unt had a select dinner-party in his tent in
Ferdinand's Camp, in honor of the occasion. Dinner was well over, and
wine handsomely flowing, when somebody at last thought of asking, 'What
is it, then, Herr Graf, that whistling kind of noise we hear every now
and then overhead?' 'That is nothing,' said the Graf, in his calm, dusky
way: 'that is only my Artillery-people practising; I have bidden
them hit the pole of our tent if they can: unhappily there is not
the slightest danger. Push the bottles on.'" [Archenholtz, ii.
356; Zimmermann, _Einsamkeit,_ iii. 461; &c.] Lippe-Buckeburg was
Siege-Captain at Cassel; Commandant besieged was Comte de Broglio, the
Marshal's younger Brother, formerly in the Diplomatic line;--whom we saw
once, five years ago, at the Pirna Barrier, fly into fine frenzy, and
kick vainly against the pricks. Friedrich says once, to D'Argens or
somebody: "I hope we shall soon have Cassel, and M. le Comte de Broglio
prisoner" (deserves it for his fine frenzies, at Pirna and since);--but
that comfort was denied us.

Some careless Books say, Friedrich had at first good hopes of this
Enterprise; and "had himself lent 7,000 men to it:" which is the fact,
but not the whole fact. Friedrich had approved, and even advised this
plan of Ferdinand's, and had agreed to send 7,000 men to co-operate at
Langensalza,--which, so far out in Thuringen, and pointing as if to
the Reichsfolk, is itself an eye-sorrow to Friedrich. The issue we
have seen. His 7,000 went accordingly, under a General Syburg; met the
Ferdinand people (General Sporken head of these, and Walpole's "Conway"
one of them); found the Unstrut in flood, but crossed nevertheless;
dashed in upon the French and Saxons there, and made a brilliant thing
of it at Langensalza. [_Bericht von der bey Langensalza am 15 Februar
1761 vorgefallenen Action_ in Seyfarth, _Beylagen,_ iii. 75; Tempelhof,
v. 22-27.] Which done, Syburg instantly withdrew, leaving Sporken and
his Conways to complete the Adventure; and, for his part, set himself
with his whole might "to raising contributions, recruits, horses,
proviants, over Thuringen;" "which," says Tempelhof, "had been his grand
errand there, and in which he succeeded wonderfully."

Towards the end of Ferdinand's Affair, Cassel Siege now evidently like
to fail, Friedrich organized a small Expedition for his own behoof:
expedition into Voigtland, or Frankenland, against the intrusive
Reichs-people, who have not now a Brogli