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

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 17: Unexpected News.

  The fury of the British cavalry, at the shameful inactivity inwhich they had been maintained, was unbounded; and their commander,if he moved from his tent, was saluted with hisses and jeers by thetroopers. It was not for long, however; for as soon as the news wasknown at home, he was ordered to return. On the afternoon of thesame day, an officer rode over to headquarters and asked for MajorDrummond.

  "I am here, sir," he said courteously, "on behalf of LordSackville. He will be leaving for England tomorrow, and I am thebearer of a hostile message from him. I shall be obliged if youwill put me in communication with some officer who will act on yourbehalf."

  "Certainly," Fergus replied. "I was expecting such a message."

  He had already heard of the order that Sackville had received; andhad requested Major Kurstad, a fellow aide-de-camp, to act for himshould he send him a hostile message. Going in he spoke to Kurstad,who at once went out and introduced himself to the British officer.

  "This is a painful business," the latter said, "and I can assureyou that I do not undertake it willingly. However, I overheard thealtercation between Lord Sackville and Major Drummond, and the samenight he asked me to act for him, when the time for it came. Iconsented, and cannot draw back from the undertaking; but I needhardly say that, after what happened at Minden, no English officer,unless previously pledged, would have consented to act for him. Isuppose, sir, there is no use in asking whether the matter cannotbe arranged."

  "Not in the slightest. Major Drummond told me that he had expressedhis willingness to meet the general, and he is certainly not one towithdraw from his word. My friend chooses swords. In fact the useof pistols, on such occasions, is quite unknown in the Continentalarmy."

  "As Lord Sackville leaves tomorrow morning, we should be glad ifyou would name an early hour."

  "As early as you like. It is light at half-past four."

  "Then shall we say five o'clock?"

  "Certainly."

  "And the place?"

  "There is a small clump of trees on the heath, two miles west ofour camp."

  "We will be there at that time, sir. Would you object to each sidebeing accompanied by a second friend? I ask it because, didanything happen to my principal, I should certainly wish thatanother witness was present at the duel."

  "We have no objection," Major Kurstad said. "We shall also bring asurgeon with us, and of course you can do the same, if you aredisposed."

  The two officers saluted, and the major returned to Fergus.

  "Do you mean to kill him?" he asked, after he had told him of thearrangements that had been made.

  "Certainly not. The man is an overbearing fool, and I merely wishto give him a lesson. Personally, I should be glad if the whole ofthe officers of the British force could be present, in order thathe might be as much humiliated as possible; but even if I hated theman--and I have no shadow of feeling of that kind--I would not killhim. He is going home to England to be tried by court martial, andits sentence is likely to be a far heavier blow, to a bully of thatkind, than death would be. He has a taste of it already, for I hearthat he is hooted whenever he leaves his tent."

  At the appointed time the two parties arrived, almost at the samemoment, at a spot arranged. Fergus was accompanied by Major Kurstadand another officer of the duke's staff, and by the duke's ownsurgeon. Formal salutations were exchanged between the seconds. Theduelling swords were examined, and found to be of the same length.There was no difficulty in choosing the ground, as there was anopen space in the centre of the little wood, and the sun had notrisen high enough to overtop the trees. As, therefore, the gladewas in shade, there was no advantage, in point of light, to eithercombatant.

  Lord Sackville had the reputation of being a good fencer, but inpoint of physique there was no comparison between the combatants.Sackville was a tall and powerfully-built man, but dissipation andgood living had rendered his muscles flabby and sapped hisstrength, although he was still in what should have been his prime.Fergus, on the other hand, had not a superfluous ounce of flesh.Constant exercise had hardened every muscle. He was a picture ofhealth and activity.

  The general viewed him with an expression of vindictive animosity;while his face, on the other hand, wore an expression of perfectindifference. The uniform coats were removed, and the dropping of ahandkerchief gave the signal for them to commence.

  Lord Sackville at once lunged furiously. The thrust was parried,and the next moment his sword was sent flying through the air. Hissecond did not move to recover it.

  "Why do you not bring it here?" Sackville exclaimed, in a tone ofthe deepest passion.

  "Because, my lord," his second said coldly, "as you have beendisarmed, the duel necessarily terminates; unless your antagonistis willing that the sword shall be restored to you."

  "I shall be obliged if you will give it him, Major Buck," Fergussaid quietly. "A little accident of this sort may occuroccasionally, even to a noted swordsman, when fighting with a boy."

  The general was purple with passion, when he received the swordfrom his second.

