business, were repulsed, in some places twice or thrice; and had
a murderous struggle, of very chaotic nature, in the dark element. No
picture of it in the least possible or needful here. In one place, a
Powder-Magazine blew up with about 400 of them,--blown (said rumor, with
no certainty) by an indignant Prussian artillery-man to whom they had
refused quarter: in another place, the 800 Russian Grenadiers came
unexpectedly upon a chasm or bridgeless interstice between two ramparts;
and had to halt suddenly,--till (says rumor again, with still less
certainty) their Officers insisting with the rearward part, 'Forward,
forward!' enough of front men were tumbled in to make a roadway! This
was the story current; [Archenholtz, ii. 275.] greatly exaggerated,
I have no doubt. What we know is, That these Russians did scramble
through, punctually perform their part of the work;--and furthermore,
that, having got upon the Town-Wall, which was finis to everything, they
punctually sat down there; and, reflectively leaning on their muskets,
witnessed with the gravity and dignity of antique sages, superior to
money or money's worth, the general plunder which went on in spite of
Loudon's orders.

"For, in fine, between 5 and 6, that is in about three hours and a half,
Loudon was everywhere victorious; Zastrow, Schweidnitz Fortress, and all
that it held, were Loudon's at discretion; Loudon's one care now was
to stop the pillage of the poor Townsfolk, as the most pressing thing.
Which was not done without difficulty, nor completely till after
hours of exertion by cavalry regiments sent in. The captors had fought
valiantly; but it was whispered there had been a preliminary of brandy
in them; certainly, except those poor Russians, nobody's behavior was
unexceptionable."

The capture of Schweidnitz cost Loudon about 1,400 men; he found in
Schweidnitz, besides the Garrison all prisoners or killed, some 240
pieces of artillery,--"211 heavy guns, 135 hand-mortars," say the
Austrian Accounts, "with stores and munitions" in such quantities;
"89,760 musket-cartridges, 1,300,000 flints," [In _Helden-Geschichte,_
(vi. 651-665) the Austrian Account, with LISTS &c.] for two items:--and
all this was a trifle compared to the shock it has brought on
Friedrich's Silesian affairs. For, in present circumstances, it amounts
to the actual conquest of a large portion of Silesia; and, for the first
time, to a real prospect of finishing the remainder next Yea