To-morrow morning I shall get up early and ride the
Chestnut, if he is in good form (he is camping out in
the open) ; and I shall take a ride to see the mountain
that was fortified by the French, or else go to see Walter
Loe, who is said to be a league from here.
Good-night, Darling, I am off to bed, but first
I am going to write a line to Franziska to tell her
that Walter is well. If you see Mimi,^ tell her that
the Cuirassiers of the Guard were close to Homburg
yesterday, and that I was told all were well. Write
to me very often and take good care of yourself. • ..
Saarbruckbn, Wednesday

August 10, 1870

After a not very comfortable night, Keudell and
I got up at seven, and were on horseback by eight
and started for the battlefield. Our hearts throbbed
with interest. There is a fairly long plain, at the end
of which is a mountain arranged like an amphitheatre,

I

^ GrUfin Schleinitz, wife of Graf Schleinitz the Minister of the
Royal Household, nd€ Frauletn von Buch.
DEMORALISATION OF FRENCH 19

where the French had entrenched themselves. It was
almost absurd to attack them, for they fired thence
on our soldiers as if they were hares* We lost an
immense number of men at this point, but the moral
effect of this insane bravery has been enormous. This
is clear from a mass of letters addressed by French
officers to their relatives, which were found afterwards.
Prince KarP was somewhat in our way during our ride.