  "Mind this time," he said between his teeth as, after a preliminaryfeint or two, he again lunged.

  Again the sword was wrenched from his hand, with a force thatelicited an exclamation of pain from him.

  "Pray, give the general his sword again, Major Buck," Fergus said.

  "You hold your rapier too tightly, General Sackville. You need alittle more freedom of play, and less impetuosity. I don't want tohurt you seriously, but your blood is altogether too hot, and nexttime I will bleed you on the sword arm."

  Steadying himself with a great effort, Sackville played cautiouslyfor a time; but after parrying several of his thrusts, without theslightest difficulty, Fergus ran him through the right arm, halfwaybetween the elbow and the shoulder, and the sword dropped from hishand.

  Lord Sackville stood without speaking, whilethe surgeon bandaged up his arm]

  Lord George Sackville had borne himself well in several duels, andwas accounted a gentleman, though arrogant and overbearing. Hestood without speaking, while the surgeon bandaged up his arm. Thenhe said quietly:

  "I ask your pardon, Major Drummond. This matter was altogether myfault. I said that I would give you a lesson, and you have given meone, which assuredly I shall never forget. I trust that you willaccept my apology for the words I uttered."

  "Certainly, general, the more so that I own I gave provocation byfailing to salute you--my only excuse for which is that officers ofthe highest rank, in Prussia, always return the salute of a juniorofficer, of whatever rank; and that I did not reflect that you,having many important matters in your mind, might have neglected toreturn mine from pure absent mindedness, and not with anyintentional discourtesy. I can only say that I have not spoken ofthis matter to any but my three friends here, and I am sure thatthe matter will not be mentioned by them, when it is my earnestrequest that it shall go no further."

  The parties then mutually saluted, and rode off to their respectivecamps. The story of the duel did not leak out from Fergus'sfriends; but Sackville had openly spoken of the matter, the eveningbefore, to several officers; and had added to their disgust at hisconduct by declaring that he wished it had been the Duke ofBrunswick, instead of this upstart aide-de-camp of his, with whomhe had to reckon the next morning. He, on his part, exacted nopledge from the officers who had accompanied him, but rode back tocamp without speaking a word, and an hour later left in a carriagefor Bremen.

  The news of the encounter, then, circulated rapidly, and excitedintense amusement, and the most lively satisfaction, on the part ofthe British officers.

  On Sackville's arrival in England he was tried by court martial,sentenced to be cashiered, and declared incapable of again servinghis majesty in any military capacity. This the king proclaimedofficially to be a sentence worse than death and, taking a pen, hehimself struck out his name from the list of privy councillors.

  No satisfactory explanation has ever been gi
ven of Sackville'sconduct at Minden. Many say it is probable that he was disgustedand sulky at having to rise so early, but this would hardly be asufficient explanation. The more probable conjecture is that, as hewas on notoriously bad terms with the duke, he was willing that thelatter should suffer a severe repulse at Minden, in the hope thathe would be deprived of his command, and he himself appointedcommander-in-chief of the allied army.

  A few days after the battle, the exultation caused by the victoryat Minden was dashed by the news that a Prussian army, twenty-sixthousand strong, commanded by Wedel, had been beaten by theRussians at Zuellichau; and ten days later by the still morecrushing news that Frederick himself, with fifty thousand men, hadbeen completely defeated by a Russian and Austrian army, ninetythousand in number, at Kunersdorf, on the 11th of August.

  At first the Prussians had beaten back the Russians with greatloss. The latter had rallied, and, joined by Loudon with theAustrian divisions, had recovered the ground and beaten off thePrussians with immense loss, the defeat being chiefly due to thefact that the Prussian army had marched to the attack through woodsintersected with many streams; and that, instead of arriving on thefield of battle as a whole, they only came up at long intervals, sothat the first success could not be followed up, and the regimentswho made it were annihilated before help came.

  The news came from Berlin. A letter had been received there fromthe king, written on the night after the battle. He said that hehad but three thousand men collected round him, that thecircumstances were desperate, that he appointed his brother PrinceHenry general-in-chief, and that the army was to swear fidelity tohis nephew. The letter was understood to mean that Frederickintended to put an end to his life. He knew that the enmity of hisfoes was largely directed against him personally, and that fareasier terms might be obtained for the country were he out of theway; and he was therefore determined not to survive irreparabledefeat. Indeed, he always carried a small tube of deadly poison onhis person.

