobositz, when suddenly a squadron ofcavalry dashed out from the village. Their object was evidently tocut him off, and prevent any message that he might bear reachingthe Prussian cavalry, which were now halted half a mile ahead.Their officers were endeavouring to reform them from the confusioninto which they had fallen, from the speed at which they had riddenand the heavy losses they had sustained.
He saw, at once, that the Austrians would cross his line, andreined in his horse to allow Karl to come up to him. Had not thetrooper been exceptionally well mounted, he would have been leftfar behind. As it was, while pressing his charger to the utmost, hewas still some fifty yards in rear of Fergus.
As soon as he came up, the latter said:
"We must cut our way through the Austrians. Ride close to me. Wewill ease our horses a little, until we are within fifty yards, andthen go at them at full speed. If I fall and you get through, carrythe orders to retire to the general commanding the cavalry."
The Austrian cavalry had formed up in two troops, one twenty yardsbehind the other, and each in line two deep, extending across theroad by which Fergus was riding. Seeing, by the speed at which hewas travelling, that the Prussian staff officer had no intention ofsurrendering, the Austrian in command gave the order to charge,when they were some fifty yards away.
"Now, Karl, boot to boot. Go right at them!"
And with pistols in their left hands, and their swords in theirright, they sent their horses at full speed against the enemy.These had scarcely got into motion when, like a thunderbolt, Fergusand his orderly burst down upon them.
[Illusgtration: Not a blow was struck, horse and rider wentdown before them]
The shock was irresistible. Their horses were much heavier and morepowerful than those of the Austrians, and their weight and impetuscarried all before them. Not a blow was struck. Horse and riderwent down before them, or were swept aside. They were scarcelyconscious that they were through, before they encountered thesecond line.
Here the fight was much more severe. Fergus cut down two of hisopponents and, with a pistol shot, rid Karl of an antagonist whowas pressing him hard; and after a minute of wild confusion theywere through the line, and riding at headlong speed towards thePrussians. Pistols cracked out behind them, but before theAustrians had time to turn and aim they were already fifty yardsaway, and going at a speed that soon left their pursuers behind. Assoon as the latter saw this they drew off, and trotted back toLobositz.
Fergus rode up to the officer commanding the cavalry.
"I bear the king's orders to you, general, to retire at once withyour command."
It was time, for a body of Austrian cavalry, of much greaterstrength, could be seen galloping towards them from the high groundhalf a mile distant. In half a minute the Prussians were in motionbut, as they returned, the storm of fire from the two villagesburst out again with redoubled violence. Men and horses rolled overbut, closing up quickly, the squadrons swept on.
The general remained stationary until his last squadron thunderedby, and then galloped forward again and took his place at theirhead. Fergus had followed him, when there was a sudden crash, andhe was thrown with tremendous force over his horse's head, andthere lay stunned with the shock.
When he recovered he staggered to his feet, and saw that he wassurrounded by Austrian cavalry; these having halted just where hefell, as pursuit of the Prussians was hopeless, and the balls fromthe Prussian batteries were falling thick.
"You are our prisoner, sir," an officer said to him.
"So I see," Fergus said bitterly. "It is hard luck, just at thebeginning of the campaign."
"It is the fortune of war," the Austrian said with a smile; "andindeed, I don't think that you have any reason to grumble for, hadthat shot struck a few inches farther back, it would have carriedoff both your legs."
A sharp order was now given to retire. One of the troopers wasordered to give his horse to Fergus, and to mount behind a comrade;and they rode back to the Austrian main position, on the risingground. Fergus was at once taken to the marshal in command of theAustrians.
"What is your name, sir?" the latter asked.
"Fergus Drummond. I have the honour to be an aide-de-camp onMarshal Keith's staff."
"A Scotchman, I suppose?" the marshal said, breaking into English.
"Yes, sir."
"What force is there opposed to us?"
"That I cannot say, sir. I only joined the army two days ago, andhave been on the march ever since."
"Who is its commander?"
"Marshal Keith, sir; but the king himself is with it."
"I will see that you are made comfortable, presently, Mr. Drummond.
