striking their tents, and cording up and trimly
shouldering everything with incredible brevity," as if machinery were
doing it; "and at three, on the Prussian part, all was packed and out
into the court for being carried off; and, in fact, the Prussian Army
was on march at three." Seidlitz, with all his Horse, vanishing round
the corner of the Height; speeding along, invisible on his northern
slope there, straight for the Janus-Polzen Hill part; the Infantry
following, double-quick;--well knowing, each, what he has got to do.

But at this interesting point, the Editors--small thanks to them,
authentic but thrice-stupid mortals--cut short our Eye-witness, not
so much as telling us his name, some of them not even his date or
whereabouts; and so the curtain tumbles down (as if its string had
been cut, or suddenly eaten by unwise animals), and we are left to gray
hubbub, and our own resources at second-hand. Except only that a French
Officer--one of those cannonading from Almsdorf, no doubt--declares
that "it was like a change of scene in the Opera (DECORATION D'OPERA),"
[Letter in MULLER: p. 60. In WESTPHALEN (ii. 128-133) is a much superior
French Letter, intercepted somewhere, and fallen to Duke Ferdinand; well
worth reading, on Rossbach and the previous Affairs.] so very rapid; and
that "they all rolled off eastward at quick time." At extremely quick
time;--and soon, in the slight hollow behind Janus Hugel, vanished from
sight of these Almsdorf French, and of the Soubise-Hildburghausen Army
in general. Which latter is agreeably surprised at the phenomenon;
and draws a highly flattering conclusion from it. "Gone, then; off
at double-quick for Merseburg; aha!" think the Soubise-Hildburghausen
people: "Double-quick you too, my pretty men, lest they do whisk away,
and we never get a stroke at them,!"--

Seidlitz meanwhile, with his cavalry (thirty-eight squadrons, about
4,000 horse), is rapidly doing the order he has had. Seidlitz at a sharp
military trot, and the infantry at doublequick to keep up near him,
which they cannot quite do, are, as we have said, making right across
for the Polzen-Hill and Janus-Hill quarter; their route the string,
French route the bow; and are invisible to the French, owing to the
heights between. Seidlitz, when he gets to the proper point eastward,
will wheel about, front to southward, and be our left wing; infantry, as
centre and right, will appear in like manner; and--we shall see!

The ex