, tentless, and upon the drifted snow.
The whole distance was strewed with the bodies of the dead. Each morning
mounds of frozen corpses indicated the places of the night's bivouac.
Twelve hundred perished during this dreadful march. Of those who
survived, many, at Egra, were obliged to undergo the amputation of their
frozen limbs. General Belleisle himself, during the whole retreat, was
suffering from such a severe attack of rheumatism, that he was unable
either to walk or ride. His mind, however, was full of vigor and his
energies unabated. Carried in a sedan chair he reconnoitred the way,
pointed out the roads, visited every part of the extended line of march,
encouraged the fainting troops, and superintended all the minutest
details of the retreat. "Notwithstanding the losses of his army," it is
recorded, "he had the satisfaction of preserving the flower of the
French forces, of saving every cannon which bore the arms of his master,
and of not leaving the smallest trophy to grace the triumph of the
enemy."

In the citadel of Prague, Belleisle had left six thousand troops, to
prevent the eager pursuit of the Austrians. The Prince Sobcuitz, now in
command of the besieging force, mortified and irritated by the escape,
sent a summons to the garrison demanding its immediate and unconditional
surrender. Chevert, the gallant commander, replied to the officer who
brought the summons,--

"Tell the prince that if he will not grant me the honors of war, I will
set fire to the four corners of Prague, and bury myself under its
ruins."

The destruction of Prague, with all its treasures of architecture and
art, was too serious a calamity to be hazarded. Chevert was permitted to
retire with the honors of war, and with his division he soon rejoined
the army at Egra. Maria Theresa was exceedingly chagrined by the escape
of the French, and in the seclusion of her palace she gave vent to the
bitterness of her anguish. In public, however, she assumed an attitude
of triumph and great exultation in view of the recovery of Prague. She
celebrated the event by magnificent entertainments. In imitation of the
Olympic games, she established chariot races, in which ladies alone were
the competitors, and even condescended herself, with her sister, to
enter the lists.

All Bohemia, excepting Egra, was now reclaimed. Early in the spring
Maria Theresa visited Prague, where, on the 12th of May, 1743, with
great splendor she was crowned Queen of