grossed her time; from
morning to evening, spring and summer, she was actively occupied; never
weary, she divided her time betwixt her family and her care of the
sick, and her life appeared to herself indestructible.[55] To her
husband, friends and contemporaries, this zeal seemed natural, and a
matter of course. In a similar way did German women do their duty
everywhere with the greatest self-denial and devotedness, and with
quiet enduring energy.

The fearful battle of Bautzen took place; the armistice followed. The
Prussians were full of uneasiness. Streams of blood had flowed, their
army was driven back, the Emperor appeared invincible by earthly
weapons. For some weeks the most intelligent looked gloomily at the
future, but the people still maintained a right feeling of self-respect
and elevated resolution. Trust in their own energy, and the goodness of
their cause, and above all trust in God, were the source of this frame
of mind. Every one saw that the strength of Prussia in this campaign
was incomparably greater than in the last unfortunate war. Only a
little more strength seemed to be necessary to overthrow the tyrant; if
they could only make a little more exertion, he might be hurled back.
The voluntary contributions continued, late in the autumn receipts were
given for them. The equipment of the Landwehr was ended, the artisan
had everywhere worked for his King and Fatherland.

The war again raged, blow and counterblow, flux and reflux; the armies
pressed on; now one saw from Thurm the hosts of the enemy, now the
approach of friends. The cities and provinces of the west learnt from
Berlin and Breslau the fate of the war. Ah, its terrible features are
not strange to Germans; up to the time of our fathers, the hearts of
almost every generation of citizens have been shaken by them.

There are hollow, short reverberations in the air; it is the thunder of
distant cannon. Listening crowds stand in the market-place, and at the
gates; little is said, only half words in a subdued tone, as if the
speaker feared to speak too loud. From the parapet of the towers, and
the gables of the houses which look towards the field of battle, the
eyes of the citizens strain anxiously to see into the distance. On the
verge of the horizon there is a white cloud in the sunlight,
occasionally a bright flash is perceptible and a dark shadow. But on
the by-ways which lead from the nearest villages to the high road, dark
crowds are movi