xteen, was upon his honor, and could not think of
flinching. 'You shall go for soldiers, then;--possibly you will prefer
that, you fine powdered velvet gentlemen? Up then, and march; here
are your firelocks, your seventeen knapsacks: to the road with us;
to Magdeburg, there to get on drill!' Upon which the Seventeen,
horror-struck at such quasi-ACTUAL possibility, gave in.

"Magnanimous Gotzkowsky, who had come to Leipzig on business at the
time [which will give us a date for this by and by], and been solemnly
applied to by Deputation of the Rath, pleaded with his usual zealous
fidelity on their behalf; got various alleviations, abatements; gave
bills:--'Never was seen such magnanimity!' said the Leipzig Town-Council
solemnly, as that of Berlin, in October last, had done." [Archenholtz,
ii. 187-192.]

Of course the difficulties, financial and other, are increasing every
Winter;--not on Friedrich's side only. Here, for instance, from the
Duchy of Gottingen, are some items in the French Account current, this
Winter, which are also furnished by Archenholtz:--

"For bed-ticking, 13,000 webs; of shirts ready-made, 18,000; shoes," I
forget in what quantity; but "from the poor little Town of Duderstadt
600 pairs,--liability to instant flogging if they are not honest shoes;
flogging, and the whole shoemaker guild summoned out to see it." Hardy
women the same Duderstadt has had to produce: 300 of them, "each with
basket on back, who are carrying cannon-balls from the foundry at
Lauterberg to Gottingen, the road being bad." [Archenholtz, ii. 237.]
"These French are in such necessity," continues Archenholtz, "they
spare neither friend nor foe. The Frankish Circle, for example, pleads
piteously in Reichs Diet that it has already smarted by this War to
the length of 2,230,000 pounds, and entreats the Kaiser to bid Most
Christian Majesty cease HIS exactions,--but without the least result."
Result! If Most Christian Majesty and his Pompadour will continue
this War, is it he, or is it you, that can furnish the Magazines?
"Magazine-furnishings, over all Hessen and this part of Hanover, are
enormous. Recruits too, native Hessian, native Hanoverian, you shall
furnish,--and 'We will hang them, and do, if caught deserting' [to their
own side]!"

I add only one other item from Archenholtz: "Mice being busy in these
Hanover Magazines, it is decided to have cats, and a requisition goes
out accordingly [cipher not given]: cats do execution