marriage of his, between Prince Henri and the King, in the tragic gloom
all round. [Schoning, ii. SOEPIUS.] Nothing so surprises me in Friedrich
as his habitual inattention to the state of his Garrisons. He has the
best of Commandants and also the worst: Tauentzien in Breslau, Heyde in
Colberg, unsurpassable in the world; in Glatz a D'O, in Schweidnitz a
Zastrow, both of whom cost him dear. Opposition sneers secretly, 'It is
as they happen to have come to hand.' Which has not much truth, though
some. Tauentzien he chose; D'O was Fouquet's choice, not his; Zastrow he
did choose; Heyde he had by accident; of Heyde he had never heard till
the defence of Colberg began to be a world's wonder. And in regard
to his Garrisons, it is indisputable they were often left palpably
defective in quantity and quality; and, more than once, fatally gave way
at the wrong moment. We can only say that Friedrich was bitterly in want
of men for the field; that 'a Garrison-Regiment' was always reckoned an
inferior article; and that Friedrich, in the press of his straits, had
often had to say: 'Well, these [plainly Helots, not Spartans],
these will have to do!' For which he severely suffered: and perhaps
repented,--who knows?

"Zastrow, in spite of Loudon's precautionary Girdle of Croats, and the
cares of a coming Ball, had got sufficient inkling of something being
in the wind. And was much on the Walls all day, he and his Officers;
scanning with their glasses and their guesses the surrounding phenomena,
to little purpose. At night he sent out patrols; kept sputtering with
musketry and an occasional cannon into the vacant darkness ('We are
alert, you see, Herr Loudon!'). In a word, took what measures he could,
poor man;--very stupid measures, thinks Tempelhof, and almost worse than
none, especially this of sputtering with musketry;--and hoped always
there would be no Attack, or none to speak of. Till, in fine, between 2
and 3 in the morning, his patrols gallop in, 'Austrians on march!'
and Zastrow, throwing out a rocket or two, descries in momentary
illumination that the Fact is verily here.

"His defence (four of the Five several Forts attacked at once) was of a
confused character; but better than could have been expected. Loudon's
Columns came on with extraordinary vigor and condensed impetuosity;
stormed the Outworks everywhere, and almost at once got into the shelter
of the Covered-way: but on the Main Wall, or in the scaling part of
their