capitulate, and yield
themselves prisoners, although the main body under Trenck was more than
five miles distant. His corps did not come up till the morrow, and it
was ridiculous enough to see the pandours dressed in the caps of the
Prussian fusiliers and pioneers, which they wore instead of their own,
and which they afterwards continued to wear.

The campaign to him was glorious, and the enemy's want of light troops
gave free scope to his enterprises, highly to their prejudice. He never
returned without prisoners. He passed the Elbe near Pardubitz, took the
magazines, and was the cause of the great dearth and desertion among the
Prussians, and of that hasty retreat to which they were forced. The King
was at Cohn with his headquarters, where I was with him, when Trenck
attacked the town, which he must have carried, had he not been wounded by
a cannon-ball, which shattered his foot. He was taken away, the attack
did not succeed, and his men, without him, remained but so many ciphers.

In 1745, he went to Vienna, where his entrance resembled a triumph. The
Empress received him with distinction. He appeared on crutches; she, by
her condescending speech, inflamed his zeal to extravagance. Who would
have supposed that the favourite of the people would that year be
abandoned to the power of his enemies; who had not rendered, during their
whole lives, so much essential service to the state as Trenck had done in
a single day? He returned to his estate, raised eight hundred recruits
that he might aid in the next campaign, and gather new laurels. He
rejoined the army. At the battle of Sorau he fell upon the Prussian
camp, and seized upon the tent of the King, but he came too late to
attack the rear, as had been preconcerted. Frederic gave up his camp to
be plundered, for the Croats could not be drawn off to attack the army,
and the King was prepared to receive them, even if they should. In the
meantime, the imperial army was defeated.

Here was a field for the enemies of Trenck to incite the people against
him. They accused him of having made the King of Prussia a prisoner in
his tent; that he also pillaged the camp instead of attacking the rear of
the army. After having ended the campaign, he returned to Vienna to
defend himself. Here he found twenty-three officers, whom he expelled
his regiment, most of them for cowardice or mean actions. They were
ready to bear false testimony. Counsellor Weber and Gen. Loe