n the heel
of Leuthen; had you? Go to!'--Fiery Loudon cannot try storm, the Town
having Oder and a wet ditch round it. He gets his bombarding batteries
forward, as the one chance he has, aided by bullying. And to-morrow,

"FRIDAY, AUGUST 1st, sends, half officially, half in the friendly way,
dreadful messages again: a warning to the Mayor of Breslau (which was
not signed by Loudon), 'Death and destruction, Sir, unless'--!--warning
to the Mayor; and, by the same private half-official messenger, a new
summons to Tauentzien: 'Bombardment infallible; universal massacre by
Croats; I will not spare the child in its mother's womb.' 'I am not with
child,' said Tauentzien, 'nor are my soldiers! What is the use of such
talk?' And about 10 that night, Loudon does accordingly break out into
all the fire of bombardment he is master of. Kindles the Town in various
places, which were quenched again by Tauentzien's arrangements; kindles
especially the King's fine Dwelling-house (Palace they call it), and
adjacent streets, not quenchable till Palace and they are much ruined.
Will this make no impression? Far too little.

"Next morning Loudon sends a private messenger of conciliatory tone:
'Any terms your Excellency likes to name. Only spare me the general
massacre, and child in the mother's womb!' From all which Tauentzien
infers that you are probably short of ammunition; and that his outlooks
are improving. That day he gets guns brought to bear on General Loudon's
own quarter; blazes into Loudon's sitting-room, so that Loudon has
to shift else-whither. No bombardment ensues that night; nor next day
anything but desultory cannonading, and much noise and motion;--and at
night, SUNDAY, 3d, everything falls quiet, and, to the glad amazement
of everybody, Loudon has vanished." [Tempelhof, iv. 90-100; Archenholtz,
ii. 89-94; HOFBERICHT VON DER BELAGERUNG VON BRESLAU IM AUGUST 1760 (in
Seyfarth, _Beylagen,_ ii. 688-698); also in _Helden-Geschichte,_ vi.
299-309: in _Anonymous of Hamburg_ (iv. 115-124), that is, in the OLD
NEWSPAPERS, extremely particular account, How "not only the finest Horse
in Breslau, and the finest House [King's Palace], but the handsomest
Man, and, alas, also the prettiest Girl [poor Jungfer Muller,
shattered by a bomb-shell on the streets], were destroyed in this short
Siege,"--world-famous for the moment. Preuss, ii. 246.]

Loudon had no other shift left. This Sunday his Russians are still five
days distant; alert H