well!" Plodded slowly home, for
certain; Lehwald following him, not too close, till over the border.
Nothing left of Apraxin, and his huge Expedition, but Memel alone;
Memel, and a great many graves and ruins. So that Lehwald could be
recalled, to attend on the Swedes, before Winter came. And Friedrich's
worst forebodings did not take effect in this case;--nor in some others,
as we shall see!

LAMENTATION-PSALMS OF FRIEDRICH.

Meanwhile, is it not remarkable that Friedrich wrote more Verses, this
Autumn, than almost in any other three months of his life? Singular,
yes; though perhaps not inexplicable. And if readers could fairly
understand that fact, instead of running away with the shell of it, and
leaving the essence, it would throw a great light on Friedrich. He
is not a brooding inarticulate man, then; but a bright-glancing,
articulate; not to be struck dumb by the face of Death itself. Flashes
clear-eyed into the physiognomy of Death, and Ruin, and the Abysmal
Horrors opening; and has a sharp word to say to them. The explanation of
his large cargo of Verses this Autumn is, That always, alternating with
such fiery velocity, he had intolerable periods of waiting till
things were ready. And took to verses, by way of expectorating
himself, and keeping down his devils. Not a bad plan, in the
circumstances,--especially if you have so wonderful a turn for
expectoration by speech. "All bad as Poetry, those Verses?" asks the
reader. Well, some of them are not of first-rate goodness. Should have
been burnt; or the time marked which they took up, and whether it was
good time wasted (which I suppose it almost never was), or bad time
skilfully got over. Time, that is the great point; and the heart-truth
of them, or mere lip-truth, another. We must give some specimens, at any
rate.

Especially that notable Specimen from the Zittau Countries: the "Epistle
to Wilhelmina (EPITRE A MA SOEUR [_OEuvres de Frederic,_ xii. 36-42.];"
which is the key-note, as it were; the fountain-head of much other
verse, and of much prose withal, and Correspondencing not with
Wilhelmina alone, of which also some taste must be given. Primary
EPITRE; written, I perceive, in that interval of waiting for Keith
and the magazines,--though the final date is "Bernstadt, August 24th."
Concerning which, Smelfungus takes, over-hastily, the liberty to say:
"Strange, is it not, to be on the point of fighting for one's existence;
overwhelmed with so many