  Universal consternation was felt at the news. However, three dayslater came the more cheering intelligence that twenty-threethousand men had now gathered round him, and that he had againtaken the command. The loss in the battle, however, had beenterrible--six thousand had been killed, thirteen thousand wounded.Two thousand of the latter, too seriously wounded to escape, weremade prisoners. The loss of the enemy had been little inferior, foreighteen thousand Russians and Austrians were killed or wounded.

  Another letter sent off by the king that night had disastrousconsequences, for he wrote to the governor of Dresden that, shouldthe Austrians attempt anything on the town beyond his means ofmaintaining himself, he was to capitulate on the best terms hecould obtain.

  Happily for Frederick, Soltikoff was as slow in his movements asDaun, and for two months made no attempt to take advantage of thevictory of Kunersdorf, and thus afforded time to Frederick torepair his misfortunes. But during the two months Dresden had beenlost. Its governor had received Frederick's letter, and was unawarehow things had mended after it was written, and that a force waspressing forward to aid him against an Austrian besieging army.Consequently, after little more than a nominal resistance, hesurrendered when, unknown to him, relief was close at hand.

  The French being defeated, and in full flight for the Rhine, itseemed to Fergus that it was his duty to return to the king; asthere was no probability whatever of any hard fighting on thewestern frontier, while the position of affairs in the east wasmost serious. He was still on the king's staff, and had but beenlent to the Duke of Brunswick. He laid the matter before thelatter, who at once agreed with him that he should rejoin the king.

  "Frederick sorely needs active and intelligent officers, atpresent," he said. "It is not by force that he can hope to preventthe Russians and Austrians from marching to Berlin, but byquickness and resource. His opponents are both slow and deliberatein their movements, and the king's quickness puzzles and confusesthem. It is always difficult for two armies to act in perfectconcert, well-nigh impossible when they are of differentnationalities. Daun will wait for Soltikoff and Soltikoff for Daun.The king will harass both of them. Daun has to keep one eye uponhis magazines in Bohemia, for Prince Henry in Silesia stillconstantly menaces them, and not only the Austrian but the Russianarmy is fed from Prague.

  "Were it not that I am specially bound to defend Hanover from theConfederate army, I would march with the greater portion of myforce to join the king; but my orders are imperative. 'Tis forHanover that George of England is fighting, and the British subsidyand the British troops will be lost to the king, were Hanover to betaken by the enemy. If Prince Henry could but join him, it wouldbring his army again to a strength with which he could fight eitherthe Russians or Austrians; but their armies lie between Henry andthe king, and unless Daun makes some grievous mistake--and slow ashe is, Daun seldom makes a mistake--it seems well-nigh impossiblethat the prince can get through.

  "However, Major Drummond, you are likely to see little fightinghere; while with the king there will be incessant work for you.Therefore, by all means go to him. He must have lost many of hisstaff at Kunersdorf, and will, I doubt not, be glad to have youwith him."

  The ride was a shorter one than it had been when going west, forthe king lay little more than fifty miles to the east of Berlin.Although there was no absolute occasion for great speed, Fergusrode fast; and on the tenth day after leaving Minden arrived at theroyal camp. The king was unaffectedly glad to see him.

  "You have been more fortunate than I have," he said. "You have beentaking part in a victory, while I have been suffering a defeat. Ishould like to have seen Minden. That charge of your countrymen wassuperb. Nothing finer was ever done. Rash, perhaps; but it is byrashness that victory is often won. Had it not been done, one wouldhave said that it was impossible for six battalions in line to hurlback, again and again, the charges of ten thousand fine cavalry.But the British division at Fontenoy showed us, not many years ago,that the British infantry, now, are as good as they were underMarlborough. I would give much if I had twenty thousand of themhere with my Prussians. It would be the saving of us.

  "Did Ferdinand send you back, or did you ask to come?"

  "I asked leave to come, sire. I thought that your staff must havesuffered heavily, and that I might be more useful here than withthe duke."

  "Much more useful, major; and indeed, I am glad to have you withme. You have youth and good spirits, and good spirits are veryscarce here. Have you heard the last news?"

  "I have heard no news since I left Berlin, sire."

  "Dresden is lost. Schmettau surrendered it, and that when reliefwas but within ten miles of him. The place should have held out fora month, at least. It is incredible. However, I will have it backagain before long and, at any rate, it is one place less to guard.I should not have cared so much if the Austrians had taken it, butthat that wretched Confederate army, even though they had tenAustrian battalions with them, should have snatched it from me, isheart breaking. However, they have but the capital, and it willtake them some time before they can do more."

