renadiers
fighting under cover. The very ground is sore against them; uphill, and
the trampled snow wearing into a slide, so that you sprawl and stagger
sadly. Thirty-one big guns, and about 9,000 small, pouring out mere
death on you, from that knoll-head. The Prussians stagger; cannot stand
it; bend to rightwards, and get out of shot-range; cannot manage it
this bout. Rally, reinforce; try it again. Again, with a will; but again
there is not a way. The Prussians are again repulsed; fall back, down
this slippery course, in more disorder than the first time. Had the
Saxons stood still, steadily handling arms, how, on such terms, could
the Prussians ever have managed it?

But at sight of this second repulse, the Saxon grenadiers, and
especially one battalion of Austrians who were there (the only Austrians
who fought this day), gave a shout "Victory!"--and in the height of
their enthusiasm, rushed out, this Austrian battalion first and the
Saxons after them, to charge these Prussians, and sweep the world clear
of them. It was the ruin of their battle; a fatal hollaing before you
are out of the woods. Old Leopold, quick as thought, noticing the thing,
hurls cavalry on these victorious down-plunging grenadiers; slashes them
asunder, into mere recoiling whirlpools of ruin; so that "few of
them got back unwounded;" and the Prussians storming in along with
them,--aided by ever new Prussians, from beyond the Tschonengrund
even,--the place was at length carried; and the Saxon battle became
hopeless.

For, their right being in such hurricane, the Prussians from the
centre, as we hint, storm forward withal; will not be held back by the
Tschonengrund. They find the Tschonengrund quaggy in the extreme, "brook
frozen at the sides, but waist-deep of liquid mud in the centre;" cross
it, nevertheless, towards the upper part of it,--young Moritz of Dessau
leading the way, to help his old Father in extremity. They climb the
opposite side,--quite slippery in places, but "helping one another
up;"--no Saxons there till you get fairly atop, which was an oversight
on the Saxon part. Fairly atop, Moritz is saluted by the Saxons with
diligent musket-volleys; but Moritz also has musket-volleys in him,
bayonet-charges in him; eager to help his old Papa at this hard pinch.
Old Papa has the Saxons in flank; sends more and ever more other cavalry
in on them; and in fact, the right wing altogether storms violently
through Kesselsdorf, and sweeps it c