, and doing theft and
other mischief at a sad rate.

On the other hand, the Austrian and Saxon gentlemen, from their
Gallows-Hill at Hohenfriedberg, notice, four or five miles in the
distance, opposite them, or a little to the left of opposite, a Body
of Prussian horse and foot, visibly wending northward; like a long
glittering serpent, the glitter of their muskets flashing back yonder
on the afternoon sun and us, as they mount from hollow to height. Ten or
twelve thousand of them; making for Striegau, to appearance. Intending
to bivouac or billet there, and keep some kind of watch over us;
belike with an eye to being rear-guard, on the retreat towards Breslau
to-morrow? Or will they retreat without attempting mischief? Serenity of
Weissenfels engages to seize the heights and proper posts, over
yonder, this night yet; and will take Striegau itself, the first thing,
to-morrow morning.

Yes, your Serenities, those are Prussians in movement: Vanguard Corps of
Dumoulin, Winterfeld;--Rittmeister Seydlitz rides yonder:--and it is not
their notion to retreat without mischief. For there stands, not so far
off, on the Stanowitz Fuchsberg, a brisk little Gentleman, if you could
notice him; with his eyes fixed on you, and plans in the head of him
now getting nearly mature. For certain, he is pushing out that column of
men; and all manner of other columns are getting order to push out,
and take their ground; and to-morrow morning--you will not find him in
retreat! Such are the phenomena in that Striegau-Hohenfriedberg region,
while the sun is bending westward, on Thursday, 3d June, 1745.

"From Hohenfriedberg, which leans against the higher Mountains, there
may be, across to Striegau northeast, which stands well apart from them,
among lower Hills of its own, a distance of about five English miles.
The intervening country is of flat, though upland nature: the first
broad stage, or STAIR-STEP, so to speak, leading down into the general
interior levels of Silesia in those parts. A tract which is now
tolerably dried by draining, but was then marshy as well as bushy:--flat
to the eye, yet must be imperceptibly convexed a little, for the line of
watershed is hereabouts: walk from Hohenfriedberg to Striegau, the
water on your left hand flows, though mainly in ditches or imperceptible
oozings, to the north and west,--there to fall into an eastern fork of
the Roaring Neisse [one of our three new Neisses, which is a very quiet
stream here