  Fink, who had been sent off, with six or seven thousand men, to aidWunsch to relieve Dresden, on the day before the news of its fallcame, did much. He and his fellow commander failed in their firstobject; but they were not idle, for they recaptured Leipzig andother towns that the Confederate army had taken, and snatched allSaxony, save Dresden, from its clutches.

  Schmettau was relieved of his command, and never again employed. Hehad certainly failed in firmness, but Frederick's own letter tohim, which had never been cancelled, afforded him the strongestground of believing that there was no chance of his being relieved.His record up to this time had been excellent, and he was esteemedas being one of Frederick's best generals. Frederick's harshness tohim was, at the time, considered to have been excessive. The king,however, always expected from his generals as much as he himselfwould have accomplished, in the same circumstances, and failure toobtain success was always punished. After the dismissal of hisbrother and heir from h
is command, the king was not likely toforgive failure in others.

  The time was a most anxious one for him. He had nothing to do butto wait, and for once he was well content to do so; for every daybrought winter nearer, every week would render the victualling ofthe hostile armies more difficult, and delay was therefore all inhis favour. Messenger after messenger was sent to Prince Henry,urging him to make every possible effort to make his way through orround the cordon of Austrian and Russian posts, eighty miles longand fifty or sixty broad, that intervened between them.

  In the evenings the king was accustomed to put aside resolutely hismilitary troubles, and passed his time chiefly in the society ofthe British ambassador, Earl Marischal Keith, and the youngScottish aide-de-camp, with occasionally one or two Prussianofficers. One evening, when Fergus had been sent with an order to aportion of the force lying some miles away, Sir John Mitchell saidto the king:

  "I have been talking with the Earl Marischal over young Drummond'saffairs, your majesty. As you know, his father's estates weresequestrated after the battle of Culloden, where he himself fell. Iam writing a despatch to Pitt, saying that Drummond's son has beenserving under your majesty through the war, and has greatlydistinguished himself; and have asked him to annul the sequestration,upon the ground that this young officer has done very valiant serviceto your majesty, and so to the allied cause, giving a list of thebattles at which he has been present, and saying that the Duke ofBrunswick had, in his report of the battle of Minden to you, spokenhighly of the services he rendered him. If you would add a line in yourown hand, endorsing my request, it would greatly add to its weight."

  "That I will readily do," the king said. "I will write a shortletter, which you can inclose in your own despatch."

  And sitting down at once he wrote:

  "The King of Prussia most warmly endorses the request of hisexcellency, Sir John Mitchell. Not only has Major Fergus Drummondshown exceptional bravery upon several occasions, which resulted inhis promotion to the rank of major with unprecedented rapidity, buthe saved the king's life at the battle of Zorndorf, meeting andoverthrowing three Russian cavalrymen who attacked him. It would,therefore, give the king very great satisfaction if the Englishminister would grant the request made on Major Drummond's behalf byhis excellency, the English ambassador."

  "Thank you very much," the latter said, as he read the noteFrederick handed him. "I have no doubt that this will be effectual.Culloden is now a thing of the past. There are many Scottishregiments in the English king's service, and many acts of clemencyhave, of late, been shown to those who took part in the rebellion,and I cannot doubt that Pitt will at once act upon your request.However, I shall say nothing to Drummond on the subject until Ihear that his father's estates have been restored to him."

  As day after day passed, the king became more anxious as to theposition of Prince Henry. That energetic officer had indeed beenbusy and, by threatening an attack upon Daun's magazines, hadcompelled the Austrian commander to move to Bautzen for theirprotection, and finally to make a decided effort to crush hisactive and annoying foe. Gathering a great force in theneighbourhood of Prince Henry's camp, he prepared to attack him onthe morning of September 22nd; but when morning came Prince Henryhad disappeared. At eight o'clock on the previous evening he hadmarched twenty miles to Rothenburg.

  The retreat was superbly conducted. It was necessary to move byseveral roads, but the whole of the baggage, artillery, and troopsarrived punctually the next morning at Rothenburg, just at the hourwhen Daun's army moved down to the attack of the camp where he hadbeen the evening before. Austrian scouting parties were sent out inall directions, but no certain news could be obtained as to thedirection of the Prussian march. The baggage waggons had been seen,moving here and there, but it was four days before Daun was able tolearn for certain what had become of him, having until thenbelieved that he must have made for Glogau, to join Frederick.