"Captain Wingratz, will you conduct this officer to the rear, andplace a couple of soldiers to see that he is not annoyed orinterfered with, in any way?"
Fergus was led away. Captain Wingratz called up two troopers and,choosing an elevated spot of ground, told them to dismount andallow no one to speak to the officer.
"From here," he said courteously to Drummond, "you will get a viewof the field of battle."
Fergus sat down on the grass, and remained a spectator of the fightto the end of the day. He marked at once that the combat had rolleddown the hill, and that the Prussians were making their way inforce towards Lobositz. Then he saw heavy masses of infantry, fromthe Austrian right, move forward to aid in its defence. For twohours the battle raged round the village, the whole of the guns onboth sides aiding in the fight. Then volumes of smoke and flamerose, and the Austrians were seen retiring. Sulowitz still kept upa heavy fire, and he saw a strong body from the Austrian left movedown there; while the centre advanced to cover the retreat of thedefenders of Lobositz, and to check the advancing masses of thePrussians; and he thought, for a time, that a general engagementwas about to take place. Then he saw the Prussian advance cease,the roar of cannon gradually died away, and the battle was at anend.
For an hour he remained, apparently unnoticed, then CaptainWingratz rode up with another officer.
"I am sorry to have neglected you so long, Lieutenant Drummond; butyou see it was the fault of your own people, who have kept us sobusy. This is Lieutenant Kerr, a compatriot of yours, who will takespecial charge of you."
"I am sorry that our meeting cannot take place under morefavourable circumstances," Kerr said, holding out his hand. "Itmight well have been the other way.
"Now come with me to my tent. I have no doubt that you are hungry;I can assure you that I am."
The two walked together for about a quarter of a mile, the Austrianofficer having left as soon as he had introduced them.
"There were three of us here this morning," Kerr said, as theyentered the tent. "The other two are missing. One I know is killed;the other badly wounded, but whether he is dead or a prisoner Icannot say.
"By the way, are you not the officer who cut his way through thesquadron of our regiment, and went on and joined your cavalry, whoat once fell back? I was in Lobositz, myself. My squadron was notordered out. As I hear that you were found by our cavalry as theyfollowed the Prussians, it struck me that it might be you; althoughfrom Lobositz we could only see that it was a staff uniform thatthe officer wore."
"Yes, it was I. I was carrying an order for the cavalry to retire."
"That was what we supposed, as soon as you were seen coming downthe valley; and as it would have suited us much better for thePrussian cavalry to have stayed where it was for a little longer,the general sent out a squadron to intercept you. It was a splendidthing to do, on your part. Of course, there were a number of uswatching from the earthworks, and I can assure you that there was ageneral inclination to cheer as you cut your way th
rough ourfellows. I am sure that if I had known that it was a countryman Ishould have done it, though the action was at the expense of my ownregiment.
"Our squadron suffered heavily as they rode back again, for thatbattery from the Homolka turned its attention to them, as soon asyou had gone through. They had an officer and nearly thirty menkilled and wounded before they got back into shelter.
"How long have you been out here?"
"Only about two months."
"Really! You are lucky in getting onto Keith's staff."
"He is a cousin of my mother's," Fergus said.
"And he made you lieutenant, and aide-de-camp, at once."
"No. I was first a cornet, but I was promoted at Dresden. The kinghad given strict orders about plundering, and it happened that Icame upon some marauders at their work, and had the good fortune torescue a gentleman of some importance from their hands; and theking, who was furious at his orders being disobeyed, himselfpromoted me.
"I had been lucky enough to get myself wounded in the affair. As Ilost a good deal of blood, I looked no doubt a good deal worse thanI was, and I expect that had a good deal to do with my getting thestep."
"Well, you are a lucky fellow. I was eight years a cornet before Igot promoted."
"I think my bad luck, in getting captured, balances my good fortunein being promoted so soon."
"To some extent perhaps it does, but you will get the benefit whenyou return. No doubt Fritz was watching you, as you rode. He musthave seen our cavalry coming down the slope, before the man incommand of your squadrons could have done so; and must have feltthat they were lost, unless his orders were received. He must havebeen relieved, indeed, when he saw you reach them."
