battle and, unless the horse has absolute confidence in its rider,
it is very difficult to keep it steady under fire."

"I suppose we shall not see the king for some time, marshal,"
Fergus said later, as Keith was chatting with him.

"On the contrary, he will be with us tomorrow. He rides today to
have another look at the Saxon position, and to give his orders
there. He will, tomorrow morning, join us. It is we who are likely
to have the first fighting; for the Austrians must come to the
relief of the Saxons, who are shut up, as in a trap, by our
divisions. They made a great mistake in not retiring, at once, into
Bohemia; which they could have done without difficulty, had they
lost no time.

"There is no greater mistake than shutting a large force up, either
in a fortress or an intrenched camp, unless that fortress is an
absolute obstacle to an enemy. This is not the case with Pirna. The
mountains can be crossed at many other points and, by leaving five
or six thousand men in a strong position at the end of each defile,
we could disregard them altogether, and march on southward. They
have already been three weeks there, and we believe that they
cannot hold out very much longer. However, it is probable that they
may be able to do so until an Austrian force comes up, and tries to
relieve them.

"From what we hear, two armies have already entered Bohemia, and we
may expect that our first battle will not be far distant."

"Do we block the only line of retreat, sir?" Fergus asked.

"No, indeed. We do not absolutely close the direct road, but our
position, and that of Marshal Schwerin facing Koeniggraetz, so
menaces their line of retreat that they dare not venture from their
shelter; and our cavalry render it impossible for any supplies to
be thrown in, unless the convoy is supported by an army. There are,
we know, paths across the hills by which infantry might effect a
passage; but as there is nowhere a place for them to retire to, we
should easily overtake them and force them to surrender.

"No, their only hope is in the coming of relief."

A few hours later, the king himself rode in. In the evening, orders
were issued that a force of cavalry and infantry were to march at
daylight, and that the rest of the army were to follow, two hours
later. It was soon known that the king had received news that
Marshal Browne--an Irish officer of great distinction, who
commanded the Austrian force gathered at Budin, on the Eg