. They are to advance at Midnight; the covering battalions so many
yards ahead: no speaking is permissible, nor the least tobacco-smoking;
no drum to be allowed for fear of accident; no firing, unless you are
fired on. The covering battalions are all to "lie flat, so soon as they
get to their ground, all but the Officers and sentries." To rear
of these stand Walrave and assistants, silent, with their
straw-rope;--silent, then anon swift, and in whisper or almost by
dumb-show, "Now, then!" After whom the diggers, fascine-men, workers,
each in his kind, shall fall to, silently, and dig and work as for life.

All which is done; exact as clock-work: beautiful to see, or half see,
and speak of to your Belleisle, in the serene moonlight! Half an hour's
marching, half an hour's swift digging: the Town-clock of Brieg was
hardly striking One, when "they had dug themselves in." And, before
daybreak, they had, in two batteries, fifty cannon in position, with
a proper set of mortars (other side the River),--ready to astonish
Piccolomini and his Austrians; who had not had the least whisper of
them, all night, though it was full moon. Graf von Piccolomini, an
active gallant person, had refused terms, some time before; and was
hopefully intent on doing his best. And now, suddenly, there rose round
Piccolomini such a tornado of cannonading and bombardment, day after
day, always "three guns of ours playing against one of theirs," that his
guns got ruined; that "his hay-magazines took fire,"--and the Schloss
itself, which was adjacent to them, took fire (a sad thing to Friedrich,
who commanded pause, that they might try quenching, but in vain):--and
that, in short, Piccolomini could not stand it; but on the 4th of May,
precisely after one week's experience, hung out the white flag, and
"beat chamade at 3 of the afternoon." He was allowed to march out next
morning, with escort to Neisse; parole pledged, Not to serve against us
for two years coming.

Friedrich in person (I rather guess, Belleisle not now at his side)
saw the Garrison march out;--kept Piccolomini to dinner; a gallant
Piccolomini, who had hoped to do better, but could not. This was a
pretty enough piece of Siege-practice. Torstenson, with his Swedes,
had furiously besieged Brieg in 1642, a hundred years ago; and could do
nothing to it. Nothing, but withdraw again, futile; leaving 1,400 of his
people dead. Friedrich, the Austrian Garrison once out, set instantly
about repair