  Henry had, however, gone in an entirely different direction. Afterordering three hours' rest at Rothenburg he marched west, andarrived at early morning at Klitten, eighteen miles from his lasthalting place. Starting again after another three hours' halt hemarched twenty miles farther, still straight to the west, and fellupon General Weyler who, with thirty-three thousand men, occupiedthe last Austrian position to be passed.

  That officer had not the slightest idea of any possibility ofattack from the east. The whole Austrian army stood between him andFrederick on the northeast, and Prince Henry on the southeast. Hewas therefore taken altogether by surprise. Six hundred of his menwere killed; and he himself, with twenty-eight field officers andseventeen hundred and eighty-five other officers and men, takenprisoners.

  This march of fifty hours, in which an army with the whole of itsbaggage traversed fifty-eight miles, through a country occupied byenemies, is one of the most remarkable on record, and completelychanged the whole situation of the campaign. There was nothing forDaun to do, if he would not lose Dresden and the whole of Saxonyagain, but to follow Prince Henry. This movement completed thedissatisfaction of his Russian ally, Soltikoff, who had beenalready sorely worried and harassed by Frederick, ever since Daunhad moved away to defend his magazines and crush Prince Henry; andnow, seeing that his own food supply was likely to fail him, hemarched away with his army into Poland.

  The king was at this time, to his disgust and indignation, laid upfor six weeks with the gout; but as soon as he was better, he setoff to join Prince Henry. Daun was slowly falling back and, had hebeen let alone, Dresden might have been recaptured and the campaigncome to a triumphant ending.

  Unfortunately Frederick was not content to leave well alone, andsent Fink with seventeen thousand men to Maxim, to cut off Daun'sretreat into Bohemia; intending himself to attack him in front.Daun for once acted with decision, attacked Fink with twenty-seventhousand men and, although the Prussians fought with most obstinatebravery, they were surrounded; battered by the Austrian artillery;while they themselves, having no guns with which to make reply,were forced to surrender. Some had already made their way off, butin killed, wounded, and prisoners, the loss was fully twelvethousand men.

  Frederick threw the blame upon Fink, but most unjustly. Thatofficer had followed out the orders given him, and had done allthat man could do to hold the position that he was commanded totake up, and the disaster was wholly due to Frederick's ownrashness in placing so small a force, and that without artillery,where they could be attacked by the whole Austrian army. Fink,after his release at the conclusion of the peace three years later,was tried by court martial and sentenced to a year's imprisonment.

  This disaster entirely altered the situation. Daun, instead ofcontinuing his retreat to Bavaria, advanced to occupy Saxony; anddrove General Dierocke across the Elbe, taking fifteen hundred ofhis men prisoners. Frederick, however, barred the way farther, andsix weeks later both armies went into winter quarters; Daun stillholding Dresden and the strip of country between it and Bohemia,but the rest of Saxony being as far out of his reach as ever.

  The last six weeks of the campaign was a terrible time for all.Frederick himself had lived in a little cottage in the small townof Freyburg, and even after the armies had settled down in theircheerless quarters, he still made several attempts to drive theAustrians out, having received a reinforcement of ten thousand menfrom Duke Ferdinand. These efforts were in vain.

  The ten thousand, however, on their way to join the king, hadstruck a heavy blow at one of his bitterest enemies, the Duke ofWuertemberg, who had twelve thousand of his own men, with onethousand cavalry, at Fulda. The duke had ordered a grand ball to beheld, and great celebrations of joy at the news of the Austrianvictory at Maxim; but on the very day on which these things were totake place, Ferdinand's men fell upon him suddenly, scattered hisarmy in all directions, took twelve hundred prisoners, and sent theduke with such of his troops as had escaped back to Wuertembergagain; his subjects, who were largely Protestants, rejoicing hugelyover his discomfiture.

  On the day on which Maxim was
fought Admiral Hawke, with a smallsquadron, utterly defeated the French fleet that was to convey aninvading army to England. France herself was getting as short ofcash as Prussia, and in November it became necessary to declare atemporary bankruptcy and, the king setting the example, all noblesand others possessing silver plate sent them to the mint to becoined into money.

  So eager was the king to take advantage of any openings theAustrians might give for attack that, although so near Dresden,Fergus was unable to carry out his promise to the Count Eulenfurstto pay him a visit; for he was kept constantly employed, and couldnot ask for leave. Early in April the king sent for him. TheEnglish ambassador was present, but Earl Marischal Keith had goneaway on a mission.

