King poor England has had this long while;--his hand
felt shortly at the ends of the Earth. And proves such a blessing to
Friedrich, among others, as nothing else in this War; pretty much his
one blessing, little as he expected it. Before long, Excellency Mitchell
begins consulting about a General,--and Friedrich dimly sees better
things in the distance, and that Kloster-Zeven had not been the
misfortune he imagined, but only "The darkest hour," which, it is said,
lies "nearest to the dawn."

II. THE SOUBISE HILDBURGHAUSEN PEOPLE TAKE INTO THE HILLS; FRIEDRICH
IN ERFURT NEIGHBORHOOD, HANGING ON, WEEK AFTER WEEK, IN AN AGONY OF
INACTION (13th September-10th October).

Friedrich's march has gone by Dobeln, Grimma, to Pegau and Rotha,
Leipzig way, but, with Leipzig well to right: it just brushes
Weissenfels to rightward, next day after Rotha; crosses Saale River near
Naumburg, whence straight through Weimar Country, Weimar City on your
left, to Erfurt on the northern side;--and,

"ERFURT, TUESDAY 13th SEPTEMBER, 1757, About 10 in the morning [listen
to a faithful Witness], there appeared Hussars on the heights to
northward:--'Vanguard of his Prussian Majesty!' said Erfurt with alarm,
and our French guests with alarm. And scarcely were the words uttered,
when said Vanguard, and gradually the whole Prussian Army [only some
9,000, though we all thought it the whole], came to sight; posting
itself in half-moon shape round us there; French and Reichs folk
hurrying off what they could from the Cyriaksberg and Petersberg, by the
opposite gates,"--towards Gotha, and the Hills of Eisenach.

"Think what a dilemma for Erfurt, jammed between two horns in this
way, should one horn enter before the other got out! Much parleying and
supplicating on the part of Erfurt: Till at last, about 4 P.M., French
being all off, Erfurt flung its gates open; and the new Power did enter,
with some due state: Prussian Majesty in Person (who could have hoped
it!) and Prince Henri beside him; Cavalry with drawn swords; Infantry
with field-pieces, and the band playing"--Prussian grenadier march, I
should hope, or something equally cheering. "The rest of the Vanguard,
and, in succession, the Army altogether, had taken Camp outside, looking
down on the Northern Gate, over at Ilgertshofen, a village in the
neighborhood, about two miles off." [_Helden-Geschichte,_ iv. 636, 637.]

That is the first sight Friedrich has of "LA DAUPHINE," as the
Versa