ard made appearance, had to saddle and ride
as for life, leaving every rag of baggage, and forty of his Pandours
captive. Our hussars stuck to him, chasing him into Ostritz, where they
surprised General Nadasti at dinner; and did a still better stroke of
business: Nadasti himself could scarcely leap on horseback and get off;
left all his field equipage, coaches, horses, kitchen-utensils, flunkies
seventy-two in number,--and, what was worst of all, a secret box, in
which were found certain Dresden Correspondences of a highly treasonous
character, which now the writers there may quake to think of;"--if
Friedrich, or we, could take much notice of them, in this press of
hurries! [_Helden-Geschichte,_ iv. 595-599.]

Next day, August 16th, Friedrich detached five battalions to
Gorlitz;--Prince Karl (he calls it DAUN) still camping on the
Eckartsberg;--and himself, about 4 P.M., with the main Army, marched up
to those Austrians on their Hill, to see if they would fight. [_OEuvres
de Frederic,_ iv. 137.] No, they would n't: they merely hustled
themselves round so as to face him; face him, and even flank him with
cannon-batteries if he came too near. Steep ground, "precipitous front
of rocks," in some places. "A hollow before their front; Village of
Wittgenau there, and three roads through it, ONE of them with width for
wheels;" Daun sitting inaccessible, in short. Next day, Winterfeld, with
a detached Division, crossed the Neisse, tried Nadasti: "Attack Nadasti,
on his woody knoll at Hirschfeld yonder; they will have to rise and save
him!" In vain, that too; they let Nadasti take his own luck: for four
days (16th-20th August) everything was tried, in vain.

No Battle to be had from these Austrians. And it would have been so
infinitely convenient to us: Reich's Army and Soubise's French are now
in the actual precincts of Erfurt (August 25th, Soubise took quarter
there); Royal Highness of Cumberland is staggering back into the Sea;
Richelieu's French (not D'Estrees any more, D'Estrees being superseded
in this strange way) are aiming, it is thought, towards Magdeburg, had
they once done with Royal Highness; Swedes are getting hold of Pommern;
Russians, in huge force, of Preussen: how comfortable to have had our
Austrians finished before going upon the others! For four days more
(August 20th-24th), Friedrich arranges his Army for watching the
Austrians, and guarding Silesia;--Bevern and Winterfeld to take command
in his absence:--