  "I have two pieces of news for you, major," the king saidpleasantly. "In the first place, it is now getting on for two yearssince you did me that little service at Zorndorf, and since thenyou have ever been zealously at work. Others have gone up in rank,and it is time that you had another step. Therefore, from today youare colonel. No man in the army has better deserved promotion, andindeed you ought to have had it after you returned from Brunswick'sarmy where, as the duke's despatches told me, you had renderedexcellent service. So many officers of rank have fallen since thenthat promotion has been rapid, and it is high time that youobtained the step that you so well deserve.

  "The other piece of news is for Sir John Mitchell to tell you, forit is to his good offices that it is due."

  "Very partially so, your majesty," said the ambassador. "It is likeenough that Pitt would not have troubled to take action on myrecommendation only, had it not been that you so strongly backed myrequest that, in fact, it became one from yourself. Therefore it isfor you to give him the news."

  "As you please," the king said.

  "Well then, Drummond, his excellency and your cousin the Marischalput their heads together, and his excellency sent a warm letter tothe English minister, saying that you had rendered such services tohis sovereign's ally that he prayed that the sequestration of yourfather's estates should be annulled. I myself added a memorandumsaying that, as you had saved my life at Zorndorf, and rendered meother valuable services, I should view it as a personal favour ifhis request was granted. The thing would have been managed in acouple of days, in this country; but in England it seems thatmatters move more slowly, and his excellency has only todayreceived an official intimation that the affair has been completed,and that your father's estates have been restored to you."

  Fergus was, for the moment, completely overwhelmed. He had neverthought for a moment that the estate would ever be restored, andthe sudden news, following that of his promotion, completelyoverwhelmed him.

  It was of his mother rather than of himself that he thought. Hehimself had been too young to feel keenly the change in their lifethat followed Culloden; but although his mother had borne herreverses bravely, and he had never heard a complaint or even aregret cross her lips, he knew that the thought that he would neverbe chief of their brave clansmen, and that these had no longer anatural leader and protector, was very bitter to her.

  "Your majesty is too good.

  "Your excellency--" and he stopped.

  "I know what you would say," the king said kindly, "and there is nooccasion to say it. I have only paid some of the debt I owe you,and his excellency's thought gave me well-nigh as much pleasure asit does you. Now, be off to your camp.

  "You see, Sir John, between us we have done what the Austrians andRussians have never managed between them--I mean, we have shakenColonel Drummond's presence of mind.

  "There, go along with you, we have matters to talk over together."

  Fergus saluted almost mechanically, bowed gratefully to Mitchell,and then left the room in a whirl of emotion. To be the head of hisclan again was, to him, a vastly greater matter than to be acolonel in even the most renowned and valiant army in Europe. Ofthe estates he thought for the moment but little, except that hismother would now be able to give up her petty economies and herstraitened life, and to take up the station that had been hersuntil his father's death.

  There was another thought, too--that of Countess Thirza Eulenfurst.Hitherto he had resolutely put that from him. It was not for him, asoldier of fortune, without a penny beyond his pay, to aspire tothe hand of a rich heiress. It was true that many Scottishadventurers in foreign services had so married, but this had seemeda thing altogether beyond him. He had rendered a service to herfather, and they had, in consequence, been most kind to him; but hehad thought that it would be only a poor return for their kindnessfor him to aspire to their daughter's hand.

  He had put the matter even more resolutely aside because, once ortwice, the count had said things that might be construed as hintsthat he should not regard such an act as presumptuous. He hadspoken not unapprovingly of the marriages of ladies of high rank tomen who had rendered great services to the countries for which theyhad fought, and said that, with such ample means as Thirza wouldpossess, there would be no need for him to seek for a wealthy matchfor her. Thirza herself had evinced lively pleasure, whenever hewent to see them, and deep regret when he left them; while hercolour rose, sometimes, when he came upon her suddenly. But theseindications that he was not altogether indifferent to her had butdetermined him, more resolutely, to abstain from taking advantageof the gratitude she felt for the service he had rendered.

  Now, it seemed to him that the news he had heard had somewhatchanged the position. He was no longer a penniless soldier. It wastrue that the Drummond estates were as nothing by the side of thebroad lands owned by her father; but at least, now, he was in theposition of a Scottish gentleman of fair means and good standing,who could dispense with wealth on the part of a bride, and had afair home and every comfort to offer to one in his native land.That he had, too, obtained the rank of colonel in the Prussianarmy, by service in many a desperate battle, distinctly added tohis position. Thus, in every respect, the news that he had receivedwas in the highest degree gratifying to him.