This had indeed been the case. The king and marshal had both beenwatching through their glasses the Prussian cavalry, and marked howthe ground behind them was dotted thickly with the bodies of horsesand men.
"Will they never stop?" the king said impatiently. "These cavalrymen are always getting into scrapes with their impetuosity. Gorlitzmust have known that he was only sent forward to ascertain theposition of the Austrians, and not to fight their whole army. Heought to have turned, as soon as that crossfire of their batteriesopened upon them."
"He knew that your majesty and the whole army would be watchinghim, sire," Keith said quietly; "and I fancy that, under suchcircumstances, few cavalry men would draw rein till they had donesomething worthy of themselves."
At this moment the fog wreath moved away.
"See," the king exclaimed, "there is a great body of Austriancavalry moving along behind Sulowitz. That rise behind the villagemust hide them from our men.
"Where is your messenger, Keith?"
"There he goes, sire. He is well out of the valley now and, by thepace he is riding at, he won't be long before he reaches them."
"He won't reach them at all," the king said curtly, a minute later."See, there is a squadron of horse riding out from Lobositz, to cuthim off. No doubt they guess what his errand is."
"I see them, sire, and he must see them, too. He is checking hishorse, for his orderly is coming up to him."
"Then the cavalry will be lost," the king said. "The enemy'sbatteries are playing havoc with them, and they will have theAustrians down upon them in a few minutes.
"Ah! I expect Gorlitz sees them now. Our men are halting, andforming up. I suppose he means to charge the Austrians when theycome up, but there are three to one against him. He is lost."
"There is hope yet, sire," Keith said, as he again turned his glasson Fergus. "My aide-de-camp is going to charge the Austriansquadron."
"So he is!" the king exclaimed, lowering his glass, for thedistance was little more than half a mile from the spot where hestood. "He must be mad."
"It is possible he may do it, sire. His orderly is riding boot toboot beside him. You know already that he is a good swordsman. Hewill have the advantage that the enemy won't dream of his attackingthem, and the rate at which they are riding will help them through.
"There he goes!" and he raised the glass again to his eye. "Bravo!They are through the first troop, and still together. Now they areat it.
"There, sire, they are through the second troop. Bravo, Fergus!"
The king made no remark until he saw the Austrian squadron drawrein. Then he said:
"Thank God, he has saved the cavalry! It was a glorious deed.Marshal Keith, make out his commission as a captain, today."
"He is very young, sire," the marshal said hesitatingly.
"By Heaven, sir, I would promote him if he were an infant in arms!"the king replied. "Why, Keith, the loss of half our cavalry wouldhave crippled us, and cavalry men are not made in a day.
"There, he has reached them now. I see they are wheeling. Well andquickly done! Yes, they won't be overtaken; but three minuteslater, and not a man would have come back.
"Colonel Rogner," he said to one of the group of officers behindhim, "you will please ride down and meet the cavalry, when theycome in, and convey to Lieutenant Drummond my highest satisfactionat the gallant manner in which he has carried out my orders. Youwill also inform General Gorlitz that, in my opinion, he pushed hisreconnaissance much too far; but that I am well content with thebravery shown by the troops, and at the manner in which he drewthem off on receipt of my order."
In five-and-twenty minutes the colonel returned, and said:
"I regret to say, your majesty, that Lieutenant Drummond ismissing. I have inquired among the officers and find that, as hewas following General Gorlitz, he and his horse suddenly pitchedforward and lay without movement. Evidently the horse was killed bya cannon shot, but whether Mr. Drummond was also killed, they couldnot say."
"We must hope not," the king said warmly. "I would not lose sogallant a young officer, for a great deal.
"Keith, if we take Lobositz today, let a most careful search bemade, over the ground the cavalry passed, for his body. If it isfound, so much the worse. If not, it will be a proof that he iseither wounded or unhurt, and that he has been carried off by theAustrian cavalry; who passed over the same ground as ours, and whocertainly would not trouble themselves to carry off his body."